It’s Time To Talk

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the world turns- and burns

i have been thinking a great deal about being an american in light of the struggles of folks around the world. i guess i never really thought that much about it before- i think probably most folks don’t. i look at myself as a new yorker- or a ‘northerner’- but not so much as a part of the big picture. sure, i know i live in america and that i would have to identify myself as such if i went out of the country- but unlike newt gingrich, i see myself as a world citizen.

i guess if i allow myself some introspection, i have never really felt like i belonged anywhere. oh, sure, i have lived within a 50 mile radius of where i was born- for most of my life, but i never really felt like i fit anywhere. perhaps many americans feel the same way and perhaps that lack of cohesiveness- that connection and shared culture- is why we haven’t taken to the streets en masse to preserve our democracy.

the folks in iran- whether the cia was involved in pushing the protests or not- have a strong sense of common culture. it has withstood milennia of invasions and infusions by other cultures and the proud persian people still put their culture ahead of even islam. americans only seem to rally around blowing other folks to smithereens and obliterating cultures in the pursuit of the only other rallying cry- profit!

i don’t know how the iranian demonstrations will turn out. from what i have seen even in this country- dissent doesn’t sit well with the folks in power. it makes them nervous- and then people get ‘disappeared.’ i hope that mousavi is genuine because if he is not- many people will have sacrificed themselves for naught. as for america, well, i certainly hope for the best for us- but i continue to prepare for the worst. the rethugs aren’t done yet- and the dumbocrats aren’t done assisting.

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we are hopeful, now what?

ok, i watched 2 out of the 3 presidential debates and the vp debate- and i don’t really feel enlightened.  the one and only thing i took from all of the debates- obama and biden sounded rational, logical and actually made attempts to answer the question asked.  obama/biden seem sincere in wanting to reunite americans with each other but i don’t have that audacity to hope.  don’t get me wrong, i believe that most americans are going to vote for barack obama because they know (after being beaten over the head repeatedly until there is no denial left) that this country and the planet is in real trouble.  most people are beginning to get an inkling that we really need to do something radical about the way we live and what we believe in because this nation is bringing the rest of the globe down and folks elsewhere are understandably upset.  i think that america, as a whole, is starting to get that.  then there’s the fringe…….

you know, the ones mccain is proud of?  there is a powerful minority in this country that has taken over- bushco and rove lead them.  their minions are so powerless that they cling to these morally bankrupt and ethically corrupt wealthy elite as if they were part of the group.  guilt by association is what they are going for.  they are not going to fade back into the woodwork- they are at war with america and the rest of the planet.  and, my opinion is, they have won.  oh, the minions don’t realize it- they are still chanting racial epithets and slurs at the palin rallies- but the top tier elite who have really been pulling the strings- have won.  see, they have made sweeping changes to this country.  they have bankrupted and collapsed everything and anything that was good about america.  they have shredded the constitution.  it’s predominately the right but there are those cheshire cats on the left who leave behind their smile after press conferences extolling how they had no choice but to abdicate any and all power to the executive branch yet again.

and now, we have the u.s. army stationed in america as active duty and you have blackwater mercenaries patrolling the streets of america alongside local law enforcement and federal- and you have any number of new ‘non-lethal’ weapons to be used as deterrants to large gatherings of people.  how many folks believe that the next administration and congress will roll back the tide of power to within the true framework of the constitution?  how many people believe that even in an economic collapse that the new government will gut the single biggest drain on the taxpayers- the military complex comprised of homeland security and the dod?

many folks have put much time, money and effort into getting obama/biden elected and the local dems in local and state races.  and that’s ok.  what we need to do as we wind down- think about what we are going to do post election.  not just gear up for the holidays as a sigh of relief that the silly season is finally over- but what are we going to do to continue the forward momentum?  a big fear that i have is that people will sink back into a false sense of complacency that bushco is gone and mccain/palin have been defeated.  most of bush’s admin have already been recycled into think tanks, news punditry, policy wonks, professors, etc. with the rest soon to follow.  if you think that after 30 years of working towards world domination that they will rest on their 12 years of laurels- i have a bridge to nowhere to sell ya.  you betcha!

these folks are in a state of perpetual warfare with anyone and everyone who don’t go along with their worldview and their agenda- and they are in large part- controlling the financial sector; the corporate sector; the lobbying sector; etc.  and my question is- are we ready to continue the fight?  will we be strong enough to do what it takes to defend our families?  or will we fold and take a vacation?

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The Promise of America

Springsteen on America:

I’ve spent 35 years writing about America, its people, and the meaning of the American Promise. The Promise that was handed down to us, right here in this city from our founding fathers, with one instruction: Do your best to make these things real: opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea, as a positive influence, around the world for a more just and peaceful existence. These are the things that give our lives hope, shape, and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another.

I’ve spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no healthcare, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities, the distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater or more painful.

H/T to Betmo for this. Video from Bob Cesca’s blogorama. Springsteen’s words from Philly rally courtesy of his HuffPo blog post, which can be read in it’s totality here..

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The U.S. and Israel on Iran

The U.S. and Israel on Iran By Jerome Grossman and my sober reply: Obama putting a crimp in Bush’s Iran plans but it will not change the end result, more War! Please click on his Blog and let him know how “we the people” feel!

The United States of America and the State of Israel are the closest of allies, sharing intelligence, weapons, military research, among many other joint ventures. They support each other’s policies at the United Nations and other international venues with only rare exceptions. Policy on Iran may be one of those rare exceptions. Responsible Israeli officials have made their positions clear: Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons and Iranian protestations that their development of nuclear power is only for civilian electricity is not to be believed. Furthermore, that Iranian President Ahmedinejad’s threat “to wipe Israel off the map” represents Iranian policy.

Some Israeli leaders want to launch a preemptive attack. Israeli official Shaul Mofaz said recently, “If Iran continues its program to develop nuclear weapons, we will attack it.” In a New York Times op-ed, July 18, 2008, Benny Morris, an influential moderate and former Israeli official warned, “Israel will almost surely attack Iran’s nuclear sites in the next four to seven months.” Recently, the Israeli Air Force conducted a massive war game over the Mediterranean that was interpreted as a demonstration of Israeli ability to mount a serious and effective attack on Iranian installations.

However, US policy now seems to be headed in another direction. In the past, American policy placed Iran in the Axis of Evil, condemned it as a terrorist regime, passed a resolution in the U.S. Senate demanding regime change, appropriated money for Iranian dissidents, and refused to establish any diplomatic contact with the Iranian government. Now, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says, “We are not planning for a war with Iran,” Admiral Mike Mullin Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff supports him. Accusations of Iranian interference in Iraq have diminished. Most importantly, the Bush administration is planning to establish an American diplomatic presence in Iran for the first time since Iranian extremists seized American hostages and occupied the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979.

Is the US sending a message to Israel not to attack Iran? Is the US sending a message to Middle East nations disassociating itself from an Israeli attack? Has US intelligence decided that the Israelis are serious in their threats?

The effects of an Israeli – Iran war would be world wide. The Muslim world would explode and attack western interests everywhere they could. Rulers of Muslim nations friendly to the west and clients of the US might be overthrown. The price of oil would probably reach $400 per barrel assuming that any oil at all would be shipped to the west. Worldwide energy shortages and commercial disruption would likely cause a financial collapse. The stakes could not be higher, considering that Barack Obama told the US Israeli lobby AIPAC on June 4, “My goal will be to eliminate the threat (to Israel) posed by Iran. I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. (Pause) Everything. The pause is scary.

My True but Sober Response: Obama putting a crimp in Bush’s Iran plans as well as Iraq and Afghanistan but it will not change the end result, more War!

With time running out for Bush his only concern is his legacy! The chief war mongering oil man wants to appear like he wants peace while it is war he has instigated! You know the plan to go after Iran is old. You know 9/11 and the Patriot Act were only to of the set ups to get oil control and war going.

Like everything else today this gets very confusing and convoluted on purpose to hide a hidden agenda. now that Obama is in the mix and the world is behind him getting elected as well they should be if we are to have a future Bush has been changing his tune on Afghanistan and Iraq as well as Iran where a Diplomatic interest was expressed.

That is merely a facade! Nothing is going to be won by us as we conventionally think of as winning and nothing is going to stop the total middle east breakdown before it erupts into total war again under a facade of peace voraciously instigated by the Bush mis-Administration!

I do not know who fears who anymore and it no longer matters! You know I have said many times there will be war with Iran. There has to be to get this going full swing watch! I no longer believe the thought of President Obama is the time constraint of the attack.

If it does not look like the Right can steal this election cleanly too Israel may go after Iran first just so the chief war monger will be at the helm. That will be determined soon.

Food, gas and oil, will be rationed but as you know I have said before, knowing a nuclear Iran would to common sensed eyes mean a power balance in the middle east you have to come to the conclusion that is not wanted.

Israel will never accept a nuclear Iran and will attack. Whoever is President will come to their rescue! Once again war will occur to prevent war. That makes sense yeah!

Again as I keep saying, at one time the threat of mutual destruction use to be a deterrence. Today it seems to be the goal.

Originally a buffer for Israel was their goal and it played well with Bush’s hidden agenda and if any message is being sent to Israel it is not going to matter or change our response.

* Despite heroic efforts of the likes of you Jerry what is still just unfolding will be prevented by no one. We are in serious trouble here and I better shut up now. Take care! please let me and Jerome know what you think!

original post july 22, 2008

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we, the torturers, in order to get faulty information…

around the edges of my mind- i guess i always knew that america tortured people- whether by proxy or now, hands on. of course, we were taught that communists were evil and that they weren’t really the highly evolved people that americans were- so it was ok. as if, that did indeed make it ok. i am not naive enough anymore to believe in american ideals because i see them for what they really are- ideals. the reality is- america has never lived up to the ideals we were taught were true. the torture thing really bothers me though. i cannot wrap my mind around what kind of a person- if you can be called one- you would have to be inside to be able to beat another human or electrocute them or waterboard them. these are people- flesh and blood people- most of whom have done nothing at all but be brown and muslim. most of the people in these torture camps are innocent. some are women and children.

we can say that this isn’t us- it’s the government- and while that may be true to some extent, there are plenty of people in this country- 44% in the latest poll- who are just fine with it.  44%.  let that sink in a moment.  these are your neighbors or your family members- and with the increased police state that we are becoming- this doesn’t bode well for dissidents or progressives.  when the scales fall from the eyes- it is still difficult to accept what america really is and what we believe in today.  apparently, snagging a new iphone is higher on the list of priorities than making sure that our government- and fellow citizens- don’t round us up and torture us.  with an iphone.

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5 randoms from my google reader

the buying of the president 2008: stealth campaigns

where business meets religion: holy drinking water

what will history say about today’s america?

monsanto files patent for pig- patenting live genetic material

ranks of senior citizens drug trafficking skyrockets

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The Group “O” Bench

You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he’s really sick and they won’t take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they’re both faggots and they won’t take either of them. And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in singin a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and walking out. They may think it’s an organization . And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day,I said fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and walking out. And friends they may thinks it’s a movement. – Arlo Guthrie

I logged onto my computer this morning and read Memeorandum, my normal get the drift activity. Barack’s appeal to the little guys to step up and match Hillary’s five million dollar “loan” to her campaign of her personal wealth was near the top; I knew it was all over the net. I clicked, and saw he’s rasied 6.5 million since the close of polls on Super Tuesday. All small donations, all individual citizens.

Wow.

Even more wow, is the fact that in less than 4 hours, he’s raised ANOTHER million. From the little guys, the average voter, the people who don’t have 5 million to loan themselves when things aren’t going according to plan. It’s ten bucks here, 100 bucks there.

It’s a movement.

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take a moment and read the article

from larry johnson’s ‘no quarter’

our nation’s “lonely eyes” seek a savior

“What’s behind the astonishing successes of Mike Huckabee’s and Barack Obama’s campaigns last night in Iowa? BBC correspondent Katty Kay knows. People are “fed up,” she said tonight on BBCAmerica’s exceptional hour-long news program, BBC World News America. Ms. Kay continued:

It’s the wonderful age-old mantra of “I can fix it for you by being an outsider. I am on your side.”

We are “fed up” alright. We, the people of this nation, are so desperate to get past the Bush administration that we’ve been obsessing since last year about the race for a president who won’t take office until late January 2009. In the last of his series of columns for The Guardian – which The New Yorker’s Hendrik Hertzberg says is “an unparalleled running history of the ideological and moral squalor of the George W. Bush Administration” – Sidney Blumenthal summed up how far America has fallen:

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