Whom To Trust?

"Trust is earned not given away." ~ Worf, Star Trek: The Next Generation . From the incredible episode The Wounded, 01/26/91, perhaps the best episode of ST:TNG to explore war and humanity. The interplay between Bob Gunton and Colm Meaney as The Titular Wounded is heart-wrenching and superb acting.

This is a Corollary to my Stop Snitchin' post. Who do you to Trust?

I trust all the fellow officers in my department to do what is right and at a minimum do what is legal. But, to the public in general and in some specific cases the perception of Police Officers is of sadistic power-tripping troglodytes misusing their authority.

Where does the mistrust of Officers come from? Well, most likely, the same place as the mistrust of Government and Religious Officials, sensational did-ya-hear-about stories. (While Hollywood films portray Cops as either, crazy, evil, misguided or naive I tend to think the Hollywood portrayals to be only a small casual factor). But, when a sensation story of police brutality or corruption boils to the surface and causes a new neural pathway in the minds of the public which individuals unconsciously access when confronted by an officer in the future.

Such a story occurred because of the actions of fat P.O.S. criminal disgraced former Chicago Officer Anthony Abbate. Abbate was dismissed on 12/15/09 for his Aggravated Battery conviction after he was caught (on video but off duty) beating up a female bartender half his size.

Humans are prone to several cognitive mistakes and most do not have the set of critical thinking skills to uncover their mistakes. Anthony Abate's actions were criminal but he's an individual and not the group (the police) with which he is most strongly associated. But, due to the natural tendency for human prejudice Abbate is representational to people of all cops.

Authority is a difficult thing. I'm not one to proclaim automatic deference to authority is the right action because I don't think it is. Police Departments aren't populated by Sgt Joe Friday's, righteous and beyond reproach, but I'll never condemn an officer (or Marine) for an instinctual heat of the moment decision. However, serious pre-mediated criminal acts by cops need to be dealt with just as every other citizen, with the additional punishment of permanent loss of position.

But it's interesting that people are often janus-brained when it comes to authority. They are able and willing to apply the most ruthless criticism and skepticism to their opponents yet they wistfully ignore any information which undermines or scrutinizes their cherished beliefs.

As it goes for Authority better to be too skeptical than too trusting... If only more Americans had believed this when the odious Dick Cheney uttered, "Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."

Related:
MSNBC: U.S. Probes shooting at Fallujah Mosque (11/16/04)

Why are the Religious So Evil?

Blind Believer
Choose the easy way
Pray for absolution
You know you've gone astray ~ Fear Is The Key, Grand Magus

Religion isn't evil. However, it's conservative terrorist right wing extremist practitioners sure are!

Here's Pastor Joe Grant Swank Junior, of New Hope Church in Windham, Maine, in a story titled Palin's God vs. Obama's God

This cancer sore Obama is the most dangerous occurrence ever in all the Republic's history for it promises us our doom. Palin is the antithesis to Obama. Palin represents a biblical way of life. Obama represents a satanic cult.

I suppose Americans should be thankful Pastor Swank merely hates Doombama and didn't pray for the death of the President as most Conservative Professing Terrorist Preachers do...

The Mayor of Arlington Tennessee Russell Wiseman, who believes the answer to the question is jesus christ the son of god, "should simply be yes..." is really angry and believes President Obama blocked A Charlie Brown Christmas Special because Obama's a Moooslim. Furthermore, Mayor Wiseman thinks,

"you know, our forefathers had it written in the original Constitution that ONLY property owners could vote, if that has stayed in there, things would be different........"

While Wiseman is an evil religious sociopath it's more likely, the racist is just upset the property is now President.

The Family Research Council is warning it's friends; President Obama and Washington D,C., radicals plan to impose homosexuality and silence christianity in workplaces. Tony Perkins wants you to know:

The Homosexual Left believes they are on the verge of achieving a great victory in their war on your faith and on marriage.

The FRC led by Anthony Perkins don't like when the Federal Government infringes on religion and the rights of Americans, that is as long as the religion in question is theirs and the beliefs are their stitled anti-human ones, otherwise, it's absolutely imperative the Federal Government infringe in American's lives.

It's the nature of the Terrorist Republican Party to use religion to impose it's evil ideology onto the American public. The Republicans ensure to load their language with as much christianism and false piety as possible in order to get their brainwashed conservative teabagging birtherite fanatics to support their human-hating, money-loving doctrines as the hollow hallelujahs help them get Americans to vote against their best interests and for a party which hates Americans and uses their blood and bodies to grease their bank accounts.

Race in America

Shadwell hated all southerners and, by inference, was standing at the North Pole. ~ Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, Good Omens

As a continuation of the Henry Louis Gates thread I'll expound on Race. I don't know Professor Gates, it's possible he's a racist (by which I mean he hates people because they are white or projects his general bad feelings about whites onto specific white people), it may even be probable.

To me the whole concept of Race is a bullshit construct. Historically, it was used as a way to divide poor blacks and poor whites. The poor white share cropper could always hold in his heart the "at least I'm white canard" and allow himself to be duped into believing he and the rich white man were the same despite his malnutrition, bowed back, calloused hands and short life expectancy.

But, our current ideas on Race have been built upon the edifice of the incorrect scientific thinking of the 19th century. This is not to damn the creators of the ideas of race but to point out that as Scientific thinking has evolved and explored new and unforeseen areas while also self-correcting yet there still exist charlatans and demagogues (Jesse Jackson and R. Limbaugh) as in the past who will ignore this and use the 19th century constructs to sunder humanity, usually for political or economic gain.

Humanity is not divided into the distinct Caucasoid, Negroid and Mongoloid classifications, but those divisions still underpin the thinking of many people. Archeology, Genetic Mapping and DNA have shown that all Mankind (to use the outmoded term) can be traced back to the Mitochondrial Eve of roughly 180,000 years ago. And even if you hold to the idea that man emerged and continued evolving several times from Africa as opposed to the currently more accepted theory that the modern strain of man came, almost exclusively, from the last emigration, all humanity are the same species, with minor, mostly superficial, differences. The Human Journey began in Africa, original home to us all.

But it is the doom of man that he must accentuate the differences between himself and his brothers.

In addition to the flawed thinking and perhaps superseding it, we also have the societal constraints on who you are and can be. People have the awful habit of projecting their notions of who you are based on what they see and we are slow too change our minds.

You are (or are supposed to be) what they say you are. You are black, you are white, you are asian, you are hispanic, and so forth. And being so you are also the preconceived notions they feel apply to a person of that persuasion. This leads to the chastising terms like Whigger, Uncle Tom, Oreo when someone steps outside of the viewers' prejudice and does not behave in the way they expect and want you to behave. Don't step outside of the box I have mentally assigned you.

So, I am not the "white cop" who yelled at you, wrote you the speeding ticket and busted you for smoking pot at 16. You don't know my mind and I know you don't care what I think anyway.

I will note a very annoying thing Obama did when he was an Illinois Senator was mandate the completion of "Stop Sheets" by Police Officers. To be completed after all traffic stops for a continuing study on racial profiling by Northwestern. It's not the addition paperwork, but the 5 categories the Officer gets to choose from concerning the race of the driver. The categories are: African/American, Caucasian, Hispanic, Native American/Alaskan and Asian/Pacific Islander. There's no category for Arab or Middle Eastern or Indian. It forces Officers to think in the outmoded method!

Well, now we have the black-ish Obama as President. And old, fat, puffy faced, flabby assed, bigoted toxic white men don't like this, so they project unto him the feelings they themselves possess. They want Obama to hold to the racist views. They want him to be a disciple of Jeremiah Wright because if Obama thinks like Wright then it affords them the cover to vent their racism at Obama.

And woe be anyone who deviates from their bigoted thinking, as Joan Walsh did, becomes the target of outright bigots R. Limbaugh (who labeled Walsh the "Magic Honky" for not hating black folk like Limbaugh) and the Free Speak (sic) police at racist FreeRepublic and Moonbattery who label Walsh and others; race traitors and self-hating whiteys.

Would you contest a speeding ticket from an Officer with chops this magnificent?

Update:
As far as the Obama Kenyan Birth certificate recently revealed by Orly Taitz. Let us apply both the "reasonable man" standard and some conspiracies.

Is it reasonable to believe a paper document has survived for 45 years in the nation of Kenya, often beset by military coups, droughts and famines, and the presence of the completely failed state of Somalia on it's northern border? Yet this document survived, in good condition and was conveniently discovered by Orly Tatiz? That's a reasonable belief?

But, speaking of which, it's interesting to note Taitz is a Soviet Communist, perhaps an unrepentant one at that, seeking to bring down America from within, using a "typical" communist ploy? And how did the Obama-ACORN-Islamo-Black Panther Brownshirts fail to destroy so damning a document? The Right likes to ascribe to the Obambots vast powers of intimidation, computer hacking and conspiracy but the Obama Thugs just happened to miss the one sure fire document which would interfere with all their work subverting and socializing America?

Update:
More Obama Conpriacy the "Kenyan" Birth certificate is from Australia. Australia, Australia, Australia We Love Ya!

Militarized Religion or Religionized Military

O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rages and hunger and thirst... ~ Mark Twain, The War Prayer

Fault Lines: Religion in the military



After completing MCT (Marine Combat Training) in early 2001, the SOI Bn CO LtCol regaled the young marines (and me since I wasn't so young) with tales of life in the Corps and the brotherhood we had joined and were taking our nascent steps towards. We had spent (most of) the last 17 days in the field learning the absolute basics of military tactics, just enough to understand we knew nothing. After which we had the opportunity to take a shower for the first time in 2 weeks and clean the grime and mud off.

Getting back to the LtCol, at the end of his speech he informed the Marines they now had the duty to clean the showers we had just used because a good Marine always leaves equipment and quarters in as good a condition as the way he found them. However, an offer was made. If the Marines wanted to stay and listen to the LtCol he would tell them the truth of Creationism and debunk the lies of Evolution using a treatise he had written and self-published and of which he had available copies for the Marines to take with them.

I was stunned. I left with the group assigned to clean the mud coated showers and befouled shitters. My reasons were partially because I don't shirk duty but mainly because I was upset over rank ignorance being forced down the mouths of tired and impressionable young men by a Marine in a position of Authority.

Thinking about the situation later I realized I should have stayed and grabbed a copy.

bible

Can you feel it, see it, hear it today?
If you can't, then it doesn't matter anyway ~ Epic, Faith No More

2010 has been proposed, by Representative Paul Broun (Yes That Paul Broun of the Obama is exactly like Hitler and exactly like the Soviet Union) to be the Year of the bible.

Of course, fortunately this means mankind can claim the next 5+ Billion years of our Sun's life span for reality.

However, in light of the recent important fossil find of Ida (go here for list of media/blog coverage), erroneously trumped up as the "missing link" and the outrage Google caused by it's Ida-inspired fossil logo which dishonored and angered god and brought man one step closer to righteous destruction, I am loathe to admit that the bible hath been proven true.

Here is the proof from Mr. Andy Schlafly. Italics to accentuate the logic.

James, you've been misled in your education. The Bible is the most logical book written. People have a free will to reject logic, and reject that 2 and 2 are 4, but that doesn't change the logical truth of it.--Andy Schlafly 22:03, 7 April 2009 (EDT)

Andy Schlafly, would you do me the honor of explaining why the Bible is the most logical book written? ShmuelB 22:58, 7 April 2009 (EDT)

God created the world, and then man. Man incurred the ultimate offense against God, and that required the ultimate sacrifice to redeem it. God intervenes with miracles from time to time as He likes. This is completely logical. Now everyone has free will to reject this and conjure up any alternative theory they like, but Christianity is the most logical religion and the Bible is the most logical book.--Andy Schlafly 23:30, 7 April 2009 (EDT)

I placed this under my Argument from Authority label but really what do you call this? Argument from the Neener Neener? Argument from god, bible and logic are in the same paragraph? Presto?

This lovely bon mot of wisdom comes from the egregious Conservapedia Liberal Page. I guarantee hours of stupefying enjoyment from perusing the site. The Liberal and Evolution pages are especially gratifying since they prove all liberals equal socialist atheists who, in turn, equal Hitler.

And as Paul Broun proved in 2008 Obama is exactly like Hitler.

Things aren't always bigger in Texas

Barbara Cargill spearheads the way to an 11-3 vote which proves the Universe is not billions of years old. Texas Secede Already! Go Galt, rejoin Mexico, just go away... So Long and thanks for all the Wars.

The Republican party wonders why Americans believe they are the party of anti-science. The answer is because they are.

Is it in the heart or in the head

If you're not liberal when you're under 30 you have no heart, if you're not conservative blah blah blah ~ Winston Bloody Churchill

I was asked if I voted with my heart or my head this election. I replied if I had voted with my head I would have voted for Ralph Nader, but I voted with my heart and choose Barack Obama.

I really wanted to vote for Brian Patrick Moore the real Socialist running for President, but Illinois didn't allow the Socialists ballot access.

This is the first time I've managed to vote for the winner of a presidential election.

Sadly, I have to admit Sean Hannity was absolutely correct. Being in Illinois, following the pick of Rahm Emanuel for Chief of Staff, I have learned Obama has contacted Louis Farrahkan to supply young men for the creation of the OKIS (Obama koranic Imposition Squads). Blackwater has been contracted to provide training to the OKIS, who will liason on with local Illinois law enforcement in forced conversations and the placement of korans (with GPS trackers) which must be placed in the living rooms of every American. Incidentally these korans must be shown to a police officer upon demand.

Who could have known!

I agree with Sean Hannity

Everyone with bizarre radical religious backing should be excluded from the office of President of the United States.

Jon Hagee wants a Nuclear "showdown" with Iran, Hagee knows god's mind he knows all about god's political positions on US immigration and our foreign policy with Israel. And he's deduced from years of "study" the Catholic Church is the Great Whore of Babylon.

And recall If you don't Vote for McCain, You'll Suffer A Hurricane

And McCain's "Spiritual Guide" was Rod Parsley until McCain had to disassociate himself when Parsely stated America was "founded with the intention of seeing this false religion (islam) destroyed".

And then there's Sarah Tall and Palin. Her Witch Doctor and the Wasilla Armageddon of God... Of course, it's not like Sarah Palin is"palling around" with Secessionists*...

Oh wait... I never hear Sean-o talk about these incidents! Why oh Why?

I deplore this game. But, why does Hannity attack Obama about Jeremiah Wright? I don't know...

*- the secession thing is a +plus+ for Palin. I'd be happy if she was to go back to Alaska and declare their independence from the US.

Little Known Chuck Norris Facts

He is an ardent Statist who hates the individual and champions Warfare, as long as he doesn't have to fight. Chuck Norris Chickenhawk, Warmonger.

During a back and forth with Arianna Huffington on Larry King Live, Norris uttered these pieces of information:

"It's a lot of money but we're spendng a lot of money everywhere..."

"I've done two tours in Iraq."

"I've talked to the troops and they believe we should stay there until we finish the job."

"I've talked to all the military commanders over there."

It's unhinged diatribes like these which can not be allowed to stand. The Troops are not a monolithic body. But, over the last 5 years they've been used as a club by Warmongers to ensure the debate about the war was always couched in their terms. Either you love the Troops or you don't. And you can only love the Troops by supporting their leader and by natural conclusion his War.

Chuck's use of langauge is also insulting. He's done two tours in Iraq? When he was in his 20's Chuck made sure he didn't rejoin the Air Force to do two tours in Vietnam.

For Chuck it's simple. It's a Holy War. Chuck is on the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, he wants the Bible enshrined in classrooms.

I agree. Directly after learning the Greek Myths children should have the option of an elective course on Judeo-Christian Myths. Of course, Chuck doesn't see it that way.

For Chuck the Bible is a Science Text Book because, "educational arenas have become limited learning environments because of biases against God, the Bible and creationism."

You Gotta Catapult the Propaganda

"When it came to that 'Bridge to Nowhere' I said thanks." ~ Sarah Palin.

That is the true quote for Palin. Of course, she took the money but why not lie. If you repeat the lie again and again eventually people will believe you.

And unlike the famous assertion a lie makes it halfway round the world before the truth gets out of bed, the problem of lies, lies in our big confused brains and the use of propaganda.

Those who like the Palin pick will not allow any kind of problems to confuse them. They know she is a righteous pick. Their minds are made up. So it doesn't matter how many times you point out the real record of the her accepting the monies earmarked for the bridge.

But the core issue here is the use of propaganda to confuse and control society. Humans have a sloppy memory system that is good at recall but not good at exact sources or rigid annotation. This is why as Carl Sagan elegantly pointed out in Cosmos,

2,500 years ago, there was a glorious awakening in Ionia... A new concept developed, one of the great ideas of the human species...

The Scientific Method. Which led to the great flowering of knowledge in Greece and to the creation of the modern world. Systematic thinking swept away superstitions, although some are reasserting themselves, and minimized human error and subjective and fallible human ideas.

But, then Obama is a muslim and Palin is God's choice...

Know The Real Enemy

Listen up. Zach, Tom, Tim and Brad get it. Know the Real Enemy.

"I suspect some of the police may actually even be fans of Rage Against the Machine. I suspect some of the police come from working class and middle class backgrounds like we do and like you do. I suspect the Cops here today have much more in common with this band, with you people than with the people of the RNC." - Tom Morello addressing the People

The Controllers of this Nation do not represent you, they don't like you. You are to be controlled, You are to be used for their interests, You are to submit to their will. You are their cog in the machinery of War and Industry.

The Scientific Legacy of Faith

I often speak with my smarter friends. Usually they just invite me over to move heavy things, then pat me on the head when I flex my pre-hominid brain and make observations on the world. During one recent conversation on Evolution my friend asked me if I recalled being taught anything about it during High School. I could only recall it being briefly mentioned in freshman biology. Today of course, we have the open assault on reason by the Library burning fanatics of religion but it seems my school quietly self-censored the teaching of science 20 years ago to head off the descent of wackos.

Of course, the enemies of reason never stand pat. Those hateful of science will never stop the stunting of man's mind and use every means at their disposal to tell other men what to think and what to shun. So, we stand at a divide in which we can proceed with rationality or we can fall back to lightning worship and the conclusions reached by bronze age desert nomads..

Anyway L. Sprague de Camp observed the Christian and Islamic worlds faced this choice over 800 years ago. As he wrote,

The pious and learned Saint Thomas (1225-74) spent much of his life arguing, at enormous length and in tiny illegible handwriting, that there was no conflict between science and religion; that all truth was one, and that therefore Aristotle's logic must fit the Christian faith. In fact, Saint Thomas promoted Aristotle to a kind of pre-Christian saint.

The pious and learned Ghazzali (1058-1111) also studied science and philosophy of the Greeks but came to different conclusions. After mature and searching consideration, he decided that these studies were harmful, because they shook men's faith in God and undermined religion; "they lead to loss of belief in the origin of the world and in the creator."

Europe followed Saint Thomas, while Islam followed Ghazzali. For example, in 1150 the Khalifah of the moment proved his piety by burning the books of the philosophical library of Baghdad. As a result of the diverging rends, science and technology flowered in Europe so richly and advaced so swiftly that the rest of the world is still breathlessly trying to catch up. On the other hand, science in Islam withered away.

The real irony is Ghazzali was right and Saint Thomas wrong. Science does shake men's faith in God and undermine religion. It has been doing so for many years and shows every sign of continuing to do so.

~ The Ancient Engineers, p.g. 309-310.

Scott McClellan

Boy, Old Scotty sure hit a nerve. And of course, the attacks on Scott McClellan must now begin. How dare he be so disloyal as to state "the Iraq War was not necessary" and Busch relied on "propaganda" to sell the war. As everyone knows absolute loyalty is all president Cult of Personality Busch requires.

Karl Rove proclaims McClellan sounds like a "left wing blogger".

And the Heroes at Free Republic consider it their duty to kill McClellan for his traitorous deeds!

Dana Perino, who claimed the job in the hopes her speeches would not be analyzed because the male reporters would not have enough blood in their brains to comprehend her ignorant innanities stated, "Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House. We are puzzled. It is sad. This is not the Scott we knew."

Lost in their vitriol is the truth Busch is a liar who used propaganda and was aided in his efforts by the Media to lead the nation into a disastrous war in Iraq for control of the region and for the transfer of American wealth into the hands of the those who profit off of death and destruction.

In Rememberance of a Travesty

Today marks the anniversary of the labor rally (in favor of the pernicious 8-Hour work day) and riot at Haymarket Square. During the rally, after August Spies concluded his speech, an explosive device was thrown by a agent provocateur, most likely by a member of the Pinkerton's (The Blackwater of the 19th century) and an invective was coined The Bomb Throwing Anarchist.

The explosive device killed Police Officer Degan. What happened after the device exploded is infamous. A general melee occurred, in which at least 11 people were killed and unknown numbers wounded, mostly by the police. And the incident was used by members of the Kleptocracy to rid themselves of men whom they deemed dangerous to the standing social order.

Eight men were arrested: August Spies, Albert Parsons, Adolph Fischer, George Engel, Louis Lingg, Michael Schwab, Samuel Fielden and Oscar Neebe.

The following trial was a mockery. The jury included a relative of one of the killed police officers and had been picked by a court officer who publicly stated, "These fellows are going to be hanged as certain as death." No evidence connected the convicted to the bomb and two (Oscar Neebe and Louis Lingg) were not at Haymarket.

This was not justice but the use of the system by the state's attorney Juluis Grinell and others to divide people. The history of the US is this system of divide and conquer, keep the people apart and under the control of the system.

As Howard Zinn wrote in his Magnum Opus, A People's History of the United States pg 646, 647, 648,

"The American system is the most ingenious system of control in world history. There is no system of control with more openings, apertures, lee-ways, flexibilities, rewards for the chosen, winning tickets in lotteries. There is none that disperses its controls more complexly through the voting system, the work situation, the church, the family, the school, the mass media - none more successful in mollifying opposition with reforms, isolating people from one another, creating patriotic loyalty.

It is very important for the Establishment - that uneasy club of business executives, generals, and politicos - to maintain the historic pretense of national unity, in which the government represents all the people, and the common enemy is overseas, not at home, where disasters of economics or war are unfortunate errors or tragic accidents, to be corrected by the members of the same club that brought the disasters."

I think about the Last Chapter of A People's History often.

who was told what to do by the man,
who was broken by trained personnel,
who was fitted with collar and chain,
-- Pink Floyd, Dogs

Drunk man in DC admits to Lying

Bush admitted he lied about Iraq, in an interview with Martha Raddatz, when he said "We're winning" and "We have a plan for victory."

"I thought it was failing, yes, I did," Bush said.

But you see he did it to keep Troop Morale Up! Because I can tell you from personal experience, being deployed in Iraq nothing not:
the terrier sized Euphrates river rats, the 97 days of 100+ degree heat, the sandbag filling details, the base beautification program, the unprotected port-a-shitters, the foul smelling shaving water, the hairy chicken wings, the useless jobless SNCOs, the convoy runs, would have killed my morale than if the president had told the truth..

But, the admission he is powerless in the face of his addicition (warmongering) is the first step. Wild emotional swings are also sign of an addiction. Now, fortunately we know for a fact Bush's warmongering addiction will not cost him any member of his family since no one in the extended Bush family has any intention of serving in the GREAT GLOBAL STRUGGLE AGAINST ISLAMOFASCISM.

But...

Do you think it's possible Bush could say in 2010 that he lied in 2008 about the Surge Success?

Nyah...

US deaths sure are funny!

It's rare night when a right wing hack gets taken to task for his blind devotion to war.



But Chris Matthews, who gets a large amount of grief for "being a shill" for Bush, takes it to Pete Hegseth who has no idea of what to say when asked the question how many years more of combat in Iraq?

"Hopefully not that many more."

Hopefully? I sure hope I win the lottery. Mr. Pete Hegseth why don't you hope in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first.

Watch at 5:35 when Matthews asks "when will we start not getting casaulties"? Hegseth reveals himself for the callous right wing mouthpiece as he allows himself a sardonic laugh at the ignorance of Matthews when it comes to War.

Matthews chides him for his laugh, "It's not funny". Good for you Chris. US deaths may be funny to Pete Hegseth, but they aren't to the majority of Americans. The majority which wants us out of Iraq.

After revealing himself as a warmonger all Hegseth can close with is the standard memo of the same Pro-Occupation points we've heard for 5 years now; "We need to stand alongside our allies, we are closer today to peaceful occupation, Things are better now!"

Crisis of Credibility?

So, the Push continues. The Push to delude the American people about the Surge.

Lt. Col Lindsey Graham and Vice President Joe Lieberman have declared, "advocates of retreat" and "antiwar critics, meanwhile, face a crisis of credibility – having confidently predicted the failure of the surge, and been proven decidedly wrong." You can read the bios from Sourcewatch of Graham and Lieberman.

The utter ignorance of these cold-blooded chicken heartened Warmongering bastards is unbeliveable. They are willing to make the American people pay any price, they are willing to let American mothers and fathers sacrifice their children, they are willing to let the American people shoulder any burden, while they jet back and forth across the globe and sit on their pampered asses snidely pontificating to those who are against war, needless death, bloodshed and the theft of Trillions.

The surge is not a noun! It is a disgusting political euphemism to obscure from the American people the reality of what is happening in Iraq. The government continue to use thousands of American men and women as pawns in the transfer of Trillions of dollars to the MIC. By using collectivist, frankly Soviet style, lanagauge, Lieberman, Graham and other warmongers and chicken hawks in power deride the traitorous "advocates of retreat" while extolling the true heroes of the Homeland!

And of course these two push for the next chapter of the Occupation to be opened by claiming the "Iranians have American blood on their hands." Note the all inclusive Iranians and their, indicating I suppose every Iranian is guilty.

This is guerilla warfare. The enemy is not defeated by your stupid political rhetoric. The enemy has one goal: stay alive. As long as they can stay alive in the occupied area, THEY ARE WINNING. Each death of an American soldier is an extra added victory for them.

So, Mister Lieberman and Mister Graham while you were penning you little fantasy piece about decisive victory another 10 US soldiers have died. Why don't you go to the families of those who just died take your speech out of your suit coat pocket and stand in front of their mothers and read each word slowly so the gravity of the victory can sink in with them...

And maybe, just maybe, with you, too.

Update:
ThinkProgress has a nice critique on the Graham/Lieberman Propaganda piece.

Anthrax and 9/11

I'm going to write about the Anthrax attacks after 9/11 and the non-FDA approved vaccines forced on Service Members.

First, the talking point that War President Commander Guy Bush has been so awesome he has protected us from hundreds of Terror Attacks and NONE have occurred on US Soil, since 9/11. Well, it's not true. The Amerithax attacks happened in America, after 9/11, Americans died and whomever was responsible for the attacks has never been captured.

In 1998, Clinton demanded all US service members receive the anthrax inoculations. The company BioPort (created solely to win the government contract) acquired the vaccination making contract. Coincidentally, just prior to the Amerithax attacks, in June 2001 the DOD halted vaccination due to non-FDA approved changes in BioPort's manufacturing process. Well, the stoppage created a stockpile of vaccinations.

After the attacks the US Government had a clear and present danger! Bam now US Service Members can be forced to take shot after shot after shot! So, using it's coercive power that's what the US Government did. It forced it's cogs to begin the anthrax vaccinations program. Then the maker of the vaccination could be free to make more of the vaccinations and was ensured of a buyer in the US government. The Free Market at it's best!

Well, in Camp Lejeune North Carolina new marine Grung_e_gene and others were brought into a hall were a Navy Doctor began a telling us why the vaccine was so safe, how long the vaccine had been in use, why the inoculation procedure was needed and how good this would be for us.

A few innocuous questions were asked and then I got the nerve to ask the Doc if any long term trials had been conducted.
Doc answered derisively, "Testing on humans is unethical." and moved on...
Somewhat taken aback, but still standing in the Q&A session I replied, "I know but have any long term studies, or follow on contacts been made with those who've received the shots?"
"I'll have to get back to you on that one, marine."

Of course, I never heard back and never will. The US government has a long history of using it's cogs as test subjects. Lest we forget: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, Operation Whitecoat, Project SHAD, Project 112, MK-ULTRA, and more allegations.

Some of the accounts the government has admitted to conducting. Although it usually waits until those they've subjected to unethical tests are dead and buried. But, I'm sure the Officials who green-lighted testing on unsuspecting and unwilling humans ( under they're dominion) understood and justified their actions under the all-encompassing creed; For the Good of the Nation.

Anyway back to Camp Lejeune 2002, SSgt and Gunney were told by our Captain who heard from BN Lt Colonel who heard from I don't know that in no uncertain terms any Marine who refused to submit to the inoculations would be charged with disobeying a direct order and would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the UCMJ. Which would mean a Court Martial, brig time and a Big Chicken Dinner.

So, I have no idea if the crap they shot into my body did anything to me. Whomever made the vaccines made alot of money from Government contracts. But worst of all the Inoculation doesn't protect the person from inhalation anthrax but, only skin-contact. So if a GeorgeWBush Terrarist happens to get an anthrax bomb everyone who received the hot doses is screwed anyway. But, if any soldier decides to go cow tipping and rubs some cow shit on his arms well he'll be safe...

The Four Year Itch

Every 4 years or so the American people allow themselves to be duped into the belief their vote for President matters.

It's Election Insanity!

As Howard Zinn writes,

This seizes the country every four years because we have all been brought up to believe that voting is crucial in determining our destiny, that the most important act a citizen can engage in is to go to the polls and choose one of the two mediocrities who have already been chosen for us. It is a multiple choice test so narrow, so specious, that no self-respecting teacher would give it to students.

Well Dana Perino, with her bubbly "Like OMG, I am so a Valley Girl!" personality slipped up with a terse response to Helen Thomas.

Dana Perino: You had input. The American people have input every four years, and that’s the way our system is set up.

Bush was elected and Americans once you've chosen the President you need to shut up and take whatever he does right on the chin, let's leave aside that only 1/5th of Americans voted fro Bush in 2004. Every choice he makes is backed with the LEGITMACY of the DEMOCRATIC PROCESS;

Torture? Check, Bush won in 2004
Signing statements to ignore any law he doesn't like? Check, Bush won in 2004.
The Surge in Iraq in 2007? Check, Bush won in 2004.
And now forces to remain around 140,000 in Iraq throughout 2008? check, Bush won in 2004.
Enduring (not permanent) Bases in Iraq? Check, Bush won in 2004.
Government bailouts of Rampant money speculators? Check, Bush won in 2004.

And on and on and on....

The Argument from Authority has morphed from the Divine Right of Kings to the Divine Right of those Democratically elected. Dictators love elections. It coats their misdeeds in a thin panacea of righteousness. After all in October 2002, Saddam was re-elected with 100% of the vote.

So, I now have to rescind my previous indignation at Co-President Cheney's nuanced SO? and realzie he was elected , whatever he says goes...

mohammed

I have no duty to respect islam. I am not a muslim. islam is an idea whose time has passed. islam and it's history is not immune to criticism, to discussion, or to ridicule. I do have a responsiblty to respect my fellow man however, how far does that respect go?

There currently exists another charge of Blasphemy by muslims, this time against Wikipedia.

This is a depiction of mohammed:
O
-|- is a picture of mohammed. Have I just committed blasphemy?
/\

This is riduculous. Blasphemy is a made up crime by ignorant leaders who use it to deflect critcism from their failed policies. islamic leaders enrich and indulge themselves and keep their populations in poverty and to deflect their anger, outside enemies have to be created.

Hence the Danish cartoon controversy. After the initial publication there was no worldwide outcry, but a group of Imams in Denmark (who had been granted sanctuary by the Danish Government) added 3 fake cartoons they created and toured the world looking for support.

The governments of Egypt, Libya, Syria, Pakistan and others had a conveint fall guy to cover for their countries lack of infrastructure, education, medical facilities and hope. And tons of Danish flags were rushed into the region for burning. Of course, since the Danish flag has a cross on it they were disrespecting christians, but this received little attention.

Thus far it has not exploded into murderous violence as in the norm for these types of demonstrations.

I hope Wikipedia doesn't give in, but I also hope any editors whose identities are known get themselves a handgun.