Mass Murder: An American Tradition?

I have to mention something in reference to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. The incident, horrible as it was, wasn't the worst massacre at an American school. That would be the massacre at Bath Township, Michigan, which took place on May 18, 1927. The Bath Consolidated school was partly blown up killing 38 children and 6 adults and injured 58 people. The perpretrator was Andrew Kehoe, the disgruntled Treasurer of the School Board. Kehoe had previously killed his wife and blown up several buildings on his farm. After blowing up the school, Kehoe then blew up his own truck killing himself in the process.

I can't help think how many of these mass killers are apparently "normal" people who just "snap." Is there something wrong with america that we are producing so many people like that?

Christmas Sucks

It's the most annoying time of the year. Not only is the weather lousy in most of the country but the so called holidays make things worse. Everyone knows, and has known for a long time, that Christmas is just a commercial racket. The traffic, the crowds, and the store clerks are more obnoxious than ever.

Maybe Christmas should be like the Olympics, it should only come once every four years. In fact, it should only take place in one city. Then the rest of the world could have some peace and quiet.

Should We Invade Bermuda?

It turns out that Google has been avoiding paying some 2 billion dollars in taxes by moving money through Bermuda. Apple is another corporation that has been dodoging taxes. Even the right-wing government in the UK has accused Google, Amazon, and Starbucks of dodging taxes.

The thing I wonder about though. If money no longer consists of gold, silver or anything even tangible, if in fact it's all just electronic digits, then what is it all about? If money is now only electronic digits, then who decides what anybody gets or how rich or poor anybody is? Curioser and curioser.

Gun Goons Show What They're Made Of

Just to keep the facts straight, on Dec. 1 2012 Jovan Belcher, linebacker fot the Kansas City Chiefs, shot and killed his girlfriend Kassandra Perkins. He then committed suicide. During Sunday Night's NFL game Bob Costas of NBC uttered a very simple truth: "Handguns do not enhance our safety. They exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments, and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it." This might be the best moment of Costas career as a broadcaster but the right wing media and the gun lobby have subjected him to a barrage of abuse.

The Gun Goons claim they need weapons to defend themselves from criminals and UN troops in black helicopters. In reality, the Gun Goons themselves are most likely to around killing their wives or girlfriends or co-workers when they finally go nuts. Anybody who is obssessed with guns is probably psychotic anyway.

When Dogs Chase Their Own Tails

The GOP thought that the attack on the US consulate in Bengazi was going to be a "game changer" that was going to lead to a Romney victory. That turned out not to be the case. Still the GOP, stubborn and stupid as ever, are using the incident to attack Susan Rice, potentially the next Secretary of State. Their allegations that Rice and the Obama administration "lied" to the American people has no credibility. Considering that the GOPers allowed the Bush administration to lie about the War in Iraq. Who the hell are these morons anyway?

A Nation In Stalemate

While it's a good thing that President Obama was re-elected and the Senate remained in Deomcratic control, the GOP remains in control of the House of Reps. Concern is mounting about the fiscal cliff. Everything is up in the air.

Vote Like the World Depends On It

The day before the most important election of this century. Polls show the President with a considerable lead. He should get 277 electoral votes (270 needed to win).

Still we must consider the possibility of Romney winning. If Romney becmes the next President what will happen? His economic polices will of course be a disaster. He will probably invade Iran attempting to provide a distraction. This will further destabilize the Middle East. One consequnece will be that the price of oil will increase to astronomical levels leading to a global economic collapse of unimaginable proportions. And the prospects for 2016? What about the end of civilization as we know it.

Any White Guy Will Do

A recent poll by the Associated Press shows that 52% of white Amnericans harbor negative attitudes towards Blacks and other minorities. This is in contrast to 2008 when 48% did so. The apparent worsening of racial bias, if it is true, is troubling. It would suggest that racism has become an extricable part of American life and culture.

The politics of racism has been going on since Reconstruction, if not earlier. If it has fallen right now, maybe it never will. Or what can you say except "It was billionaire jagoffs like Mitt Romney who took your job, your home, and your future. But I guess the privilege of having a white skin is more important."

The Best and Brightest?

While the dust hasn't settled about last night's debate, so it's not entirely clear who won. Still, Romney claimed that Syria is Iran's "route to the sea." Is it possible that Romney is igonrant of the existence of the Persian Gulf? Or that Syria and Iran don't even have a common border? This is from a guy who graduated from Harvard with graduate degrees in law and business. And he doesn't know geography? Sheesh!

Romney is Pointless

Reading Romney's Five Point Plan for the economy is an excercise in incongruity. His energy plan is basically "drill away," but what about the environmental costs? Who's going to pay for that? He also wants to cut the deficit while reducing taxes on business; voodoo economics all over again. I don't see how anybody can take this seriously.

Tonight is the final presidential debates. Supposedly it will focus on foreign policy. I just hope the President doesn't blow it.

Romney In A Bind

Mitt Romney's performance at Tuesday night's debate reveals his problems with half the electorate. He trying to claim that as Governor he had tried increase the hiring of women but he made a remark of about "binders full of women" that didn't go down so well. He also blamed single mothers for crime. And he has also jumped on the GOP's anti-birthcontrol campaign. Does this mean that Romney has a problem with women? Maybe not with the women of his own class. But he does seem to lack empathy for the people who weren't born with his privileges.

Who's Up, Who's Down?

One way in which the corporate media managed to trivialize the public discourse is by reducing politics to a kind of spectator sport. That's the reason why I no longer watch political shows like "This Week" or "McLaughlin" because of that annoying tone of "who's up who's down" like they were talking about the play-off standings. This was especially evident during the discussion of last week's debate between Vice President Biden and Paul Ryan. There's a concensus the Vice-President won the debate by forcing Ryan to get specific about what the Repubs intend. President Obama would be well advised to adopt this strategy at his next debate with Romney.

Another curious thing is how many right-wing pundits like Greta Von Susteren were complaining about how "mean" Biden was. We all know how bullies react when their intended victims fight back.

Romney's Rah-Rahs

The curious thing about how Mitt Romney is now supposed to have "won" last Wednesday's dabate. Supposedly he won simply by not uttering any more boners. What's really going on is that the Corporate Media has always been rooting for Romney. Is that any great surprise? In politics, however, perceptions can become their own "reality," which means that if Pres. Obama really wants to win, this election, he'd better start fighting back.

The thing is though that if the election were held today, Obama would win. He would get at least 281 electoral votes (only 270 are needed to win.) Good news? Except that I remember how in 1988 Michael Dukakis blew a 17 point lead and in 2000 Al Gore lost an election he should have won by all accounts. What is it with the Democrats that they lose even when they should win?

Troubled Skies

The recent labor troubles at American Airlines give a picture of what is wrong, not only with the Airline business, but with much of american business in general. Recently NPR aired a story titled American Airlines Fliers Fed Up As Labor Clash Rages
by Wade Goodwyn that explains the the roots of the labor dispute:

In 2003, with American on the verge of collapse, the pilots, mechanics, ground crew and flight attendants gave back nearly $2 billion in concessions. Later, it emerged that the airline's top managers quietly awarded themselves millions in bonuses, and tens of millions more when they retired. The workers have never really gotten over that betrayal.

Now you'd think that the hot shots who run American would realize that maybe you shouldn't treat pilots like janitors or some other unskilled sector. But the CEO caste doesn't care whether they run the companies into the ground. As long as they get their big salaries and bonuses. So now American is being hit with widespread flight cancellations and many are wondering whether the airline is doomed.

The End of Europe?

A new round of anti-austerity protests have broken out in Greece and Spain. It looks like there's no solution to the debt problems. Pundits of all persuasions are speaking about the collapse of the European Union. Nobody knows obviously how bad it will all be. But the continuing uncertainty is having a depressing effect on the world economy.

Ubermensch Romney

In a recently leaked video Mitt Romney addressed a group of wealthy donors with remarks that show how he really thinks. Romney denounced Obama supporters as "There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it." Romney further elaborated that I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

The Repubs have been playing this game of "the makers versus the takers," since the times of Nixon. Of course many of the Repubs have been feeding at the government trough for decades; big military contractors, big agribusiness corporations, and lets not forget the banking and financial interestst who seem to be "entitled" to a bailout whenever they get into trouble. This video is so embarrassing that even right wing pundits like David Brooks and William Kristol are denouncing it.

The arrogance of Romney's tone is really astonishing. Not the slightest hint of doubt. Not even the need to for a "social safety net" (like Reagan) or "a thousand points of light" (Bush I) or "compassionate conservatism" (Bush II). Romney really thinks he's better than everybody and he doesn't even try to hide it.

The Mess in Europe Continued

The BBC news website has posted an article "Eurozone Crisis Explained." Despite the belief that the Eurozone crisis was caused by government defecit spending, this was only true of Greece, not the other Eurozone countries. What actually happened is that Europe underwent its own real estate bubble, which burst in 2008. Many European governments then had to bail out their own banks at great cost. The real problem, then, was uncontrolled speculation. The European Central Bank has recently announced measures to ease the situation. Whether this does any good remains to be seen. In any case until Europe recovers the world economy will remain in bad shape.

Rigth Wing Dementia: A Growing Problem

Watching Clint Eastwoods pathetic performance at least week's GOP convention was funny: Eastwood started to harangue a chair with anti-Obama epithets. The entire episode seemed to indicate the mental deficiencies of the right wing. These are the people who aren't bothered by the flagrant lies that their candidates are saying. We've all heard of Stephen Colbert's "truthiness;" thinking that comes from "the gut" rather than the brain. It seems to have gone further than that; the right-wing are withdrawing into a twisted fantasy world shaped by morbid fears and an obssession with "charismatic" leadership. The question is; can a democracy still function when a significant portion of the population loses its grip on reality?

More Repub Stupidities

Hurricane Isaac continues to bear down on Florida, including Tampa, where the GOP convention was scheduled to start to start today. Instead the "opening ceremonies" have been cancelled. Now I don't want to give the impression that I'm making light of the situation. The country couldn't stand another disaster like hurricane Katrina or even something half as bad.

But still I have to wonder. Scheduling a convention in Florida during the middle of Hurricane Season is even dumber than scheduiling one in Fargo during January. I don't see the logic? It could be that we live in a culture where intelligence is no longer defined as erudition or competence but is confounded with a smug superior attitude like that of the Romneys. This episode, however, calls into question the judgment of the GOP.

Don't Be Stupid, Stupid!

Todd Akin, GOP candidate for Senate, made waves by declaring that it is impossible for women to become pregnant as the result of rape. The "reason" he gave for that is so ridiculous that you have to wonder how anybody could be so ignorant and stupid. Doesn't that moron listen to himself talk? Akin, and idiots like him, are not only unfit for public office but should have their brains examined.

Keeping track of GOPer stupidities eventually will cease to be funny and become merely annoying.

Lying All the Way to the White House

Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan to be his running mate, which supposedly has energized the GOP base. The fact that Romney still has to worry about "energizing" the GOP is a sign of trouble. That could be why Romney has hit upon a new way to win the Presidency, namely, to spread lies. Lately, he's claiming that the Obama administration is going to cut 700 billion dollars from Medicare. Obama has done no such thing, but Romney apparently has no scruples. While lying has worked for other GOPers, Reagan and the Bushes, Romney is carrying this to a new low. As Mark Twain pointed out, a lie can travel around the world while the truth is putting on his shoes. Still, it would be a terrible day if Romney wins the Presidency.

Blood Money and More Bad News for Romney

The hits keep coming for Mitt Romney. In the Huffington Post article "Mitt Romney Started Bain Capital With Money From Families Tied To Death Squads" Cole Stangler reports that Romney started Bain capital with money from rich Salvadoran families that also helped fund death squads that might have killed as many as 35,000 people during the 1980's.

The funny thing about Romney is that it seems that the GOP itself doesn't expect him to win. Many GOP "stars," like Chris Christie and Marco Rubio, don't want to be his running mate. How odd. It's like the GOP not only expect Romney to lose, they expect him to lose so badly that they don'w want anything to do with him.

The Hatred Continues

Last Sunday six people were killed and three wounded at a Sikh temple in Oak Park Wisconsin. The shooter, Wade Michael Page, was himself shot by police. Page served in the Army from 1992-98 but was discharged for drunkenness and going AWOL. He then joined several racist and Neo-Nazi groups.

Page was not simply another "lone wolf" killer. He was part of a racist sub culture that is willing to use violence against minority groups. Even if there was no wider plot behind the attack, it is clear that racist, neo-facist groups are a threat to all of us.

Aw Bull Cock!

Mitt Romney's recent trip abroad has turned into a PR disaster. His criticism of the London Olympics offended his hosts. He's been dubbed "Mitt the Twit" and a "wazzock" a term which originally referred to a bull's penis but which is now equivalent to what on this side of the Atlantic would be a "tool." For someone with a smarter-than-thou attitude he looks maladroit. His wife is a piece of work herself; every statement she makes carries the subtext "I'm better than you and don't you forget it." The Romneys come across as the neighbors from hell.

Constitutional Problems

I like the U.S. Constitution but there are some parts of it that don't work anymore. The electoral college, for instance, which only allowed the worst two term president in our history to get elected. Then there's the two year term for the House of Representatives, which doesn't allow for long term planning. Another provision that has to go is the Second Amendment. The original intent, as most scholars would point out, was to allow for a colonial militia, not a blanket ability to own weapons. The need for state militias has been made obsolete by the permanenst army, the border patrol and the National Guard, which serves most of the remaining functions.

In today's hyper-polarized political problems like these can no longer be addressed or solved. The entire political process has been hijacked by well financed, media savvy interest groups who pervert the political process for their own interests.

Another Piece of the Puzzle

Another culprit has emerged in the curious plot to declare that corporations are "persons" who have a "right" to free speech in the form of making unlimited political donations. Lewis Powell, a Nixon appointee who served on the US Supreme Court from from 1972 to 1987. His wrote the opinion in the matter First National Bank v. Bellotti that monetary donations were protected speedch. Powell was a corporate hack, who among other things worked as a representative for the tobacco industry. In 1971 he also wrote the Powell Memorandum to the US chamber of commerce, in which he declared that corporate interests should be more aggressive in influencing the political system. It is fair to say that "corporate personhood" is not a constitutional principal but a ruse for corporate interests to impose their agenda on everybody else.

A Moving Wall of Sludge

The recent scandal over the manipulation of the LIBOR (London interbank offered rate) keeps getting bigger. At first it was manipulation committed by Barclay's Bank. But now it seems that many other banks were involved; Bank of America, Citibank, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank and several others were mixed up in it. It seems that the entire global financial system may be crooked. Surprise, surprise? It's no longer a case of a few "bad apples" it's the entire crop that's rotten.

Cut the Crap Already

Leave it to the Democrats to rescue defeat from the jaws of victory. You'd think that the Supreme Court upholding the affordable health care act would be a cause for celebration. Instead the President is maintaining that the mandate is "not a tax" while Congressional Demos act like they want to put it all behind them.

Why? Because the Demos are so convinced by medial consultants and whatever that the law remains unpopular. The law remains unpopular largely because the Demos have not put much effort into defending it. Of course its human nature to be more receptive to lies that are easily grasped than to complicated truths. But the Demos need to make more of an effort to win, if they actually want to win.

Where Do We From Here

The Supreme Court has upheld the Obama administration's health care reform act, for the most part. A question still hangs over the individual mandate. The majority ruled that Congress cannot impose a mandate as such, but it can do it in the form of a tax.

The logical conclusion would be to push for a single payer system financed by a taz but American politics have ceased to be logical a long time ago. What we really need is to throw the Repubs out of Congress, so we can get a shot of fixing the system.

Another Right-Wing Faker Exposed

Neil Munro, the Daily Caller reporter who heckled President Obama accusing him of "favoring" foreign workers, is actually an Irish citizen. Faith Begorra! These people are so arrogant they think they can pull stunts like these.

Munor's point is they right wing lie that high unemployment is caused by illegal immigration. Unemployment is actually caused by policies of the corporate interests who basically own the GOP. All this hysteria about illegal immigration is just a smoke screen.

The Summer of Burnt Mesquite

The wildfires continue to burn throughout the Rocky Mountains. The Little Bear fire continues to burn north of Ruidoso New Mexico. More than 10,000 acres have been burned so far. The smoke can be smelled in El Paso about 140 miles to the southwest.

These wildfires of course are caused by drought. It's odd but we've been having all kind of weird weather events since the drought of 1988. You'd think that Hurricane Katrina in 2005 would have settled the matter once and for all. Oddly enough some people still say that they don't "believe" in global warming.

Global warming is as much a fact as the world being round and revolving around the sun. Is is possible that the deniers have been lobotomized by Fox and the other corporate media? If we wait until the coastlines are under 10 feet of water, it's going to be too late.

What's At Stake

The widespread obssession with nostalgia that pervades the political culture that afflicts even the Liberal movement or what's left of it. They cling to some misguided wish to return to the consensus Liberalism of the 1960's even though that time is gone and nothing will bring it back. We are living in an era of confrontation. The Right wing has become the tool of the corporate interests aligned with the religious right and the yokel mob known as the "tea party." We can no longer afford to think that it's "going to be all right." If the Rightists get their way they will turn the world we live into a miserable, ignorant, polluted and disease ridden hell hole.

So what are we going to do about it?

Fighting the Future

The "birthers" continue to spew their nonsense supported by the arch-charlatan Donald Trump. Even though President Obama has released his birth certificate, these cretins continue to persist that the President was actually born in Kenya. It would seem that it is impossible for anyone to prove that they are a natural born citizen because these morons won't give up. Even if you disprove one of their allegations, they simply make up another, and another.

I think the world view, not only of the birthers, but much of the right-wing was really shaped by the "X Files." I must admit that I used to watch that show back in the 90's, although in the end it turned out to be a shaggy dog story; a mish mash of conspiracy theories based upon anti-government paranoia ("Trust No One.") The Birthers are basically a gang of deluded numbskulls who think they are Fox Mulder. The reasons why people believe in conspiracy theories are various and complex; ranging form politics, psychology, and even sociology. I think that the American Right have come to see themselves as some kind of "Master Race" who are under attack by everyone and everything. Anybody who doesn't agree with them is automatically considered an "enemy." Which means that these people are impossible to deal with.

The Biggest Hypocrite in the World

Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, says she has no sympathy for the Greeks, whom she characterizes as "tax evaders," and claims she reserves all her sympathy for the poor children of Niger. Of course the problems of the world economy, from Niger to Greece, and just about everywhere else, are largely the product of the Friedmanite policies imposed by the IMF. But just the gall of someone pretending that she "cares" about the poor people of anywhere, while the policies she advocates help insure that the poor will remain poor. Lagarde sounds like someone who would murder her own parents, and then ask for clemency because she's an orphan.

When Will They Ever Learn?

The Facebook IPO, which was the most anticipated event of the season, has turned into a fiasco. Not only is the stock falling in price but now investors are suing Facebook and lead underwriter Morgan Stanley, accusing them of hiding weak growth forecasts. Same old same old, the history of every financial bubble. Remember the tech stock mania of the late 90's? Any company that could put up a website would then go "Public" and become instant billionaires. Never mind that many of these companies had never actually made a profit. Then it all imploded in 2000. But the get rich quick crowd never learns. They keep chasing after one money making craze after another, as if there really were a magic box that can turn $100 into a million or a billion. These bozos would be better off buying lottery tickets, for all the good that does.

What The Fuck!

An article in Huffington Post "George W. Bush Requests More Taxpayer Dollars Than Any Other Former President" says that ex-Prez chuckelhead will receive $1.3 million in taxpayer dollars for fiscal year 2013, including $85,000 in phone costs and $26,000 in printing costs, according to a budget proposal compiled by the General Services Administration. This is on top of the $191,300/year pension he's already getting! That's the reward for goofing off his entire life and then going on to be the most disastrous 2 term president in this country's history. To think that we're laying off teachers and letting the country's infrastructure go to ruin in the name of "cutting wasteful spending." The biggest waste is in giving so much money to that loser.

The Need to Think

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country. Abraham Lincoln's Annual Message to Congress December 1, 1862 The recent episonde of "Frontline" about the Obama admin's handling of the financial meltdown, which could be considered a success after three years, although it is coming under attack from both the left and the right. The biggest question is why the Obama admin did not pursue deeper reform. While it's tempting to make Tim Geithner into the villain of the story, the real problem is how the Friedmanite dogma has been established; that the best economic policy is to keep corporate interests happy. This has been accepted as "received wisdom." Who has any new ideas. The Right, especially the "Tea Partiers," don't have any solution other than cockamamie ideas of bringing back the gold standard. On the Left there is mostly confusion. While the Occupy Movement is admirable in some ways there doesn't seem to be any coherent solution. Many in the Occupy movement identify themselves with something called "Post-Anarchism." These vague Utopian notions only lead to disappointment and despair, as seen with the New Left in the sixties and seventies. The real division isn't so much between Right and Left, but between those who refuse to think and those who think in purely abstract theoretical terms. What we need is someone who can come with ideas that actually yield results.

The Lesser Evil?

From now to November we're going to face a long and potentially nasty Presidential campaign. If we take the position that if there is no good alternative we must choose the lesser evil. The Obama vs. Romney battle will really not be that interesting given that both campaigns have bought into the "pro-business" read pro-corporate dogma. Romney thinks he already had the election won. Things aren't as bad as 1980 but not they're not as good as 1996 when Bill Clinton coasted to victory. Or maybe Romney hopes that a computer glitch in Florida will give the Supreme Court an excuse to throw the election to him. Obama in his neurotic desire to show that he's not an "angry black man" out to impose "African socialism" on America has signed the misleadingly named JOBs act. The "JObs" act will cause the next financial meltdown 5 to 7 years from now and sadly Obama will have to share some of the blame.

Rock and Roll is Dead and I Don't Feel So Good Myself

The Repub primary campaign is effectively over with Mitt Romney the winner. Surprise!
Attention is now shifting to the Repub sideshow, which includes various freaks like Ted Nugent. Nugent was a third tier rock musician from the 70's who became a gun nut after his career fizzled in the 80's. Lately he's emerged in a series of reality shows and most recently spoke at an NRA convention urging acts of violence against President Obama.

I like free speech as much as everyone else but even I draw the line at making violent threats against people. Some would argue that Nugent is showing the effects of too many mind altering drugs back in the 70's. In any case he's a bigger embarrassment than Ozzy Osbourne and Steven Tyler put together.

The sad part about this is that young people are getting the impression that rock and roll is the music of middle aged white reactionaries. Tempus fugit and all that I guess.

Problem Needs Attention

Recently a Border Patrol Agent Ricardo Montalvo and his girlfriend Carla Gonzalez Ortiz were arrested for smuggling guns and ammunition into Mexico. There have been several cases of corruption and misconduct in us law enforcement agencies that need to be addressed. There is the failed "Fast and Furious" operation. But Congressional Repubs seemt to be using it simply to score partisan points: the have offered no real solutions.

There should be an independent commission to investigate how much criminal organizations have penetrated u.s. law enforcement and what can be done about it. This is as great a threat to national security as any other.

The Hinge of Fate

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments over the Healthcare Reform Law. The law could have been defended by comparing it with the requirements to buy auto insurance. That this is a shared risk that everyone has to contribute. If the Court stikes down the individial mandate on the grounds that the government cannot require anybody to buy insurance then it could have dangerous repurcussions in other areas. In any case such a repeal would be a devastating blow to the Obama adminstration, and it would embolden the Right-wingers to go on the offensive.

Horror and Disgust

It's not my intention to keep documenting the crimes of the Roman Catholic Church (herein referred to as RCC). But new information has surfaced the can't be ignored.
It turns out that back in the 1950's ten boys were castrated at a Catholic boarding school in the Netherlands. The castrations were apparently done to "cure" the boys of homosexuality, but they were actually done to cover up sexual abuse by a Catholic priest.

The RCC has always operated by secrecy and deception, so it comes as no surprise that it should have committed so many disgusting things. It seems that the RCC knows no limits of evil. You wonder, should a religion like RCC be banned? Maybe if it has such a history of criminal behavior.

What Are You Doing to Yourself America?

That's what people began to say around 1970. It was about the time that the sordid reality of the My Lai massacre came out in public. Also it was becoming clear, after the invasion of Cambodia that any attempt to pursue "victory" would only result in more carnage. Prolonging the war was futile and it damaged this country in ways that have never been repaired.

Recently a US army Sgt. named Robert Bales went on a killing spree in Afghanistan, murdering 16 civilians. Bales was stationed at the Lewis-McChord base outside of Tacoma Wa. Lewis-McChord has been the site of several crimes.

*In 2010 three members of the Stryker Brigade were convicted of committing "thrill killings" of Afghan civilians.

*In January 2010 a soldier named Benjamin Colton Barnes was involved in a shooting, fled to Mount Ranier National Park where he shot and killed a park ranger. Barnes himself later died of exposure.

*Nov. 30. 2011 Pvt. Dakota Wolf murdered 19 year old Scarlett Paxton outside of her Kirkland Wa apartment by stabbing her to death.

*Feb. 2009 16 year old Leah King died after ingesting Xanax and oxymorphone by soldiers at the base.

*2010 Staff Sgt. Nathan Ryan Smith was convicted of raping two women.

It's time we asked. What are you doing to yourself America?

And Who Are You Claiming To Be?

Part of the fall out from the kerfuffle over contraception coverage is that Timothy Dolan, the obese buffoon who calls himself the Archbishop of New York is now calling for a "freedom of religion battle." Which sounds funny considering how the Roman Catholic Church itself has always been one of the biggest enemies of religious freedom. In fact considering that the RCC has a pretty squalid record of intolerance, torture, murder--genocide actually-- and of course pedophilia you'd think they would just shut up and not draw attention to themselves.

But the Catholic bishops now seem to be taking the position that "religious freedom" means that they only have to obey the laws that they agree with. These clowns need to understand that religious freedom is the right to worship and nothing more. Religious freedom doesn't give anybody the right to commit human sacrifice and cannibalism any more than the Fundamentalist latter day saints have the right to conduct marriages with underaged girls. Unless the RCC is going back to the position that they don't have to obey any "earthly" authority which is what got them into trouble in the first place.

The GOPer Apocalypse?

In an article published in New York magazine (2012 or never) Jonathan Chait writes how Repubs are warning that this year is the last chance to prevent America becoming a socialist, multicutlural state. The Repubs have so thoroughly identified themselves with white racism that they don't what to do with a country that is increasingly less "white" but also less Conservative. In the process, the Repubs and the whole Conservative "movement" have degenerated into a howling mob that must not be allowed to gain power.

The Clinton Paradox

PBS is running a 4 hour documentary on Bill Cliton. The biggest problem I have is that it's giving to much attention to the Monica Lewinsky imbroglio as if that were the significant even of his presidency. I never saw the big deal about it. So he fooled around on the side big woop. Consider too that the campaign to impeach Clinton was headed by philandering fakers like Newt Gingrich and Henry Hyde, the whole thing was nothing more than a Repub power play.

The real problem with the Clintons is that they were caught in the central misconception of the 90's; that we had reached "The End of History" one of whose corollaries was that politics had entered a "Post Ideological" age where politics would revolve around personalities. Given that mood it was perhaps inevitable that the political discourse would slide into mere tabloid scandal mongering.

We can now see that all this talk about "The End of History" and the "End of Ideology" was utterly wrong. Yet at the same time the 1990's may well be remembered as the last happy time in American History. Is it ironic or merely sad?

Mr. One Percent

Mitt Romney has taken to wearing flannel shirts in an unconvincing attempt to look like a "common man." It's hard for Romney to do the "regular guy" look. Unlike the Bushes he never learned to hide his arrogance and complacency behind a mask of faux folksiness.

Romney has lately taken to attacking the Obama administration's bail out of GM and Chrysler. Most of his argument is just warmed over Friedmanite dogma. It's reavealing however, that he complains how Chrysler's secured creditors were given as he puts it "short shrift" at the expense of the UAW trust fund. That shows what Romney's priorities are; Wall Street speculators, like himself, should always come first. Romney represents the One Percent of corporate fatcats and swindlers who have enriched themselves at our expense.

Let's Tell It Like It Is

The Susan G. Komen Foundation decided to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, until a public outcry forced them to change course. The instigator of all this was Karen Handel, the VP for Public Affairs and a long standing right-wing anti-abortion nut. Handel has since resigned from the Komen foundation but that leaves us wondering why they would have hired a speciment like her in the first place.

Anyway Handel is now making herself out to be the victim and the right-wing media has taken up her "cause." In fact Handel herself pressured the Komen Foundation to break with Planned Parenthood by scaring them with a right wing backlash. This just shows what specimens these anti-abortion fanatics are; liars, manipulators, terrorists, and murderers. They have no right to call themselves "pro-life." That is a grotesque misuse of language since the Nazis began to put "Arbeit Macht Frei" over then entrances to the death camps.

Pumpkinhead Resurgent

Newt Gingrich beat Mitt Romney in the GOP South Carolina primary. He's now posing as a "populist" bashing Romney for having money in Swiss bank accounts and other sins. Of course Gingrich himself has benefitted from influence peddling. Only he hasn't made quite as much money as Romney.

On the deeper level, it's getting harder for the GOP to claim that they stand for the "little people" while they push an economic agenda that only benefits a small class of speculators--like Romney and Gingrich.

Insanity or Stupidity?

There's a fashionable definition of insanity as "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." Personally, I think that's more indicative of stupidity. But in any case it does show a misguided stubborness, an unwillingness to learn, and to maintain that "It's going to work because it has to work."

The result of the recent elections in Egypt, in which the Islamist parties came out ahead, are frankly alarming. An Islamist regime in Egypt would not be terribly friendly to the US or Israel and would further destabilize the region. In fact the upshot of the "Arab Spring" has merely resulted in the demise of two pro-Western governments (Egypt and Tunisia) and the collapse of one regime (Libya) that for geographic reasons was especially vulnerable to Western pressure. Other than that it has only produced more violence and instability.

It seems that our foreign policy pundits don't get it that we shouldn't be messing in the internal affairs of other countries. The delusions of the Neo-Conservatives who dragged us into the mess in Iraq should have shown us that. These days nobody will admit to being a Neo-conservative, but the Foreing Policy elite still continue to act as if we can somehow control events in the rest of the world.

The only way we should "promote" democracy is by setting a good example in our own conduct. In that sense we are failing miserably.

The GOP Leadership Defecit

It seems that Mitt "I Like To Fire People" Romney has virtually locked up the GOP nomination for President. His narrow win in Iowa and New Hampshire have given him the momentum. The other contenders--Gingrich, Santorum-- might claim they still have a chance but they don't have the staying power to beat Romney. Most Repubs may not like Romney but he is the least objectionable candidate, if only because he's neither a kook or a crackpot. At the same time it's clear that Romney can only win the Presidential election if there's an economic downturn and/or a foreign policy debacle.

The GOP has been having a Leadership defecit ever since the late 80's. They have become the Bush dynasty party (word is that if the Repubs lose this year's Presidential race Jeb Bush will become the GOP front runner for 2016). Their crude anti-government ideaology has not only left them without policy ideas, it has also turned them into flunkies of corporate interests.