Here it is, Thanksgiving weekend. There are, I’m sure, about a bazillion people writing, blogging and talking about what they are thankful for, so I will jump into the fray and mention one very important thing for which I’m am grateful and will continue to give thanks.
I am so thankful for me and those who are much more eloquent than I to be able to write blogs giving constructive criticism about our government without fear of reprisals (a caveat: as yet).
As far as I’m concerned this country has gone to hell in a hand basket for about the last thirty years. I see really not much radical change for the better in the ensuing Obama administration; however, like so many others I’m willing to establish a wait and see attitude. I see Barack Obama as a very astute and bright person. I truly hope he can resist the tremendous pressure he will be under by the Washington, D.C. establishment, the financial institutions and the military industrial complex. I have my doubts, but we’ll see…
But back to my point. Though I’m am so grateful for not having to worry about “Someone in Authority” violently knocking on my door for criticizing The Powers That Be (TPTB), I see a crack in the dyke that could spell big trouble. I’m referring to CNN reporter Drew Griffin. It appears that Mr. Griffin was suddenly on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) watch list after he aired a report criticizing the TSA about having over 1,000,000 people on said watch list. Since that report, every time that Mr. Griffin tries to board an aircraft, he is “detained.” Right after the report this began happening. Hmmm… Sounds like a reprisal to me. Of course, the TSA denies any connection. Right…and there is an Easter Bunny.
Sadly, I can imagine that there is this powerful search engine utilized by the government culling through the blogosphere looking for keywords/phrases that might target negative viewpoints of those not in agreement with TPTB. We need to be sure that we identify any activity by the government against people such as Mr. Griffin, and expose it loudly. We cannot let this slip by under the radar.
I want to be thankful every day that I can freely comment on our country both positively and negatively without negative repercussions for decades to come.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
All Are Equal Under the Law
There is an article on Yahoo! News that just came out about 15 minutes ago. The headline reads: “Obama advisers: No charges likely vs interrogators”
Within the body of the article was a quote from an interview by Vermont Public Radio. When asked if Bush administration officials would face war crimes, Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Senate Judiciary Chairman said, “In the United States, no.”
In addition, “two Obama advisors said there’s little – if any – chance that the incoming president’s Justice Department will go after anyone involved in authorizing or carrying out interrogations that provided worldwide outrage.”
This is despicable! No way should anyone who perpetrated these atrocities not be held accountable. I cannot believe this injustice. This is just a furtherance of “The Powers That Be” throughout the decades enabling current administrations to flaunt the law with impunity, knowing that at the end, they will be held unaccountable by the successors. I’m convinced there is some kind of “Gentlemen’s Agreement” that when leaving office the next regime will “move forward and forget the past” and ignore any egregious behavior that’s been perpetrated on the citizens of the world by their predecessors.
However, there are those who are not going to roll over on this. Again, from the article:
“But Michael Ratner, a professor at Columbia Law School and president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, said prosecuting Bush officials is necessary to set future anti-torture policy.
‘The only way to prevent this from happening again is to make sure that those who were responsible for the torture program pay the price for it,’ Ratner said. ‘I don’t see how we regain our moral stature by allowing those who were intimately involved in the torture programs to simply walk off the stage and lead lives where they are not held accountable.’”
My sentiments EXACTLY! This is not about revenge or retribution. This is about ALL men and women being held accountable for their actions. No one is above the law, including presidents or ex-presidents or their staffs. At least I thought so in these United States.
The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal.” This does not mean (to borrow from George Orwell) some are more equal than others. Are we to be brainwashed into thinking that these are “Very Important People” with “Very Important Problems” that must be solved regardless of method? Then not worry about what they did to whom and who may have suffered and/or died from these outlaw policies because we “must move forward”? Forget about the past? What’s that about those forgetting the past being condemned to repeat it?
Are we really going to allow us sheep to be shorn by these "Very Important People"? We sheep should just go shopping and let the “Very Important People” take care of business in whatever manner they choose – without oversight?
We must not fall back on the mantra that there are “more Important Issues ahead,” and we must “not dwell on the past.” This sets a bad precedent for the future, letting the soon-to-be “Powers That Be” know they can do whatever they want, and we sheep will just blithely agree that the “past is past” and the “Important Issues” are more pressing than accountability. Is anyone confident that a sitting President (including Barack Obama come January) will “do the right thing” and we should just “trust him,” with whatever he chooses to do because he is a “good guy”?
This is absolutely counter to what our country is all about. All of us should exercise due diligence in overseeing our leaders. Believe it or not, they work for us and, in theory, are supposed to promote OUR general welfare and let US enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, not just the corporate elite or military industrial complex.
Within the body of the article was a quote from an interview by Vermont Public Radio. When asked if Bush administration officials would face war crimes, Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Senate Judiciary Chairman said, “In the United States, no.”
In addition, “two Obama advisors said there’s little – if any – chance that the incoming president’s Justice Department will go after anyone involved in authorizing or carrying out interrogations that provided worldwide outrage.”
This is despicable! No way should anyone who perpetrated these atrocities not be held accountable. I cannot believe this injustice. This is just a furtherance of “The Powers That Be” throughout the decades enabling current administrations to flaunt the law with impunity, knowing that at the end, they will be held unaccountable by the successors. I’m convinced there is some kind of “Gentlemen’s Agreement” that when leaving office the next regime will “move forward and forget the past” and ignore any egregious behavior that’s been perpetrated on the citizens of the world by their predecessors.
However, there are those who are not going to roll over on this. Again, from the article:
“But Michael Ratner, a professor at Columbia Law School and president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, said prosecuting Bush officials is necessary to set future anti-torture policy.
‘The only way to prevent this from happening again is to make sure that those who were responsible for the torture program pay the price for it,’ Ratner said. ‘I don’t see how we regain our moral stature by allowing those who were intimately involved in the torture programs to simply walk off the stage and lead lives where they are not held accountable.’”
My sentiments EXACTLY! This is not about revenge or retribution. This is about ALL men and women being held accountable for their actions. No one is above the law, including presidents or ex-presidents or their staffs. At least I thought so in these United States.
The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal.” This does not mean (to borrow from George Orwell) some are more equal than others. Are we to be brainwashed into thinking that these are “Very Important People” with “Very Important Problems” that must be solved regardless of method? Then not worry about what they did to whom and who may have suffered and/or died from these outlaw policies because we “must move forward”? Forget about the past? What’s that about those forgetting the past being condemned to repeat it?
Are we really going to allow us sheep to be shorn by these "Very Important People"? We sheep should just go shopping and let the “Very Important People” take care of business in whatever manner they choose – without oversight?
We must not fall back on the mantra that there are “more Important Issues ahead,” and we must “not dwell on the past.” This sets a bad precedent for the future, letting the soon-to-be “Powers That Be” know they can do whatever they want, and we sheep will just blithely agree that the “past is past” and the “Important Issues” are more pressing than accountability. Is anyone confident that a sitting President (including Barack Obama come January) will “do the right thing” and we should just “trust him,” with whatever he chooses to do because he is a “good guy”?
This is absolutely counter to what our country is all about. All of us should exercise due diligence in overseeing our leaders. Believe it or not, they work for us and, in theory, are supposed to promote OUR general welfare and let US enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, not just the corporate elite or military industrial complex.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The First 100 Minutes
I’m really glad that Barack Obama defeated John McCain. This is a great day for the United States of America. I can’t be prouder that “We, the People,” resoundingly shut down this horrible right wing oligarchy, albeit temporarily. We must always be alert for this kind of behavior in the future.
It is over two months now before President-elect Obama is sworn in. He should use this time judiciously. I believe this is what he must do. Spend the two months planning very carefully, then right after his swearing in ceremony, go directly to the Oval Office and:
1. Immediately issue the order to cease all hostilities in Iraq, Afghanistan and any other sovereign nation that we don’t know about. Establish a strict, defensive posture and DO NOT allow one more drop of blood be spilled by our troops or the Iraqi civilians due to our aggression. The order for complete withdrawal of ALL our forces in the fastest time possible should be given.
2. Immediately issue the order to shut down Guantanamo Bay and all “Black” prisons around the world immediately. We must give due process to all those interred. Water boarding will be deemed torture. All stress induced manner of interrogations will be reviewed and strictly supervised by proper authorities, even if it means some kind of international oversight. The phrase “Enemy Combatant” and its concept shall be stricken from executive policy FOREVER.
3. Immediately issue the order to establish a Committee, Commission, Special Prosecutor, World Court or whatever to investigate George Bush and his outlaw administration for “high crimes and misdemeanors” including war crimes and murder. Then prosecute the bastards to the fullest extent of the law. And I don’t want to hear from President Obama or anybody else “We need to look forward, the past is past” type of crap. Any citizen of the United States from the President on down should be held accountable for violating our laws. Allowing this egregious behavior to pass without accountability sets a very ugly precedent for any future abuses of Power.
President Obama has just over two months to prepare for these implementations. I hope he does the right thing.
It is over two months now before President-elect Obama is sworn in. He should use this time judiciously. I believe this is what he must do. Spend the two months planning very carefully, then right after his swearing in ceremony, go directly to the Oval Office and:
1. Immediately issue the order to cease all hostilities in Iraq, Afghanistan and any other sovereign nation that we don’t know about. Establish a strict, defensive posture and DO NOT allow one more drop of blood be spilled by our troops or the Iraqi civilians due to our aggression. The order for complete withdrawal of ALL our forces in the fastest time possible should be given.
2. Immediately issue the order to shut down Guantanamo Bay and all “Black” prisons around the world immediately. We must give due process to all those interred. Water boarding will be deemed torture. All stress induced manner of interrogations will be reviewed and strictly supervised by proper authorities, even if it means some kind of international oversight. The phrase “Enemy Combatant” and its concept shall be stricken from executive policy FOREVER.
3. Immediately issue the order to establish a Committee, Commission, Special Prosecutor, World Court or whatever to investigate George Bush and his outlaw administration for “high crimes and misdemeanors” including war crimes and murder. Then prosecute the bastards to the fullest extent of the law. And I don’t want to hear from President Obama or anybody else “We need to look forward, the past is past” type of crap. Any citizen of the United States from the President on down should be held accountable for violating our laws. Allowing this egregious behavior to pass without accountability sets a very ugly precedent for any future abuses of Power.
President Obama has just over two months to prepare for these implementations. I hope he does the right thing.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Same Old...Same Old
I’m writing this two days before the 2008 Presidential election. I’m mentioning this so that the reader (most likely only me) of the future can have a perspective of my viewpoint once the mists of time fade the immediacy of the post.
It appears that Barack Obama has the election well in hand. However, knowing the tenacity of the Republican “win at all cost” attitude, this certainly can’t be written in stone. If McCain were to win, we will continue the horrible path we’ve been on for the last eight years. “Maverick” does not wash with me at all, and, thankfully the vast majority of the population. Since January of 08, I maintained that McCain would win in a narrow victory. I believe his poor handling of the recent and ongoing economy debacle plus his pick of Sarah Palin as his VP running mate sank him big time.
Unfortunately, I really don’t see much of a radical change in an Obama administration.
Here’s what I see. Obama has already advocated a “Permanent War” mindset (i.e., more troops to Afghanistan) which practically no one has dared to vocally dispute. Of course, this pleases the Military/Industrial Complex, so he is serving those masters. He re-authorized the Patriot Act in 2005.
During the Primary Run, he was adamantly opposed to the FISA bill, yet when he won the Democratic Ticket, he proceeded to vote for the bill. He voted for the $750 Billion bailout bill, that the financial institutions are now jockeying to consolidate their positions and buying up smaller banks with the money instead of helping out the mortgage crisis. He’s for the Death Penalty, “Clean” Coal (Give me a break!) and Nuclear Power.
These certainly are not radical departures from our current situation. Obama will be under a huge amount of pressure from the multinational corporations and the aforesaid Military/Industrial Complex to accede to their demands. I don’t see him successfully resisting that pressure.
Finally, Bush has established immense power to the Presidency. Very close to totalitarianism courtesy the meek and mild Congress. I really don’t think anyone inheriting that power is going to beneficently give it all back. The prolific signing statements exempting the President from laws will continue, the feckless Congress will obligingly give Obama whatever he wants, and the band plays on…
I do believe he is a better choice than McCain, but I’m not leaping in the air and clicking my heels about it.
Bottom Line? “Meet the new boss…”
One last thing – what’s with the countdown clock to the first closing of polls on the cable channels? This is supposed to lend an air of “drama” to the election? Do these bozos really think that people are concentrating on the clock, waiting with breathless anticipation for it to hit zero? Like, a “clock” will increase their ratings over another cable news station? This is ludicrous!
I propose that a countdown clock should only be used to count down the last days/hours/minutes/seconds of the state-sanctioned murdering of another human being, then televising the actual event in “living” color. The death penalty is done for the “People,” is it not? Then let the “People” have a good gander at this execrable behavior of society! Pathetic…
It appears that Barack Obama has the election well in hand. However, knowing the tenacity of the Republican “win at all cost” attitude, this certainly can’t be written in stone. If McCain were to win, we will continue the horrible path we’ve been on for the last eight years. “Maverick” does not wash with me at all, and, thankfully the vast majority of the population. Since January of 08, I maintained that McCain would win in a narrow victory. I believe his poor handling of the recent and ongoing economy debacle plus his pick of Sarah Palin as his VP running mate sank him big time.
Unfortunately, I really don’t see much of a radical change in an Obama administration.
Here’s what I see. Obama has already advocated a “Permanent War” mindset (i.e., more troops to Afghanistan) which practically no one has dared to vocally dispute. Of course, this pleases the Military/Industrial Complex, so he is serving those masters. He re-authorized the Patriot Act in 2005.
During the Primary Run, he was adamantly opposed to the FISA bill, yet when he won the Democratic Ticket, he proceeded to vote for the bill. He voted for the $750 Billion bailout bill, that the financial institutions are now jockeying to consolidate their positions and buying up smaller banks with the money instead of helping out the mortgage crisis. He’s for the Death Penalty, “Clean” Coal (Give me a break!) and Nuclear Power.
These certainly are not radical departures from our current situation. Obama will be under a huge amount of pressure from the multinational corporations and the aforesaid Military/Industrial Complex to accede to their demands. I don’t see him successfully resisting that pressure.
Finally, Bush has established immense power to the Presidency. Very close to totalitarianism courtesy the meek and mild Congress. I really don’t think anyone inheriting that power is going to beneficently give it all back. The prolific signing statements exempting the President from laws will continue, the feckless Congress will obligingly give Obama whatever he wants, and the band plays on…
I do believe he is a better choice than McCain, but I’m not leaping in the air and clicking my heels about it.
Bottom Line? “Meet the new boss…”
One last thing – what’s with the countdown clock to the first closing of polls on the cable channels? This is supposed to lend an air of “drama” to the election? Do these bozos really think that people are concentrating on the clock, waiting with breathless anticipation for it to hit zero? Like, a “clock” will increase their ratings over another cable news station? This is ludicrous!
I propose that a countdown clock should only be used to count down the last days/hours/minutes/seconds of the state-sanctioned murdering of another human being, then televising the actual event in “living” color. The death penalty is done for the “People,” is it not? Then let the “People” have a good gander at this execrable behavior of society! Pathetic…
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