No Direction Home

The quiet discerning migration of cowboy diplomacy has awakened a ghost almost no one thought possible. I believe we are stepping into an era that makes us more than unliked (Reagan/Bush years) or an era that we were just in recovery (Carter/Mondale) to an era that we are losing the respect of world (Bush/Cheney).

We own more and more money to China as we continue to finance our whimsical fact finding democracy building terrorist yielding good will alienating fantasies in the Middle East.

We have been silent on Israel’s bombing of Lebanon as if we gave them the go ahead. We reach again to the intangible; I somehow find hope that God will turn a focus onto George W. Bush and Co. and right the ship…

With all this going on; we have time to stop and smell the roses and attempt to pass what failed six years ago a anti-internet gambling bill that turns a blind eye to the more corrupt aspects of gambling.

Let us not concern ourselves with such noble causes such as civil liberties, privacy nor the future generations mounting debt. Let us pave the way for governmental kick backs to the pharmacy continue as we can the legalized drug addiction.

Let’s increase the probability for people to increase their debts on credit cards. Let’s subsidize the oil companies so the tax payer pays double and congress can golf in Europe for free.

Where can we find extra money…how about cutting funding for student loans and passing the cost onto the students!!

Let’s continue the rape while those of the unlucky inferior classes wither and die. Yes it is good to be the king…especially royalty in America.

Let’s not correct illegal immigration; let’s make it worse. Yeah baby…

Let us not use common sense or wisdom let us follow a doctrine of stubbornness and short sightedness.

Hey George – if I stand up… will you stand down? I think he said, “Trust me…”

Are we there yet?

I don’t mean this in an instant gratification must have results yesterday fashion. I mean this in a progress is steady going backwards and no one in this administration seems to want to notice or act like anything needs to be done about it.

There are debates about whether the MSM spends too much time on the hostilities in country Iraq. If there were positive actions happening, say if Baghdad had electricity for 24 hours straight or if gas prices didn’t go up every day; one might be inclined to give the benefit of the doubt.

Even past administrations that I did not particularly care for seemed to acknowledge that problems exist. Even Daddy Bush did acknowledge a stagnant growth in the economy.

We can justify all ills. We can allow the right to blame Bill Clinton for his wrongs however irrational that is.

But can we sit by while we accept fear and retaliation for policies that damage the entire globe?

As I spoke before the United States would have to be overcome with a sense of need. We would need to take a good long hard look at ourselves in the proverbial mirror to ask ourselves if we are still proud and confident as a nation of conscietious minded folks.

Or do we agree with the slaughter of innocents? Do we approve of the standard of living that the poorest of the poor live in? Is it fine for this congress to permanently roll back tax credits to the richest of the rich and still refuse to raise the minimum wage?

What of empowerment zones? What of the corrupt loaning practices of housing developers what of the inadequacies in oversight?

I could go on and on but as screaming deaf mute all I would be doing is being seamy.

Not that anyone is surprised by this but guess what? Barrel of crude over $75.00.

There are plenty of rumors out there one is that Fidel Castro is dead and the other is ther Rudi is going to run in 2008 if his ex wife lets him and New Yorkers don’t remember that they didn’t really like him that much.

The other big news next week will be the G8 Summit. In case you want to know more about it…just don’t piss off Putin…he ain’t taking no crap these days…

David Broder thinks he knows what Bush will be thinking on the plane ride…I think it is more about his fishing buddy than what Dave thinks.

Speaking of 2008 I have my recommendations…and it should be Al Gore and Bob Graham. Rolling Stone magazine has a really good article on big Al.

Speaking of Al; Joe usually comes to mind. He’s been on everybodies mind lately. Joe Conason has more reasons why the little people of Vermont might not like Joe too much anymore. Personally; I just wish Joe would shut up and be that annoying Chihuahua that he was before Gore promoted him. I said it…Go Away Joe Lieberman. Win your Senate seat and then shut up and actually be a Democrat.

Oh yeah, Joe has an idea about ending our oil addiction…you tell em Joe.

This is an article about America’s Negative Image around the world.

Max Boot asks the question about Bush policy…

Larry Wilkerson pushes the envelop some more on torture he seems to think we have been doing something we ought’t.

bully…

The New Peace part the third

‘Just slip out the back Jack make a new plan Stan, don’t need to be coy Roy…listen to me’

I have some more links to some stories that were out there this morning concerning

Privacy…

Liberal Christianity

that pesky Banking Story

and something from William F. Buckley Jr.

not a lot of red meat…yesterday’s posts have a lot of data if you are wanting to be informed about North Korea or the current changes in Foreign Policy…

…bully…

The New Peace part the second

Either because it is so hard to let go of or because it seems that everyone is so hot these days about it; but the Administration has been playing hard and fast with the facts and the trust and the lives of the American people for five years now.

We as a Republic and have stood by while we have been made fools out of; we continue like any good self abuser to continue on because as the song goes we as a nation have low self esteem.

Why? Because we have accepted our fate? We have chose fear over courage; deceit over truth and lies over facts. We blame the past...we ignore the present and hope for the future. Yes ~ we are depressed as a nation. We are a nation at peace with the role we are playing. We are over taxed, over worked and under appreciated… and that is just the military by the Commander-In-Chief.

We concern ourselves more with other people’s privacy, ignore our civil rights and diminish our security for the future. We kill innocent people, deny our own people what we provide to other nations and we allow our bigotry to resolve us with a feeling that we are correct in our beliefs.

We the people of the United States of America…

‘I say nothing about my prisons nor the millions of underprivileged who live in my flowerpots under the light of five hundred suns… America this is the impression I get from looking in the television set. America is this correct? I better get right down to the job.’

Nothing like Ginsberg to get the blood going eh? That was written in the 1950s and I bet with just changing a few words I could make is sound eerily like now. You may say one can do that with many things…but I’m just replacing certain nouns…not the genuine meaning. …all we are saying… is give peace a chance… if you say that too loud you will get a blanket party or shot and be accused of being homosexual… believe it.

I’m letting the rhetoric fly a little bit sure…but I’m trying to illustrate a point. It’s easy to lob bombs from over here; it is easy to justify our way of life, we always say we wouldn’t want to live any other way…but we never really think about what it would be like to live any other way. Yes America… you should be proud of yourself… you’ve really done it this time.

Anyhow…

I have lots of links my friends…lots of links…good stuff…from all sides…

Here they are…

Anthony Cordesman

Fred Kaplan Rolling Blunder

and then here is revisionist history

Missile Defense in Asia

Reconstructing Iraq

Fruity Newty

The End of the Bush Revolution

Something from RAND

Something from Cato

That disappearing Middle Class

Something from Center Stragtegic Leadership

and last but not least…Shine On You Crazy Diamond

The New Peace

part the first

There were several articles this week describing the new foreign policy philosophy of the POTUS. It goes something like this…

Give Peace A Chance
John Lennon & Paul McCartney

Two, one two three four
Ev'rybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m.

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

C'mon
Ev'rybody's talking about Ministers,
Sinisters, Banisters and canisters
Bishops and Fishops and Rabbis and Pop eyes,
And bye bye, bye byes.

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

Let me tell you now

Ev'rybody's talking about
Revolution, evolution, masturbation,
flagellation, regulation, integrations,
meditations, United Nations,
Congratulations.

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

Ev'rybody's talking about
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary,
Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper,
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer,
Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna,
Hare, Hare Krishna

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

etc.

Ah… just kidding. It’s pretty funny…you got to admit. Bush up there talking about how diplomacy takes time. All the stories about how we botched Iraq and how the Taliban is making a new run for power…etc. Georgie boy is putting flowers in his hair. You got to love it.

Seriously folks. We’re f***ed. I don’t know how to put it any other way. I was reading about the Detroit riots the other day. I read about the decaying city at the time and how the ‘things’ seemed to be. I was surprised that it was not much different today.

One of the striking issues was how the industry fled the city back in those days. Yesterday I read in a post that the Bush folks wanted to stop at an industrial site in the Loop while they were in Chicago. They were told that there were no such places in Chicago and haven’t been for nearly 100 years.

Then I thought about my town…

…all we are saying …

I believe we will soon know what it is like to be an Iraqi citizen because well; we’ll be living like one. Not that I mean that in its most meanest sense, I just mean…$3.00 a gallon for gasoline…etc. I won’t be surprised if people start getting restless soon.

Don’t get me wrong… I’m not advocating anything and I’m not saying that we can’t recover from the mess wrought by this company of thieves. I’m just saying that it’s gonna suck and the wrong people will probably end up getting blamed.

I wonder if even changing the congress will even matter. We need a major change in philosophy that I don’t think is possible for this country. But I have hope...

Hell, if the Bushies can start singing Lennon/McCartney tunes…anything is possible?

Tonight is a night of American pastime. The All-Star Game. There seems to be a lot of new young good players…probably worth a look.

I have a story on the new poet laureate. I’ve been a fan of his for a long time.

I have some international thoughts on the global War on Terror.

Then there is Ken Lay.

And just some old news (propaganda take your pick) on oil.

Perhaps more later…

Bully…