Tannishblog

Increasingly over the past year, lyrics from an old Elvis Costello song arise, unbidden, from my sub conscience. The concept of the End of Days is becoming more real to me.

I’m no born-again evangelist - far from it; I don’t see a Christian Rapture in our future. I can’t help feeling, though, that people inclined to such concepts may be stacking the deck toward Armageddon just so they can stand in the ashes of civilization and scream "I told you so!"

Our teetering toward disaster coincides well with the rise in power of the Christian Right in America. Indeed, it is the policies and business interests of the God-fearing that brought us fiscal insolvency of banking institutions and corporate socialism, two un-winnable wars and a bankrupt nation. I am reminded of George Warmonger Bush in 2000 telling the press he answers to a higher father than his biological sire. I think he got his deities confused. Based upon the decisions made, our Despot-in-Chief may be chatting up the wrong dude.

Being the self-proclaimed "Decider," GWB has become the fall guy for failed policy, but he’s had plenty of help. Since November 2006, when the Democrats in congress became the majority again, I have painfully witnessed the duplicity of my Party-of-Choice. As exemplified by Nancy Pelosi’s treasonous refusal to hold our government accountable for demonstrable criminal tactics, I acknowledge the hard truth: We’re Doomed.

Even our media’s Favorite Son cannot deliver redemption to our broken civilization. Not without hard sacrifices by every American can we expect our nation to repair itself. Given the willful self-delusion of most of us, the self-absorption and greed, I can’t see that happening. no-one will sacrifice they’re lifestyle, if we can continue to pretend that lifestyle is not bourn upon the backs of the poorest nations on earth. As much as I like, and will vote for, Obama, redemption is not in his power.

I can hear the distant screams of the steeds of the four horsemen. You can too if you listen…

As DailyKos notes: Its a Great Day to Be Obama. Super delegates flock to his side. Some Super Delegates are more super than others…

Even Ron Paul, that other mover and shaker of the status quo, grudgingly admits Barack is the most likely candidate to halt the Iraqi Debacle.

I have always noticed a direct correlation between the frequency of a candidate’s name being mentioned in the press and the likelihood of that candidate gaining the White House. Even as a kid, I have correctly guessed the winner in a presidential election. This time, barring a Robert Kennedy moment, Barack is our man. And I will bet anything that Hillary is betting on a Robert Kennedy moment - at this point, it’s her only chance. Such is the cynicism inherent in the Clinton mindset.

Poor girl…

I know I keep swearing off of political blog postings. But all other aspects of life become trivial in the shadow of the colossal catastrophe that is the Bush Administration. Nothing can compare with that. So. I reiterate a chart, initiated by Moveon.org that illustrates the actual changes in the lives of real Americans. Read it and weep.

And then there’s the tally of lies told to a gullible public prior to the illegal invasion of Iraq: totaled at 935. Included is a handy chart of peak falsehoods. I am constantly amazed by the hubris of our elected officials, and the compiling evidence that no one in the White House gives a damn about integrity, honesty, or - the least of all - being civil servants.

Truly astounding.

The real reason GWB went to the Middle East.

An American Intellectual speaks out.

We’re not afraid enough - now we need to worry about CyberArmageddon

Lastly for today: Maybe oil prices aren’t what we should be monititoring.

Accuse me of fear mongering. But some concerns ought to be shared.

Yesterday in Abu Dhabi, during President Bush’s  Your Next Iran Mideast Tour, he urges Allies (do we still have any?) to confront Iran "before it’s too late." He’s playing the Iran Sea Confrontation Hoax for all he’s worth, squeezing it dry. Luckily for us, his net worth is sinking rapidly. (And you thought Ronald Reagan was the only Actor-turned-President we’ve ever had.)

The article linked above also says this:

Chiding U.S. allies who have withheld civil liberties, Bush said governments will never build trust by harassing or imprisoning candidates and protesters. But his rebuke was general, and he did not single out any U.S. partner in the region for oppressive practices.

"You cannot expect people to believe in the promise of a better future when they are jailed for peacefully petitioning their government," Bush said. "And you cannot stand up a modern, confident nation when you do not allow people to voice their legitimate criticisms."

That’s an interesting statement. Especially so when juxtaposed with this article:

Eighty people were arrested at the Supreme Court Friday in a protest calling for the shutdown of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Demonstrators wearing orange jump suits intended to simulate prison garb were arrested inside and outside the building. “Shut it down,” protesters chanted as others kneeled on the plaza in front of the court.

They were charged with violating an ordinance that prohibits demonstrations of any kind on court grounds. Those arrested inside the building also were charged under a provision that makes it a crime to give “a harangue or oration” in the Supreme Court building.

The maximum penalty is 60 days in jail, a fine or both.

A strange and timely convergence of facts.

“A kinder, gentler nation.” Remember those words? What ever happened to that idea?

Notwithstanding the absurdity of using such a phrase as political rhetoric, I remain partial to the idea - especially these days. It’s a bitter irony the utterer of those words is also responsible for the man who, as president, is presiding over the opposite national direction. One could say that all Presidents since Eisenhower have been steering our nation in that direction. The only difference is Our Mr. Bush has a deficit of subtlety.

Being kinder and gentler has its place, even in politics. Perhaps that is why Barack Obama surfaced as the Democratic winner in Iowa yesterday. The man exudes kindness and gentility. (being the most telegenic candidate by fair amount can’t hurt, either.)

While the O-man is not my favorite, I believe he is more electable than any other. Charisma is a large part of game, and Barack’s gleaming smile and steady confidence has projected him far already. And, I believe in his rhetoric about compromise. Having worked within the Illinois congress, he’s had a fair amount of challenge working for his constituency: Illinois being a Red State with a Blue lesion growing on it’s northeast corner. Hammering out the details is old hat even for such a youthful politician.

Dennis Kucinick is not so young, and he also has that Kinder, Gentler Nation aura. He’s my pick for the Presidency, although I suspect I’ll only get to vote for him in the Primaries. America is not about to elect a man that believes in Strength Through Peace. A flash flood of wisdom is unlikely to penetrate the grass roots of Political Ideology anytime soon.

But a man can dream, can’t he?

Or for a still unlikely - yet more realistic - fantasy, let’s Have Barack pick Dennis as his running mate when he accepts the nomination at the Democratic Convention. That would be amazing! Enter the Age of Carebear Politics. That thought is so “out there” even I can’t imagine the repercussions. But leading the world from the heart must be better than leading the world from the ass.

Put THAT in your pipe and smoke it.

Two headlines placed next to each other in the Washington Post’s daily email caught my eye. For clarity I’ll also include the first paragraph of each story - no more needs saying.

Bush Signs Domestic Spending Bill but Criticizes Pet Projects

WACO, Tex., Dec. 26 — President Bush signed a $555 billion domestic spending bill into law Wednesday, but not without taking a swipe at Congress for including pet projects that total about $10 billion.

Wars Cost $15 Billion a Month, GOP Senator Says

The latest estimate of the growing costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the worldwide battle against terrorism — nearly $15 billion a month — came last week from one of the Senate’s leading proponents of a continued U.S. military presence in Iraq.

wow……..

Clipped from rougegovernment.com:

1,000 Attempt Citizen’s Arrest Of Bush

As George Bush made his appearance and speech today at the United Nations in NYC, 1,000 people issued a citizen’s arrest warrant against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

[…]

The idea of citizen’s arrest has its roots in common law, and allows for any citizen to execute an arrest on someone who they witness committing a felony offense. All states in the United States allow for citizen’s arrest, except for North Carolina, which follows different statutes. Those undertaking a citizen’s arrest can still be held liable in civil or criminal court for any damages they inflict in the process. However, they have full rights to detain and arrest a suspect who they witness in commission of a felony.

Applicable felonies in this case include, but are not limited to: treason, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice, perjury, conspiracy malfeasance in office, fraud, embezzlement, and kidnapping.

Under established international and military law, also, the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity, for which, as commander in chief, Bush bears command responsibility for the actions of those under his command as well as for his own policies.

Under the principles of the Nuremburg Trials at the end of World War Two, Bush would be indictable for all four counts established back then:

1. Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of crime against peace;

2. Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace;

3. War crimes;

4. Crimes against humanity.

While the efforts of citizens today to serve an arrest warrant on Bush failed, be advised: the warrant stands. Please do you duty, and try at every opportunity to bring this criminal to justice.

Freaking brilliant. Nothing will ever come of it, though. But I applaud your efforts!

Well, that was short-lived.

For a bit I was scaring myself getting glassy-eyed over a Republican presidential candidate. Ron Paul says some very compelling things that his netizen echo chamber is happy to crow, but I found Daniel Miessler, a pro-Paul blogger honest enough to list some of the more troubling statements made by the man.

Here’s the bullet points. Daniel explains them better than I could:

He Doesn’t Believe in the Separation of Church and State
No More Federal Environmental Protection.
He’s Against Abortion and Would Like to See Roe vs. Wade Overturned.
He Doesn’t Believe The Evidence for Man-Made Global Warming Is Convincing.

I can almost hear you… “Well, yeah. He’s Republican. Duh!”

I deserve it. I’m dutifully putting my optimist back in his padded cell. there is no Holy Grail, there is no Santa Claus, and there is no candidate who will speak with the peoples voice. Perhaps there never has been. Surely the cadre of millionaires currently stepping forward will not represent us. I know this in my heart, and still let my foolish self prevail.

I’m through with that now.

Today’s Washington Post reports on the resurgence of Al-Qaida. They haven’t been sitting idle while We’ve been distracted by George Bush’s Excellent Iraqi Adventure. On the contrary; while the American Media has been obsessed with the scene in New Halliburton, our "friends" in Nuclear Pakistan have been harboring terrorists. Remember Bush’s tough talk about nation who would stoop so low?  How we wouldn’t tolerate that? Just another in the long list of little white lies emanating from the White House.

Dodging the U.S. military in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, al-Qaeda Central reconstituted itself across the Pakistani border, returning to the rugged tribal areas surrounding the organization’s birthplace, the dusty frontier city of Peshawar. In the first few years, Pakistani and U.S. authorities captured many senior leaders; in the past 18 months, no major figure has been killed or caught in Pakistan.

As for the War on Terrorism ™, we’ve had the same luck as we’ve had on the War on Drugs ™ or the War on Poverty ™; bad luck. In fact, I can’t remember American winning a war since Korea. We did win that one, right? It seems the days of America winning all of its wars is long past.

Today, al-Qaeda operates much the way it did before 2001. The network is governed by a shura, or leadership council, that meets regularly and reports to bin Laden, who continues to approve some major decisions, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official. About 200 people belong to the core group and many receive regular salaries, another senior U.S. intelligence official said.

"They do appear to meet with a frequency that enables them to act as an organization and not just as a loose bunch of guys," the second official said.

We’ve been led to believe otherwise:

"Thanks to President Musharraf’s leadership, on the al-Qaeda front we’ve dismantled the chief operators," Bush said. Although bin Laden was still at large, his lieutenants were "no longer a threat to the United States or Pakistan," Bush added.

But then as Keith Olberman noted, the President has been "playing" us.

Six months later, Musharraf was nearly killed in an assassination attempt by al-Qaeda operatives. Shortly afterward, a group of al-Qaeda leaders held a summit of their own in the Pakistani region of Waziristan, where they plotted fresh attacks thousands of miles away in Britain, including targets in London and financial institutions in the United States, according to Pakistani officials.

Many U.S., Pakistani and European intelligence officials now agree that al-Qaeda’s ability to launch operations around the globe didn’t diminish after the invasion of Afghanistan as much as previously thought.

As American’s learned during the Cold War (did we win that one?), a government can get  away with anything once a "clear and present danger" can be seen to exist. As we’ve learned to our dismay during this presidency, the danger need not be real. Repeat after me: "Weapons of Mass Destruction." Very good.

Al-Qaida is a real threat. Perhaps that’s why we let Osama Bin Laden escape into the unruly hills of Pakistan, so our leaders can perpetuate the Cold War mentality among the American people so lucrative to what’s left of America’s industrial base, i.e. the Defense Industry.

So as long as the bullet makers need to sell bullets, America needs a bad guy - a bogeyman - to sell to its voters as a National Security threat. If enough people fear, not leeway is given lawmakers to erode freedom, promote questionable business practices abroad, and to invade sovereign nations. If the people fear enough, America can be morphed into a police state in the mane of Homeland Security. That is not the America the veterans of World War Two we’re dying for.

Let us not forget that the last nation that rallied its people "for the Fatherland," used the same tactics we see today. Zieg Heil!