Tannishblog

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!

“Republicans, Ron Paul clash over Iraqi war,” shouts a Fox television affiliate. Yahoo! News echoes the sentiment. In essence, while all other Republican presidential candidates are proud of their bloodthirstyness…

Sen. John McCain, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Giuliani all stressed support for the war, at times even competing to show their commitment.

“The surge is apparently working,” said Romney, referring to the increase in troops.

That brought an instant rebuke from McCain, who said, “The surge is working, sir, no, not apparently. It’s working.”

…Ron Paul is standing firm against our involvement in New Halliburton.

“No! We should take our marching orders from our Constitution,” Paul shouted back, pointing his pen at Wallace for emphasis. “We should not go to war without a declaration” by Congress.

Occasionally interrupted by applause, Paul doggedly stuck to his point. “We have lost over 5,000 Americans over there in Afghanistan, in Iraq and plus the civilians killed,” he said during his exchange with Huckabee.

“How long — what do we have to pay to save face? That’s all we’re doing, is saving face. It’s time we came home,” Paul said

Cool. But what’s the Democrats saying about Iraq? According to this from the Iowa Debate, Ms Clinton said:

…and, of course, end the war in Iraq.

According to the same transcript, Obama dodges the issue and Edwards side-stepped it by morphing the Iraq issue into a “No Nukes” statement.

So while Hillary give lip service to a major Democratic platform item, Ron Paul is building his campaign with the same wood. Just when I though this whole election cycle was going to be as dusty as a west Texas ranch, things start looking interesting. At least one person is.

That’s exactly what I asked myself as I clicked the link at Digg.com. The resulting Wall Street Journal article highlights the emerging netroots efforts surrounding the Republican dark horse Presidential candidate. Not having paid much attention to the Re-thug-lican party, I hadn’t heard of him.

Further along the page of hot Diggs is another mention of Ron Paul, this one from a blogger concerned about America’s emerging governance trend. Here I find an article by the man himself, snipped for rapid propagation. I’ll highlight what caught my fancy:

Our love for liberty above all has been so diminished that we tolerate intrusions into our privacy that would have been abhorred just a few years ago. We tolerate inconveniences and infringements upon our liberties in a manner that reflects poorly on our great national character of rugged individualism. American history, at least in part, is a history of people who don’t like being told what to do. Yet we are increasingly empowering the federal government and its agents to run our lives.

Terror, fear, and crises like 9-11 are used to achieve complacency and obedience, especially when citizens are deluded into believing they are still a free people. The loss of liberty, we are assured, will be minimal, short-lived, and necessary. Many citizens believe that once the war on terror is over, restrictions on their liberties will be reversed. But this war is undeclared and open-ended, with no precise enemy and no expressly stated final goal. Terrorism will never be eradicated completely; does this mean future presidents will assert extraordinary war powers indefinitely?

Is this man the John Galt of our era? Probably not. But he’s got my attention.

So. Alberto Gonzalez is out. People are starting to flake off this presidency like a leper’s skin. Gonzo’s perhaps the flakiest of the bunch.

Perhaps that’s not the best metaphor. Did you ever see cockroaches scatter when the light switches on? The longer the roach light shined, the less Gonzo could remember. Pictures of him last week had him looking like a deer in headlights. But that confounds the imagery.

The spotlight on Alberto must have been too much for the guy George Bush has so much confidence in. Has anyone asked the President about what is he confident? Could it be in Al’s ability to politicize the Justice Department? Or His willingness to take the hatchet?

I’m not saying the Democrats going after this cockroach are enlightened, but the pointed questions are so overdue. We may never get to the bottom of the dung heap people like Gonzalez are sacrificing their careers to obfuscate. And time is running out.

Why should Alberto stay anyway? He’ll be replaced by the next administration in a few month’s time; he’ll not be able to get real work done now that his credibility is in question. What’s the point? On the other hand, why leave? Our “Resoloot” leader will install another hack to continue the deal. If the Democrats screech, as is likely, then the few flakes that are left can cry about obstruction - whatever.

It’s all so stupid, really. One thing’s for sure: none of this, from either camp, serves the American People. That’s a shame.

The NY Times’ Quote of the Day illustrates how broken our legislative process has become:

"Coal and nuclear count their lobbying budgets in the tens of millions. We count ours in the tens of thousands."
RHONE RESCH, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association

Where there is money, there is corruption. Our government no longer cares about steering the ship of state, nor is it concerned about helping it’s people. It gives no thought to securing a future of any kind, let alone a visionary future like the kind we dreamed during the space race.

The concern of our government, comprised of millionaires and elitists, is to further the padding of their wallets. Our congressmen (and women) are slaved to their own greed, puppets of corporate interests and are sold to the highest bidder. They are commodities in a futures market of votes as volatile as any exchange market on Wall Street. They have lost their way.

And people wonder why so few Americans bother to vote…

"Illegal is only getting caught." That’s what my brother always said. But I "Scooter" Libby got caught. Yet because he’s pals with Karl "Puppetmaster" Rove and Dick "Shotgun" Cheney, George "Warmonger" Bush commutes Scooter’s prison time, like the puppet he is. A shag-carpeted prison is too onerous for a millionaire White House hack convicted of perjury. Thirty months is too harsh a punishment for aiding and abetting the uncovering of a covert agent - an act that would’ve been treasonous at any other point in American history.

Above the law doesn’t cut it: Transcending the law is more accurate. Illegal wars, patronage, incompetence, violations of Geneva Conventions, suspension of Habeas Corpus, illegal surveillance of citizens, illegal purges of US Attorneys, Using US troops for corporate advantage - all in a days work. Don’t look, don’t tell. Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies. The laws are for everyone else, not me.

If you’re as sick of all this as I am, try this: the Honk To Impeach campaign is starting tomorrow, July 4th. Make a big signs that reads: "Honk to Impeach Bush" and "TEXT "IMPEACH" to 30644," bring a camera, and hang out at a busy intersection and have fun! Don’t forget to post your location on the events board.

Obviously our Democratic congress is not going to make the right move unless a huge noise is being made in the streets. Let’s make that noise! Demand action, take back our country from the multinational corporations who buy our candidates. Help reinstate Democracy! Do this because the laws are for everyone.

Finally, after weeks of testimonies, accusations, hearings and subpoenas, attempts at oversight and retroactive accountability, conservative bloggers have something to crow about. Two cars were found yesterday in London that were crudely rigged for detonation. This is great news for the embattled right. Now, they can get busy bolstering flagging support for a fail mission, stoking the fires of fear and strutting their ideology again. They can echo their Commander in Chief’s word about this age being the battleground for the fate of civilization itself.

Notwithstanding the fact that the two car bombs were identified and defused, were, in fact, crude and bungled attempts, supporters of Neo-Con Artistry now have "proof" of how dangerous the world is and how necessary their pre-emptive aggression. Again can they drive forward a God-given agenda of pre-Armageddon policy so they can have a front seat at The Rapture. Ahh! Sweet vindication!

Using what Al Gore would call “the language and politics of fear” to try to “drive the public agenda without regard to the evidence, the facts or the public interest,” the British Government spins it this way:

British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said, "We’re currently facing the most serious and sustained threat to our security from international terrorism."

Meanwhile, the feeling on the street was quite different.

Some Londoners seemed unfazed by the news of the botched attacks. “It’s something you get used to, living in London,” said Andrew Fowler, a 39-year-old lawyer sipping coffee at an outdoor cafe near Piccadilly. “And given the stance our government made on the war in Iraq and elsewhere, I think we are just getting used to being a target.”

[…]

“It’s only when I got to work that I realized what was happening,” said Renee Anderson, 32, a New Zealander from her country’s nearby diplomatic mission. “I feel surprisingly all right about it. We all kind of thought, ‘Well, you could be hit by a bus anyway.’ ”

Yeah, the world is a dangerous place. Even more so since the accelerated advancement of American Economic Imperialism so nakedly perpetrated by the Bush Administration. But it’s not more dangerous than ever. London had it worse in the 1940’s, American had it worse in the 1860’s. Life goes on…

It boils down to personal choice: One can cower in fear or get on with life. As long as people advocate a "God and Country" mentality to the exclusion of responsible social politics, the world will continue to be hazardous. How to deal with that is up to you.

Dick Cheney is a pompous ass. His arrogant disdain for governmental procedures and due process is soon to be legendary. It will be his downfall. This week, he refused to comply with an executive order regulating the handling of sensitive information. for the past four years, the Vice President has refused requests to monitor his handling of classified material. Senator Henry A Waxman, chairman of the Oversight Committee, has this to say:

The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections of the National Archives, Vice President Cheney exempted his office from the presidential order that establishes government-wide procedures for safeguarding classified national security information. The Vice President asserts that his office is not an “entity within the executive branch.”

As described in a letter from Chairman Waxman to the Vice President, the National Archives protested the Vice President’s position in letters written in June 2006 and August 2006. When these letters were ignored, the National Archives wrote to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in January 2007 to seek a resolution of the impasse. The Vice President’s staff responded by seeking to abolish the agency within the Archives that is responsible for implementing the President’s executive order.

Do we need a clearer example of corporate mentality? Mr. Cheney is saying that not only does he not have to answer to anyone, by asking for him to do so, he’ll fire you! That kind of hubris is common in business. It is unacceptable for a - Vice President? Are you listening? - PUBLIC SERVANT!!!

Cheney thinks his office is not part of the executive branch. Than what is it part of? My guess would be his office is still part of Halliburton, perhaps as chairman of the company’s military division. Ever since the closed-door meetings in which energy magnates were invited to frame American foreign policy and open the gates of Hell to invade Iraq. Cheney is a business man. Iraq is a business plan.

Did you know that Dick Cheney is adamant about keeping Gitmo open? Did you also know that a division of Halliburton is getting over $90 million a year for operating the compound that at best housed just over 600 prisoners. Half of those have already been set free. Think about that: $90 million to "care for" just three hundred people. Since these detainees aren’t relaxing in the lap of luxury, what is the money for?

Make no mistake - Dick Cheney has never stopped working for his company. Since that’s so, then he’s right: He’s not part of the executive branch of government. Illinois’ Rahm Emanuel has the right of it:

Representative Rahm Emanuel said he plans to propose next week, as part of a spending bill for executive operations, a measure to place a hold on funds for Cheney’s office and official home until he clarifies to which branch of the government he belongs. Emanuel acknowledged that the proposal is just a stunt, but he said that if Cheney is not part of the executive branch, he should not receive its funds. "As we say in Chicago, follow the money," he said.

No more Air Force Two for you, Mr. Cheney, no more secret service agents or limousines. You’ll have to pay out of your own pocket or use your Hallibuton expense account. Oh, and move our of the White House. That is bought with taxpayer’s money.

I’m about three steps shy of giving up on America. Honestly. The political divide in this once-great (or so I was told ) nation rivals the Grand Canyon. It may be only a matter of time before the War on Terrorism is fought on Main Street, USA. What today is slander, rudeness and dehumanizing marginalization,  tomorrow will be violence.

I’m bored with complaining about BushCo’s Blood-for Oil/ Oil-for Profit Energy Policy. I’m sick of the heavy-handed tactics and mean-spirited mentality of conservative supporters. I’m disillusioned by the Democratic Majority (sic) that will not follow words with matching deeds.

Our so-called "two-party system" is broken. For an average human in these Divided States, we go to the polls (if we’re allowed near them) and vote between The Party of Corporate Greed and Warfare, or The Party of Wistful Words without Concrete Results. Both parties are guilty of robbing the cookie jar. Both parties are more interested in self-preservation than public service. Both parties ride the see-saw of carefully crafted public opinion secretly hoping the grafted gold in their pockets doesn’t weight them down too much, so as to stay above the other.

American politics are corrupt, and everyone knows this. The Bush administration has raised the bar of corruption and instituted unprecedented power grabs in order to maintain this higher level. Most American accept this as well. For the rest, therapy is an option…

End result? A negative feedback loop. People don’t bother to vote because they no longer believe in the power of a single vote, no longer believe in the sanctity of the electoral process. So less people vote, further undermining the broken system by abdicating to a shrinking minority of voters who use the system for personal or corporate gain. the government, therefore, goes to the highest bidder. In Twenty-first Century America, the highest bidder is the energy bloc.

R. I. P. "of the people, by the people, for the people."

Columbia, South Carolina hosted another non-debate of Republican presidential fodder - I mean hopefuls. CNN report how they’re "getting feisty," as each tried to one-up the other by shouting what is sure to be the mantra of the 2008 Republican bid: "Abortion, Gun Control and Less Taxes, Amen."

As I noted earlier, what else can they discuss? So many topic are toxic right now. Not only is the above chant hackneyed, but most American’s don’t really give a damn. The attention deficit disorder of the MSM is sure to get bored with repeated recitations of fringe issues. It’ll be interesting to see the tricks played by these intrepid soon-to-be losers to keep their names in headlines for the duration. Keep your barf bag handy.