THANKS & FORGIVENESS

On this day of Thanksgiving, I reflect on the positive changes in my life and the lives of others within my community and beyond, for which I should be grateful. I reflect as well on the dark forces within and without my life that oppose me and that I oppose and wonder if I can find a path to forgiveness.

I thank my family and friends for giving me support and forgiving my missteps, knowing that they are almost always taken with good and pure intent.

I forgive the small betrayals of the communal trust for which there is underlying beneficent intent and pledge that I will look for that intent beyond the sting of perceived, unwarranted abuse.

I thank Congressman John Murtha for initiating the congressional debate that should have been aired before the war began. I thank him for having the courage to learn and change while others cling stubbornly to political postures.

I thank Major Paul Hackett for finally moving to an antiwar position.

I thank Howard Zinn, Kevin Zeese, Tom Hayden, Amy Goodman, Robert Scheer, Noam Chomsky, Mickey Z, Ralph Nader, Robert Jensen, Cynthia McKinney, Barbara Lee, Dennis Kucinich and so many others for standing strong in the cause of peace.

I thank Common Dreams, Dissident Voice, Albion Monitor, Counterpunch, Z Net, Democracy Now and others in the alternative media for giving voice to the antiwar movement.

I forgive Move On and other partisan organizations for failing to find the antiwar ground as they struggle to overcome the politics of pragmatism.

I thank International ANSWER and United for Peace and Justice for overcoming their differences in bringing the antiwar movement together.

I thank the people of Spain for finding a more enlightened way to respond to acts of terrorism and for leading European opposition to the Iraq War.

I thank the people of my own nation for finally awakening to the nightmare of the Bush Doctrine.

I thank our soldiers not for their actions in war but for their sacrifice, courage and honor in serving a cause greater than themselves. I thank Kevin Benderman and all the soldiers who have decided they cannot serve an immoral war in good conscience.

I thank people everywhere for caring and giving to the victims of unprecedented catastrophes. If only governments were as enlightened as their peoples.

I thank Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for his opposition to global exploitation and for his bold and generous gift of cheap heating oil to poor American communities.

I forgive those in power who genuinely believed that the policies of austerity (“starving the beast”) and global dominance would somehow serve the greater good, so long as they accept the error of their ways.

I thank all the individuals who have not lost hope, who continue to struggle for peace, justice and the well being of the planet. May I forever count myself among them.

Jazz.

THE GOD OF RANDOM CHANCE

(RANDOM JACK: DISSEMINATE FREELY.)

Beyond dishonesty, there is a logical fallacy underlying the position of those who advocate “Intelligent Design” in the science curriculum of public schools. The dishonesty is their failure to advocate creationism in a straightforward manner. The fallacy is the assumption that Darwinian theory posits a point of origin on earth or in the universe. The very concept of evolution assumes that something existed in order to evolve.

There is no inherent conflict between theories of evolution and the postulates of creation; they are mutually exclusive. The real question is whether one believes in a god of chaos, senselessness, dispersion and chance or a god of order, discipline and law.

I will leave it to others to determine where the various gods – Buddhist, Christian-Judaic, Islamic, Hindu, Zarathustran, Copernican, et al – reside on the continuum between random chance and order. I would only note that the theory of relativity does not allow absolutes in time and space. Therefore, to postulate a point of origin is in conflict with Einstein’s most substantial contribution to scientific theory.

If we allow the creationists to proceed on a path traditionally reserved to scientists, we may find that relativity is called to question and, therefore, nuclear weapons do not exist and Einstein, himself, was nothing more than a mythological being from an alternate universe of pure fantasy.

I am not opposed to discussing “intelligent design” or creationism in the public schools but it should fall under the heading of comparative religions or universal mythology (depending on your persuasion), not under the discipline of science.

Every individual has a right to believe in anything but no one has a right impose a belief that two plus two is less than four.

[See The Albion Monitor or Buzzle.com for the latest Jazzman Chronicle: The Woodward Gambit.]

TARGET SYRIA: The Hariri Assassination

The investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri must go beyond the standard suspicions. Faced with compelling evidence of high-level involvement (i.e., the operation was well planned, well connected and financed), United Nations investigators naturally assumed that Hariri’s political enemies in Syria were responsible.

Maybe they are right but they could very reasonably be wrong as well.

All criminal investigations must begin with the question: Who stands to gain?

Take a hard look at the aftermath of the Hariri assassination and ask yourself: Who gained?

Syria, whose political support in Lebanon is substantial, was forced to withdraw its troops. It faces sanctions from the United Nations and its leaders must be subjected to public scrutiny. In the balance, America and her allies stand poised for military intervention, expanding the war in Iraq.

Who stood to gain from the Hariri assassination: Syria or America? Who has the intelligence and security connections to pull off such an operation? Who has the power and the pull to direct the investigation away from their door and direct it to their enemy?

One must wonder why CIA operatives in the region have not been questioned along with their Syrian counterparts.

American forces have been fighting at the Syrian border for more than a year. Covert operations inside Syria and Lebanon can safely be assumed and cross-border commando raids are a documented fact (NY Times).

Anyone who would sincerely be surprised at America’s hand in a targeted assassination for strategic advantage has not studied the history of covert operations.

[See the Albion Monitor www.albionmonitor.com for The Woodward Gambit, a Jazzman Chronicle by Jack Random.]

Last Words: The Silence of Chris Mansel

The Leviathan Who Fought On His Knees

(for Bob Kincaid)

Ok, they have me now, they have worn me down and tied me to the post and hurled their lies and betrayals, perjuries and their lawbreaking has got me down.... How can anyone in some resemblance of thought watch Scott McClellan and believe anything he says? How can anyone watch our president utter anything at all and watch him quiver, slither his own brand of ka ka and not be flabbergasted? If anyone can honestly say they believe in this administration, avoid them because they may have the bird flu you have heard so much about.

Mine eyes have seen the coming of the fall of the house of Bush. They'll be throwing bodies out the window as the car careens out of control until the election of 2008. I predict sooner rather than later the Saudi Royal family will summon Bush to their creepy lair and scold him for his actions. Called on the carpet though they be on the walls, Georgie Boy will hold hands and stagger cocaine bunches up under his lips and call for a moratorium on cannibals in the U.N. He'll trace the family tree of Dick Cheney back to the original declaration of independence first composed on the Mayflower in blood from a Haitian slave.

Condi Rice will appear in a sex tape with several volleyball players with sand still in their toes. She'll be seen in the fetal position humping a statue of Ronald Reagan and screaming about the troops overlooking Little Big Horn.

Scooter Libby will consult and be visited by G. Gordon Libby and develop contacts in the prison drug trade and be tattooed by the Aryan gangs. Upon release he will start a foundation to study the possibility of promoting commercial prison retreats for the wealthy.

The body of William McNamara upon his death will burst into flames and a million North Vietnamese will run out and devour the body of Henry Kissinger asleep in the front row of the memorial service.

- Chris Mansel

[Editor's Note: The rare and passionate voice of Chris Mansel falls silent this week as he announces the cessation of the Mansel Report. He has answered a greater call in relocating to the great city of New Orleans as it struggles for its soul. We wish you well, Mr. Mansel, and hope that the muse that silences your voice today will deliver its return when it is most needed. Blessings on your journey and gratitude for your testaments of truth.]

The Bird Flu Menace

The Avian flu is real and growing. Either the government knows something we do not or there is another agenda. It is not the nature of this government to anticipate catastrophe and it is even less inclined to invest billions in preventative measures.

If in fact the motive behind the White House initiative is limited to the probability and potential harm of a pandemic, they would be inclined to go about the business of building massive isolation bunkers for the elite. They would do so quietly while publicly expressing a commitment in the multi millions (not billions) and the world would humbly express gratitude.

Now the world may be wondering (as I am) what this is all about. Seven billion is an expensive show of compassion and it stretches the bounds of credulity to accept it on face value.

After considerable thought, running through various scenarios involving quarantine, martial law and military invasion, I have arrived at what I consider a rational hypothesis:

The administration has run out of reasons for invading nations. America is trusted by fewer and fewer on the planet. There are now precious few places in the world where America's clandestine operations are welcome.

Enter the bird flu: The virus mutates into the feared pandemic strain in Malaysia or Indonesia (the most populous Muslim nation on earth). For the first time, it spreads from human to human and the American military (with local cooperation) lays siege, setting up quarantine zones and military lockdown. A team of covert operators accompanies a small army of medical personel rushed to the disaster area. They operate with impunity, interogating whomever they wish, evacuating neighborhoods, searching private homes, offices, mosques and meeting places, searching through private communications and computer files. The potential payoff in the war on terror is considerable. It might even produce the great illusive one: OBL.

Is it beyond imagining? Absolutely not.

Is it far fetched? Let us hope so.

Is it possible? Yes.

(NOTE: See Dissident Voice 11/5/05 for Jack Random's "The Activist Court & The Neoconservative Agenda.")

Show Me The Worms, O Cries Of Despair

From the Mind of Mansel (the Mansel Report):

In the White House tonight they are dismantling the tree house once occupied by Karl Rove through much turmoil. An insider says, "It's like the last days of Hitler's Bunker in there." They're throwing fecal matter at the walls and calling up old markers all the way from the Orient to California. The President has handed out the doses and has locked himself in a sealed chamber with a screaming Condi Rice. Karen Hughes for the first time dressed entirely in military attire stands at the door with a menacing stare.

Over at the Senate and the House the Republican members are standing around 50 gallon oil drums tossing in the paper trail that could end up convicting them if the top positions go down. Several of the elected officials on up in years have to be reminded to take their medication. One congressman starts raving about Bob Dole's campaign running out of steam. Away from the cameras these men become like children pulling at the pigtails of their sons, cursing the drug culture while swigging scotch and puffing tobacco. The foul smell of urine filling depends diapers cannot be avoided as this legislative branch comes into its own.

- Chris Mansel

IRAQI REFERENDUM ON THE OCCUPATION

Astounding numbers have emerged from the British Ministry of Defence. The numbers themselves are not surprising but the fact that they were released to the Sunday Telegraph is (see Common Dreams 10/23/05).

Two and a half years into the occupation:

82% of Iraqis are "strongly opposed" to the presence of coalition troops.

72% do not have confidence in the multi-national forces.

67% feel less secure because of the occupation.

45% believe attacks against British and American troops are justified.

43% believe conditions for peace and stability have worsened.

These numbers represent a clear outcome in a referendum on the Iraqi occupation. Combined with a recent poll finding that over 80% of the American public now favors a timetable of withdrawal, the White House can no longer sustain its campaign of endless war on the grounds of democracy. Democracy is the voice of the people and the people have spoken clearly.

You cannot be a liberator if the people you claim to be liberating are overwhelmingly opposed to your presence. You cannot claim the mantle of democracy when your own people oppose you.

The occupying forces (with a proxy Iraqi court) are currently trying the former tyrant of Iraq. If the Iraqi people have their way, the American president will be next in line. If the Plamegate investigation bears fruit, however, they may have to wait their turn.

Random Note 10/23/05.

PLEDGE AGAINST THE WAR

In "The War Party: The Next Step in the Antiwar Movement" (Buzzle.com, 9/30/04), I advocated the following pledge in the coming elections.

The War Party pledge:

The War Party platform comes down to one simple requirement: A pledge to bring our soldiers home within six months (or less), to dismantle our military installations, and to revoke all contractual claims of the occupying force.

We should not care whether a candidate is Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green or Independent. We should only require an unequivocal pledge to end the war.

Our goal must be to offer an antiwar alternative in every race in the land. We must divorce ourselves from the self-defeating notion that a pro-war Democrat is substantially better than a pro-war Republican. Where there is an antiwar alternative, there is a chance the mainstreamers will come around. Where there is no alternative, there is no chance.
----
Recently, former Congressional candidate Paul Hackett circulated the following pledge in behalf of Democracy for America. As it is a start, I signed it.

Democracy for America Pledge:

I pledge to only support candidates who:
1. Acknowledge that the U.S. was misled into the war in Iraq.
2. Advocate for a responsible exit plan with a timeline.
3. Support our troops at home and abroad.

See: http://tools.democracyforamerica.com/local

Additionally, Joshua Frank, author of "Left Out! How Liberals Helped Reelect George W. Bush," writing in Dissident Voice, advocated the candidacy of Kevin Zeese for the open Senatorial seat in Maryland (see Dissident Voice, 10/18/05). Zeese is director of Democracy Rising, an avowed antiwar activist pledged to ending the occupation.

"There is not a single Senator standing up in Washington urging that we bring the troops home." Kevin Zeese.

As an independent running against a pro-war Democrat (Congressman Ben Cardin) and a yet to be announced Republican, he deserves our support.

I join Frank's appeal. The time is ripe. The candidates are emerging. If we act on our convictions now and back it up with contributions, the transformation of America begins next November. Take the pledge.

See: www.kevinzeese.com.

CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM: Iraq, Venezuela, Ohio & Florida

JAZZMAN CHRONICLES: DISSEMINATE FREELY.
By Jack Random

One could not observe the unfolding story of a fixed election in Iraq without recalling the sordid electoral history of the Bush administration. After sacrificing two thousand American soldiers, tens of thousands of Iraqi lives, and countless untold casualties of war, it seems the democracy we have bestowed on Iraq is not the democracy of our founders in 1776 (declaring independence from a foreign power); it is not the democracy of 1783 (drafting a constitution on the foundation of a bill of rights); rather, it is the democracy of Florida 2000 and Ohio 2004.

The critical flaw of our founders was that they did not trust the common people, minorities or women to be a part of the fledgling republic. The problem with the neocon overlords of war, self-proclaimed champions of liberty and conduit of God’s true will, is that they do not trust democracy at all.

They like a fixed game.

In Florida 2000, with all the chips on the table, the current inhabitants of the White House administered the greatest disenfranchisement of African American citizens since the days of Jim Crow and still they had to fall back on a corrupt Supreme Court.

In 2004, when it all came down to Ohio, Karl Rove and his merry pranksters dusted off the bag of dirty tricks in a determined effort to suppress the black vote. When it appeared it was not enough (remember the exit polls), the fix went in on the electronic ballot box (which conveniently did not leave a paper trail).

They like a fixed game.

In the days leading up to the Iraqi constitutional referendum, the interim National Assembly tried to fix the rules (lowering the bar for passage). When that backfired in a barrage of unfavorable public opinion, the fix went in on the ballot box in the critical province of Ninevah.

Owing to the ineptitude of the opposition party, the pervasive corruption of the two-party system, and the complicity of corporate media, we never learned the full extent of democracy’s betrayal in Florida or Ohio. In the occupied territory of Iraq (can we even call it a nation?), where media is completely marginalized and there is no independent judiciary, there is no chance that the truth will ever emerge. We will be given a set of numbers and the numbers will be shaped to the desired result.

If there were a free press in Iraq, the wires would be buzzing with stories of disenfranchisement and voter suppression. In America, we disenfranchise undesirable (i.e., black) voters by falsely branding them criminals, by changing polling stations without notification, and by an assortment of other nefarious means. In Iraq, they simply round up the usual suspects (i.e., Sunnis) and detain them until after the election. If they resist, they shoot them down like stray dogs in New Orleans and proclaim another victory in the war for democracy.

The difficulty with foreign lands that we consider less sophisticated than our own is that the people have a sixth sense. They are not conditioned to believe what the government tells them or what the media dutifully reports. They may not fully understand the intricacies of a profoundly flawed legal document but they have a nose for corruption and they will sniff it out.

Curiously, the Associated Press issued a report based on the early count that admitted no doubt in the result of the referendum. In the Sunni dominated provinces of Diyala and Ninevah, the referendum was winning by margins of seventy and seventy-three percentage points. By Sunday morning (American time), Nation Public Radio was reporting a great deal of doubt – particularly in the province of Ninevah. What happened? Was the initial margin so overwhelming that it challenged common sense?

It was good enough, it seemed, for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

About two years ago, Dr. Rice spoke too soon when she signaled American approval of a military coup in Venezuela (the coup was reversed within days). She may have committed the same diplomatic perversity in pronouncing passage of the Iraqi constitution.

There were no exit polls in Mosul, were there?

What did Dr. Rice know that the people on the ground did not? Given the rudimentary hand-counting system of Iraqi elections, we were told it could take days or weeks before the ballots were fully tabulated but, according to the secretary, the results were already in. Perhaps they were in before the first ballot was cast.

When Dr. Rice spoke prematurely on the Venezuelan coup, she inadvertently tipped America’s hand. Our agents were intricately involved in that disgraceful attempt to overthrow a lawfully elected government – just as they were with Jean Bertrand Aristide in Haiti.

To be fair, Dr. Rice did not speak with certainty in her referendum pronouncement. She left room for doubt. She allowed for a safe retreat.

She and the neocon overlords in the White House would be wise to exercise the exit option. The defeat of the draft constitution would not be a crushing blow to either the occupation or democracy in Iraq. It might in fact lend some credibility to the process. The only outcome that would most assuredly fuel the fires of the insurgency is the perception of a crooked election.

As for the occupation, it is already doomed. It is no longer a question of success or failure – indeed, it never really was. It is a question of how long, how much, and how many more lives will be sacrificed on the altar of a lie. According to the latest CNN poll, fully 82% of Americans believe in a timetable of withdrawal. You do not press on in war with only 18% support.

We have had our own referendum on the war and the occupation. The results must bring shock and awe to the overlords of preemptive strike and never-ending war: They have utterly and miserably failed.

The only referendum in Iraq that truly matters is a referendum on the occupation itself: Shall all foreign soldiers withdraw from the nation?

Like Condoleezza Rice, we do not require an official tabulation to announce the result: America must withdraw.

Jazz.

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES (CROW DOG PRESS) AND GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION (DRY BONES PRESS). THE CHRONICLES HAVE BEEN POSTED ON DISSIDENT VOICE, THE ALBION MONITOR & COUNTERPUNCH. SEE BUZZLE.COM: GOVERNMENT & POLITICS.

A Message from United for Peace & Justice

2,000 U.S. Deaths in Iraq is 2,000 Too Many!

Organize an Anti-War Action the Day After the U.S. Announces the 2,000th U.S. Soldier Death in Iraq

How many more U.S. soldiers and Iraqis must give their lives before our government finally admits that the war against Iraq was wrong and it’s time tobring our troops home now? So far, more than 1950 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq, and more than 15,000 have been wounded. U.S. soldiers are at grave risk in Iraq, and continue to suffer even after they come home. Troops returning to the U.S. are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and are even turning up in homeless shelters in cities through the country. The risk for Iraqis is even more severe: Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in the war, and hundreds of thousands of lives have been devastated, even according to the most conservative estimates.

Meanwhile, the war has meant that precious resources are being channeled toward death and destruction in Iraq instead of into programs that could save people’s lives and meet their basic human needs. If the National Guard troops and equipment from Mississippi and Louisiana hadn’t been in Iraq, the Guard could have responded more quickly and more thoroughly to the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina and lives could have been saved. The U.S. is pouring more than a billion dollars a week into the Iraq war that could otherwise be spent on health care, schools and infrastructure here at home.

TAKE ACTION: ORGANIZE AN ANTI-WAR VIGIL, RALLY OR OTHER PEACE EVENT FOR THEDAY AFTER THE 2,000th U.S. SOLDIER IS KILLED IN IRAQ:

The sad day is coming when the 2,000th U.S. soldier will have died in Iraq. We need to use that milestone to remind people of the human cost of the war and call for the troops to come home. United for Peace and Justice supports the calls of our member groups - American Friends Service Committee http://www.afsc.org/2,000/, Gold Star Families for Peace http://www.gsfp.org and Military Families Speak Out http://www.mfso.org - for actions on the day after the 2,000th U.S. serviceperson's death is announced. We urge to you join the hundreds of peace and justice groups throughout the country as we tell the President, Congress and the world that 2,000 U.S. deaths in Iraq is 2,000 too many.

• We will remember the 2,000 U.S. servicemen and women who have died in Iraq.
• We will remember the tens of thousands of Iraqis -- civilians and combatants, men and women, children the elderly -- who have been killed.
• We will remember that these deaths did not have to happen, should not have happened.
• We will call for our troops to be brought home now. Don't ask these men and women to continue to die for politicians' mistakes and lies. And we want them treated right when they return. Give them the benefits they were promised and give them the help they will need to heal their bodies, their minds and their spirits.
• We will demand an end to the occupation so the Iraqi people can determine their own destiny free from foreign interference and control.

Some ideas for what you can do:
• Organize a candlelight vigil where you read the names of U.S. soldiers and Iraqis who've been killed in the war.
• Organize an event that visually represents the number of U.S. soldiers who've been killed - 2,000 candles, 2,000 pairs of shoes, 2,000 coffins, etc.
• Organize any event outside of the district office of a Senator or Representative who needs to change his/her position on the Iraq war - a vigil, picket, rally, or sit-in. Demand that the Senator or Representative face his/her constituents at a town hall meeting.
• Coordinate with other local peace and justice groups, veterans, and military families.
• Make sure that the media knows what you are doing and invite them to cover your activities.
• List your event at http://unitedforpeace.org/addevent so we can get the word out about these events and give an accurate count to the news media.

RANDOM TAKES: October 2005

GOD’S WAR
For the second time it has been reported that the president believes that God directed him to wage war on Iraq. The first came from a Texas confidant who was authorized to write a Bush biography. The second comes from an assembly of Palestinians whom, after the initial shock, must have had difficulty maintaining diplomatic decorum.

ROVE’S LAST APPEAL
For the fourth time, the president’s political mastermind, Karl Rove, will appear before the Grand Jury investigating the White House leak that exposed CIA operative, Valerie Plame Wilson, for political retribution. He will doubtlessly try to explain the discrepancies in his previous testimony. He will fail. History will record that, while curiosity killed the cat, it was arrogance that hammered the nails in the Bush administration coffin. Rove will fall and Cheney will follow. We will then witness whether loyalty rivals arrogance in the White House moral hierarchy.

SUPREME COURT TANGO
George W. Bush speaks of Harriet Miers as if she were a former lover. Are we certain it is not so? Ms Miers, quite striking in her youth, is sixty, single and childless. She has climbed from a Lottery Commission chair as recently as 2000 to the most powerful judicial appointment in the western world. The tale will be told when and if Laura, who killed a former lover in a tragic auto wreck in her youth, and Harriet share the stage. Sparks will fly and the nomination will be imperiled.

FUN WITH PIGGY
Rather than fighting price gouging or windfall oil profits that accompany every disruption in the energy supply (or even a whisper of disruption), the Bush White House is taking the usual approach to its disastrous policies: public relations. The Energy Hog (a new cartoon icon) will give tips on wearing sweaters and changing the heating filter monthly rather than pushing for hybrid cars or solar energy panels. There will be no talk of government responsibility, no push for fuel efficiency standards, no suggestion that the Hummer may not be patriotic after all. The Energy Hog loves big oil and has a seat next to Cheney at the table of almighty influence. There is a striking resemblance.

PRIVATE BAEZ
Who is Roberto Baez of Tampa, Florida? In 2004, at the age of eighteen, he voted for George Bush in his first presidential election. He played sports, went to football games, and had a high school sweetheart. He graduated high school and contemplated an uncertain future. Filled with patriotic pride and the promises of an army recruiter, he enlisted. Private Baez would never vote in another election. He would never marry his high school sweetheart or attend another football game. He would no longer worry about the future. On Wednesday, October 5, Roberto Baez graduated from life on earth. Officially, he became number 1945 on the official list of American casualties in the Iraq War.

RANDOM NOTE: SLAMMING THE HAMMER

Beating up on Tom DeLay is too easy. The man wears his corruption on his face like a badge of honor. File it under: Who cares? Taking out the number two Republican in Congress is like eliminating the number two man in Al Qaeda (how many number two men can Al Qaeda have?): There are literally dozens ready and anxious to step into his corrupted shoes.

The job of House Majority leader (like the Whip) is to wield the hammer with absolute venality and to weather the inevitable blowback. It is easy to build the case that DeLay is the most corrupt figure in Washington but the claim is highly disputable. He is, however, among the most powerful.

Typically, when a man like The Hammer goes down (it remains to be seen if he will), he takes a great many colleagues with him. That is why his fellows in Congress are reticent to add fuel to the fire. It is also why we should continue to watch the proceedings closely. Only those who are clean or protected will dare bear witness against him. The corrupt will stand silent. If The Hammer is pinned to the wall or cornered like a rabid dog, that is when the show begins.

Jazz.

[Note: See Dissident Voice for "The Age of Catastrophe."]

JAKE'S WORD: The Lessons of Katrina

Excerpt from THE LESSONS OF KATRINA By Jack Random (see Buzzle.com: Government & Politics):

"On September 22, 2005, with Hurricane Rita bearing down on the coasts of Texas and southwest Louisiana, President Bush addressed a gathering of journalists to defend the war in Iraq. What was disturbing was not only that the facts on the ground did not support his optimism but that the president considered it an appropriate time to lecture the media on foreign policy."

Response by Jake Berry: Once again. Yes, all thru. Have you heard about the destruction of evidence by the Pentagon concerning Mohammad Atta and the existence of an Al-Queda cell in the U.S. in the years 2000, 2001, and 2004? They knew they were here. They knew they intended terrorism, and shortly before the actual attacks, even the President himself knew what they were planning on doing. They did nothing to stop it. Instead they destroyed the evidence. In short - global corporations are VERY close to amassing an aggregation of capitalist empires worldwide. They may have already accomplished it. If this is true, then the governments of the world are irrelevant. Where does that leave us? Can we take government back and extract it from the hands of the global capitalists or must we resort to direct revolt against the corporations?

Random response: I am an advocate of peaceful revolution. Yes, we revolt against international conglomerate corporations by refusing to buy their goods and their stocks. We revolt by refusing to vote for any candidate who accepts their campaign contributions. Buy local. Buy informed. Buy progressive. Buy antiwar. Vote with your conscience and with your checkbook. Change is possible. Jazz.

JAKE BERRY IS THE AUTHOR OF BRAMBU DREZI & OTHER NOTED WORKS. See City Lights Books.

Jake's Word

JAKE BERRY’S COMMENTS REGARDING THE NEW DEMOCRATS

[Note: These thoughts were offered in response to “Clinton’s Revenge & The New Democrats.” Noting that the Democratic response to the Katrina crisis has been less than inspired the commentary calls for independents to rally and organize an electoral alternative.]

My thoughts exactly! Eloquently stated. And we do desperately need an outsider. But who? Who can stand up to corporate media scrutiny that will inflate every mistake? You were divorced from your first spouse? Why? Does that demonstrate faulty judgment? You took illegal drugs? Did they destroy your ability to make sound judgments now? You take prescription drugs now? Why? What is wrong with your body or mind? Will you be incapable of withstanding the stresses of office.

It will require a real populist - a devout one - with no allegiance to either party, or any major sources of funding. He or she will have to be someone we've never heard of, but with conviction and charisma, and most of all, a coherent, rational vision for the nation based on constitutional principals. He or she would also need the ability to adapt quickly, to admit mistakes quickly, and change course to what works. In other words, a chief executive with enough intelligence to grasp issues quickly and penetrate to the heart of those issues and make decisions based on a deep and broad knowledge of American and world history, on the origins and development of constitutional law and a passionate devotion to the Bill of Rights. Such a candidate could speak directly and plainly to the populace and back his arguments with history and precedent of what works and what has failed and what is most likely to work in the present system of information nuclei and corporate greed. Step on the big guy who is destroying competition and help the little guy who expands and increases competition and innovation.

And finally, we have to have an end to this political and media propaganda of America as the last remaining super power. How about no more superpowers? How about making the idea of a superpower anathema? Replace it with mutual cooperation among nations to resolve global problems. And leave national problems (like tyrants of economically destroyed third world countries) to be taken care of by the citizens of the nation. Tyrants can be contained by the global community and undermined from within by the local community, and the ultimate result of all tyranny - either cease tyranny and join the world or die in your hole.

Where is the individual who has the courage to embrace these positions and the populist appeal to draw the millions to the cause? I don't see anyone like that in the Senate or House - Robert Byrd is too old and Ted Kennedy is too stigmatized.

Ultimately the solution lies with the middle class. Will it feel the threat to its own survival acutely enough to move beyond Washington theatrics? Or will it be satisfied with new gadgets and other forms of escapism until it vanishes into a kind of third world groveling for crumbs as if they were jewels? The greed of the last thirty years, the pandering of Clinton to the right wing, and the managerial catastrophe of neo-conservative idealism have all dealt a severe blow, as you say, the worst since the great depression. And a global war would not save us now, it would sink us.

Always before, just when it seemed too late, the breaks went in our favor or the popular discontent grew so loud that things changed just enough to keep us moving forward. We're close now. About two years - four at the most. If we don't get one of those breaks soon, America will begin a descent from which it will not return. Consider England 100 years ago. Now they are (the government I mean) tagging along in hopes some American glory will rub off on them and allow them the illusion that they are still one of the great world powers. Another four years, without a break in the favor of democracy and America will be irrelevant to democracy. And I mean a real break. Not Kerry or Clinton or some other mask.

Thanks for your provocation and compassion. Keep it coming.

Jake Berry
Author of Brambu Drezi

[Postscript: Here is a beginning list of possible candidates. Note: If you're not against the war and occupation, if you're not for bringing the troops home in short order, you're not a candidate. In fact, I believe we should start a unity party for all candidates against the war. In the lost language of irony, it should be called The War Party.

For Congress: Amy Goodman, Arianna Huffington, Medea Benjamin, Norman Soloman, Robert Fisk, Robert Scheer, Cindy Sheehan, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Danny Glover. For Senate/Governor: Christianne Amanpour, Bernie Sanders, Ralph Nader, Ray Nagin, Warren Beaty, Robert Redford. For President: Jesse Ventura, Colin Powell, Robert Kennedy Jr.]

RANDOM TAKES

By Jack Random

STARVE THE BEAST: GWB IS NO FDR

The president’s FDR moment (his pledge to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf communities no matter the cost) has already given way to a stark reality: George Bush is no FDR. He intends to use this disaster as an excuse to prosecute his master plan of economic austerity. He intends to sever the social safety net. He will rebuild New Orleans on the backs of the working poor, the jobless poor, the elderly and infirm. The trickle down policy of tax cuts for the elite will continue unabated while funding for education, health care, unemployment, job training and welfare are cut to the bone. It is what the neocons in the smoke-filled rooms laughingly refer to as “starving the beast.” The government is the beast but it is the people who will starve.

UN OUT OF THE US

From the floor of the United Nations, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela condemned America’s defiance of international law and international institutions. Echoing decades of demands by the rightwing of the American political spectrum, he called for the United Nations to be relocated outside the United States. His point is well taken. The United Nations will never be the kind of organization that can stand against the lawlessness of its most powerful members. Rather than calling for relocation, however, I suggest an alternative community of nations with an organizational structure more resembling the American system (minus the absurdity of the electoral college). Recognizing that the world’s most powerful and wealthy nations must be represented beyond their numbers, such nations should be allotted additional votes in an upper policy-making body more resembling the United States Senate than the UN Security Council. No nation should ever possess the power of veto. No nation should have a license to commit any act of war or crime against nature with absolute impunity.

SUPREME COURT STAMP

Judge John Roberts has distinguished himself as a truly brilliant man who figured out early in life that conservatives had the money and Roberts wanted his share. Within two minutes of observing the Senate confirmation hearings, I came to the following conclusions: First, Roberts is smarter than his inquisitors. If anyone thought there would be a fumble, a Bork or Thomas moment, give it up. Second, it is entirely possible that Chief Justice Roberts will not be what the right wing assumes he is. He has a sense of a constitutional right of privacy. He appears to favor a libertarian approach that will not invade the lives of individuals. He will not overturn Roe V. Wade.

WHILE WE WERN’T WATCHING

While our eyes were glued to images of shock and despair on the dark skin faces of Americans stranded in the city of jazz, our military launched its latest offensive in the war: Fallujah, Ramadi, Anbar Province, and now Tel Afar. While we were absorbed in the ongoing saga of a drowning metropolis, the Iraqi insurgency answered. In a matter of days, an estimated 200 have been killed and 600 wounded. While our leaders on both sides of the mainstream aisle continue to warn us that, if we pull out, anarchy and civil war will descend, we wonder how anarchy and civil war would look any different than what we observe now.

In a particularly telling incident, insurgents lured a massive crowd to a van with the promise of employment. Over a hundred desperate day laborers died when it exploded.

There are no more jobs in Baghdad today than there are in New Orleans – which is to say, everyone who works, works for Halliburton. All contracts are in the hands of the corrupt corporations that do the government’s bidding. If you work for Halliburton, you work for Bush-Cheney and the occupation forces. There are no more free agents in Baghdad or New Orleans. You are either with us or against us. Either you live to serve us, or you die opposing us. It is the American way.

Jazz.

[NOTE: See Buzzle.com for a review of Nicolas Rossier's documentary film, "Aristide & The Endless Revolution."]

PRAYERS FOR NEW ORLEANS

Revised & Updated 9/6/05.

By Jack Random


Hurricane Katrina streaked across the southern Florida peninsula, turned north and marked a path to the heart of New Orleans. At the last possible moment, with catastrophic predictions filling the airwaves, it veered east, striking Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi.

At first report, it seemed New Orleans, jewel of the south, was spared the full force of nature’s unnatural wrath. St. Bernard’s parish and the ninth ward were subsumed under ten feet of water, power was out, and the damage to homes, businesses and structures was substantial but on the night of August 29 we were confident that the very survival of the city of jazz was not in question.

We were concerned for all the victims in the path of the hurricane. The forces that spared New Orleans had brought death and destruction elsewhere but we were confident that our government would provide sufficient aid and assistance, knowing that they could not fail in the hour of greatest need. Our politicians are good at confronting a crisis. It is one of the blessings of democracy that they cannot ignore the people in a televised disaster.

By the time we awakened on the morning of August 30, we were stricken, paralyzed, horrified by what we saw. Our government had utterly failed to answer the call and New Orleans was under siege. The levees had broken. Eighty percent of the city was submerged. We were told that martial law had been declared. There was no order and no relief. The nation and much of the world began to cry and our tears would not end for seven days and nights.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the city of New Orleans for she has won the undying devotion of every man and woman who has known her embrace, however briefly, and she is dying before our unbelieving eyes.

If you are a praying person, pray for the homeless, the destitute and the stubborn defenders of New Orleans. Pray for the birthplace of jazz, for a culture of tolerance that predates the American nation by a hundred years. Pray for Bourbon Street, Jackson Square, the St. Louis Cemetery and the tomb of Marie Laveaux. Pray for a city of a million unfathomable contradictions and mysteries, city of light and darkness, city of hope and despair, city of faith and godlessness, city of passion and unholy calm, city of blues and ragtime, city of jazz. City of jazz.

Of all the cities in America, New Orleans is the most ancient and the most international. It is a blend of French, Caribbean and southern cultures. It is where slavery was practiced ruthlessly and where former slaves were allowed to flourish. It is where every artist and musician must go to reveal the soul. It is where Robert Johnson, Sidney Bechet, Jelly Roll Morton and Louie Armstrong learned their trade.

If you have never been to New Orleans, you may never know what you have missed. We can only pray that she will rise again and that the world’s generosity will not end when the cameras are turned away. We have always known that the sea would someday swallow her whole, that the French Quarter would become a pictorial memory, that the shores of Lake Pontchartrain would no longer be distinguishable, that the triumph, the glory, the profound gloom and sorrow of this mystical American treasure would be swept away. We just did not know that it would come so soon.

New Orleans may be a doomed city. Like Venice, Italy, doomed by its geography and the indifference of world governments to global warming, to melting glaciers, to altered ocean currents: We should have seen it coming. We should have recognized the signs years, decades ago, while there was still time to act. Some of us, in fact, did.

Tragically, it seems it may be America’s turn to pay the price of global climate change. We have listened to the mainstream experts. They avoid the phrase “global warming” but they cannot but acknowledge that it is the rising temperature of the Gulf that has precipitated this season of severe storms. It will not end with Katrina and Katrina does not begin to compare with the devastation of the Indian Ocean tsunami. What more will we require to transform sympathy into action?

When there was still time, we should have done so much more. America was late in acknowledging the problem, late in accepting the human contribution, and even now, we stand virtually alone in refusing to sign on to the first modest effort to confront inevitable catastrophe (the Kyoto Accord). It is not too late to accept the challenge but I fear it is too late to avert a chain of tragedy.

For now, we can only pray that the damage can be alleviated and that we can recover the living, breathing miracle of creation that is New Orleans for another generation. We can pray that we have not lost forever the sacred womb of a nation and the sweetest, most enchanting of lovers the world will ever know.

Jazz.

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CRONICLES (CROW DOG PRESS) AND GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION (DRY BONES PRESS).

The Reckoning: Bush Summons WWII while The Easy Drowns

By Jack Random


While all eyes were on the unfolding disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, our president was comparing the Iraq war to World War II and the Marines were dropping two 500-pound bombs on suspected insurgents on the Iraqi-Syrian border. Iraqis claimed they hit civilians.

Is this what they call “precision bombing”?

If Iraq is World War II, then this was another chapter in the bombing of Dresden.

If you believe in spiritual forces – whether it is karma, the life force, a supreme goddess or an almighty god – then it is not difficult to perceive these events as mother earth’s revenge.

The overhead camera reveals a wide path of destruction, shattered homes, decimated lives, terrified people, rising waters, looting and price gouging, fear and lawlessness.

For a moment, it seemed that the war had come home. Gulfport and Biloxi were reduced to rubble and New Orleans was under siege.

Where was the National Guard as New Orleans was transformed into a third world country, reminiscent of Baghdad after the American liberation? I recalled Donald Rumsfeld’s pronouncement that you had to expect a little looting in a free society.

Meantime, President George W. Bush was in California, addressing yet another subdued military audience, instructing the brave and the dutiful that their cause was noble and supreme – not another Vietnam but another World War II march against fascist imperialism.

Meantime, the National Guard was at the wrong Gulf – the Persian Gulf – when it was needed at home.

The president graciously conceded to cut his vacation short. He would return to Washington with a little detour in the war zone of Louisiana. The Republican governor of Mississippi, Haley Barbour, went on record asking him to stay away. We need the Guard to protect the nation in a time of need. We do not need a presidential photo op. The president’s job is to reassure the nation, not to interfere in an ongoing rescue mission.

Go back to Crawford, Mr. President. No one still believes that you are anything but a front man, a grade B actor, who refuses to confront a grieving mother before the eyes of the world because the people will perceive what we already know: Cindy Sheehan is more eloquent, more knowledgeable, more compassionate and infinitely more sincere than the supreme commander of the greatest power on earth.

So George the diminutive wishes to invite a comparison of Iraq to World War II. Whom does he think he is kidding? There are parallels but they are not favorable to the current American president. Dubya is no FDR and Saddam Hussein is no Adolph Hitler. He was lured into attacking Kuwait (by cross-drilling, Kuwaiti belligerence and America’s implied consent) and subsequently hammered by the most powerful military force on earth. At the time of war’s inception, he was a threat to no one.

It is time to stop the pretense, the imperial charade. We need our troops at home now. We need the hundreds of billions of dollars we have squandered and continue to squander in a war can never “win” regardless of its resolution. The Iraqis will never yield the oil and they will never accept our military presence. We can only extend the misery, the needless dying and destruction. We have destroyed their nation and we can never make amends.

Bring the soldiers home now when we need them. Accept that the Iraqis must decide the shape and form of their own government. Accept that we cannot possess Iraqi oil and we cannot establish Iraq as an American fortress.

Too many lives have already been lost to the horrors of a failed ideology of conquest. We need the Guard and our resources to provide for our own citizens. We need to join the community of nations not as master but as partner. We need the world to be as one in the coming days of tragedy.

In many horrifying and disturbing ways, Hurricane Katrina has brought the war home. Let us finally be wise enough to recognize the signs.

There are far greater enemies we must confront than petty dictators like Saddam Hussein. We are now confronted with the angry forces of nature. We have pumped the earth, air and water so full of toxic poisons that now we must face the inevitable consequences. We cannot confront them alone.

There is no more time for war and occupations.

It is time for the reckoning.

The sooner we accept the challenge, the better.

Jazz.

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CRONICLES (CROW DOG PRESS) AND GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION (DRY BONES PRESS).

Bear Butte: Sacred Ground

From: Carter Camp [mailto:cartercamp@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2005 11:29 PM
To: Sovereign Nations
Subject: Protect Bear Butte!

It has taken me several days to get over some of the outrage and shock I felt when I read the letter from a Sturgis bar owner saying he planned to open a giant, biker bar and "Buffalo Chip" style entertainment venue beside our sacred mountain Bear Butte. Now my outrage has turned to anger and a determination to do something to fight this desecration.

Often native people in this state need to educate their white neighbors when they offend or insult us without malicious intent to do so. We recognize that it is hard for some people to understand that in our beliefs "places" can be sacred and not to be defiled or that Bear Butte is foremost amongst them.

But this is not so with the developer in question, as a local man he knows very well that Indian people from around the country pilgrimage to pray at Bear Butte yearly. Over thirty of our Nations hold Bear Butte sacred and inviolate. By choosing the name "Sacred Ground" for his planned scene of noise and debauchery, Mr. Allen has personally slapped the face of every warrior of every Nation that holds Bear Butte sacred. I am sure there will be a response. I wonder if Mr. Allen knows how many Tribes have purchased property near the sacred mountain and will be his neighbors. Indians have bought land and pay taxes on it without fanfare just to have a quiet place and access to the sacred places.

Some have said in your newspaper that building and noise around the sacred mountain is "inevitable". I beg to differ, it may be rare but I believe sometimes the will of a minority will be heard in America and greed can be subverted. It may be that cooler heads and patient explanations by traditional Indian people can persuade him to withdraw the proposal. I hope so because if they can not it is my considered opinion that Mr. Allen and the State of South Dakota will witness the largest clash of cultures since 1973.

There are many places in America where sacred and/or historical places are preserved by a green zone or buffer zone against unwanted developments interfering with the nature of the place or experience. Only greed can deny Bear Butte the same respect and care. It is long past time that all further development be put on hold until the preservation of all aspects of maintaining Bear Butte can be considered (including tolerable noise and traffic levels) to preserve what is left of a sacred environment.

I call on the State and County to close Highway 79 between SD Hwys 34 and 212 during the Sturgis Bike Rally and that alternate routes be found or constructed. I further call on the State to limit public access to the mountain during June so ceremonies can take place on the sacred mountain.

Over the last few years a grassroots organization called the "Defenders of the Black Hills" led the struggle to stop the illegal placement of an unacceptably noisy shooting range a few miles from the sacred mountain.

Although I cannot speak for them, as a founding member I intend to ask that stopping this development be placed very high on our agenda at the next meeting. It may take lawsuits, or national boycotts of "Broken Spoke Saloons", it may take protests and letter writing, it may once more take much sacrifice on the part of our people but it is a struggle we must take on if we are to survive as whole people and Nations.

The good thing out of this bad news is that Mr. Allen's plan has offended every Indian person in South Dakota and the entire Great Plains area. We must unite as never before to crush this proposal and stop any future attacks on our real "Sacred Grounds", our beloved mountain. In this fight, Teton Lakota and Cheyenne warriors can struggle alongside Crow, Shoshoni and Mandan, Blackfoot, Ojibway and Arikara. Ponca like me can join with Pawnee, Otoe, Kaw, Osage, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne and Arapahoe who journey here from exile in Oklahoma to maintain our ties to the sacred mountain. We must call on our Tribal Governments for support and the whole world for assistance in this effort. We must enlist the many resources of Indian Country to beat back this obscene development proposal and enact protective laws to protect her. On this we must stake our sashes to the ground. On this we cannot fail!

Carter Camp, Ponca Nation

The Chavez Exchange, Final Entry

(3rd & final entry in an exchange regarding Hugo Chavez & The Slug)

Good points, Jack. You can't necessarily be guilty by association. However, there is a disconnect here between what Chavez says about America -- "the most savage empire that has ever existed" and praise for Castro and Mao. It doesn't compute. Chavez sinks waist-deep in a bed of hypocritical quicksand. While America did get in bed with unsavory characters, no American President ever held their society up as a model we should follow. Not so Chavez with Cuba or Maoist China. It's clear he believes Cuba is a great society and model for the Latin American world. The fact that Fidel has never been elected by the Cuban people to do anything is a non-issue for Chavez. That's deeply troubling.

I'm also reading troubling stories about new legislation that prohibits "insulting a government official". Who is going to decide what is criticism and what is an insult? That's censorship, and it's a law that can be used to intimidate anyone who writes something Chavez doesn't like. There is also evidence Cuban intelligence officers are now working in the country, helping identify potential enemies of Chavez. He also seems to have complete autonomy to spend the country's oil wealth (or give it away) as he sees fit, without so much as a vote in parliament. Others have pointed to Chavez savaging of property rights. Such a move would trigger a revolt in our democracy. If land reform was necessary, it seems to me Chavez could have chosen a path that respected the rights of existing owners. The Brazilian President has commented privately that Chavez is an "unconscious authoritarian" -- I think that's probably a good way to define him, but it's also ominous.

Hitler analogies are vastly overused, and I wouldn't presume to compare Chavez to Hitler, but the conditions of a very popular President who turned a country around at the expense of their civil liberties has happened before.

The country has had a majority of poor -- long neglected. Chavez is the first President to put their interests first. If I were living in the barrios, I wouldn't care either if free speech and property rights were trampled on -- in the short run. In the long run, I might want to be one of those property owners myself. I'd wake up someday with an authoritarian government I might be sick of, but no way to get rid of.

As you say, we'll see. If Chavez busied himself running his country without trying to ruin mine, I wouldn't be so militant in pointing out his obvious flaws. America is not Chavez enemy, but he has made it clear that he is ours, and that means I'm going to watch every move he makes.

Brook

[Editor’s Note: This was posted to complete an exchange regarding Hugo Chavez and Pat Robertson’s call for his assassination. The writer’s point of view is his own. For those who require refutation, see the original commentary on Dissident Voice 8/27/05 or a new article posted on Common Dreams 8/29/05, “Hugo Chavez: A Walk in the Footsteps of Arbenz & Allende” by Dr. Rosa Maria Pegueros: www.commondreams.org. Viva Chavez!]

The Chavez Exchange, Continued

(A Response to a Commentary posted on Dissident Voice 8/27/05)

Jack,

You didn't keep up with the news during Chavez recent visit to China. His praise of Mao was well documented. Here's a link to the news report that many services picked up.

http://dailynews.muzi.com/ll/english/1342232.shtml

This statement, coupled with Chavez recent "revolutionary democracy" Cuban rant, should worry every Venezuelan citizen. Mao was one of the worst leaders of the 20th Century responsible for the deaths of millions of his own people from starvation and the brutal occupation and rape of Tibet -- a peaceful Buddhist country -- still illegally occupied today, while the world turns a blind eye. Chavez is running around the world talking about things he doesn't even know about.

What it demonstrates is that Chavez favors his ideology above democracy and civil liberties. When you're fawning over authoritarian dictators and never utter a single word of criticism or call for greater civil liberties in their nations what other conclusion can you come to? He's also now jumping in bed with Iran, which is not only brutally repressive, they are viciously anti-socialist. They rounded all the socialist/Marxists up and shot them after their revolution.

Look, the bottom line here is that it doesn't matter what we do, until we achieve a sustainable birth rate on this planet, we're always going to have desperately poor people. This is the elephant in the room nobody wants to talk about. Yemen, the poorest Arab nation has an average 6 children per household. Latin American birth rates are not far behind. These are people who can't even feed one child having 6 or 7. Unless your economy is growing at greater than 10% a year, there's no way you'll ever keep up. While the Chinese model is certainly Draconian, it's estimated their one-child policy has reduced their population by 250 million people in the past 15 years. That's a staggering statistic. This is where I'm placing my emphasis. I want social justice too, but we need to talk about social responsibility at the same time. Otherwise, we're whistling in the wind.

Brook

RANDOM RESPONSE:

I concede the point. According to Reuters (a very reputable source), Chavez “declared himself to have been a Maoist from the time he was a child.”

I confess I find that declaration troubling. I can only surmise that Chavez either does not believe the history of brutal repression under Mao or he has distinguished between the words of Mao (quite pleasing) and his actions (quite disturbing).

Nevertheless, sympathy for Mao on the matter of socialism does not support the notion that Chavez is anti-democratic. Do not confuse economic and political theories. Chavez is, after all, an avowed Bolivarian – and that is definitive democracy.

On this matter, I must offer something of a retraction: I am to some extent a defender of socialism in that I believe that economies function best when a balance is struck between the dynamics of capitalism and the ideals of socialism. As an objective observer, you will concede that the American system is such a hybrid. Unbridled American capitalism led to repeated collapse until FDR struck a balance with the New Deal. That balance has been under constant attack since the Reagan administration – including the policy initiative of Bill Clinton.

While it appears we have wandered from the topic at hand, your attacks on Hugo Chavez do not support the conclusion that he favors an ideology “above democracy and civil liberties.” (If he moves against either, I will be among the first to challenge him.) Your case is built on guilt by association. If you apply the same logic to American foreign policy, your attack would be vicious indeed. What you do not discuss is the overwhelming support of the Venezuelan people for their elected leader and his determined efforts to lift the masses from dire poverty in an oil-rich nation.

Time and an unbiased reading of history will reveal who is right and who is wrong. For now, I will remain a defender of Hugo Chavez and his Bolivarian revolution.

The key to understanding American engagement in Latin America and throughout the world is that it is guided not by an ideology of freedom, justice or democracy, but by an overriding economics of exploitation.

I have enjoyed this exchange but I think it is time to post it and move on. There is a war going on. If you would like the final word, I will post that as well (within the bounds of decency).

I agree with your bottom line concern about a sustainable birthrate. Perhaps we have found common ground.

Peace,
Random

P.S. I would welcome your opinion on the war.