EXCERPT: NUMBER NINE, A WORK IN PROGRESS.
FADE IN:
EXT. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY – ARIEL VIEW – DAY
Smog and traffic patterns.
The Beatles’ REVOLUTION 9 (White Album) is heard.
INSERT MONTAGE – SOCIAL INSANITY
OJ Simpson, CNN war footage, demonstrations, traffic jams, crime scenes, sporting events, Enron, Martha Stewart.
BACK TO SCENE
ZOOM to a woman in a red convertible speeding down a suburban street. This is RUBY DAULTON, 36, a wild woman, exotic dancer, edgy and sexy.
Fade REVOLUTION 9 to HELTER SKELTER (White Album).
Ruby is intense, worried, with one eye on the rearview mirror. She turns suddenly as she glimpses a blue BMW rounding a corner in the mirror.
Ruby kept busy – picking up, wiping down, stacking dishes, emptying ashtrays, anything – to keep from sitting with the men in her living room. They were uninvited guests, a couple of boys from the office. The office was what they called Ruby’s place of employment. Customers called it Shotgun Slim’s – a stripper bar in the great San Fernando Valley, where the sun always shines and the air is a toxic mix of internal combustion soup.
It was Ruby’s birthday but the boys brought nothing but trouble. They sat in the living room of her small cottage, laughing and posturing over a televised boxing match. She was reminded of the one question that settled in her mind years ago and, like an unwanted relative, never left: What the fuck am I doing here?
It was a long way from the Land of Oz. Ruby knew how she had gotten here. What she did not know and could not have understood if she did was why she had chosen to stay. The old cliché: Habits die hard.
The boys were getting too high, too coked up, and too revved up on televised violence, gin and tonic. A fourth round technical knockout brought them to frenzy and let them down hard. They had little else to do but turn their attentions to Ruby. They won their boxing bets but Ruby was the loser.
As it happened, Ruby had a man. He was the owner of Shotgun Slim’s and these boys were supposed to be his friends and partners – brothers in the vocabulary of the business. She knew what they were about. They would use their highs to excuse their behavior. No excuse would be good enough for Ruby: That she was a woman? That she was not physically strong enough to deter them? Should she take a beating only to suffer the same consequences – only worse?
The truth is she did not like her man any more than she liked his friends. They were all scumbags – little piggy punks with drugs, money and guns.
“What the fuck am I doing here?” she asked aloud as they implored her to come to them.
“Get your ass in here, you sexy fucking bitch!”
They were pawing their groins, laughing and clapping like wild boars circling a ground hog.
Ruby took account and decided to be cool. She left herself behind in the kitchen, along with the memories of who she once was: a kid from Kansas, pretty and popular enough to finish third in the race for Homecoming Queen. Sexy Sadie. Protected from all harm, she hid herself in the closet of her mind, safe behind walls of mental concrete and layers of darkness. She walked out of herself and, like Norma Jean becoming Marilyn, she became Ruby Daulton, queen of the dance floor, star of the stage where the silver phallus is always front and center.
“Tony wouldn’t like this,” she purred. Tony was Antonio Menendez, her man and their boss.
“Tony ain’t gonna hear about it,” replied Little Billy. He was a large man with short hair, ruddy complexion, and bulging biceps. He was known at the office as “the muscle.” Ruby sensed that he hated the boss as much as she did but Tony was clueless.
“Alright then,” she said. “What do you boys want?”
Little Billy grabbed his balls. “Hey, babe, you know what I want!”
He used a remote to click some music on the television. They had prepared something special: a mix from The Beatles’ White Album, beginning with Birthday.
They say it’s your birthday …
Ruby waited as long as she could before beginning the slow movements known as the tease. She was playing along and the boys were content.
Yes we’re going to a party party …
She removed her shoes and was beginning to remove her shirt when the music shifted to Sexy Sadie. Ruby loved Sexy Sadie. It meant more to her than they could ever imagine. She began to move to the rhythm inside. She closed her eyes and began to dance – not the cheap, over-rehearsed dance of the stripper but the dance of the muses of ancient mythology. She danced and the muses wept. She closed her eyes and thought of Dorothy and Kansas and the wizard who was not a wizard and ruby-red shoes on a yellow, brick road. She danced and she imagined fields of golden grass, waves of amber grace, fields of wild flowers, and poppies – glistening white poppies from here to the end of time. She closed her eyes, tapped her heels, and flew away on the wings of angelic beings.
Sexy Sadie, how did you know?
The world was waiting just for you …
When she awakened with a jolt, everything had changed. Sexy Sadie had given way to a blaring Happiness is A Warm Gun. The transition was sudden and disturbing. It was an omen as surely as a crow in the morning or crossing the path of a black cat.
“This is wrong,” she said.
The boys were not convinced. As far as they were concerned, happiness was a warm gun and a sexy woman to help it along.
“Dance, baby! Take it off!”
Ruby turned to the windows at the front of her small cottage and thought she saw the glimpse of a shadow.
“Antonio’s coming,” she said.
“Bullshit, baby, he’s tied up.”
I need a fix ‘cause I’m going down …
Ruby danced on but it was not the same. It was the familiar dance of a stripper on a long and lonely night when men too tired, too drunk, too high and too excited to think pawed the stage and clamored for more. The smell of sweat and spent ejaculations stifled the air and choked away any beauty and grace of the dancer’s performance.
The boys were not content with the pace of Ruby’s tease. They rushed the improvised stage of her living room, ripped the clothes from her body, and forced her to her knees as Ruby kicked, scratched and fought but refused to scream. She would not give them that satisfaction. She would face the demons as she always had. She would be strong – quietly defiant.
A crash at the door, felt more than heard, interrupted them at the height of their excitement. It was Antonio. He was the picture of a jealous man who was tipped off by someone with a personal interest.
Happiness is a warm gun. Bang-bang, shoot-shoot …
Ruby managed to grab her clothes and move to the back of the room. The boys, holding their pants, were trying to explain that it was Ruby’s fault. She was a tease. She seduced them.
Little Billy saw the hatred in Tony’s eyes and knew their words were a waste. It was the rage of a man betrayed by those he had considered his friends, his partners, and his brothers. They rambled on if only to buy time and to let the rage disperse.
“She’ll get hers,” mumbled Antonio. It was all Ruby needed to hear.
Little Billy went for his gun first. It was a futile gesture, the desperate last act of a dead man. Antonio brought the wrath of jealousy and betrayal, the hammer of vengeance down upon their heads. He emptied two handguns, reloaded, and made a point of blowing their faces off.
Ruby escaped. She dashed out the back, ran around the corner, past Antonio’s blue BMW, jumped in her convertible and drove away just as Tony emerged, splattered with blood and looking for his final revenge.
The television survived and played on.
Helter skelter helter skelter …
Will you won’t you want me to make you
I’m coming down fast but don’t let me break you …
Helter skelter helter skelter …
Tell me tell me tell me the answer
You may be a lover but you ain’t no dancer …
Look out, helter skelter helter skelter …
Look out!
SAVE TOOKIE WILLIAMS! FREE LEONARD PELTIER!
FORGET THE ASSASSIN. REMEMBER JOHN LENNON. IMAGINE.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Howard Dean & The Democratic War Trap
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean made headlines with his interview on a Texas radio station. The media dutifully reported his comment that "the idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is...just plain wrong" and his comparision of Iraq to Vietnam.
Once again, however, if you peel away the antiwar rhetoric, you are left with a position that is anything but antiwar. Dean specifically noted that he was not proposing a withdrawal but a "strategic redeployment over a period of two years." He explores the possibilities of pulling National Guard and Reserves, redeploying to "a friendly neighboring country", and committing an additional 20,000 troops to Afghanistan "where we are welcome."
You could argue that Dean's position is an improvement on the Bush strategy but it is not antiwar. From Dean's strategic redeployment, the future of the war could move in any direction, including escalation, increased air strikes, and expansion into Syria and Iran.
Howard Dean has become the poster boy for Democratic duplicity on the war. They offer us appealing words but the bullets and bombs will continue. They promise us peace -- not today, not tomorrow, but somewhere on a distant horizon.
See "Snookered: The Democratic War Trap" on Peace-Earth-Justice [pej.org] 12/4/05.
Once again, however, if you peel away the antiwar rhetoric, you are left with a position that is anything but antiwar. Dean specifically noted that he was not proposing a withdrawal but a "strategic redeployment over a period of two years." He explores the possibilities of pulling National Guard and Reserves, redeploying to "a friendly neighboring country", and committing an additional 20,000 troops to Afghanistan "where we are welcome."
You could argue that Dean's position is an improvement on the Bush strategy but it is not antiwar. From Dean's strategic redeployment, the future of the war could move in any direction, including escalation, increased air strikes, and expansion into Syria and Iran.
Howard Dean has become the poster boy for Democratic duplicity on the war. They offer us appealing words but the bullets and bombs will continue. They promise us peace -- not today, not tomorrow, but somewhere on a distant horizon.
See "Snookered: The Democratic War Trap" on Peace-Earth-Justice [pej.org] 12/4/05.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Gonzo Lives! From the Mind of Mansel
Washington’s Blue Underground
“Burn down the retinas and shave the ghost!”
Those words came from the oval office as reporters stormed the steps of the White House on Friday. Karl Rove was screaming and swinging a fourteen-pound dumbbell on the desk of the president.
Rove screamed, “I can’t f-cking take it anymore. Three hundred and seventy five Iraqi’s ready for combat? What do we have to do go over there and torture the c-cks-ckers myself? Sh-t!”
Dick Cheney sat in silence mulling over the freckled face of a senate page on loan from Rick Santorum. The page stood nervously, his feet becoming clammy in anticipation and in fear of the result.
The President snorting lines of cocaine quickly answers the phone and is informed of the reporters storming past the Roosevelt room. The formerly retired Sam Donaldson loses his hairpiece in the struggle. Helen Thomas aboard a motorized scooter whizzes past Bob Woodard who was tripped up by a foaming Bill O’Reilly who keeps exposing himself.
Meanwhile in the residence first lady Laura Bush is crouched above a first century pamphlet on sobriety and tries to pick it up by using neither of her hands.
- Chris Mansel
chrismansel.blogspot.com
themanselreport.blogspot.com
“Burn down the retinas and shave the ghost!”
Those words came from the oval office as reporters stormed the steps of the White House on Friday. Karl Rove was screaming and swinging a fourteen-pound dumbbell on the desk of the president.
Rove screamed, “I can’t f-cking take it anymore. Three hundred and seventy five Iraqi’s ready for combat? What do we have to do go over there and torture the c-cks-ckers myself? Sh-t!”
Dick Cheney sat in silence mulling over the freckled face of a senate page on loan from Rick Santorum. The page stood nervously, his feet becoming clammy in anticipation and in fear of the result.
The President snorting lines of cocaine quickly answers the phone and is informed of the reporters storming past the Roosevelt room. The formerly retired Sam Donaldson loses his hairpiece in the struggle. Helen Thomas aboard a motorized scooter whizzes past Bob Woodard who was tripped up by a foaming Bill O’Reilly who keeps exposing himself.
Meanwhile in the residence first lady Laura Bush is crouched above a first century pamphlet on sobriety and tries to pick it up by using neither of her hands.
- Chris Mansel
chrismansel.blogspot.com
themanselreport.blogspot.com
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
STANLEY “TOOKIE" WILLIAMS: The Case Against Capital Punishment
Stanley "Tookie" Williams, co-founder of the Crips gang and convicted murderer, in the absence of the governor’s act of clemency, commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, will be put to death by lethal injection on December 13.
His claim of innocence cannot be summarily dismissed in light of the numerous reversals obtained by revelations of DNA evidence. That our system of justice is flawed has been demonstrated beyond all reasonable doubt. Moreover, Williams stands as a rare and classic example of rehabilitation. He has become a powerful spokesperson against the gangster life. He has written children’s books and been nominated for a Nobel Prize.
Aside from the straightforward moral question of whether the state should be engaged in the taking of human lives, the question that must be resolved in all cases of capital punishment is this: Is it in the interest of society?
It is traditionally argued that public safety is the first interest of government. The death penalty is said to serve public safety (a) by assuring that the punished individual will do no further harm and (b) by deterring others from committing crimes that may result in the same fate.
No one denies that society has a legitimate interest in protecting itself from dangerous individuals. Where life imprisonment without parole is an option, however, as it clearly is in the Tookie Williams case, the principle of self-protection is fully served without the death penalty. Moreover, there is a compelling case that Williams’ current work against gangs has saved lives and will continued to do so by leading young people in directions other than the gangster life.
Whether he was rehabilitated by the system or simply by time and his own evolution as a human being, his is a convincing case that rehabilitation is possible. He is not the man he once was.
If there is a deterrent effect in the Williams case, it will happen when he is executed. It will be deterrence against rehabilitation and reform. It will be a very public notice that society places little value in the positive works of a condemned individual. You are the crime and no act of redemption can arrest the decree.
In the interest of society, Tookie Williams should be allowed to continue his writing and his work that may, in some measure, repair some of the harm he caused in his former life.
Society has no interest in killing for vengeance. It is time that the people of all nations moved beyond that guttural, inhumane response. It is time we banished the concept that justice cannot be served and closure cannot be achieved unless blood is spilled.
It is painful to observe the grief-born rage of victim survivors who cannot let go. They seem to believe it is their duty not to let go. They seem to believe that anger will comfort them and revenge will ease their pain. Sadly, they are wrong but they can never admit it for that also would betray their profound grief.
In truth, vengeance may be sweet in the movies but it is only a surface medicine at best. It does nothing to heal the wound or ease the sorrow of loss. The healing can never be initiated by opening another wound.
It is time we accepted what the civilized world has long recognized: The taking of human life by a nation or institution of government is a crime against humanity.
Jazz.
His claim of innocence cannot be summarily dismissed in light of the numerous reversals obtained by revelations of DNA evidence. That our system of justice is flawed has been demonstrated beyond all reasonable doubt. Moreover, Williams stands as a rare and classic example of rehabilitation. He has become a powerful spokesperson against the gangster life. He has written children’s books and been nominated for a Nobel Prize.
Aside from the straightforward moral question of whether the state should be engaged in the taking of human lives, the question that must be resolved in all cases of capital punishment is this: Is it in the interest of society?
It is traditionally argued that public safety is the first interest of government. The death penalty is said to serve public safety (a) by assuring that the punished individual will do no further harm and (b) by deterring others from committing crimes that may result in the same fate.
No one denies that society has a legitimate interest in protecting itself from dangerous individuals. Where life imprisonment without parole is an option, however, as it clearly is in the Tookie Williams case, the principle of self-protection is fully served without the death penalty. Moreover, there is a compelling case that Williams’ current work against gangs has saved lives and will continued to do so by leading young people in directions other than the gangster life.
Whether he was rehabilitated by the system or simply by time and his own evolution as a human being, his is a convincing case that rehabilitation is possible. He is not the man he once was.
If there is a deterrent effect in the Williams case, it will happen when he is executed. It will be deterrence against rehabilitation and reform. It will be a very public notice that society places little value in the positive works of a condemned individual. You are the crime and no act of redemption can arrest the decree.
In the interest of society, Tookie Williams should be allowed to continue his writing and his work that may, in some measure, repair some of the harm he caused in his former life.
Society has no interest in killing for vengeance. It is time that the people of all nations moved beyond that guttural, inhumane response. It is time we banished the concept that justice cannot be served and closure cannot be achieved unless blood is spilled.
It is painful to observe the grief-born rage of victim survivors who cannot let go. They seem to believe it is their duty not to let go. They seem to believe that anger will comfort them and revenge will ease their pain. Sadly, they are wrong but they can never admit it for that also would betray their profound grief.
In truth, vengeance may be sweet in the movies but it is only a surface medicine at best. It does nothing to heal the wound or ease the sorrow of loss. The healing can never be initiated by opening another wound.
It is time we accepted what the civilized world has long recognized: The taking of human life by a nation or institution of government is a crime against humanity.
Jazz.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
MANSEL RETURNS WITH A LITTLE GONZO
Thundered On The Flesh: New York Stories
The steakhouse smells of shit and the waiters stand in the corners, darkened by the smoke emitting from the kitchen. Donald Rumsfeld is entertaining foreign heads of state, otherwise known as senate pages, and going on and on about the breakdown in communications since the capture of many members of the terror organizations, which were helpful in the C.I.A. drug trade. Robert Novak arrives and begins throwing peppercorns around the room. He stuffs chervil down the V-neck sweaters of the waiters and kicks at the jukebox, which only plays Carol Channing.
A waiter approaches Rumsfeld and explains he has a phone call. Karl Rove is calling and screams about the press outside the restaurant. Rove down the street in a dusty van pecks at the laptop computer and watches surveillance footage of Judith Miller and Jean Schmidt making out under a streetlight on the dark side of an abandoned Maryland highway.
The Machiavellian silence of the press core, the lack of investigative journalism, the reliability of the in-bedded reporters in Iraq twirl on the little finger of the major corporations as they meet in seclusion in New York City. Usually they will just sit around and try to remember who owns what. But today they are discussing whether or not the physical makeup of New Orleans and southern Mississippi will impact their businesses. Business a coy term to explain the root of the term, when you own major corporations and own shares in others your line of influence extends in many directions. You might own the items that fill up the shelves but not the store. You may own the company that supplies the workers but not be responsible for their safety or healthcare costs. It is a high finance way of hiding income out in the open.
The heads of the major corporations who own shares in the three corporations that are shadow companies that supply income and money laundering for the government are in New York mainly to celebrate finally taking the companies public, but soon the real guests arrive. Politicians from both sides of the aisle and both sides of the pond arrive and await information on the status of the new IPO. Members of the current administration keep up to date by phone.
- Chris Mansel
chrismansel.blogspot.com
themanselreport.blogspot.com
The steakhouse smells of shit and the waiters stand in the corners, darkened by the smoke emitting from the kitchen. Donald Rumsfeld is entertaining foreign heads of state, otherwise known as senate pages, and going on and on about the breakdown in communications since the capture of many members of the terror organizations, which were helpful in the C.I.A. drug trade. Robert Novak arrives and begins throwing peppercorns around the room. He stuffs chervil down the V-neck sweaters of the waiters and kicks at the jukebox, which only plays Carol Channing.
A waiter approaches Rumsfeld and explains he has a phone call. Karl Rove is calling and screams about the press outside the restaurant. Rove down the street in a dusty van pecks at the laptop computer and watches surveillance footage of Judith Miller and Jean Schmidt making out under a streetlight on the dark side of an abandoned Maryland highway.
The Machiavellian silence of the press core, the lack of investigative journalism, the reliability of the in-bedded reporters in Iraq twirl on the little finger of the major corporations as they meet in seclusion in New York City. Usually they will just sit around and try to remember who owns what. But today they are discussing whether or not the physical makeup of New Orleans and southern Mississippi will impact their businesses. Business a coy term to explain the root of the term, when you own major corporations and own shares in others your line of influence extends in many directions. You might own the items that fill up the shelves but not the store. You may own the company that supplies the workers but not be responsible for their safety or healthcare costs. It is a high finance way of hiding income out in the open.
The heads of the major corporations who own shares in the three corporations that are shadow companies that supply income and money laundering for the government are in New York mainly to celebrate finally taking the companies public, but soon the real guests arrive. Politicians from both sides of the aisle and both sides of the pond arrive and await information on the status of the new IPO. Members of the current administration keep up to date by phone.
- Chris Mansel
chrismansel.blogspot.com
themanselreport.blogspot.com
Thursday, November 24, 2005
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.
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.
Friday, November 18, 2005
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.]
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.]
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
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.]
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.]
Friday, November 11, 2005
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.]
(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.]
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
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.")
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.")
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
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
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
Sunday, October 23, 2005
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
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.
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.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
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.
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.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
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.
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.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
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."]
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."]
Saturday, September 24, 2005
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.
"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.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
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.]
[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.]
Sunday, September 18, 2005
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."]
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."]
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