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May 31, 2004
Badnarik in 2004?
The good ol' "Libertarian" Party -- that band of rascals that proposes to elect politicians to abolish politics and to govern to abolish government -- has nominated computer guy Michael Badnarik from Austin, Texas, to be their 2004 presidential nominee. Badnarik, I understand, is a strict Constitutionalist. To a radical libertarian like myself, who'd abandon the Constitution for the old Articles of Confederation in a heartbeat, this is just another example of the LP's willingness to compromise with government rather than smash it.
More than three decades ago, BEFORE the LP was launched to suck the radicalism out of our movement and jumpstart the Era of Compromise, I heard the late Bob LeFevre urge libertarians to "abstain from beans." Bob was referring to the act of voting in ancient Athens, when different colored beans were dropped into a box. To "abstain from beans" was to choose consciously not to vote.
I'm sure Mr. Badnarik is well-meaning. I have never been quite so sure of the LP's intentions. Regardless, another election year will pass and I will once more "abstain from beans," as I largely have since 1972. It has always made more sense to me as an anarchist to secede from the process of legitimizing the State rather than accepting the rule of a political party.
Posted by Wally Conger at 02:59 PM | Comments (323) | TrackBack
May 30, 2004
Bringing Home the Boodle
(by Nicholas Strakon): "On May 25 one of the local Minitrue TV outlets teased to its 11 p.m. newscast by declaring that Indiana's Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Goldman
Sachs) had "blasted" the U.S. military. That kept me tuned in, for sure, since I'm always on the prowl for signs of civil war within the ruling class. Had the "moderate imperialist" Dark Suits of Wall Street definitively ended their reluctant support for the war? Had they explicitly renounced the Likudnik regime in Washington? A few weeks hence would Little Bush be standing in the hatchway of Marine One, doing a "Nixon wave" as he started that long trip back to Texas?
Uh, no. It turns out that War Liberal Bayh was campaigning in Mishawaka again, not at the Humvee plant this time but rather at the Allison Transmission plant.
And what he was "blasting" the Army for was its purported falure to equip "our troops" with enough armored vehicles at the beginning of the Iraq adventure. The Allison plant produces tank transmissions, and Bayh was crowing about how he had induced the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which
he is a member, to approve a $37 million contract for Allison to make even more of those devices for the Ministry of War Crimes.
The Bankers' Best Boy then beat feet to Fort Wayne to visit another war contractor, ITT, and trumpet how he had helped secure that fascist entity a new $61 million deal with the Army National Guard.
More Likudnik lemons, more War Liberal lemonade."
Reposted by permission from The Last Ditch at www.thornwalker.com/ditch © 2004 WTM Enterprises. All rights reserved.
Posted by Rob at 08:36 PM | Comments (245) | TrackBack
Bill Cosby: Lynched by the NAACP
Bill Cosby (as linked on the May 29 STR home page) said exactly what the black community needs to hear, and thus he's being pilloried for it.
The NAACP and all the official victims can't stand the fact that a black man isn't blaming whitey for all the problems in the black community and, in fact, is calling on blacks to take responsibility for their own lives. Proof that they don't get it--or, more likely, don't want to get it--lies in this paragraph:
"In Atlanta on Sunday, author and cultural critic Michael Eric Dyson called Cosby wrong for using the fund raiser to criticize poor people. While acknowledging Cosby's generous philanthropy to historically black institutions, Dyson said a better use of the platform would have been to criticize national public policy for failing to give poor people enough support." (Emphasis mine.)
There you have it: If you don't want the government to pillage the successful to support the unsuccessful and also to coddle the unsuccessful, you'd better just shut up. You can be sure Cosby won't be invited to any more official victims' meetings. In fact, he'd better get someone to taste his Jell-O pudding for him, too.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 09:06 AM | Comments (234)
May 29, 2004
Another RaSperry for the GOP
Fed up with your Republican friends who simply won't see even the slightest thing wrong with the Bush administration and its war on Iraq? So is Paul Sperry, who writes:
Before the Grand Old Party loses all credibility, it's high time Republicans turn down their radios, put down their cups of RNC Kool-Aid, pull their heads out from under the flag and start asking some hard questions about the leader of their party, including whether he's worthy of nomination come August.
After citing a few conservatives who oppose the war, Sperry closes with this knockout punch:
Not conservative enough for you? Then consider the advice a former foreign policy aide to conservative giant Sen. Jesse Helms gave me last month. "I would believe nothing you are told by anyone in the Bush administration," he warned. "We are in a world of official lies as a method of government."
Or, you can continue to be a proud member of the Coalition of the Willing to Believe White House Propaganda about Iraq. And you can go right on standing fast with Bush and his talk radio lapdogs.
But know that you are standing on the wrong side of truth and history – a place where the entire GOP may find itself stuck for many years if it doesn’t soon divest itself from Bush and his Iraq debacle.
There's a reason that Sperry, who is still listed as Washington Bureau Chief for WorldNetDaily, hasn't had a column published on WND's website since October 6, 2003 ("Bush Lied" was the title of that one). It's called honesty.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 09:26 PM | Comments (208)
Southern Baptists May Leave Government Schools
For all the bad news we hear about Christian denominations, it's nice to hear something good for a change. According to Steven Yates at LewRockwell.com, the Southern Baptists will be considering a resolution at their upcoming convention to recommend that all parents in their churces--and they claim over 16.3 million members--pull their kids out of the government's schools and either homeschool them or put them in private Christian schools. It also recommends that churches assist by providing facilities for Christian education. If even half the Southern Baptists followed the resolution, think of the difference it could make.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 09:08 PM | Comments (189)
The Feds' Intelligence Quotient
It appears, not surprisingly, that the government's "Homeland Security" is about as reliable as its "Social Security," which is to say, not at all.
In warning Americans to brace for a possible attack, Ashcroft cited what he called “credible intelligence from multiple sources,” saying that “just after New Year's, al-Qaida announced openly that preparations for an attack on the United States were 70 percent complete.… After the March 11 attack in Madrid, Spain, an al-Qaida spokesman announced that 90 percent of the arrangements for an attack in the United States were complete.”
But terrorism experts tell NBC News there's no evidence a credible al-Qaida spokesman ever said that, and the claims actually were made by a largely discredited group, Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, known for putting propaganda on the Internet.
Meanwhile, the New York Times says:
The F.B.I. issued an urgent bulletin to several cities on Friday that warned of the prospect of an imminent terrorist attack but retracted the alert hours later, after the intelligence proved unfounded, officials said.
Ah, that wonderful "intelligence!" Remember how it didn't tell us 9/11 was coming but did tell us that Iraq was overflowing with WMDs? I have a brick that has more intelligence than the government.
(Links courtesy Antiwar.com.)
Posted by Mike Tennant at 08:59 PM | Comments (268)
May 28, 2004
Memorial Day Reading Assignment
Sure, Hollywood writer and novelist Dalton Trumbo was a commie. But he also wrote the greatest anti-war novel EVER -- Johnny Got His Gun. I was a good little Republican high schooler when I first read it in 1970, and it hit me like a concussion device. And on this Memorial Day weekend, while the US is still entangled in the Iraq quagmire and the caskets continue to come home, you really should grab a copy of the book and read the whole damn thing. Really.
Johnny Got His Gun closes with one of the most powerful anti-war, anti-state manifestoes ever written. To quote briefly:
"Put the guns into our hands and we will use them. Give us the slogans and we will turn them into realities. Sing the battle hymns and we will take them up where you left off. Not one not ten not ten thousand not a million not ten millions not a hundred millions but a billion two billions of us all the people of the world we will have the slogans and we will have the hymns and we will have the guns and we will use them and we will live. We will be alive and we will walk and talk and eat and sing and laugh and feel and love and bear our children in tranquility in security in decency in peace. You plan the wars you masters of men plan the wars and point the way and we will point the gun."
Read the novel, then pass it on.
Posted by Wally Conger at 12:26 PM | Comments (258) | TrackBack
Oh, NOW I See the Difference!
According to CNN, in a speech yesterday:
Kerry outlined four principles that would guide his national security strategy:
- Building new alliances to fight terrorism;
Modernizing the U.S. military to meet new threats;
Using all tools in the U.S. arsenal -- military, diplomatic, economic and the power of American values -- in the terror fight;
Freeing the United States from "its dangerous dependence on Middle East oil."
Oh, now I see why I should vote for Kerry instead of Bush! His policies are so starkly different from Bush's. I see why, too, all the "conservative" pundits are so deathly afraid of Kerry. Just look what massive changes he'd make to U.S. foreign policy!
Bush and Kerry are Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dumber, period. The "dime's worth of difference" is that Bush has to get taxpayers to buy his ketchup, while Kerry gets his wife to do it.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 11:43 AM | Comments (208)
The Divine Right of Irresponsibility
"Many have expressed surprise, if not outrage, at the United Nations granting to American and British soldiers immunity from international criminal prosecution for wrongs committed while they were engaged in UN missions. 'Given the recent revelations . . . the US has picked one hell of a moment to ask for special treatment,' said an official of Human Rights Watch.
"Those who are shocked by such news need to review history. Political systems insisting they not be held accountable for wrongs they have committed goes to the very essence of politics. Any first-year political science student can tell you that governments are defined as institutions enjoying a monopoly on the use of force within a given geographic area. If force is the operating principle in politics, then how naïve are those who believe that people who enjoy the popularly sanctioned power to pursue their ends through violent means will respect any formal restraint on such capacities? No more than would a lion be expected to moderate its forceful energies vis-à-vis the interests of a gazelle, should we expect statists to take seriously the notion that they be held responsible for how they choose to exercise their monopoly powers."
Read Butler Shaffer's whole column here.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 09:29 AM | Comments (117)
May 27, 2004
FDA Stops Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
And you thought only people could be declared "enemy combatants" and detained on the say-so of the federal government! Well, think again:
"The Food and Drug Administration announced new rules Thursday under which it can detain for up to 30 days food or food-related materials suspected of posing a threat to health.
"The rules were invoked under the 2002 bioterrorism act but include any instance where FDA has evidence or information that there is a serious health threat."
Oh, how fortunate we are to have our wise masters in Washington to protect us from terrorist tomatoes, too!
On the other hand, high-fat, high-calorie foods pose a great "threat to health"--not to mention how much we taxpayers have to shell out to cover health care costs associated with obesity--so watch for French--er, freedom fries to be impounded soon.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 03:16 PM | Comments (113)
Appreciating Ralph Raico
For ten memorable afternoons last month, sitting on my patio with a box of Honduran cigars, I plugged myself into a Sony Walkman and unwound my so-called college "education," working though the ten audiotapes that make up Ralph Raico's History: The Struggle for Liberty.
Until Professor Raico completes his definitive book on classical liberalism, this ten-lecture Mises Institute course, recorded last summer, will stand as his greatest tribute to freedom. In some 15 hours of "politically incorrect," Western-biased teaching, Raico, a longtime protege of the great Murray Rothbard, traces the roots of classical liberalism and its first volleys against the State to the "Dark Ages" (which he explains weren't quite as "dark" as we've long been taught). Then he follows the struggle for freedom into 20th century America. His material on Woodrow Wilson and the beginnings of American Empire is terrific. The last lecture centers on the future of classical liberalism and liberty, touching on the ideas of Rothbard and Hans-Hermann Hoppe. It's exhilerating.
What makes this series, available from the Mises Institute at Mises.org, really great is Raico's humor, his anecdotal approach to history, and the joy with which he tackles his subjects. I'm on my second run-through with these tapes, and I'm learning still more while having a wonderful, inspired time. I recommend this stuff highly.
Posted by Wally Conger at 02:51 PM | Comments (110) | TrackBack
More "Collateral Damage"
Suppose for a moment that not one American had died or even been wounded in Iraq. Would we thus have had a "clean" war that most Americans could applaud? Apparently not, for it has now surfaced that an anti-malaria drug administered to U.S. soldiers is responsible for permanent brain damage in six soldiers. (Link courtesy Antiwar.com.)
This is the same drug that has been linked to suicides, but has the "support the troops" crowd in Washington seen fit to yank the drug? Of course not! They just have the typical bury-the-story "study" going on, which "could take up to two years," at which point the election will be well behind us.
Collateral damage, anyone?
Posted by Mike Tennant at 01:42 PM | Comments (215)
May 25, 2004
Limbaugh's College "Rush Week" Schedule?
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's token liberal (well, at least avowed liberal; the rest are mostly neocons), Mike Seate, has a funny take on Rush Limbaugh's characterization of the Abu Ghraib prison abuses as "fraternity pranks." Seate comes up with "pages ... reputed to be culled from Limbaugh's personal college schedule." My favorite:
"11 a.m.: Weird screams coming from freshman pledge interview room. What a bunch of utter crybabies. I remember my own initiation ceremonies fondly. How proud I was to stand atop the wooden box! I even volunteered to attach my own electrodes. I guess they don't make freshmen like they used to."
Al Franken could take lessons from this guy.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 04:46 PM | Comments (182)
But We're Safer Now Than We've Ever Been
From Fox News:
Despite the elimination of several key figures, Al Qaeda still has a functioning leadership, over 18,000 potential terrorists in its global network and a swelling membership thanks to the war in Iraq, a study released Tuesday found.
Operating in an estimated 60-plus nations around the world, the terrorist group poses a growing threat to Western interests and attacks are likely to increase, the International Institute of Strategic Studies said in its Strategic Survey 2003-4.
The United States remains Al Qaeda's prime target, the report said, adding that an Al Qaeda leader has said 4 million Americans will have to be killed "as a prerequisite to any Islamic victory."
But the war on Iraq has made us safer. Uh-huh.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 03:13 PM | Comments (238)
May 23, 2004
Abu Ghraib and the Nature of the State
Gene Callahan has really been on a roll lately.
Now, in "Abu Ghraib and the Nature of the State," he takes his earlier discussion of anarchy versus State control and applies it to the prison tort--er, abuse--er, "fraternity pranks" at Abu Ghraib. Says Callahan, among many other good things:
"The fact that the soldiers involved were operating with the authority of a state behind them ought to figure prominently in any analysis of what occurred at that prison. They had been taught, most likely from childhood and certainly since joining the military, that loyalty to the state ruling over them is a sacred obligation. They were told, again and again, that the vital interests of the State can negate any limits that traditional moral strictures might place on their behavior."
Go get 'em, Gene!
Posted by Mike Tennant at 09:08 AM | Comments (185)
May 22, 2004
Keep a Wedding Party Around in Case the Americans Attack
From a Root Striker: "I usually have Fox News on for white noise most of the day, and never an hour goes by that they don't have me ready to chuck the TV off the balcony. Yesterday, for instance, one of their anchors -- John Gibson -- suggested that the Americans did not bomb a wedding party but rather 'the
insurgents keep a bride and groom around' to claim such attrocities when strongholds are attacked."
Posted by Rob at 02:28 PM | Comments (205) | TrackBack
May 21, 2004
Federal Witness Charged With Perjury in Martha Stewart Case
A Secret Service employee involved in the government's case against Martha Stewart was charged with perjury Friday, federal prosecutors said.
Larry Stewart, who testified as an expert witness about the ink on a worksheet maintained by Martha Stewart's broker, Peter Bacanovic, was charged with two counts of perjury in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.
Wasn't Martha Stewart convicted for having lied to the feds (when, it must be noted, she claimed she hadn't committed a crime, which she hadn't)? Let's just see what happens when the feds lied to Martha Stewart and to the judge and jury in her trial.
U.S. attorney David Kelley said the charges against Larry Stewart were "indeed troubling, very troubling, because a trusted lab examiner violated the public trust."
But during a Friday afternoon news conference he added that "we are quite confident that the false testimony will have no impact on the convictions of Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic." ...
If convicted of the charges, Larry Stewart faces up to 10 years in prison and $500,000 in fines, though his actual sentence could be shorter.
I think we all know his sentence will be shorter. After all, the government says his lies don't matter. And if you can't trust the government, whom can you trust?
Posted by Mike Tennant at 04:48 PM | Comments (250)
This WMD Story's a Dud
How many of y'all received truimphal e-mails from your Republican buddies this week, trumpeting the big WMD find (namely, one bomb with a little leftover sarin gas)?
Former U.S. and U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter demolishes the theory that the sarin was part of Saddam's alleged stockpiles of WMDs in this piece at the Christian Science Monitor. Ritter's theory is that the bomb was constructed from a dud artillery shell that had been fired years ago. (Link courtesy Antiwar.com.)
Of course, the die-hard armchair warriors will remain entirely unmoved by this and will dismiss Ritter as an appeaser (not to mention a pedophile) even though they had embraced him when he criticized Clinton's Iraq policy.
Besides, we already know Saddam's WMDs exist and are in Syri--er, Lebanon--now.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 01:48 PM | Comments (198)
May 20, 2004
Mind Your Pees and Q's
OK. How many of you have ever heard of "shy bladder syndrome"? Well, a man claims he has this "disability," which caused him to be fired from his job because he couldn't urinate into a cup for a drug test, and so--what else?--he's suing his former employer. I sort of understand the problem, but I would never have thought to classify it as a "social phobia" or "disability." (There's actually an International Paruresis Association dedicated to the problem, which, of course, is officially called "paruresis"! I wonder what they do at their meetings. No, I won't even go there.)
As ridiculous as all of that sounds, here's what really got me about this article:
"This is supposed to be a country where losing a job for a disorder like that shouldn't be a problem," said Smith, who worked at the company's Griffin plant more than three years. "It's just a matter of simple justice."
Yes, folks, America is "supposed to be a country where" you can never be fired for failing to live up to the requirements of the job! "Simple justice" demands that an employer keep you on the job no matter what. Obviously the reporter at CNN believes this because there's no hint of irony in the article. Why bother even having employers? Since everyone is entitled to a living anyway, let's just scrap them all and let the government take care of all of us. It worked so well in the Soviet Union, after all.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 01:27 PM | Comments (244)
May 19, 2004
Moore-onomics
There is a version of Gresham’s Law that applies to economic literature: Bad economics drives out the good. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that most people never seriously study economics but are nevertheless influenced by the economic commentaries of fellow economic ignoramuses. A case in point is the huge sales of two books written by the socialist documentary film maker Michael Moore: Stupid White Men and Downsize This! Both of these books proudly announce on their front covers that they were New York Times bestsellers. And both books simply rehash old myths about capitalism that have been proven wrong over and over again for decades.
That Moore's books are bestsellers is itself a sad commentary.
Posted by George F. Smith at 12:46 PM | Comments (269) | TrackBack
May 18, 2004
When It's OK to Murder Your Own People and Bury Them in Mass Graves
"One of Britain's grimmest wartime secrets, the harrowing tale of how scores of young soldiers were massacred by their own side on a Devon beach, can now be told," reports the U.K. Guardian.
"Corroborating eyewitness accounts have revealed how American troops were killed by their own side in a terrifying 'friendly fire' disaster during training exercises for D-Day, 60 years ago. Many of the witnesses have carried their stories to the grave, but their families insist that the truth must now be acknowledged."
Yes, even government's war games kill people. I guess, though, anything bad is excusable when the U.S. and British governments are at war because they are always at war to liberate people and make the world safe for democracy. Why, our governments even go to war to prevent the digging and filling of mass graves!
"Their accounts tell how the sea ran red with blood as bodies bobbed in the surf and corpses were piled on the sand. As the scale of the tragedy sank in, the dead were hidden in a secret mass grave."
Oops. I guess Hitler would've been justified in invading Britain and America in order to liberate us from our oppressors. At least he wouldn't have been lying about our government's possession and use of WMDs.
(Link courtesy Antiwar.com.)
Posted by Mike Tennant at 11:22 AM | Comments (469)
We Need the State...Otherwise, Something Bad Might Happen!
Why do people believe that government is necessary? Why do they think anarchy is bad? The simple answer is fear. People fear bad things will happen if there's no government.
Gene Callahan, in just eight short paragraphs, demolishes that argument. Read it and leap.
Posted by Mike Tennant at 09:32 AM | Comments (152)
May 16, 2004
The Ballad of Lynndie England
From Democratic Underground (even those guys get it right sometimes):
Once upon a time the king came down to the village and told the villagers that there was a monster living across the sea. The king said that an army had to be assembled, to bring across the sea to kill the monster. Most of the villagers immediately volunteered their children for the king's army. A few pretended to be childless.
One of the villagers was on the fence. This villager was an old soldier, who had spent many years of his life in battle. The old soldier was a good judge of character, and he knew the toll of war. He looked deeply into the eyes of the king and saw a man untested by the temperature of battle. The old soldier wondered if there really was a monster living across the sea.
The king saw the old soldier's hesitation and approached him. The king asked him if he had any children. The old soldier said that he had only one: a daughter. The king asked him to volunteer his daughter for the army.
The old soldier said, "I understand that there are times when brave men and women must stand up and fight. But my daughter is the only thing I love in this world. So I must ask you to make me a promise. Is there really a monster living across the sea?"
The king said: "I will give you my most solemn vow: I will personally bring back the head of the monster to this very village."
So the old soldier gave the king his only daughter. As they departed, the king assured the old soldier that he would not place a weapon in his daughter's hands. Instead, he would place her in charge of the prisoners. With that, they left the village, and went off to war.
A year later, the king returned to the village, bringing with him the old soldier's daughter. The king presented her to her father. Then the king began to leave.
The old soldier stopped the king, and reminded him of his promise. "Where is the head of the monster?" asked the old soldier. But the king departed without answering. The old soldier and his daughter were left alone.
The old soldier was a good judge of character, and he knew the toll of war. He looked deeply into the eyes of his daughter, and, in a sharp, sudden whisper, his heart told him that the king had kept his promise.
Posted by Andy Henke at 11:34 AM | Comments (272) | TrackBack
May 15, 2004
I Long for the Day
The other day, someone (a conservative) sent me a photo of Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry coming down some steps off an airplane. The picture had some typical, disparaging caption on it. I wrote back, "I long for the days of Clinton's relatively low spending, and the days when politicians killed people only one at a time."
Posted by Rob at 02:04 AM | Comments (272) | TrackBack
May 14, 2004
Bill of Wrongs
I suspect all of the STR writers, at one point or another, have alluded to one or more of the Bush administration's violations of the Bill or Rights. Until now, though, I've never seen them all catalogued in one place, as (obviously quite busy) Root Striker Anthony Gregory does today at LewRockwell.com.
Gregory goes through each of the first ten amendments and succinctly demonstrates how the administration has violated them. The best thing he can say for Dubya is that he "has not violated the Constitution any worse than Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon or Harry Truman, and not as badly as Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, or Abraham Lincoln." Watch out, Anthony: For the neocons, that's a perfect endorsement!
This might very well be one of those columns to send to your Republican friends who refuse to believe that Dubya has done anything at all deserving of being booted from office. On the other hand, their response would probably be: "Well, he's better than John Kerry!"
Posted by Mike Tennant at 10:53 AM | Comments (119)
May 13, 2004
Did Al Qaeda Execute Nick Berg?
From a CNN interview:
O'BRIEN: Well, let me ask you this. You've had a chance to really listen to this tape and get a sense who might be responsible, just by deciphering, say, accents. And certainly, there in the Arab world, they're very attuned to that. And given the fact of who this may or may not be, does that have some effect on how it is being played?
NASR: Yes, and if you listen to these voices that we're hearing on Arab networks, Iraqis are condemning this execution. And they're saying these are foreigners. These are not Iraqis. They do not represent us and so forth.
Now, of course, the original claim was that Zarqawi is the actual man who performed this execution. Our experts listened to the accent, as you said, and they determined the accent is not Jordanian...
O'BRIEN: He is a Jordanian who is working supposedly, allegedly, at the behest of al Qaeda in Iraq. So go ahead.
NASR: Right, he is very close to bin Laden, and works, you're right, as an agent of al Qaeda in Iraq. Now, the accent is not Jordanian so that takes the Jordanian element out of the story immediately.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right, now one final thought here. You did a very careful translation of your own, of the statement. And in it, you see no reference to al Qaeda. And yet the official U.S. government translation does. Explain how that happened.
NASR: Oh, I find it very interesting, because out of the blue, there is a mention of al Qaeda on the U.S. government translation. It says: "Does al Qaeda need any further excuses?" Any speaker of the Arabic language is going to notice a difference between the word al Qaeda, which means "the base," and al qaed, which means "the one sitting, doing nothing."
My translation says: "Is there any excuse for the one who sits down and does nothing?" Basically they're telling people, you have no excuse for not doing anything, for not acting and defending Islam and so forth. Whereas the U.S. government translation has this factual error, I'm sure it's an honest mistake, but basically it sort of adds al Qaeda to the statement, which is not on the statement.
Posted by Rob at 10:34 PM | Comments (245) | TrackBack
'Something Wicked This Way Comes . . . '
That something is the draft. Bush is running short of volunteer fodder, so he'll have to enslave young American males with weak or nonexistent political connections to fill the ranks.
As Jesse Ogden writes, ". . . a slave master sends his slave to work the fields, whereas the State sends soldiers to fight and die in a field, a desert, an island, etc. Where is the moral authority at all?"
There is none, of course. The State embodies the crimes it purports to oppose.
Posted by George F. Smith at 02:58 PM | Comments (125) | TrackBack
May 12, 2004
Don't Read the Taguba Report!
I sent this story to a friend of mine who's still in the Army, and he replied, "This memo or derivatives of it flashed all over the Army last week. Everyone here got several flame mails about it. Of course, we all went straight to the web to read the report. We were also told that if we had printed it, we could not destroy it ourselves but would have to take it to the vault for proper disposal. What a farce."
Posted by Rob at 08:20 PM | Comments (156) | TrackBack
Government Responsibility
Listening to politicians can be hazardous to your health. Fareed Zakaria's article in Newsweek reminds me that politicians, if we're not careful, will slime us to death.
Bush says CEOs will be held responsible for irresponsible decisions. Held responsible, not by traditional market forces, but by government seeking private sector scapegoats. But does Bush's rallying-cry for responsibility carry into government itself?
Of course not. Government, as society's bully in expensive clothes, answers to no one. Government is above the law.
A perfect example was Rumsfeld's statement in congressional testimony last week.
"I take full responsibility," he said.
What exactly does that mean?
He will not resign. He will not ask others who might be "responsible" to resign. He not be jailed, fined, fired, or reassigned. He will pay no price whatever, because the public doesn't care enough to call for his head. Rumsfeld's claim of responsibility means nothing.
All that's required of him for propaganda purposes is to admit, publicly, after unsuccessfully keeping the Abu Ghraib prison scandal under wraps, is that yes, indeed, he is responsible. Any more questions?
As Zakaria writes:
The only people who have been fired or cashiered in this administration are men like Gen. Eric Shinseki, Paul O'Neill and Larry Lindsey, who spoke inconvenient truths.
Posted by George F. Smith at 07:24 PM | Comments (222) | TrackBack
The Moron from Oklahoma
On the same day that I came across a Red Cross report which cites a Pentagon investigation admitting that 70-90% of those detained in Abu Ghraib prison were "likely innocent" or "arrested by mistake," (a report which seems to have disappeared in the last several hours, please post a link in the STR forums or the comments here if you have one) I find this little gem from Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe. Quote:
"I have to say I'm probably not the only one up at this table that is more outraged by the outrage than we are by the treatment. The idea that these prisoners, you know they're not there for traffic violations. If they're in cellblock 1A or 1B these prisoners, they're murderers, they're terrorists, they're insurgents, many of them probably have American blood on their hands, and here we're so concerned about the treatment of those individuals."
Considering the extreme level of outrage and calls for vengeance that the torture pictures (the ones we've seen, let's not forget that even Rumsfeld and Powell claim the worst ones have yet to be made public) have caused, I think it's fair to assume that Inhofe's comments will only add considerable fuel to the fire. I don't think it would be at all outrageous to now claim that HE has American blood on his hands. Perhaps he (and the rest of the torture troops) should be tried for treason and hanged.
But wait, it gets better! After making these incredibly ignorant remarks, the Moron from Oklahoma apparently then switches gears from "bigot" to "hypocrite," as I see that the Senate has UNANIMOUSLY passed a resolution condemning the torture and abuse that Mr. Inhofe claimed the innocent victims deserved.
If it's really true that elected officials represent their constituents, I'm sure glad I don't live anywhere near Oklahoma.
Posted by Andy Henke at 02:34 AM | Comments (247) | TrackBack
May 10, 2004
There IS a Draft
Dallas Morning News
MAy 8, 2004
'There IS a draft'
Re: "Feel a Draft? America should start debating this subject,"
Editorials, April 22.
I respectfully challenge your assertion that the armed forces deserve to
have at their disposal an army of people who want to be there. As a soldier
currently deployed in Baghdad, I can say that assertion is not entirely
true.
I, like thousands of other soldiers, have been stop-lossed by the Army.
Thus, after serving seven and a half years of only a five-year commitment
from the U.S. Military Academy, the Army has prevented me from resigning for
an indefinite period of time. I was less than two weeks away from separating
when the Army came down with this policy. I was removed from my position and attending job interviews when the news came out.
There is a draft. Unfortunately, the Army has resorted to forcing soldiers
to stay in for indefinite periods of time against their will. We have been
drafted against our will. This has a very bad effect on morale as the troops
see the Army as a big, bureaucratic, insensitive machine that tells you only
partial truths when you sign on the dotted line.
My fellow soldiers and I have served our time. All we ask is that our time
and effort be reciprocated and appreciated. Please put pressure on the Army
to consider less archaic and unimaginative ways of retaining troops.
Capt. Russ Lee, now stationed in Baghdad, Iraq
Harker Heights
Posted by Rob at 11:23 PM | Comments (248) | TrackBack
Homeland Security of Another Kind
(by Nicholas Strakon) On May 7, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Goldman Sachs), whom the Dark Suits recruited out of the province of Indiana, grabbed some good media coverage when he asked Hannibal Rumsfeld whether the old war criminal ought to "step down." But the real Bayh story of May 7 was his introduction of a
supplemental appropriation of more than $600 million to accelerate production of the armored variety of Humvee.
That war vehicle is produced in Mishawaka ...
... Indiana.
Bayh is running for re-election this year.
Seems the old-style "moderate" imperialists are indeed able to make some nourishing lemonade out of the lemon that's been tossed to them by Bush's Likudnik wildmen.
Reposted by permission from The Last Ditch at www.thornwalker.com/ditch © 2004 WTM Enterprises. All rights reserved.
Posted by Rob at 10:06 PM | Comments (229) | TrackBack
May 08, 2004
How's that again?
Surprise, surprise! Now Rummy says there are more pictures, even video, showing torture of Iraqis by 'coalition' troops. But still, it is said that the atrocities are being committed by only a small number.
Right.
Those on film are just the most egregious of idiots, like the juveniles who videotape themselves perpetrating assorted crimes against people and property. For every one on film or tape, there are many more who are not.
And let's not kid ourselves about higher ranking officers being ignorant of the situation. A lowly private or specialist does nothing without an explicit order or tacit approval from an officer.
So now, let me get this straight. The U.S. attacked Iraq to get rid of Sadaam because he was committing acts of torture, cruelty, and humiliation on the Iraqi people, to replace him with morons who . . .
Posted by Al Hambidge at 08:46 PM | Comments (276) | TrackBack
Who's Responsible for Tortures?
In his most recent article Harry Browne argues that "if anyone is responsible for the atrocities that were recently revealed, it is the person that decided to send 150,000 Americans to a desolate area to kill or be killed. I believe that person's name is George W. Bush."
Browne adds:
According to Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush was informed of the abuses back in January. Apparently, nothing significant was said or done about the problem until CBS broke the story last week. Now everyone in the administration is full of shock and awe about what happened.
The cover-up and lies, of course, are fundamentals of government action, especially during war. For more enlightenment on government lies and war, and what it costs us, listen to John Denson on "Tricking Us Into War: The Cases of Lincoln and Roosevelt."
Posted by George F. Smith at 02:03 PM | Comments (120) | TrackBack
May 06, 2004
A Token of Your Appreciation
Today, I received a fund raising letter from the Bush-Cheney ‘04 campaign. Apparently, they either don’t read my columns or have a high degree of confidence in their powers of persuasion.
Anyway, while carefully leading the material through the shredder (along with the ugly portrait of W and the First Wench) I noticed the package contained a postage paid envelope; alas, an opportunity to send counter propaganda, anonymously and free of charge, to the Neocon beasts.
At first, the only worthy contribution I could think of to send my Republican protectors was whatever amount of used toilet tissue I could fit in the modest reply envelope. Shame on me! I had caught myself thinking at the gutter level of the Neocons. After a slight attitude adjustment (my daily shock treatment here at the home) I came up with a better idea- fill the envelope with photos of Iraqis, tortured and murdered. This would be sure to bring a smile to the tireless Bush-Wacker campaign worker who opens it. It would remind him/her of the importance and seriousness of returning GW to the White House. His work, mission, and ministry must continue!
Having trouble getting inspired? Check out the Official Campaign Blog. There you can read inspiring accounts of the Bush bus tour, a Magical Misery Tour of hugs, kisses, shaking hands and exalting conversation:
"I like what he's [Bush] doing, especially in Iraq. I think he's a visionary. Putting democracy in that part of the world is important."
If you would like to spread some smiles, as well, here is the address:
Bush-Cheney “04, Inc.
P.O. Box 2005
Merrifield, VA
22116-9507
You’ll have to use your own stamp but just think of it as the “added gift” that is mentioned on the front of the official reply envelope. Use your imagination (avoid that easy side trip to the gutter of your mind) and think of other precious gifts of love and thoughtfulness that would be well received.
And remember, give ‘till it hurts!
Posted by Roger Young at 06:09 PM | Comments (284) | TrackBack
"Iraq: The Prequel" Heats Up
Lest we forget about the other current quagmire, which is slowly but surely turning into another Iraq (or is Iraq turning into another Afghanistan?), the latest is that the "U.S. military has sent 2,000 extra marines to a Taliban stronghold and wants a new Afghan militia force to make up a shortfall of troops in insurgency-roiled southern Afghanistan," according to the Globe and Mail. (Link courtesy Antiwar.com.)
The feds are very rapidly going to have to choose between reducing imperial troop commitments or instituting a draft. Is there any doubt as to which one they'll choose--after the election, of course?
Posted by Mike Tennant at 12:40 PM | Comments (280)
May 05, 2004
How to Stop Spam
End the monopoly that doctors have on prescribing drugs. Half of Spam would disappear overnight. Think of the heavy price that each of us pays daily (in the form of dozens of Spam messages) just so doctors can continue their monopoly!
Posted by Rob at 11:45 PM | Comments (287) | TrackBack
Poster Children for "Liberation"
Here's liberation for you: Have in your car a poster of someone the U.S. government doesn't like, be dragged from your car at gunpoint and interrogated.
I guess these guys should feel lucky they weren't taken to Abu Ghraib.
(Link courtesy Antiwar.com.)
Posted by Mike Tennant at 12:52 PM | Comments (272)
Help Eradicate Evil, Get Rid of the State
"Americans must understand that the neo-Jacobin spirit that guides the Bush administration is anti-American. It is not unpatriotic to resist this spirit," Paul Craig Roberts writes.
Patriotism is "love of and devotion to one's country," according to Dictionary.com. The country is the land and the people who live on it. It (unfortunately) includes government, the one entity with a legal monopoly on coercion, but in no way is it confined to government. Eliminating the government is no more than eliminating a toxic element in one's system for the sake of one's health. And eliminating government will prevent future Bushes from wrecking our lives. Yes, it is quite patriotic to resist Bush and his cabal, but why stop there?
Posted by George F. Smith at 09:31 AM | Comments (283) | TrackBack
May 02, 2004
I'm a Weirdo Magnet
So I was in the grocery store this evening, minding my own business. I had a cart full of cold groceries, and my last stop was the seafood counter. After I got my salmon fillet, the guy behind the counter asked me if I had heard the weather forecast. After he told me what it was, he asked me if I had heard about what happened after Bush's meeting with the 9/11 Commission. I was ready to get the hell out of there, and wondered why he was telling me this, but I listened politely. He described how a number of reporters had asked Bush what he was asked and tried to find out what happened in the meeting, but Bush refused to tell them, and then finally said, "I'm going to get back to work." Then the guy behind the counter said, "It was awesome!" Yeah, it sure was. The gulag is gonna be pretty awesome, too.
Posted by Rob at 02:43 AM | Comments (392) | TrackBack
May 01, 2004
The Global War on Terror Continues
"SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) -- Macedonian police gunned down seven innocent immigrants, then claimed they were terrorists, in a killing staged to show they were participating in the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism, authorities said Friday."
And why would they do such a thing?
"The killings...were part of an attempt to "present themselves as participants in the war against terrorism and demonstrate Macedonia's commitment to the war on terror."
Since breaking away from Yugoslavia in 1991, Macedonia has been eager to win U.S. political and economic support in its search for acceptance into the Western camp of nations."
Think about that, taxpayer.
Posted by Andy Henke at 12:34 AM | Comments (296) | TrackBack