What's a little torture among friends, anyway?

THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO A THREAD ON FACEBOOK ABOUT TORTURE. TROY IS A FORMER NAVY SEAL WHO WAS WATERBOARDED AS A PART OF THE TRAINING AT THE SERE SCHOOL (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape). BELOW IS MY RESPONSE. OF COURSE, THE REASON THIS ISSUE HAS FRESH LEGS IS THE RELEASE OF FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH'S BOOK IN WHICH HE ADMITS AUTHORIZING THE USE OF TORTURE AGAINST MEMBERS OF AL-QAEDA, SOMETHING THAT SOME BELIEVE MAKES HIM VULNERABLE TO THE WORLD COURT. RIGHT.  
 

Troy, I don't know who you are but I do know several people who have responded to your comments and I respect them immensely. According to the our own documents, over 93% of the detainees who were brought into the system that included the use of torture were essentially picked up for bounty money, which is why the documentation of the circumstances of their capture "on the battlefield" is so scarce...because it didn't happen. Evidence was planted, names were confused on purpose, people simply used the American greed for victims, i.e. Islamic men who were not American, to enrich themselves at the cost of someones physical or psychological health. 


In addition, there is evidence that U.S. troops who were captured by insurgents or al-Qaeda in Iraq were tortured to death only after the photographs of Abu Gharaib were released by DOD. No one in the chain of command got in trouble for the abuses perpetrated by US personnel--not Rumsfeld, who openly mocked some of the complaints called "stress positions" as if this was a joke, not W, not Cheney, none of the lawyers from the Office of Legal Counsel--no one except the female commander of the reserve unit who was running the prison under the auspices and direction of the CIA, and the kids from that unit who were thrown under the bus...but only after the pictures came to light. 


And one more person: Major General Antonio Tagabu. He was quickly retired once it became clear to Rumsfeld and Bush that the Tagabu Report about detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib was highly critical of the obvious clash of Military Police needs to control prisoners and the Military Intelligence needs to extract information from often reluctant sources. It was clear to him that something was amiss, especially when he revealed that the photos that Pres. Obama refused to release to the public depicted prisoners being raped by guards, or being sexually abused by their batons, or wires. One of the victims of the rapes was an Iraqi boy between the age of 15-18. MG Tagabu testified before Congress that the events of Abu Ghraib were not random, were not isolated, and were part of a larger, more sophisticated effort to abuse the detained Muslims, regardless of their age or likelihood that they had anything to do with the 9/11 preparations or knew the location of either bin Laden's or Hussein's hideout. 


One more thing: During the Revolutionary War, the British routinely tortured and hanged American "insurgents" who were captured or had surrendered in good faith. When US troops started to abuse British troops after a battle, Washington stopped them and issued an order that "we would not act like them because we are here to show them that we are better than that." That established the precedent that, officially anyway, US troops were not to engage in inhumane behavior against enemy forces. Well, we can't use the high road defense any longer, can we? 


We all know that in the heat of battle "things happen." However, the primary reason we did not torture enemy personnel was the simple fact that it is an inefficient and unreliable method of gathering timely, useful information, Jack Bauer and Gollum be damned. If there was evidence that showed a correlation between timely intel and the use of torture, then I have little problem using it; but, as a former intel analyst and student of war and psychology of war, torture does not work. It never has. At least, not as a way to collect intel.


It has been my perception from the beginning of the W debacle--someone who I wanted to succeed beyond our wildest dreams because he was our CinC facing a dangerous, smart, deadly foe--that the appearance of proactive engagement was superior than appearing to wait for the other shoe to drop, regardless of how many lies and laws had to be sacrificed in the process. In his mind, the American public would and should find a way to forgive him because he was doing God's work and could not be asked to do more than that. And part of the problem with that is the perception than many Christian fundamentalists have that we're approaching the End Times.


When I was a kid, they explained the Book of Revelations as pitting the US Eagle vs. the Soviet Bear fighting over Israel, which is odd since it is legally a secular state. In any event, with the loss of the Soviets, a NEW enemy emerged: ISLAM! 


The eternal struggle for the Holy Land has risen again and no battle can be greater, etc. I've read transcripts and watched interviews of some of the higher ups who created the torture system. They don't talk about intel value or avoiding another 9/11 nightmare; no, they talk in terms of a Vengeful God of the Old Testament smiting enemies of Palestine, about protecting the way of life of Christians. THEY WANT TO PICK A FIGHT WITH THE 1.2 BILLION MUSLIMS OF THE WORLD, OF WHOM THE VAST MAJORITY ARE NOT RADICAL OR MURDEROUS INDISCRIMINATE KILLERS OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS! THEY WANT TO FULFILL THIS PROPHECY! That's why W has never been overly concerned with his legacy with "egghead" historians, because he'll have songs of praise rising to the Heavens in his name! 


I have little "proof" other than the odd interview and transcript to go on, but listen to Mrs. Palin and what she's talking about. These people are not grounded in reality. Just like Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. They have a peculiar, particular brand of religion that entertains little sass and a lot of angelic fervor. We do indeed live in dangerous times, more dangerous than one could have ever imagined. Release the fucking zombies and get it over  with already. At least with Zombies I have a fighting chance and get to take some assholes out with a baseball bat. The other alternative, aka The Rapture, leaves me sucking my thumb while all my Christian true believer friends get to float away to paradise. Right. 

XOXO--Ernst

Your Mama so fat, she had to wash with mirrors.--Richard Pryor

CAVEAT: PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT SOME RAW AND CONTROVERSIAL LANGUAGE IS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE. FOR ANYONE WHO WHO KNOWS ME KNOWS THAT I WOULD NEVER USE THIS LANGUAGE. I APOLOGIZE BUT IF IT HELPS ONE PERSON LIGHT THE PATH TO BETTER UNDERSTANDING, THIS IS HOW WE CHANGE WORLD.
ERNST W.

Recently, there was a real life episode in which a "professional" joke teller pleaded his case that different meanings of the word "gay" are acceptable so long as everyone knows which one you're using.  Stupid argument especially given the spate of homosexual-related killings and suicides of late. Reminds me a bit of the Human Offal that played Kosmo Kramer on "Seinfeld" when he went berserk that night on stage and started offending every black American. His million$ earned on Seinfeld gave him no more right to be offensive than the next person.
CAVEMAN!!!

We've come so far since the days we lived in caves and shit...
Closer to home, funny, but not not really: Haydon said something the other day about someone being "fat". That familiar sting rose out of my subconscience and I felt just as ashamed as I did when I was 6, 10, -(good health)-32, 38, 45, now.  I just recently lost about 30-32 lbs., but it didn't help my back feel any better  so I was not too ecstatic; however, on the emotional level, the words "gay", "fat", "바보" ("moron" or "idiot" in Korean, just saw a very cool Korean movie about the power of that word to motivate), "bitch", "cow"...

I do not have much training nor reading in sociology or psychology, but I suspect just about everybody has a trigger word that stings like the word "fat" surprised me, a word or phrase that conjures internal demons and lowers self-esteem that's ineffable to someone who lacks the experience and or empathy to struggle with fitting in, name calling, the terror euphemistically called "swimming", etc.
Mind you, I'm not suggesting your college roommate may secretly tape you and your obese friends eating ice cream in the dark has any of the resonance or viciousness of those sick kids at Rutgers (cut 'em some slack: they are stuck in New Jersey...sorry, bad joke).
 As is my wont I have to ask the most obvious question: what motivates people, especially adults, to engage in these labeling exercises unless they have something to gain from them?  Quick anecdote/Food for Thought: I've met several people over the years who decry the "PC POLICE" and wonder why it's OK "for them" to say "nigger", but "we cain't!" The very same people are the MOST offended or proud to be referred to as "rednecks" or "trailer trash".  Can anyone 'splain this phenomenon to moi? ... moving on...

A good friend of mine who gained a lifetime of wisdom before he was 25, has suggested that he just shrug off the insult despite the sting and the offense to his innate sexual predilection; however, he must realize that he's made of tougher stuff than most people and "shrugging it off" may not be as easy for most people. My one brother who is gay would probably agree to a degree, but I think he's beginning to see the world in more complex patterns than he used to. I will offer this: I suspect he was not able to act on his impulses until he was well into his 20's because he was afraid of the professional and personal repercussions.

I'm not quite sure how to answer the questions at hand, but I would like mention something to the more feeble-minded of our parishioners: It's true we have the Freedom of Speech, but not all speech is free; however; ALL speech is accountable. It is my opinion that if you use words like a cudgel to batter and bash one's character until they feel cornered and having no choice but suicide, you may as well have pushed them off the bridge or shot them yourself and should be held accountable.
Those stupid kids at Rutgers who bullied that talented, bright kid to jump to his death should be held accountable for his death in the same manner as if they had called him a fag, pushed him, he hit his head on the curb, and died of a blood clot. Accidental but nevertheless accountable. And as for the "professional" joke teller, ask him if it's the same thing if we were to switch "nigger" for "gay" so long as everyone knows which one you're talking about, right?
Yeah, right. Try telling that one to the parents of the 12-year old who hanged himself after being bullied and threatened mercilessly for being "different" or the family members of the Texas man who was "skull-drug" because he was one of "those niggers".

Damn, people, as a species, is real dumb sometimes.     

I Yam what I Yam

A recent YouTube foray into clips related to "Dr. Strangelove, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" had me crying silently at the comic geniuses that were Peter Sellers and Stanley Kubrick. Dr. Strangelove, if you haven't seen it, is considered by nearly every reviewer, professional or not, as one of the top 10 movies of all time.

In a nutshell, it's a comi-drama about US vs. USSR paranoia about the nuclear arms race in which a U.S. Air Force general, named Jack Ripper, plots a way to send U.S. bombers to strike Soviet missile silos and what not because he's convinced that the fluoridation of our water supply, which started in the 1950's in the effort to improve dental health, is a Soviet plot to impurify our "precious body fluids".  As the nauseatingly large number of intentionally misinformed Americans have grown since 2008 proves--more believe the president's a Muslim NOW than when he was elected--a lot of Americans really believed the hogwash put out by the hysterically motivated back in the 50's and 60's.

In one very famous, very funny scene of the movie Gen. Ripper's Executive Officer is a British Wing Commander who needs to call the White House to tell them to call off the attack on the USSR. A suspicious and not terribly bright Army colonel who has captured him finally relents and allows the Executive Officer to try and call the President on a pay phone, but warns hims as he tries to close the door that if he "tries any preversions in there, he'll blow" his head off!  Which reminded me...  

My dad was a very regular op-ed writer to the local paper which was nationally recognized (at the time) for its liberal excellence. He was best friends with a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist with whom he'd argue politics endlessly. I used to tell my father that he was an anti-Nixon, radical Republican who was slightly to the right of Attila the Hun. Truth was, he was significantly to the right of Attila. He thought Libertarians were sissies and that an occasional benign dictatorship was okay in certain circumstances (he would've loved Cheney, W not so much).

In any event, his op-ed pieces used to evoke varied responses from the hoi polloi. His favorite letter was one from someone aggrieved by his position on something or other (I think it was his suggestion that more people had died in Ted Kennedy's car than in (pre-Chernobyl) nuclear power accidents) and called my dad and his friends a bunch of "Commies Preverts and Fags"!  Which is precisely why my dad's friend's had an entire set of high-ball glasses imprinted with the motto "Commies Preverts and Fags" on one side and "OMATI" (One More and That's It) on the other.

My dad's alcoholism killed him prematurely but he lived Hedonistically, i.e., as he pleased, though unbeknownst to him (or anyone else) he was self-medicating undiagnosed bipolar disorder, aka manic depression. He was euphemistically referred to as a "functional" alcoholic since he was a successful CPA and investment banker for over 30 years before his liver cried, "Uncle!" as the result of alcoholic cirrhosis. Despite all the negative or qualifying labels, he was a nice, kind, sweet, erudite and funny man who loved to laugh.

He ultimately died as a result of a biopsy to check for cancer; he never stopped bleeding because his blood had lost the ability to clot. Or maybe it was impurities of our body fluids caused by a Commie plot. Either way, his was a tragically short life and Dr. Strangelove is a great fucking satirical movie that moved both of us to tears.

I miss him.    

XOXO--Ernst W

What is our responsibility to ensure the veracity of what we forward?

Joel Wollin Lindsay Lohan,24, all over the news because she's acelebrity drug addict. WhileJustin Allen, 23, Brett Linley, 29, Matthew Weikert, 29, JustusBartett, 27, Dave Santos, 21, Chase Stanley, 21, Jesse Reed, 26,Matthew Johnson, 21, Zachary Fisher, 24, Brandon King, 23, ChristopherGoeke, 23, & Sheldon Tate, 27, are U.S. Marines that gave theirlives this week. No media coverage. Honor THEM by reposting.

Sunday at 12:40pm · Comment ·  · Share

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  Debi Olson likes this.
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    Carol Ann Jungbauer Lovaas I will! Thanks!
    

    Sunday at 8:10pm · 

I hate to be the jerk about this, but...as much as I understand and support the feeling behind the idea that our country's soldiers and Marines (and honest police and firefighters, teachers, et al) should always get the honor and attention they earn and deserve, especially when compared to shits and quitters like Sarah and Lindsay and Paris...the list of men noted on the original message were not all Marines, one wasn't even an American. Not that it should matter, but most were Army guys and all were casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq in July/August 2010.

What got me curious was, firstly) the fact that a certain someone who thinks facts and data are malleable toys to be shaped into whatever we need had copied and forwarded something without back checking the sources, and secondly) one of the names, Weikert, is an Army guy. Tertiary, I couldn't recall any recent event in which 8 Marines had been killed at a time, as what happens when Chinooks/Jolly Green Giants go down.

The moral of the story? I don't know, because the basic message doesn't change in that our society's obsession with Hollywood transcends all other pursuits. Look at OJ, look at Michael the pedophile Jackson, etc. But that doesn't mean we can just paste a bunch of names and label them as something sacrosanct, and run the group in order to make a guilty plea against "the leftist" media. FWIW, the VERY FIRST instance of this particular "group of Marines" came from a pro-Gun, Right-wing forum that includes derogatory quotes about the President and the "liberal media" and my personal favorite--"using ammo on libtards"... nice, patriotic message there, Duke.

Admittedly, I have mixed feelings about this issue. But I do know that the soldier's combat death (Weikert) was reported in our regional media for several days including in-depth interviews with his high school teachers, former bosses, family members, friends, et al.  As it always has been when we lose someone close to us by relation or by vicinity, locals look after themselves all over America regardless of what the mainstream media finds fascinating, like Ms. Lohan's talent, beauty, poor parenting, and drug addiction.

It may be macabre, but I like to read about the foreshortened lives of the brave sons of bitches who ran toward the gunfire in order to protect their buddies and hopefully dispatch some terrorists at the same time. But what I'm NOT conflicted about is WHAT I choose to watch/read. What kind of real Libertarian would deign to tell ANYONE what we should or should not be consuming? (VQ, you are not the target here) A TRUE Libertarian would let the consumer decide for him or herself what needs to be consumed and let the market chips fall where they may. Got that Mr. JW?

BTW, for anyone who gives a shit despite the abhorrent choices of the American TV viewer, on 8-07-2010, SPC Faith R. Hinkley, of the 502nd MI BN, 201st MI Surveillance Group(?), from Joint Base McChord-Lewis, WA, was killed when her unit was attacked by insurgents in Baghdad. My editorial note includes the fact that that was the same day combat units were withdrawn from the country.

Ms. Hinkley was 23 years old. Raise your hand if you have ever been assigned to the 502nd MI BN at Ft. Lewis. Hats off to one of our own. For real this time and not because someone's trying to prove something about themselves that we already know.

XOXO-Ernst Wolfgang

Our priorities need a revisit, perhaps

Thanks to Paul McGraw for helping me out when my Android needed a PC/Mac friend. Y'all need to read this article. Other articles from other affected areas around the country (Fayatteville, NC; Boulder, CO; Jacksonville, NC; Ft. Benning, GA; Ft. Drum, NY) are reporting similar spikes in suicides, attempts, spousal abuse, DUIs, civilian crime, etc, once these combat units return for good. A very good movie called "The Valley of Ellah" addressed this very issue but the country wasn't ready to listen, but it better had but soon.

Even our 12 million coming out of uniform following WWII got better community support than what we're doing for a lot of these heroes. Of course, back then it was OK to drink too much, weave home and beat your wife (up to a point) because that was the Golden Era of the Greatest Generation when white men ran things and women and minorities "knew their place."

The one good thing I've heard they are doing is setting up Veteran's Courts that will specifically address PTSD and other delayed or Acute Stress Syndrome problems that manifest in violent outbursts accompanied by dissassociative patterns in which the veteran does not remember doing the things he's being charged with, sometimes including the murder of family members like his children and grandparents.

And I want every one of you ignorant bastards who supported the adventure in Iraq but didn't support a draft that evolved into multiple urban warfare rotations to remember what Uncle JR warned you of at the time, especially those of you VA workers who can't recognize the irony of your paycheck while you rail at the "federal government", you dipshits.

What? You don't remember? And a few of you are now in management and still not veterans. How convenient. And weak. Let's be sure to beat back those "revenue" initiatives to treat our wounded veterans, ok? And DAMN that socialized medicine dispensed at the VAMC. That would suck if that AWFUL system were to break down, huh?

OK, it's officially a rant. I have a REALLY good idea for our country for the next 200-300 years: do whatever we can to avoid foreign conflict and entanglement. While our local "patriots" jabber all day about "outlays" and "funding requirements" (translation: your tax $$$), we should pay close attention to where we spend our money, to whom, AND WHY!  Perhaps we should stay the hell outta everyone else's business whenever possible. Granted, the invasion into Afghanistan to rid the world of the Taliban and al-Qaeda was necessary; however, how required was the invasion of and drive into Iraq? Especially given the fact that we essentially LEFT Afghanistan and allowed the the Taliban to re-arm and re-train in NW Pakistan, which is largely lawless and and an al-Qaeda enclave.  

Remember W's bombast about "fighting them over there so we don't hafta fight over here"? In case you didn't now, that program included shipping PALLETS FULL of CASH to local Sunni and Shi'a leaders and begging them not to fight each other or our forces. How dignified. May it have worked? I hope so, I truly do. But get them to admit to it first so we can have a baseline from which to begin an assessment of the program. Good luck on that.

Yesterday, my son, who is currently assigned to an honor guard section at a midwestern Air Force Base, had to conduct the funeral of a 25-year/old EOD sergeant who was killed doing his job in Afghanistan. The investigation of the incident is on-going, but what a waste of a young life. If only we had remained focused on the task at hand instead of treating the 9/11 attacks as a broadside against the Christian-secular world of finance and materialism by Islam as a religion; tragically, we have have willfully chosen to mistake the brilliantly simple plan to disrupt our pathetic, consumer driven lives by a few dozen, a few hundred at most, extremist radical jihadists as a master plot to overthrow, what, international commerce in an effort to drive us back into the stone age.

Why do we have this awful propensity to over-react to this stuff? Are our enemies dangerous? Hell, yes they are. That's why the National Security Agency has an unpublished, top secret budget. That's why 5-weeks before 9/11 George W. Bush was delivered, in an oddly prescient manner prior to Katrina as well, an in ironically named intel briefing entitled something like "Bin Laden to Fly Planes Into Buildings." So much for utilizing your experts on the ground, many of whom had warned that "something huge" was about to happen. Could it have been prevented? Who nows, but what part are we talking about? The initial 4 planes, probably not unless the FBI and CIA had corroborated better on who was in the country and where they were. But the horrible mess that resulted from the juvenile hysteria that ensued was an embarrassment for the entire world to see.

If this country is to remain solvent and capable directing it's own affairs, it must learn restraint. And tolerance. Maybe there's a "How to Be a SuperPower for Dummies" book. We need it. Now.    

Here we go again...

Am I a tourist? Or a vagrant?

There is no rhyme or reason, or is it no rime or season reason? Do you see the photograph to the left of this text? What do you see? Be honest, if you didn't know me from Adam, what would your first impression be? I'm powering my way through the mental fog created by the improbable combination of topiramate, opana, cyclobenzaprine, diazepam, duloxetine, lithium, and fentanyl.

And this is just SOME of the stuff I take at night.
And I didn't include the stuff for my blood lipids, the severe GI problems associated with chronic opiate use, blahblahblah, ...




Today, I met with my therapist for the first time in quite a while, at least for me, though our last meeting was canceled by a horrible URI/cold that floored me for a week. She--the therapist, not the URI--noticed immediately that I have lost some weight. Normally, that gives the morbidly obese a mood lift but this time, it hasn't meant that much to me, probably because I'm "husky" and "broad-shouldered", not morbidly obese.

I still feel a bit self conscious when I solve a crossword clue that spells "o-b-e-s-e", as if simple acknowledgment is surrendering my dignity despite the fact that most of my life has been a battle against genetics, low birth weight, eating more than I should, and eating crap as well as eating for the wrong reasons. Thank GOD for socialized medicine and Shari'a Law to dispense it, huh? Imagine the mess we'd be in were it not for for those two godsends. AS I WAS SAYING...

There are times when I'm motivated to "do something", if not for me then for my wife and kids. For whatever reason(s), I can't sustain the effort. It's easier and more legitimate to blame it on my back and leg pain, but today's conversation with Kristin (the Therapist) forced a realization upon me. Imagine this is you--suspend reality if you have to--just do it: in the usually futile effort to appear youthful and strong and virile to my young, vibrant wife, I occasionally clean up by cutting my hair and trimming my beard. I even flossed my teeth, an activity I eschew for nor no discernible reason.

When revealing these intimate details to the therapist, it struck me that I had literally not looked at myself in the mirror for months. And that fact, not that I was ever a looker, is a sad indicator of the state of my mind. Kristen "suggested", as is her wont, that my unkempt appearance was a non-verbal way for me to tell my peeps that "The Abyss"* is edging closer. Upon reflection, her "suggestion", as usual, is spot-on.

*--The Abyss is my depiction of the Hell that is Depression, a deep, dark, scary hole that has the capability to swallow one whole. It's a one-way trip, there is no return once you've tripped over the edge.  The trick is to know where you are in relation to It. Since this "trip" started 6 or years ago, It has surprised me in its tenacity and stealth. I never thought I was the "type".  Now we know.  

One time, in a picque of frustration at my shameful appearance (and it was really bad), Elle described me as looking "homeless", a phrase she regrets now because no matter how true it may have been, just like my odd aloofness with "obese", I felt as if I was a dollar value on The Wheel of Fortune and someone had started spinning looking to buy "an S". I was so disoriented that I desperately wanted to vomit and disappear at the same time.

In my mind's eye, never the most objective arbiter of one's appearance, I thought it was embarrassing for my family to be seen with or near me, and not just because one of them happened to be a teenager at the time. I pictured Saddam Hussein waiting in the carpool lane, gnats and flies buzzing around me, as the schmoops who, comfortably ensconced in their Mercedes and BMW SUVs, largely inhabit our son's elementary school, assassinate my character and judge my son and wife unfairly because I looked like some Special Forces soldiers just pulled me out of a spider hole.

But in a more serious note, I honestly thought I was doing "ok" until I recognized the warning signs, the first being my sister's nearly daily appearance. Silly me, I thought she was fleeing her own demons and poor A/C system, but now I know she was keeping tabs on me. The second sign was the picture shown above. It was taken while awaiting my brother and (step-)daughter's return from their parasailing trip on Clearwater Beach. I had a good time re-visiting my old stomping grounds, even having time to see some very close friends from the Army (Tina Heaton Aultman) and high school (Vicki Geoghagen Cyr), both of who are doing wonderfully.

I couldn't do much on the beach because of my back but the kids had a good time, I got to see my brother who lives in Tampa (Ross), and we had some scrumptious food. Even the flying didn't bother nearly as much as it normally does; nevertheless, one glance at that picture tells me that I was depressed despite my attempts to put on a game face if for no other reason to make sure everyone else had a good time, especially my Elle because of her demanding, stressful job (and husband).

I finally broke down when I related to Kristin what happened when Elle was playing with the iPad I got her for her birthday. Before we left for dinner, I synced about 800 or so songs I thought Elle would like from my iTunes account before we left for dindin at The Cheesecake Factory. Once we returned, Elle started playing some of the music that was prominent during the time we were "dating" and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Fortunately, because of the way I was sitting and the arm of the couch was hiding me, she couldn't see that I had tears rolling down my "husky" cheeks as she played Lucinda Williams' "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road", The Dixie Chicks' "Cowboy Take Me Away", "Come to my Window" by Melissa Etheridge, "Adia" and "Building a Mystery" by Sarah McLachlan, et al.

I'll be the first to admit to getting emotional with music and, depending on the circumstances, "Taps", Beethoven's Ninth or the 2nd Movement of the iconic 5th Symphony, "Oh Daddy" by Fleetwood Mac, "Learnin' to Fly" by Tom Petty, etc, can easily bring tears to mine eyes. But those are tears of joy, a silent kudos to the sheer brilliance of the musician itself. Nota Bene: I realize everyone recognizes the thunderous "Dun-Dun-Dun-Duuuun. Dun-Dun-Dun-Duuun!" of the 1st movement of Bethoven's 5th Symphony, few pieces of music can match that energy or drama; however, the next time you hear it and have access to the stereo, try to listen closely to the 2nd Movement. I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised.   

Last night, on the other hand, I was crying because I was sad. Or, better yet, sad because I was depressed. And for those of you who don't know, it's mighty frustrating when you're trying your damnedest to be happy for someone else's sake, but you can't help but control the volume or your "output" of emotion. It was my wife's birthday and I felt guilty because all I could do was loathe myself for not being strong enough for her, when it was her time to stand in the spotlight and enjoy a few moments of sunshine. And that reminds me, the most difficult song for me to hear was Sheryl Crow's "Are You Strong Enough To Be My Man",  because Lord knows I wasn't and I knew it.

My Elle has the most devastating green eyes, and this is my tribute to her for all the shit she puts up with:


ps-I Love You, my green-eyed angel, and I always will. JJvdBnx

XOXO--Ernst

What is this term "Canada" you speak of?

For those of you not on Facebook or our little slice of it, anyway, this screed is an extension of a thread that questioned the morality of using veteran's health care and benefits as political footballs by the mostly wealthy members of Congress. Ooh, look I wrote something just below! Shhhh! Let's see what it says, shall we? 

But, to underline my overwrought response to Gretchen and others, what this country is missing is the notion of "sacrifice for your neighbor."  We see wonderful, young, vibrant souls march off to wars, into burning buildings, confronting dangerous criminals on a daily basis.

What I don't see is any sense that a lot of Americans give one shit about another American unless they're family or gang-affiliated. And I'm sure there are plenty of instances of people helping others, but I don't see it as "a worthy purpose in Life" sorta thing, like the several hundred thousand US military personnel who lost their lives fighting against Nazism and Fascism (the real kind, not the bullshit Beck n Fox want you to believe). Despite the loss of hundreds of thousands of American military and merchant marine lives, we could not have the war on military might alone.

It took a combined effort of EVERYONE to: 

• eat less meat, 
• go without electricity, 
• grow "Victory" gardens, 
• buy war bonds (but not to make money but fund current efforts to feed, clothe, arm and train the 10 MILLION people in uniform--I would think a comparable figure today based on population growth would be 20-25 million, or about 10X what we're supporting now!), 
• take public transportation, 
• DRIVE LESS(!), and
• eat LESS sugar(!!)...all these things and more were rationed during the war. 

Surely some people chafed at the inconvenience of it all, but compared to parts of the world that were battlefields and subject to the carnage of war--the rapes, the bombs on housing, the orphans, the starvation, the death camps in Europe* AND Asia, etc. 


And make no mistake, people by and large sacrificed. What were we told to do after 9/11?  

• "Go Shopping! We can't let the terrorists win by ruining our Christmas shopping season!"  Of all the embarrassing, numbskull things W ever uttered, that was probably the most humiliating IMHO. (That and a tax cut for the wealthy in the middle of 4 wars.) 
• In contrast, Obama has taken another route. Damn Commie.

Why were we "different" back then? One guess is that our leaders--both political and business--don't understand the basic human desire to WANT to sacrifice during times of crisis because they're all millionaires. How many business leaders do you who are middle-class Americans?  Same for Congress? As a local example, our current Rep. John Yarmuth, D-KY 3rd, is from a family of millionaires. They own property and restaurants. Don't misunderstand me, I think he's done a very good job. But he'll never miss a meal or not have a large house to live in.

The person he replaced was good, too: Anne Northrup, (R), who came from modest beginnings but her husband is a wealthy businessman. Although she voted w/W over 90% of the time, she was the person to cause one of the Old Guard GOPers, Sen. Trent Lott, R-MS, to step down as Senator when he defended a politician's segregationist past (personally, I don't think he intended to that, but the cost of free speech is accountability, unless you happen to be a right-wing TV/Radio blabberer). This may shock some of you, but I voted for her and I may do it again because she's capable and smart and puts her money where her mouth is, attributes much more important than party politics.

Nationally, according to Opensecrets.org, "U.S. senators had a median net worth of approximately $1.7 million in 2007, the most recent year for which their financial data is available, and 62 percent of the Senate's members could be considered millionaires. In the House of Representatives, the median net worth was about $684,000, with 39 percent of members having net worths estimated to be at least $1 million. By contrast, only about 1 percent of all American adults can be considered millionaires. Growth between 2006 and 2007 was still a healthy 13 percent, despite indications last year that the economy was headed south.

"Worries about the economy that most members of Congress are feeling right now are likely coming from their constituents, who will head to the polls in less than three weeks," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "For the majority of lawmakers, the pressure they are feeling wouldn't appear to be coming from their personal finances. With a median net worth of $746,000, most members of Congress have a comfortable financial cushion to ride out any recession."

Before the American economy showed signs in 2007 of slowing down, lawmakers had enjoyed an extraordinary run in their personal investments and other finances. Members of Congress, who are now paid about $169,000 annually, saw their net worths soar 61 percent from 2004 to 2007, on average."

FWIW, in 1989, W. Bush invested $600,000 to become part owner of the Texas Rangers major league baseball team. When the team was sold in 1998, Bush earned at least $14.9 million from the deal. Tell me this: where does someone who never had a successful business outside the luck of his birth get $600,000 in the first place? Cheney's wealth was estimated to be around $30 million in 1989. Barack Obama did not become a millionaire until the last few years when his books sold millions of copies, but he was well off before then.

If our generation has done a very good job of something, I would have to vote that we failed our parents, our kids, and ourselves when it comes to this crazy term "sacrifice." How do most of us act when there's a single parking space nearest the door and someone else gets there first? Why do we drive behemoth vehicles that are as suited to the suburbs and city driving as an M1 tank? Why do the majority of Americans who describe themselves as politically "conservative" believe that too much emphasis is placed on assisting non-whites? Why do those who spout the glories of unregulated, lassez faire capitalism never mention Adam Smith's concept of "Moral Man" and one's responsibility to ensure the stability of the marketplace and never to place profit as the sole criterion for any decision, business or otherwise?

Are we really that bad? Well, it's hard to argue otherwise in some cases, but I don't think human nature has changed an iota since we started using speech and painting in caves. (No cheap shots at those Tea Party/Glenn Beckerites and their signs .) If anyone remembers the Greek stories from college (no, not from Penthouse, you pigs!), they were no more than people striving to break free from their "barbaric" past when people behaved via instinct instead of a principle or set of principles. Some would call this the earliest known forms of "law"; others, "organized religion", but the idea was the same: how do we learn how to conduct ourselves in a civilized manner? 


The worst punishment anyone could receive was banishment from the city because that meant you no longer had the walls and laws to protect you, you were a barbarian. One had to live on one's wits and wiles and sword fighting ability. The great irony in this depiction of early civilization was the need for everyone to sacrifice something to be able to live among those who had transcended barbarism. 


Now, if I'm reading these goat entrails correctly, it would seem we need to relearn some of the skills, i.e. what sacrifices are necessary before we can re-enter the city of law and civility? Or is our slide toward barbarism destined to occur because we failed to transcend our instincts to "get ours" while we can, like children in the sandbox? Call me crazy, many already have, but the comparison of our culture to children fighting over toys in a sandbox seems eerily close, too close. If given a choice, I'd prefer to be found wrong than to be vindicated.  

Please, I encourage everyone to comment in a constructive manner. I don't know everything, just everything I know. We CAN change this course, but how is a very big question. 


XOXO - JR


ps-the title refers to the fact that a majority of Americans cannot locate Canada on a map. Remember what I'm saying, children fighting over toys, incivility. I wonder what the % of Canadians can find us on a map?



*To their credit, Mussolini and the Italian populace were not in favor of shipping Italian Jews off to death camps. If memory serves, it didn't happen in Italy until Mussolini was overthrown and German troops took over the country. The Italians mainly wanted the prestige that Germany received once Hitler took over the government. In fact, the first meeting between Hitler and Mussolini didn't go as Mussolini planned because he felt that he was the pre-eminent Fascist in Europe (Europe was UGLY with fascists following WWI). Hitler, needing a photo-op with a leading fascist, quickly re-entered his train and left, leaving Mussolini "high and dry," deprived of his chance to "school" the young Teuton with a bombastic and pompous speech. Hitler knew who needed whom.

A quick aside for context. For those of you who don't remember or know, Hitler was a master politician. World War I was fought for a lot of reasons, but one them was the idea of "social Darwinism", the political upshot of "eugenics," or study of "good" genetics. Oddly, the term and its movement started in England and quickly added adherents after Darwin's inconsequential little tome published in 1859. Hitler knew what the Germanic people wanted to hear--no more "weak" government a la democracy, lower taxes, more vacations for workers, a cap on corporate profit as a % of sales, a strong military, something we hear a lot these days--the need to RECLAIM NATIONAL PRIDE!, no more payments to the Allies (reparations for starting WWI).

In a nutshell, eugenics is the study of the role of factors under social control that could (theoretically) either improve or impair the qualities of future generations. Modern eugenics has been directed chiefly toward the discouragement of propagation among the unfit (mental retardation, mental illness like schizophrenia, homosexuality, etc, aka "negative eugenics") and encouragement of propagation among those who are healthy, intelligent, and of high moral character ("positive" eugenics). To the ultra-nationalist Germans, this meant a "cleansing" of pure Aryan blood that had been polluted and diluted by Jews, Roma (or "Gypsies," who originate from the western coast of India), and Slavic peoples like Poles, Serbs, Slovaks, Russians, Belarussians, et al).

It also meant the extermination of homosexuals, sexual deviants like child molesters, socialists, communists, and--get this--those deemed "a threat to the good of the nation," which served as a nebulous euphemism for those who openly disparaged its leaders, policies, or questioned the leadership in any shape or form. I know, it was crazy. From 2001 - 2008,I had people whom I thought were friends who nevertheless branded me "unpatriotic" and a "coddler of terrorists." Why? For questioning the morality and long-term wisdom of torturing people who were assumed--with little or no evidence--to be threats to national security. I'm not saying, but...it would seem that Americans who think like those "friends" of mine do are closer to fascists than they'd like to believe or will ever admit because most of those people are incapable of considering themselves anything but perfect, white, conservative patriots who love "their" country more than I love "mine". Others who were less harsh just summed up my entire dissent as a "Bush-hater" because no matter what Bush says or does I find fault with him. Unfortunately for them, that's not true, never has been. He was an unmitigated disaster as President overall  

For any of you who spout really stupid things about our President being a "Hitler", do you truly believe, in your heart of hearts, that the things Nazi Germany DID have anything to do with Obama's policies? And before you start foaming at the mouth like so many Orcs entering an unguarded village, remember that "death panels" were a lie propagated by a future president (in 2016).  


JRB



--
Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.  -- ⼤⾌

Do your book got pictures and pop-ups?

As many of you know, being the father of a child whose ethnic identity is "mixed" (half-Caucasian, half-Korean) and the son of a single mom who worked as a social worker in a destitute black neighborhood that included homes without running water or electricity has made me ultra sensitive to racism and racial remarks. I have little, if any, tolerance for either. 

And for the Aryan trolls from Mordor who can't fight the urge to read me but fear confrontation in an open forum for obvious reasons, don't think I've ever forgotten a single snide reference toward blacks, spics, Jews, or Muslims. Although my short-term memory is for shit these days, my long-term memory extends back to 1964 when I was around 6-9 mos. old.  

And I tend to remember a lot of details, to the point that Craig Stone mentioned the other day, that things fall out of his head whenever he learns something new. I'm no Einstein, in fact, I'm not a Stein; but, I do have a strong memory and remember each and every negative racial comment that anyone's ever said to or around me. Why? Because I always thought it was, I don't know, "uncalled for?" or it just made me lose respect for the speaker regardless of the context unless someone was repeating a comedian's schtick, like Richard Pryor's "Mudbone" or Chris Rock's brilliantly funny explanation on the only circumstances when it's ok for a white to call someone a nigger. "It must be between 4:23 and 4:25...on Christmas Eve..." 

There are people who now work (or worked) in management at the VA who have shared plenty of  their feelings regarding ragheads, Mexicans, fags, and--yes--niggers, because they assumed I was "in the club" where white, hetero, patriotic people can say their most stupid shit without having to look over their shoulder. How well can someone like that in a leadership position be trusted knowing they have Muslims, Hispanics, homosexuals, and blacks working for them?  Based on what I've seen and heard, not very far; but, who cares? They're career government workers or retirees with expansive benefits and free health care who scream about our "socialist" president...and they just don't see the irony of their ignorant views.    

I wonder how many of you, my Legion of admirers and supporters, have comments or feelings about your own experiences with race in this country. I know that living off the economy in Korea (meaning I lived off base, in Korean houses and neighborhoods) taught me a few things about passively assuming that my skin color and country of birth were things to be respected instead of derided. Once the reality of the situation struck, like a religious conversion moment, my entire world view changed. My Identity Epiphany. 

Personally, I'm glad I saw the world, and my place in it, from an uncomfortable oblique angle that I was too naive to consider. It taught me things about myself that made me a better soldier, better NCO, better American, better college student, and ultimately, a better parent and person. THAT'S why my Aryan trolls stay away, gathering in the dark like well-dressed Orcs, awaiting orders from their creators on what is right, what is wrong, who is right, and who is wrong. No questions except "When can I buy your book?" and "Do it got pictures and shit like gat?" or "Which candidate are you voting for? The Republican or the Tea Party?"  

Anywho...My feelings are too strong for me to tackle in a few hours of tip-typing away, forming my thoughts into a hopefully coherent whole; therefore, I'm gonna leave you to read an excerpt from a very bright guy who writes about 14,000% better than I can. Plus, he's already written a lengthy essay on his experiences as a working-class white growing up in Rhode Island where racism was a part of one's identity.  

TSCHÜSS,
ERNST WOLFGANG

"...the emergence of a new racist cultural pedagogy that became visible, if note celebrated, with the infamous Willie Horton political ad run by George H. W. Bush during the 1988 presidential campaign. Racism today has been both reconfigured and made invisible with regard to its real victims. In the first instance, racism now represents an attack on white people who see themselves as on the receiving end of black power structures and black politicians. This is most obvious in the remarks of a number of infamous politicians and media celebrities. For example, Glenn Beck recently claimed that President Obama was "a racist" who has "a deep-seated hatred for white people" and compared his administration to the "Planet of the Apes." Rush Limbaugh has called Obama a "halfrican American" and repeatedly played a song on his radio show unapologetically titled "Barack the Magic Negro." All the while the dominant media says little about how these comments are symptomatic of a vile racism that has gained increasing respectability since the 1980s. When the notable talk-radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger went out of her way to use the N-word 11 times in 15 minutes in order to largely humiliate a black female caller, the press largely focused on the event as an expression of unfortunate and erratic behavior for which Dr. Laura later apologized. In the face of Dr. Laura's decision to retire from her radio program, Sara Palin used Twitter to fire off some advice to her: "don't retreat ... reload." This up front support for a racial slur coupled with a metaphor for violence does more than mimic the worse elements of the Jim Crow South, it also points to how the legacy of racism is both forgotten and simultaneously updated.

It appears that much can be forgiven in a society where it is increasingly believed that white men are now under attack by black people, largely embodied in the image of a black president who allegedly is a Muslim in disguise. The all too obvious and troubling claim being made daily by right-wing politicians and others that the public sphere is primarily the preserve of white Christians is too easily equated with a defense of nation, citizenship and patriotism; unfortunately, this monstrous claim is rarely challenged in the dominant media. Instead, racism becomes exclusively the preserve of language and utterly privatized as a result. Hence, foul racist remarks are treated as jokes, indiscreet humor, bad taste or a harmless species of opinion and largely removed from even a hint of the structural racism and accompanying power relations that have become increasingly visible in the United States. One obvious example of this strategy can be found in the way in which the current intense racism directed against Muslims, exemplified in numerous remarks made by conservative politicians and talk-radio hosts, is viewed as simply an expression of anger rather than a species of virulent racism..."

Yep.

Again, the full essay can be found here: 

http://www.truth-out.org/racialized-memories-and-class-identities-thinking-about-glenn-becks-and-rush-limbaughs-america63035

XOXO

JR

American Fascism, Glenn Beck and Sarah

I'm not referring to a dictionary here, so anyone may correct any missteps.  Fascism requires the shared belief of an "aggrieved" group that "current" trends are soiling the chaste purity that made the group (nation, tribe, ethnicity, et al) "Great" and lived in a Golden Age at some time in the past. Another way to describe it is "extreme nationalism." Some have argued that Obama is a fascist, which is kinda like saying my puppy is an astronaut since Obama's programs and policy statements have never reminded me of fascism in any shape or form. W-Cheney and his Neo-Cons is another story.    

To apply it (loosely) to the 8-year nightmare of Bush-Cheney, W was supposed to represent a return to our (supposed) Christian identity since he was an unapologetic born-again Christian who eschewed "thinkers" since he was a "man of action" who was going to restore America's "honor" lost when 19 terrorists brought us to our knees with 4 jets and a frighteningly simple and well-planned attack.* Hence, the language of "Bring 'em on!" "We're fighting them over there so they won't be fighting us over here" "Wanted: Dead or Alive", etc,.

However, W, despite some excellent work in Africa, nearly bankrupted us in every conceivable manner--financially, legislatively, militarily, ethically, morally, et al. Instead of restoring the Golden Age, he's threatened to return us to the Middle Ages (which, in some religious circles, is not altogether undesirable).

Unfortunately, the "movement" gained renewed momentum when the country, in a spasm of uncontrolled good will and guilt for the distinctly unAmerican acts of the previous 7 1/2 years, elected a non-white in a landslide against a true-blue, lily white war hero and a mouthy, Falknerian-Idiot with a push-up bra and stiletto heels.

This act alone, the election of an ethnic outsider with a Muslim name, infuriated several constituencies at once, all of them with faulty, delusional memory banks, just like all other fascist movements. In Italy, Mussolini and his Right-wing phalanx  tried to recapture the grandeur and prestige of Rome; In Japan, the Far-right tried to recapture the militancy and self-reliance of the Shogunates and the special national relationship with the God that destroyed the huge fleet of Mongolian warriors with a "kamikaze" wind, a typhoon special ordered to keep Japan free of foreign, i.e. impure, influences for several centuries.

In our sad, as-yet-to-be-determined case, those with unrequited dreams of turning a hard right back toward elements of the Constitution they found worthy of protection (guns, less federal involvement) and a hard left away from those they don't favor (civil rights, habeas corpus) found personalities and pundits willing to cheer on behavior and language normally reserved for lynchings, whites-only frat house keggers, and Banana Republic revolts. This movement had the appearance, at least initially, of being a true grass roots phenomenom, an angry, over-taxed and overwhelmingly white, middle-class taking umbrage with the policies and programs of...the half-white dude who hadn't even taken office yet!

The loud, proud members of the movement, generously--no, bathed--in money from far-right special interest groups, viz., the billionaire Koch Brothers, seemed to have some legitimate beefs with the new administration, especially after it was able to pass legislation to save the more than 44,000 Americans who die a year as a direct result of the lack of access to regular health care, centered on the idea that our federal spending and its concomitant deficits could not continue unabated. Truthfully, these are worthy ideals; however, my question was, and is, where were these "Tea Partyers" when Bush II promised a "free" war by using Iraqi tax revenues. The truth is that W borrowed so much by selling t-bills that our GREAT-GRAND CHILDREN will be paying the INTEREST! 
      
My other question about these self-proclaimed patriots is something they never answered directly. Many Americans and one news department in particular had portrayed the people rallying in the streets as "patriotic" American citizens. My question is this: what would those Americans have thought had 10,000 African-Americans, angry at the Republican-controlled Congress like the first 6 years of the "Wightmare", descended on D.C., accosting some of the more strident conservatives, personally confronting them in mob-like fashion after bragging that many had come armed to the Capitol.  What do you think the reaction of the DC police would've been? How about that "other" "news" station and its talking heads, many of whom have a track record of making racist statements, what do you think they'd say?

In any event, this story--whether our next government or two will be fascist in its outlook--has yet to be told. Whether Hitler's form of fascism is worse than other examples is hard to tell, because the Japanese used non-Japanese Asians to experiment with various toxins and nerve agents (Unit 731, I believe) and tortured and killed thousands of Western POWs captured in the Philippines. The question a lot of people get wrong is whether "we" could do something as heinous. The answer is simple: we already have.

Most Americans tend to consider the slaughter and enslavement of Africans captured or purchased for purposes of slavery as something that happened "somewhere" else, to "other" people, i.e. "I didn't do that."

Well, perhaps our generation didn't do it, but our ancestors did.

Who wiped out the American Indian tribes? We did.

Who imprisoned American citizens during WWII after confiscating their businesses, land, homes, and farms? We did.

Who allowed German POWs kept in camps in the US South during WWII to access the officers club and movie theaters while simultaneously denying access to black US soldiers serving their country? We did.

Who was responsible for thousands of vigilante lynchings of young black men throughout the South in the first half of the 20th century? We (whites) were.

Who largely supported the illegal capture and torture of foreign nationals who were suspected of terrorism? We did.

I guess what I'm saying is that Americans are no more immune to savage behavior and mass manipulation than any other group or country. It's silly to think we are more, rather than less, civilized than the German culture that produced arguably the highest form of consistently gorgeous music from Bach and Mozart and Beethoven and Wagner to name a few.

It's not ironic that Wagner is considered a proto-Nazi because his anti-Semitic themes and use of pre-Christian Germanic religious figures were glommed onto by post-WWI nationalists for inspiration in the cause of resurrecting Germany to her rightful place among the greatest of nations, otherwise what became the Third Reich. The Reich that started the world on a path of war that resulted in greater than 90 MILLION civilan deaths in less than 15 years. Nice Reich, huh? What a culture.

Bottom line? If Sarah Palin's Northern Star continues its ineffable ascendancy to national office, there's no telling what the American public will do. I was an early rider on the anti-W bandwagon if only because I had lots of training deciphering propaganda and I was shocked when he was re-elected, which in truth may be due as much to the Democrats inability to produce political leaders worthy of national office as anything else. Nevertheless, the Disinformation Train that rolls its way through the airwaves unimpeded and largely unchallenged favors Tea Party-types and their ilk because more of them believe the president is a practicing Muslim despite the absolute absence of ANY supporting evidence than did on the day he was elected. Now THAT  is scary dumb. Oh yeah, some 20% or more of the American populace believe Obama, a Constitutional scholar, is planning to replace the Constitution with Shari'a Law from the Koran, Islam's Holy Book.

If I were a betting man, I'd have to wager that we're not going to be a fascist state under any Obama Administration, assuming he wins another term; however, that being said, the rise of the far-right hate groups, white Nationalists, the right-wing radio mouths that have accompanied Obama's rise to the White House must be an indication of growing intolerance of "outsiders" (see the 1st paragraph for reference if you're lost), and Mrs. Palin caters to religious and militant groups who, like she, see enemies behind every corner, consider any questioning of the candidate's veracity to be the work of "the devil" or "slime" (I'm not making this up).

Perhaps a better indication of her character to be Chief Executive of the (for now) world's largest economy and most sophisticated military is this anecdote from the same article. Sarah Palin was at home in Wasilla, Alaska, and decided to go shopping at the local Target. However, when she entered the store a man saw her and yelled, "Hey, it's Tina Fey! I Love Tina Fey!" When other customers started laughing, the woman who aspires to be the POTUS turned on her heels and fled the store. If that's all it takes to make her flee from confrontation, it shouldn't take much for her abject lack of character to appear. Then again, I said the same thing about W. As for the American voting public, stupid is as stupid does.    

XOXO--JR

ps-Best of Luck, Tina! You march thru that Sahara!

*NB-The Taliban had to be destroyed in Afghanistan b/c 9/11 would not have been possible were it not for their protection of and advocacy for al-Qaeda's mission to export their militant, apostate Islamic jihad.

Has the 4th Estate Contracted a chronic illness, or have we?

http://www.mediamatters.com

Media Matters has asked an open question to it's readers regarding the "End" of the Iraq War and the media's reaction to it. My comment follows.

After the video masturbation that editors called "embedded reporting" during the invasion designed to stop those ubiquitous mushroom clouds, it's hard to figure out what good the "media" has done since Cronkite retired. I distinctly remember reading a CNN story several years back when I was asked to reflect on the fact that CNN was "20 years old!" Who gives a damn? was my reply to the inane question.

It was an epiphany for me. belated though it was, to understand how blurry the lines of celebrity/infotainment/and journalism had become over the years since Fox arrived on the scene and challenged the status quo. Silly me, I thought it was a good thing at the time, not realizing it was to become the armed wing of the RNC just as Sinn Fein had the IRA to "send the message" when it was told to.

Stay with the BBC, ITN, and other news sources that still believe in an independent Fourth Estate dedicated to spread light in the dark corners where the scum and mildew of political and corporate operations converge. Right now, their battle for veracity and respect is an uphill battle against the spinmeisters of all stripe and an American public so intimidated and stupid that facts are merely another set of words few understand or will investigate on their own.

So far as I can tell, the US "media" did this to themselves and until they find the fortitude and cojones in the board and editorial rooms to correct their descent into oblivion and stock dividends, they will continue shoveling their corporate/RNC-approved swill into the slack-jawed ignoramuses who desperately seek acceptance of their shared ignorance.

This situation and my gut reactions to it are best portrayed In a short but pivotal scene in "Apocalypse Now" after Roach, a dazed but muscular infantryman fired a grenade launcher into the darkness, ultimately silencing his shrill, unseen tormentor (the media) across the wire, "Motherfucker, " remarked Roach at the deafening quiet that ensues. Exactly my sentiments, as well, when Martin Sheen's character demanded that Roach reveal who was in charge of the circus-like cluster fuck and Roach answered, "Ain't you?"

Sum effect of GOP/Tea Party Family Values?

I think that the only thing that could make this poor Giuliani kid (see below) scream again to the world that she has Daddy issues would be to bring home a girlfriend or, God forbid, a Mexican! I know some people, quite well unfortunately, who've successfully inculcated their daughter--an otherwise bright, engaging, talented young woman--to believe that darker skin is to be feared and disdained, something she does without thinking ( I realize that was redundant but I'm on a deadline here 'cause we're going to FLA tomorrow).

You know how sensitive people are about the appearance of looking or sounding racist or bigoted? All that animus thrown at "illegal immigrants" hasn't been about race or ethnic superiority, because the folks in Arizona are just patriotic Americans. That being said, I agree there is a major problem with the state of immigration in the country. Why else would an 8-y/o classmate of Haydon tell us he wished Godzilla would only attack cities where people who "spoke Mexican lived." When asked why he would say such a thing, he said, "My Dad showed me that Mexicans eat dogs and I believe him because he's my dad."

Now, what would make an innocent kid living in an upper middle class neighborhood harbor such ill-will toward a group of people...unless someone taught him to believe that that way? I Googled the question about dog-eating Mexicans and found exactly one "news" story about a "bunch of dog and cat and rat eating" Mexican gang members. There was no other corroboration of the outlandish charges, but what better way to get American kids to despise Mexicans? A dozen other stories included the question of whether Mexicans eat dogs--curiously, all around the same time frame--with every one of them concluding that, "NO! Goddammit! Mexicans do NOT eat dogs!!!"

Depending on the responses and the amount oF time I have, I may hafta look into this a little more deeply. I've never been prone to conspiracy theories, but the wording and timing of this thing is intriguing as the divisions betwixt the proponents and opponents of the controversial Arizona legislation inre: checking the legal status of EVERY person "of interest". My own feelings (besides the one shown above) are that demagoguery and clever marketing by political machines have effectively branded an entire nation of proud, hard-working and decent people as ruffians, law-breakers, and lazy lay-abouts. Even their legislators are reprobates. But enough about Idaho.

News story:
NEW YORK — Rudy Giuliani's daughter was arrested Wednesday on a misdemeanor shoplifting charge at a beauty supplies store after she was seen on security video pocketing makeup, police said.
Caroline Giuliani, a 20-year-old Harvard University student, was seen taking five items worth more than $100 at a Sephora store in Manhattan, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said.

Store managers, after calling police, said they didn't want to press charges against her, Browne said. But police arrested her on a petty larceny charge, he said.

Giuliani, wearing black pants and a red sweater and with her arms folded, exited a police precinct Wednesday evening and quickly got into an SUV with a man and a woman. She did not respond to reporters' questions.

Her father, through a spokeswoman, said the case was a personal matter and asked the media to respect her privacy.

The Manhattan district attorney's office had not decided whether to file formal charges against her, office spokeswoman Erin Duggan said.

Caroline Giuliani is the younger of the former New York mayor's two children with ex-wife Donna Hanover, a television reporter and actress. She is believed to be estranged from her prosecutor-turned-politican father.

In 2007, when Rudy Giuliani was seeking the Republican nomination for president, Caroline Giuliani listed herself as a member of Barack Obama's Facebook group supporting his candidacy. But she left the group after an online magazine sent her an inquiry about it, and she didn't comment on the presidential race.

Rudy Giuliani lost to U.S. Sen. John McCain, who lost to Obama.

He has asked for privacy to deal with strained relationships in his family. His son, Andrew Giuliani, 23, has said their relationship became distant after his father's messy divorce from his mother and marriage to another woman.

The arrest Wednesday was first reported by the New York Post.

I Hate Youism--a paradigmatic & practical polemic on political populism

I am the married father of 2 sons and one step-daughter and I am a disabled veteran who no longer recognizes our country or many of its citizens. I know people who refuse to speak with me because our politics don't match. Someone recently repeated the "opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one" adage which is, barring extraordinarily poor genetics or the horrifying results of a terrible accident, pretty much true. However, the problem with many of the citizens with whom I disagree politically and philosophically is that our system of government requires "Informed" opinions if the whole "public discourse" and "exchange of ideas" thing is to work.

While my genteel right-leaning friends scratch their protruding foreheads or begin lathering at the mouth (not you, VQ), I suggest that we, if we are indeed the responsible wards of Our State as the Tea Party contends (and I agree), refrain from the politics of One Issue/I Hate Youism and remain open to the dangerous, on-the-edge proposition that our minds are malleable and must remain true to the ideal that NEW information carries the potential of changing our minds if the NEW Information forces us to re-examine our stance on a given issue.

If any of you believe you understand HOW this country was formed and WHY it was so new and important, you should also recognize the pure American essence of the idea that we are SUPPOSED to use new information whenever it improves our lives. And this goes both ways. If the New Info is not useful and the old way is superior, we should admit as much and continue on our merry way; however, whichever way the cookie crumbles I'm reasonably certain the Founders and primary, iconoclastic draftsmen of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were of the mind that we should fucking think for ourselves! Additionally, not thinking for one's self abrogates your responsibility as a responsible citizen in the Brave, New System they developed. In a sense, every nauseating utterance of "Ditto Rush" or "By God, Glenn Beck KNOWS EVERYTHING, just repeat what HE says" is essentially a traitorous act against the spirit and principles of the Constitution, its amendments and the Representative Democratic Republic, The United States of America.

I care about my country, Our State, and deeply enough to fight--daily, if need be--for the ideals embodied by its enlightened Founders, viz., that EVERY person ought to be fortunate enough to live in a land ruled by a just, informed citizenry who not only respect the egalitarian rule of law BUT in the knowledge that, First and Foremost, inalienable civil rights are not subject to the whimsical nature of political fortune, religious zealotry or personal bigotry.

To bolster my position that allowing demagoguery to fashion and control public discourse, such that it is in our New Age of I Hate Youism, and that my "liberal" stance on this issue is indeed solidly based on the ideals of the Founders, I offer the following statement from some Virginia farmer and tinkerer who was not a very good businessman or steward of his property, the regular horizontal bop with his beautiful slave maid notwithstanding. His mind, nevertheless, was cut from some very rare, eloquent, and prescient gemstone that most people agree was rarified genius.

Please read the following very carefully and critically and tell me if I'm wrong.

"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors." --From the inscription on Panel 4 of the Jefferson Memorial*

If you're certain I'm wrong, I encourage you to respond, tell me how and why but only if you can abide by the following:

a) properly identify the topic; b) stick to the topic; c) cite references that are NOT blogs or web pages of otherwise opinionated jack-offs like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Shawn Hannity, Adolf Hitler, The People's Front of Judea, The Lizard King, Andrew Breitbart, Angry White Dude, et al; and d) write clearly and coherently.

I apologize we have to winnow the field of prospective commentators in such a severe manner, but most people today are not aware that name calling, a tactic called ad hominem or "to the man", is NOT a type of argument. It IS offensive and repugnant, but it does NOT serve any practical purpose except to show the world your mental age lags years, maybe decades, behind the one listed on your driver's license. Also, citing outside references to support your argument is encouraged but limited to sources that one can reasonably expect proper research and vetting techniques were employed prior to informational or scholastic publication. And just because Glenn Beck is starting a university it only proves that enough pinheads bought into his self-serving drivel to allow such an person to pass himself off as an academic. Think of it this way: was Hitler a noted artist because he could paint or because he had one testicle?

This challenge, as it were, is not designed to call out the entire movement, because there are aspects of the "Tea Party" with which I agree. Let's be honest, nobody likes to pay taxes, the wealthy least of all, because they're convinced that the egalitarianism espoused by the Founders really meant "wealthy, land-owning white men." Again, truth be told, that's precisely what was meant at the time Our State was founded and, if everyone was as honest as Abraham Lincoln (who wanted to send all freed slaves to Madagascar because he believed as some of you do that white men are superior) that's what a lot of wealthy, white men want us to revert to.

I don't know about any of you, but I've been harangued by wealthy, white men who spelled it out for me in simple sentences that "this country was great until we allowed women, niggers, and Jews into the process." This is a direct quote spoken to me by my great-uncle, a multi-millionaire who scolded me from the top floor of the condominium he owned in Boca Raton, FLA. And by condo, I mean the entire, fucking 22-story, beachfront building. (I wonder what went through his mind when, years after his death, his pedophile priest of a son, who inherited everything, went to federal prison for abusing teenagers after getting them stoned?)

And don't try the "just because your great-uncle was a great man for making so much money that ALL white men feel that way" argument because I've heard forms and variations of that theme since I was knee-high to Artis Gilmore, the 7'2" former Kentucky Colonels/Chicago Bulls great who I saw buying beer one time. I was 7 at the time, but you get the drift. In fact, one of the WORST polemics I heard on race and economics and imminent collapse of our system of government was from a doctorate-bearing idiot from the Univ. of Louisville Business School.

When this 43-y/o virgin wasn't talking into his beer bottle (I am NOT making this up!), he was "non-responding" to my economics questions and statements and babbling into the bottle about eugenics, race riots, the superior European model of governing which was startling close to real fascism and not the silly shit willfully ignorant Tea Partiers put on placards of Obama made to look more menacing than a regular black man, probably because he's half-white(?)...(I know another "I'm smarter than anyone here or who has ever been born" type, but he was a true-blue narcissist who was/is in DIRE need of professional help. He was also fond of the "answering the question by not answering it" technique which is another way of avoiding any responsibility or ownership of the conversation because it never really happened. Then again, all narcissists are dicks of the highest order.)

So, are the populists right? Do they REALLY want to revert back to the days of the Constitution? I've read some argue that the 2nd Amendment is the ONLY Bill of Rights worth keeping and no mention was made to any of the other amendments after the original set. (I have to apologize, but I cannot recall where I read this. If pressed, I might try to find it, but not if you're gonna be a dick about it.) There has been a little discussion in Facebook of what my core beliefs are, primarily because people cannot take an angle on me if they're not sure where I stand on EVERYTHING, but when it comes right down to it it doesn't matter because there is One Issue that someone can use to proudly pin the I Hate You because... accoutrements on my lapel.

As a result, an entire group of people can take their measure of me as a man, as a patriot, as a father, whatever the Hell they want because my label reveals the essence of who I am without need for further speculation or inspection. Once this VITAL task has been accomplished, the tribal leaders can more easily cast their marching orders to the minions eager to do their bidding against the evil "Other" because "he" can officially say, without saying, I Hate You because "he" told me to, because "you" are evil, because "my" group knows what "your" group always thinks when "that" happens, you son-of-a-bitch hippie terrorist coddler! Do "you" care more about a terrorist than you do an American soldier?

Well, my only real answer to the assumers, the key masters to the doors where all the "real" information is stored, is this: Have you told your secretly bisexual Republican father and Republican mother who dreams of making "Boom-Boom" with a strange, muscular black man that you voted for Barack Obama?

XOXO--JR