Why I wasn’t invited to prayer camp…

Like the old saying goes if you can’t bet’em cane’em. The Christian Right is on the march and the Supreme Court is in the cross hairs. Parental notice is on the docket and prayer circles have encompassed the highest court in the land. Breyer and Ginsberg must feel like Anne Frank, dreaming of benevolent people, while the scourge of religious fascism takes root.

The Catholic coalition, on the court, resembles a Spanish court, of the 1400’s, rather than an objective judicial body. Antonin Scalia, as grand inquisitor, will lead this coalition to a more ‘constructivist view’ of the constitution rather than the active liberty approach presented by Breyer (and introduced most basically by the men who wrote the constitution). Thus, abortion will be struck down. And the venom of the Christian Fascists (CF) will need new meat to aid in their hunger for purification.

Who will be next on the CF agenda? Could it be affirmative action, anti-discrimination laws, contributions to the UN, domestic work shops for single mothers, or liberal thinkers? My bet is on the intellectuals of this country, whom through logic and science have disfigured CF ignorance and have welcomed enlightenment as well as public dissent. Beware those of you with non-divinity school degrees and have the knowledge to form articulate questions about life, god, and truism and can be dubbed a humanist. For thou art the sinners on a new age and thee whom cast doubt on faith as false and religion as reprehensible will as Jonathan Edwards pronounced: For it is said, that when that due time, or appointed time comes, their foot shall slide.

The full circle of a great awakening is upon us; rejoice in the name of our new Christian soldiers.
The CF have come to crush Babel and all who come to worship inner peace, self salvation, secular knowledge, humanism and critical thinking, for ye are the wolves of human virtue and cloud the sky of Churchly goodness. Repent and ask others to forgive you so that blessings can be bestowed upon your re-born head. If not, your heresy will be deemed a terror in this world and you will be exiled to a far off land without the due process which you so covet.

Neo-Colonialism and Oil: A Perfect Mix

The red banners and make-shift protest signs of “NO BLOOD FOR OIL” and “STOP FOREGIN OIL” are desperate reflections of an outraged and underrepresented public. Young and old stand side by side venting their disbelief over a war, which in their mind, was manifested by oil interests. Critics of these fringe groups call upon tempered logic and naïve political discourse. These self-righteous pundits tout their hand fed talking points and read from corporate teleprompters, conveying a message of jingoistic patriotism and troop support. Liars and sycophantic slurs are mouthed from both sides and no one seems to peer into the legal and contractual shadows, which are beginning to eclipse the rich oil reserves of Iraq.

According, to the Independent of London, “Iraqis face the dire prospect of losing up to $200bn (£116bn) of the wealth of their country if an American-inspired plan to hand over development of its oil reserves to US and British multinationals comes into force next year. A report produced by American and British pressure groups warns Iraq will be caught in an "old colonial trap" if it allows foreign companies to take a share of its vast energy reserves. The report is certain to reawaken fears that the real purpose of the 2003 war on Iraq was to ensure its oil came under Western control.” As Mr. Marley once quipped, “No chains around my feet but I’m not free.”

Neo-colonialism (the control of nations through indirect means, in the post-modern world these are liberal economic means, which through the advent of globalization, international corporations, free markets, free enterprise, and multinational corporations will move into an underdeveloped region and liquidate the resources of that region. Whether those resources are in the form of water, oil, fishing, labor or the occasional mineral mine) has its history in Marxism. Marx, I know we are not allowed to bring up his name in polite conversation, revealed that capital and more importantly capitalism will lead to large corporations which will feed on other nations trying to enter a free market; and in doing so the countries, in question, will be abused. This abuse will be in the Wal-Mart model of economic drought. The Wal-Mart model is very simple. Set up shop in a region. Create a monopoly. Pull all resources out, in the form of profits and capital, back to the home office. The region, which supports the corporate citizen, loses wealth; remember that cash stops circulating in that region and is funneled back to headquarters. This business model is reinvented throughout the country.

In the case of Iraq, this model will pull profits and needed funds back to BP and US oil companies. It is beyond naive and bordering on sadistic to think that Shell and BP will be ‘pumping’ cash back into a war torn country. Would you? Basic capitalist/free market polices forbid these types of high-risk low reward ventures. Consequently, oil reserves must be kept in the hands of Iraqis. It is their country; they have the mineral and territorial rights (anyone remember Westphalia?) to these enormous holdings.

Assistance from oil companies will be needed but a Saudi solution to the problem will only cause more strife and indignation. The Saudi solution is also quite simple. British Petroleum (BP) runs the majority of oil refineries and pumping technologies in Saudi Arabia. In turn, the British government receives vast quantities of free and below market pricesof oil. The British government, does not pass these savings on to the British populace, instead the price is re-inflated and sold at market value. This is a lucrative deal for the British government and BP, however the Saudi population is without the knowledge and where-with-all to use their own resources (not to mention the ignorant British puplic). Moreover, the festering corruption of the Royal Saudi family is as much to blame as the glazed eyes of oil and political leaders in Britain. The fact still remains that this model is a detriment to the public at large. Oil companies can not be allowed to monopolize in any way the resources of Iraq. If democracy, is truly the goal of this beleaguered administration, then Iraqi based oil companies must be in charge of ALL natural resources. In other words, the US and UK oil companies can help but not take from this situation. If not, then this will be a recipe for continuous conflict. And I am not cynical enough to think that the military industrial complex bolstered by the oil and gas companies of the US are frothing at the mouth over this impending doom. Or should I be?

Yeah Asia, they like me over there…

There was a time when presidents faced with either domestic or foreign troubles would go to the people. Train tours and fireside chats would bring the nation together and real discussion with open discourse would be generated. Local folks as well as international observers would see civil society at its best. Questions would be asked and answers given. Even the late Republican stalwart Herbert Hoover went to the people and declared that hard times would be ahead. Facing an unemployed and anxious public, Hoover, unlike Bush today, faced the problems head on and made way for positive change.

Now, we have a new breed of GOP politician: the absent leader. Instead of a tour within the US, Bush is leaving for Asia. As Reuter’s reports, “Bush's stops in Japan, South Korea, China and Mongolia are aimed mostly at advancing U.S. interests and maintaining friendships without reaching specific agreements, except in the case of steps to address the bird flu threat that may come out of an Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea.” (Italics added) Notice that these stops will not produce any agreements or solid advancements between the US and a number of vital countries in Asia.

In fact, this is an escape. In escape from his citizens. Faced with poll numbers in the 30’s and 40’s, coincidently the same temperatures of many areas in the US, Bush will hide out this week in Asia. Questions about CIA and White House intelligence (or lack there of), Iraq, unemployment, intelligent design, and Rove will be 4000 miles away. Out of sight out of mind. Moreover, Bush will not be harassed by the liberal media(?) and his favorite pastime of napping and bullshiting will be in high gear. Asia will be a respite for a weary and confused man.

Sunday Muse IX

Sunday muse for the week that was:

But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. O that ye would altogether hold your peace! And it should be your wisdom.

Job 13: 4-5

I spit in your general direction

First, Bush is lost. I know this is not a revelation but the fact that he stated to veterans at the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania, that it is “deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how the war began". Mr. Bush the war isn’t history thus the start of the war can not be history. In fact, the true and real account of facts is still bubbling to the surface. I know it took your cabinet all of yesterday to come up with this new and overly false talking point but the fact still remains that this war is not history.

I know you wish this war was history but wishing doesn’t make it true. Like wishing that WMD’s were in Iraq doesn’t make it true. Like wishing that the earth was created by magic doesn’t make it true. Like wishing that Karl Rove wasn’t gay doesn’t make it true. Like wishing that integrity was brimming out of the White House doesn’t make it true. Money, cronyism and fear got you into your position. You have markedly failed the American people and in doing so I wish you were gone, but wishing doesn’t make it true.

What do you get when you cross Kafka with Orwell…National Security Letters

“Issued by FBI field supervisors, national security letters do not need the imprimatur of a prosecutor, grand jury or judge. They receive no review after the fact by the Justice Department or Congress…and (have) offered no example in which the use of a national security letter helped disrupt a terrorist plot.” In effect, we are now under complete and legal surveillance by the FBI. This is not some conspiracy plot or accusation. National Security Letters (NSL) have increased 100 fold according to the Washington Post, some 30,000.

They present you the letter and you are not allowed to let anyone know your situation. In other words, even receiving the letter is confidential. You may not, under risk of criminal prosecution, reveal that you have received such a letter. These letters are given to large corporations, libraries and other vast information gathering networks. As a US citizen under the 1^st and 4^th amendments you are granted rights which can not be dismantled by the government. Privacy (4^th) and speech (1^st) are under attack by the NSL’s. Moreover the information is then deposited into a central network governed and held by the government. “Unannounced decision to deposit all the information they yield into government data banks. President Bush signed Executive Order 13388, expanding access to those files for "state, local and tribal" governments and for "appropriate private sector entities," which are not defined.”

All of this is to protect us from the terrorist networks lurking in our libraries and colleges. Thus the logic of preemption is now slowly moving throughout the US. Rights and freedoms we have enjoyed for over 250 years are simply deluded for government proposes and the average citizen can do nothing about it. In fact, “The records it yields describe where a person makes and spends money, with whom he lives and lived before, how much he gambles, what he buys online, what he pawns and borrows, where he travels, how he invests, what he searches for and reads on the Web, and who telephones or e-mails him at home and at work.” And if you resist, “The House and Senate have voted to make noncompliance with a national security letter a criminal offense.”

So if , like K from The Trial , you are not sure what crime you have commented, it does not matter; for the government is now in the position to place you under arrest for the mere questioning of authority. The FBI’s burden of proof is also weak and vague, for “now the bureau needs only to certify that the records are "sought for" or "relevant to" an investigation "to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities." Thus, any link to a book or a web site can gather you into the web of guilt. This is deemed 'linking'. Consequently, you are now guilty for performing any number of benign acts; such as reading a book, checking your email and of course corresponding over the phone.

However, Mr. Billy Jr. tries to clam our unwarranted and irrational fears of governmental intrusion. “Joseph Billy Jr., the FBI's deputy assistant director for counterterrorism…said he understands that "merely being in a government or FBI database . . . gives everybody, you know, neck hair standing up." Innocent Americans, he said, "should take comfort at least knowing that it is done under a great deal of investigative care, oversight, within the parameters of the law." Unfortunately, wording for NSL's by FBI agents is far from, as Mr. Billy states, ‘done under a great deal of investigative care.’ For example, “A model request for a supervisor's signature, according to internal FBI guidelines, offers this one-sentence suggestion: "This subscriber information is being requested to determine the individuals or entities that the subject has been in contact with during the past six months." Yes, all I have to prove is that in the last six months someone, anyone, could be linked in anyway to anyone else. Lastly, “What national security letters add to government data banks is information that no commercial service can lawfully possess. Strict privacy laws, for example, govern financial and communications records. National security letters -- along with the more powerful but much less frequently used secret subpoenas from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court -- override them.”

Ghost in the Machine

I know it may sound unlikely but voting in this country is not valid. We use to have real discussions about poll taxes, voting site discrimination or the rare (wink wink nudge nudge) occurrence of gerrymandering. I pine for the good old days. Alas we are now in an era of technological change and PROGRESS. The ministry of truth i.e. – The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has come out with an under the radar report finding that voting machines used to elect the Bush were faulty. Now this finding is not as sexy as a good old discrimination case or taxes levied on the poor before a vote; however it is much more damaging.

This is the new poll tax; a tax on the ignorant levied by the powerful. In other words, the ones who control the software and hardware (you get one guess- and it is not the blacks, poor, immigrants, Hispanics, lower middle class, teachers, pink or blue collar workers, professors or working mothers) control your vote. For example, the GAO’s report of Sept 2005 – if you have any questions (you should) please call David Powner (202) 512-9286 - found six extremely disturbing trends connected to electronic voting:

1. Cast ballots, ballots definition files and audit logs could be modified
2. Supervisor functions were protected with weak or easily guessed passwords
3. Systems had easily picked locks and power switches were exposed and unprotected
4. Local jurisdictions misconfigured their electric voting systems, leading to election day problems
5. Voting systems experienced operational failures during elections
6. Vendors installed uncertified electronic voting systems

The first question is: Was there malice intent and efforts to commit voting fraud?

Yes

The next question, Marxian in its nature: Who benefited from these irregularities?

The GOP

The next question and the most important: Does anyone care?

No

Thus we are back to the old anarchist slogan:

When a reporter asked whether or not the anarchist voted, he replied “NO”

Then the reporter seeing the ignorance of this answer asked, “Why not?”

The anarchist simply stated, “If voting actually worked, they would have ended it long ago!”

Can you hear the history books laughing....

A New City on the Hill

America has fettered away its place as the moral compass of the world. War is just a symptom of the loss and diminished high ground we have enjoyed since WWII. Granted that there have been ups and downs namely, Vietnam, Segregation, Watergate, Iran Contra, Arms Sales, Nuclear Proliferation and African Apathy just to name a few. However, our time of clear moral values and international standards of justice are gone. We are now limping into an era of might makes right and the ends justify the means. America has now become an adult and the image in the mirror is one of empire and hubris. Ironically this is the same image we escaped from in the 1600’s. We have come full circle. We are an empire in which the sun never sets.

The pink underbelly of this empire is exemplified in the global torture camps we now run and occupy. We use economic and military might to collude with weaker nations. With promises of milk and honey we have convinced nations to be the sacred ground for these unholy sites. We are now surrounded by magnets of torture, war, plutocracy and religious fascism and our valued compass of morals and virtues is spinning out of control. We are set adrift in a world of our own creation.

All is not lost for help is on the way. With Paris burning and racism fueling the fire; France is now faced with its own national strife. However, Pairs will, like Spain after her about of terrorism (after the bombings of the Spanish rail system, Spain did the unthinkable it gave citizenship to all illegal immigrants-Arab and African Muslims- thus creating a condition of understanding not fear and alienation - consequently diffusing the radical element) will rise from the ashes as it has done for millennia. This is a growing pain for a nation living within the confines of the EU.

However, this will only make France stronger and ultimately solidify the EU’s place on the international stage. Moreover, as the Paris skyline burns the EU has taken a stand. A stand against injustice spawned from the US. They will independently look into the international torture camps and have, in doing so; become the new city on the hill. The EU has become an example of social consideration and corporate regulation. And with this step taken gained the reigns from the US and will lead the world into a new era of self control, consideration, diplomacy and economic security for all. Viva la EU.