September 30, 2009 archive

The Honduras Drama Keeps Me Thinking About the United States, and Now This.…





First the Petraeus incident.  Now the words down on paper.  Wishful thinking?  

I found this gem on TPM.

While the president is uncovering entrenched American problems, and forcing them to the light of day, I guess hoping the perpetrators would at least do a better job if put on blast, because Lord knows, he can’t get the congress to back him on much of anything, being as they are pretty much entrenched too, perhaps the real powers are seriously mulling this alternative in some backroom somewhere.

They do it in other countries.  Now the Corporate forces are ready to use our own militia right here on our own soil.  Incredible!  

I hear on the newses today, Sarah Palin, author of An American Rogue or something like that, and Dick Cheney’s daughter are two rising stars on the right.  And there will go the country.


Africom and the End of Civilization

If there was any doubt about the primary mission of U.S. foreign policy, it should be clear based on the mission of Africom.  The mission is to protect and establish U.S. oil and mineral interests on the continent.  There is no other reason to establish a major military organization such as that.  It’s not about terrorism.  It’s not about defense of our nation.  It is simply about protecting our economic interests, of which the primary interest is oil.  

This is a truly savage foreign policy.  Still, no different from the foreign policies of past empires, before the Romans and since.  Perhaps more so because of the sheer numbers of people affected.   This is a foreign policy that causes people to die.  Millions of people.  This is an inhumane foreign policy that takes no interest in the havoc it reeks on innocent people.  This an idea from the minds of Dick Cheney and his ilk, who have no thoughts about the four year old kids who die because if it.  These are the same type of minds that promoted and accomplished slavery, the first exploitation of Africa’s resources.  

The Military Industrial Complex is the most powerful entity on earth.  The reason is the money involved and the power the U.S. military can wield..  The budget of the DOD and the interests that are affected assures it.  One can read about the money that affected the health care reform issue, but that’s a drop in the bucket compared to the reach of the MIC.   Oil and natural resources are the number one national interest of the elite.  It doesn’t matter if a million people must be killed to get it.  It doesn’t matter whether an entire continent must be kept in despair.  What matters is that the U.S. is able to continue it’s American way of life.  What matters is the corporate coffers continue to be filled, and the elite can continue to be the elite.

There probably is some small space in Dick Cheney’s mind that believes these efforts are in some way beneficial to the entire U.S. populace.  He knows darn well that peak oil has arrived and to continue our current way of life would require being at the head of the line for the last pickings.   But probably, he simply maintains the posture based on the acceptance he receives from the inner groupies patting his back.  

This whole Africom thing started shortly after the illegal attack on the nation of  Iraq.  It was partly DOD driven in it’s never ending organizational restructuring, and partly because of the Bush/Cheney policy that the U.S. needed to upgrade the pursuit of  oil and natural resources worldwide because of the impending shortages.   The US is the largest user and importer of oil in the world, by far.  Of course, that is exactly why we went into Iraq, holder of the fourth largest oil supply in the world.  

The U.S. created Africom because of the strategic oil interests on the continent.  As with the Middle East and Central Asia, some countries have the resources and some don’t.  But they are all affected because to get to the resources requires taming the boundaries.    Djibouti has become the largest U.S. military enclave in Africa , and the defacto Africom headquarters, because of it is the gateway to Ethiopia and Somalia, which are rich in resources.  U.S. involvement in Uganda is largely because of its’ proximity to Sudan, which has large deposits of oil, although recent discoveries in Uganda indicate a rich supply as well.  

Our military is there under the guise of “defense, diplomacy, and development”.  Whatever that means.  I’m not sure what defense we need against the Tutsi’s and I’m pretty sure the role of the military isn’t diplomacy and development of other countries.  

Africom represents the reach of the man.  The utter savagery and lack of moral conscience that afflicts the human race.  Four hundred years after the white people started  stealing precious resources from Africa, the rape continues.        

Invisibility technology means Goodbye freedom, makes 1984 look like a walk in the park

Duke University, 2006. 3 years later, how much more has been learned?

    Blogging the future looks like it might be some scary shit.

    Because, lets face it, invisibility in the hands of the Oligarchy means we WILL have Secret Police, and Secret Police means freedom is dead and thought crime is next. When you can crush political dissent, what can’t you do?

Overnight Caption Contest

on Santa Claus, a Platonic Dialogue

My son is 7 and has his doubts about Santa. He’s kind of been fooling himself for years because he wants to believe.



I let it go. We all go back and forth on these issues and as sure as he sounded the day he declare there is no Santa and no soul, he’s likely to change his mind as time goes by. But when the issue comes up again, I want to have thought the thing through.


I resolved the soul-Santa dilemma with Plato. That’s right: Plato. A platonic dialogue on Santa.

Ollie did say much of what I have him quoted as saying, about Santa and the soul, about the light in the trees… only I didn’t have Socrates to help me out at the time.

The Next PR Blitz You’ll Want to Miss

Hooray for Democracy!  Democratic Senator’s have introduced a bill that would repeal telecom immunity from civil suits for their part of Bush’s warrantless wiretapping.  




Don’t jump for joy.  Don’t break out the champagne.  This is the next PR blitz of, “Hey, look what we did“, you want to miss because it means absolutely NOTHING

H.R. 6304, Sec 802



‘(1) any assistance by that person was provided pursuant to an order of the court established under section 103(a) directing such assistance;

‘(2) any assistance by that person was provided pursuant to a certification in writing under section 2511(2)(a)(ii)(B) or 2709(b) of title 18, United States Code;

‘(3) any assistance by that person was provided pursuant to a directive under section 102(a)(4), 105B(e), as added by section 2 of the Protect America Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-55), or 702(h) directing such assistance;

‘(4) in the case of a covered civil action, the assistance alleged to have been provided by the electronic communication service provider was–

‘(A) in connection with an intelligence activity involving communications that was–




‘(i) authorized by the President; and

‘(ii) determined to be lawful; or

‘(5) the person did not provide the alleged assistance.

Hold on… no popcorn for you… wait for it…

BrokenRoots: Homeless in America

(crossposted at DailyKos on Sunday)



Take it away, Paula.



Democratic Party; 4 and out

So, today in the Senate, the public option was killed in the Senate Finance Committee.  While five `conservative` Democrats were the votes, the public option defeat is a Democratic Party, as a whole, failure.

This utter failure by the Democratic Party is why they are going to go “four and out”; four years in power and done.  But, lets chronicle the total meltdown…  

Right to target SEIU in war against ACORN



(Cross-posted from the Free Speech Zone)


WASHINGTON – After a half-day of animated debate, the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday rejected efforts by liberal Democrats to add a government-run health insurance plan to major health care legislation, dealing the first official setback to an idea that many Democrats, including President Obama, say they support.…

Baucus      (D-MT)

Ben Nelson  (D-FL)

Lincoln     (D-AR)

Conrad      (D-ND)

Lincoln     (D-AR)

Carper      (D-DE)

I Don’t Get Teary Much

but this video from Manchester Pride this year dampened the old retinas toot sweet.

Which is sorta weird because this collective version of Lily Allen’s song is so deeply heartening and inspirational. I guess that what really moves me is people in struggle. So I’m old school; sue me.

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