With Friends Like Israel, It's No Surprise We Have So Many Enemies

I was watching The Road yesterday, a movie based on The Road by Cormac McCarthy, and realized that it was a parable for the US. A man and his son travel south on a road in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, searching for food and avoiding the dangers of thieves and cannibals, all the while "carrying the fire" of goodness within themselves. Along the way, circumstances arise which force the father to behave in ways that are not good, with his son asking whether or not they were still the good guys.
And in the post-9/11 world, that is what has happened to the US. Where we used to oppose torture, it has now become official government policy, under both the the Bush and Obama administrations. We are increasingly being taxed while receiving less representation in our "democracy". But moreover, we are aligning ourselves with countries that do not hold the same values.
One such state is the criminal state of Israel. We are told that it's "the only democracy in the Middle east", yet when the people of Palestine voted for Hamas to represent them in the PA, the US and Israel instead installed their puppet regime. So much for democracy. Since then, the people of Gaza have been suffering while vital humanitarian items are denied, a form of collective punishment which is a violation of human rights, as well as illegal under international law. During Operation Cast lead, Israel committed war crimes, along with Hamas.
Now once again, Israel has shown contempt for humanity and basic human rights, as well as international law,   by attacking the Freedom Flotilla in international waters. Nineteen people were killed and dozens more were injured when the Israelis boarded and attacked a convoy of ships delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. The UN has called for an investigation, but the reality is that the international body is powerless to do anything because of the US backing in the Security Council.
So, you see, along the road, the US has become the bad guys. We threaten Iran with sanctions for it's peaceful nuclear power program, yet we illegally under our own laws give $3 billion in aid to Israel, which has nuclear weapons, yet refuses to sign the NPT. And sure, you could write your congressperson to complain, but since the majority of them receive contributions from Aipac, it's a moot point, since they have proven time and again they're not listening to the American people.
This Memorial Day, the time has come to ask ourselves, "What have all our fallen soldiers died for?" Democracy? No. Freedom? No. Liberty? A sense of righteousness? An end to cruel and unusual punishment?No. No. And no. Everything they allegedly died for has been made a mockery by a political situation where money and re-election have become more important than holding up the ideals that our soldiers are still being asked to kill and die for. Remember that today, or better yet, this election year.
UPDATE: Since an attack on a ship flying the flag of a NATO country is considered an attack on NATO itself, will NATO, under the obligations of Article 5 now form a coalition to invade Israel? Of course not! Don't be silly. Israel is exempt from all rule of law. HOLOCAUST!!! HOLOCAUST!!!
UPDATE 2: Israel now claims Al Qeada had ties to boat. Sure, it was Al Qaeda. I guess that makes the murder of nineteen people okay!

A Monument To Religious Intolerance.

The world is full of sacred ground, places like the Dome of the Rock, which are venerated by people of faith as holy ground. In the US, it's Ground Zero, a site where many capitalists were lifted up to that big trading floor in the sky by a conspiracy of Islamic magicians who were, although they were unable to fly a plane, somehow managed to guide two jumbo jets into the towers of the World Trade Center.
Why did they do this? Because in their quest for world dominance, the people of Islam decided they wanted to build a mosque at Ground Zero. Well, not actually on Ground Zero, but two blocks away. Naturally, right thinking people are opposed to this, because they believe in the myth that nineteen poorly trained men were able to pierce the most secured airspace in the world.
I propose instead that this most hallowed and venerated piece of real estate be turned into a museum of religious intolerance, a monument to the hatred and animosity created in the name of a loving god. The victims of Auschwitz could be remembered next to the victims of Gaza. A memorial to the victims of the Salem Witch Trials could be placed next to one for the victims of the Spanish Inquisition. Let the world know and see that the most violent and hate filled people are those who are people of god.

We Need More Retards Like This In Washington DC

Another sign that our country is quickly devolving into an Idiocracy is the claim made by California senatorial candidate Chuck Devore that Jack Bauer would support him.
Them conservatives sure do love themselves some 24: Seasons 1-7 . Never mind that Devore is seeking the nomination from the Tea Party wing of the GOP, which has among it's Contract From America that the constitutionality of every law be indentified, while Jack Bauer's disregard for things like Miranda rights and penchant for torture make him probably the most unconstitutional character ever depicted on television. Forget the fact the 24 was canceled due to sagging ratings, meaning it's popularity among voters is not worth embarrassing yourself by claiming an endorsement from a fictional character from that show. No, the question is, how can you rail against big government while bestowing upon yourself an endorsement from a fictional character who works for a monolithic government bureaucracy?

The Texas State Board Of Indoctrination

There are some people who think it's pointless to vote, that our system is rigged against us anyways. Or only vote in "important" elections, because it really matters which corpocratic party is in charge of the White House. The truth is that the oil spill in the Gulf would have happened under either party's watch, because they all receive corporate contributions to look the other way while rich people get richer, usually at the expense of those less fortunate, the middle class.
The reality is, the only real important elections are at the state and local level. Real change can be effected when you're imposing an idea on a smaller group of people. No better example of this can be found than in Texas, where the newly elected state board of education has issued a curriculum based on Christian "values". Because, in their minds, the US is a Christian nation, and in their feeble minds the words separation of church and state never appear in the Constitution.
This is the beginning of America's decline into a full-fledged Idiocracy. What these mouth breathing television watchers don't understand is the same principle that allows them the freedom to practice their belief system also allows me the freedom from having their belief system imposed on me. A belief system so narrow that it's knowledge filters require that Thomas Jefferson's importance in the establishment of this country be denied, while championing the somewhat dubious achievements of criminals such as serial adulterer Newt Gingrich and chronic napper Ronald Reagan. None of this will make their children, smarter, or better, only as useful as a dick on your elbow.

Muslims Are Sleazbags; Only Christians And Jews Are Beautiful

I'm not a big fan of beauty pageants, I find them tiresome and demeaning and generally a waste of a good evening. I especially don't care for any pageant that's part of the Donald Trump Media Empire. But mostly, I'm unimpressed with the parade of blonde hair blue eyed bulimics.
That's why I was happy to hear that this year's winner, Rima Faikh has got those durned Islamophobes up in arms. Being that Miss Faikh is a Muslim, Debbie Schlussel, a butter faced, bleached blond Conservative, has imagined all kinds of links between Ms. Faikh and Hezbollah and even called her a sleazebag. Another site says this is the next step in Islamization of America, and only those who believe in Israel should win. Thankfully, people's prejudices can now extend to such trivial things as beauty pageants. Way to go, you've politicized somehting else completely pointless!
Miss Faikh, who is a naturalized American citizen of Lebanese descent, has the same family name as some members of Hezbollah, therefore she should not win the contest, even though she is unbelievably hot. She should be disqualified because she makes some racist right wingers uncomfortable with the whole idea of America as a melting pot. You know, the same wipes who think that President Obama is a Kenyan-born secret fascist Muslim. I say good for the judges of this pageant for looking beyond the same bland blond bitches we've been seeing for years.

Change Can Wait, WE Need To Hold Our Majority So We Can Do Nothing Conclusive For The Next Two Years

As an excellent example of the screwed-up priorities of the Taxed-Enough-Already crowd, they protest when President Obama bails out GM, they protest when President Obama tries to provide health care to millions of fellow American citizens with out any, but when the Senate approves billions more in funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, not a peep. Even while the Pentagon cut pay for soldiers in Iraq, making this nothing more than a bailout for the Military-Industrial Complex, nothing from the television watching soldier sniffers.
This is also a prime example of the lack of difference between the Republican and Democratic Parties. The Democrats, who gained a majority by exploiting the antiwar sentiment in 2006, and again in 2008, voted for funding a war that Gen. McChrystal has termed a draw. So dumping more money into this sinkhole would be a waste of tax-payer money, right?
Yes, but, being an election year, rather than stand on principal, the Democrats instead choose to let their decisions be guided by their desire to hold onto their cushy jobs where they can bet against the stock market as they pass legislation to deregulate it and probably invest heavily into defense contractors, all with the salary they made from, us, the tax payer.

Here's Five Years I'll Never Get Back

Today marks the fifth anniversary of this blog. Normally, I don't go in for this sort of crap, but I figured five years is a milestone (or is that millstone?), what the hey?
Back when I started blogging, Fox News actually claimed to be fair and balanced. Most Americans still trusted the president and supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This blog was started in opposition to the many wars the Bush administration had begun, and to the ones that loomed in the distance. The first post pondered the lies that administration might possibly use to get the American people to back another unilateral war of conquest, this time in Iran. Although we may have switched presidential administrations, lies are still being used to brainwash the people into supporting another war it cannot afford. And, of course, the compliant corporate media is investigating none of these claims, just like they never followed through too much on Plamegate, or the Downing Street Memos, two hard pieces of evidence of a conspiracy within the Bush administration to break the law in order to start an illegal invasion of a country, like Iran, that is not a national security threat.
Back then, there was a sense of camaraderie and community; we were all traitors together. Trolls would stop by more frequently and accuse us of being terrorist sympathizers, make vague threats against us, and vainly try to defend the actions of their revered president. Most of them such as Lily, my blog partner at Lose the Noose (though we do still keep in touch), my partner at American Insurgency Ron Nasty, who may or may not be lost in the woods, or having another extended stay in rehab, Neil Shakespeare, one of the best, along with Rex Kramer at Spurious George and Peacechick Mary at Knock Knock have moved on. Others too, have neglected their blogs, or simply gone away as well, just like the Bush administration.
Back when I started, protest rallies were roundly ignored by the news media, and war protesters were relegated to free speech zones. Now, even smaller gatherings of Tea Party protesters capture the media's attention, and in some cases are even stage managed by news producers. Bush derangement syndrome has been replaced by Birthers, Condi Rice has been replaced by Hillary Clinton and Afghanistan is being replaced by Pakistan Through it all, I have had three system crashes and replaced one mother board. And while I may not get around as much as I used to, as it takes a while to recover all the links I previously have had bookmarked, I do occasionally make it around, to those of you who still are out there. And I'll still be here, sporadically as usual, always surfing the 'Net for something to piss me off enough to write a rant, and actually finish it.

Wait A Minute......We're At War?

If we are at war, wouldn't that make Liz Cheney a traitor for criticizing the president during a war? That's what we were told when we dared to criticize President Bush, by the very likes of Liz Cheney.
And what does Liz Cheney know about winning war? About as much as her daddy, Draft Deferment Dick, that's for sure. All Liz Cheney is, is another generation of entitled spawn of a criminal class more intent on ripping people off than actually making us safer. The main problem with this country is that we have a new class of conservative royalty who spew rhetoric with out actually knowing anything.
First of, the Times Square "bomber" is a naturalized citizen of the United States. that makes him entitled to the same rights as you and I. Including his Miranda rights. And if this new class wants to take those rights from him because they have labeled him a "terrorist", then that's all they have to do to you.
Secondly, General Petraeus has stated the bomber was acting alone. Who are you going to trust? Some loud mouth brat mouthing off about things she doesn't know about all in the name of protecting her deadly father's legacy? Or a general who's in the thick of the fight? Given the fact that Liz Cheney is on Fox News, an altered reality of Republican candidates and talking points, I'm gonna go with the General on this one.
Thirdly, we have been fighting this war against "terrorism" for some time now, and it has yet to be successful. Instead of dropping bombs and unmanned drones on innocent civilians, maybe we ought to examine our foreign policy. Treating people like their lives aren't worth a shit leaves them feeling like all they can do is blow shit up. Of course, this foreign policy was initiated by Liz's dad, you can't tell her this doesn't work, because most entitled people such as her have never been known to admit their mistakes.
So if Liz Cheney's main complaint is that President Obama's first instinct is to obey the Constitution, well them I guess we know here that puts the party of 'NO'. No rights, no change, and no hope. How's that workin' out for ya?

Where The Men Are Men, And The Animals Are Nervous

So, Florida, the Sunshine State, has, once again, failed to to pass a law banning bestiality, or, sex with animals. That means that in Florida, dogs, sheep, cow, goats and other animals, willing participants or not, are fair game for any person who finds it necessary to do so. This explains why the Florida legislature passed the Defense of Marriage Act, if it's perfectly legal to fuck a sheep, it wouldn't be too long before you wanted to marry it.

A Collective What The Fuck?

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to NYC to address the UN's nuclear non-proliferation summit has spurred a slew of lies and wild accusations from politicians on this side of the aisle. So many, that indeed they must all be addressed one by one:

Keep investing in Iran and threatening our security

-Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) NY.
I'm sorry senator, but Iran poses no threat to our security. It has not been found to diverting any of it's enriched uranium away from it's nuclear power program. Moreover, we have nuclear weapons, thousands of them, which we keep as a deterrent against attack by any unfriendly nation with the knowledge that if they were to attack us first, we could completely wipe them out within a matter of minutes. We have, over the years, spent billions of dollars on this. We can hit any country on the planet. Iran cannot hit any country on the planet, because they do not possess, nor have they been found to be seeking, nuclear weapons.

“Ahmadinejad shouldn't just be protested in NYC, he should be arrested and tried for incitement to commit genocide.

-Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.)
Thankfully, we have something like Twitter these days, where our politicians can make bold statements, released in to the stream of propaganda with out ever having to be explained. I take this to be a reference to a much maligned and mistranslated statement that is not true. Pity our elected representatives are so ill-informed, but ignorance is bliss when you're making emotional statements.

“Once again, President Ahmadinejad has come to the United Nations to spout duplicitous and anti-Semitic propaganda before a world stage,”

-Jerrold Nadler (D)NY. I wonder, did Rep. Nadler receive an advanced copy of Ahmadinejad's speech? Is asking Israel to sign the NNPT and open their weapons program to IAEA inspections anti-Semitic?
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also questioned the timing of Ahmadinejad's arrival in New York given the recent bomb scare in Time Square.

"It's sort of appalling that six blocks away at the U.N., Ahmadinejad is coming tomorrow to a conference on nuclear non-proliferation. What hypocrisy,"

-Sen Chuck Schumer (D)NY.
Did Iran plant the bomb? Or was the car bomb conveniently placed there to make this sort of association? Another false flag operation?
The demonization of President Ahmadinejad is the first step in the propaganda run up to a military strike against Iran. While I certainly don't have the most respect for the man, he hasn't been proved to be a liar. Both the IAEA and the NIE agree that Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons within it's nuclear energy program. So why all the hysteria?

Freedom Of Speech Doesn't Apply To Those Who Are Saying What They Don't Want You To Hear

Remember when you were a kid, and if somebody told you something you didn't want to hear, such as it's time to go to bed, you would stick a finger in each ear and say "LaLalalalalalalalal" very loudly? It didn't work, because that very act alone told your parents that indeed it was time for you to go to sleep. Well, this is kind of like that. Jewish groups are asking member countries to stand up and walk out when Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the U.N. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference on May 3.

“Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability poses a threat to the region and the entire Western world. To have President Ahmadinejad address this review conference makes a mockery of the efforts of many countries to prevent nuclear weapons and nuclear terrorism from becoming the gravest global threats of this century."

Mockery? Really? How about Israel deploring IAEA and UN calls for Israel to sign the NPT and join the IAEA while trying to simultaneously deciding whom that august body should and shouldn't be listening to?
The president and executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the group that is calling for the boycott, then goes on to state that:"It is dismaying that, once again, the U.N. is allowing the head of a regime, foremost in the sponsorship of terrorism and the abuse of human rights, who defies U.N. resolutions regarding its nuclear ambitions, to appear before the international body."
Really? You want to go there? Israel, an apartheid state where it's Palestinian peoples are treated as second class citizens, where the Goldstone report has listed numerous war crimes and abuses of Human Rights, a country that has defied more UN resolutions than Iraq, and rejects UN resolutions regarding it's nuclear ambitions, and now you want to criticize Iran, which, once again has not diverted one isotope towards anything but it's nuclear energy program, nor has it been found to be developing a weapons program?
Which is likely what Ahmadinejad will be discussing at the conference, which is what pro-Israel groups do not want the world to hear. That and the fact the US has not lived up to it's obligations under Article 4 of the NNPT. (It's unlikely that the Iranian president will be discussing the continued violation of it's own Symington amendment by the US either) So, once again, we have the US standing behind international criminal state Israel while making false claims against one of Israel's enemies in the region. Pot. Kettle. Black.