An open letter to George W. Bush

Dear George,

Forgive the informality of the tone; you have single-handedly destroyed any respect I have had for the office of the President of the United States, thanks.

As I watched a deserter from his military service place a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns I felt my heart fill with such rage and anger that a spineless, bullying coward such as you would dare to set foot on such hallowed ground. To see you trying to cover yourself in the reflected glory of people who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to this great country made me physically sick.

I have more to say and I will say it the style of a writer you are most like not familiar with since you pissed away your prep school, college and graduate education as a dissolute, idle, intellectually uncurious playboy.

I ACCUSE you George W. Bush of war crimes including, torture and genocide you are complacent in the deaths of at least 100,000 innocent Iraqi civilians. You have done nothing to see those who were responsible for the torture of Iraqi detainees are punished. As a matter of fact the man responsible for the torture memo is now the Attorney General.

I ACCUSE you George W. Bush of starting a war of aggression under false pretenses. As more and more evidence comes to light not only of from former members of your administration but our principle ally in this war, that you LIED, yes you LIED to start a war with a country that had nothing to do with the worst attack on American soil since World War II.

I ACCUSE you George W. Bush of using a national tragedy to consolidate power. In the aftermath of the heinous attacks of September 11, 2001 you and you allies in Congress used fear and confusion of another attack to ram a civil rights eviscerating law through Congress. You used the question of homeland security in cynical and unprincipled way in the 2002 mid-term elections to promote you Christo-fascist agenda. This has created a compliant rubber stamping majority in the Congress of the United States. In short you used the event of September 11, 2001 as your Reichstag fire.

I find you morally wanting and beneath my contempt.



"MondoBubba" Jacksonville, FL and Air America Place.




Furthermore,

"The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion”

—THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1796

What Republicans have made me

This wondrous letter comes to us courtesy of the "Letters to the Editor" page of today's Boston Globe (05/27/05):

AS I WAS reading Jeff Jacoby's column ''My best wishes" (op ed, May 22) I could relate to what he was saying.

For not supporting a war based on lies (WMD, Al Qaeda ties) I have been called ''anti-American," ''against our troops," and a ''coward."

For not supporting a total ban on abortion, I have been labled a ''baby murderer."

For believing that homosexuals should have access to all the rights afforded to heterosexuals I have been called a ''limp-wristed liberal."

And last but not least, for not supporting giving the Republicans carte blanche to appoint any far-right extremist to lifetime judgeships, I have been called ''anti-Christian" and compared to Adolf Hitler.

Jeff, I feel your pain.

STEPHEN M.
Medford

Milestone reached.....plus a great WWII book!

Today is 1,346 days since the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Why is that significant?

As it was pointed out yesterday on the Rachel Maddow Show, it was 1,346 days between Pearl Harbor and V-J day.

Strange, that after we had been suddenly and deliberately attacked by the Empire of Japan, that President Roosevelt didn't make up false reasons to attack Fiji. Nor did he declare "Mission Accomplished" after the Solomons Campaign in 1943...

In fact, the entire war was punctuated by a clarity of purpose, organization, and unified effort by everyone involved. We also had something unusual in those days...something called "allies". But George Bush wouldn't know about that.



Speaking of World War II, I've just finished the most amazing book I have yet read on the subject. It's the astonishing Pacific War Diary by Seaman First Class James J. Fahey. This is a day-to-day account of life aboard the USS Montpelier throughout the course of the war, from the Solomons to the Marianas to the Marshalls, to the Philippines, and finally on to Japan.

Seaman Fahey was present for the biggest battles of the Pacific, and his unique perspective of daily life aboard a ship of the line is a must read. It's also remarkable to me on a personal level, for Seaman Fahey was a native of Waltham, Ma, and in fact his house is still standing not quite 1 mile from where I sit typing this morning. I too had relatives in the Pacific, in many of the same campaigns that are told in the book. In some small way, this allowed me to 'look over their shoulder' and see what hardship they went through in order to defeat fascism more than a half-century ago.

On the last pages of the book, there's an observation made by Seaman Fahey about the Japanese in October of 1945....I offer the quote, and I don't think we have to look too deeply into the mirror to see ourselves.

The Japanese people are honest, hard working people who were bluffed along by their cruel leaders. They were helpless to do anything about it. It was the Military Men. Their greed for power brought destruction down upon Japan. If they let the people run the government, it will be in good hands. The Japanese people are no different from the people in any other part of the world. The people all over the world are good. It's the leaders who are to blame.

President Bust on Social Security

Subject: President Bush explains his Social Security Reform Proposal

WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: I don't really understand. How is it the new plan is going to fix the problem?

Verbatim response: (Pay Attention)

PRESIDENT BUSH: "Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers.

For example, how benefits are calculated, for example, is on the table. Whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered.

And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to that has been promised.

Does that make any sense to you?

It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the --like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices.

Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In
other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those -- if that growth is affected, it will help on the red."

Base Closures...suddenly it all makes sense.

I've often wondered why the BRAC has always focused on bases and resources in the busy Northeast Corridor. Yes, the same place that's the closest part of America to Europe. The same place that almost all airliners on the Great Circle have to fly over. Yes, the same place that was under attack on 9/11. (Quick, name the closest airbase with active-duty personnel and tactical fighter jets...betcha can't. Reserve bases don't count.)

The Boston Globe today had an interesting story on the culture of the military, entitled Military Culture rooted in Geography. Reading it, I finally put two and two together. George Bush is closing all the bases in the Northeast and re-aligning personnel to the southwest and west for political purposes. He's moving all the traditionally conservative military voters to places already strong with those types of people, and further consolidating his base. It's all perfectly clear to me now. Read the following passage, and then go to the full story and read it in context...

President Bush's understanding of the military culture came across in his words. But it also came through in his Texas manner, the way he looked, acted, and spoke.

To many military families -- even in places like Ohio, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania -- military culture is almost synonymous with the culture of the South and Southwest. Patriotism is expressed with a Southern twang, while nagging questions are raised in a Northeastern whine. Even a Vietnam War hero from the Northeast came across as too steeped in intellectualism and internationalism to understand military families.

These days, it is hard to tell how many military values are intrinsic to the military and how many are simply native to the South and Southwest, where so many active-duty soldiers are stationed. Attitudes widely regarded as military are common to many in the Sun Belt, and military families probably picked them up there.

By contrast, there are not a lot of children in New England with a father or mother wearing a military uniform every day. The majority of children in New England are growing up without classmates whose parents are in active-duty service. Having a mom or dad working on an Army base may seem as exotic as having them work at a Buddhist temple.

So, at the end of the day, all the military resources are going to be in states loyal to George Bush...and the blue states that would oppose him would be powerless to defend themselves. Do you see where this is going, or must I draw you a picture?

HR 1071 and HR 418...Emasculating the Judiciary

This scary bit of commentary comes from americanbadass at Daily Kos...

...All throughout the bill, they do away with the JUDICIAL portion of the government. It's true. In sec.102 Page 13, paragraph 1, lines7 to 19.

The Secretary of Homeland Security will have full authority, to construct barriers, and roads. No judicial review, no court, administrative agency, or other entity shall have jurisdiction to hear, cause or claim in full, or in part, from actions taken by, or decisions of the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Further on in the bill, it states that no Judicial Review, will be made on any cases or claims of, Torture, and other forms of cruel, inhumane or derogating treatment or punishment, under the United Nations. Ah, no wonder Bush wants Bolton.

Also in this bill, is a section that , provides provisions for a central data base, of information that will hold anything they want to know about everyone.[hey this means you] It will hold , medical records, financial transactions, shopping habits, in short EVERYTHING.

Now here is what I,and you may too find the most frightening thing of all, THEY REDEFINED THE WORD TERRORISM . It is a much wider definition of the word to include, firearm groups, anti-abortion groups, and, many others depending on who is in power at any given time.

This legislation gives authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security to expand required information on driver's licenses, potentially including such biometric information as retina scans, finger prints, DNA information, and even Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) radio tracking technology. Including such technology as RFID would mean that the federal government, as well as the governments of Canada and Mexico, would know where Americans are at all times of the day and night...

Thus, we have two more illustrations of the 14 characteristics of fascism...

#7: Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses, and
#12 Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

Two Years after 'Mission Accomplished

Two Years Out
by Charley Reese

Well, here we are, two years out (as they say in Washington) from "mission accomplished," the president's now-famous speech during the photo opportunity on an American carrier.

The American death toll in Iraq is now 1,594, and the wounded exceed 10,000. The cost is about $300 billion. Somewhere between 140,000 and 150,000 Americans remain in Iraq. A third interim government has been partially formed after three months of wrangling. The insurgency is still going strong. Iraq is now an excellent training ground for terrorists. All of the reasons cited for going to war have been proven false. There were no weapons of mass destruction. There were no ties between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida. The Iraqis had nothing to do with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Has it been worth it? I don't think so. The number of acts of terrorism has gone up, not down, which is no doubt why the Bush administration has decided to discontinue the annual reporting of such acts. Facts are nasty little buggers that play havoc with political rhetoric. It's best to keep them under wraps.

Iraq was more stable under Saddam than it is today, and his wobbly regime never was a threat to the U.S., much less an imminent danger. The Pentagon has finally admitted that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have put such a strain on the U.S. military that any future actions will be longer, with higher casualties and higher collateral damage (that's the killing of innocent civilians).

Iran and North Korea, well aware of the limits of American military power, are thumbing their noses at us, and the president's "my way or the highway" approach to diplomacy has yielded nothing but a loss of American prestige.

In the meantime, the president is proposing the wrong solution to the wrong problem (his cockamamie scheme to gut Social Security) while he ignores the real problems: skyrocketing costs of medical care; the skyrocketing U.S. budget deficit; the skyrocketing U.S. trade deficit; illegal immigration; poor relations with the one country that could destroy us, Russia; a looming energy crisis; the dismantling of environmental protections; the bleeding of American jobs to overseas cheap labor; excessive secrecy and government propaganda; the weakness of the American dollar; the decline of education; and the usual corruption.

I think we are adrift in a sea of troubles, and our captain, like the infamous fictional Captain Queeg, is more concerned about who ate the strawberries than saving the ship. If you doubt that, take this little test. The next time the president holds a press conference or makes a speech, turn off the sound and study his face. I'm not saying he isn't there. It's we who are not there in whatever world he is occupying.

Yes, he can certainly simulate congeniality, and yes, he has some of the best mind-gamers in the world writing his speeches and planning his political strategy, but is he genuinely interested in solving the problems facing the American people and the nation? I don't think so.

The job of president ages most men, but Bush seems as healthy and content as a Georgia mule in a lush pasture. He's never admitted making a mistake. He has never held even one soul accountable for the intelligence failures or botching the Iraqi occupation. So far as he is concerned, he's the perfect man in the perfect job in a perfect world, just like the television commercial. In the meantime, the rest of us are stuck with going to Walgreens.

I would feel better if he would just occasionally look worried. Unfortunately, he's accomplished all he wanted to accomplish. He's won two elections, he's cut taxes for his rich friends, and he toppled Saddam Hussein. I don't know why he had such a grudge against old Saddam, but it's clear from books written by insiders than he was planning to go to war against Iraq almost from the day he took office. He seems to be the most self-satisfied president in history.

Well, we'll just have to follow the advice they give drunks and accept what can't be changed. He's our captain, and we're just the crew. Let's hope we can avoid the rocks and shoals on the way to 2008.

What does the world think of us?

I've recently been made aware of a wondrous website called "Watching America".

According to their own masthead, "WatchingAmerica reflects global opinion about the United States, helping Americans and non-Americans alike understand what the world thinks of current issues that involve the U.S. This is done by providing news and views about the United States published in other countries.

It is not our purpose to find favorable or unfavorable news and commentary, but to reflect as accurately as possible how others perceive the richest and most powerful country in the world. We have absolutely no political agenda.

WatchingAmerica makes available in English articles written about the U.S. by foreigners, often for foreign audiences, and often in other languages. Since WatchingAmerica offers its own translations, regular users of our site will be able to enjoy articles that are not available in English anywhere else. We are a unique window into world opinion.

In addition, by integrating the latest translation technology into the site, visitors are able to surf all of the content of foreign-language news outlets at the push of a button - in English."

If you think the Bush Machine controls the entire US media (you'd be right) checking out some of the foreign headlines can be quite revealing...here's just a small sample of what was posted today...

Iraq: We Iraqis get the message, Lynndie England-and America-are "Innocent"
South Korea: US moving "Remarkable" amount of military assets toward Korea
Lebanon: John Bolton: "The Abhorrent Non-Diplomat"
Mexico: America an "arrogant nation" that considers itself "Above the Law
Russia: US Sides with Baltic States-When it's convenient to do so

This website is highly worth your time, even if you just scan the headlines. Pass it on!