Thursday, February 14, 2008

Condoleeza Rice still a liar

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice heatedly denied knowingly making 56 false statements, to bolster support for an American attack on Iraq, in the run up to Operation Iraqi Conquest. In doing so, she made False Statement # 57:
No one wants to go to war.
Now read that last sentence again, without laughing.

If "no one wants to go to war," then why have those who cautioned against the current debacle been forced from office, slandered, had details of their personal lives leaked to the press, and their very lives jeopardized? Why have those who were so wrong about this episode received honors and promotions? Why is Paul Wolfowitz, so wrong about Iraq's weapons program and whose ethical lapses as head of the World Bank lead to his firing, now back at State as head of a -- wait for it -- arms control project?

Clearly, the Bu'ushists wanted war with Iraq. Dubya himself admitted as much, when he said that, even knowing that all the "reasons" he provided the American public were wrong, he would have invaded anyway. So, what was his real reason and why won't he tell us?

LBJ clearly wanted war when he lied about an attack on American warships in international waters off the Gulf of Tonkin, and lied to Congress that the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was only an authorization for a limited, one-time retaliation: "We seek no wider war."

FDR clearly wanted war prior to December 7, 1941. Woodrow Wilson clearly wanted war prior to 1917. Both men got themselves re-elected by lying to the American people, that they were doing everything possible to keep our country out of Europe's conflicts. Both men understood the value of war in expanding the size and scope of federal power.

The political and economic elites, who lied about the explosion on the USS Maine, clearly wanted war.

The military-industrial-Congressional complex clearly want war. They have very little bottom line without it.

But maybe Condi is right: maybe no one wants to go to war.

Maybe they just want to send others.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Bush: "Another 9/11 fine with me"

OK, he didn't really say that. But he did say that he "won't accept any temporary extension" of FISA. Bush, of course, wants FISA made permanent, with immunities against their customers' wrath for telecoms that play ball with the government.

But Bush says he needs FISA to protect the US from another 9/11. Does this mean he's willing to accept another 9/11, rather than a temporary political expedient? Or is he admitting that FISA is about increasing the governments ability to spy on and intimidate its subjects?

"The great error of nearly all studies of war... has been to consider war as an episode in foreign policies, when it is an act of interior politics..." ~Simone Weil
Free Roger Clemens!

Baseball great Roger Clemens has been dragged, like the serf we all are under our current regime, before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The jurisdiction of the Committee, from its own webpage, is as follows:
Committee Jurisdiction

Legislative Responsibilities
The legislative jurisdiction of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform includes the following areas, as set forth in House Rule X, clause 1:

• Federal civil service, including intergovernmental personnel; and the status of officers and employees of the United States, including their compensation, classification, and retirement;
• Municipal affairs of the District of Columbia in general (other than appropriations);
• Federal paperwork reduction;
• Government management and accounting measures generally;
• Holidays and celebrations;
• Overall economy, efficiency, and management of government operations and activities, including federal procurement;
• National archives;
• Population and demography generally, including the Census;
• Postal service generally, including transportation of the mails;
• Public information and records;
• Relationship of the federal government to the states and municipalities generally; and
• Reorganizations in the executive branch of the government.

I don't see baseball anywhere in there. Free Roger Clemens!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

They just hate us because we're free

U.S. working to ease tensions in Japan rape case

Once again, we witness the insanity of foreigners who fail to appreciate the glories of American military occupation, and who refuse to give our brave men in uniform the respect they deserve as morally and intellectually superior beings.

Apparently, they've forgotten the lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Sending diplomats, instead of another Tibbets, is the wrong way to go.