Nixon Revisited?

Shortly after America's second phony election, reading the entrails of the American body politic, I predicted that the little president, George Bush, would end his second term in disgrace. I said, at the time, that just as little George had made a good if flawed figure head, he would also make an excellent fall guy, when the table began to turn.

This is one of those predictions I really wanted to be right about. It's looking good, so far.

When the little president was sworn into his second chance at the office, he had the lowest approval rating of a second term president, since Richard Nixon. Nixon, of course, left the office in disgrace, during his second term. For crimes much smaller than many perpetrated by this administration.

Right now, as I'm sure most of my readers know, George Bush's approval rating is a couple of points below that of Nixon, when that Republican was ran from office.

I remember clearly how strange and drawn Nixon looked when he left office. I remember his public out bursts and temper tantrums that became more frequent as the pressure grew.

Capital Hill Blue has an interesting article on the little president's current behavior. A short quote from the article:

White House insiders say Bush is growing increasingly bitter over mounting opposition to his war in Iraq. Polls show a vast majority of Americans now believe the war was a mistake and most doubt the President’s honesty.

“Who gives a flying fuck what the polls say,” he screamed at a recent strategy meeting. “I’m the President and I’ll do whatever I goddamned please. They don’t know shit.”


Very Nixon like, actually. Except Nixon was braver than the current presidential model. Nixon was not afraid of anti-war activists. He spoke to many. Nixon did share Bush's opinion that the president is somehow above the law and is endowed with God like powers to alter reality to fit his personal agenda.

Another quote from the above linked article, this from Dr. Justin Frank:

Bush’s behavior, according to prominent Washington psychiatrist, Dr. Justin Frank, author of “Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President,” is all too typical of an alcohol-abusing bully who is ruled by fear.

To see that fear emerge, Dr. Frank says, all one has to do is confront the President. “To actually directly confront him in a clear way, to bring him out, so you would really see the bully, and you would also see the fear,” he says


Now we have been witnessing his increasingly erratic and hostile behavior for some time. Cindy Sheehan, or what she represents, is bugging the hell out of the little president and has him literally on the run.

He went to yet another vacation spot to have a news conference about this woman who he hasn't got the time or frankly, the nerve, to meet face to face.

Though, to be fair, this weak, irresponsible, compulsively lying little rich boy, who has always been protected from the consequences of his own actions, can't stand beside this woman. He knows how small and weak he will look when compared directly to this woman, this ordinary citizen with a real and honest question that America wants a real and honest answer for.


Some insiders are beginning to speculate that the little president may be drinking again. Now, that might explain why he takes so much time off and works such short hours when he is in 'on the job'. But to me, the dry drunk syndrome seems more likely. Read the article for yourself, Dr. Flood does make interesting observations of the president's behavior.

Things are not going to get better for the little president. He has created a mess, the likes of which the US has never experienced before. Meanwhile, there seems to be an awakening happening in America. Cindy Sheehan's vigil and the little president's childish reaction to it, have had a dramatic effect on the American people.

No amount of swift boat liars, talking Republican heads on the news, smear articles, and even the PR company creation of a 'Counter Cindy' group, have been able to blunt the simple message going around the world. The president of the United States is nothing more than a rich child of privilege. war mongering, egocentric bully. And, a coward.

The man's cowardly spine has never been seen so clearly evident. So undeniably obvious, for all to see.

This would be very funny, very laughable and entertaining if one didn't understand how dangerous a frightened coward with power can be. History is replete with examples of banal, vain little men who were willing to bring about the destruction of their own people to protect themselves from the consequences of their actions.

I do not believe this president, this government, could turn it's own army against the American people. There will always be some units that can be counted on, but the Army, as a whole is in shock from what it is doing to the Iraqis. They are well aware of the children and women and old people they are killing. The men who follow the fire orders don't forget who they are aiming at.

However, having stepped into the land of speculation, I note that the Christian brown shirts, who are not joining the military in large numbers, are waiting in the wings. Robertson's recent threats, regarding the president of Venezuela, were a slight preview of things to come.

I have expected for some time now, that Bush, through Robertson, Dobson, and others of their ilk, will attempt to stir the religious right to violent actions against political opposition that is growing in America today. Historically, there will be nothing new about such events. This president is a big believer in using violence to force agreement or surrender.

As the stakes get higher, and they will, the worst of this nasty little man will become apparent.

On a lighter note, the hate preacher, Fred Phelps has appeared at a couple of funerals for Tennessee National Guardsmen, recently killed in Iraq and got a real Tennessee Volunteers welcome. Read it here.

Chased away they were. How about a cheer for those good people in Tennessee?

While I have very real fears for the future, it thrills me deeply to see the evidence of so many Americans beginning to awaken from the complacency and slumber that has held so many of us for so long.

Try as hard as they may to hid it, the cost of this evil destructive course America has embarked upon, is coming home. Pay back is coming Mr. President.

It isn't here yet but the president can hear it already and it scares him.

The State of the Current Disunity

George Bush used to tell us that he is a uniter, not a divider. There is a certain kernel of truth to that idea but not one the president intended.

China and Russia have made history recently with their joint military exercises. The reason for the joint exercises? Russia and China find themselves very uneasy with the unilateralism of current American foreign policy.

Islamic extremists who have never had a foot hold in Iraq before, are finding common cause with the insurgents of Iraq, likewise the Iranians.

The majority of Europeans have united in their distrust and fear of the little president and his administration.

America has, in many ways, been torn asunder by the outrages of this defender of the rich and protector of the powerful. I think it fair to say that the American population is in a severe flux of disunity. A flux that is growing by the day.

Many months ago I predicted that the draft would have been reinstated by this summer. I am not sad to say I was wrong. That is the sort of thing I like being wrong about.

However, my reasons for that prediction still remain and the administration's inability to deal with the problems, show what a tenuous position the little president and his neo-con handlers are actually in.

The war is going very badly for our war time president. While he and Cheney, and the rest of the deck of white house cards continue to proclaim victory, most of the world is seeing a different story unfolding in Iraq.

In fact, the only people sensing victory are the same losers who started the war and wish to continue it. The same losers who are now making threats and trying to build a case for war against Iran. The same ones continuing to decimate the military while losing in Iraq.

Now, the building disunity I spoke of in the title, refers to the United States itself. The little president has no answers for any of the questions that are being inspired by this war. What do you do when you've skated so far upon the thin ice of fabricated evidence and flimsy excuses?

In his last radio address, the little man who could not face the mother of one of his victims, attempted to explain his war with the same old lie. A lie even key members of his administration have admitted is wrong. 9/11, 9/11, 9/11.

Almost no one still believes that lie but the little president, pro liar that he is, keeps telling it. Only the brain dead and utterly ignorant still believe him. Their ranks are beginning to shrink and at the same time, the ranks of ordinary citizens, fed up with the lies and the over the top power abuses of this administration, are growing rapidly.

The success of Cindy Sheehan's vigil is an indicator of how strong and how fast this movement of rational questions is growing.

Cindy Sheehan did not create this movement, she gave it a face, and a focus point, but she is so successful now because the balance is changing. People who have been quiet, for too long, are finding their voices. And finding the courage necessary to question such a paranoid regime, in public.

No amount of carefully orchestrated political display, such as the government sponsored Garth Brooks parade and concert, in Washington, will change the simple truth. There is no reason for war in Iraq, other than a naked grab for oil, money, and power. Nothing uniquely American is being defended, nothing good is being disseminated to the Iraqi people, but Halliburton is making an enormous pile of money, as well as the big oil companies.

Meanwhile, our soldiers are dieing in a war of pure greed, in unarmored vehicles, without proper body armor, because this administration is trying to save money on protective equipment while borrowing billions upon billions to throw at the corporate interests the White House serves.

One thing the war mongers realized, from the beginning, was that this war would not be supported by the American people if any real sacrifice was demanded of them. A clear indication that they knew the excuses would not fly for ever.

In spite of the huge cost of the war, Bush has given massive tax breaks to the rich and dares not raise taxes to support his war. For purely political reasons, he's leaving that for another administration to take the heat for.

Anyone doubting the slim support for the war has only to look at recruitment statistics. They are in the pits. Many of the traditional sources of recruitment, Black Americans, immigrants, and the poor, have quickly figured out that the military is not a reasonable alternative to poverty and unemployment.

In spite of their 'support the troops' stickers, and vocal proclamations of support for this insanity, Republicans, young and old alike seem to be waiting for someone else to do the actual fighting. They certainly aren't standing in line at military recruitments centres or packing their kids off to boot camp.

What popular support this war has, will evaporate very quickly if the draft is reinstated. So, the little president has decided to use stop loss programs to force people to say in the field long after their enlistment times are up. He uses National Guard and reserve units like regular troops, in spite of their man power and equipment shortages.

Recruitment is not replacing the losses. If you believe it is, then you are only looking at the official KIA figures. The loses, due to all causes, are out stripping recruitment.

The cracks of division are showing in the ranks of the Republicans themselves as more and more become embarrassed by their support of this failing regime. The idiocy, arrogance, and rank dishonesty of high administration officials, becomes more and more difficult to support.

Many are beginning to worry about the next set of elections, in 2006.

A small warning. Some people that I have spoken with and heard lately, mistakenly believe that an unpopular lame duck president will become powerless and will begin to make concessions.

George Bush is a vain, power besotted and scared little man. As pressure mounts against him, in the US, he will more likely escalate his excesses, rather than retreat from madness.

I should not be surprised if the real purpose of the Patriot Act becomes much more obvious between now and the end of this little president's reign.

The Slime and Drudge of Smear Mongers

I did not intend to blog on this subject again so quickly, but the newest bit of low end smear tactics from the right, inspires a response.

This is from the Drudge report, a letter supposedly signed by some of Cindy Sheehan's relatives, appealing for Cindy to "Stop"

Below, I have reprinted the short 'article' in question.

FAMILY OF FALLEN SOLDIER PLEADS: PLEASE STOP, CINDY!Thu Aug 11 2005 12:56:21 ETThe family of American soldier Casey Sheehan, who was killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004, has broken its silence and spoken out against his mother Cindy Sheehan's anti-war vigil against George Bush held outside the president's Crawford, Texas ranch. The following email was received by the DRUDGE REPORT from Casey's aunt and godmother:

Our family has been so distressed by the recent activities of Cindy we are breaking our silence and we have collectively written a statement for release. Feel free to distribute it as you wish. Thanks, Cherie In response to questions regarding the Cindy Sheehan/Crawford Texas issue: Sheehan Family Statement: The Sheehan Family lost our beloved Casey in the Iraq War and we have been silently, respectfully grieving. We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the the expense of her son's good name and reputation.

The rest of the Sheehan Family supports the troops, our country, and our President, silently, with prayer and respect. Sincerely, Casey Sheehan's grandparents, aunts, uncles and numerous cousins.


To start with, just to be fair, this note claims to have been written by two individuals who assume they represent the rest of the family yet only two people claim to have written it and neither has named themselves. Odd thing for someone making a public statement claiming to speak for others. It reads like it was written by a political hack, to me.

But, one must consider the source. Drudge is a bottom feeding muckraker who had his moment of attention, quite some time ago. He has milked that moment for all it's worth but try as he may, he can't make it back to the lime light, no matter how low he sinks.

This article is as low as it gets. He presents it in a manner, mentioning no names, that will allow him an out, if it turns out to be fraudulent.

Let's assume that it isn't a made up job, (just for the sake of discussion). Being, as I am, the product of a red neck American family, it is easy to read the self pity, arrogance, and presumption in this little lash out.

I can imagine that a strong, active, intelligent woman like Cindy Sheehan is leaned on by at least part of her extended family and in-laws. Some one may be missing her free services. Pure speculation based on the note of self pity in the demand.

The arrogant assumption that their needs and desires out rank Cindy's, based on some level of blood tie, speaks for itself. The attempted guilt trip, the claim that Cindy some how dishonors her son, by not playing the pretense that it was a noble loss, is just the sort of garbage that families and in-laws throw at each other on a regular basis. Always striving to claim the moral high ground to excuse their desire to control. Yet it still reads like it was written by a pro political hack.

What this sort of tactic says, for the right wing war supporters, is that they are running out of options and ideas. The tiny president can't meet, face to face, with an honest citizen, one not swayed or bought by dreams of political reward. It is damned hard for the hacks to to come up with a good excuse for the president's obvious show of weakness.

A person like Cindy is very hard to smear. So you have make up a family drama, a soap opera scenario, in a strained attempt to paint the woman black. They have to do that because the president's behavior is beyond any spin doctor fix. The toadies and operatives find themselves with the dire task of trying to smear and belittle a woman who genuinely represents many ordinary Americans.

To me, the most telling thing in this scenario, is that the president can't face this woman. If he himself, actually believed in the necessity and the 'nobility' of this war, he would have no trouble meeting this woman whether she agreed with him or not. But the compulsive liar, the little president, can not meet this woman because she stands so much taller than he does. He and his advisers know it.

The little president, dumb as he is, knows exactly why we are really fighting this war. But he can't say it, can he? He can't talk about the promises to corporate supporters, he can't talk about his pre-presidential plan to invade Iraq as part of becoming his idea of a "Great President".

He can't talk about the natural destiny of his superior class, he can't talk about the power and privilege of oil companies, or the tax dollar pork, literally thrown at his class and his corporate cronies and supporters. He can't talk about Dick Cheney and the mountains of corruption that lay there in. He can never admit that he isn't really the president, that Cheney and Rove call the shots in his 'great' presidency.

He can not stand face to face with an honest uncorrupted citizen. No wonder he hates and fears democracy.

All the kings men and all the kings horses do not know what to do with an honest, courageous citizen who can't be bought or killed and will not back down.

Lo' how the mighty are falling. The entire world is watching this drama. A stand off between an honest and courageous woman and this powerful, cowardly liar. It is not getting the coverage one might hope for in the corporate American media but it is a big story in Europe and much of the world. It was a feature story in Canada's national media today.

The little president blinks early, in every personal test he has faced. I can not believe this weak, lazy, cowardly little man is actually the president. A president who doesn't work late. Doesn't work week ends. and spends much of his time on vacation, does so because, he is only needed for the figurehead duties.

I haven't seen the little President at his gate saying "Bring it on little momma!" He only says that when someone else is on the sharp point of the stick. Pathetic.



My friend and soon to be editor, Nancy, another transplanted southerner, has asked me to pass this on to my readers:

MoveOn is taking out an ad in President Bush's local newspaper in support of Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who is camped outside Bush's ranch in Texas asking for a meeting with the president. They'll publish the number of signers and the best comments in a full two-page spread in the newspaper nearest to Crawford (The Waco Tribune Herald) while Cindy holds her vigil. Can you sign and spread the word before the 3:00 PM Friday print deadline?

http://political.moveon.org/meetwithcindy/

Post Script- Cindy Sheehan's husband and immediate family have expressed great support for what Cindy is doing, giving support to my belief that this letter is a sham. Who cares what a couple of pissed off in-laws think? Most of us have experienced the reality petty judgmental in-laws and all of us have experienced the reality of media hacks that make things up.

We shall see which variety of smear scam this is.

That Dang Woman at the Ranch in Crawford

That dang woman is Cindy Sheehan, of course. The mother of a young soldier killed in Iraq. Like a lot of people, Cindy Sheehan wants to know the reason her son died. Why president Bush and his cronies created a war out of lies and deceptions and sent her son to die in it. Cindy has more reason to want to know than most of us.

Several years ago, I returned to the States briefly, in hopes of clearing up my situation with the Air Force. At the US side of the border, I was detained. While there I met a very large scary looking border guard who told me that he lost his son in Vietnam and he wished to God that his son had gone to Canada or any where but into the damned Army.

The man was plagued with the same question Cindy Sheehan is plagued with. Why? That border guard was being eaten by the same question. "No one can give me one reason why?" He said that more than once.
The story of the border guard.

His question was never answered and neither will Cindy Sheehan receive the real answer from Bush.

I recently wrote an article here entitled, "The Problem With Lies". This little stand off in Crawford Texas is an object lesson in the problem with lies.

You see, the little president, some would say the most powerful individual in the world, is hiding from this woman and the whole world is watching him do it. He has sent two top aides out to talk to her but the attempted nice cop brush off didn't work.

Bush sent his top National Security adviser, Stephen Hadley, to tell Ms Sheehan that there really were WMDs in Iraq but they were spirited away to Syria. Yep, the WMDs are hidden in Syria, little momma. Cindy, being a very intelligent woman, not impressed by lofty titles, asked, "Is that the official White House position?" Political hack beat a hasty retreat with tail tucked firmly between his legs.

The little president is still hiding in his ranch hoping that danged woman will go away. He's on vacation from a real tough job and wants his play time, damn it. Lyin', thievin'n, and murderin' is damned hard work, ya'll know.

This is a no win situation for the little president. If he has her arrested, as is being threatened, he shows the world what a weak, cowardly, small hearted man he is.

No matter how revved up his sincerity act is, he has no answers to give this woman because every thing he says is and has been a lie. No WMDs. No links to 9/11. No links to Al Qaeda. No terrorists operating (before Saddam fell). The evidence was carefully cooked to support going to his war, for reasons that have never been said out loud.

If he meets her in private, the media is going to be much more interested in what she has to say about it than what that predictable old liar has to say.
She is much smarter than Bush and keeps asking all the right questions. Questions Bush can't answer because he's been caught in all his old lies and few seem to be buying the new ones.

What's a slimy politician to do? Bush has never faced up to anything real in his life. Never. He only speaks to hand picked crowds. He was afraid of the Canadian Parliament. They may have asked unscripted questions. Bush can't answer questions not created by his handlers and rehearsed ahead of time.

When he talks off script, he just becomes the shrugging, smirking, rude little bugger that is has always been. Not very impressive for man who is so proud of being a 'war time president'. A title he was very anxious to have, long before 9/11.

He met this woman once before, at the White house. The president 'sharing the grief' of mothers of KIA soldiers. He kept trying to turn it into a festive occasion like the women should be just thrilled to meet the little president and fearless leader. He did not know her name or the name of her son. He kept calling her "mom". She asked the wrong questions then, as well.

What can this smirking fool of a mass killer, this compulsive liar, tell this intelligent, aware woman who will not be impressed by his royal president fantasies?

As I said before, lies make you weak. Look at our president. Cowed by lone woman standing beside the road in Texas. Pathetic.

Update: Rice and Rumsfeld will be arriving at the presidents ranch on Thursday. Cindy Sheehan has been informed that that she may be arrested Thursday as a 'Threat to national security'. Imagine that. I have to wonder, what terminology do they use to distinguish between real threats to national security, and the sort of 'threat' that this gold star mother represents?
I suppose they are all the same to someone as cowardly as the American president.

To avoid the embarrassment of arresting her as a security threat, the local Sheriffs department has suddenly decided that the land Cindy is standing on is private property, not county owned as they originally said. However, they can't say exactly who it belongs to, only that it's privately held.

How peculiar that no one seems to know who owns the land right next to the presidents ranch.
Oh yeah, of course I believe that, I'm sure you do too. I have to laugh at the feeble lies and games these bastards must play, to avoid dealing with the simple truth. But, that's America for you.

A couple of interesting links:

http://www.meetwithcindy.org/

discussion at KOS

Nuts 'R' Us

The particular nuts in question, Reverends James Dobson and Fred Phelps, represent the far nut end of modern Christian dogma. Each would insist that he is teaching and upholding an ancient belief system. Cursory examination contradicts that claim.

Phelps is a gay hater to the nth degree, as deeply bigoted as I think it is possible to be. And he is proud of it.

Phelps calls himself a minister, pastor of the Westboro Baptist church, in Kansas City. A cult group ran from nut man's basement. He feels himself called to a ministry of fag hating. He pursues it as an avocation.

For those who don't recognize the name, Phelps is the Baptist preacher made notorious for his picketing of funerals of gay people, with signs that say cute things like "Thank God for AIDS" and "God Hates Fags". Scroll to the bottom for a pic of Phelps in action.

Click here for more than you ever wanted to know about this sick hate addicted man. A man who allegedly beat the hell out of his wife and children, on a regular basis. Often while drunk. Good Christian man that he is.

Four of his now adult children, and their mother, bear permanent scars and injuries from the beatings delivered. Sometimes with an axe handle.

Now this self declared man of God has decided that God hates America because Phelps finds himself in trouble with the law and maybe with the tax man. So, suddenly, God hates America (for all the wrong reasons) and God laughs when Americans dies in Iraq. Once again, for all the wrong reasons.

To prove his point, Phelps and his pathetic little crew, have started picketing the funerals of KIA Iraqi war vets. With signs saying things like "Thank God for IEDs". IEDs being the military term for the improvised explosive devices that have killed so many in Iraq. More commonly referred to as road side bombs.

This man is so supremely egocentric, he declares that the IEDs of Iraq are God's way of punishing the US because someone once set off a bomb in or near his 'church'.

Obviously God has his eye on the Right Nutty Reverend Phelps and his twelve or so dispirited followers. Mostly family members.
I've yet to read a description of this little group of followers, relatives with children, that did not include words like, dispirited, glum, embarrassed, etc.

Phelps believes God has commanded him to beat his family into line. Phelps is very fond of death threats. Follow the links on the Wikipedia page linked above. The man has numerous arrests and convictions, including child abuse charges arising from a brutal axe handle assault against two of his sons. The assualts were reported by the boy's school when they came to school with bleeding wounds, covered in brusies and abrasions. Both have permanent injuries from the beatings, one has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Yes, the love of God, don't it sound inviting?

When you read about this man, and read his own words, it becomes very clear that Fred Phelps loves and worships Fred Phelps and nothing else. God is his excuse for being a cruel, hate driven, narcissistic nut job.

According to Fred Phelps, God hates America because there are "fags and dykes" in the military. Not only that, but the 1,800 and still counting American soldiers killed in Iraq are now burning in hell because there are "fags" in the military. Does Reverend Phelp's God sound a lot like Satan?

I suspect the possibility that the bad reverend has bitten into something he can't chew. The military has issued a special order, to all service personal, to avoid contact with this nutter, so that he has no opportunity to sue the military.

Guess what, Reverand Ass? There are a shit load of vets and relatives of vets that did not receive that order.

While I certainly would not be so foolish as to advocate violence against even this walking turd, I have worked with angry messed up vets, 'coming down' after their time in Vietnam. I know there are some very, very angry young men in America, right now, who do not appreciate what this self enamoured fool is doing.

On the other hand, Phelps openly encourages soldiers to dessert. That used to be illegal, didn't it? Or is it only illegal for non-religious types?

Nut two, James Dobson is only slightly less vicious but much more dangerous. Like Phelps, his true religion his himself and his burning hatred of gays is what binds him to his twisted version of Christianity. A version that glorifies anger, hatred, blood lust and turns love into a four letter curse word.

In short, another self serving, Satan worshiping nut case, pretending to be a Christian. Lots of those around these days.

Dobson is more dangerous than a Phelps because Dobson is much smarter and has been a much better self promoter than Phelps. To be fair, Phelps is a hungry hound for media exposure, but he ain't got the bucks to really make it happen.

I guess God doesn't love Phelps enough to send him much money.

Dobson on the other hand is reputed to be riding a camel at a needle as god has, and blind ignorance have, sent him and his organization lots of money.Whether the camel through the eye of the needle analogy fits Dobson or not, the man lives well, flies to his appointments and doesn't sleep in a camper or flee bag hotels whilst spreading the gospel of his serpentine religious/political creed.

Dobson pushes the cart of Focus on the Family before him as he decrees, screw the poor, screw the raped, screw the young, screw the humanity of women and oh, by the way, Sponge Bob Squarepants is part of the gay agenda. Kill it a'fore it multiplies!

Abortion is evil, uppity women are evil, young women are witches and the damned gays are the cause of it all.

'God loves you but he's going to torture you for ever if you don't do and vote as I say.' I suppose.

There is a striking commonality with these two 'men of God'. Each preaches a gospel that ultimately focuses on themselves.

Two angry, hate driven men who lust for power and recognition. Who spread their hatreds, equating their bigotries with the very nature of God, which they claim to represent, in a special way.

While Phelps is a mere symptom of the spiritual state of America, a festering boil on the arse of Christianity, Dobson is one of those helping to create that ugly spirit. A man who has the ear of the little president and apears to have the power to play Kingmaker in the administration.

Phelps and Dobson, two banal, hateful little men cut from the same cloth and and worshipping at the same alter. The altar of an agrandized self. A self than believes it is empowered to judge and condemn as suits its desires and interests. As though they and God were one.

If I were still a Christian, I would have to say, that these two men and the legions riding or clinging to the same bandwagon, worship a god that I call Satan.

Links again:

Dobson: Focus on Himself

Brian Elroy McKinley This is a very interesting site well worth a visit. McKinley is a former Christian who speaks with wisdom and the authority of personal experience. He has written a number of penetrating articles on a variety of topics including his percerptions of what has happened to American Christianity in the last few years. He wrote Dobson:Focus on Himself

Pic of Phelps

Wikipedia articles on Phelps

Dobson as Kingmaker

I've just discovered a web site recently put up by Jay Currie, here in British Columbia. The site advocates extraditing Phelps to Canada to face Hate Crime charges. Phelps has been charged with hate crimes in Canada, as a result of his criminal activities in this country. He is officially persona non gratis up here. You can't openly advocate violence toward an identifiable group in Canada. In America it's alright as long as the hated groups don't include the White House occupants.
Find it here.

Complaining Prosecutors, John Bolton, and the Little President

Have you ever heard of a prosecutor complaining that a trial is being rigged, in favour of the prosecution? Neither have I. Such claims are made by defense attorneys, on a regular basis. But, when the prosecutors in a case, begin to complain that the proceedings are being rigged in favour of the prosecution, I have to give it a listen.

That is exactly what has happened in the up coming closed trials, via military commission, for four Gitmo detainees.
Read this now, please.

The leaked emails give further credence my assertion that the majority of people being held in detention are not terrorists but people picked up in random snatches, usually from the streets of Iraq, during public protests or grabbed at random from the crowds gathering after an insurgent bombing.

The prosecution is complaining that there is no real evidence against the detainees in question. The prosecutors are complaining that they are working very low level cases and that they have been told that the Tribunal will be hand picked and convictions are already a done deal. The prosecutors are assigned to gather information and evidence for any future review of the commission.

When the prosecutors themselves are complaining of guaranteed convictions, some things are very, very rotten in Gitmo.

The Pentagon's Brigadier General Thomas Hemingway, informs us basically, that the complainers were cleaned out and there's no problem, any more. " "I think what we did is work on some restructuring in the office, there was some changes in the way cases were processed…

None of the assistant prosecutors who complained are involved in the cases, any more.

Damned, if that hasn't become the American way to deal with problems. Get rid of the person who points out the problem. Shoot the messenger, every time. Predicated upon the insane idea that if no one knows there is a problem, there really isn't a problem. We don't bother with being good, we are too busy trying to look good.

At the same time, the little president who hates democracy, has taken it on himself to appoint John Bolton US Ambassador to the U. N.

As usual, the little president lied his tiny face off in his speech, announcing the appointment. One lie after the other about Bolton's passionate love for the UN Remember, that's Bolton, the guy who wants to see the end of the UN, wants the US to be the only permanent seat in the security counsel, thinks the UN must serve US interests or be dumped. He's got passion alright but the little president misnamed that passion, didn't he?

That, of course, is what the little president does best, tell great big old lies with a straight face and a down home, next door neighbor style. Dumb as he is, he's good at that. Learned it very early one suspects and never got around to growing out of it.

Soon I must talk more about the big president, the one that keeps the neocon plan moving forward under the smoke and mirrors of Carl Rove's propaganda machine. Dick Cheney. Uncle Dick has been a busy, busy boy these last few years and deserves a lot more credit than he gets, and attention.

The full truth of the outing of Valerie Plame, the high level CIA agent, has not been told. Cheney is in the mix and I for one want to see if Rove will fall on his sword to protect the big president or will that honour fall to "Scooter". Scooter, that's a good name for a fall guy, eh?



For those who wanted to know, the novel is now officially done. At least the first draft is finished. I'm taking off a couple of weeks, to do some blogging and research for the next novel, before the revision process begins.