Nothing says you truly love your country quite like working overtime to destroy every shred of cooperation and comity, essentially implementing the Iraqi policy following their withdrawal from Kuwait in 1991.
This is a simple meme I put together with Photoshop recently. Each day that passes since the election, Trump and his administration prove repeatedly how little they care for the nation they pretend to serve.
I’ve not seen anything even slightly similar to what’s going on, even as I compose this post. Trump is anything but a patriot; in fact, I would offer he’s engaging in sedition, if not treason. He’s certainly acting like a domestic terrorist.
Can’t wait ’til he’s gone. He is the absolute worst president in the history of the United States. Hands down!
I’ve started blogging again here at Systems Savvy and needed to do some research on my history doing so. I came across the following blog post on another, now defunct blog site, The Cranky Curmudgeon, which I wrote on October 29, 2008. I entitled it “Talk About Your Angst!” I forgot I wrote it and I’m somewhat amazed that my characterization of the Bush admin sounds quite similar to my characterization of the Trump admin. We’re doing something wrong . . . bigly!
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Barack Obama Makes a point during debate with John McCain
Well, here we are . . .
what is it? . . about six days out from what I’m thinking is the most
important election of my lifetime. Any election involving Nixon, Reagan,
or either of the Bush gangster family was, of course, important, but
this one – whew! After eight years of so thoroughly screwing up
everything they touched, I am on pins and needles waiting to see if we
get a brand new start at fixing things, or if we get something possibly
worse than George Bush.
I think I need to explain something too.
Although I take the position George Bush and his administration screwed
up everything they touched, I think it’s important to note they did
exactly what they had planned to do all along. The failures were not
truly failures, as they fit into the general plan. Don’t think for one
moment these criminals weren’t working toward the dream so famously
articulated by Grover Norquist when he said his goal was to shrink
government “down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.”
I have no doubt that is exactly what has been going on, especially when
government means services for the people, as opposed to handouts for
the well-connected. We have witnessed the most massive re-distribution
of national wealth, certainly in my lifetime. Now, perhaps, we can see
some of that bleeding stanched.
Six more days! I am on pins and
needles. We so desperately need to take this nation in another
direction; to back away from the arrogant unilateralism and the move
toward the so-called “unitary executive”; the use of torture and the
spying on our own citizens; and the outright flaunting of the
Constitution when it serves the narrow interests of the administration.
Obama has created one of the flattest campaign organizations ever,
thanks in large part to his team’s understanding and use of information
technology. Let’s see if they can translate this knowledge into a new
politics of engagement and involvement . . . and – dare I say –
democracy.
Last month was the 50th anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which resulted in the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This resolution authorized President Johnson to send in conventional forces and wage open warfare against the North Vietnamese and resulted in the dramatic escalation of the conflict. The coming years will bring us to many more 50th anniversaries of actions and engagements we never should have been involved in.
A side effect of researching the book I’m working on, which will chronicle my and my colleagues’ activities in the peace and justice movement from about 1966 through 1976, is revisiting the anger and frustration I felt at the terrible injustice of that and, really, all war. This video uses quite a few iconic images to good effect accompanying its song.
It also pisses me off to know how many petulant fools we still have as so-called “leaders”. The names John McCain and Lindsey Graham come readily to mind, but there are far too many others to think they’re anything more than the tip of the cold-blooded iceberg. Many of today’s problems can be laid at the feet of these war mongers and their sycophants.
We Weren’t Looking for Retribution; Merely Justice
I can’t let today pass without saying a word or two about the tragic events of eleven years ago today. Unlike most Americans, at least as far as I can tell, these events were tragic to me for many reasons. I am somewhat ashamed to note the many people who mourn the loss of those nearly 3000 who died as a direct result of the attacks of 9/11, yet seem to show little or no feeling toward the loss of lives that came about as a result of the actions the United States and other nations took in seeking vengeance for these attacks.
I don’t wish in any way to denigrate the innocent victims of these heinous acts, and I am especially mindful of the hundreds of first-responders who lost their lives performing the duties they were sworn to in order that others might live. I respect and honor their devotion and the sacrifices they made – and continue to make – on our behalf.
Nevertheless, in the wake of this tragedy we engaged in two wars – at least one of which was entirely unnecessary – and was, indeed, a war of aggression based on lies and deception.
While it’s impossible to get an accurate figure, an average assessment of the number of Iraqi civilian deaths — based on numerous estimates — indicates there have been at least several hundred thousand civilian deaths alone (cite). There have been over 4400 U.S. deaths and 32,000 wounded in Iraq (cite). The death toll in Afghanistan is so muddled it’s difficult to determine how many civilians have been killed as the result of our activities and how many might have been killed by the Taliban regardless. There have been over 3,000 coalition deaths (over 2,000 U.S.) and approximately 24,000 wounded. In addition, over 14,000 Afghan security forces personnel have been killed (cite).
Our nation’s cry is “Never Forget”, and we won’t. We shouldn’t. However, we must always be mindful that great injustice was done in the name of those who perished on this day. We should also continue asking questions not only about why we did what we did, but what actually happened on 9/11. I doubt the truth has yet to be told. Keep your eyes and ears open.
Systems Savvy 