Turn on the News

It's particularly depressing day in the pages of The Washington Post. Really heartbreaking all around, from the military to the U.S. legal system to health-care "reform" in America, and even two immensely talented, bright young brothers who tragically died in a car wreck a mere hour or two away from their home after a cross-country trip from school.

But guess who's ultimately responsible for the nexus of two of the initial three (and he certainly exacerbated the third)? The proud patriot freedom-fighters known as the George W. Bush administration.

You want the demoralizing troop increases in the sink hole of Afghanistan, the "graveyard of empires," where Barack Obama refuses to realize that military officials want to sink us further in this "valiant" effort to conquer whatever exactly we're trying to conquer there, with chilling human-less murder via Predator drones strikes on the border and indiscriminate raids in the southern end of the country, the most volatile? An area where President Obama had been, in my perception of things, unable to focus on with enough care due to one domestic fight (versus obstructionist conservatives in both parties in health-care reform), and another quasi-domestic quagmire (in the recession, where he gets no real foothold since he again refuses to truly "change" the culture and institute real regulation that protects people and not corporations, lobbies and the privileged few)? Here it is.

You want GOP Light, the "new Republicans" in Congress, who will almost single-handedly kill a real public option in the reform of health care? Who are the men (and a few women) more beholden to lobbies and the health insurance industry than the sick and in need in this country? The conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats in the House, more willing to lick the boot of the wealthy than help their constituents in need, all in the name of whatever is conservative, rural American values? Right over here.

You want a god-awful betrayal of the American legal system in which the United States of America, land of the free and home of the brave, in true Draconian, Orwellian fashion, locks other human beings up for years on end with absolutely no credible proof of evidence? It's entitled "indefinite detention," in the legally-ambiguous legal no-man-lands of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. Where young men aged as young as 12 have been shuffled into a legal black hole reminiscent of the Soviet Union and the Khmer Rouge, in which the U.S. has their complete pick-and-choose of who will and who won't ever be heard of again, all on the word of despotic regimes and pure thugs around the world, mostly in the Middle East, that refer these men to the American authorities? Where, in the name of American "Homeland Security," these "enemy combatants" are proof positive that our proud leaders in the king's throne, now near equally power-thirsty as any other king in history, have complete control of your safety, and questioning your safety and the competence of the almighty government is heresy? Where Barack Obama, the supposed liberal crusader here to expose the trappings of American hegemony and bring a new era of transparency to the U.S. (Whatever happened to, "Sunlight is the most effective disinfectant," pledge he ran on?) has now embraced, and hinted at expanding on the worst of the Bush-Cheney corrupt, dishonest, crippling, contempt-ridden policies? Dig in.

Instead of media-driven racial flare-ups, America's press should act like true journalists (instead we get these whore, wanna-be-comedian hacks) and expose the corrosion of our country that has now been adopted by both parties with the co-opting of Mr. Obama. With the endorsement of Obama, the cohesion of Bush's America and Obama's fierce defenders could be near invincible. Who's to stand in the way anymore? Forget health care and the economy for a minute, who's going to stand in the way for our basic freedoms, a term that gets tossed around a lot but is used here with utmost sincerity?

Neither party seems interested in harnessing our imperial and corrosive policy, and the mainstream media is even more dismissive of ever shaking the balance of power in Washington. They have it best, quite possibly. Access and fame is much too important to ever gamble on the ugly, messy truth. And in their view, this country should never go through the "indignity and shame" of Watergate and Vietnam. To them, that kind of public embarrassment, in front of our world peers, is too much to bear in the post-9/11 world. It is their intention, in their subconscious, to do their part to keep this country spotless so the rest of the perceived chaotic, savage world can see us as that "shining city on a hill" that never wavers and is always correct. Some lines are too delicate to breach for our fragile American egos, they tell themselves.

That is the runaway train of vicious Nationalism. The blind, blunt force that isn't easily curtailed or reasoned with, like a rabies-laden puppy, always pampered and hailed, yet is convinced that escaping from the cage means lashing through any obstacle, no matter how sturdy and impossible.

I don't know who would ever attempt to slow the momentum down in this two-tiered legal system we've let run amok, the haves vs. the have-nots. If Bernie Madoff is scorned and sent to rot in prison, why not the architects of torture and global havoc? And why let slip their enablers and the willing inheritors of their ethically-void behavior, especially as they lied on this very subject to gain power?

This shouldn't be a partisan issue at all. But the media has made it so. And when our filter has turned on us, it's inconceivable that circumstances will ever really reverse. It will take a very catastrophic chain of events to whip us into involuntary submission at this point. If we don't take responsibility for the past and present on our own accord, this will not end well.

In addition (4:55 p.m.): We could continue with the shame and sadness in the form of Karl Rove's involvement in the U.S. attorney firings. This story shows he likely had more to do with these ousters than he previously let on. This is the one, if any of these stories, that has the best chance to not fade into this pattern of politicization of justice.

Oh, that's why everyone romanticizes about your country

Because occasionally you're just downright charming, you cute, cuddly thing Ireland. AP reports:

Ireland has agreed to accept two inmates from the Guantanamo prison camp in Cuba within the next two months, Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern announced Wednesday.

Ahern said the two men belong to a group of about 50 prisoners who are "no longer regarded as posing a threat to security but who cannot return to their own countries." The United States has appealed to European Union countries to give most or all of those men sanctuary, but until now only France has stepped forward to accept a specific detainee.

The justice minister declined to identify either detainee. Other government officials and the human rights group Amnesty International confirmed that both come from Uzbekistan and were seized in neighboring Afghanistan in bitterly disputed circumstances in 2001.

Ahern made his accouncement as he met newly appointed U.S. Ambassador Dan Rooney. Last week Irish officials visited Washington and Guantanamo to negotiate terms of the Uzbeks' transfer.

Wow, think Dan Rooney had anything to do with this? I know he voted for Obama. That would be quite the feather in the cap of a successful NFL owner and, from what it seems, a genuinely well-respected guy.

If a blood bath happens on Salon, does anyone feel it?

Good Lord this is the skewering of the month right HERE by Glenn Greenwald on the inevitable collapse of Democratic spine (come on, we knew it was going to happen) at the challenge of getting a progressive policy passed without bending over for a diminished, rejected, toothless band of persistent Republicans, who are facilitated by the mainstream media whores on the prowl. Sick.

But I'm not sure if Greenwald's pummeling was before or after hearing these revelations reported at TPMDC on a near assured public option from the House, much like the version in the Senate HELP Committee bill. I suspect it was pre-learning of the news.

But still, as usual, he'd dead-on right about the Left Surrender Squad.

Identity-Clash Crisis of the Disgusting Twins

Uh oh. Two of my favorite subjects are colliding head-on here. The favorite whipping Republidick Roy "Scrouge-face" Blunt and the comedic geniuses the Birthers: via TPM.

Looks like Daddy Blunt is going that route on us. Through the Birtherism canal of horrendous idiocy and shame. I mean, I knew he was a sleazebag whore. But a Birther-panderer? Puh-leaze Mr. Blunt. You are sorely mistaken. We know you're not that batshit insane. You're just a Class-A asshole, that's all. Stick to the script if you want any shot. Don't go all race-baiting, conspiracy theorist in Cole-Camp, Mo., on us. That won't get you votes where you need them, in the suburbs, you jerk-off.

I love that guy.

The Hurt Locker as Propaganda, or Just Realism?

I haven't anticipated a movie lately as much as I did The Hurt Locker. I saw it last week, and it was much better than the typical “let’s blow shit up” action movie about war. But while it's impressive, I'm seeing some rumblings that it might have gotten a few things wrong and, inadvertently, delivered a pro-war message.

Personally, I can’t decide if some parts, including the ending, glorify combat, or just highlight the depths of his (Jeremy Renner's character) addiction to the thrill of dismantling bombs. I lean toward the latter because he didn’t seem a character wrapped up in the patriotic or debt-to-country reasons for loving his job in the military. There was a hint of a hero complex, that he was the only one who could solve these bombs, but I think looking at the entire story, he’s generally traumatized by what he’s seen and it’s come to a point where he has to keep up the routine to validate himself and achieve that rush. For instance, that heavy metal music at the end as he’s back in Iraq on a mission seems more of what’s in his head rather than some kind of big action movie soundtrack you’d see in big budget war movies.

In a related note, let's not forget the real thing.

Delusional ... or Genius?

Quite possibly the greatest comedy troupe of all time? The Birthers. Consistently hilarious on so many levels.

But seriously, what if they were a massive, well-organized comedy team, wreaking havoc in Lions Clubs and Capitol Hill alike? Genius I say. I almost hope this were true. I mean, observe:



Bat-shit insane is a quality of both lunatics and savants. But I think we know the answer to this one.

First Post

Since I'm talking to myself, I'll say that if I had a band, I'd name it Godless Meathooks (trademark) and our hit song would be called 'Smack My Yak Dick.' (Thanks Gary).