Sorry, But I Just Have To Rant
Bloomberg is reporting that Iran can have nuclear weapons in a matter of weeks. Is this just another snow job by the Bush administration bolstered through selective leaking of intelligence in order to make their case for war with Iran? Are we really ready to let this happen again? Are we so powerless that we have no choice but to sit back and watch another preemptive strike on a country that poses no threat to us? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY?
I hear Democrats agreeing with the Bush administration that “something has to be done about Iran” but my question is why? Why must we stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapons program? Because we’re so responsible with the power we wield by being the sole nuclear superpower? That’s freaking laughable! The only countries not in danger of a preemptive US invasion are those that possess nuclear weapons. How can we fault Iran for wanting to protect itself from our warmongering President who can do whatever he damn well pleases, with no oversight from Congress, and no accountability to the people? ARE WE SO FAR GONE THAT WE ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT THE DEATH OF OUR DEMOCRACY BECAUSE BUSH IS SUCH A GREAT GUY?
On the whole, we are overfed, undereducated, complacent, impotent, simpleminded, myopic, religiously delusional and apathetic. The immigrants protesting around the country have a better understanding of America than the rest of us. Perhaps, as a group, they have suffered from poverty in a way we never have and therefore have a deeper appreciation for the idea of America. Are we convinced that the idea of America is dead, regardless of what we say out loud to each other? Deep down, have we internalized the alternate history of our country, the history that shows imperialist tendencies, brutality around the world, exploitation of lands and peoples for profit? HOW MUCH SUFFERING ARE WE WILLING TO WATCH?
They say that people get the government they deserve. We watch too much television, don’t read enough books, don’t care that our children know less about American history than kids in China, eat too much processed food, don’t vote and have no clue what happens in the rest of the world. Is it any surprise that a population like that ends up with a government like this? DO WE REALLY HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE WORST TO HAPPEN BEFORE WE WILL BE WILLING TO GET OFF OUR FAT, LAZY ASSES AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?
I don’t know where to go from here. Living through this administration is like suffering from bi-polar disorder. One minute there is hope that this nightmare will end, and the very next it seems impossible that it won’t end badly. I have stated many times that the Bush administration, when caught doing the unthinkable, simply ups the ante. Get selected President by the Supreme Court, voila 9/11 and instant political capital. Questions arise about 9/11, preemptively invade a sovereign nation. Get caught lying about the justification for invasion, out a CIA undercover agent working on nuclear proliferation. When the investigation gets a little too close, use the NSA to conduct illegal surveillance of American citizens in order to quash dissent. When that ugly truth gets out, make plans to bomb Iran. HOW MUCH MORE ARE WE WILLING TO TAKE?
Do we really need to see the worst happen in our own front yard before we will believe that it’s happening? I doubt that would even be enough though, it would have to be aired on television before it will seem real to Americans. It seems crazy, with the quagmire of Iraq still devouring our young men and women along with what’s left of our treasury, that Bush would start another war, but that’s what he is, CRAZY! And there doesn’t seem to be a damn thing we can, or are willing to do about it, and THAT’S JUST SO FUCKING SAD.
posted by The (liberal)Girl Next Door @ 12:21 PM
22 Comments:
I believe only one country has ever in history used nuclear weapons on another country. Why would anyone accept that same country to be "watchdogs" for that type of power?
And what a righteous rant it is! :)
Anonymous--Excellent point. I think the only people who do accept that argument, live inside our borders.
GBC--Thanks.
You see it too? I thought I was having flashbacks and none of this existed. We are truly a dreadful race or nation to put up with this shit. I need to move south and I live in Arizona.
Se habla espanol?
Yes, it seems crazy to us that Bush could think of attacking yet another country when we've already squandered vast amounts of blood, treasure and international prestige in Viet-raq.
But I don't think Bush himself will spend a moment worrying about the practical aspects of such an undertaking, let alone the moral implications of it. Why? Because Bush believes that he is God's instrument on earth, and as such, he cannot fail. Even when he does.
To make things even more scary, Ahmadinejad of Iran has a similar messianic bent. The next few years should be interesting.
You said it, sister! I was thinking that he'd wait until election time to pull something stupid, but his numbers are so deep in the sewer that he thinks he has to do something. And the only flippin' thing this guy knows how to do is go to war. You are so spot on it's scary.
What will it take to get people off the couch and start caring about this country- in fact, this world- again?
This is from the 1970's it's more true today.
The spirit was freedom and justice
And it's keepers seem generous and kind
It's leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they won't pay it no mind
'Cause the people grew fat and got lazy
And now their vote is a meaningless joke
They babble about law and order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told
Yeah, there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watchin'
Our cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand
We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole worlds got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner
We can't pay the cost
'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watching
(America)
America where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster
John Kay, Jerry Edmonton, Nick St Nichols, Larry Byrom
Mike Meyer-member voter Initiative Political Party of Wyoming(VIPP)
It is truly a sad state of affairs that in this country most of us would trade clean air, clean water, economic security and opportunity, affordable healthcare, and civil liberties for a 2 liter bottle of coke, a hour of American Idol and a bag full of plastic crap from the dollar store. We are drunk on empty calories and cannot be trusted to make sound decisions.
The first paragraph of the article in question (emphasis mine):
Iran, which is defying United Nations Security Council demands to cease its nuclear program, may be capable of making a nuclear bomb within 16 days if it goes ahead with plans to install thousands of centrifuges at its Natanz plant, a U.S. State Department official said.
And how long before it'll be up to that production capacity? Likely about the 10-year minimum cited in the most credible US, German, Israeli intelligence estimates.
The headline makes its scary impression while the qualifier, of course, appears in the 'small print'.
Care to guess which part will get little media play and drop right off the 'talking points' radar?
Liberal Girl you know I love ya, but sometimes you need to step down from the ledge and drink some decaff!
And, stay out of Wal-Mart!
I believe I've established my liberal 'boni fides' with my expressions of unmitigated contempt for most of what this Rethug Admin and its Wingnutistanian supporters have imposed on us.
"It's a giant shit sandwich, and we've all had to take a bite" (Paraphrase from movie 'Full metal Jacket')
Having said that, I still find myself with 'now wait a minute' moments with some of what I read at this site.
"On the whole, we are overfed, undereducated, complacent, impotent, simpleminded, myopic, religiously delusional and apathetic." And yet, are not many of us...pick your percentage of 59 million Kerry voters....buff, well educated,razor sharp, foresighted, secular and demanding? I'll let you fill in your own opposites for the TV, Books, etc.
I'm less certain about the enobling effects of illegal immigration or that many of them are imbued with more 'civics' type notions of America.
As for the 'alternate history' of our country, do you imagine that any nation state's 'historical hands' are clean? For that matter, has any nation come up with a 'self-improvement' plan like our Constitution?
We need to stick more closely to the plan, but we all know how those personal 'self improvement' plans many times go!
RE Iran and nukes. Ask Israelis how they feel about their prospects facing a nation that has repeatedly called for their destruction.
Re our nuke history. We used them twice, read below for rationales and alternative outcomes.
IF any other country had had a three year monopoly
on nuclear weapons, as we did, do you imagine that they would not have redrawn geopolitical maps to their liking? I'm talking about 'get out of Western Europe or else" scenarios
visited upon us by a not so benign, or self restrained Soviet Union.
Can you picture any other nation's generals stating that they 'don't think we should be brandishing nukes at any nation", and retaining their jobs or their heads?!
It was either this,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki
the atomic bomb hastened the end of the Second World War in Asia liberating hundreds of thousands of Western citizens, including about 200,000 Dutch and 400,000 Indonesians ("Romushas") from Japanese concentration camps. Moreover, Japanese troops had committed atrocities against millions of civilians (such as the infamous Nanking Massacre), and the early end to the war prevented futher bloodshed.
or this,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall
I suspect that one's support at the time for the A-bombings was directly
related to one's liklihood of participating in the planned invasions
of Japan scheduled for 11/1/45 and 3/1/46. Imagine having survived the
battles in Europe or the landings on Iwo Jima or Okinawa, and facing the
prospect of climbing down the nets into the landing craft, one LAST time, for an invasion
that would've made Normandy seem like a walk on the beach.
(A study done for Secretary of War Henry Stimson's staff by William Shockley estimated that conquering Japan would cost 1.7–4 million American casualties, including 400,000–800,000 fatalities, and five to ten million Japanese fatalities. The key assumption was large-scale participation by civilians in the defense of Japan.)
As for iran, while I favor the diplomatic track, does anyone really want to defend
THIS wingnut?
On Wednesday October 26, 2005 Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, made the following comments in an anti-Isrel rally:
"There is no doubt that the new wave (of attacks) in Palestine will wipe off this stigma (Israel) from the face of the Islamic world."
"Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury, (while) any (Islamic leader) who recognizes the Zionist regime means he is acknowledging the surrender and defeat of the Islamic world."
"As the imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map,"
Dale H.
One does not wish to defend Iran or their policies. This Administration has proven itself unable to prosecute ANY WAR to a victorious end. They have at hand the MOST POWERFUL MILITARY in history, anybodies history, and yet connot sucessfully finish One conquest. Hellfire, Man, they cannot catch one ordinary humanbeing, Osama Ben Laden. The members of this Administration should not be allowed to play with firecrackers, let alone a nuclear device. Until we have a sign of competence in the WH we need to rethink any policy that involves aggression. Israel IS well able to take care of itself.
Mike Meyer-member Voter Initiative Political Party of Wyoming(VIPP)
Anonymous~
We have NO disagreement. I'm just trying to interject some balance opposite LG's 'Rant'!
I too long for the days of Clinton's Defense Dept:
"Zinni, Eaton, and Newbold are explicitly trying to supplant the lesson of Shinseki with an earlier lesson—one that was propagated throughout the U.S. armed forces in the late 1990s but laid aside once the war in Iraq got under way. It came from a book called Dereliction of Duty, by H.R. McMaster, then an Army major, now a colonel. Based on extensive research into declassified files, the book concluded that during the 1960s, the Joint Chiefs of Staff betrayed their constitutional duties by failing to provide their honest military judgment to President Lyndon B. Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara as they plunged into the quagmire of Vietnam. When McMaster's book was published in 1997, during the Clinton administration, Gen. Hugh Shelton, then the JCS chairman, ordered all his service chiefs and commanders to read it and follow its lessons to the letter—to express disagreements to their superiors, even at the risk of getting yelled at. William Cohen, Clinton's secretary of defense, echoed the sentiment. Ever since, Dereliction of Duty has been a must-read for all senior officers."
(Contrast THAT with the faith based, don't rock the boat, don't question anything mentality of this Winugtistanian rogue regime and its similarly, analytically impaired courage challenged supporters. DH)
Let's see. We kept Saddam in his box with 'no fly zones' and periodic air assaults, including the one in Dec, '98 that effectively ELIMINATED his WMD capability.
We forced, brokered and policed a peace, still holding, in Bosnia.
And, forced Serbia out of Kosovo and Milosovic to the Hague, with an American casualty free 78 day bombing of Serbia.
By comparison, Rumsfeld's Defense Dept makes Clinton/Cohen's seem as though it hummed with Wehrmacht like efficiency!
Ok, I apologize in advance for being both the wet blanket at the picnic, AND the rain on the parade.
First, the oh so well organized and well funded immigrant demonstrations across the country are very interesting to observe. Just how did all these immigrants band together with such short notice and create the obfuscation that actually moved Congress to be influenced and pass legislation in favor of acts that are illegal?
Hmmmm ~ My resources all tell me it is because the M3 has been removed from the report of our country's economic paper trail and this is the money which the government has the treasury request the Federal Reserve to print so they can spend without any ceiling.
What an efficient way to distract the entire nation, millions of demonstrators marching and all the while our trade deficit and national debt soars to almost 70 trillion dollars.
Thus, our economic crises remains as the number one reason these Neocons must start another war. They have created a double edged sword that shall cut us no matter which way it is sliced.
Another war in the Middle East, especially with Iran, is the out in the open World War III (it is already happening because of Iraq), and a nuclear holocaust is imminent.
Homeland Security has been created specifically for the purpose of rounding up lots and lots of people and there are camps across the US which can hold one million citizens, in each camp.
Imagine when our economy actually begins its dreadful decline in the visible rather than the cloaked in secrecy, for all to experience. The number of people who awaken to the nightmare of what this government and all the governments for that matter, have been up to for the past 100 years is going to make Katrina look like a picnic and the Great Depression is going to feel like it was simply a parade.
The past 60 to 80 years is the time frame in which the grandiose Neocon agenda was formed in all their acronym think tank institutions, such as the CFR, WTO, WB, IMF, HF, et al., etc. and so on. These people do not intend to quit their plan of full spectrum domination because to stop means to lose their fortunes of imperial taxes as fiat money and their One World Government.
“Globalization.”
Two things must be looked at: One is how to get off the grid and the first piece of this is the money grid (no debt, not even mortgage debt!); and two, figure out what to do in the event of the US attacking Iran and prepare for a nuclear holocaust because it is a guarantee.
Write to every banker, the ones who hold mortgages and also, to every credit card company. Demand they do not raise interest rates to pay for the fraud of an illegal war. This IS the reason for the inflation ~ the government is spending money and it is out of control. The more money they print into circulation the higher the inflation. This inflation is nothing more than too much of the US dollar into circulation which devalues the dollar and thus, the inflation to correct (which is the raising of interest rates as a “hidden tax”).
China and Russia shall not tolerate us to go into Iran where they depend upon their energy needs, as well. They are also net importers, just like we are and they shall not tolerate us going into Iran which clearly sends the signal that we intend to take all the natural resources of Iran and obviously China, Russia, et al. are our next full spectrum dominance targets.
George Soros was a Neo-Con who was a big player in the Neo-Con agenda until he figured out it wasn’t what all of the Global Elite thought (Bush/Cheney, et al had secret plans) ~ what a shock ~ and so Soros began going to all the other countries and helping them ready themselves to stand against the US. Thus, the other countries are all ready to fight back and it is called “the two George’s war."
Our full spectrum dominance began with the idea that we would go in through Vietnam, etc. and then make our way into the Middle East. This didn't work, obviously. Thus, George HW tried it again by way of the first Gulf War, to get a foothold into the Middle East. This didn't work as the law of unintended consequences is always at work. So, now we have the son of GHW who the Neo-Cons picked as their puppet government and this plan is also failing.
These people are getting very desperate. The people who are in charge are the Neocons and they have cloaked themselves in the secrecy of “Neo-Con.”
But, should you look closely at the Council on Foreign Relations you can see who we are actually up against, with respect to the One World Government who has decided to own the planet.
China and Russia plus all the other countries do not want the US Super Rich and their Foreign Investor partners (does the Saudi Royal Family ring any bells?), et al., to own the planet.
Hugo Chavez has joined with all the nation states who are sovereign and they all agree, America is no longer the super power and we do NOT get to own planet Earth.
This is pissing the Neocons off royally (little play on words and pun intended).
Just get ready for the economic collapse which is a definite and as a back up plan prepare for a nuclear holocaust because these idiots in the White House are truly stark raving mad.
Cheney is still in charge of the war agenda and this is truly our greatest danger with respect to full spectrum annihilation.
Good luck, be well. I shall have our mortgage web blog as more than just a work in progress, soon, and there is a resource page of how to get off the grid in multiple forms.
Live each day with the joy of celebrating life and think about all the little things that bring a smile to our hearts and minds.
I love LG's rants and Dale's voice of reason. It's like free weights and calisthetics for my brain.
Ah. LG...Thou Speakest My Innermost Thoughts.
Thank you for sharing and know your 'rant' is logical and coherent thought to another person on this misled fucked up planet.
yellow dog -- Don't confuse "reason" with "conventional wisdom".
Yellow Dog~
Stick with your 'work out' routine and don't allow G-crakr's implied disparagement of 'conventional wisdom' throw you.
Unconventional does not automatically confer a greater wisdom on a subject or person, and sometimes the conventional is as wise as the alternative or the unconventional.
There are no hard and fast rules and your only guideline is to use your analytical skills.
Also, beware the 'echo chamber'. I frequent this site for all the positive reasons we've shared with Mollie. However, kindred souls owe it to each other to push back when we disagree or feel that there is another viewpoint, conventional or otherwise, that may be as valid or more valid.
In any case, you didn't see any arguments that refuted either the accuracy of my statements or the accuracy/validity of the points of view at the web sites I referred to.
I say we nuke the bastards!
Iran is a dangerous rogue element which menaces the world. Consider:
Its government, as currently constituted is a dangerous and backward theocracy. Everything the leadership believes in is inimical to the American conception of well-ordered liberty. Their people have no privacy and are spied upon by their own government. They obviously care very little for diplomacy and thumb their noses at international law and the processes of dispute resolution provided by the United Nations.
To top it off, these people, within recent memory, squandered lives and wasted valuable treasure fighting a bloody and pointless war with Iraq!
It kind of reminds me of another country, though I can't quite remember which one.
But, really, LG: Anyone who hates American ideals as much as the Republicans can't be gotten rid of soon enough.
Doomsayer--There is no hiding from this, we must be the ones who at least attempt to stop the inevitable.
Betty Cracker--I know what you mean, I wake up every morning fearing the headline "We Nuked Iran". It doesn't matter that our President has no legal authority for such a move, he's shown us how much respect he has for the Constitution.
Gratis--I guess as soon as we start leading the way. Perhaps a trail of Pringles from the television to the town square would work.
Anonymous--Thanks for that, a little perspective is always good.
Chadonbeni--It makes me sad how right you are.
Don--it is crazy making to watch the media have as little intellectual curiosity about the reality of Iran as they did about the reality of Iraq. They are proving that they are unwilling to learn.
Dale--Your liberal bona fides are never in question and I count on you to talk me off the ledge. Although, decaf is out of the question.
Mike Meyer--I love the firecracker bit!
Dale--You don't need any help from me, and thanks for injecting your reason to counter my rant. I wouldn't have it any other way, and usually I learn something about having a balanced approach.
Roberta--Don't apologize for raining on the parade. Rain is necessary for us to grow, plus you threw in the other crucial ingredient, a little sunshine at the end.
Yellow Dog--An all around good workout!
Jae--Some day I hope we will both be able to look back and say, "That sure was a close call," and we can both be proud that we didn't take it lying down.
GeoCrackr--Speaking of conventional wisdom, I wish there were some real debate about Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. Everyone (conventional wisdom again) seems to agree that "we must stop Iran" but I simply don't agree. It might be the preferred plan, but it also might be simply too late for that. Mutually assured destruction has its place, and this may end up being one of them (although they are decades away from being an actual threat to us, so for the foreseeable future, we will continue to have the upper hand).
Dale--Yes, kindred souls to owe that to each other! I look forward to your resistance to certain sentiments I express, without it, I can't learn and grow, which ultimately is the goal. Thank you for speaking your mind and rest assured that I (and many others I'm sure) hear you. I don't ever want to be stuck in an echo chamber, then I'd be no better than BushCo.
Tony C--I love a good bit of satire! That one was great, thanks.
LG, G-craker, no harm no foul. Blogging and commenting is a 'collision sport'!
“Because ideas live, because imagination is the key to wisdom, John Stuart Mill was surely right to contend that if we give in to the urge to suppress that which is error—even very offensive and dangerous error—we lose a benefit as great as truth itself, namely ‘the clear perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.’”
Dale--That's a great quote, thanks!
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