Month: May 2009

Dick Cheney’s descent into mental illness


dick_cheneyIt’s safe to say Dick Cheney has lost his mind.  There’s so much wrong with this individual and his perception of reality that for the public good he needs to be locked up in a mental facility or jail or one of the two that houses the other.  In fact, Obama should put Cheney out of his misery and prosecute him for torture, but Obama doesn’t seem to have the heart to put the mad dog Cheney away.  Cheney’s attempt on Obama’s life should be all the catalyst the Holder led Justice Department needs to lock him up and throw away the key.  In language that was called treasonous just a few short years ago, Cheney said a sitting President of the United States was endangering the safety of America through his policies which overturned those of the Bush/Cheney era.  Such highly inflammatory comments against such a symbolic president as Obama are enough to get the crazies all hot and bothered.  It’s not enough that one sicko has already been found who felt the same thing as Cheney and sought to act on that belief, now America is faced with the specter that  other wackos duly encouraged by Cheney’s remarks may feel it an obligation to answer the call to protect the Homeland from Obama.

Cheney’s other gaffe was to elevate the status of a draft dodger and entertainer over that of a retired Army  general and civil servant who served his country honorably in both capacities.  Questioning Colin Powell’s commitment to party politics, especially after Powell’s shameful display he made at the UN in defense of the Bush push to war with Iraq is disgusting.  I guess Cheney forgot how Powell made him, Cheney, look good during the first Gulf war when as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Powell decimated Saddam Hussein’s army and country while showcasing a strong and powerful American military to the world under Cheney’s leadership.  Only Cheney, and his selection of neocons are to blame for the lackluster US military that now still sits in Iraq because of bad planning and inept leadership, which Powell on the other hand had nothing to do with.

The only way to legitimately  shut Cheney up is to prosecute him for the crimes of torture, a prosecution that would certainly lead to a conviction with all the evidence so far compiled against him.  Doing so would preoccupy Cheney with his own defense and tone down the  rhetoric and free time he seems to enjoy with nothing else constructive to do than take pot shots at Obama.  I am increasingly amazed at the impotence of the Obama administration at threats from hostile politicians at home and abroad.  As long as he is careless there is a lot more at stake than just his political reputation or reelection.  Cheney is one such threat, and he needs to be put out of his misery for his own sake and for the sake of the country.  Mr. Obama….are you listening?

The Joke called Somali pirates


It simply doesn’t exist,but because it stirs up images of a recent past, the US conflict in Somali in the ’90s and an even more distant past America is bound to get involved in east Africa again.  It doesn’t matter that only one percent of shipping through the Gulf of Aden is affected, and I’d venture to say with a few well armed and trained Blackwater mercs on board the numbers would be even fewer, or that despite the media characterization these “pirates” are manning wooden motorboats and carrying small arms,  the US and some within government are determined to re-invade Somalia because the problem of pirates must be addressed on shore….there is a “shore dimension” a nicely worded way of saying American forces must be on the ground in Somalia.  I don’t understand this fascination America has with Somalia.  We encouraged Ethiopia to go to war and invade Somalia and are threatening to do the same ourselves because of motorboats and two to three dozen hard core jihadists who have arrived in  Somalia from the mountains of Pakistan/Afghanistan.  (have they really?) Add to that the Hezbollah forces Israel  “says” are in east Africa and you have the potential for east Africa becoming the most dangerous region in the world, certainly worthy of more American blood and largesse, a la Iraq, and the mother of all misdirection plays.   Remember how we were fighting them there in Iraq so we wouldn’t have to fight them here in America?  That same kind of simplistic language was used to fuel anti-communist hysteria in the ’50s and ’60s.   Some of the greatest fraud known to man was taking place from the coffers of the once rich and powerful America, during the Iraq debacle, reducing the US to a debtor country teetering on the brink of financial ruin.  This kind of rhetoric of Somali pirates who need to be dealt with by American forces,  should no longer find an audience in America but it still does and we are the worse for it. It’s somewhat ironic the same images are plaguing a Democratic president, Obama,  who has been compared to another Democratic president, Kenneday,  who gave in to the impulses for war in a foreign land, Vietnam, that was no threat to American intersts where a large number of Americans died.  My solution to Somali pirates is the same as it would be for any thug on the street.  Let those who ply their trade on the water arm themselves and be prepared to defend their cargo. If its worth profitting from its worth defending, absent the US Navy.  Blackwater could use a contract or two.

Egypt finally has the courage to ‘say the right thing’


Yes, I know they have their own problems, the Egyptians do, with their special brand of democracy and their nose planted firmly in the behind of an American foreign policy which allows for renditions of Muslims from all over the world to their bases to be tortured or disappeared, but it was all in the interest of American interests, right?  But now, they have taken a somewhat independent track by their pronouncement that Israeli nukes are a greater threat to security in the region  than Iranian ones. In my mind that’s not really saying much since at the moment Iran doesn’t have any nuclear weapons whereas Israel does, but it’s the symbolism that counts, and it’s significant for obvious reasons.  A state has taken a critical position against Israel at a time when the Jewish state refuses to accept, acknowledge or even entertain criticism of its actions.  There’s no indication the Egyptian statement will be met with anything other than typical Israeli obfuscation and bluster.Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmo’s flippant ‘unless he produces evidence to support his claims’ statement is an indication of that.  Would that someone said to Palmo the same when he asserts so vividly that Iran has nuclear weapons it has threatened its neighbors with. (Let’s not forget, Iran has inspectors monitoring its nuclear program, Israel doesn’t.  Fancy that.)  And all this comes on the news that Israel had a practice run from its border to Gilbraltar in preparation for a strike against Europe…..err make that Iran.  Coming so soon after warning the European Union that it would not tolerate criticism of the new government, the flight path of Israeli warplanes practicing for a strike against a country 180 degrees in the other direction clearly is meant to send more than a few  signs.  In light of that, Egypt was right to say what it said.  The “evidence” is rather overwhelming; what’s unfortunate is Egypt lacks the moral authority to make that call; it surrendered it as did the US when it gave in to the dark side of US foreign policy and embraced torture as its rule of law.  Unencumbered by such moral indignation, Israel feels free to do whatever it pleases and is taking the world perilously close to another war of death and destruction.  Why we continue to embrace an ally who takes us down that path is anyone’s  guess.

A thumbs up appointment


daliaGlad to see it, although I don’t know what it is she’ll be doing exactly. President Obama signed an executive order setting up a new body at the White House called the “Office of Religious Partnerships” to support religious institutions and strengthen inter-faith dialogue and government ties. The advisory group, consisting of 25 religious and secular representatives, is to report to the president on the role religion can play in resolving social problems and addressing civil rights issues. Dalia Mogahed, seen here on the left, has been given a position in the advisory group.  It’s really about time. This country is made up of many different types, shapes, colors, sizes of  individuals many of them not represented enough in our government, so it’s appropriate to see a Muslim woman who at least externally, takes her religion, way of life seriously.  I look forward to seeing and hearing a Muslim describe her own religion rather than have it filtered by someone who knows it but doesn’t live it. It’s time to remove the filters that have confined social discourse and let the “objects” speak for themselves.  I hope Ms. Mogahed can live up to what is really  a daunting task.

Israel Warns EU to tone down


Warnings usually accompany threats, as in ‘if you don’t stop doing this I’m going to do something in response’, so what is Israel’s warning of consequence?

Israel warned the European Union on Thursday to tone down its criticism of the new Israeli government or risk forfeiting the bloc’s role as broker in Mideast peace efforts.

So my question is what is it Israel can threaten the European Union with? Israeli military threats against Europe have been made before and with rabid Israeli politicians now in power, the implication of Israel’s warning is probably not lost on Europeans.  Also, Israel has never accepted the EU’s role as a peace broker, the latest Gaza offensive, is proof of that when the Israelis bombed, strafed and blocked aid supplies to Palestinians in Gaza which came from Europe.  What is really at stake here is Israeli access to European markets.  The Israelis want to ply their trade of espionage, industrial, political and military and they can’t do that now as easily as they can in the US.  Evidently old habits die hard in the relations between Europeans and Jews.