Bush's resistance to climate change reality is futile

Filled with sound and fury, but signifying nothing new, the George W. Bush administration made a grand show today of caring about climate change (see the New York Times story Bush Outlines Proposal on Climate Change). The thinly veiled, politically orchestrated State Department conference had Bush playing the same false notes, in a lame duck overture to a world at odds with the United States' propensity for solo performances.

Lurking behind the curtain at this Texas two-step on the world stage were the usual corporate interests pulling the levers of the administration's environmental and energy policies. Bush likes to emphasize the need for each nation to find their own way, but that's just his way of ignoring any mandates imposed by global bodies.

Bush also claims that the U.S. is dedicated to investing in eco-friendly technologies, but we only ever spend money on sparkling new ball gowns to cover up the fat hogs of old, polluting industry. Clean coal and nuclear power are not the answer to our problems. Nor is a strategy for "energy independence" that involves searching out new, domestic oil reserves rather than exploring ways to escape fossil fuel dependency entirely.

Most in the audience were rightly skeptical of the performers' role playing, seeing through the Bushies attempt to slow down the building momentum toward a global consensus on the need to drastically reduce carbon emissions. We're all getting pretty tired of these endless meetings where nothing concrete is ever decided, and only vague goals are embraced.

What's holding the U.S. back? Perhaps Bush is hoping for a deus-ex-machina ending to this production, in which some miraculous and divine force comes to the rescue of our endangered planet. Maybe, like the Graham Parker tune below, he's looking for an alien cavalry to ride to our rescue. Thankfully in less than 18 months he'll have plenty of free time to search the night sky for that heavenly posse.

Waiting for the UFOs
by Graham Parker

No-one can hide it anymore
We know it's not imagining
Even the skeptics are unsure
When they stop to think
People are not worth their life now
They are obsolete
We're dying to be invaded
And put the blame on something concrete

Waiting for the UFOs
Waiting for the UFOs
We are waiting for the UFOs
We know that they're there

We're just a joke they sometimes crack,
they'll get away with anything
The government is holding back,
they won't say a word
Now is that a light in sky
or just a spark in my heart?
Can I accept this as evidence
or will that tear the whole act apart?

Waiting for the UFOs
Waiting for the UFOs
We are waiting for the UFOs
We know that they're there

This new obsession is turning us alien too
Much more resounding my heart just stopped pounding for you

Waiting for the UFOs
Waiting for the UFOs
We are waiting for the UFOs
Waiting Waiting

Trial & Error in 21st Century America

I recently watched Orson Welles' interpretation of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial, and was struck with the film's eerie resonance for our own time. Welles treatment was made in 1962 (see the Internet Movie Database entry for details on the production), and his lens onto the story differed quite a bit from Kafka's 1920 central European perspective (the novel was published in 1925 from an unfinished manuscript, after the author's death). There are, however, certain universal themes in the plot that span generations and languages.

In very short order, the novel and film both tell the tale of Joseph K who wakes one morning to find himself under arrest for a charge that's never explained. He then engages in a existentialist struggle to navigate through the maze of a legal system that offers one of only two possible outcomes: madness or death. Just walking through the opressive halls of "justice" in the movie's absurdist society physically sickens K, as the stale air draws the very breath from his lungs.

The film can be a bit uneven, bouncing between the farcical and attempts at profundity, but it hits its stride in the later acts. All of the people K encounters in his wanderings through the system are trapped in their situations, much like him. Whether accused or employed by the State, they blindly accept their places in its drama and unquestioningly act out their roles. Free Will only exists within the narrow array of choices not so benevolently granted to them by the various strata of judges who interpret the system's inscrutable laws.

As The Trial draws to its climax, K discovers the impossibility of his situation, and realizes that he can only escape by not playing this lunatic's game. In the flick's most dramatic scene, K (Anthony Perkins) tries to dismiss his advocate Albert Hastler (Orson Welles). Hastler humiliates another client in order to demonstrate to K the unavoidable fate of the accused at the hands of the State. In Welles' trademark godly bass, the Advocate tells K, "To be in chains is sometimes safer than to be free." The guilt of the accused has become inconsequential, all that matters is the perpetuation of the system the laws prop up.

In George W's post-9/11 America, Joseph K's nightmare scenario has become too common a possibility for America's enemies both real and imaginary, foreign and internal. Those who fall into the ever-widening grouping of the "accused" can be detained indefinitely, hidden from public view without ever being formally charged or facing their accuser. The American people have gone along with this mad interpretation of U.S. Constitutional law, convinced that it's in the best interests of national security. We've followed Hastler's advice and bartered freedom for the appearance of safety.

Like Joseph K, we need to reject the prescribed roles we've been given in this absurdist drama. Unlike the inevitable doom faced by the hero of Kafka's dark vision, however, I believe in the possibility for us to creatively escape our condition. We just need to imagine a new set of rules and work to create a world that plays by them.

Who's watching the watchers?

For those of us who hoped that things would be different once the Democrats took control of Congress, optimism's flame was doused by the donkey-brained titular leadership who once again lived down to their function as loyal opposition and approved George W's latest request for more powers of empire.

The Dems proved more concerned with election cycle appearances than standing up for principles; of course that implies that they have some. Worried that they'd be taken to task next Fall as weak on national defense, they meekly caved in to Prez Bush and passed his version of an update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that greatly expands the Government's ability to surveil Americans.

It used to be that the Fearless Leader needed to prove probable cause before a court of law in order to tap our wires. Now, the executive with priveleges can eavesdrop at will, using his time-honored justification of preserving national security. With both Congress and the Court abdicating their roles as checks on his unbalanced positions, Bush is gleefully tearing away pieces from our Consitution much as a young lover pulls petals off a daisy. Rather than inquiring after love however, the Misruler is gauging our fear.

At least the Media seems to be catching on to the significance of Bush's shenanigans. Here's a little tidbit from the Dan Froomkin's article Who's Afraid of George W. Bush? that ran in the Washington Post:

Despite his 65 percent job-disapproval rating, Bush was able to cow congressional Democrats over the weekend into granting him unprecedented authority to eavesdrop on the international telephone calls and e-mail messages of American citizens without warrants.

The Los Angeles Times also called the Dems to task for their cowardly abandonment of the people's best interests. Here's an excerpt from their OpEd piece The politics of fear:

That this flawed legislation was approved by a Democratic Congress is a reminder that many in the party are still fearful that they will be labeled "soft on terror" if they don't give this administration what it wants when it wants it. But the party may be equally injured by the perception that it won't stand up for what it believes.

As the traditional mechanisms of accountability are eroded away by the tidal wave of government over-reaction, the onus will fall more and more on we Americans to defend the Constitution and vote out all of these weak-kneed pols. As rife as that demographic is in both parties right now, we may just need to start our own political movement to accomplish anything.

Until then, I'll find solace as always in my music; listening to Watching the Detectives, as the morally defective watch and listen to me. Maybe they also enjoy Elvis Costello?

Watching the Detectives
by Elvis Costello

Nice girls, not one with a defect
Cellophane shrink-wrapped, so correct
Red dogs under illegal legs
She looks so good that he gets down and begs

She is watching the detectives
"Ooh, he's so cute"
She is watching the detectives
When they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
They beat him up until the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart

Long shot at that jumping sign
Invisible shivers running down my spine
Cut to baby taking off her clothes
Close-up of the sign that says "We never close"
He snatches at you and you match his cigarette
She pulls my eyes out with a face like a magnet
I don't know how much more of this I can take
She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake

You think you're alone until you realize you're in it
Now fear is here to stay, love is here for a visit
They call it instant justice when it's past the legal limit
Someone's scratching at the window, I wonder who is it?
The detectives come to check if you belong to the parents
Who are ready to hear the worst about their daughter's disappearance
Though it nearly took a miracle to get you to stay
It only took my little fingers to blow you away

Just like watching the detectives
Don't get cute
It's just like watching the detectives
I get so angry when the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart

Watching the detectives
It's just like watching the detectives
Watching the detectives
Watching the detectives

Two hours of the power of darkness

Did you sense a chill running up your spine at approximately 7:16am EDT this morning? Maybe a sudden heaviness weighed on your shoulders? Or a dark cloud seemed to hover over your mind? Did it suddenly lift about two hours later?

Well, here is the explanation:

Bush Reclaims Power After Colonoscopy
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer

CAMP DAVID, Md. (AP) - President Bush transferred the powers of his office to Vice President Dick Cheney for more than two hours Saturday while under sedation for a colon cancer screening. ...

At 7:16 a.m. EDT, Bush invoked the disability clause and transferred his authority to Cheney. The vice president was at his home on the Chesapeake Bay in St. Michaels, Md., about 30 miles east of Washington.

Bush reclaimed his presidential powers and duties at 9:21 a.m. EDT. ...

Read the full article

Cafe Society: Randomness Part I

If you spend a lot of time socializing in cafés like I do, you've probably experienced the wonderful chaos of well-caffeinated conversation. There's something about the coffee buzzed mind, when it gets to whirring, that spins out some pretty interestingly random trains of thought.

As evidence, I offer up three different examples of the divergent branches of digressive discourse that I navigated with friends across two different local chattering holes (with a stop at the police station in between). I'll divide the wide-ranging topics into 3 posts: anagrams, acronyms and the PATRIOT Act; linguistics, gourmets and gourmands; theater, gay rights, and George Grosz. Yes, I have way too much time on my hands.

I. Packaging ideas for mass consumption: Mmm, taste the misinformation

Our conversations at the cafés always start out innocently enough — a piece of witty banter, a joke, or an off-handed obsevation — but we soon find ourselves inevitably winding our way into the political realm, wonkishly impaired as we are. So it began once more today: the chance observation of an anagram used in the same sentence with a friend's name (take and kate).

From anagram to acronym is a pretty easy mental jump, and trying to determine if the initials of organizational and legislative names configure themselves into any interesting combinations is a personal pastime (derived from years of listening to Chicago play-by-play great Harry Caray's old habit of pronouncing batters' names backwards). My friend George had to fill out a police report for a stolen license plate sticker (one of the incidental joys of living in the 'hood), and the name of the form that the helpful officer handed him spelled MIER, which sounded close enough to "mire" to amuse me.

Ah, but my mind-game amusement didn't end there, as the discussion of acronyms led me to cite the PATRIOT Act as one unshining example of their pernicious use by our dear leader. As hated as that little piece of unconstitutional shennanigans is in my circles of activity, few realize or recall that the name of the legislative trickery is actually an acronym. It's such a long and convoluted series of words, I haven't ever been able to commit them to memory. A few incorrect but more accurate possibilities did come to mind:

• Perpetrating Atrocities That Really Increase Our Terror


• Persuading Americans to Trample Rights Indiscriminately Over Terror


• Politicians Acting Tough and Realizing Income from Official Terror

Upon later investigation, I learned the preposterously extended true full name of the Act, which includes a USA in front (brace yourselves): Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act.

Once you get past the name to take a much closer look at what's in it, you'll see the degree to which this piece of political perversion opened up a pandora's box of domestic snooping; giving license to here-to-fore illegal searches and seizures, as well as general violations of your rights to free speech and privacy. The American Library Association is a good resource for understanding the implicaitons of the Act. See, USA PATRIOT Act and Intellectual Freedom.

It's amazing how well George W. Bush masked the absurdly nefarious details of the Act with his catchy little play on post 9/11 patriotic fervor. As they say, a spoonful of sugar helps the poison go down — not to mention the coffee.

Ah, but my java fueled musings have just begun ... stay tuned.

(Our lack of) Knowledge is (Their) Power

Today the Bush administration got hit with another revelation by a former insider describing attempts to alter and suppress scientific information in order to promote favored policies. The Bushies' latest detractor is former Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona, who accuses the President's office of playing politics with a position meant to act as the nation's guide on health issues.

Testifying alongside Dr. Carmona before a Congressional oversight hearing was Dr. C. Everett Koop, who held the head doc position under Ronald Reagan. Koop expressed the same exasperation with the direspect shown to his successor. Carmona was made subordinate to political appointees whose objective it was to spin policy rather than report scientific findings.

Here are a few excerpts from the AP story as it appears on the Guardian Unlimited site:

Carmona Says Administration Muzzled Him
By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush's most recent surgeon general accused the administration Tuesday of muzzling him for political reasons on hot-button health issues such as emergency contraception and abstinence-only education. ...

[A] report, on global health challenges, was never released after the administration demanded changes that he refused to make, Carmona said.

"I was told this would be a political document or you're not going to release it." Carmona said. "I said it can't be a political document because the surgeon general never releases political documents. I release scientific documents that will help our elected officials and the citizens understand the complex world we live in and what their responsibilities are." ...

Read the full article

This follows and echoes a very similar story told in last month's Rolling Stone about the manipulation of EPA reports in order to create doubt and confusion in the public mind about the cause and severity of global climate change (see my earlier post). It's also got a very familiar ring to previous disclosures on the cooking of intelligence in the lead up to the Iraq War. For a final clue as to the Prez's brainwashing bent, there was the tried and true Bush tactic of paying pseudo-journalists to produce stories that promoted specific policies and agendas.

What's it all about, Alfie? Nothing more or less than info war. Yes, in today's world there is no more important task than controlling the narrative that defines people's reality, especially when information can spread so quickly. Is anyone really surprised that this American government has so brazenly embraced that former scourge of words used to revile the misinformation disseminated by all our enemies past, present and future: Propaganda?

Bush and his coterie of neo-Cons understand the modern truism that those who control information, control society. This is why they've pursued all tools available to them to extend their network of surveillance, while at the same time over-using the plea of executive privelege to guard their own secrets. It's why they have also embarked on an unrelenting propaganda campaign to undermine scientific evidence and sew enough public confusion on critical issues to prevent popular opposition to their nationally destructive agenda.

Our current political environment is dominated by extreme ideologues, who will pursue any means to ensure the dominance of their worldview. Pure power politics have taken over, and all tactics are fair game to achieve their ends. Nothing is beyond the pale, not even violating the sanctity of the US Constitution. The only defense against them is truth, exposure and accountability, but that will take an intellectually curious and politically active electorate.

George Orwell's 1984 forecasted it a bit early, but doublethink has found a home in the Washington, DC of the early 21st Century. We need to get past the confusion of deceptively named initiatives such as Clear Skies (lowered air quality standards) and Healthy Forests (eased clear-cutting by loggers), and re-assert the facts. Like the novel's Winston Smith, we're in peril of being convinced that "two plus two makes five," just because the corporatized State insists it's so and has industry-sponsored reports to prove it.

The Truth About Dick: He's The Man Who Sold The World

Over at the Climate Of Our Future blog, I put up a post summarizing an article from this month's Rolling Stone magazine that should be required reading for all Americans. It reveals the depths of deceit and corruption to which the Bush administration, under Dick Cheney's particularly nefarious influence, has descended. It gives the truth to their lies about the lack of evidence linking carbon emissions and climate change, and exposes the real nature of the pseudo science they've used to promote a pro-oil agenda, much as they cooked intelligence to goad a coalition of the coerced into the Iraq War. Here is an excerpt from my post there (ah, the joys of self-reference):

"The story Mr. Dickinson constructs from this evidence will shock even the most cynical among Bush's critics. Upon taking the reigns of the administration's energy policy, not only did Cheney try to gut the EPA of scientists that ExxonMobil viewed as critics, but he installed industry lobbyists to run the Council on Environmental Quality, which became Cheney’s 'shadow EPA.' The CEQ's express mission was to create enough doubt and confusion in the public mind on the causes and degree of climate change to mute calls for immediate federal action. The agency also promoted junk science that was published by organizations the oil companies funded."

Read my full post (Rolling Stone Exposes Cheney’s Oil Driven Propaganda Machine), or skip to the long but well-written original article (The Secret Campaign of President Bush’s Administration To Deny Global Warming) by Tim Dickinson.

Earlier this year I had featured a favorite song lyric with no additional commentary. I'm taking this occasion to resurrect those words and embue them with added meaning. The song goes out to Dick and all his fellow evil servants of petroleum's private profit rather than the public good:

The Man Who Sold The World by David Bowie

You'll never look at Dick's grinchy smile the same way again. We always knew that smirk was hiding some dark secret.

Treating a cancer in the White House

Today is the 61st birthday of our dear leader King George W, so I thought I might give him a proper tribute. Things haven't gone so well lately for the Emperor with Closed Mind, but I'll do my best to cheer him up so he's not too crabby on this his special day.

First, he should know that there are others out there besides the neo-cons who are applauding his little maneuver to spring Scooter. Here's a very informative piece written by former Monty Pythoner Terry Jones congratulating our prez on his new found madness for mercy: A president transformed. I, like Mr. Jones, am brimming with positive expectation that this is the turning of a new leaf and the start of the compassionate conservative era that was promised once upon a time.

Second, there's some hopeful news in the stars. It turns out that it's not too late for this Chief Executioner to change his deadly ways. For George and all the other cancers out there in the world, here is an instructive little horoscope I found on the Los Angeles Times website:

Cancer (June 22-July 22). Education and tolerance go hand in hand. When you know more about the lives others are leading, you can respect their choices. By exploring the way others live, you gain sophistication of thought.

Education and tolerance, those are two magic words that could salvage Georgie's legacy yet. Picking up books and newspapers could be the start of a whole new Bush burning with optimism's flame. It's hard for a man to be so isolated from the folks he serves and gain that sought after sophistication of thought, so maybe George can walk a mile in our shoes before sending us all off to Guantanamo for choosing to fight for such crazy notions as freedom of speech.

George could spend some time in the fields, picking fruit with the immigrant workers he wants to extort before granting amnesty. He could spend some time in the inner cities breathing the particulate matter choked air that his friends in the fossil fuel industry want to continue polluting. He can take the long 3-bus ride from my neighborhood down to the only public hospital in Chicago serving the uninsured, to see what it's like for the tens of millions of Americans with no way to pay for quality health care.

Granted, that's a lot to do for a lame duck with only 18 months left in office, but real education isn't easy or quick. It's a birthday gift that will keep on giving, and you'll thank me George when you're finally able to sleep at night no longer tortured by the demons of your unforgiveable sins.

Getting a head start on Bush's legacy

Historians usually wait until a president has passed on before settling on a legacy he's left behind from his term in office. Considering how early we're jumpstarting the 2008 Election, I thought I'd take the opportunity now to review a few leavings from George W's years of misrule.

My main provocation for the effort is today's news that the Supremely Reactionary Court has taken the country back another step toward its golden years of repression and discrimination (see Across U.S., a New Look at School Integration Efforts from the New York Times).

This follows the absurd ruling from earlier in the year where the conservative block, anchored by Bush's appointments (Alito and Roberts, the titular supreme supreme), sided with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Corporation, which openly discriminated against a female employee by giving her smaller raises than her male counterparts (see US supreme court v women from the Guardian Unlimited).

The make-up of the court, and the damage that they do to civil rights and constitutional law going forward will certainly be one of Georgie's most lasting legacies, but it's not the only detrimental detritus that has fallen from his office. The Iraq War and its prosecution will certainly rank among the greatest US boondoggles, sapping the strength of our economy as it consumes the lives of our young soldiers. The trickle down affect from this little piece of neo-conservative pocket-lining has already begun, siphoning off funding from our city, county and state governments and costing us needed social services.

The legacy doesn't end there of course. Let's not forget the Prez's environmental track record, with his refusal to sign on to Kyoto and his Dick Cheney conspired energy policy that handsomely rewarded a fossil fuel industry that is churning the carbon into our atmosphere and charring our earth with drought and the other deleterious byproducts of an unstable climate.

Speaking of the Vice Lord, the news has been filled with outrage over his his recent refusal to disclose documents that could reveal just how illegal and unethical the tenure of this administration has been (see Cheney, master of stealth, readies himself for the final act of 'imperial' vice-presidency from the Independent). The Bushies have shown an amazing ability to circumvent the most time-honored and sacrosanct provisions of our Constitution. Whether it's creating extra-judicial procedures for enemy combatants, using signing statements to infringe on the legislative branch, abrogating habeus corpus, or illegally executing wiretaps, their sins have been great and their penetance lacking.

So after a literally torturous 8 years in office, these fine exploiters of people and resources will depart back to their darkened corporate boardrooms to count their winnings and revel in the waste to which our country and its founding principles have been laid. As they pack up their belongings and vacate the White House, the decimated Nation should join together with requisite venom and sing the last verse of Bob Dylan's Masters of War:

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead

Blogging in the moonlight

Because one blog can't contain my out-sized thoughts, I've begun moonlighting as a regular contributor to the Climate of Our Future blog (COOF).

I'll still be posting my wide-ranging, twisted takes on the news, politics, philosophy, art, literature and music (etc., etc.) here at Caught in the Stream, but you can also see my more narrowly focused views on the environment and climate change over at COOF.

In fact, my first specifically targeted COOF piece is up now, with all the irreverence to our dear leader Geoge W and his energy policy that you've come to expect. Check it out here:

Bush goes nuclear: what a waste

Pope bows down to Bush, and we all feel a little dirtier

Pope Benedict XVI continues to impress with his ability to stand up for the status quo, embrace the powerful, and dismiss the oppressed. He's certainly filling the shoes of St. Peter quite nobly (please insert sarcastic tone).

The Pope met with Emperor George W yesterday at the Vatican, and there was no need to flip a coin to see who would kiss the other's ring first. Benny already had his lips pursed.

Below is an excerpt from the Washington Post story on the meeting (and the link to the full text, as always). I picked three paragraphs that I found particularly insightful.

First, there's the narrowly focused bit about being concerned for Christians in Iraq. Granted he is a Christian leader, but shouldn't a truly religious man concern himself with the well-being of all people regardless of race or creed? Innocents are dying in Iraq and that should be the operative issue, no matter where they line up for services. I'm not a Biblical scholar by any means, but the Gospel stories I recall from my Catholic upbringing certainly depicted Jesus taking unto himself the poor, sick and downtrodden — and he didn't inquire as to their particular religious beliefs before helping them. Of course, there were no Christians then, per se.

Second, there is the exhibition of extreme bravery in making nice with a leader whose pursuit of war you've previously questioned. It points out the political nature of the Vatican — it's not just about faith and morality, and of course never has been. Does anyone really buy the "Just War" theory on Iraq anymore? Is the naked pursuit of geo-political advantage through open aggression something that Jesus blessed in his short time on earth? I guess I missed that sermon.

Finally, to top off my Sunday with a cherry, there is the wonderful juxtaposition of the Pope bowing down before the Emperor as the Bush administration is accused of overseeing human rights violations through rendition and torture. George did boast about the nickel he tossed in Africa's collection plate during the G8 summit. He forgot to bring up his sin of omission on climate change, however. The Pope may want to take confession after this particularly dirty little visit, or atleast undergo a thorough scrubbing — the body is much easier to clean than the soul. His opinions on doctrinal questions may be considered infallible, but he certainly errs in the company he chooses to keep.

Pope Tells Bush of His Concern About Safety of Iraq's Christians
By Michael A. Fletcher

President Bush met Saturday for the first time with Pope Benedict XVI, who the Vatican said expressed concern about "the worrying situation in Iraq," especially the deteriorating plight of Christians there. ...

The Vatican has been critical of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, but both sides said they did not dwell on those differences Saturday. ...

Just before Bush arrived in Rome on Friday, a court in the northern Italian city of Milan opened the trial of 26 Americans who Italian prosecutors say are CIA operatives who kidnapped an Egyptian cleric in 2003 in Milan and sent him to Egypt. None of the Americans has come to Italy for the trial, which has become a point of friction between the United States and Italy.

Read the full article

Ruled by a god of war, US has ways to go for peace

As has been widely reported today, and I'm sure just as widely blogged about, the US was ranked a pretty shabby 96th (out of 121 countries) on the new Global Peace Index. The index scores were tabulated based on 24 factors that include: domestic access to guns; defense spending; human rights record; government corruption; and involvement in wars.

There will be a lot of debate about the methodology, especially on the right-wing, and even the authors try to defray that by mentioning as an excuse the US role as "one of the world's military-diplomatic powers." Even that characterization, however, might anger the conservative hyper-nationalists who like to see us as "the sole super power."

What's indisputable, at least in my eyes, is that the depth of our lowly status can be directly attributable to the policies of George W Bush and his neo-con consorts. In addition to an adventurist, militaristic foreign policy that's led us into wars both overt and covert, W has pursued a domestic agenda that's drastically cut social spending (in deference to cold-war era levels of defense spending) and exacerbated the root causes of violence in our streets. Not that we were very good at peace before Bush II. We've led the world in arms exports for quite some time.

As for the best at peace: Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, Ireland, and Japan comprise the top 5 nations. Iraq, as you might have guessed, gets the dubious distinction of placing last.

Here's a quick glimpse of the other countries in our general index neighborhood:

91. Kenya — 2.258
92. Turkey — 2.272
93. Guatemala — 2.285
94. Trinidad & Tobago — 2.286
95. Yemen — 2.309
96. United States of America — 2.317
97. Iran — 2.320
98. Honduras — 2.390
99. South Africa — 2.399
100. Philippines — 2.428
101. Azerbaijan — 2.448

That's not really the best crowd to be hanging out with, but they might say the same of us.

Read the full press release, with the complete list of ranked countries.

I brainstormed an appropriate image for this post, and settled on a classic statue of the Greek god Ares (with a little likeness of George W tweaked in). In reading up on Ares at Answers.com, I discovered he does indeed have a lot in common with our dear leader.

Here's the definition attributed to the World Mythology Dictionary (emphasis added by me, if you hadn't guessed):

The Greek war god, the son of Zeus and Hera. An unpopular deity, Ares received serious worship only in central and northern Greece. In mythology he appears as an instigator of violence, a tempestuous lover, or an unscrupulous friend. Without any moral attributes, Ares can be bloody, merciless, fearful, and cowardly, in striking contrast to the Roman Mars.

Bush appoints new "Master of War"

Today, George W appointed his new War Czar (a reference to those beloved Russian tyrants of old, but don't get me started on the democracy vs. monarchy discussion again), because that's what it will take to turn this mess around, right? Lord knows all we've been lacking all along is the right corporate-style manager to "implement and execute" W's grand strategy. Of course it would help all involved if they could fathom just what that strategy is.

At least the new guy claims to have a skeptical mind, so he's not just another "yes man." Forgive me if I keep my own skepticism when it comes to that.

Here's a short blurb from the New York Times story:

White House Names General to Be ‘War Czar’
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

WASHINGTON, May 15 — The White House said this afternoon that President Bush ended his lengthy search for a “war czar” to carry out Iraq and Afghanistan policy by offering the job to an active duty three-star Army general who said in his interview that he had been skeptical of the troop buildup in Iraq.

Mr. Bush selected Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, currently the top operations officer for the Pentagon’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, for the position. It would carry the rank of assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser; General Lute will retain his active military status and, therefore, must be confirmed by the Senate, which approves new assignments for three- and four-star generals.

Read the full article

All of the War Czar talk, and the fact that the new guy has quite the musical name ("Lute"), brought to mind one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs: Masters of War. It sums up my sentiments on this whole administration. Charlie Pierce, Andy Levenberg and James Weigel have been playing a pretty kick-ass live version of the song over at Duke's in Rogers Park each Thursday nite. Come on by this week and check it our for yourself.

Masters of War by Bob Dylan

Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead

Copyright © 1963; renewed 1991 Special Rider Music

Favorite Song of the Day: God Save the Queen

You've probably seen the stories that the Queen of England visited with the head of the former colonies today (see Bush and Queen Celebrate Common Values from the New York Times, as one example). I guess most of the press is either too dim-witted or too steeped in the cult of celebrity to recognize the irony of an American President kowtowing to an English Royal. Then again, GW thinks he's above the law and has a divine right to rule so he's much closer to the old British monarchs than the people he's supposed to represent.

I for one like to honor the memory of our forefathers who gave the boot to monarchy and the tyranny it wrought around the world. There's no better way to do that than to dust off this oldie from those 70s bad-boy Brits, the Sex Pistols. Let's try to keep in mind what a parasitic little clan these Windsors actually are and give them a fittingly irreverent welcome.

God Save the Queen by Sex Pistols

God save the queen, her fascist regime
It made you a moron, a potential H bomb
God save the queen, she ain't no human being
There's no future in England's dreaming
Don't be told what you want
Don't be told what you need
There's no future, no future, no future for you
God save the queen, we mean it man
We love our queen, God saves
God save the queen 'cause tourists are money
And our figurehead is not what she seems
Oh God save history
God save your mad parade
Oh lord God have mercy
All crimes are paid
When there's no future how can there be sin
We're the flowers in the dustbin
We're the poison in your human machine
We're the future your future
God save the queen, we mean it man
We love our queen, God saves
God save the queen, we mean it man
There's no future in england's dreaming
No future, no future, no future for you
No future, no future, no future for me
No future, no future, no future for you

Today in History: Final US Withdrawal from Vietnam

I learned from Answers.com that on March 29, 1973 the last US soldiers withdrew from Vietnam ending our country's involvement in the war. They also have a lot of information on the war from a number of different sources (click here to read through it).

Coincidentally, perhaps, another withdrawal is in the news these days: the eventual withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.

Here are two recent articles from the New York Times:

Senate Passes War-Spending Bill With Iraq Deadline
By David Stout

WASHINGTON, March 29 — The Senate narrowly approved a war-spending bill today that calls for most American combat troops to be out of Iraq by March 31, 2008, and in so doing defied a veto threat by President Bush.

The 51-to-47 vote endorsed a $122 billion spending package, most of which would go to the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns, although some domestic spending is included.

Read full article

Democrats Are Building on Unity Over Iraq Pullout
By Robin Toner

WASHINGTON, March 28 — No one has seemed more surprised by the Democrats’ success in pushing an exit strategy for Iraq than the Democrats.

Their aggressiveness and unity on a major foreign-policy challenge to the president is a striking change for a party that has, on many occasions over many years, seemed to be on the defensive on national security issues.

Read full article

I know it gets under certain conservative folks' collective skin to compare Iraq to Vietnam in any way, and that comparison didn't serve John Kerry very well in 2004, but there's a pretty obvious historical lesson that George Bush and his followers with ideologically impaired vision need to grasp: All wars come to an end, troops eventually need to come home, and when they do come home they need to be treated with the respect and gratitude that their service merits.

The Bushies have taken to villifying their opponents as traitors and perpetrators of treason for trying to impose a deadline for withdrawal. They should get a better grasp of the concept of Representative Democracy. Popular will against this war was expressed pretty clearly last November, but our self-appointed Dictator George ("L'Etat C'est Moi") believes that he answers only to God, so he has refused to engage any discussion of withdrawal. In fact, he's pushing for a troop escalation.

It might help their cause with the American people if Bush et al explained exactly why we are still in Iraq. They've given quite a few different explanations for their military adventurism, and the story tends to change as the specific illogic gets exposed.

If their record so far in supporting the troops who have come home from the war is an indicator, they're the ones who have betrayed the soldiers (see 'It Is Just Not Walter Reed' from the Washington Post). In addition to the lives it's taking and devastating through scars both physical and mental, the war is costing our country billions of dollars that could be better spent on the needs of Americans here at home. Obstinacy in continuing to decimate the nation's treasury and the lives of our citizens (not to mention the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed in our name to date) under false pretenses is the true treason.

Favorite Song of the Day (Iraq War Anniversary)

Take Your Ticket by Old No. 8
(I think there are a couple mistakes, but ...)

Take your ticket to the station, get yourself up on that train.
Give your luggage to the porter, grab your seat 'n watch the rain.
Can't you hear that whistle blowin', don't it play a lonesome sound.
Leavin' all your love behind you, to your duty you are bound.

When your wife kissed you goodbye, you told her she shouldn't cry.
But deep inside you wonder how it's fair.
Told them that you would serve, in the Army Reserve.
You gave them all the weekends you could spare.

Put your finger on the trigger, feel the gun swing in your hand.
Look on out across the desert, taste the sweat and smell the sand.
Can't you hear those rounds discharging. Don't it make you miss your home.
Leavin' all your love behind you, oh if only you had known.

Thought that if there was a war,
Somethin' worth fighting for,
You'd proudly help your country stand up tall.
But Uncle Sam he's an oil man, with no respect for human life at all

Rest your hand upon the coffin, wipe the water from your eye.
Bend and kiss your fallen brother, say a prayer and say goodbye.
Can't you hear his widow wailin', don't it make life seem so sad.
Thinkin' of yourself as lucky, just to have back the things you had.

Back when you were a boy, and your life was a joy,
You never could conceive of so much pain.
But Uncle Sam turned you into a man,
And tell me whose the one that stands to gain.

And who says that war is a cause, greater than all our laws?
Whose the one who makes the final call?
And Uncle Sam he's an oil man,
With no respect for human life at all.