Category: Uncategorized

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I was right

Five plus years ago I received a nice letter from the White House informing me that the President appreciated my letters asking him not to go to war, but that he (the president) knew better and that we had committed our forces to battle with Saddam and eventually kill innocent civilians and destroy the country of Iraq. I wish I’d have been wrong. I wish there weren’t 4100 dead American soldiers who died in vain. I wish there weren’t another thirty thousand or so gravely wounded and I really wish there were no Iraqis dead as a result of American aggression.

A long-awaited Senate Select Intelligence Committee report made public Thursday concludes that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney made public statements to promote an invasion of Iraq that they knew at the time were not supported by available intelligence.–Read more here from the McClatchy News Service.

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David Rees

First thing I did after running nearly 9 kilometers this morning was come home to a refreshing shower and then off to check my Google Mail. I’m a fan of David Rees on Huffington Post and Dave must be an Obama fan because he had this nice clip Richie Havens singing “Here Comes the Sun.” I got a sense that Dave was feeling good that we had a ghost of a chance of getting a POTUS with an ounce of sense.  I’ve enjoyed Dave’s Get Your War On series of cartoons which began soon after September 11, 2001 and they’ve targeted the a lot of the Bush foreign policy. David Rees has kept me sane on more than one occasion. I’ve thought at times, “here’s a kindred soul.” I’d like to meet him or least hear him on C-Span. He does have a Wikipedia entry which is quite interesting. I hope you enjoy Richie.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PjBGnvuZtU]

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Triangulation

I listened to Scott McClellan discuss his new book, What Happened,  several times last week and just yesterday I listened to retired Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez discuss his new book, Wiser in Battle,  on NPR. I also just watched a couple of sources for Bill O’Reilly’s interview with Scott McClellan during which Bill O. goes bonkers trying to frame Scott as disingenuous. From all of it,  I’ve drawn what I thought all along that the Iraq War was trumped up. Americans were sent into harms way by a president and an administration who cared nothing about facts and only about narrow policy goals which were not even related to the deaths of American citizens and military on September 11, 2001.

It’s really interesting to listen to what General Sanchez has to say because he does so in such a matter of fact manner and without the hype of a Bill O’Reilly interview setting. NPR and C-Span are a lot classier venues than the cafeteria fight settings of most cable networks where the hosts shout down the guests.

There can be little doubt given Richard Clarke’s book, McClellan’s, General Sanchez’s work that we were systematically lied to and that this president and his minions cared little about the rule of law, the Constitution of the United States of America or the world court of public opinion.  Soon they will be leaving office and we can only hope that the next president whoever that is will be more truthful.

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Merton to the rescue

Lately I’ve been very troubled. I dare say, I’ve been depressed with all the bad news that surrounds us. I’ve been consumed by the myriad troubles of the world because I care too deeply. Today I got a message from the Merton Foundation that resonates for me. I hope it does for you too.

What is wanted now is not simply the Christian who takes an inner complacency in the words and example of Christ, but who seeks to follow Christ perfectly, not only in his own personal life, not only in prayer and penance, but also in his political commitments and in all social responsibilities.

We have certainly no need for a pseudo-contemplative spirituality that claims to ignore the world and its problems entirely, and devotes itself supposedly to the things of God, without concern for human society. All true Christian spirituality, even that of the Christian contemplative, is and must always be deeply concerned with man, since “God became man in order that man might become God” (St. Irenaeus). The Christian spirit is one of compassion, of responsibility and of commitment. It cannot be indifferent to suffering, to injustice, error, and untruth.

Thomas Merton. Peace in the Post-Christian Era. Edited by Patricia A. Burton (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2004): 135.

I need balance and was thinking of giving all this up. I may yet. I’ve not felt the urge to write or better yet to write well. I’ve felt very down, but Merton has given me hope and shown me that it is quite normal and desirable to see a world where you and I are called to action. Maybe that action is just a prayer now and then.

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Balloon man

This guy was featured on Good Morning America today. This is just short of unbelievable and should not be tried as I’m sure he broke a number of FAA regulations, but it goes to show that some folks will not be denied their dreams.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77AjaEiu4zY]

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Energy Shortage?

Gasoline and other fuel prices are rising at meteoric rates and a do-nothing government sits idly by and tells us that Europe is paying more per gallon and they are as usual telling only half the truth. The Europeans are paying more per gallon, but their cars are twice as efficient. You can’t purchase cars like the Europeans drive in the United States. It’s not allowed. The Chinese have higher fuel efficiency standards than we do.

We have the best and brightest minds when it comes to manufacturing weapons systems. We’ve won two world wars. We beat the Germans and the Japanese to the nuclear punch and we outdid and outspent the Russians in the Cold War. Two guys from California built a personal computer in a garage in 1977 and since then we’ve put a personal computer in every home, school and business. We put a man on the moon before anyone else on the planet did. There is nothing that the people and scientists of the United States of America cannot or will not accomplish if they are given a free reign. There’s the problem. We don’t have a free reign. Would to God that our market and market forces were really allowed to function as they ought to. Can you imagine how much money you’d make if you could produce a car capable of 100 miles per gallon? It’s possible but the technology is under wraps. It’s kept under wraps by our own government working in concert with the petroleum industry.

We have battlefield equipment that will darn near run on grass clippings because they don’t have fillin’ stations in the middle of the desert, but we can’t get a tiny car to produce more than 35 miles per gallon. That is just pure and simple baloney. Too bad that none of our candidates is really talking about a real energy policy or real alternatives to our present system.

We don’t have an energy shortage. We have an honest politician shortage and a lack of truly free enterprise that would work for the good of the country.

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Oily thoughts

Been spending the weekend at Colonial Williamsburg and thinking about an earlier age and an earlier King who much like our President ruled the world. Why else would an oil man invade a country that produced 3.5 million barrels of oil a day. Now that same country only produces 2 million barrels of oil a day. If you want to drive up the price of crude oil and in so doing maximize your profits and those of your prime contributors you might do just that. The War in Iraq has not brought democracy to Iraq nor stability and safety to the region. It has raised the price of oil from $40 a barrel to $135 a barrel. That would seem to benefit big oil producers and also Mr. Bush.

The invasion of Iraq by Britain and the US has trebled the price of oil, according to a leading expert, costing the world a staggering $6 trillion in higher energy prices alone…..

The world’s biggest oil well, it is said, lies beneath Detroit. US vehicles get an average of only 25 miles per gallon. Dramatically improving this would do more to ease the oil crunch than any likely new discovery. But new measures recently approved by Congress would increase the average only to the 35mpg already being achieved by China. Europe does better, if not well enough, at 44mpg.

Rising fuel prices are already beginning to drive change. Sales of 4×4s are plummeting in both the US and Britain, and those of hybrids – which do 60mpg are soaring. As the price climbs further, manufacturers will unlock long-prepared plans for much more efficient vehicles. “Plug-in” hybrids, charged up with electricity overnight, save another 45 per cent in petrol consumption. Further down the line is the “hypercar” – made of tough, light plastic – which could cross the US on a single tankful…

Read more at Common Dreams

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On the road again…

We spent the night in Breezewood, PA. after driving from Franklinville, NY enroute to Williamsburg, VA. We’re celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this weekend.  Twenty-five years and two children and the passage from a thirty year old to a fifty-five year old has occurred in what seems like half the time. Last night when we stopped for dinner I took advantage of my senior status and got a nice meal at a reduced rate.

Good news yesterday as our daughter, Dara got a 4.0 at Fredonia State College for the spring semester of 2008. We’re very proud of her. She’s on track for summa cum laude next spring.  We recalled our trip twenty-five years ago in my 1980 Chevy pickup with “just married” taped and tied to the tailgate. We had no idea of the rich journey we were undertaking. We had no idea of the children who have blessed our marriage nor the many lovely memories. Back then I was working as a custodian and Diane was a third grade teacher.  We used to bring Diane’s Commodore 64 home and hook it up to the TV. Diane and others encouraged me to return to college and in 1987 and 1988 I received my A.S. and B.S. from Regents College and I was on track to a career change.

Twenty-five years later we make the same journey with much different surroundings. Laptop and digital camera in hand. Cell phones at the ready. Text messaging our children and keeping in touch with our parents as we make our way to Colonial Williamsburg, a place of special memories.  God has blessed us. This is our second or third vacation without the children and its somewhat lonely, but still we are connected in an increasingly connected world.

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GI Bill

I’m a veteran of the Vietnam era and I’m eligible for benefits from the Veterans Administration. Among my benefits was/is the G.I Bill.  Some of the college education I received was paid for with GI Bill benefits. It came in handy and helped me to readjust to civilian life following my tour of duty.  I served my country when called. It wasn’t convenient for me but it was one of the requirements of citizenship at the time. Following the end of the Vietnam era, veterans of the all volunteer force received a smaller set of benefits referred to as the Montgomery GI Bill.

Recently Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, himself a Vietnam veteran has sought to provide a similar set of benefits to veterans of the armed services who have served around the globe since September 11, 2001. To view a PDF of the legislation click here. Senator Webb and others reason that the Montgomery GI Bill was for a peacetime all-volunteer force, but that the necessities of war with its increased risk ought to bring with it a grateful country willing to help returning veterans. The bill has won bi-partisan support as it should. The men and women of our armed forces have made tremendous sacrifices and ought to be rewarded for their service to our country. The Pentagon has suggested that Webb’s bill is too generous, conferring benefits to veterans with only two years of service. Senator McCain wants to withhold benefits too requiring someone to spend at least twelve years on active duty before receiving the maximum benefits. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill too. I’ve heard a lot of talk from the President, Vice-President and primarily Republican members of Congress and their media darlings on the right about supporting the troops. It’s apparently just hot air and holds as much water as anything else they’ve said.

I’m asking that you call your Congressional Representatives, Senators and even the White House to insist that the veterans of this war be taken care of in the same fashion as the veterans of all our other wars. It’s put up or shut up time. Remember these people work for us and it’s our money they are mishandling.

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Wholehearted agreement

Lately I’ve been thinking that maybe the most important factor in the precipitous rise in oil prices in the past five years is our program of endless war. It’s a karmic reaction certainly and one that might have been easily predicted. Just yesterday President Bush was in Saudi Arabia begging for a production increase. Today I read an article at Common Dreams written by a Philadelphia journalist, Dave Lindorff.

Analysts keep getting trotted out on TV and in print, attributing the dramatic price rise to everything from “peak oil” — the idea that producing countries have reached their peak of productive capacity, and that the only direction for oil supplies looking forward is down, while demand continues to rise — to increasing demand in China and India, to supply bottlenecks, to specific news events, like a pipeline break in Nigeria, or a closed refinery in California.

Politicians, like Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, have called for a two-month moratorium on federal gas taxes, but with taxes running at something on the order of 18 cents a gallon, this is not going to do much to bring prices down-in fact it might do nothing, since retailers would be free to just raise prices to match the tax break, and pocket the profits.–Dave Lindorff

Read more here.