why, it’s off the charts in terms of being unconscionable. i swear, the workplace continues to be developed into an absurdist vision of inhumane practices where the pussified believe they have right to ownership over another human life. this, at best is precarious and, dare i say, may end only when more go postal and immediately so. we all sit here, “armchairing” our disgust when there isn’t perhaps one amongst us who hasn’t fucked over another person for the sake of the organizational mission. we cry foul only when it has to do with iraqi war veterans? or when only the government or big corporate entities are involved? how hypocritical does one have to be when not looking at the parts we play in perpetuating this bs?

Louise, American bully power extends beyond the strength of the dollar.  Even with a weak dollar, the United States still commands the greatest influence over the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to such a strong extent that the mainstream media no longer regard any other economic influence as valid.  Fortunately, the BBC has seen fit to report on the “minority opinion” of the Growth Commission; so I made that the topic of today’s post:

http://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2008/05/dissent ing-from-conventional-wisdom.html

One of my punch lines is that, at the very least, Obama should be asked his opinion on the Growth Commission’s position, as well as the concept of international justice he plans to bring into the White House.  However, this is not enough, since both opinions can only be enabled through legislation.  Thus, we need to put these same questions to every candidate for a seat in the House or Senate; and, if the mainstream media do not feel that these questions are worth asking, we should ask them through the candidates’ Web sites.  Furthermore, if we really want to be audacious (in Obama-speak) about it, we need to identify the members of the Platform Committee at the Democratic Convention (since it is unlikely that we shall have much influence on the Republican Platform Committee!) and stress the need for these positions to be addressed in the Platform.  This will not solve any problems overnight; but, if it puts the problems in a perspective that voters can appreciate (possibly under the influence of some well-honed advertising), we may yet be able to pull our government from the abyss that the Bush Administration created!

Stephen Smoliar, May 21 at 6:13 am #

The US concept of international justice depends on the US ability to “exercise its power freely in the world” while European countries invest in international law and “are accustomed to oversight by international bodies.”

The “exercise of power freely in the world” may seem like a good reason to ignore international law, but it isn’t. That conceited point of view is exactly the kind of attitude we use as an excuse for targeting and bullying other nations. We cant continue having it both ways. At some point in time we’ll collide with reality and have to decide whether or not we’re going to become PART of the world community, or the biggest bully in the world community.

Numerous articles and editorials have been written explaining the US ability to maintain ICC immunity. The consensus being the world and the UN accept the US position because of the Bush administration’s use of foreign aid as blackmail for ensuring ICC immunity.

But the reality is:
The three best aid providers, measured by the foreign aid percentage of their gross domestic products, are Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. The worst is the USA, (0.10%) followed by Australia, Portugal and Austria.

So there has to be another reason.

In reality, the US bullies these countries by threatening, “Unless you give us an immunity agreement, [your] kids will die.”

Given the US stockpile of nuclear weapons, and their demonstrated willingness to use them. This reason makes sense. Compound that with the arsenal of nuclear weapons Israel has and Russia has, and you realize we really don’t need to worry a whole lot about whether or not Iran has any.

The existing possibility - US and Israel versus Russia and allied North Korea put us squarely in the path of an all out nuclear war. A war that would end civilization on the earth as we know it.

Is this enough to keep the ICC at bay? I think so. The US has demonstrated quite effectively they have no problem starting a war for no reason, [Iraq] even if that war hurts the US as much or worse than it hurts the target of attack.

With that kind of insanity ruling our nation, the only hope “we the people” have is to bring the mad-men who created this mess under control ourselves! A frightening prospect. And one the maniacs who rule are well aware of, else there would be no need to pass so many laws that cripple our Constitution, and our ability to exercise our rights.

It has to be clear to all thinking people, Bush and Cheney [and Rove] and their republican congress were well ahead of the game.

Their determination to destroy the Constitution and the people of this once great nation, who refused to capitulate and happily become members of the Fourth Reich, can literally be outlined by the timeline of their actions in the year 2001. Which by the way makes it apparent they had knowledge of the coming tragedy of 9/11.

So what to do?

We know perfectly well we do not have leadership in congress with the gonads to do anything about it. And we know for sure, if a candidate named Clinton, or McCain becomes president, previous involvement in so much that has brought us to this point will lead to more of the same.

And we know the republicans [specifically] are eager to destroy Constitutional law. So, once again it’s simply up to us.

Perhaps Bush’s bad management of our economy will collapse the dollar to where only euros count. At which time being the bully will become being the target!

Meanwhile we can draw comfort from the knowledge that the world is watching, understands our pain and sincerely hopes we recognize the danger and will rise up to the challenge. Only time will tell.

[Below] A list of International treaty’s, agreements and laws broken, by this administration as well as previous administrations makes interesting reading.

http://www.motherearth.org/bushwanted/laws.php

If our troops were NOT THERE[in “bullsh*t and bunchs”
ILLEGAL WAR....] They would NOT HAVE BEEN MAIMED ...
Make “the bullsh*t crew” responsible-
BY FILING WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUITS-Hit them where it hurts...IN THE WALLET....Strip them of EVERYTHING..
Let them BEG ON THE STREET…

If we cannot afford to give the proper medical care to all of our veterans of all the wars-legal and illegal, then we need to immediately stop sending in more troops, which we cannot take care of and bring all of our troops home from every country in the rest of the world home NOW!, as we cannot afford them either. If you cannot take care of what you have now, and this administration has proven that it cannot, then do not add more victims to this illegal war of Bushco’s to the ever growing list of our service people in need of the best medical care available.

Has anyone noticed that none of the remaining Presidential candidates has said a damned thing about finally getting our country to sign on to the International Criminal Court?  While, from a pragmatic point of view, it is probably too late to try Bush on the floor of the Senate, it is not too late to try him before the entire world.  Back when he refused ratification, the primary reason seemed to be to protect Kissinger’s ass.  Now he will probably go to all possible lengths to protect his own!

• “Are we just blowin’ in the wind?  Bush is still in office and there is NO talk of impeachment with this and other incompetent acts.”
Don, for whatever it’s worth, (and I admit that I don’t know how much) even though you’re correct that there is NO talk of impeachment, (at least at the level where it should be) there are a few of us here and there that have been trying to find a way.
I don’t know where you are geographically located, but we have a group here in my area and I know that there are similar ones in other places. If you check at what I believe is the main website for these organizations, you may find a group near you that is involved. Check at
http://www.impeachbush.meetup.com
If that doesn’t get you any further, then check back with me, and I can hook you up to the website for our group here. You may get some info from it at least, even if you aren’t nearby. There are several groups here, and I’m sure further south and north, at least in the Costal areas of Calif. (Inland is extremely penetrated by the painfully hot prongs of the hellish repugs). I don’t really know much about the rest of the country, but I’m hoping to have more time to devote after next month.
Louise,
This is probably the absolute worst of it, what you point out here…
• “That simple statement sums up the state of the nation with startling clarity! Really, no one is surprised anymore. Outrage follows outrage, and the greatest outrage of all is that there are STILL republicans in OUR congress who have devoted DECADES to destroying us, our values, our beliefs and OUR Constitution!
That’s the part that makes me physically ill. There is no surprise, and as each outrage out-does the one before, there seems to be limited reaction, other than from the few of us. At which point, it becomes overwhelming imperative to direct our OWN outrage productively, and I can only wonder how well we’re doing at that. Sometimes I’m optimistic, and particularly in light of the phenomenal number of Americans who have decided to participate in a system to regain our country. And at other times, I hear from the ignorant dipshits on this thread, and wonder if the Banality of Evil will prevail. (and some of the worst among these actually CLAIM to be democrats) Makes me wanna vomit some more.

Stephen, I’ve not had an opportunity to read your work yet, but I’m about to.

Meantime, you all - always provide some release from the frustration, and help keep me focused.

Thanks for all of your comments.

It seems there is always money to continue the illegal war(s) all over the world. Why not for our warriors? We want answers Bush.

Stephen Smoliar, May 20 at 7:54 am #
http://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2008/05/bush-fa mily-history-repeats-sort-of.html

Great article Stephen!

I found your parallels valuable and insightful. And your mention of Barbara points out how futile it is to expect compassion from the son of a mother that has none. Morality from a heritage that celebrates amorality, and honesty coming out of a so-called dynasty that celebrates dishonesty.

And yet we have incidents of Bush II honesty. Whether by blunder or design. Like when he explained to a group of college students how important it was to keep saying the same things over and over again, cause that’s what propaganda is. And that time when he tried to explain why he couldn’t understand poor people, because he couldn’t understand being poor.

But the greater point in all of this, at least as I see it ... how impossible it is to get people to learn from the mistakes and shortcomings of others, when they cant even learn from their own.

Case in point:

G.W. who saw as necessary “correcting” his fathers handling of the first Iraqi war, and boy was he wrong, but he doesn’t see that. Yet he never learned a thing from studying his fathers verbal phoopas!

And while it’s sometimes easy to dismiss the Bushes as simply stupid, I don’t think it’s that easy. They are like the holes in the doughnut. Surrounded by something that smells good and looks good but is in fact just an empty hole. Something that appears to be part of the whole, but in reality lacks the substance of the whole.

Maybe that’s why Bush I broke down in hysterics when he was praising his son Jeb. Maybe it suddenly dawned on him the “hole” had been revealed by the vacuous lacks displayed by his other son ... W.

Maybe that night he realized the great pretense at being world shakers and movers, the so-called legacy begun by his father Prescott, was coming to an end.

And one has to wonder, how low did daddy go during that drive to fulfill his fathers fantasy?

And now perhaps ... it will have all been for nothing.

“The comment was outrageous, but it was not the least bit surprising.”

~~~

That simple statement sums up the state of the nation with startling clarity! Really, no one is surprised anymore. Outrage follows outrage, and the greatest outrage of all is that there are STILL republicans in OUR congress who have devoted DECADES to destroying us, our values, our beliefs and OUR Constitution!

The criminals stand daily on the floor of the House and tell us how bad things are. What they fail to mention is THEY are almost exclusively responsible for those bad things!

Amazing!

While we choke on the fumes from the fuel we can’t afford. They daily jump on our pain to remind us how WE have failed because WE have fought drilling in ANWR!

[And once again we are reminded how little they care about us.]

They have patiently watched, sitting on their hands, until the pain at the pump is SO BAD, they can once again ram a stupid idea that offers no real solution and makes quick profit for the select few ... down our throats!

But none of them have the decency of a dying Iraqi child, or the wisdom God gave an earthworm, or they would all recognize, with growing alarm ... we can not afford to develop new fields, let alone buy from the source in place, because of the falling purchasing power of our dollar.

And since they created the run-away debt and the runaway greed and the runaway death and destruction in the most criminal enterprise called GWOT, that caused the runaway inflation that is collapsing the dollar ... they aren’t about to anytime soon.

But they do pretend, like all liars down through history. While they devote their power to trying to destroy everything they touch, they pretend.

As Jim Yell so correctly asks, “Why are you surprised that the Republican’s want to use our bodies for their greater glory and then discard their responsibilities to pay for the mess the Republican’s have made in the pursuit of total wealth and power? It is at the very heart of this shame of “Right to Life” and “Right to not pay Taxes to support the system that has allowed so many to be wealthy”. They are monsters.”

Yes they are. They are monsters.

And I need to back-track and point out while they have no decency, and have no wisdom, they are not stupid. They know exactly what they are doing. It is that pathetic mass of uninformed and indifferent who keep them in government who are stupid!

~~~

“… our latest national disgrace: the shoddy care and bureaucratic callousness shown toward the warriors who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with life-altering wounds of the body and spirit.”

~~~

Our LATEST national disgrace.

Vietnam Vets fought for years for recognition of their body and spirit injuries. And the damage done by agent orange. Did it ever come?

Desert Storm Vets fought for years for recognition of their body and spirit injuries, and a new one, depleted uranium damage. Has that recognition come?

A draft would not change the horror. In fact it would exacerbate the horror. Think about a huge available source of cannon fodder and how quickly they could be dispatched, damaged, killed, cleaned up and replaced.

How quickly did the casualty count multiply in Vietnam, when there was a draft? It was mind boggling.

There is only one solution to the duplicity and lying and viciousness of the “conservative” men and women in OUR government, who destroy and kill.

Throw them out of Washington D.C. and never, ever allow them back.

But that will never happen. Today we see the boil on the side of the RNC, Karl Rove, guest appearing on the networks. The news wonks, having learned absolutely nothing, dredge up the wretches of the D.C. sewers and ask them for their expert opinion!
And they in turn celebrate their lust and call for more.

And of course the most perfect liar Rove is not the only one ... I’ve simply run out of space.

Are we just blowin’ in the wind?  Bush is still in office and there is NO talk of impeachment with this and other incompetent acts.

Is there to be no Justice?  What makes the President of the United States any better than a returning combat veteran? 

Remember the images of Bush strutting around talkin’ up supportin’ the troops?  Remember the Republican Congress doin’ the same thing.  And cockin’ and bobbin’ their heads as they spoke?  Guess that would make them liars.  Look at Jim Webb’s bill for the veterans.  Republicans won’t go for it.  All the many ways we could help our combat veterans and THIS administration does NOTHING.  Doesn’t it make you sick to see Bush stand in front of the men in uniform and smirk?  What a puke he is.

If America had the draft once again but with women (equal rights) Iraq would have ended years ago by overwhelming public pressure.

America, and the voters who fuel the leaders that run it, owe it to the veterans, mental health care .

We need to move to national healthcare and consolidate the VA hospitals and health system, Medicare, Medicaid, and and the myriad of foundational fundings.  There are many bankrupt hospitals throughout the country which need to run for the best interest of the citizendry and not the insurance companies.

So when some returning veteran comes back home to America, suffering from PTSD is told-no you don’t have it- goes off the deep end and some tragic incident happens, they have only them selves to blame. Yep, the Bush administration should be real proud of itself on this one, we saved $$ for my base the haves and the have more. This moron knows no shame that he has brought unto all of America in the eyes of the world and to top it off they treat the veterans of this illegal war like tissues, strong when Bush needed them for his illegal war and now disposable. Well G.W. you really blew it in more than one way. One of the top V.A. thugs Bush had hired was from a religious based mindset and he neglected his duty to see that our veterans recieved adequate medical treatment and staff. He instead spend most of his time at work praying to God as this was his top priority and not the job he was hired to oversee. Well he can pray on his own time and if he is so concerned about his mortal soul, he would have done a proper job of what he was hired to do in the first place. Would the God he prays to be proud of this person? I should hope not. But that has been this whole joke for the last 8 years-you can fool the sheeple, just play the God-thing. Works every time. But people are maybe starting to see through this just a little.

As for buying medical insurance. I went that route when I first became disabled. No money, lost my employer buy-in insurance as I had absolutely no money to by COBRA with. I called several companies, including Blue Cross/Blue Shield, who covered me prior to my injury. I could buy at a much higher price with a much lower benefits package for several hundred dollars a month(late 90’s-higher now). It would not cover any prescriptions, as that was only a perk through employer bought(group)policies. My co-pays were higher for everything and coverage in many cases was a joke. So having average people buy their medical insurance, they are at the mercy-and it isn’t nice- of the big corps.

On the other side of insurance, check out your car insurance coverage disclaimers and see how many situations in which you pay for to drive that are not covered by the underwriters. It will kill you. Basically you pay for no coverage. I checked out my policy under several different carriers and when it comes to any compensation back to you, there are more ways to cheat you out of it then you can imagine. Like if you are an artist and have an accident-you are not covered(doesn’t Progressive show a musician(considered an artist) who backed into a pole being covered? (A corp. lie), if you use your car to delivery say pizza, take a patient to a doctor appointment if you are hired for that task, take a child other than your own with you to s a soccer game and have an accident-no coverage. The list covers just about every reason you would use your car for period. Yet the states demand you have car insurance in order to purchase a license for your cars. It is really blackmail money. It is just a matter of getting people into this mandatory purchase of medical insurance the state(gov.) wants to make their corp. buddies richer, and watch the benefits coverages drop and the rates go up.

I tried to take a historical perspective on this column.  It led me to uncover an interesting father-son parallel.  The results may be a bit unorthodox, if not bizarre; but I think they deserve consideration.  The full logical path to my conclusion is at:

http://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2008/05/bush-fa mily-history-repeats-sort-of.html

Ms Coco “support the troops’is a bumper sticker and a vehicle to back this disastrous venture into the middle east it has no basis in reality and certainly no basis in public pokicy.How many stories have been treated to from Walter Reade on down that show us this obvious truth.Maria for a couple of dollars you can buy a yellow “support the troops” sticker and put it on your car and you have done enough.Push for a draft and let more of the middle class get involved in the VA system and you will see change for the better faster than you can say"George Bush is a moron”.Until then my heaqrt goes out to those few families who have to suffer at the hands of the VA.
To your second point of Universal Healt Care.If you think the country that the country that elected George Bush is going to understand that universal health care is in their own best interests please forward me the drugs you are taking I want to be as deluded as you are.Nice try but a complete lost cause.This is a country that is more interested in what God you pray to than in something that would benefit them, their family and the country.

• “That bit of politically induced relief for vets, should it come, does not change the underlying sentiment of the message. Because at bottom, it is a demoralizing reminder of the way the U.S. health care system works for just about everyone. “

Glad Marie noticed this. It’s EXACTLY how the U.S. health care system works for just about EVERYONE, and it’s been that way for a long time. The psychologist at the V.A. sounds like any other insurance company person, or anybody else in the corporate Dick Bush regime, who have CONSISTENTLY denied care to MOST of us, for the purposes of increasing their profits, or simply neglecting their responsibilities. And for the MOST part, people now employed by the VA aren’t real ‘public servants’ any more anyway. They’ve all been recruited from corporate-land, and the rest of the patient care services have been out-sourced via 15 different contractors.

And, it’s more than demoralizing, (that’s been the case for decades) it’s downright homicidal.

• “Certainly, the government agency in charge of caring for veterans is not supposed to behave this way, under the law or any standard of conscience.”

Well duh. They didn’t just start behaving this way, and I can give testimony to that. There’s been a huge downsizing of care for veterans for the past 15 or 18 years. It’s just 1000 times worse since Dick Bush.

• “But Obama would not make universal coverage mandatory and so insurers would still be able to cherry-pick among those it really wants to insure (the healthiest, and therefore the cheapest) and those it doesn’t (the sickest and most expensive).

Marie still doesn’t get it. The ‘non-mandatory’ part of it means that people don’t HAVE to purchase health insurance if they choose not to. It DOESN’T mean that the insurance companies can choose NOT to insure them, specifically if it is provided, (in part) by the employer. The EMPLOYER will be obligated by law, to make health insurance available to anybody who wants it. THAT isn’t ‘new’. There used to be such a thing, and they can go right back to being required by federal law to provide for their part of their employees health insurance coverage.

I’m not suggesting this is the best way, because it only covers those who are EMPLOYED, along with their families. It doesn’t help those who have to search for coverage on their own, because THEN, these same companies COULD in fact do their standard cherry-picking. However, I’m really doubtful that Marie has a clue as to how Obama’s plan intendeds to deal with that. I DO know that he (or any other group of legislators for that matter) CAN create legislation that doesn’t ALLOW for any insurance company to deny coverage to anybody who wants it.

And yeah Marie, we ARE outraged. Been that way for a long time now. Too bad you’re just catching up, but I’m delighted you took the time to see Michael Moore’s documentary.

As for John McCain’s plan for having everybody purchase it on their own…the major corps started that as well, at least 15 years ago. Rather than a ‘tax credit’ they allowed each employee a certain amount of ‘flex money’ to pick and choose what programs or coverage they wanted. A family of 4 was allowed a larger ‘allowance’ than a family of one, but in the end, everybody got screwed. (the corps saved a lot of money though, so I’m sure they’ll all be lined up gung-ho behind McCain).