Blue Collar Politics

[BREAK] The credit for this goes to Springer on the Radio! (Speakers/headset needed.)

Also, see Media Matters, here!

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[BREAK] Believe what you want, the Pope is not stupid. While he'll certainly give an apology; he knew exactly what reaction his taunt would engender. If a Muslim, Jew or Buddhist had said that all Christ brought to religion was "only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”, the Pope would lead the chorus of "Off with his/her head!" Yet, historically, a case could be made. Begin with the Inquisition and the Crusades and carry forward to GW Bush grabbing Jesus's coat tails every time he wants to kill and/or a few thousand more people. The fact that some whackos like Osama and Bush use religion as a force for evil should not be cause to condemn whole religions or their founders. ===== [/BREAK]

The Pope’s Words - New York Times Published: September 16, 2006 There is more than enough religious anger in the world. So it is particularly disturbing that Pope Benedict XVI has insulted Muslims, quoting a 14th-century description of Islam as “evil and inhuman.” In the most provocative part of a speech this week on “faith and reason,” the pontiff recounted a conversation between an “erudite” Byzantine Christian emperor and a “learned” Muslim Persian circa 1391. The pope quoted the emperor saying, “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” - - - SNIP The Vatican issued a statement saying that Benedict meant no offense and in fact desired dialogue. But this is not the first time the pope has fomented discord between Christians and Muslims. In 2004 when he was still the Vatican’s top theologian, he spoke out against Turkey’s joining the European Union, because Turkey, as a Muslim country was “in permanent contrast to Europe.” - - - End of SNIPPET

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[BREAK] The new Amerika! Where enabling illegal and unjustified war is a "good thing" and propagating peace is virulently controversial? Well, based on this month's election, we may be leaving that disgusting time behind . . . maybe! (Of course, having top administration officials still pushing for a stay the course strategy makes on a wee bit skeptical that the bozos running this country even heard of the election results?) Adding more to the worry about our leaders' sanity, we are now in a phase where blaming the Iraqi victims for being angry at our ruin of their country is becoming an acceptable political tactic, and belittling the power and competence of our most recent of the parade of puppets we've made ruler of the mess we've made of Iraq is somehow seen as a move toward aiding him in his tough task of binding together tribes whose hatred of each other predates much of Western civilization. Even if we somehow find ourselves on a path that leads to less than decades of religious war blanketing the planet, we face the internecine battles that are gnawing away at societies from the middle east through eastern Asia and down to Africa. Coming soon to a block near you: The neighbor vs neighbor cage matches in new Amerika! Our idiocy knows no bounds. In a place where consideration of the banning of Muslim religious gear [veil, burka], can be conducted by officials wearing yarmulkes or crucifixes, while civil servants and prisoners can sue if they are denied a religious menu in prison or their "right" to long facial hair [Hasid beards] that makes [fire dept., police dept., EMT, etc.] breathing gear ineffective. Showing our total disregard for being pounded about the head and shoulders by the God of irony, we get our panties in a wad over somebody daring to equate peace with the birth of its "Prince" and "fine" those who would attempt to do so. What fools these mortals be! Update: The Board rescinds order to remove wreath, resigns, sends apology to the couple who had the audacity to visibly wish for peace on Earth.. War in Iraq gets worse, as Muqtada al-Sadr has his followers leave the coalition government and the US mulls retreating from "dangerous Sunni-dominated al-Anbar province" and concentrating on trying to keep Baghdad proper secure. (Bush's need to meet with Iraq's Prime Minister in Jordan, and not in Baghdad, certainly shows that security, even in the much vaunted "Green Zone", is not able to satisfy Bush or the Secret Service. Score: Peace 1 War 1 The tie is a loss, to our troops! [/BREAK]

USATODAY.com - On Deadline | Archives | Local look: Neighborhood fights over peace wreath Local look: Neighborhood fights over peace wreath From the Colorado brief in today's "Across the USA" roundup: "Pagosa Springs -- A homeowners group says it will fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that has offended some other residents as an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan, said Bob Kearns, president of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs. Lisa Jensen said she's not taking it down until after Christmas." More on this story here!

[BREAK] Media Matters has been doing a bang-up job of following the saga of Cpl. Joshua Sparling, a wounded veteran back home from Iraq. Normally, I'd have enough respect for the service the soldier provided to give him a lot of slack, as far as any disparity in our views on the war or any other differences of opinion we might have. And, as he is a seriously wounded returnee, I'd stand silent as he'd bash my views on Iraq, Bush and anything else he might like. But when his false celebrity gets to the point that he can harm the whole anti-war movement, and thereby give a boost to Bush's Baghdad Blunder, with just a little well played mendacity, other vets should take him to task. This guy Sparling is a disgrace. He's changed his story numerous times, going from "one protester spit at" him to "many protesters spit on" him. On top of that, he's kinda stuck saying that the first "spitter" wore an 82nd Airborne patch, as he had said it the first time and saw it added to the reporters excitement. OF COURSE IT DID! Any idiot would be struck by the incongruity of a war protester who, supposedly, despised the troops (or just disturbed troops like Spurling?) wearing the patch of the military he despised??? I'm one of those with a story of being dissed when I returned from 'Nam. No spitting; just a cabdriver refusing service when he discovered I had just that moment returned. But others had worse stories of harassment. The country was torn, with some (VERY FEW) blaming the "baby killer" troops, by proxy. A guy like Spurling, or Vietnam Vets who exaggerate their trauma at being dissed at home, cast doubt on, and cause more suffering to, those who were really harmed by idiots who can't discriminate between the tool of war and the maniacs who are elected and wield the tools. JB ===== [/BREAK]

Media Matters - Still more questions for the NY Times regarding the alleged spitting incident Still more questions for the NY Times regarding the alleged spitting incident As Media Matters for America noted, in a January 29 article, The New York Times' Ian Urbina reported that a protestor spit "at the ground near" Cpl. Joshua Sparling, a wounded Iraq war veteran, during the January 27 anti-Iraq war protest in Washington, D.C. But the article offered no details regarding the alleged incident, giving rise to several unanswered questions, which Media Matters laid out. Sparling appeared on the January 29 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes and the January 30 edition of Fox & Friends and gave his own version of the events, contradicting some aspects of the Times' reporting.

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[BREAK] There is one difference between the attack on Iraq and the coming attack on Iran. The time span between demonstration and attack this time will probably be shorter . . . say 2-3 weeks. In February 2003, many of us marched in the huge anti-war demonstration in NYC while others marched around our nation and around the globe. Bush (and the media) paid little attention, and the US illegally attacked Iraq approximately 5 weeks later. We violated international law and UN regulations, killed over a half-million innocent Iraqis (Bush would say we liberated them?), lost over 3000 of our most precious young warriors and misspent/lost.gave away hundreds of billion$ that our future generations will need to make up. We've performed so poorly, even Bush's Russian pal (Pooty Poot) Putin is now chastising us for making the world less safe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted the United States today for acting in a unilateral, militaristic fashion that he said "overstepped" its role and made the world a more dangerous place than during the Cold War. "Nobody feels secure anymore, because nobody can take safety behind the stone wall of international law," he told an international security conference here attended by dozens of foreign and defense ministers and other officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and a congressional delegation.

And, the reasons given for attacking Iraq, though now known to be lies and exaggerations, seem to mirror the reasons we now hear for attacking Iran. Just this week, in a much delayed report, we were told:

. . . a Defense Department inspector general's conclusion that a Pentagon policy office produced and gave senior policymakers "alternative intelligence assessments on Iraq and Al Qaida relations" that were "inconsistent" with the intelligence community's consensus view in the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

On March 18, there will be a similar march in NYC, and other environs. If you live in an area where a demonstration is being held, and you find you have other things to do on that day (things beside having open heart surgery, birthing your child, heading into danger in Iraq etc.), washing the blood of the future dead innocents from your hands may become a 24/7 job. And, if this demonstration has as little effect as its predecessor(s), I hope that some truly courageous leader (which really lets out the top contenders for the Presidential race in '08, sans Chuck Hagel and, just maybe, an Edwards, Gore or even Vilsack) will use the term "General Strike" in an upcoming speech. For when a war is called not as a vital national security interest, but to appease corporate interests by throwing fiscal sanity to the winds (when it comes to humongous contracts) and to guarantee a short term boost in fossil fuel for the victors, thereby stalling renewed efforts to find a desperately needed alternative source(s) of energy, the best way to get the corporate leaders attention is to hit them in the pocketbook. (Yes, you offer up a days pay. But, as any corporate leader can tell you, a day spent on a general strike takes more than a day from the corporate finances.) WE HAVE TO TAKE DEMOCRACY BACK! Impeach the Cheerleader (Bush),
Save The World! [/BREAK] =====

Target Iran: US able to strike in the spring | Iran | Guardian Unlimited Despite denials, Pentagon plans for possible attack on nuclear sites are well advanced Ewen MacAskill in Washington Saturday February 10, 2007 The Guardian
A second battle group has been ordered to the Gulf and extra missiles have already been sent out. Meanwhile oil is being stockpiled. Photograph: Reuters US preparations for an air strike against Iran are at an advanced stage, in spite of repeated public denials by the Bush administration, according to informed sources in Washington. The present military build-up in the Gulf would allow the US to mount an attack by the spring. But the sources said that if there was an attack, it was more likely next year, just before Mr Bush leaves office.

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