and the beat goes on...

Who would have thought there'd still be so much to be outraged about (even after Bush has finally left the White House)? Well, what about Obama's intelligence appointment being stopped because of his "anti-Israeli" position (that means the guy doesn't follow the AIPAC line)? What about the idea of sending troops to the border to control a drug war that is totally equipped by American gun dealers? (Not to mention fueled by huge American demand.) And when Obama has the temerity to say he'll think about it, commenters on the story online make fun of that idea. I guess the US is so used to having non-thinking leaders that they don't know what to make of such a comment. Will we ever recover from this idiot dialogue that's in place in the atmosphere? No sooner does someone in the administration admit to nuance and subtlety than he or she is attacked for... what? Wimpiness, socialist tendencies, preferring other countries' citizens to our own... whatever.

Say this for the Repugs

When they are elected, they try to carry out the wishes of those who elected them. Not so the Dems. Harry Reid is apparently just as spineless now as when Dems were in the minority; can't even seem to get the stimulus bill brought to a vote. And what about all the confirmations? Who cares what the Repugs say about them--a pro-choice stance should be a disqualifier indeed. How about just getting Obama the staff he's chosing without anymore posturing? This is getting to be a total scandal.

Isn't that what they all say?

Charles Fried in the New York Times today on why Bush et al should not be prosecuted, "...our leaders were defending their country and people — albeit with an insufficient sense of moral restraint — against a terrifying threat by ruthless attackers with no sense of moral restraint at all." That's why our leaders differ from Hitler and Stalin and Mao, he says. But hey, didn't they say the same thing, more or less? Weren't they also defending... etc.? That's why we have the rule of law because otherwise it just depends on where you're standing as to what is legal and what isn't. Charles Fried, you should know better.

Out of Lewis Carroll

This is truly Through the Looking Glass--the whole untenable position taken by apologists for Israel--It's the Palestinians' fault; it's Hamas's fault; it's [fill-in-the-blank with anyone but Israeli policy]. So are the dead babies at fault here? Are the dead mothers and fathers and children at fault? I don't think so. Look at it: the death and destruction going on in Gaza is caused by the Israeli military. No one else. Don't look away. Is this what you like supporting? The Jews are killing innocent people by the hundreds. How to stop it? Just stop. Hamas is not killing babies. It's totally within the power of the Israeli government to Just Stop It. No more dead innocents--except those who die because they live in Gaza--but Israel can stop that too by allowing more supplies in. I am overcome with the horror of it all.

point of contention

They keep saying that America was "kept safe" by the still-current administration since 2001, so therefore whatever tactics they used worked, so we mustn't even dream of prosecuting them for such details as rendition, torture, wiretapping etc. However they forget that more than 4,000 Americans did die during this period, in the wars they started, many more than were killed on 9/11. So how does all that compute? Arrest, indict, prosecute and send to jail--all these hideous co-conspirators such as Cheney, Bush, Feith and so on--is my advice.

The Horrors of Gaza

There's no way to say anything bad enough about Israel's War on Gaza. Four little children lying near their mothers' dead bodies, too weak to get up? And Israel's response to the civilian carnage is to say that Hamas is using civilians as human shields? But if they know that, then how can they attack? Are they totally mad, at long last? These people do not act as Jews are supposed to act, to put it mildly. They don't act as humans are supposed to act. They've turned into monsters. And to what end? Do they really think all this killing will make Israel safer? If so, they're stupid as well. When have tactics like this ever worked? Never in history. It simply makes more of the civilian population side with Hamas, when they're attacked by Israelis. Somehow (I suppose because they want to believe it) the Israels expect complicated, sophisticated judgment and behavior from a Palestinian populace that is being brutalized by Israeli forces. It's never worked before; it won't work now. They're crazy, hideously cruel and grotesque, in their actions and their thinking.

I didn't believe it possible

"Still, it seems to me true that the financial big shots haven’t been treated nearly as roughly in Congress or in the media as the auto executives, who have done nothing remotely as irresponsible as their Wall Street counterparts." So said William Kristol, of all people, in his Times column today. He goes on to speak in favor of the UAW too, pointing out correctly, that the biggest part of their cost is benefits for retirees (which I add is not an expense for newer, foreign car makers here), not wages for current workers and he's the first person I've seen mention that after all wages only account for TEN PERCENT of a car's costs!

Proving once again that people are so complicated.