Leave Iraq - It IS a Civil War - And Can Chaney

Sorry to say, Dick Cheney and his neo-conservative buddies really screwed it up. They saw a victorious U.S. in Iraq, with cheering throngs of Iraqis fervently embracing democracy while the oil wells pumped money into their revitalized economy. Others with much experience in the region saw a nation deprived of the dictator who held it together by force, disintegrating in a paroxysm of sectarian violence as the oil pipelines dried up due to sabotage. Cheney was wrong, and he and his pals have cost the United States over $300 billion in direct costs of the war and far more financial pain due to oil price escalations and interest on that $300 billion for who knows how long...to say nothing about over 2,500 Americans killed and over 15,000 wounded. All for nothing. Iraq has disintegrated into civil war, and Iran stands to be the primary beneficiary. The Republican members of congress are slowing twisting in the wind due to their foolish support of Bush's big gamble.

Time to get out and let the Iraqi government own the problem! It's obvious the "build the Iraqi defense forces and police" strategy will fail due to the rampant sectarianism, the need to settle old scores with Saddam's people, and the endemic corruption. Democracy was only a dream, dreamed by deluded Republican idealists who never considered wearing the uniform of this country. The Iraqis are going to settle this on their own terms, bloody as those terms may be. Perhaps the final "lesson learned" from Bush's escapade will be that the world sees just how ruthless and bloody a civil war between two Muslim sects can be. And maybe other Muslim countries will be so outraged and sickened by the carnage that they are motivated to stop their idiotic terrorism - both internal and external. We can only hope...

Oh, I almost forgot. Shouldn't Bush fire Cheney after the Republicans lose at least one house of Congress in the fall, due largely to Iraq? Small price to pay for the Big Dick! What we really need is a good excuse to put him in jail for a long time. Ken Lay's ENRON was small potatoes compared with Big Dick's Iraq Debacle!

Bush Needs Stem Cells!

Well, it's another day in the life of the Bush presidency. Mr. "No Veto" was willing to go along with out of control spending to the tune of $298 billion this year, but he's not willing to submit to the will of Congress and the people of his own country on the issue of embryonic stem cell research. He will sign a bill encouraging research on adult stem cells (certainly none of his!) as a smokescreen for his brainless cowtowing to the religious right and the Roman Catholic church hierarchy, which must make up the majority of his 30% support at the moment (the remainder being mostly those who aren't smart enough to get into the Army).

It's hard to imagine a president who's been so wrong on the things he was for (Iraq war, No Teacher Left Standing, constitutional amendments on gay marriage and flag burning, busting the budget, intrusive government) and so wrong on the things he was against (talking with Iran and North Korea, embryonic stem cell research, alternative energy, recognition of global warming). The only issue where he's right is immigration reform, but that's going nowhere. George W. Bush will go down in history as one of our least effective presidents, and also one of the most damaging to America's national interests.

Perhaps embryonic stem cell research will result in a therapy to improve intelligence. The trouble is, Bush just isn't smart enough to understand that he might be a prime candidate for the cure.

Out the Republicans in November!

I'm a registered Republican and have been all 40-some years of voting. Actually, I'm more of a libertarian in many areas of my political thinking, but I find the organized libertarians too radical for my taste and not a factor in American politics. But I did not vote for George Bush in the last election, and I remember voting for Bill Clinton when he ran for a second term. Bush was abandoned because his reasons for going to war in Iraq were wrong - that was an unforgiveable mistake. Clinton was embraced because he governed more like an Eisenhower Republican than a Democrat - welfare reform, intervention in Serbia, negotiation with the Republican congress. Monica Lewinski was a true tragedy!

This year we have congressional elections, and Bush is safe for two more years. But it's time to eliminate the Republican majority in at least one house of congress. The reason is simple - it's hard to imagine a party with a sitting president and majorities in the House and Senate doing less than the sorry group who are in power now. I give them credit for major sins of both comission and omission - and I don't blame the Democrats for anything, since they have no power.

What are the sins of comission? The first is easy - no accountability on Iraq after the administration's war rationale and public statements were proved false. Second, no control over the budget - they have created deficits beyond belief. Third, focusing on non-substantive litmus test issues like gay marriage, flag burning, and abortion. Fourth, consenting to the administration's secret analysis of American citizens' telephone calls and financial transactions without supervision of the courts...one step closer to a police state. Fifth, Tom DeLay.

What are the sins of omission? The first is easy - the Republican congress failed to get ahead of the curve on alternative energy sources other than the politically correct and Corporate-connected ethanol, thereby delaying our responses to high oil prices and global warming. Second, taking no responsibility for the 12 million illegal aliens in the United States despite their being in power during the time most of these people crossed the border - to paraphrase Colin Powell, "you let'em in, you own them." Third, failing to focus on education reform, the only solution to containing poverty and providing meaningful jobs for Americans. Clinton would have made a national issue of reforming education, just as he did reforming welfare.

So, when the air turns chill and the leaves are gold, that's the signal to forget about all the pork that your Republican legislator brought home. Some, including me, would say the Democrats don't have their act together and give little indication they would do better. No matter - this is all about accountability and the Republicans had the power. They didn't do the job and they should pay the price. We have no way of knowing what "would have been" had the Democrats been in charge, but it's safe to say things couldn't be any worse. Show the Republicans the door!

On the Appalachian Trail

I've been vacationing on the Appalachian Trail. In early and mid-May I hiked 210 miles of eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, continuing the trek that has now covered 1,340 miles from the trailhead in north Georgia. It was 12 days of pain, but that is what a lot of the AT is about. The offsets are the joy of overcoming the difficult trail and the fun of meeting quite a few equally crazy and often interesting people. Of course, in eastern Pennsylvania one will often meet a timber rattlesnake like the one above.

I stepped on the rock that the snake is "looking at", heard him begin rattling loudly, and stepped back when I looked down and saw him coiling defensively. Once out of range I took his picture. Just another day on the AT...I met another rattler four hours later.

Actually, the most surprising aspect of this 14 day hike was the difficulty of the trail. There is no doubt in my mind why AT hikers call Pennsylvania "Rocksylvania". The eastern Pennsylvania trail is 150 miles of high ridge walking, and the ridges are primarily broken rock that is very difficult to walk on - you need to watch your footfall on almost every step. The rocks where this snake was hiding were routine large broken rocks, smoothed and often re-broken by eons of hot and cold weather. Needless to say, your boots take a real beating in Rocksylvania!

Geologists say that the Appalachians were once higher than the Himalayas, but they are the oldest mountains in the world and have been worn down. It's clear that many rocks have broken off the tops and fallen down into the valleys and onto the mountainsides, just to aggravate the hikers. So there are quite a few places that look something like the picture above. It's great to not have to walk across Bake Oven Knob again!

The AT is truly a national treasure, a wilderness trail over 2,150 miles long. Hiking the trail gives a person new understanding of how big the world really is, of how much uninhabited space there is in the eastern U.S. (an amazingly large amount!), and how many really nice and special people can be found on the trail and in the towns along the way. If you have some determination, some strength, some courage, and about 5-6 months of time to walk, you can hike the entire trail. So think about giving it a try, whether you are male or female and 20 or 75 years old - you might very well be able to do it!

Republicans Drown in Oil Crisis

If there ever was a case of poetic justice, it's the Republican quandary of having to deal with the second major gas price spike in the past year. $3.00 gasoline is trouble, especially if you are the guys who laid much of the groundwork for the problem. Yes, it's the Republicans! How, you say?

Remember Jimmy Carter? He said we had a national emergency when we bought 50% of our oil from foreign sources, since those who have the oil might hold our country hostage. Now we buy over 60% from overseas and are even more vulnerable. Has President Bush explained our vulnerability and presented a plan to deal with it? NOT, at least for the past six years. Now he's forced to explain how new technologies will come to our aid by 2020. 2020? You got to be kidding me! I guess he saw no benefit to using his bully pulpit to talk down SUV's when his pals were getting rich off the gas they were guzzling...but even the slower intellects understand that his inaction has increased our exposure to oil blackmail and price spikes.

Guilt by association! President Bush is an oil man, his friends are oil men, he comes from a big oil state. We pay $3.00, his friends get rich, the oil companies post record profits. He says it's just the law of supply and demand, nothing he can control. Control he can not, but influence he can, as the wise Yoda would say. He could have warned about supply and taken strong positions like drilling in sensitive areas for contingency purposes only. He could have warned about demand and insisted on sensible conservation measures and alternative sources of energy. Why is nuclear power suddenly a good thing in 2006, when we should have had the reactors built already if there had been any leadership! Blame a lot of it on a guy who stands by his pals.

GWB denied thinking about oil before he invaded Iraq, but he almost certainly did. He thought about all the oil his pals would get out of Iraq after we won the war. Didn't happen. Instead, the lack of WMD's convinced a lot of people that the war was about getting more oil, but that has not worked out. Instead, we're getting less oil and we have fewer friends among those who do have it. This is not good.

The bottom line is that voters are going to remember the president and the Republican congress that sold out to the oil industry and failed to "lead". Leadership is about anticipating problems and working on solutions "before" the sky falls. People are interested in leaders who stand up for solutions in advance...any random lazy guy can maintain the status quo. If oil stays up, those Republicans will go down (drown, that is) in November. It could be a real gusher!

Rumsfeld Should Be "Called to Account"

The Republican conservatives, those who insist on the free market and a limited government with a strong defense orientation, need to hold Donald Rumsfeld accountable for the giant foul-up of the Iraq war.

A free market assumes that there is effective competition for goods and services - "deliverables". When the committed deliverables are not delivered, the competitor is penalized by being excluded from the market. Donald Rumsfeld, as the architect of the failed Iraq war, should pay this price. By keeping him on, President Bush is continuing to communicate the message that none of his staff will be held to account if they do a bad job.

In war, victory is the only acceptable outcome. The Republican's aggressive use of the military as a foreign policy tool is effective only if the use results in the desired effects. When the military does not achieve the desired objective its credibility as a tool is diminished. At this point it is safe to say that the U.S. military has not come close to pacifying Iraq or establishing a climate where democracy can take root. Rather, the terrorists have proven that they can strike at will when they are supported by a large segment of the population and they don't play by the rules of conventional warfare. "Victory" will not be achieved in Iraq, and Donald Rumsfeld must be held accountable for a plan that did not come close to achieving its objectives and, in the process, has diminished the value of the military as a foreign policy tool.

This administration will earn a historical footnote as one of the least effective and accountable governments in U.S. history. No vetoes despite out-of-control spending. Key staff members lying or stealing. Gangsters like Tom DeLay accomodated. No progress on major legislative matters including entitlements, tax law, and energy independence. A costly war justified by doctored intelligence and conducted by Rumsfeld in a manner that ensured failure. Assaults on personal freedom justified by a religious code - which is the accusation made by this administration against regimes like the Taliban, only on the other foot.

Americans need to show the aggressive "religous right" Republicans the door in November. Both houses of congress need to move to the Democrat side, if for no other reason as to hold the Republican Party accountable for taking the country nowhere during the last six years. But first, President Bush should at least fire Donald Rumsfeld for creating the most visible and costly failure of his presidency. Does this Texas cowboy have any backbone at all?

Cynthia McKinney Must be Chastened

Cynthia McKinney is a major embarassment to the Democratic Party. If her conduct is not repudiated by the House Democrat leadership I fear that much of the public support gained via the Bush administration's total ineptness will be lost. This is a time to stand up for civility and respect for law, and a time to stand against false claims of racism.

Democrats rightfully stand with minorities and the common man or woman, but Cynthia McKinney must not be allowed to escape the consequences of her bad behavior. She is no role model for anyone, and especially not for young black Americans.

If I, as a senior executive in a large company, had walked past a security guard and then slugged him when he stopped me, I would have faced punishment from both the legal system and my company. Cynthia McKinney should have no more opportunity to escape the consequences of such an action than I would have had - none.

The House Democratic leadership has an opportunity to make a statement on this matter and to affect Congresswoman McKinney's standing in the House. Many of us are interested in the choice they make on this issue, and the choice can't help but affect the voter's choices in November. We want to see Democrats take the House, but a House with an unchastened McKinney is tainted.

You Can't "Humiliate God"

The latest bit of fundamentalist idiocy comes from the enlightened state of Afghanistan, where a fellow is in jeopardy of his life for converting from Islam to Christianity. A number of clerics have called for his beheading or "tearing apart" because the conversion "humiliates God." How could a person of God possibly come to this conclusion?

Is God so powerless that man must come to God's aid? Does the creator of the universe, the One God (Allah) require the help of finite, imperfect humans? Can a person take any action that in any way makes God feel "humiliated". Not.

Any person with even a faint glimmer of intelligence understands that God is more than capable of taking care of God, and sees that God permits and tolerates all sorts of slights by us mere mortals. The Christian scriptures say "God lets the sun shine on both the good and the bad." God seems to be pretty much a "hands-off" creator in this world, reserving judgment for a time when our work is done and we move on to another realm. But God demonstrates power in any number of natural ways, showing us clearly who is in charge.

Has God delegated to us the duty to take revenge on any person who apparently has slighted the omnipotent? Who then are we, to take God's judgment upon ourselves? Do we honor God by assuming God's prerogative? Are we worthy to do this? Or do we take a great risk if we elevate ourselves to exercise God's justice?

Fundamentalists of all religions often seem to get turned around on this point. They get so deep into their version of "religion" that they start believing that they have God's power of attorney. Some would say that this is the greatest of the devil's temptations - to convince a person that he or she can make decisions and take actions on God's part. I think, however, that man's inherent need to be powerful often can be easily satisfied by convincing the ignorant that the power is taken in God's name. "I'm just the instrument!", they cry as the axe falls or the bomb explodes.

The world needs to come down hard on these Afghani religious terrorists. God cannot be humiliated, God does not need their help to manage the universe, and they profane God by professing to kill in God's name.

Uneducated Muslims Pose Major Threat to West

They belong to a religion - Islam. There are over one billion adherents of Islam, and these Muslims outnumber Christians. They dominate from North Africa through the Middle East to south central Asia and east Asia - a vast and heavily populated geography. They live largely under authoritarian political regimes and under the supervision of clerics who have had little extra-theological education or life experience. Their allegiances have been shaped by a long history of tribal and religious sectarian conflict, and they are relate more to sectarian boundaries than to national boundaries.

Many of us know and respect Muslims who live in the West or have exposure to western culture. They are educated and peace-loving, generally speaking. They live side by side with those of other faiths, and they have dialogue where they find many areas of agreement even in areas of faith. Yet these people seem to be a small minority of the one billion Muslims. The remainder, who are influenced primarily by fundamentalist, controlling clerics, represent a major problem for the western world.

The West is responsible exacerbating the hard line beliefs of uneducated Muslims. For hundreds of years western colonial governments and western nations' foreign policies supported authoritarian governments in countries that were largely Muslim. The resulting repression enabled the clerics to become the primary hope, and voice, for the people. When life was hard, a hard religion became the only refuge for the suffering population. The clerics taught a "black and white" version of Islam that mirrored the "black and white" version of Christianity found in western fundamentalist churches. We are now facing a huge population of people who have been fully indoctrinated in hate for western customs, and for western governments who they feel continue to keep them in a state of poverty. Our support for the Shah of Iran is an excellent example of how western-supported repression resulted in the creation of an Islamic theocracy that hates us.

The violence we see in suicide bombings, beheadings, and torture emanates from the harsh history of these poor Muslim regions. Because they lack political, economic, or military power, the most angry of these people resort to terror power that is often approved by the clerics as a legitimate means to obtain their desired political and religous ends. This willingness to use terror, and the trend toward harsh Islamic law in areas where democratic elections are held, is tending to enlarge the gulf that currently separates the western countries from the Islamic nations. Reconciliation will not be easily achieved, but it is the only long term answer to developing a more peaceful world.

A two-part strategy may point the way to reconciliation. First, the West must support democracy in countries dominated by Muslims, and provide visible support to these governments in areas where their programs are positive. At the same time, the West must insist on freedom of the press, religious freedom, and non-religious laws and judges in these countries. Pressure must be put on the fundamentalists when their teachings cross the line, and religiously-dominated governments must be held to account when their actions infringe on basic human rights.

In the meantime, western countries must remain extremely vigilant to ward off the terrorist threat posed by the most anti-western of the Islamists. Their hatred has built up over many years, and it will take many years to overcome. Keeping these people away from us is the only way to minimize the damage they are intent upon doing inside our borders. Whether the Republicans or the Democrats are in power in the U.S., both need to be fully aware of the risks posed by these implacable Muslim enemies, and act accordingly.

Bush: Right on Immigrants, Wrong Everywhere Else

I've got to give our hapless president a pat on the back for his consistent support of a guest worker plan coupled with increased border security. The Mexican cats, over 11 million of them, are completely out of the bag and indispensible to our economy. Criminalizing them, and those who support them, is a silliness that makes sense only to Bill Frist and the other right wing wackos in congress. Thank you, President Bush, for being right. I just wish you had enough clout and credibility to lead your lawmaking Republican friends down the right path...but I'm not optimistic about that.

Now the bad news. G.W. Bush has made an historic miscalculation in Iraq, blown the budget, not fixed Medicare, Social Security, or the Tax Code, has stonewalled on global warming, has failed to address our fatal addiction to oil, and has favored blind religion over science. No telling what he's capable of during the next three years, but he sure could use some help.

Time for a wholesale turnover of GWB's cabinet and time to get on the right side of all the big issues! Screw the political hacks of the ultra-right! They're as much to blame as GWB for much of the mess we're in. There are plenty of bright Republicans out there who would join up if asked, and a Democrat congress will probably work with him and some smart people to fix the big problems. You got to have hope during a dark and stormy night!

This Is Why We Hunt

Welcome to Pittsford, a suburb just south of Rochester, New York. I live on a little less than an acre, in an area with many pockets of woods interspersed between the single family homes and subdivisions. Deer are everywhere, and after an easy winter they are very healthy. This doe is an old friend who had two fawns last spring in the small patch of woods behind our back yard. We've seen them often during the past ten months, and when they visited us this morning I took this picture after walking to about 35 feet of her. Her two fawns were close by.

Unfortunately, many deer are killed by cars each year in Pittsford, causing human injuries and major financial losses. Also, it's impossible to have a nice flower garden because the deer eat most annuals as soon as they grow just a few inches tall. In other words, these cute deer are a real nuisance...a few are nice, but a lot are a big problem.

About four years ago I decided to hunt again after a break of at least ten years. The deer population was out of control, and many deer were starving when we had hard winters. The hungry deer ate every bush they could find - even hollies and evergreens are regarded as "dinner" by starving deer. It was sad to see them trying to traverse through deep, crusty snow. I decided that hunting them was the only way to thin the herd to a reasonable level.

Since that time I've killed about seven deer in a pretty quick and humane manner. Several of the carcasses went to a local food cupboard and provided venision burgers for the homeless. Others went to land owners where I hunted, and the remainer went into my freezer where they became spagetti sauce and venison stew. Despite my predations the deer population is more than robust here. We need more hunters! Sadly, the hunter population is decreasing rapidly because new hunters are not replacing those who are now too old to hunt.

It's hard to believe that a human activity like "hunting for food" can decline so quickly after hundreds of thousands of years when it was a normal part of many people's lives. The modern era, with its mass-produced food, has removed the average person from contact with nature and the ways man has interacted with it throughout our history. I, for one, hope that it once again becomes appropriate for people to harvest plentiful animals for food and for the experience of stalking them in their native environment. Quite a statement for an anti-Bush liberal to make, but - everyone's got the right to create their own blend of what is right and wrong! 

Dems Lost in a Fog

It's amazing, but true. Bush's polls are at 35% but the Democrats got no message. They're hopping on him for his multitude of mistakes, but they've got no platform of their own. It seems to me that they've got no sense and no guts...they just make a lot of noise. They need to do better in order to be credible.

Suggestions for the "dense" Democrats:
- Say you can't live with radical Islam and will do everything necessary to stamp it out.
- Say you will stop illegal immigration by whatever it takes, but you will have a guest worker program that allows legal guest workers to go through a naturalization process with teeth.
- Say that underachieving Americans (read "inner city blacks" and "poor rural whites") need to start taking advantage of their educational opportunities or face Federal requirements which force compliance.
- Say that we will leave Iraq by a date certain if they gain control of congress.
- Fuggetabout trying to save $67/hour unskilled union jobs...they're history!

Or, say other stuff! Whatever! Just put it out there and stick by it. Bush may be stupid, but he's consistent. You may be smart, but so was Kerry. Get it together, you wacky libs! Until you do, you're lost in the fog.

Domestic Policy Adviser Models Theft Paradyme

Well, the latest in the Bush administration's unbelievable series of mishaps - the one immediately following the Dubai Ports debacle - has the recently resigned domestic policy adviser running a fraudulent returns scheme at Target while employed at the White House. It appears the man had a rather unusual vision of "free enterprise"...returning items that you did not purchase makes them "free"! This story appeared and disappeared in a day or two, which seems to indicate that affirmative action was somehow involved in its rapid demise.

This story had a wonderful twist to it, one that you would think would give it legs. Apparently the not-too-bright thief had been previously nominated by President Bush to be a federal judge. To be fair then, we might consider that he, facing the end of the administration in 2009, was again dreaming of a judgeship reward for his service - and getting "inside the criminal mind" as preparation for this appointment. Makes sense, doesn't it? About as much sense as Bush's explanations for everything else he's goofed up.

This has got to be one of the saddest funny stories of the year. You have to laugh at the bungling, but you have to cry about the White House employing such a pathetic figure. Maybe the high cost of living in Washington tapped out his paltry government salary and forced him to a life of crime. If so, it's not his fault. Certainly there are mitigating circumstances that will soon surface! On the other hand, maybe what will surface are new facts more complementary with the character flaws we already know about. It's a mystery sure to unfold if the media does its job.

As my favorite old boss once said, "The most important decisions you make are about the people you hire." Wish he had spent some time counseling the President...

Bush Aimless, Out of Control - As Usual

It's been another busy week for the president, who's been trying valiantly to gain back some of the ground his bumbling administration has lost since the last election. No longer the "bubble president", he's come out punching, taking questions - can you believe it? - and making his case on Iraq to the American people. But it seems like for every step forward there's two steps back.

The Iraq elections drew millions to the polls - good! The millions voted in line with the religious and geographic identities they've had for a thousand years - bad! Some sort of unity government is the only answer, but the odds are slim that a unity will be achieved. If it's not achieved the terrorists and insurgents will have safe havens to continue attacks on our troops and the new Iraqi army and police. Look out, GWB, this issue is going to keep on simmering throughout 2006, and it could boil over with the U.S. electorate! Yet I continue to hope that it does not, much as I like to see this president's chickens come home to roost. Maybe a miracle will happen and the Iraqis will get their act together.

President Bush in his news conference this week was asked about his goals for the coming year. Talk about stumbling around! World peace and Katrina recovery, that was it, and in a rambling aimless presentation. Wouldn't have made it to the finals in Miss America, that's for sure! GWB sort of forgot about social security, medicare, the tax code, the bird flu, and the rest of the big national issues he can actually do something about...guess these matters just aren't between his pointy ears right now. As they say, you can't coach brains. Or, perhaps he's decided not to mention any goals because he knows he hasn't got enough clout left to influence either the congress or the people.

GWB must have been distracted by all the questions about his approval of spying on Americans whom his spycatchers feel are communicating with the bad guys abroad. Perhaps he didn't know that spying on citizens is illegal unless a warrant is issued by a secret court set up by the congress. GWB explained that the Iraq war resolution gave him power to do just about anything that he could rationalize as security-related, and he stated his belief that the American people would want him to spy like he did. Wrong. As he and his pals love to say, America is a land where freedom is guaranteed by law. I guess some laws are just more lawful than others, and maybe some guys will start reading my email now that I've written this blog. Bad move, Mr. Imperial President. Americans worry about losing their freedoms more than they worry about the bad guys...just ask John Wayne.

So, the big question still remains: how will we get through this presidential term? Elections are almost three years away, and there seems to be no limit to the stupidity and ineptness of this president and his merry band of incompetents. If there ever was a reason to believe in the power of prayer, this is it. Let us pray.