"Doh!"

There's been talk lately about negotiating with the insurgents in Afghanistan.
Let's see how that might go:
"We will remove all American troops from your country if you will promise not to attack American troops in your country."
"Okay."
"There, I guess we showed them . . . Hey, wait a minute . . .

Generally, in a negotiation, both sides agree to give up something. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan. The Afghans have done nothing to the U.S. What the hell would they give up? What?

"Defending" America

The Defense Department was first called the War Department. I think it's time we restored the original name.
What has the Defense Department defended us against lately--some impoverished peasants in Vietnam, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Chile, Iraq? The vicious hordes of Grenada? GRENADA? I can't even find the fucking place on a map. Now we're being defended against a bunch of illiterate goatherds with antique weapons lurking in the remote mountains of Afghanistan.

I say, we bring back War Department. What does this agency do but keep us in constant, useless wars?
And here, here's really the best part--when America was actually attacked, our "expert" assclowns in the Pentagon with their trillion-dollar budgets couldn't defend us against 19 civilians armed with 79-cent box-cutters.

This country would be safer if we paid the Defense Department a few billion dollars each year to do nothing.

A Reward For Not Supplying All 19?

Our foreign policy supposedly centers upon;
1.) Spreading democracy
2.) Fighting terrorism
Accordingly, the president has just proposed the biggest arms sale in U.S. history (60 billion worth of jet fighters and helicopters) to Saudi Arabia:
1.) A monarchy with one of the worst human rights records on the planet
2.) The country that supplied 15 of the 19 9/11 conspirators, and that is currently active in spreading terrorist ideology throughout the Middle East

And we wonder why America's credibility around the world is shrinking.

Is there a better case for developing alternative energy sources than our embarrassing dependence on a feudal relic like Saudi Arabia?

Thinking The Unthinkable

Maybe it's because I'm an Alaskan, but whenever I hear speculation about Sarah Palin running for president I wonder . . . Does she know it's a 4 year commitment?

The Greatest Lie Ever Told The American People (Again):

"If we don't fight them there, we'll have to fight them here."

Did our wars in Korea, Vietnam, and Latin America prevent hordes of Communists from invading America? No. Only an insane person would claim that such a threat existed.
Did these wars cause millions to be killed, maimed, tortured, and made homeless with absolutely no benefit to the American public? Yes.

Every day that our troops are in Afghanistan al-Qaeda grows stronger, our puppet government grows weaker, and resentment against the U.S. increases.
A gang of fanatics in Afghanistan is no more a threat to us than were the freedom fighters of Vietnam or Chile.
If the aim of our military is homeland security, bring the troops home where their organization and expertise can actually be used to guard the nation--instead of endangering it further by creating more enemies.
We have to STOP THE INSANITY NOW.

I Guess She's A Moderate Again--But Not A Dangerously Extreme Moderate

The Alaskan political scene has never been more comical.
When Lisa Murkowski ran in the Republican primary against right-wingnut, Joe the Wannabe Senator, it was strictly a battle over who could be more conservative than thou. Moderate Lisa suddenly sounded like Sarah Palin.
Joe, backed by the Palin/Tea Party Express, won. Now Lisa has kicked off her write-in campaign by calling Joe a "dangerous extremist."
Amazing! In her say-anything, whatever-it-takes frenzy to keep her job, Lisa finally got something right.

(For those unfamiliar with candidate Joe Miller: The man opposes every environmental law in the book. He wants to abolish all entitlements including Social Security and Unemployment Insurance, has declared global warming a hoax, and will not deny being a "birther.")

Embarrassment?

The resistance to that Muslim cultural center in Manhattan might be better understood if you consider that the proposed Twin Tower Memorial has remained essentially, for nine years, a hole in the ground.
I guess it would be embarrassing to see a monument to Islamic culture completed before the monument to our own.

"Come On-- We're Allowed To Vote Ourselves Raises, Why Not Tax Breaks?"

Concerning the current tax debate in Washington: Maybe all senators and congressmen earning over 250K/year should be excused from voting on this issue.
Isn't voting to keep a tax break for yourself a conflict of interest?

It's YOUR Mess We're Cleaning Up--And, No, We Don't Like It Either

I just turned my radio off in disgust.
To all the tea-party assclowns who are screaming mad about government bail-outs: These bail-outs are like abortions-- no one really wants them, but sometimes they're needed.
If you don't like the present administration's efforts to straighten out the economy, you should have thought of that when you voted for George Bush and his millionaire cronies who spent 8 years raiding the wealth of this nation to line their own pockets.

Maybe It's Time To Ask For A Raise

Well, it's back to work again with my solidly Republican carpentry crew. Someone has a radio and it seems like I've been listening all day to House Minority Leader Boehner blathering about tax cuts for folks making over 250K/year.

I make a point of never discussing wages with my co-workers, but as they are all supporters of Boehner and his cronies, I'm beginning to wonder if I've seriously missed the boat somewhere--if everyone else is making a hell of a lot more money than me.
Let's see now: To make 250K I'd need an hourly wage of . . . .

Just Crazy Enough It Might Work!

I was glad to hear the president express his desire to improve relations with the Islamic world.
Let's see now, how can we do that . . . ? Hey, here's an idea: What if we ended our invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. You think that would help? You think?

Read This Blog Or I'll Start Killing Puppies--Cute Ones! Available For Interviews, Radio And TV Appearances, 24/7

Once again, I have to blame the media for the Florida Koran-burning "crisis." Of all the people in this country that could be granted their 15 minutes of fame, you pick this mororn?
Rev. Jones uses the terms "Muslim" and "terrorist" interchangeably. Because of all the mass-media coverage, Muslims around the world will now use "American" and "ignorant cracker" interchangeably. Thanks!

"Hey Gang, If That's Fun, On December 7th We Could Smash Windows At Sushi Bars"

To the Florida "patriots" who want to burn Korans on 9/11:
Why not make the gesture a true symbol of your views by tossing a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution into the fire too?

And you could get some blond-haired, blue-eyed children to march, maybe pipe in some Wagner, and . . .

"It's Easier To Rob By Setting Up A Bank Than By Holding Up A Bank"--Bertolt Brecht

Sometimes a few numbers are worth more than a thousand words:
In the past decade, wages in America have increased 3%. The price of a home has increased 21%.

If These Were The Good Old Days You Would Probably Be Starving, Crippled, Or Dead

To Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, and all the other ignorant assclowns who want to go back to the "Good Old Days": THERE WERE NO GOOD OLD DAYS--unless maybe you you were a rich, white, male for whom it's always been a good day.
But what if you were a poor black farmer working 16 hours a day for a wealthy landowner? What if you were a maid who after a hard day's labor was told she had to stand at the back of the bus? What if you were an American citizen who was expected to fight and die for his country but was barred from hotels, restaurants, and washrooms? What if you paid taxes but were not allowed to vote? What if you were a Japanese or Aleut American thrown out of his home and put into a camp? What if you were a victim of polio or diphtheria? What if you were a resident of Dresden or Hiroshima? What if . . .

You never have to wonder when the "good old days" were. They're today--always have been, always will be. No society has ever benefited from going backwards. Period.

Working Man Blues

I'm back at work, and again I am pained by all the blue-collar Republicans. So many young workers who know nothing of the labor movement in this country. They don't know that their good wages, hours, and benefits were all won by unions--unions that, for the most part, were supported by progressive Democrats and resisted by the conservative Republicans they keep voting into office.
As always, I try to educate my co-workers. It's not easy--especially with right-wing mass-media hucksters turning their heads. But, as always, I meet with some success. I'm done with marching and fighting in the street, but in my quiet, plodding way I have the satisfaction that I'm still fighting the good fight. What else can I do?