Privilege of Anonymity

Although it is repugnant for me to do so because it has a chilling effect on free speech, I had to change the posting requirements for this web-page. Of course, I am happy to receive any and all comments here, and I will only censor spam (i.e., repetitive duplicate posts), hate speech, or obscene material. I believe the privilege to publish one's opinion anonymously is central to any functioning free society. Nevertheless, as this blog becomes more popular, it becomes increasingly difficult for me to moderate appropriately. I hope the new policy doesn't discourage too many people from posting here. Anyone who is interested in becoming an official contributer to this forum please feel free to send a writing sample to my email address.

Bloggers, please feel free to leave links with your comments.

As always, I am grateful for your participation!

World War III

How does one make a distinction between "occupation" and "invasion"? It should be obvious right? Most would immediately say that an occupation is temporary and an invasion permanent.  But, let us look more closely at these words.

My Encarta Dictionary tells me that the first definition of "occupation" is "1. the job by which somebody earns a living." That makes sense when I think about what the United States is doing in the Middle-East. But wait, we're talking about a military action, right? The traditional military use of  the word "occupation" according to Encarta, is "4. MILITARY the invasion and control of a country or area by enemy forces."  Hhmmn, there is nothing there about leaving the invaded country...

The order by which Encarta lists the definitions for any given word are supposed to be representative of the commonality of their usage, so I was not surprised when I looked up "invasion" to find that the first definition was perfectly military in its application, "1. a hostile entry by an armed force into a country's territory, especially with the intention of conquering it."  Again, there is nothing here about leaving the invaded country. I like this word better for a description of what our country has done in the Middle-East; there is no deception with this word.

Of course our troops in the Middle-East are planning to leave...just as soon as they are done building a few more permanent military bases. Just like in Viet Nam, our presence there will eventually change the culture into a more "American friendly" place to be. The US military never had a plan for "leaving" Iraq, because that is not what an "invasion" is all about.

Let us use words that convey the true meaning of our actions in the Middle-East when we talk about our "enterprises" there. And let us not pretend that we are conducting "police actions" or "occupations"--this is not a "war on terror." We are in the middle of nothing less than World War III! How many nations are involved in this global power struggle? I think they all are...

Please leave your comments below.  Especially if you disagree with me!

Israel Admits Stealing Organs From Palestinian Corpses

Apparently, after some hemming and hawing the Israeli government has finally admitted to stealing organs from the corpses of dead Palestinians. Why is this not surprising to me? The Israeli government has committed countless war crimes against the Palestinians, and they show no signs of changing their ways. This story has barely been reported in the United States, so I thought I would make a point of mentioning it here.

As always, I welcome your comments.

DeGeneres To Palin On Gay Marriage Ban

Although I see her as one of those "centrist" liberals, I fully agree with Ellen DeGeneres on this subject.



If there are still conservatives who will debate with me that the right-wing is the enemy of freedom in the United States, I would love to hear your comments on this...

Wedding Photographer Ordered to Pay Same Sex Couple

It appears that the photographer, a Christian, felt that it was against her religious beliefs to photograph a same sex couple who later brought a civil suit against her for discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Taos judge agreed and ordered the photographer to pay the couple $6,600+. The case is on appeal, of course.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/judge_upholds_ruling_against_photographers_who_declined_work_at_homosexual_ceremony/

Let Us Remember The Heroes

Do you recognize this man? Most will say he looks vaguely familiar, and he should...in my opinion, this is the greatest hero of the war in Iraq. This man had the courage and the fortitude to stand up and say what he believed in, in spite of the swift and brutal retaliation that he knew he would receive for doing so. This is the famous Shoe Throwing Reporter, Muntadhar al-Zeidi. He had the nerve to throw both of his shoes at Former President Bush in a show of disgust for the lies and propaganda spread by the Bush administration. He endured nine months of torture in an Iraqi prison for his act of defiance, and was released last September.

After his release, al-Zeidi said that he believes US forces "...will spare no efforts to track me as an insurgent revolutionary in a bid to kill me..." He has since gone into hiding with his family.

Please post a comment below...especially if you disagree with me!

Green Party Takes Over California Town

Arcata, California........this small northern California town has just become one of very few in the nation that has a City Council which is dominated by Green Party council members.

Read the article here: Hippie Kids Call The Shots

The controversial Green Party, has raised rancor among Democrats who claim that they take liberal, libertarian, and independent votes away from Democrat candidates. Many Greens feel that the Democratic Party hasn't done enough to stand up against the inhumane Republican party and its expansionist, pro-corporation policies. Some believe that the Democrats and Republicans are really all working for the same masters--a small 2% of the planet's population, which is in control of virtually all of the its wealth.

Wage Slavery In America (how they did it)

Here is a beautiful little gem I found on the web. This is a classic propaganda cartoon which warns of the dangers of state regulation of private enterprise. It is interesting to look at the statistics cited and compare them to our current situation. Comments anyone?

Number of "Unemployed" Americans Much Higher Than Reported

I didn't think of this until I saw this funny little movie, but there are a lot more people out of work than the news agencies are leading us to believe...now I don't feel quite so bad.



Call your representatives now and tell them to stop giving money to the military. We need road maintenance, bridges, schools, hospitals, housing, and food, not bombs to blow up schools and hospitals in other countries. Thank you!

Conservatives Still Deny Global Warming

I could be paddling a rowboat down Market Street in San Francisco after the poles have melted, and there will still be conservative fanatics who deny that humans are responsible for Global Warming or that it is even real.



Why this stubborn refusal to acknowledge the most respected scientists on the planet in favor of studies funded by lobbyists and political organizations with obvious ties to corporate interests? I see four possible reasons:

1. They believe it, but don't care: These people are so attached to the wealth created by their surreptitious business holdings that they are incapable of concern for their less fortunate peers, other species, or future generations of humans. This would be very disturbing, because it would mean that a huge portion of our population is actually evil.

2. They are simply to afraid to face the truth: Like ostriches who hide their heads in the sand when there is danger present, their fear doesn't allow them to admit their impending doom.

3. They are racked with guilt: Perhaps they just cannot face the guilt associated with their participation in the destruction of thousands of species of plants and animals; the possible extermination of the human race (or at least our civilization); and the destruction of an ecosystem which is the legacy of every person alive as well as those not yet born.

4. They are just ignorant: This is not very likely, but maybe they simply lack the intellect required to process the information available and come to the obvious conclusion that most intelligent people came to, back in the early seventies.

Such foolishness reminds me of the catholic church's pathetic attempts at stifling any theories that threatened their geocentric model of the universe. Whatever the reason for this self induced ignorance, we must try to educate them of the truth however difficult that may seem. The next time you hear some uneducated hick exclaim, "Global Warming? What global warming? This was the coldest winter I can remember, so how can the planet be warming up?" or, "These are just natural fluctuations in the Earth's climate." Please speak up and explain to them that only religious fanatics who cling to the notion of creationism and a flat Earth still doubt the unfortunate reality of global warming.



I liken our current situation to that faced by the inhabitants of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) before western explorers arrived to find them eating each other just to stay alive. The island was rich in resources, but its superstitious inhabitants squandered those resources trying to outdo each other by carving and erecting enormous stone monoliths which were meant to bring luck to their individual clans. Had they used those resources to build ships instead of statues, their culture may have survived and even flourished. Earth is also a remote island with finite resources. Our skyscrapers are our monoliths, our nations are our clans. If we don't stop our petty clan squabbles and get busy building space ships and space colonies, we may lose the opportunity altogether. Humanity may revert to an agrarian society only to be wiped out eventually when the Sun or a nearby star goes supernova; we are struck by an asteroid; or some other global catastrophe wipes us out. We cannot continue to allow the greedy, ignorant, and/or incompetent to exploit and squander the Earth's resources, which are the legacy of all life on Earth.