I am no prophet. but I have been a student of history for about half
a century. Someone said that if you don't know history, you surely will have to repeat it.
Bush & Co. do not know history.
The last four years, I have tried to warn the knuckle-heads that Iraq was a no win situation for the United States.(See Feb 23, 2005; Nov 23, 2005; Jan 10, 2006 for an example in the Bloomburg Democrat)
Joe Galloway, columnist of the Los Angeles Times has also been a warning voice over the last few years. He said this week - "War may be too important to be left to generals, but it damned sure can't be left to politicians who have no experience in it."
Bush didn't have to wait to find out these facts. Before America was even a concept in the mind of man, Sun Tzu said, "Avoid going to war in a place where you have little or no understanding of the people, culture and history."
The Bushies probably couldn't find the place on a map, had no concept of the culture of people, and thought that history was a female surgical procedure.
cd-editor
Democracy is based on laws vested by the people.
Tyrants ignore the wishes of their citizenry.
During a period of 224 years, 42 presidents have used "signing statements" 568 times to exempt their administrations from provisions of new laws. That averages less than 14/president.
President Bush has used "signing statements" 750 times in the last 6 years to subvert the wishes of the citizens of this country.
We kicked out one King George and it is time to repeat the process.
cd-editor
U.S. discretionary spending during the first five years of George W. Bush's presidency was up 35%.
How can this president claim to be a conservative? Oh, he is a religious conservative - a typlical Pharisee. Self-righteous and a proud Christian is the definition of a bigot in my New Testament.
Did I hear you say it is because of the war in Iraq - 160,000 troops. Another shaky endeavor for a Christian that is a follower of Christ.
Well Lyndon Johnson, with 500,000 troops in Vietnam had a increase of discretionary spend during the first five years of his presidency of 25%.
To put matters in a true perspective, that overt liberal, Bill Clinton had an -8% level of discretionary spending during the first five years of his presidency. Of course he was in the process of balancing the budget, feeding the poor, defending the down-trodden and acting like David.
Wake up and smell the indoles and skatoles emitting from this presidency and run in the other direction is my sage advice.
I can claim sage advice because I warned you in 1999 about this yokel.
cd-editor
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/opinion/16sun1.html
You have heard this previously, but I think you need to review it again.
The above editorial from the NYTimes is so shocking that it defies reasoning.
How can anyone continue to support this presidency is beyond me?
If there is anyone reading this blog that still thinks George Bush is a good president, I encourage you to identify yourself so that we can get you medical help.
cd-editor
Robert Kirby has got my number.
He said, the reason that I am so fat is because I listen to the spirit of the Lard.
He claims all us Latter-day Saints only have eatin meetins.
Amen, Bro Kirby
The wages of sin are low cholesterol and 5% body fat.
cd-editor
The Geneva Conventions was ratified by the U.S. Congress in 1955 and these conventions declare that violation of Common Article Three of these conventions is a war crime against humanity and those that violate these conventions shall be held accountable by all the signing nations.
Common Article Three bars cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment, as well as outrages againsts human dignity.
The "Torture Memo" approved at the highest level of our government is in direct conflict with Common Article Three. Not only does this new standard provide as a "legal doctrine" maltreatment of prisoners in American control, it gives the Commander-in-Chief the right to order torture if it is a military necessity.
This legal doctrine , so states the Attorney Gereral of the United States, "could render specific conduct, otherwise criminal, not unlawful".
Our President is a war criminal, even under the most narrow of definitions.
He not only is breaking U.S. law but also internaional law.
Least we not forget:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and out Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness -
cd-editor
For over 205 years the 5th Amendment of the Constitution has deemed the importance of due process. This concept of human behavior was emphasized by executive order during the Reagan, Bush 41 and Clinton adminstrations. This executive order prohibited assassination as a policy of the U.S. government.
Bush 43 (in this case a relationship to IQ) saw fit to remove this executive order and thereby destroy another cherished principle of American moral ethic.
When we add this to the list of other polcy blunders, it is no wonder that Bush withdrew the U.S. from the World Court's jurisdiction.
I believe that history will set the record straight on this man's actions.
His comrade in faith, Pat Roberson is also a believer in "elimination with extreme prejudice".
God help them.
cd-editor
It appears that the Bush Administration is depending on God to correct Global Warming.
Instead of listening to scientists, such as James Hansen PhD, this administration is trying to shut him up. Dr. Hansen is a physicist that works at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and he has come forth to warn the world that we are reaching a point of no return concerning global warming. He has also stated that world population growth is a leading cause of this catastrophe. This growth in population is the indirect cause of increased pollution.
The godly Bush group wants to delete any reference to population control. They misinterpret "God said to multiply and replenish the earth". He didn't mean "multiply and destroy the earth".
I think my greatest fear for our nation is of crusading conservatives Christians.
It appears that even Jesus couldn't depend on God to get him out of trouble - "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"
So how can this administration expect that God will correct all our mistakes?
If you are still not worried about global warming I suggest you read The End of Oil by Paul Roberts (see review under book reviews).
Friends, your children's future is at risk. We must start the correction of this problem before it is too late. Remember once you jump off a cliff it is too late to turn back and there is a good chance that God will not send an angel to catch you.
cd-editor
As I read today's headlines, it makes me think I am stuck in 1967.
As I look down and see my belly, it brings me back to reality.
The 1967 headlines were telling of our success in Vietnam with bold body count numbers. If you had kept tract of the numbers of Viet Cong killed in the newspapers they would have been an extinct species.
Didn't we learn anything during that war?
Today's headlines page 1:
Top al Qaida operatives killed in Pakistan missle attack.
On page 4 in less bold print:
Pakistan can't find any bodies from U.S. missle attack.
It doesn't take a rocket scientists to figure out what is going on.
Since 1951 there has been a federal law banning propaganda by the government with the purpose of giving American citizens false information.
I can hear old Dubya this morning at breakfast, "Tell them liberals to kiss my grits. I can do what ever I damn well please."
I think he is right. Considering spying on U.S. citizens, torture of prisoners, starting wars without congressional approval, failing to fund programs passed by congress and outing our own spy.
This old boy thinks he is still Governor of Texas and his Daddy controls all the papers in the state.
Oh well, just remember, you get what you vote for.
cd-editor
Why We Will Not Win In Iraq
I disagree with Howard Dean that we cannot win the war in Iraq. I think we will not win the war because we have not the will to win.
We are a nation of fast food, quick results, and short attention span. We will not win a war fighting an insurgency without patience.
The Chinese Communists fought for almost 30 years; the Vietnamese Communists for exactly 30 years; the Sandinistas for almost 20 years; the Palestinians for almost 40 years; the Chechens for 10 years and Al Qaeda has been fighting for more than 20 years if you consider their incarnation as the Afghan Service Bureau founded in Pakistan in 1984.
Can anyone visualize us still in Iraq in 2015, while losing 1000 U.S. soldiers a year?
This amorphous sort of war, a guerrilla and insurgent war, is known in military circles as a fourth generation war (4GW).
Bush & Company had no idea what they were getting into.
Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney thought that they could fight a Wal-Mart war - on the cheap. They predicted a laser guided, main battle tank, machine vs. machine war. Destroy the enemy and go home.
Ignorance of history always extracts a price.
The nineteenth-century military genius Carl von Clausewitz stated: "the first, the supreme, most far-reaching act of judgment that the statesman and commander have to make is to establish the kind of war on which they are embarking: neither mistaking it for, nor trying to turn it into, something that is alien to its nature."
Bush didn't have a clue when he said, "Bring 'em on".
Having never been shot at , it was easy for him to forget who would have to defend that statement.
We are in a situation much like Vietnam - everyone in the country looks like the enemy, as we destroy the country, everyone does become the enemy, and we are setting up a corrupt government, call democratic, that will fold as soon as we leave the country.
As I have stated before, we have to either kill everyone in the country or get out.
I don't think we have the stomach for the first option, so lets go home and defend out borders.
cd-editor
Good riddance to 2005.
In nearly all aspects it was a bummer.
It is hard to find any good thing to say about the past year.
I blame George Dubya Bush.
I would have been more tolerant of storms, earthquakes, wars, torture, religious hypocrisy, fires, floods, bombings, gays, abortion, intelligent design,
"God Bless America", and stupidty if GD Bush was still drilling dry holes in West Texas.
Three more years of this and I will be ready to go to the otherside even if there is no otherside.
cd-editor
The November 14 issue of The New Yorker has an article starting on page 44,
A Deadly Interrogation, that describes the Bush's Administration policy on torture of terrorists suspects.
The CIA was responsible for the death of Manadel al-Jamadi in the Abu Ghraid prison in November of 2003.
The following is an excerpt from that article:
Walter Diaz, a military policeman, was on guard duty at Abu Ghraid the morning that Jamadi was delivered to the prison. He told me, "The O.G.A. -"other government agencies," initials commonly used to protect the identity of the CIA -" would bring in people all the time to interview them......
They were their prisoners. They'd get into a room and lock it up. We, as soldiers, didn't get involved. We'd lock the door for them and leave. We didn't know what they were doing." But, he recalled. "we heard a lot of screaming".
As an American, this type of conduct makes me sick at my stomach.
I can possible think of circumstances where I might torture someone, but never would I want it to be the official policy of my country.
The Bush Administration has repeatedly stated that they do not torture. I must ask why they want to pass a law that makes torture legal? Does the fact that President Bush refused to allow the U.S. to participate in the World Court have anything to do with this policy? I think so.
We are becoming terrorists and a member of the evil empire. How this administration can claim to be Christian is beyond me.
These actions are sanctioned by the main-stream churches in the United States by default. If they don't condemn these actions from the pulpit, then they must condone them.
If this is Christian, then I want to be something else.
cd-editor
Fear of the truth is probably the most debilitating reason for people to not improve their station in life.
Consider racism:
I read a statement this morning by a leading black journalists that traditional Africian education was based on integrity. By today's standards, historically there was no traditional Africian education. Tribal mores do not make life better in todays environment. If blacks want a place in today's society, then they must understand what is entailed in the requirments.
Amerindians are confronting the same predictment. They will never be able to live the life of the noble savage. There was never such a person.
Consider politics:
If you are looking for a politician that meets the example of political integrity as set by our Founding Fathers, you need to look no farther. The myth of the goodness of our early leaders is just that, a myth.
Power always trumps equality.
Consider religion:
If you accept statements like - perfect doctrine, you cannot then examine this doctrine with an open mind.
If you accept the statement - the prophet has spoken there is no need for discussion, then you must believe that man is infallible.
If you believe that God will never turn down a righteous request, then how do you explain the death of an innocent child?
If you believe the statement - the most correct book ever written, how do you explain hundreds of corrections?
Accepting statements as fact because we want them to be fact is dangerous to our adapting to the world in which we live.
Truth is often conditional, but can always be adapted to the conditions in which we live if we are honest with ourselves.
cd-editor
For those of you that think The Washington Times is a newspaper , you are mistaken.
The Washington Times is a voice from God, ah, Sun Myung Moon.
For those of you not fimiliar with the earthly name of God, he is the Korean mystic that claims to be God incarnate that marries thousands of total strangers at mass marriage ceremonies.
If the idea of this guy controlling the paper is not enough to scare you off, then consider the fact the employees of the paper praise his celestial guidance.
At the 15th Anniversary Celebration, he said in the Founder's Address that he was pleased with the leadership of the paper for "working so hard with me to develop the Times".
The publisher and editor then praised him for his inspired leadership.
What a waste of trees.
This so called newspaper is nothing more than a ultra conservative propaganda sheet.
It is even less independant than the Deseret News; and that is saying a mouth full. At least the Deseret News has some contrarian editoral writers. That is not to say the Deseret News will discuss flaws in Mormon leadership, but at least they cover some opposing views in politics.
I have concerns about freedom of the press when God is a respector of persons.
Oh well, any paper that supports Bush 100% must be an enigma.
cd-editor
Maybe it is time to look back at the 1960's and see what happened to a man that was against the Vietnam War.
With all the banter and name calling that is going on today between the conservative pro-war fraction and the liberal anti-war fraction, now would be a good time to remember Morris J. Starsky.
Cindy Sheehan is being called a traitor and those that are against the Iraq war are being accused of aiding the enemy and helping the terrorists win the war in Iraq.
This war in Iraq will be won or lost in the halls of Congress and the minds of the American people not in the sands of Iraq.
When enough people decide that the sacrifice is too great and the reason for the war too phony, then the members of congress will force the president to remove the troops from Iraq.
Morris Starsky made such a stand in the 1960's as he protested the Vietnam War as a war that we could not win and that we should have never been involved in the first place.
He was a short, bald, bispectled philosophy professor at Arizona State University. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Arizona is and was a ultra-conservative state whose citizens in the majority supported the war in Vietnam.
He attended anti-war rallies, spoke against the war in his classes and generally went against the grain of the university administration.
The Johnson Administration had him investigated and discredited by the Phoenix office of the FBI.
Even though he was tenured, false charges were made against him by the school board of reagents and he was fired.
He was black balled and was never able to aquire another teaching job at the university level.
He died at a relatively young age from all the stress of defending his position and trying to support a young family.
Once an outcast, he is now considered a patriot.
How soon we forget.
Anyone against the war in Iraq is considered unpatriotic and pro-terrorists.
Maybe a look back in time will help us reconsider right from wrong.
cd-editor
Energy Shortage - New York Times
What did I tell you!
cd-editor
Oil and Blood - New York Times
Bob Herbert may not be 100% correct, but I bet he is not far wrong.
I read The Prize about 5 or 6 years ago and it seems to have been written by a prophet.
Oil is still king and will be for another 25 years.
It is the cheapest form of energy that we have available. Cheapest that is if you don't put much worth on U.S. soldier's lives.
Any President worth his stay in the White House is forced to try to keep this oil economy afloat.
I am not saying this is morally correct; just saying it is a fact of life.
Historically this has been going on since the British converted their fleet from coal to oil.
Old Winston knew the value of "Texas Tea" and Old Dubya is nobody's fool.
cd-editor
This Pentagon reminds me of Henry VIII.
If you don't like the answer, get a new bride.
Rumsfeld will never run out of brides that are willing to prostitute themselves to his ideas.
There are a few generals that chose the Tower rather than toe the line, but there will always be those that are willing to marry for fame and money.
The weak point in all this mayhem is the citizens of this great country that are willing to accept any atrocity as long as this Administration sticks to it's fundalmentalists religious ethics.
Its the old, stop abortions(the killing of innocent prelife 8 cell globs) and we will allow you to go and kill all those guilty citizens of Iraq that you can kill. Heck, they are lost souls anyway.
Dubya knows that God has directed him in this earth cleansing effort. Didn't he tell Moses the same thing.
We gag on a gnat and swallow a camel.
cd-editor
Dangerous Incompetence - New York Times
Same old stuff, same old answer.
Terrible leadership, terrible casualty list.
I wish I could stop writing about this stuff, but I can't as long as we are losing good men and women in this stupid war.
cd-editor
If this doesn't shock you, you must be a true believer in the actions of our president.
If it does shock you, scream bloody murder at the top of your lungs and maybe, just maybe, we can change the direction of this country.
cd-editor
Hard to agree with this commentary, but I do agree.
cd-editor
The burning of the girl's school in Afghanistan yesterday is just another example that we have made very little progress in the last three thousand years against religious radicalism.
It would be easy to just point a finger at the Taliban in Afghanistan and say, "they are just religious fanatics.
However, if you review actions taken by mainstream churches today, you see the same mentality. Maybe not as overt, but still to be labeled fanatical.
The gender position of the fundalmentalist religions have not changed that much.
Keep the wife at home - barefoot and pregnant.
Unequal leadership positions in church, government and business.
Men - church, own the reproductive assets by controlling abortion, access to birth control and sex education.
Unequal facilities at church universities.
Subservience dictated by church doctrine.
You have come a long way baby, but don't get complacent because the religious right would be happy to burn your schools, metaphorically.
cd-editor
Let's Talk About Iraq - New York Times
Come on Thomas, you are desperate and not thinking this morning.
You do remember Vietnam, don't you.
More troops in Iraq at this stage just means more deaths, both U.S. and Iraqi.
The Shiite's are not going to compromise at this stage of the game. It is the bottom half of the ninth inning and they are ahead by 10 runs.
Why would they want to share power with the Sunni's or Kurds.
The Kurds will be happy to have their own little oil rich country and get away from all those radical Islamists.
The Sunni's are outside the fence looking through a knot-hole and can't see the score board.
Let's look for an exit strategy that does not include a helicopter evacuation from the U.S. Embassy.
cd-editor
Fear and Rejection - New York Times
An interesting take on the effects of liberalism in Europe and it's relationship to American liberalism.
Is there a correlation, or is this comparing apples to oranges?
cd-editor
Karl's New Manifesto - New York Times
What a shock!
David Brooks is the NYT-in-resident token conservative.
What is his point here?
It appears that he is a turncoat to the ideology of the radical right.
Is he saying the Dubya is all boots and no cows?
George Wills must reply to save the day.
cd-editor
Sometimes it takes a death in the family to cause us to re-think known truth.
This good Republican trusted his government, president, and prophet in their support of the Republican Party and it's quest to save the world and protect American enterprize.
It appears that he now has less trust in the government and president but has yet to questions why his church is a Republican bastion.
Maybe I am jumping to conclusions, just maybe he has asked that question about his church but is not to the point of doing so publicly.
When a religious organization supports a political party because of its supposed moral trappings, it is on a slippery slope to open criticism.
When you bind yourself to organizations that bend the truth to win support, you are binding yourself to injustice and no church can survive in that atmosphere.
cd-editor
Clashes Break Out Over U.S. Occupation - Yahoo! News
To a student of history, Iraq has so many similiarities to the debacle that we had in Vietnam.
This is a no win situation no matter how the Bush Administration paints this canvas.
Dubya was wise in making sure that the U.S. had no part in the World Court.
His indictment would be forth coming.
cd-editor
It case you missed it, the most important event to occur in the last three years in the Middle East occurred the first of this week.
No it wasn't Secretary Rice's suprise visit to Iraq. It was the visit of the Iranian foreign minister with the government officials of Iraq on Wednesday.
It is interesting to note that the death of more than 1600 U.S military personnel and 10,000+casualties is for the purpose of setting up a Shiite Islamic theocratic government in Iraq.
I suspect this was not the intended purpose of the Bush Administrations excursion into Iraq, but that is what you get.
Since President Bush has labeled Iran as a member of the Axis of Evil, does this mean that Iraq has become a de facto member of this group.
I guess this is evolutionary justice. Testosterone actions begets bastards and it appears that Iraq is a bastard state that the president would just as soon forget that he created.
To strenghten this argument, Iraq today took the blame for the Iraq-Iran war.
Is this justice or what?
cd-editor
In From the Cold, to a Cold Shoulder - Yahoo! News
Some good Republican congressman needs to make sure this situation is corrected.
We owe this man for time served.
cd-editor
Staying What Course? - New York Times
This may come as a shock to you, but I have no opinion on what we need to do about Iraq.
This is a damn if we do and damn if we don't situation.
Of course, the best option was to have never started this war.
That is 20 - 20 hindsight.
I could go back to when I did have an opinion and say, "I told you so", but what good will that do?
God help us.
cd-editor
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Loudly, With a Big Stick
A well stated article on the problems in the U.N.
I appreciate all the problems that the U.S. faces in trying to accept some form of global government.
The nations that try to live by laws suffer the consequences of those that don't.
Laws are only good at keeping honest people honest, peaceful people peaceful and just people just.
That said, Bolton is described by Brooks as a failure in diplomacy, so why put this guy in a position where being diplomatic is at a premium.
Even the conservatives that support Bush, like David Brooks, finds it hard to understand how the president makes such stupid mistakes.
Forrest Gump's mother would understand.
cd-editor
Hey, don't rewrite history. We all know that God intervened in the BYU - SMU game at the Holiday Bowl a couple of decades ago.
All and I do mean all good Mormons believe that BYU is God's university. To state otherwise is heresy.
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Curveball the Goofball
This might be funny if it didn't cost 10 million dollars and cover-up the cause of thousands of deaths and maimings of U.S. soldiers and 10's of thousands of Iraqis.
cd-editor
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: We Can't Remain Silent
When we allow the terrorists to set the standard, that we as a government follow, they have won the battle.
War is hell, but we can't allow it to make us the devil.
cd-editor
In the mouths of two or three witnesses, all things will be known unto the Lord.
I want to say in front of all the witnesses that read the Bloomburg Democrat that I do not want to live a life as described as a vegetative state.
I understand how hard it is to give up someone that you love.
I have had to cross that bridge more than you know. I made the decision for two parents and several others that wanted my counsel when they were nearing the end of their life. I was the one responsible for taking a sister in the gospel off life support. I understand the stress and pain of making these decisions; they are never easy.
At this time of my life, I have no fear of death. Of course, I hope that it will be swift and with less than bearable pain, but who can pick their passing without breaking moral convention. I ask that you assist me to die with dignity. If I cannot take care of my basic bodily needs, I desire to depart this life as soon a physically possible. This is my definition, for myself, of a good death.
I do not fear the unknown of death. I have tried to be the best person that I know how to be. I have few regrets. If there is a heaven, I expect to go there, if not, then I have no expectations.
I have a living will, but as we see with current events, that may or may not be sufficient to be fullfilled in all circumstances.
I sent this request to you, my children, with complete faith that you will help me die with dignity. If I become weak when the time nears, I want you to remind me that I should set a standard of courage. I have not addressed this to your Mother because I know that she understands my thoughts on this subject and respects my wishes.
Love, Dad
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Homeland Insecurity
If you want to find out for yourself if we are in trouble with the trade deficit, just go to your nearest railroad crossing and count the number of flat-bed railcars carrying containers from China.
China is dangerous and we have given them our blessing to rule the world.
What blessing you ask?
They control our economy. It is like the relationship you have with the bank that holds your mortgage. What ever they say, you do.
cd-editor
The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: Unraveling the Fabric of Our Lives
This program also drove the poor small farmer out of business in the U.S.
Thanks to Ike and the Prophet.
cd-editor
You will not find this a problem in the Bloomburg Democrat.
We call um as we see um.
Although, pin head liberal is kept reserved for use by our red-necked contributors.
cd-editor
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: To Have and to Hold, for Richer for Poorer
David Brooks looks at a real question for married couples to solve.
How to handle family finances.
I would guess that are as many ways as there are couples. Making money decisions is one of the important keys to a successful marriage.
I suspect that money causes more divorces than any other subject.
I don't have an answer for you; you and your spouse have to work that out to you own satisfaction.
cd
Yahoo! News - Italy probes possible CIA role in abduction
More on the kidnapping of suspected terrorists outside the legal confinds of the U.S. Constitution.
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Thrown to the Wolves
This is a follow-up on the article in The New Yorker.
This is sickening.
cd
September 3, 1967 NYT
U.S. Encouraged By Vietnam Vote
Officials Cite 83% Turnout Despite Vietcong Terror
A successful election has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson's policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional processes in South Vitnam.
Does this sound familiar?
The analogy goes even further when you consider that:
1. Two of South Vietnam's neighbors, Laos and Cambodia, were belligerent about U.S. actions in the area.(think Syria and Iran)
2. The U.S. staged the plebiscites.
3. This was dubbed a war for democracy.
4. Insurgent numbers were deflated.
5. Local support of U.S. was inflated.
6. Body counts of insurgents were inflated.
7. U.S. losses were minimalized.
8. U.S. citizens were ambivalent.
9. The "Domino Theory" was incorrect. (WMD)
10. War was colonial.
11. McNamara lied. (Rumsfeld)
12. President Johnson had major character flaws.(What is the word greater than major for Bush?)
This comparison could go on and on, but you get the idea.
Does this suggest a flaw in the system of government we employ or is it just human nature?
Maybe this to shall not pass.
cd-editor
The New York Times > Sports > Pro Football > A Football Giant Was a Hero at Iwo Jima
Great story. This is what makes America strong.
Why men and women make these kinds of sacrifices is unknown.
It appears to extend back into our genetic origin. It appears to be hard-wired outside our conscious self.
cd-editor
Killing farm subsidies is long past due.
This has been a program to enrich the rich since the beginning.
The program was expanded during the Eisenhower Administration under the then Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson to the point of choking the small farmer and kissing big agri-business.
I remember listening to Paul Harvey on the radio, when I was a kid, talking about this great new program to help small farmers. We - Daddy, Momma and Me - would be eating breakfast in the kitchen at 6:30am, cereal, toast, and coffee every morning 365 days a year.
Paul would be telling how Secretary Benson's new Soil Bank Program was going to save the small family farm.
Wern't so!
I can hear my Daddy cussin still to this day(course he never said a cuss word in his life).
"Well garden seed, Benson is going to starve us all to death with this program", Daddy said. "He ain't worth a hill of beans."
He knew of what he spoke because we were the epitome of the small farmer. 143 acres, 8 acres of cotton, 20 acres of hay, 8 cows, 2 acres of corn, 2 acres of peas, 3 acres of watermelons, 13 chickens, 1 hog, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and a 1 acre garden.
Under this "new plan" to save the small farmer, we were allotted 1/2 acre of cotton and they paid us $35 a year for the other 7 1/2 acres we were not allowed to plant. The USDA said that we were not in the cotton zone so they gave the allotment to some big farmer out in West Texas. We made about $100 an acre on the cotton, so that figured out to a loss of $715 a year. That ain't chicken feed to a family who's total income for the year is in the neighborhood of $4000. Also we couldn't plant peanuts even for family use. My Daddy did not take well to the idea of some yokel in Washington telling him what he could and could not plant on his own ground. So we planted two rows of peanuts in the garden, whether we wanted to or not.
Oh well, another small family farm bites the dust.
cd-editor
Luckly I still live in Zion. Where else on God's green earth can a man go and get a hair cut at 5:30am?
I had the pleasure of getting to Coat's Barber Shop just as the door opened this morning. Of course, Melvin and I had only a few minutes to discuss things of importance(weather, price of hogs, etc,) before the regular crew showed up.
Freddie Brimer, Tooter Lummus and Bubba Brooks wern't far behind.
Then the conversation turned to cam shafts, seed potatoes and farting.
The Supreme Court has about shut down all the decent places a man can go to get away from women. That's not to say a lady with her son is not welcome, it's just that when she's there the men straighten up and act civilized. No more farmer's daughter and traveling salesman stories or light cussing.
Once old Melvin goes to the great hair palace in the sky, where are we going to go to find out about the price of cattle, best fishing hole on the lake and how come Junior Fassbender's hound dog can't bark at tree no more.
Of course, things have changed. After 15 short years at $7, Melvin has raised the cost of a haircut to $8. Damn inflation!
If you want to see Americana at it's best, see you at Melvin's in two weeks when Lisa gives me another $8 for a haircut.
cd-editor
Coercion is natural; freedom is artificial.
Freedoms are socially engineered spaces where parties engaged in specified pursuits enjoy protection from parties who would otherwise naturally seek to interfere in those pursuits. One person's freedom is therefore always another person's restriction: we would not have even the concept of freedom if the reality of coercion were not always present. We think of a freedom as a right, and therefore the opposite of a rule, but a right is a rule. It is a prohibition against sanctions on certain types of behavior. We also think of rights as privileges retained by individuals against the rest of society, but rights are created not for the good of individuals, but for the good of society. Individual freedoms are manufactured to achieve group ends.
From: The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menand, page 409
These views were developed in the modern era by John Dewey and Oliver Wendall Holmes.
This idea of the social construction of freedoms is counter to the concept of a God given right.
It is interesting that the Bush administration, God fearing fundalmentalist, are basing the definition of freedom on the secular views of the early twentieth century.
This secular view would give credence to the current idea that the Geneva Convention Rights are not inviolate.
It is possible that my judeo-christian background is what taught me the "rule of honor" that I now think is a God given right.
If there are no God given rights, then the standard would be whatever sustains society and it's preception of right and wrong.
This scenario is historically the case of past civilizations.
Again this gets to the crux of the question - are there eternal truths.
cd-editor