Politics: Right-wing Terrorists

OMG WTF, where do they FIND these guys? Raw Story is reporting that one Wayne Simmons, a "pro-assassination CIA analyst," (fortunately now retired from the CIA) called Dick "Dick" Cheney:

“one of the most honorable men on the planet”

who would never break the law.

Are you fucking kidding me? Dick "Satan-spawn" Cheney, who has repeatedly lied to Congress, the President of the United States (his boss), and probably deity itself at this point? What the fuckin' fuck does this guy mean by honorable? A lying chickenshit chickenhawk who had "other priorities" keeping him out of the Vietnam War (five, count 'em, FIVE fucking deferments), but had no problem sending soldiers to die in a pre-emptive war in Iraq? The son-of-a-syphilitic-turtle dropped out of college as soon as he had spawned the sprog required to keep him from shedding his precious blood in foreign wars, but had no shame — none — about sending other people's sons and daughters to get killed, maimed, and permanently injured.



This is "honorable?" What dicionary is this motherfucker using?

FTA:

A story in the New York Times this past weekend, corroborated by the Washington Times on Monday, said that Cheney was aware of a secret CIA program that had been kept hidden from Congress for more than six years, and was part of the decision process to keep it from Congress — something that, if true, would be a violation of federal law.

Simmons told Fox News, “For anyone to think that Vice-President Dick Cheney would do anything illegal is nothing more than political grandstanding.”

You know, here Dick is openly and blatantly busted for violating federal law, i.e., committing a crime. And this brain-infected moron actually has the chutzpah to sit in front of a mike and say that the founding member of the Chickenhawk Brigade would never do anything illegal? Bud, is the sky blue on your planet, or is it some other colour?

Oh, wait, look, the scumsucking puke had this to write in a letter to the NYT:

“Suggesting that we intentionally misled the American people for partisan political purposes or some quid pro quo personal gain is an unconscionable attack on our honor and long service to this nation, [...].”

This, of course, was in response to an article in said paper that had exposed the fact that certain elements of the government and its agencies had "intentionally misled the American people for partisan political purposes or some quid pro quo personal gain."

I wonder if Simmons EVER served in the military? Or is he a member of the 82nd Chairborne? It seems one of the biggest problems with the military-industrial complex that Eisenhower warned against is the fact that so many "military analysts" and theoreticians never actually had to serve on the ground.

Perhaps that's why they misunderstand the meaning of common terms such as "honourable" and "illegal." Perhaps that's why they have lied and continue to lie to us about virtually everything.

I'm about to embark on some serious reading about the Vietnam War. The only way to stop war is to understand it — its roots, its beginnings, its place in the history of our individual and collective lives. We must stop people like this from poisoning the well of common discourse. If this country is to be saved intact with its honourable Constitutional roots, we must all work together, Republicans and Democrats, Liberals and Libertarians.

We cannot pretend that a government that is supposed to be "of, by, and for the people" is best served by those who would lie to us and kill our children. There is no honour in lying a trusting people into giving up their children's lives and saddling their grandchildren with debt just so that some very nasty, creepy old men can live with riches beyond what they can ever use.

Image from the Houston Press

While KBR — remember KBR? An "offshoot" of Halliburton, the company that Dick "Dick" Cheney helmed, and ran into the ground fiscally until he rescued it with no-bid contracts after finding himself the best possible candidate for VP? — was electrocuting the military in Iraq with substandard facilities and poisoning them with substandard food and water, it was using our tax dollars to buy — and throw away — people, as well as machinery, in the great swindle that we've been taught to call "Operation Enduring Freedom," or, more accurately, "This fucking hideous unprovoked war in Iraq."

That last link is to a Rolling Stone story about an ex-military man who went to Iraq as a civilian contractor and got seriously fucked up, so if you have a sensitive stomach, you might not care to read it. Alternatively, if you're, like, contemplating eating or anything like that, don't click any of the links about the poisoned food and water. I think I just gave up eating permanently. Jesus, what vomitous little shitbags like Dick Cheney and Wayne Simmons have done, and are doing to the military is enough to make you puke blood.

Those of you who are into that kind of thing might wish to let Faux Noise know that you don't approve of Mr. Simmons' somewhat cavalier interpretations of polysyllabi like "honour" and "illegal," and such. It appears words of one syllable are more his speed. Mr. Simmons also believes in assassinating foreign leaders. Something tells me the Founding Fathers would have happily given him a trial for such undemocratic beliefs, which would have surely led to a justified firsthand experience of execution, since they did not believe in assassination. What a walking enema!!

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The Opposite of Peace Is — War?

Been reading a lot about World War II lately. My father fought in that war. He lost the hearing on one side thanks to shrapnel that perforated his eardrum. He lost many of his friends. He nearly lost his life.

But my reason for reading is both greater and lesser than a desire to know a little piece of my father's history: I am writing a novel set in that period.

And today, I came across something that encapsulates very nicely the malaise that the reading of the past several weeks has engendered in me. FTA:

WAR is a racket. It always has been.

It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.

A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.

In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows.

How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?

Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few – the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill.

And what is this bill?

This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations.

Maj. Gen. Smedley D. Butler, War Is A Racket

While Japanese farmers, office workers, and civilians were restricted to the grayest of lives by the sumptuary laws enforced before and during WW II, while Japanese intellectuals trembled under the heavy hand of the thought police and suffered torture by the Kempeitai, while Chinese peasants starved and their children were forcibly inducted into the military to fight against superior armies and lose their lives for a pittance, the wealthy crooks who engineered these wars became wealthier still. Come rain or shine, they continued to find ways to profit from the vast human suffering.

George W. Bush paid for the war in Iraq by borrowing billions of dollars from the Chinese. Now your grandchildren will have to repay that debt. I hear some people say Obama is creating a huge debt by borrowing additional monies to stimulate the economy. Unfortunately, the hole that Bush left has to be patched before everything else leaks out of it. And the only way to patch that hole is to stimulate the economy into spending.

People forget that the U.S. economy runs on consumer spending. Before George Dumbya left office, the Iraq war had already cost us three TRILLION dollars. We are bringing our troops back now, but that costs money too. Then there's the issue of reintegrating them into the smashed civilian economy. All the while, the war profiteers like Dick "Dick" Cheney sit back on their seats and bwa-ha-haaa themselves into something like an orgasm. I wish it were an organism. Something intestinal and painful and lengthy.

How many kids have lost their parents in this war? Iraqi kids? Somewhere between one and five million? American kids? Somewhere between three and ten thousand? Nobody really knows. In 2004, when the total casualty figures were around 2,000, Scripps stated that 900 American children had lost a parent to the war. However, the casualty toll has doubled since then, and most of the soldiers in this war have been professional military and reservists, which means they tend to be older, married, and have more children.

How many kids are getting back parents who are not the people they used to be? Broken in body or mind or both? How many kids have to grow up really fast, to become caretakers to their parents instead of being children any more? Smedley Butler was right. War IS a racket.

Blackwater mercenaries made two to three times the salaries of military men for the same work. No-bid government contracts made a lot of people very rich. The wholesale plunder of Iraqi oil made other people (or sometimes the same people) very rich. To us, the taxpayers, is left the broken mess, the debris, the tortured, the cripple, the lame, the halt, the blind, the miserable, people who are still fighting the war in their heads, crying themselves to sleep or drinking or drugging to forget. And they are living among us as are their suffering parents and spouses and children.

The dividends of peace are happy human lives. However, these do not represent adequate profits to those whose greed drives them to profit above all else. And to achieve those profits they will willingly sacrifice every last man, woman, and child of us upon an altar of blood.

Crossposted over at The Peace Tree.

La Casa de Los Gatos apologizes for the dearth of recent posts. A bout of illness laid us low, and having had our first meal today in nearly a week, we can safely say we now have energy to start blogging again. To think that a little food can make so much difference ...

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World: South Ossetia

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey thinks the Deciderer really ought to zip his festering gob on this one:

President Bush,

Why don’t you shut up? Suppose Russia for instance declares that Georgia has weapons of mass destruction? And that Russia knows where these WMD are, namely in Tblisi and Poti and north, south, east and west of there? And that it must be true because there is “magnificent foreign intelligence” such as satellite photos of milk powder factories and baby cereals producing chemical weapons and which are currently being “driven around the country in vehicles”? Suppose Russia declares for instance that “Saakashvili stiffed the world” and it is “time for regime change”?

Yaknow, they could do that. They could. Hell, we did.

The time has come to acknowledge that grievous human rights violations occurred in South Ossetia, and that Russia and the U.S. have been planning this little elbowing contest for some time. Saakashvili allowed his country to be used as the catspaw to provoke the conflict.

Let us be clear that nobody wants war except for a small group of crazy people who expect to profit from it one way or the other. Among them, Cheney (Halliburton); other war profiteers, like KBR and Blackhawk; the neocon lunatics who are well paid to trumpet pro-war propaganda (Bill Kristol, Mickey Kaus, Fred Kagan, and their ilk); the arms merchants who will enjoy short but wealthy lives if the next stage of war is set in motion; and, of course, fundamentalist godbag loonies of every stripe who believe/hope/pray that their Deity will take them off to someplace where they will not have to gasp their lives out as a result of radiation poisoning or extreme damage inflicted by guns, bombs, and other such weapons in our arsenal.

Perish the thought. If a Deity existed, it would not have permitted the bombing of hospitals and churches in Tskhinvali. CJR describes Russian citizen-journalists' eyewitness reports from the frontlines.

One last thing: Those why clamour to cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war are usually those who have never actually served or seen war. Watching people blown up or hacked apart is a most unlovely, traumatising, terrifying sight. The stink of death is no misnomer.

John McCain was a fighter pilot. He unleashed death and destruction from miles above with no knowledge of his targets. Ask any vet who has actually served in the military, who has actually participated in hand-to-hand combat or had to encounter injured and dying, whether civilian or military.

Now Dick "Five Deferments, I had other priorities" Cheney and John McCain are both making noises about a military response to the events which occurred in South Ossetia and Georgia. Perhaps a USAF plane could drop the two of them on the front lines for some first-hand experience of armed conflict? It would save those soldiers who don't want to be there, while simultaneously getting rid of two of the loudest pro-war voices.

Meanwhile, we have to ask, together with commenter SFAW, over at Matt Yglesias' blog:

Something’s been tickling the back of my mind for awhile, maybe someone can help me with it …

The Georgia/Russia conflict seems to have been building for awhile. Russia sticking its thumb in Georgia’s eye in a non-violent-but-highly-provocative-way, Georgia finally attempting to exert its manhood, but whoops! Russia wanted that to happen and so was massing troops on the border. But what’s a little puzzling is that no one in the Administration - say, someone thought of by Bush/Cheney as an expert regarding Russian/Soviet affairs and their whole world outlook, etc. - raised a red flag awhile ago. Something like “This conflict is going to happen in the next 3-6 months; here’s what we should do to prevent Russia from annexing the Sudetenland (so to speak)” and so forth.

Yeah. What's with that? As far as we can tell, Bootsie Ferragamo is an expert on Russia, the former USSR, Eastern Europe, blah, blah, blah-beddy-blah. How comes it that this eminent scholar did not notice or predict that things were going to blow up in a big ugly stinky mess of poo?

Or did she just think to herself, "Hell, let Jor Jee twist in the wind for this one"?

The astute reader might note that we have not included the Powers That Be in Russia among those who want war. We beg to be excused on the grounds that, unlike the Emperor Jor Jee, we are unable to look into the eyes of Putin or Medvedev, for that matter, and determine the quality of their souls, if any.

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Politics: Is It Impeachment By Another Name?

According to Raw Story, Rep. John Conyers, head of the House Judiciary Committe has begun an investigation into the "Imperial Presidency," he says. A hearing is scheduled for July 25th. Conyers has promised to look into these issues:

(1) improper politicization of the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorneys offices, including potential misuse of authority with regard to election and voting controversies;

(2) misuse of executive branch authority and the adoption and implementation of the so-called unitary executive theory, including in the areas of presidential signing statements and regulatory authority;

(3) misuse of investigatory and detention authority with regard to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals, including questions regarding the legality of the administration’s surveillance, detention, interrogation, and rendition programs;

(4) manipulation of intelligence and misuse of war powers, including possible misrepresentations to Congress related thereto;

(5) improper retaliation against administration critics, including disclosing information concerning CIA operative Valerie Plame, and obstruction of justice related thereto; and

(6) misuse of authority in denying Congress and the American people the ability to oversee and scrutinize conduct within the administration, including through the use of various asserted privileges and immunities.

The L.A. Times, which has been tireless in its efforts to kiss the Misadministration's rear-end recently, claims that this is not impeachment.

We realize that many Democrats voted for this Pretzelnitwit's Pet War and they're likely to be, um, smeared? when the fit hits the shan, but you know what? You're gonna get yours anyway, Dems, so you might as well start inching towards impeachment, you spineless fuckers.

Thank the Powers That Be for Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who has not wavered, even when Pelosi threatened him (we haven't forgotten about that, Nancy. We may not get you now, but we hear Hillary Clinton keeps a little book with the names of all the people who have ever crossed her in it. We might consider doing the same. You don't deserve to be in Congress, Ms. "Impeachment is off the table."). He has promised to keep bringing up the issue:

Kucinich had said that if his impeachment article was tabled he would simply propose another one. In June, he spent four hours on the House floor reading his longer resolution into the record, only to see it buried in committee.

Action items, people!

(1) Send Dennis email thanking him for his efforts;

(2) Send Pelosi email telling her to stand by her recent statement on impeachment;

(3) Send Conyers email telling him he must move towards impeachment;

(4) Follow up email to Pelosi and Conyers with phone calls and snail-mail.

If you didn't already know, Netroots Nation (formerly known as YearlyKos), a gathering of online activists, is sponsoring AsktheSpeaker, a forum in which you can pose questions for Nancy Pelosi. On Saturday, June 19th, at 9:00 am, Speaker Pelosi will be responding to those questions. For what it's worth, someone has already asked why impeachment is off the table, and that question is currently in the No. 1 spot. Please read the comments in response to that question, as they're very interesting.

In other news, legal scholar and law professor Jonathan Turley told Keith Olbermann on his program yesterday that there is evidence Jor Jee committed crimes in office and should be impeached. He also took Pelosi to task for failing to move on impeachment.

"An impeachment hearing needs to be focused and it needs to deal with things directly and frankly, as whether the president committed crimes," he continued, "And there is considerable evidence to say that the answer is yes."

Considerable evidence. Sigh. Click the preceding link to see the video clip at Raw Story.

In an article at OpEd News, Ralph Lopez points out the nine Republicans who broke ranks with their party to send Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment to the Judiciary Committee.

Congressman Kevin Brady (TX)

Congressman Wayne Gilchrest (MD)

Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC)

Congressman Don Manzullo (IL)

Congressman Tim Murphy (PA)

Congressman Ron Paul (TX)

Congressman Dave Reichert (WA)

Congressman Christopher Shays (CT)

Congressman Mike Turner (OH)

One of the Republicans, Walter Jones, represents Camp LeJeune in North Carolina, one of the largest Marine bases in the country, and one which has borne heavily the sacrifice of the Iraq War.

At least one of the Republicans who voted Yes on this bill claims that he did so because he wanted the bill to die in the Judiciary committee. Lopez asks that you take action to impeach Bush and Cheney. OpEd has set up a handy-dandy tool. Click on the link to get to it.

If any of the Republicans on this list happens to be your Congresscritter, you might consider contacting them and asking them to support the coming investigation. What the hell, contact them anyway. Let them know what you think, how you feel. It's your duty as a member of the electorate.

Naturally, ImpeachBush.org has a different take on the whole issue, and thanks to The Young Turks for helping me find it. The site cites progressive hero Robert Wexler

“Capitol Hill is buzzing today with major developments regarding our campaign for impeachment hearings for President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Just today, in what could be described as a perfect impeachment storm:

"After stating unequivocally that impeachment "is off the table," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated to CBS News today that the House Judiciary Committee should address the issues that Rep. Kucinich's has raised in his impeachment resolution.... This issue now reaches far beyond the substance of the Judiciary Committee's original inquiry regarding the firing of US Attorneys for political purposes. The crisis at hand relates to our most fundamental laws and of our Constitution. It is, in many ways, more serious than the Constitutional crisis surrounding Watergate."

Now, Nance, we realize you had a good time kicking a certain idiot's ass all over the football field today, but calling him a "total failure" just does not make up for your unwillingness to put the little bastard in the hoosegow along with Unca Dick "Dick teh War Profiteer." It's where he belongs, and your nation will be deeply grateful to watch him frog-marched out of the WH in chains.

Rep. Kucinich has stated that a hitherto unidentified representative of a foreign government which is a U.S. ally will be testifying. Bradblog discusses the impeachment with links and details and a succinct summation by Rep. Kucinich on exactly why impeachment is so important. Go, Mighty Munchkin of Justice!

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Which living person do you most despise?

One of my favorite things to read is the last page of Vanity Fair, “Proust Questionnaire.”

The June 2008 edition features questions asked of the actor John Cusack. Many of his answers are interesting ... but this is my favorite ‘cause he’s hit on one of my hot points. Here it is.

Which living person do you most despise?
Very tough question. They exist in the realm of war profiteers. These men and women are the lowest form of human consciousness, truly and completely spiritually fucked. Theirs is an amazing satanic dance: create a new market with war, bar competitors from the aftermath, then pay your own companies at a cost-plus basis, which guarantees profits, all at the taxpayers’ expense. They are the biggest welfare freaks on the planet.

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