Since leaving America August 2006, I have traveled to sixteen countries. A great deal has happened. This site is to share my thoughts, photos, music, writings, travel experiences, and developing political/social commentary with you. I hope you find it interesting and informative.
It’s a very special time of year For family and friends holiday cheer For those no longer with us We shed a tear A time to share A time of feast A time to care And pray for peace A time to give to those Who have the least
(Chorus) Merry Christmas Happy Hanukkah Peace be with us Happy New Year
This is the time to start anew Atheist Christian Muslim Jew To reach within And find the love inside of you Discard the old seek out the new Reject the false embrace the true To look ahead decide To bring out the best in you
(Chorus) Merry Christmas Happy Hanukkah Peace be with us Happy New Year
(Chorus - Japanese) Akemashite Omedetoo Peace be with you Happy New Year
(Chorus) Merry Christmas Happy Hanukkah Peace be with you Happy New Year
Let
this new year finally bring peace to the world. May we discover and
embrace the understanding needed to live together in genuine and lasting
harmony.
I don't know anyone who doesn't love John Lennon's song "Imagine".
Before
I go on, let me say that I too find it beautiful, inspiring, ennobling,
a truly remarkable and timeless creation. I'm thoroughly enchanted by
its haunting melody, totally respect and resonate with the intent, the
pure sentiment, the message -- as I do Lennon's equally powerful "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)".
So what follows is not criticism of the song per se,
but more of an attempt to build on it -- find within its deeper
implications something productive and enlightening -- my shot at taking
it to a new level of appreciation.
Let's be honest. "Imagine" is an anarchist anthem. It recommends us picturing a world which has . . .
No Heaven No Hell No countries No religion No possessions
Throw in 'no television' and 'no money' and we're grunting savages back in a cave. He opens the song with . . .
Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try
I have mixed feelings about 'Imagine there's no heaven'. There are many among us who have trouble imagining there is a heaven, at least as some religions characterize it. I'm not sure imagining heaven pro or con in a literal sense is the issue.
And
looking at it more as a metaphor, I think we spend most of our waking
lives thinking about some ideal state, some level of perfection where
the challenges and hardships of our lives would go away. We all dream
of a utopia, a Nirvana, at least a better version of what we have. I
think it's wired into us and is what drives humankind to its most
admirable achievements. Why would we want to give that up?
Having said that, the next line is enigmatic. 'It's easy if you try'.
Try?
As
if we weren't already trying? That's practically all we do. We live in
fantasy worlds of our own creation or ones conveniently foisted on us
from others usually with an agenda. People constantly live in their
imaginations, fancying better looks, sexier more attractive bodies, more
interesting friends, finer possessions, better jobs, nicer homes,
cooler cars. We are, it seems, already engaged in a nearly pathological
level of "imagining", one which has dissipated our sense of self,
submerged our individual identities, often caused a sense of alienation
from others, and created unimaginable levels of uncertainty and
insecurity. Sometimes when I listen to people talk or look objectively
at what occupies a generous portion of their time -- television, movies,
sporting events -- I wonder if they aren't completely divorced from the
real world, even when they appear to be engaged.
If
anything, we could be accused of trying too hard, imagining too much.
You might more reasonably argue maybe we spend too much time imagining
many of the wrong things.
So the question is: Is what this song recommends an improvement?
What do we replace these with? There has to be something. We can't live in a void.
I
recognize he's saying we should try to imagine ourselves in an
alternative better world. But there's a reason we don't imagine a world
without countries and possessions. There's a reason we don't imagine a
world where there's nothing to kill or die for. I believe . . .
IT'S BECAUSE WE CAN'T!
I would defend with my life those I love and respect. My wife. My daughter. My friends.
Yes, I would kill and die for them.
Is this bad?
People
can't imagine a world without possessions. I don't know if they
seriously try or not. I do know it's not worth the effort.
It's
not the possessions that are evil. It's what the possessions do to us
and those around us. It's when the possessions "possess" us, when one
person's ownership deprives others of basic survival or dignity that
they become toxic.
Similarly
with countries. Humans by nature are both social and tribal. We
achieve a sense of communal worth and purpose by belonging to a people, a
clan, an extended family, even a nation. It gives us identify and
comfort. I don't think humans are capable of viewing themselves
otherwise.
I
believe that in and of itself is not bad. It becomes threatening and
destructive when it crushes our sensitivity to others who are not in our
tribe, when it convinces us that "we" are somehow more special or more
important than "them". America's obsession with its exceptional role on
the planet, rising above all other nations, is an example of national
identification and healthy pride becoming a dangerous, sociopathic
affliction.
It
is not the lack of imagining or lack of imagination that plagues us.
It is attempting to imagine the wrong things, or things that go against
our essential nature.
Plus, I would start small. If successful, we can work our way up.
Here are just a few things to get us started:
Imagine everyone in the world having enough to eat.
Imagine everyone being free of illness and disease.
Imagine everyone having clothing and a decent place to live.
Imagine being kind to others, even those we don't understand.
Imagine treating everyone equally, with dignity and compassion.
Imagine being honest with ourselves and others.
Imagine cooperation instead of competition.
These are things not only we can imagine, but things that can actually be done.
It’s easy if you try
Having
said all of this -- and I know I've probably trampled on some sacred
ground -- I still think that "Imagine" is one of the most beautiful and
important contributions a pop artist has ever made to the world. Let's
enjoy it for its purity of spirit and honesty.
[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
I thought Facebook was a wasteland. Then I discovered Twitter. I'm
now at over 7,000 tweets and I can't say anything much in my life has
changed, except I'm a little older, and perhaps more convinced that the
human race is irreversibly beyond redemption. It's increasingly evident
that it's just a matter of time before we are overwhelmed by our own
irrelevance and dissipate like cigarette ash in a typhoon.
But
this is the time of the year to gaze back with weepy sentimentality and
try to milk the last twelve months for everything good and wonderful.
Thus I will try to look on the bright side of the hundreds of hours I've
spent trying to be clever and witty, in order to attract the attention
of the ADHD Twitter community.
Not
that this justifies the enormous squander, or represents anything like a
reward for all of this pointless effort, I will say I have mastered the
art of the text bite. After spending all of my life aspiring to both a
deep appreciation of and a level of adroitness with my mother tongue, I
have traitorously spurned the English language as a tool for profundity,
majesty, nuance, beauty, splendor, power, discovery, insight, grace,
and learned to say something -- albeit of highly dubious value -- using
only 140 characters. I don't know if I should weep and hang my head in
shame, or puff up my chest, hook my thumbs in my imaginary blue
suspenders, and smile like I've just found out that Hillary Clinton is a
man, as I've been saying all along.
Whatever
the case, some of my 140 character compositions have done better than
others. 'Done' means gained acceptance, even acclaim. So here, based on
how many times they were "retweeted" or "favorited", are some of the
more popular verbal excretions that I spewed into the swirling torrent
of Twitter burble over the past year.
PHILOSOPHY, CREATIVITY AND RANDOM HUMOR
To be stupid is forgivable because it's genetic. To be ignorant is unforgivable because it's self-inflicted. There are many roads to the truth but they all end up in the same place. A candid look at a day in the life of a writer. http://jdrachel.com/?p=5728 Creating memorable characters. http://jdrachel.com/?p=5765 Writing poetry. http://jdrachel.com/?p=5797 Canadians are scary! http://jdrachel.com/?p=927 "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." Groucho Marx
The boycott of my new novel is a 100% success. Eat your heart out Marcel Proust. Bleccch! No one drowns or is decapitated. No diseased spider monkeys. In this novel, S&M is a thrift store. Water boarding is not surfing. No can of beer left behind. Detroit…where attitude means survival. Stoicism is not the same as a coma. No vampire breath spores. No faeries or zombie debutantes. No injectable transgendering nano-robots. No neural-net proto-spiders from outer space. No secret covens of neo-Nazi Wiccan cheerleaders. No self-assembling world-destroying kitchen appliances. No Angelina Jolie doppelgängers. I actually thought my book was a pile of garbage. What is it about men? What is it about women?
I write trivial garbage to clutter the world with nonsense, Makes great kindling for your Kindle! Great deal! Only .00001031 cents per word! Less than the price of one of Kim Kardashian’s brain cells. Unclutter your mind. Pulp fiction as a brain laxative.
If I get 1,000,000 likes for my video, I win a lifetime supply of kettle corn! If I get 1,000,000 likes for my video I win two front row seats at a Carly Rae Jepsen concert! Life is what you make it, with what you can manage to borrow. Coming to a bathroom wall near you.
Everything makes sense except when it doesn’t. Even when the cookie crumbles, you can still eat the crumbs. "Blinders Keepers" is to politics what macrame is to string theory. The greatest work of literature since Valley of the Dolls!
There is strength in numbers and only weakness in apathy. Blessed are the blissfully blank. The fool hears silence where the wise man beholds the roar of an epiphany.
This
is the stuff people thought was worthy of the 7 milliseconds of the
time it took for them to point and click their approval? Granted, some
of it is cute.
And,
like a little kid standing on the coffee table in the living room
dancing and mugging in a frenetic attempt to get everyone's attention, I
appreciate any pleasant nod in my direction.
But I've arrived at a profound epiphany in terms of social media.
I just don't get it.
[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
Many
Americans would like to lose that unsightly bulge in the middle.
Billions of dollars are spent every year on miracle diet pills and
weight loss gadgets of questionable value.
Recently, studies have demonstrated that America as a whole is definitely losing its bulge in the middle.
But that's not a good thing.
Look at these charts: A
nation which has a sizable majority as middle-class, and is not plagued
by extremes of wealth and poverty, is historically a nation which
thrives, one which has a solid economy and laudable living standards. A
nation which does not declines and disintegrates.
Unfortunately, the U.S. is accelerating in the wrong direction on both counts.
There are way too many factors contributing to this destructive juggernaut to go into here. But two things are obvious.
First, people have to recognize that this is an existential threat to our country.
Second, they need to take action.
Since the all major media is controlled by the plutocracy,
the first -- to put it mildly -- is extremely challenging. There are
many talking about these two crises, on alternative and progressive news
sites, and of course via blogs such as this one. Bernie Sanders has
made them centerpieces of his presidential bid and has done more than any other public figure in recent memory to heighten awareness on these challenges.
But it's still an uphill battle of Sisyphean proportions.
Surprisingly, however, there is hope and at least getting started is not that difficult.
I'm referring to a campaign byF-R-E-E.USwhich takes only a few minutes of your time but has the potential at the end of the slog to make a huge difference.
FREE US is allied with the NEAR Foundation, a progressive think tank.
I'm adopting a very low-key approach in recommending this. I assume you're
all very tired of boorish hawking and inflated promises. All I'm asking
is for you to spend just a little time with it. Look at the site, take a quick survey, and download Vote Like You Mean It, the free book you receive just for giving this a few moments of your time.
Judge for yourself.
But don't cynically dismiss it.
This could work.
[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
Without a doubt, it is extremely difficult keeping up with the news. There's so much happening everywhere on the international stage, it's enough to make your head swim.
I've
learned that it's often necessary to go beyond what's available from
the usual news sources, to dig deep and explore alternative avenues for
discovering what's really going on behind-the-scenes. It's hard work but
at the end of the day quite rewarding. Because after getting ALL of the
information that's available through the miracle of the internet,
everything starts to make sense. Many of the things which are on the
surface puzzling suddenly become clear.
I
have discovered by using some of the same highly reliable "deep data"
sources that our own CIA uses -- Facebook and Twitter -- the real reason
the Russian plane was destroyed.
Turkey was protecting a Christmas ornament factory!
Here
is one such facility in the town of Bidama, near the Turkish border.
Look at how it was mercilessly bombed to rubble by the Russian air
campaign.
Granted,
the "whoops-sorry-about-that" official position of Turkey is plausible.
After all, the U.S. military has had a few minor slip-ups itself -- two
months ago bombing a facility makingthe highly dubious claim it's a hospital, then just last weekkilling Iraqi soldiers.
Hey, these things happen! Nothing's perfect. Haven't we all had the tab
break off a soda can making it nearly impossible to open?
But
it wasn't an impulsive or anomalous response when Turkey had its F-16s
shoot down the Russian plane. Matter of fact, I've learned from deep
sources right in the Middle East that Turkey's entire military campaign
on the Syrian-Turkey border is now dedicated to standing up to the
attack Russia is mounting on our most holy -- and most profitable --
holiday of the year.
Yes, I am talking about . . . Vladimir Putin's war on America's Christmas!
Now I'm not saying I approve of crazy jihadists
making money, even if it's by manufacturing what have widely been
judged to be the finest and most stunning Christmas ornaments available
today.
Furthermore,
it's not at all consistent with our long-range intent -- that of
defeating terrorism -- to have thousands of tons of contraband holiday
decorations "smuggled" into Turkey, then shipped to America to be
distributed to shopping malls from one end of the country to the other,
so that rampaging bands of cutthroats and mad suicide bombers have the
funding to buy even more weapons, ski masks, and SUVs.
But
these are nice terrorists, as is evidenced by the excellent
contribution they are making to the beauty of America's Yuletide
trimmings and overall good cheer.
So lighten up! It's Christmas! Where's your holiday spirit?
I can tell you where Vlad the Impaler's holiday spirit is . . . at the end of a barrel!
While he would like to enjoy Christmas at the helm of areconstituted Soviet Empire, with all his comrades sitting around a Christmas tree drinking vodka, or doing their trademark "gunslinger"
strut across Russia's newly-conquered vassal state of Crimea, he plans
on us here in America being deprived of the beautiful holiday ornaments
produced in villages of liberated Syrians, and sticking us with cheap, sweat-factory junk from China.
Yes! The plot thickens!
Like I said, spend a little time on the internet, and everything starts to make sense.
See,
Putin and Xi Jinping are chums. And now we get to the whole truth
behind Russia's military campaign in the Middle East, and its alleged
war on ISIS . . .
Russia
is destroying the Christmas ornament factories in northern Syria of
well-meaning and industrious entrepreneurs -- jihadists who are
America's good buddies -- to enhance its partnership with China. The
endgame is that the Chinese will continue to monopolize the
mistletoe-ornament-tinsel-manger-scene market and use the money to buy
advanced new military weaponry from . . .
Who else?
Russia!
I have to hand it to Putin. He is one cagey character!
Or is that KGB character?
[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
We are overjoyed at our recent success in getting Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
banned from a Philadelphia school district. This overrated piece of
racist trash by the self-indulgent literary hack, Mark Twain, deserves
to be consigned to lining the bottom of a bird cage.
However,
we are now privy to additional previously undetected attempts to
subvert all of us, particularly the youth of this country, actually
recruiting them while they're young and impressionable into the ways of
"gay sex" -- though to be quite honest about it we can't figure out how
persons of the same gender rubbing their private parts together is in
any way joyful.
Look at any biology book. What is the human species called? Homo sapiens! Well
we really need to ask: If we're HOMO sapiens, how did there get to be
more than 7 billion of us? The council recently recommended that this
term be replaced with hetero sapiens -- as God intended it.
There
are related sneak attacks. How about 'HOMOgeneous'? Right! They
slipped that in when we weren't looking! The council is now deciding
whether to replace this hideous bit of deviant brainwashing with either
'sameogenous' or 'uniformogeneous'.
It's not just in the classroom that our children are being seduced into the evil cults of buggery and carpet munching.
What
do they drink every day during lunch? HOMOgenized milk! Can you
believe this? These perverts will stop at nothing! The council
recommends replacing this phrase on all labels with the
pleasant-sounding and benign 'blendogenized milk'.
This
conspiracy has spread like a silent disease through our whole culture.
What about the word 'ANALysis'? Pretty clever, eh? The council is in
the process of replacing this hideous subversion of God's perfect plan
for proper sexual behavior. Leading the alternative terms currently
under consideration are 'examinalysis' and 'cogitalysis'. We'll keep
you posted.
Here's
one for the books. This bit of slime nearly got by us. What are
apartment units which are sold for personal ownership called?
CONDOMiniums! Can you believe it?
Granted,
it's pretty clever. Now personally, I'm for these fudgepackers
covering their junk however they can -- never know who's standing next
to you taking a wiz in the public john -- but I sure as heck don't want
to be reminded of the sick shenanigans that goes on using these love
gloves every time I drive down the street. Now every time I see one of
"those" buildings, I can only picture rooms brimming with gallons of
sperm.
There
are countless other examples we could share. This press release,
specifically timed for the most sacred holiday season of the year, is
just to let all you good, God-fearing folks out there that we are, and certainly will continue to be, on the job stamping out decadence and perversion -- particularly this new trend of "same sex" coupling -- wherever we find it.
Remember . . . PC doesn't just mean Politically Correct. It also stands for Personal Christ! God bless you and God bless America!
[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
I have been saying for some time that the U.S. wants a war with Russia.
Why?
Because if it can cut Russia down to size, then the only country
standing between America and total global domination is China. China and
Russia have been cozying up lately. Together they are a formidable
threat. Take out Russia, China becomes a manageable opponent. That's
how the theory goes.
Let's cut to recent events.
Terrorist
attack in Paris. Refugee crisis escalates in Europe. Russia is on the
job offering serious opposition to ISIL. France and other European
countries are finally talking about working cooperatively with Russia to
defeat ISIS.
French
Prime Minister Hollande is scheduled to meet in the next few days with
Putin to put their heads together and coordinate their military
campaigns against the terrorists.
Turkey
blows a Russian fighter jet out of the sky. Its F-16 were laying in
wait. Probably the Russian fighter never crossed into Turkish air space.
Even if it did, it was even by Turkey's own admission only allegedly in
Turkish territory for 17 seconds.
In any case, blam! . . . down goes the plane.
IMMEDIATELY, Turkey turns to NATO -- America's proxy fighters -- to obtain unanimous support and approval for its unquestionably reprehensible deed.
Why?
Because
under the terms of the NATO agreement, if any nation belonging to the
alliance is attacked, it is regarded as an attack on all members and they must then fight together as a unified force against the alleged aggressor.
Are you seeing now how this works?
Russia had without any reasonable or legal justification one of its planes shot down.
Understandably,
Putin has publicly announced that from this point forward, it will
defend itself against any threat to its forces in Syria. It now has a
naval ship in the area with the deadly S-300 air defense system, and is sending the even more effective S-400 air defense system to the Syrian base in Latakia.
Voila!
If
Russia shoots back in defense under any real or perceived threat --
like Turkish F-16s or Turkish ground defense locking Russian planes with
target seeking radar -- in theory all of NATO must oppose it.
Merry Christmas Ashton Carter, Victoria Nuland, and all of the other loathsome, wicked, hate-filled, neocon warmongers in our government. Yeah, you get your big war, just like you wanted.
You
don't think Mr. Peace Prize Prez is playing a role in this provocative
and extremely dangerous scenario? Right after the plane was shot down,
Obama expressed no criticism of Turkey. Instead, he asserted that "Turkey, like every country, has a right to defend its territory and its airspace." Moreover, it is implausible
that Turkey did this without either the knowledge or prompting of the
U.S. government. Understand that Obama has been on board with the Pax
Americana imperialist program of conquest for most of his presidency. If
not, how can you justify his precipitating and lying about the crisis
in Ukraine. How else can you interpret the buildup of troops right on
Russia's borders, a direct provocation and chest-beating flaunting of
our military power? How else can you explain his unnecessary,
counter-productive pivot to Asia, a publicly announced strategy for
"containing" China?
Now
the holiday season is upon us. We'll all be enjoying the cheer, the
time together with family and friends, exchanging gifts, playing Trivial
Pursuit, Monopoly, Risk, Scrabble, Candyland and Boggle.
Just so you know, while you're having all sorts of innocent fun, here we have the lethal game our crazed leadership is playing.
But this particular game is not fun for the whole family.
War games will mean fewer members of your family to enjoy the holiday season next year.
[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
Corporate
greed over sensible policy again was brazenly flaunted as the operating
principle of our "forward-looking" leaders in Washington DC, as John Kerry just announced
that the U.S. would not be party to a binding agreement fighting
climate change, issuing from the upcoming UN climate conference next
month in Paris.
President Obama, a man who is certainly never shy about aggrandizing himself and using any and all slippery language to give a flattering portrayal of his presidency for the history books, has at times crowned himself as the "environmental president".
But there is little doubt where his loyalties lie and what his priorities are. The man has become the "drill, baby, drill" standard bearer of Sarah Palin's ignorant, short-sighted vision for an America awash in oil and an Earth shrouded in a steamy blanket of CO2.
The oil and gas industry loves these guys, despite occasionally public grumbling.
Mr.
Kerry's announcement was not only baffling, it was fiercely obnoxious,
again showing what it means to deal with the biggest baddest bully on
the block. The stated purpose, the recognized agenda, the very raison
d'être of this critical meeting of the world community is unambiguous:
The EU, for example,made its position very clear in September, stating that the bloc “is pressing for a global, fair, ambitious and legally binding international treaty that will prevent global warming from reaching dangerous levels.” (My italics.)
But
America is an exceptionalist nation, deemed by historical destiny to
somehow float above all others. Things like international agreements,
existential threats, the laws of physics and nature itself, apply to
everyone except the United States of America.
We make our own rules and create our own reality.
Thus,
those other non-entities which comprise the other 195 nations in the
world hosting the 96% of the world's population who are not blessed to
be Americans, should be honored that Mr. Kerry, as the personal
ambassador of our environmental president, even takes the time out of
his busy schedule to show up for some nice photo ops and to shake hands
with the rest of the irrelevant world leaders who are attempting to do
something constructive about a rapidly worsening crisis.
"Yes,
Mr. Kerry and Ms. Merkel. That's looks great. How about if you shake
hands and smile? Perfect! This will be right on the front page of our
news website tomorrow!"
[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
President
Obama said the following publicly at a fundraiser, poking fun at
criticism of him by the Republican candidates during their first debate.
(You can watch the video here. Quote occurs around 4:48.)
“Have
you noticed that everyone of these candidates say, ‘Obama is weak.
Putin is kicking sand in his face. When I talk to Putin he is going to
straighten out. Just looking at him. He is going to be ...' And
then, it turns out they can’t handle a bunch of CNBC moderators.”
We've
come to expect this sort of cuteness from this charming man, who seems
to think his role as a comedian trumps his responsibilities as the most
powerful leader of the free world, whatever 'free' could possibly mean
in this age of 24/7 surveillance. This remark, while entertaining and
clever, is instructive in many ways. It says a lot about Obama as a
man, that despite his air of constant cool, he is vulnerable even to the
cheap shots of fools like the Republican candidates, and that he
personalizes the challenges which America's role in international
relations presents. It's been very obvious to me for a long time that
Obama perceives his differences with Putin as a schoolyard scrap, rather
than a profound confrontation of ideas and alternative actions. It
seems to escape him that in our dealings with Russia, we are attempting
to balance the national interests of two equally important and
determined peoples, not fighting over who's going to be quarterback of
the football team or who gets to take out the homecoming queen on a
date.
That
he uses the most visible public podium in the world to level cheap
shots at Putin, personal insults unworthy of a street thug, much less
President of the United States, is both dangerous and
counter-productive. He has squandered a ton of good will tendered by
Mr. Putin. Certainly a lesser man than Vladimir would have long ago
written off Obama as a childish dilettante. But as we've observed at
the G-20 meeting, he keeps insisting that he is open to cooperation and
constructive engagement whenever the U.S. decides to stop pouting over
its humiliation in Syria, and its horribly misguided and murderous
actionsin the Middle East now being judged by the world as the shameful disgrace they are.
On
an entirely different level, in broad strokes it says even more about
what is wrong with America's entire world view, its self-sabotaging
foreign policy, and its reckless insensitivity to the havoc and hardship
we as a nation inflict on the world, all while beating our chests about our duty and entitlement as leader of all humankind to celebrate a new historic Age of American Splendor and Enlightened Empire.
However,
lately we've seen an even more baffling dynamic playing out. We have
on one hand, the bellicose, dangerously provocative hyperventilating of
Ashton Carter, Samantha Powers, and the Devil Woman herself, Victoria
Nuland (the scary creature pictured here).
Carter lumps Russia in with ISIS as the greatest threat to America, Nuland blames the Syria conflict, the refugee crisis, the Ukraine, and probably her clogged kitchen drain on Putin, the increasingly shrill Samantha Powers
(see photo at the head of this article) is the MICs best friend with
her mad R2P obsession, putting her in Guinness Record territory for the
number of countries she would bomb into peaceful mourning . . . do I
have to go on? If you watch the news programs, you get pounded with the
insane rants of these saber-rattling war hawks. So you know.
At
the same time, our Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde president steps into a phone
booth, does a quick costume-change ala Superman, and becomes Mr.
Diplomacy, all ready to do the right thing and actually start fighting
terrorism in earnest. This is, of course, after he's wasted three years
bombing camels and sheep dip in the desert, while caravans of white
SUVs stretching as far as the eye can see, glide by on their way into
Iraq and Syria, full of weapons provided at least in part by the CIA, paid for by our allies, smuggled in through Turkey, or air-dropped by the U.S. itself.
What is this, the diplomatic version of good-cop/bad-cop?
Maybe it's the reincarnation of the Keystone Cops.
Why does anyone trust any of these people?
Yet here we see Obama, off in a corner, having a nice talk at the G-20 meeting with Putin, the same man he mocked and vilified both during his State of the Union address, and more recently with the eyes of the entire world watching at the United Nations. How cozy. How convenient.
Why
does Putin still intimate that Russia is open to working with America,
when time in and time out, America has proven it is entirely unreliable,
lacking any concept or intent of dealing with others in good faith? It
negotiates treaties, then violates or walks away
from them. It grandstands, teetering like a circus clown on the high
moral ground of dubious self-proclaimed righteousness, while destroying countries, inflicting unprecedented levels of chaos and carnage, at the same time preparing for a major war with China or Russia, maybe both. Is this hypocrisy, confusion, or just stupidity?
Moreover,
why should we as U.S. citizens for a second believe that Obama and the
motley collection of people HE CHOSE TO SURROUND HIMSELF WITH are at all
sincere about engaging Russia -- and of course the countries in Europe
we have flooded with refugees by bombing the Middle East for two
decades now -- in a serious discussion about a peaceful resolution to
this mess? Which one of these blowhards are we even supposed to listen to? Talk about mixed messages. This administration is at war with itself!
So
what are we to do now? Get our hopes up that things are turning
around? That policy makers have finally woken up and are ready to put
things right?
Then again, what choice do we have?
Wait until after the next election to see which psychopath will lead the charge?
I
guess we need to take stock and count our blessings. Maybe personally,
I should commit to being a dutiful patriot by firmly resolving to
respect Mr. Obama and honor his service as our president . . . to our
country . . . and to the world.
After all, he's the best smart-ass money can buy.
And as war criminals go, the guy can sure yuk it up!
[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
There's great danger in such loose play with inspiring and provocative language. Not
the danger that citizens might rise up and actually incite a radical
and much-needed transformation. But the danger that the idea of such a
transformation will be trivialized and gutted of any substance by empty
campaign rhetoric and fatuous sloganeering.
What
is he really saying? Will he stop the drone attacks? Will he cut the
military budget by 40%? Will he close 500 bases and bring the troops
home? Will he end the special ops missions which have occurred in at least 135 countries
so far this year? Will he put a halt to our self-sabotaging
aggressiveness in the world, driven by the greed of DOD contractors and
stoked by the neocon delusions of world empire? Will he open a
constructive dialogue with Russia and China to promote peace and
multi-polar power-sharing? Will he end the contentious, chest-beating
encirclement of China -- the silly sophomoric "pivot to Asia"? Will he condemn the apartheid and aggression by Israel against the Palestinians?
I'm all for revolution. But I'm for REAL REVOLUTION.
If
Mr. Sanders wants to talk about revolution and stake out the higher
moral ground, there is certainly a way to do it. Refer to the above
questions.
Understand there is more at stake here than the cosmetics
of a campaign strategy. Applying just a little common sense and a
pocket calculator, one can only conclude that there is gross
inconsistency and guaranteed failure in promoting an agenda of
far-reaching domestic reform without conjoining it with a repudiation of
America's out-of-control militarism and imperial visions of grandeur.
Mr.
Sanders' critics from the right claim his socialist ideas will bankrupt
the country. And there is a lot of merit in this. The simple, obvious
truth is there will be no money at all for his wonderful ideas under
the current budgetary regime, UNLESS we as a nation are cured of our
addiction to war. THAT
is the revolutionary message. War is bankrupting us and destroying any
prospect of a good life for everyday Americans and a hopeful future for
our children. THAT
is the sobering message we don't hear from any of the candidates.
Sure, Jill Stein has consistently been saying it. But the sad fact is
that Green Party continues to conduct a stealth campaign which is all
but invisible to the public. Her ideas are never heard.
Most Americans are sick of war.
No voice is being given to the anger and frustration of the American
public in this regard. Even the constant demonizing by politicos and
the media of Vladimir Putin and chicken-little fear-mongering about
Russia is losing its punch.
Putting
aside the current risks of moral bankruptcy, nuclear war, and economic
collapse, it would be a shrewd and welcome move for Mr. Sanders to
rethink his militarism, allegiance to the military-industrial complex,
and tacit embrace of empire-building, and give voice to the truly revolutionary idea
of America as a nation which promotes peace and harmony, democracy and
freedom, cooperation and constructive engagement across the globe.
What a slick and audacious campaign strategy, eh? Telling the truth to the American voter about how war is becoming a fast track to economic collapse and social disintegration.
Who am I to tell Bernie Sanders what he should do?
Just an American citizen like you.
Just an individual participating in government of the people, by the people, for the people.
Just
one person reaching out to other like-minded people -- and there are a
lot of us! -- who think America is on the wrong track, that we need real
leadership who will truly speak for us.
Here is a video of me
making the announcement Bernie Sanders needs to make in order to win
the presidency and turn this country around. It's what I believe people
need to hear. It's a way for Mr. Sanders to rise far above the rest of
the mealy-mouthed, cheap-talking Republican and Democratic candidates
and win the trust and loyalty of the voting public.
Since
I don't pretend to be as forceful or eloquent as Mr. Sanders, please
cut me some slack here and just use your imaginations a bit.
Notice that the idea is NOT JUST ABOUT BERNIE.
He's only one man. We need to make ALL CANDIDATES ACCOUNTABLE TO US!
I am convinced we need to take the guess work out of campaigning.
I believe we need to replace sound bites and photo ops with firm commitments.
I
believe that the days of the honor system -- trusting candidates and
taking them at their word -- is over. But I believe that this actually
works to the advantage of the "good ones", the ones we probably can
trust, like Bernie.
Thus . . .
I
believe Bernie should challenge vague promises and nice-sounding
campaign slogans of his competitors with a daring, LEGALLY-BINDING
CONTRACT WITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. Not because we don't trust him. But to show the voting public in very stark and unmistakable terms that Clinton, Trump, and the others are completelyfullofhotair. They're the ones who can't be trusted.
I
also believe Bernie needs to renounce some of his prior commitments on
foreign policy and support for military waste. He needs to affirm
himself to be a man of peace, so we don't have four more years of "talk"
about peace, while America just promotes more war. This commitment to
less military aggression, reducing the DOD budget, ending the war crimes
like drone bombing and illegal invasions, and getting the U.S. troops
out of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, should be spelled out in clear
language in the contract.
Whatever the specifics, the basic idea is right there in the video.
And the strategy is described in detail in my two recent political books.
Do what you have to do, folks. We're still in the game . . . at least for now.
And, Bernie . . . if you're paying attention, think about doing what YOU need to do.
Bumper stickers, t-shirts, and underwear with your picture are fine.
But maybe you need to really step up to the plate, eh?
"Candidate Contracts: Taking Back Our Democracy" is available from all the usual suspects . . .
