I love Japan!

 

For a number of reasons I don't need to get into here, I don't own a smart phone.

But two days ago, I regretted not having one with me. Or at least a camera.

I was doing my daily 20 km bike ride. Most of my preferred riding is through pastoral areas, soybean and rice fields, often skirting Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, and sometimes through the heart of town by the 400-year-old castle ruins we have here.

But there was one stretch for that particular day's ride which took me down a secondary road __ not really a highway and not all that busy, but it is a route regularly used by cars, buses, and heavy trucks.

That's when I saw him.

I so wish I'd been able to take a photo to post here.

A large delivery truck was pulled to the side of the road. The driver was bent down before some beautiful orchids growing in a garden adjacent to the road.

He did have a smart phone and was taking pictures.

Whatever important items were on their way to wherever important items go, would just have to wait patiently in the bed of his massive truck, because this gentleman spotted some splendid flowers along the route, and wanted to show them to somebody.

His wife . . . his kids . . . his mom or dad . . . his best friend?

Just a common truck driver.

But an uncommon man.

Which is pretty common around here.



[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

The Race To A Vanishing Point

 

The writing is on the wall. BIG writing! 

The U.S. has again unleashed forces it cannot control, to obtain some perceived geopolitical advantage, and give itself some edge in the grand game of chess, played on an immense, impersonal macro-cosmic scale __ which ignores individual tragedy, human suffering, destruction of peoples and cultures, wholesale slaughter of innocent civilians __ gradually edging the world toward the ultimate confrontation, the really big one, where we get to see what comes out of the other end of a nuclear confrontation.

We obviously learned nothing from our original meddling in Afghanistan, which produced Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda; our meddling in Iran, which produced the current regime we are still trying to dominate; our meddling and war with Iraq, which now has resulted in ISIS; our meddling and destruction of Libya, which now has the country in shambles and has helped spread chaos and carnage across the Middle East and northern Africa.

We just had to meddle even more, and create the current crisis in Ukraine by toppling the democratically-elected government there, then installing a fierce, racist, ultra-nationalistic "pro-Western" puppet regime which will ultimately put us eyeball-to-eyeball with Russia, a world power armed to the teeth with nuclear missiles.

David Swanson points out in an excellent article that prior to the both World War I and World War II, the public remained clueless as to the onset of war. This despite the fact that all the alarms, signals and flags were in plain sight, huge glaring signs that war was where things were inevitably heading. 

This despite concerned men and women, keen observers, highly visible pundits and scholars __ though admittedly they were in the minority and fatefully shouted down by the usual crowd of bombastic exceptionalists and grinning fools __ issuing grave and sober warnings, dire and thoughtful forecasts, based on sound and knowledgeable analysis, that the world was marching toward a disaster.

Similarly, the evidence is right before us, big pieces of a straightforward puzzle, which even the most simple-minded dolt could assemble into the frightening picture it is.

The insensitive, reckless, aggressive policies of the U.S. are precipitating World War III.

History has dramatically demonstrated that in the heat of major conflict, cooler heads never prevail. This coming war could and probably will go nuclear.

There is, of course, every reason to be concerned about putting food on the table, seeing our kids off to school, showing up for work, keeping the house and yard looking nice, making our homes comfortable for those we love.

But there's even more reason for preserving a world where there are things like food, tables, kids, schools, places to work, houses, yards, homes . . . those we love.

Am I just being a pessimist? An alarmist? A paranoid?

That's what they said about those folks who back before 1914 who were trying to get people to pay attention __ over 17,000,000 people then died in the conflagration of World War I.

That's what they said about many alarmed but certainly better informed folks in the 1920s and 1930s, who said that the Treaty of Versailles was a prescription for major disaster and could only end in a catastrophic conflict. 72,000,000 dead bodies from the greatest war in human history __ so far __ proved them right.

History repeats itself again and again . . . until it doesn't.

Until there is no more history.

Until it's all gone, and there is no longer anyone left to be annoyed by pleas for sanity and prayers for peace.

Then the planet will be governed by a vast, all-embracing quiet, when only the scurrying of cockroaches across a dusty, barren landscape offers evidence of life on Earth.



[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

The Unbearable Lightness of Being Shallow

 

I love all of the hand-wringing, thoughtful analysis, speculation and prognostication surrounding Obama's public addresses.

Though the ADHD American public seems to little notice or be bothered by the lack of consistency or coherence to our president's policies on just about everything, pundits lately seem preoccupied with getting to the bottom of his erratic pronouncements. You know, those policy statements which seem often at odds with the best interests of the country, and even more baffling, at odds with themselves.

I hate to sabotage the good work all of the talking heads and pundits do. Moreover, I understand that they have to keep up the illusion they're doing something invaluable __ after all, we're talking job security. But this whole business of trying to find coherence in Obama's policies is a waste of everyone's time.

There never has been any consistency or sense to it. What can we expect? When he's talking to his "base", he spews progressive platitudes. When he deals with plutocrats, he morphs into the plutocrat he really is. When he pontificates about Mother Earth, now he's the great shepherd guardian of the environment. When he speaks at West Point, Obama becomes the mighty conquering hero, leader of the exceptionalist empire.

It comes down to this. Obama has no core principles, no political philosophy. Most of the time you can just, as they say, "follow the money". Of course, in our enlightened times, money is free speech. So sometimes it's about power and its manipulation. But there's always a "payoff" down the road __ voter support so he can continue wreaking havoc on what's left of egalitarianism and transferring the nation's wealth to his friends in the 1%.

Lately, there's been all of these noble attempts at analyzing why Obama is so hostile to Russia and Putin. The obvious answer is that he now fully subscribes to the nefarious vision of American hegemony embodied in Zbigniew Brzezinski's Grand Chessboard.

That may be true. But at the very core of Obama's Russophobic animosity . . . it's personal.
He hates Vlad the Impaler for upstaging him, not just aspiring to the higher moral ground __ shrewdly making some modest gains on the international stage __ but by Mr. Putin's actually achieving it in the eyes of the world. Putin's ratings soar. Obama's plummet.

Snowden . . . Syria . . . Ukraine.  There you have it, my puzzled pundits.

Obama now has a big chip on his shoulder and a very wounded ego. 

Despite a lot of lying, calculating and ruthless propaganda, posing, strutting, bullying, muscle-flexing, employing all of the exceptionalist weapons of the tallest, baddest bully pulpit on the planet, Obama has and continues to make a total fool of himself. And it's such a blow to his hyper-inflated ego that Vladimir Putin won't bow before his childish barbs, Obama simply can't handle it. Poor wittle boy!

We have seen in his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress, then his speech before the U.N., and just recently his remarks to the G-7 __ using these extremely visible and internationally honored forums __ our President leveling vituperative taunts and personal insults at the leader of a great world power.
Personal insults!

This is our Nobel Peace Prize President.

This is our "don't do stupid stuff" President.

My eyes were opened to how shallow this man is during a recent interview. I had always been in awe of Obama's vast talents as an orator, delivering noble and moving sentiments, always putting himself in the best possible light, such that many believe him to be a truly great and noble man, a president who cares about the world, the people, world peace. What a shock it was to see the man in the stark personification of a self-absorbed sociopath who evidently has now lost perspective on his own public persona.

He was asked what it's like being President of the United States.

The first words out of Obama's mouth and I quote:  "It's a fun job."

Do I have to break this down for you? Let's just ignore how blatantly arrogant that remark was. The President has vast responsibilities and powers. His decisions affect everyone on our planet. He literally has life-or-death power over millions of people.

And he thinks it's a fun job.

As if we give a flying fuck whether he's having fun or not.

Obama has kept up a good front for longer than I would have expected. Many would have buckled under so much constant attention and adoration. But for seven years, he managed to fool a lot of people, even the people who are now suffering under his catastrophic lack of vision and leadership.

Obama may be a sharp guy. But it always seems that in the end, good judgment inevitably snaps under the dogged badgering of closeted narcissism. And now we have it, though it might have taken a little longer this time around. 

If talk is cheap, and the preferred use of the bully pulpit is self-congratulation over the greater good of the country __ or even an occasional nod to reality __ then the rumors of this President's greatness for the history books are grossly exaggerated, and will inevitably blow away like mere belches of hot air.

Just what the already overheating planet needs . . . more hot air.



[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

Mission Control: We Have A Problem

 

On balance, I see Bernie Sanders' running for president as a positive thing. I wrote this back in August 2011, voicing my support for his candidacy long before the Bernie Sanders For President bandwagon left the barn last month.

Mr. Sanders has some troubling ideas in terms of foreign policy.

But contrasted with a dynastic rematch between the neocon shrew Hillary and the neocon opportunist Jeb, there is no contest.

Go Bernie!

Nonetheless, I feel required to point out something, which in the exhilaration of his early campaigning, no one has addressed.

What if Bernie wins?

If you think we have dysfunctional government now, just try to imagine what would be the result of such a historical "upset" in the duopoly game plan. The center and center-right Democrats __ there are only a handful of genuinely progressive Democrats __ would team with the center-right and right-right Republicans, their shared control of electoral politics threatened by the anomalous election of a truly progressive president. The only legislation which would pass would be bipartisan anti-progressive veto-proof bills.

Of course, with their long-established common ground __ an agenda of defeating anything which the corporate plutocracy disapproves of __ and even more importantly their newly discovered common objective __ totally destroying the Bernie Sanders presidency itself __ mustering 67 votes in the Senate and 300 votes in the House would be a piece of cake.

Bear in mind that on the off-chance he wins the Democratic nomination, he will only be window-dressing for the Dems, a desperate attempt at pulling in the populist vote, which they lost by abandoning the middle and working classes. Any success at the polls by these turncoats will translate into even more aggressive promotion of the vile corporatist agenda they have pursued for decades now, as the Democratic Party steadily morphed into the left wing of the Republican Party.
The simple point is this:  While a Bernie Sanders presidency would inject some hope into our dismal electoral politics and floundering democracy, his election without a supportive Congress would create gridlock and dysfunction of biblical proportions. President Sanders would be demonized, vilified, emasculated, meaning the prospects for the advancement of a progressive agenda, serving the needs of all Americans, not just the ultra-wealthy, would be set back for decades.

There is an obvious remedy to this predictable mega-gridlock.

Blocs of at minimum 34 senators and 151 representatives with an unyielding commitment to Mr. Sanders' 12-point plan for restoring the economy MUST be put in place via the 2016 election. Either we replace many of the current corporate toadies holding elected office, or the promise of a Bernie Sanders presidency is doomed to utter failure.


 

I'll get right to the point.

I have a plan for accomplishing that and __ if progressive activists can actually get it together __ indeed do much much more.

It's contained in my new book, over 900 copies of which have already been sent to independent and Green Party candidates, NPOs, and think tanks across the nation.

A quiet revolution is possible.

But it requires making a lot of noise.

"Candidate Contracts: Taking Back Our Democracy" is now available . . .

Amazon (Kindle) . . . amzn.to/1QJRiNZ
Apple (iBook) . . . apple.co/1BXnPcy
Amazon (Paperback) . . . [ TBA ]
Barnes & Noble . . . bit.ly/1GpTTLq
Smashwords . . . bit.ly/1B4DQCp
Direct from printer . . . bit.ly/1MGjDnN

Am I promoting my book?

No . . . I'm promoting my ideas.





[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]