Did someone say... Crusade?

From the LA Times:

"Maybe what the war in Iraq needs is not more troops but more religion. At least that's the message the Department of Defense seems to be sending."

"Apparently the wonks at the Pentagon forgot that Muslims tend to bristle at the word "crusade" and thought that what the Iraq war lacked was a dose of end-times theology."

"It's time to actively strip the so-called war on terror of its religious connotations, not add to them. Because religious wars are not just ugly, they are unwinnable. And despite what Operation Straight Up and its supporters in the Pentagon may think is taking place in Iraq, the Rapture is not a viable exit strategy."

Once more with feeling...

Ahh HELL no.

-Tom

Go Get 'em Jimmy

From: CNN

Carter was quoted Saturday in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette as saying "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history."

The Georgia Democrat said Bush had overseen an "overt reversal of America's basic values" as expressed by previous administrations, including that of his own father, former President George H.W. Bush.

Carter, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, criticized Bush for having "zero peace talks" in Israel. Carter also said the administration "abandoned or directly refuted" every negotiated nuclear arms agreement, as well as environmental efforts by other presidents.

"As a traditional Baptist, I've always believed in separation of church and state and honored that premise when I was president, and so have all other presidents, I might say, except this one."

When former President Carter, who's been awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace after his term as President, describes the current adiministration so poorly - this is sending a clear message to the people. The damage created by G.W. Bush during his two terms will take the next President if not the next two presidents years to mend. I think that there are some areas that the American President will be unable to fix because the damage has been done so completely. There's no room to repair the bridges that have been burnt when you look at the reversal of some of the previous policies.

History, I do not think, will judge G.W. Bush very well. He is the President and the office of the President should be protected even from those who would tarnish its reputation.

-T

A Time(-table) for War

From Cnn:

"It makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing. All the
terrorists would have to do is mark their calendars. ... Setting a deadline for
withdrawal is setting a date for failure, and that would be irresponsible," Bush
said in a televised address after the veto.

This has been Bush's logic for a while. Don't tell the enemy that you're going to leave on 'X' date because they'll just wait until we're gone and then do whatever they have planned. Here's my problem with that statement:

By virtue of this logic, we would never be able to leave Iraq for fear that the 'enemy' would finally enact their plans as soon as we were gone. This suggests that Bush wants to keep Troops in Iraq indefinately - which seems to be against the wishes of a rising majority of Americans. Even my grandfather - the WWII Navy Vet - told me that they should "bring the boys home", and he's as patriotic as I've ever heard from anyone.

The entire Iraq situation is just spiraling into a black void of ignorance. No one seems to know why (exactly) we went. No one seems to know how we're going to pull ourselves out. I'm sure that the generals who got us into Iraq had a plan for getting us out - but I wonder how their plans have been changed or simply ignored by the President or those business interests who support his actions in Iraq.

I would make the argument that as soon as US troops are no longer a factor in Iraq, the problems between the Shia and the Suni will boil over again. They have always had conflict. One of the main reasons that Iraq's leader, Sadam, was such a problem for his people was that he was, essentially, a tribal leader waging political war against another tribe within his country. Most of the violence that we're seeing now in Iraq doesn't seem (though I could be mistaken) to be focused at US troops, but rather at other Iraqi's. Granted, there are a number of incidents where US troops are targeted, but most of the news that I've been able to pull together from CNN, MSNBC, FOX and BBC seem to point that the car bombs and suicide bombers are attacking open markets and public gatherings; not military outposts.

So, when the President says that he will veto any bill with a timetable for withdrawl - it makes me wonder exactly how long he plans to keep troops there. Well, he's only got 628 days left in office so I assume it will be less than that.

Anyone pushing for the next election will win a huge sway of votes if they promise to pull those troops back - and that's the most confusing thing. Bush says that he'll veto any bill with a time table, but there already -IS- one; his presidency.

Now don't get me wrong; I am in full support of the troops over there. I have lost one very good friend to an IED in Iraq, I have another friend who's going to be graduating and probably going over there next summer, and a new friend who's already been there once. I've sent baby wipes and socks to guys I don't even know because they're doing a job that I don't want to do.

I think that Bush is just deluding himself that he has any degree of control over the situation in Iraq either abroad or at home. He uses the veto power as a finger-in-the-dike stop-gap. He's only buying himself time.

When, in the fullness of time, President Bush is remembered as a leader in this country - I do not think that he will be remembered fondly.

-T

May Day

Ahh, the first of May...

This time last year there were huge walk-outs and boycots by hispanics throughout the US to protest the resolution that was before the house to begin addressing the illegal immigrant population problem.

From CNN:

"Last year's May 1 boycott brought out more than a million protesters
across the nation. But later rallies failed to produce large turnouts, as
legislation stalled in Congress and bipartisan proposals for illegal immigrants
to gain citizenship have become more conservative."

The idea that an entire ethnicity has turned out to protest legal action taken against those who have broken the law is obviously a sign of the power behind the concept of Democracy. I am not fully versed in the details of their boycott or the nature of the legislation that will address (if at all possible) all of the illegal immigrants who now live within this country, but I can say that I am concerned at the nature of their protests.

In essence, the protesters have said to the US government, "We (or those whom we support) have broken your laws, but you will just have to accept it because there are too many of us."

I have no problem with immigrants living in this country. I'm an anthropologist - I enjoy diversity. However, I also believe that if there is a process by which one can live in the country legally - it should be followed by everyone.

More later. I have class.

-Tom

Doesn't this just seem fitting?

WASHINGTON - People once again spent everything they made and then some last year, pushing the personal savings rate to the lowest level since the Great Depression more than seven decades ago.

HOUSTON - Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. on Thursday posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company — $39.5 billion — even as earnings for the last quarter of 2006 declined 4 percent.


People are draining their savings at a record not seen since the Great Depression and yet the mega-corporations like Exxon Mobil are reporting their largest annual profits. How can anyone think that these two things are unrelated?

And, what's worse - it probably won't change. This coming year the big companies will continue to get bigger and the average person will probably go through the last of whatever savings they were able to acquire just to continue their lifestyles. Are people living beyond their means? Probably. Are the big companies raising prices unnecessarily? Probably. Can we do anything about this? No.

Gods this is depressing.

2006 personal savings fall to 74-yr. low
Exxon Mobil posts record annual profit