Grateful Dead

James Madison once wrote, "Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other." In armed conflict, he argued, "the discretionary power of the executive is extended ... and all the means of seducing the minds are added to those of subduing the force of the people.... No nation can preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare." Nine years ago today, the roar of falling aircraft and crumbling buildings gave way to the cries of dying innocents, and that tragic cacophony shook this nation to its foundations. The echoes of that awful, unnatural din still resound in unwelcome ways. Who, for example, could have foreseen that it would crowd from our national conversation the quiet wisdom of voices like Madison's? Obama campaigned on the promise to end torture and shut down the gulag, but the infamous prison camp at Guantanamo remains, trials for accused terrorists have yet to be conducted and the "extraordinary renditions" reportedly continue. (We don't know for sure because they're done in secret.) Equally troubling, the White House reportedly has authorized U.S. intelligence agencies to kill Anwar Awlaki, an Islamic clergyman turned jihadist who was born and raised in the U.S. and is now hiding in Yemen. The summary execution of a U.S. citizen is something not even Bush and Cheney authorized. As former CIA Director Michael V. Hayden told the Washington Times this week, differences between the Bush-Cheney White House for which he worked and the Obama administration on these issues essentially are minor. "You've got state secrets, targeted killings, indefinite detention, renditions, the opposition to extending the right of habeas corpus to prisoners," Hayden said. "Although it is slightly different, Obama has been as aggressive as Bush in defending prerogatives about who he has to inform in Congress for executive covert action." Another unlooked-for consequence of 9/11 is that reasonable people see issues such as torture and access to legal redress for its victims as difficult questions. This week, a narrowly divided panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that those who were tortured in America's gulag cannot sue for damages because the administration believes their attempt to obtain justice may reveal state secrets. The notion that evidence may be withheld from public scrutiny for reasons of national security is well established, but the idea that injured parties can be denied legal redress because the executive branch wants the matter kept secret is an appalling novelty. The story of how the Bush-Cheney administration rushed to make torture an instrument of national policy in its "war on terror," and of how it created an international gulag in which to abuse prisoners, is well known. Less remarked on — for reasons that do nobody credit — is the fact that President Obama and his administration have embraced the secrecy and usurpations of power that made possible the Bush-Cheney betrayal of American values. Tom Rutten, Op-Ed in the LA Times on 9/11/10 Is Obama just more palatable for a greater majority of Americans? Just liberal window-dressing for the same gnashing of fangs? I hate to point it out, but probably so. ~ The time had come to weigh these things ~

Imagine a storm building, dark grey clouds covering the entire horizon. Then a few drops turn into a drizzle that turns into a steady rain that completely soaks the ground. Then it pours for a good hour and a half, but so much so that it floods even a small creek. Even the tiniest of animals find comfort and shelter. Imagine the last flames of this fire drowning quietly in the fall rain amidst the colors of turning leaves. May it be!

Thanks for laying it out there so honestly, buddy. Isn't it amazing how this stuff pours out on an internet site where perfect strangers see it? Can't go wrong being honest. You're the Dude that Abides in Tacoma for the Biggest Dude in the Sky!!

...the miners. What a sad story. It seems so unbelievable that they can get food and cameras down into the mine but can't get the miners out. That the rescue equipment is being stolen is also hard to imagine and testifies to just how bad things are in Chile. What is highly ironic is that Chilean government officials are walking around in red windbreakers looking for photo ops., as if they were saviors of the poor miners. These are the same bureaucrat fat-cats who regularly take bribes to allow the unsafe practices to go on that caused this accident in first place. Good psychology, nutrition and lots of benzos should pull those poor souls through, if they can dig a privy.

Really? LOL visualizing into that sad situation!

With unemployment hovering around 240 million in the industrialized countries and about 34 million hardcore (six months or more) unemployed in the US there are reports saying that social unrest can be expected. These are the worst numbers since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The police chief of Britain says that his force may not be able to handle the situation. My feeling is that people don't riot unless they don't have enough to eat or a place to sleep out of the rain and the cold. The poor usually just bear their load in stoic silence. We'll see. Here in Vermont there is a push from certain quarters of State and Federal government (Sen. Bernie Sanders, only socialist in the Senate) for employees to own the means of production. The feeling is that they won't send their own jobs to China or India... Unless, of course, they become successful enough. Workers of the world unite!

A CO professor fired for espousing ridiculous views after they muzzle his free speech by finding other grounds to fire him? That is far from lighthearted. Are you sure you posted the right link?? I would call it ominous. Our rights are being lost to Muslimaphobia, the same way they were in the 50s during the McCarthy hysteria over communists. Go ahead and espouse giving up our rights if you want to. You live in Germany. We have to put up with corporate rule in this country, bought and paid for. I am thinking of Dewlover now and his continued use of the term "Islamofascist". There is certainly a nasty backlash going on right now in this country and it is getting nastier by the second. people are hurting economically and they are looking for a scapegoat. Very scary.

"...the penis-washing study received money..." Well, yes, I think YOUR tax dollars should go toward African men washing their uncircumcised penises at least 12 hours after having sex, but not MY tax dollars. My tax dollars are being used to study the effects of cocaine on monkeys. I missed my calling in life. Little did I know the big bucks were to be made by being a researcher who hires a smart grant-writer. Worse than the military budget waste, I think.

...today. Nothing heavy from me. Hopefully something will appear.

Jeez, wonder if he's on the no fly list?

The Tea Party candidates did well. Here we have a party with no leaders bankrolled by the billionaire Koch Brothers that is about to throw elections to the Democrats by inverting the political landscape and putting foaming-at-the-mouth-radical-republicans in charge. I guess we should be thankful but I somehow agree with them (the moderate, non-racist, financial conservatives) who want to sweep out the career politicians. Except that leaves such a huge unknown it is unnerving. Look for a cratered political landscape after the midterms with Obama having a green light to push his agenda, do-or-die, till the next presidential election. Hope he grabs the opportunity by the balls.

...Nancy should take less than 12 hours to wash her penis using tax doillars. I'm told hers grew there after her second term in office and now she is thinking of having it run for it's own seat in Congress. "Will the Chairwoman yield the floor to her squeaky clean penis?"

"One of the most bullish charts in recent times has been the path taken by the yellow metal. It's climbed relentlessly with barely a pause, but there's evidence it's due for a fall in the near future." So said one stock analyst on 9/1/10. Giess what? Gold just hit a new high of $1280 dollars per ounce today on the London exchange. I guess we can throw out all conventional analysis. The continuing strength of gold means that nobody has any confidence in the "perceived" worth of paper currency. Nor should they. The bearings on the printing presses are smoking and politicians are talking about new stimulus/bailout plans. (I'm not pushing any agenda here, certainly not the Palin/Beck tea-baggers). The truth is that there are so many scary variables in play that people are running for the high ground of the safest assets of what they "perceive" as the safest assets. You can't eat, heat, clothe or power your car with paper or gold. Scary thoughts for a Monday morning...