Dead Men Tell No Tales

When the news hit that the US had killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, I admit that I had doubts. After all, the US government doesn't have a very good track record when it comes to telling the truth. Plus, it didn't help that the information coming out was conflicting. First, OBL was armed and needed to be "taken down." Then he was unarmed and killed with two "taps" to the left side of his head. Well, which was it?

The official story makers must be in a tizzy. If the OBL story is he was firing back, he could be seen as a defiant martyr. If he wasn't, then he was an unarmed man murdered in cold blood. It must suck to be the US government.

So let's be perfectly clear - Osama bin Laden is dead. I don't care about the body, I don't care abou the DNA, I don't care about the photos. He's dead, and yet that is the problemm because now we are less likely to know the truth about the September 11, 2001 attacks. OBL always denied involvement, something that doesn't fit the fanatical terrorist label that we tagged him with. It's possible he had something to do with it, but it's equally possible that he just simply knew too much. We have not been told the truth about the attacks that day, and now the US has moved to put the official seal of "closed" on the file.

OBL is dead, and that was the precise purpose of the mission. It was not to arrest him, or to interrogate him. It was not about justice - it was to kill him and to silence him once and for all.

Something I noticed when viewing images of the American celebrations was that most of the crowds were just kids when the attacks occurred. They're still learning what this world is about, and were not even affected the same way that older generations were, those who worked in office buildings in NY or DC, or those travelers who flew often. The whole celebration was surreal, as if someone were attempting to replicate VE- or VJ-Day.

I knew some of the people on Flight 77 that hit the Pentagon. It does not seem any more fit to celebrate the elimination of OBL than it did to call for vengeance at their wake. The chants of USA, USA are an insult to those who died 10 years ago. It is also an insult to those who have died since.

More than 4,700 American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians were murdered in a war launched by the Bush regime. A war based completely on LIES. If Osama bin Laden was behind the attacks, then why did so many people have to die in Iraq? Why did so many troops have to die for a LIE? Why did we not go after OBL in Afghanistan and then Pakistan?

Why must the lie continue?

Those who are not in denial know the answers. So do George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft, Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleeza Rice, and the rest of their inner circle.

Osama bin Laden probably knew why as well. Only now he won't be telling any tales.

Now that he is dead - do we get our civil liberties back? What about our economy?

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Newt Gingrich has made the news again, this time by "fearing" that secular atheists would cause the United States to fall under control of radical Islam. Most reasonable, rational - sane - people find this outrageous.

I, however, do not.

This is classic Newt. He isn't trying to piss off the left, atheists, secular humanists, or even Democrat voters. He knows he'll never win over the independent thinkers, or people who know their history at least a tiny bit. On the contrary, Newt is vying for the "stupid angry white" and radical Christian vote. This is his bold move into the territory of Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and the other pretenders to the throne of stupidity and hatred, that he, Newt Gingrich, intends to garner the Republican Party nomination in 2012. During the campaign he may indeed "amend" his statement, but only after he has repeated it sufficiently for the bottom feeders to take the bait.

Don't get me wrong, I think Newt Gingrich is a lying demagogue. He certainly is a liar, just ask his former spouses. Oh, maybe that's not fair? After all according to Newt, he committed adultry (on each of his ex-wives) out of his deep commitment to the nation and its values. Values? Maybe you can figure that one out.

Anyway, Gingrich is a hypocrite and a liar. But he's nonetheless very intelligent, and he doesn't make any political move without having thought about it very clearly, weighing his options, and understanding exactly what reactions his move might elicit. After his latest statement attracted the expected indignant responses, his public relations secretary issued the standard retraction, claiming that Newt had intended to include the word "or" as if that would have made any difference. Semantically speaking, yes. But this isn't George W. Bush speaking, it's Newt Gingrich, who is a very articulate, intelligent and calculating speaker. He doesn't garble his metaphors like the aforementioned dumbass. The comment was most certainly intentional.

The United States has always been at war with itself in one form or another, mostly with hateful, spiteful racist demagogues against reasonable, tolerant people who value the Constitution and human rights. Whether it be the witch hunts against anti-war activists during the World War I era, suffragists, unions during the 30s-40s, non-conformists during the 50s, or anti-war activists (yet again) during the 60s, these alleged "Americans" have done their damnedest to destroy the US Constitution, to destroy civil liberties for anyone who doesn't look like them, and to especially destroy those who refuse to think or pray like them. The GOP is the party of hatred.

That's right, I said it. Those who claim to support the Republican Party are stupid, hateful, racist demagogues.

It is to these idiots that Newt is appealing because he is keenly aware that stupidity, hatred and demagoguery are selling BIG TIME in America. It doesn't matter that not one of their arguments holds water, it doesn't matter that they feed on the slough of lies from Fox, CNN, Limbaugh, Beck et al. It matters not one iota that evidence to the contrary can be presented to them to prove that they are being used as pawns for the benefit of the thieving class. They don't care because they are STUPID.

They actually believe that secular leftists support radical Islam, that Obama is a Socialist, or that they even understand what Socialism is. They believe this shit because they are too STUPID to think for themselves, and they will follow anyone who chums the water for them.

And Newt Gingrich, with a bucket full of stupidity, is one sharp operator who has announced that he intends to do their thinking for them.

We Gotta Take The Bastards Down

It's uncertain how things in Madison, WI will all play out, but one thing is for sure - the Republicans are conniving bastards who are bent on destroying the working class in America. Governor Walker pushed through a $130 million tax cut for the wealthy a mere month after taking office, and now he's crying budget deficit? Hello!?

Wake the fuck up, America! The GOP declared war on the country when they took over the House of Representatives after the last election, telling us that nothing would get done unless the Democrats gave them what they want. In short, more tax cuts for the wealthy, cut social spending, etc., so that these thieving crooks could continue to rape the working class.

It does the spirit good to see the outrage in Madison, with thousands of people refusing to accept this latest onslaught on our rights. As a former union worker, and staunch union supporter, I call on other unions across the country join in solidarity by building a national strike so we can put those damn Republicans traitors back in the cesspool they come from.

The United States has NEVER had a general strike, not even in the heyday of sit-downs and marches. If we ever needed one, now is the time. It is estimated that American union membership is between 12 and 16 percent nationally, yet the GOP has never ceased waging their class war on unions and American workers. With three foreign wars (of their creation) bogging down our military, sapping our economy and resulting in nothing but death and destruction (Osama, who?), the United States is in a desperate situation. Yet these bastards are waging war against us Americans!

Now is the time for ALL workers, both union and non-union, to UNITE and throw the bastards down.

Speaking of which, here is the latest song from the Dropkick Murphys (who are donating some of their proceeds to union emergency funds).

"Take 'Em Down"

When the boss comes callin' they'll put us down
When the boss comes callin' gotta stand your ground
When the boss comes callin' don't believe their lies

When the boss comes callin' his take his toll
When the boss comes callin' don't you sell your soul
When the boss comes callin' we gotta organize

Let em know
We gotta take the bastards down
Let them know
We gotta smash them to the ground
Let em know
We gotta take the bastards down

When the boss comes callin' you'll be on your own
When the boss comes callin' will you stand alone?
When the boss comes callin' will you let them in?

When the boss comes callin' will you stand and fight?
When the boss comes callin' we must unite
When the boss comes callin' we can't let them win

Let em know
We gotta take the bastards down
Let them know
We gotta smash 'em to the ground
Let em know

We gotta take the bastards down

We gotta take the bastards down

When the boss comes callin' they'll put us down
When the boss comes callin' gotta stand your ground
When the boss comes callin' don't believe their lies

When the boss comes callin' his take his toll
When the boss comes callin' don't you sell your soul
When the boss comes callin' we gotta organize

Let em know
We gotta take the bastards down
Let them know
We gotta smash 'em to the ground
Let em know
We gotta take the bastards down

Let em know
We gotta take the bastards down
Let them know
We gotta smash 'em to the ground
Let em know
We gotta take the bastards down

Constitutional Rights, Shmonstitutional Rights

Lest anyone think that the Democrats, the Obama administration, or in particular - Hillary Clinton - support democracy, watch this video. Ray McGovern did not shout out, did not heckle, did not cause any disruption whatsoever. NONE. All he did was stand and turn his back on Clinton while she was talking. It was a SILENT protest. McGovern did not speak out until after the police assaulted him. And as one can see in the video, Clinton barely bats an eye and doesn't skip a beat - as she's spewing propaganda and rhetoric about Egypt's popular rising and quest for democracy.

To call Hillary Clinton a hypocrite doesn't even begin to cover it.

But wait, the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution protects freedom of speech, right? So we're taught.

The reality is that our Constitutional rights are not worth a plug nickel. Just try exercising one of them when the government tells you not to. Remember Bush's "free speech zones?" Look, I can understand that when someone is giving a press conference or speech that maybe they have an equal right to be heard. Not always, but I can see an argument for it. I can also see the argument for immediate response to someone's public remarks. If a speaker has the right to speak, so does someone else have the right to respond.

Nonetheless, McGovern wasn't interrupting Clinton in the least and his Constitutional right to free speech was CLEARLY being infringed, in front of a high-level government official who was talking about rights! Don't tell me she didn't know, she knew.

To make matters worse, the police abused McGovern, who was beaten and bloodied. See the photos below. Constitutional rights? Yeah, right.

This type of thuggery and repression is what Egyptians and others in the Middle East have risen up against, yet here we are in the "land of the free" and a 71-year old man is bloodied by cops merely for standing up and turning his back. Had he posed a credible threat, e.g., was trying to throw something at Clinton, I could understand it (though not justify it). Clinton deserves a well-aimed shoe in her direction. Yet this is not what McGovern did. He merely exercised his Constitutional right, and was beaten for it.

It's been said that when Fascism comes to America, it will come wrapped in an American flag. Well, America - how do you like it now?

Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC. During his career as a CIA analyst, he prepared and briefed the President's Daily Brief and chaired National Intelligence Estimates. He is a member of the Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).

Reagan - Celebrating an American Traitor

The current media hype surrounding the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth would be annoying all on its own merit, were it just another scene in the national tragedy of ignorance perpetrated by "conservatives" in the United States. Since he left office in 1988, the GOP and self-styled "conservatives" have been desperately attempting to foist the myth of "Reaganism" upon the nation, whether it be putting his image on currency, adding him to Mount Rushmore (seriously?), or naming schools and buildings after him, such as the cynical renaming of Washington National Airport. GOP hopefuls fall over each other in efforts to claim the Reagan mantle, while pundits and politicos bastardize Lloyd Bentsen's famous Kennedy remark by commenting that so-and-so is "no Reagan." This is typical propaganda and manipulation of opinion that is expected from political parties, given that each strives for power over rivals. Myths and demigods are important tools in propaganda.

As expected as this is, the efforts to deify Reagan are troublesome because his popularity defies reason and directly contradicts the alleged values that Americans pretend to hold dear. Namely, freedom, democracy, self-autonomy, free speech, etc. Thanks to a years-long effort by rightwing conservatives to lay the foundation, many people now point to Reagan as a champion and "great" American. This despite not being able to cite (never mind articulate) much more than iconic moments such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the "off-mic" comments that 'bombing will commence in five minutes,' other Reagan's sound-bytes about big government, or "there you go again." He was good at quips, I'll give him that.

I have asked many "Reaganites" what was great about him. Most cite his being against taxes (he raised them in 6 of his 8 years), his bringing down the Berlin wall (even his own cabinet didn't believe this nonsense), or his liberation of the Iran hostages (he actually worked behind the scenes to delay their release until he took office and could claim credit). While some may deny agreeing with his politics they invariably fall back to the line, "but he was a good man."

So I have to ask, why was he a good man? What makes someone good? Is it the words they speak, or the actions they take? Let's take a look at Reagan's "goodness." For the sake of brevity, I'm only going to focus on his foreign policies.

A good man?

- The Iran-Contra Affair: In clear and direct violation of United States law, without the knowledge or consent of the US Congress, Reagan authorized the illegal sale of weapons to Iran so that the administration could finance the illegal support of the Nicaraguan "Contras." But this was a "just" fight against Communists, right? Wrong.

The Contras were rightwing terrorists organized to overthrow the democratically-elected government of the Sandanistas (who had finally rid themselves of their brutal US-puppet dictator, Anastasio Somoza) and replace it with another pro-US puppet regime. The US-backed Contras waged a terrorist war against the Nicaraguan people that resulted in tens of thousands being raped, tortured and killed. That's tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians. When the Sandanistas eventually agreed to a ceasefire with the Contras, the latter continued to violate the ceasefire. This was standard operating procedure for the US, which does not readily accept defeat, especially via a ballot box.

- Guatamala, El Salvador, Honduras: Under Reagan's authority, the US military conducted terrorist operations in these countries where air missions slaughtered anything that moved. They trained, financed and supplied paramilitary groups who murdered priests, union leaders, teachers, including of course - women and children. Reagan backed brutal dictatorships in these countries (under the guise of fighting Communism) for years, with a death toll over 200,000 men, women and children. In 1999 the United Nations determined that the slaughter in Guatamala was genocide. As is often the case, international law means nothing if it contradicts US policy. And again - these were Reagan's policies.

- Iraq: Reagan's administration (under his authority, mind you) sold chemical and biological weapons to Saddam Hussein. Despite the rightwing effort to ignore this fact during Bush II's war against Iraq, it remains a fact. Reagan authorized the sale of Weapons of Mass Destruction to a brutal dictator. The final chapter of blowback from this policy has still not been played out.

- Osama bin Laden: It was the Reagan administration who provided funding to Osama bin Laden in the fight against the Russians in Afghanistan. Now? Blowback is a bitch, ain't it? Are you sensing a trend here, America? Starting to catch on? No? Then I shall summarize for you:

Reagan = terrorism, anti-democracy, genocide, treason, torture, rape.

What makes someone good? Is it the words they speak, or the actions they take? Does knowing that women and children are being raped, tortured and killed, yet still illegally financing and supplying the murderers, sound like an example of someone who is "good?" He could have chosen not to implement such a policy. HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of human beings were slaughtered, thanks to Reagan.

Now, about his admirers. What does it say about Americans (and America) that Reagan is called great? Hypocrisy doesn't begin to describe it. Selfish? Racist? The deaths of non-whites has rarely bothered most Americans. Maybe these people have simply been duped, and don't realize what Reagan did? Sorry, no excuse because they've been told many times. The problem is that they choose to ignore it, preferring instead to fall into the GOP vs. Democrat game as if all that really matters is supporting the home team so they can defeat their cross-town rival. Stupidity? I think that's a given, but I'll go further and say that people who idolize Reagan (even slightly) are craven cowards who haven't an ounce of morality in their bones.

When I was young we were taught how the Soviet people were constantly lied to by their government. Yet here in America, despite a deep mistrust of government, Americans will puff up their chests and get defensive should anyone accuse the government of lying. On go the blinders, the ears are plugged up solid, and no argument on earth is going to sway them.

Still, I ask - if Reagan was great, what does that say about Americans? Americans who proudly revere a man who authorized genocide, torture, rape, and who violated the US Constitution in order to pursue his administration's agenda? If you commit terrorist acts, you are a terrorist. If you support terrorists, you are a terrorist as well.

Since 2001, have you ever asked "why do they hate us so?" when the topics of terrorism, al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, Iraq, Iran, etc., come up? Do you honestly believe the bullshit about them "hating our freedoms?" Are you really that obtuse? When people hate the US, it is because of policies such as Reagan's - policies that result in the death and oppression of others. They hate us because Americans think that Reagan was a "great American" or "a good man." They hate us because Americans are so damned smugly hypocritical as they wallow in their ignorance. They hate us because "rule of law" means nothing when Americans refuse to hold our worst criminals responsible. They hate us because when hundreds of thousands of human beings are slaughtered, Americans ignorantly applaud.

There is nothing "great" about what Reagan did, and there was nothing "good" about the man. Everyone is a function of what we do. Given his acts as President, there should be only one conclusion about Reagan.

He was a terrorist. He was a traitor. His impact was one of death and destruction. Genocide. Rape. Torture. Death. Destruction. He should have been imprisoned, at the least.

Americans who admire this criminal should be ashamed to call themselves Americans. That they have no shame, is the true legacy of Reagan.

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Drake on the move.