tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post1728863457759911802..comments2024-03-27T18:00:02.032-04:00Comments on Sardonicky: Warmongers Without Limits (continued)Karen Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-26756208702081530992015-10-17T13:26:50.277-04:002015-10-17T13:26:50.277-04:00Thanks to another whistleblower's big dump, th...Thanks to another whistleblower's big dump, the detailed inside story about drones documented from the point of view of the executive branch itself is nicely laid out by Jeremy Scahill over at The Intercept. The Intercept entitles its scoop with the same flat label as "The Pentagon Papers." Let's see whether the country reacts as it did to Ellsberg or as it didn't to Snowden.<br />https://theintercept.com/drone-papers<br /><br />Slavish followers of the NY Times will have to go over there to read the docs because the story is sure not to be picked up by the MSM. These documents provide fresh evidence that the higher up you go in government––i.e., the stratosphere of governors and the prez hizself––the more it's clear these executives must act without hesitation when it comes to snuffing lives at home or abroad. The polite words used instead of murder are 'capital punishment,' 'targeted killing,' and 'counterterrorism.' Murder like an ugly person looks ok if you photograph it in the right light––or better yet in darkness. The business of drones provides fresh insight to the root of the word "executive." These folks must be able to execute. They must understand that they stand above the laws handed down at Mount Sinai or Geneva.<br /><br />Yes, a woman can become president, provided she's sufficiently hawkish. No problem. Even a socialist could be given the title of commander-in-chief, just so long as it's clear he will permit the Pentagon and the CIA to slip the leash at will.<br /><br />What will the PTB never allow into the White House for lack of executive ability? A Quaker, or someone who thinks like a Quaker. Sometimes I feel guilty about not becoming a Quaker, merely to keep me on the straight and narrow and to tell history I was not part of the murdering crowd.<br /><br />But our young from the elementary grades through grad school are taught the fable that government holds power thanks to the consent of the people. Un-huh. Either there is no need for such 'consent' when killers are in the saddle and think they own the horse beneath them, or those citizens who remain silent on the matter (and it appears they are in the majority) are a nation of murderers, at very least accomplices to the executives to whom they turned over the power to say "execute!" and whose executives exercise that power openly or secretly, as the situation warrants. Whatever, don't bother us with the details à la Scahill.<br /><br />'Hillary for America' and 'A Political Revolution is Coming.' Yeah right. Sounds like toothless variations on the grand old promise of 'Change.'Jay–Ottawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10360356126450612113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-48830025615304937852015-10-17T11:11:05.424-04:002015-10-17T11:11:05.424-04:00
Bernie Blew It: He Sold Out Instead of Confrontin...<br />Bernie Blew It: He Sold Out Instead of Confronting Clinton (from @Truthdig) http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/bernie_blew_it_he_sold_out_instead_of_confronting_clinton_20151016#.ViJkbnUYhVg.twitter<br /><br />Disturbing report by Robert Scheer in TruthdigPearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-77440608632073722512015-10-17T02:50:54.653-04:002015-10-17T02:50:54.653-04:00Been away for days (without a computer). How good...Been away for days (without a computer). How good it is to come back home to log in and catch up on sites like Sardonicky. Here I am at 2 AM catching up. Can't go to bed with issues like death and war still unresolved. Let me spell it all out in my way so the rest of you can rest easy.<br /><br />We've come a long way when the loudest voice against war is Ron Paul. This is an advance since the days of Vietnam protests. The defeatists are going extinct, as some of you have already remarked. Maybe presidents of, say, Costa Rica can get elected to that nation's top job while being against war, but such a combination of power and nonviolence in the same person is inconceivable in the US. Thanks be to God.<br /><br />Once upon a time we only associated Divine Right with the kings of yore. Through a complicated linkage we need not get into right now, Kings were chosen by God, just like popes, hence their right to dictate. And those few souls who did not respect the Divine Right of kings, no matter what went down from the throne, were eligible for lodging in the Tower or a dungeon, followed by beheading––or being drawn and quartered if especially treasonous. Saudi Arabia is not shy about shielding the flame of such hallowed traditions today. Divine Right still lives by threatening the lives of those who dare to think it is not so divine.<br /><br />Saudi Arabia is not alone in maintaining the old traditions. There are alternate forms of dungeons and beheadings in more advanced countries like the US: think solitary confinement and the chair. So much for the social contract between modern citizens and their government. If you push the envelope too hard, government has every right, for the sake of good order, to push back till you're bug splat.<br /><br />In the bigger theatre of right and wrong, that is, when nations get into an argument over which of them has the most Divine Right, we call that war. Beheadings and other ultimate sacrifices or punishments in war are authorized by God––ask any Christian warrior––and, thanks to technological advances, such beheadings can be managed with snipers, firing squads, Hellfire missiles or, if the chief is really pissed off, nukes. We know all this, even though we don't talk too loud about it in politically correct company.<br /><br />The President of the US is first and foremost the Commander in Chief. If he can't protect our borders, what's the use of talking about minimum wage, the right to privacy, or the price of organic chicken breast? Our priorities must be in order. The President of the US has got to be willing to protect us all by threatening the lives of foreigners who want to do us harm, or who might think about doing us harm. Otherwise, he's a paper tiger. The Man has got to be willing to use the hammer and that hammer is a metaphor for the Pentagon, and by extension the FBI, CIA, NSA and the many police forces coast to coast. At long last are we clear on our situation, the fine print of the social contract?<br /><br />So for a man or woman running for the office of president we need a person willing to kill. Pacifists, the nonviolent, negotiators, and even the wise or the peace makers need not apply. Costa Rica (no army) does not hold the same responsibility of the USA (big army). Any talk of scaling down the army and the means of war is the portal to defeatism and evidence that whoever proposes less war is shirking responsibilities placed on our shoulders by God. Or else the antiwar he or she is more than confused and must be labeled as a plain old coward. The Chosen People (in ancient times, Israel, today the USA) have been given the responsibility of protecting the world from ungodliness, no matter what it takes, whether they want our protection or not. This arrangement is not negotiable with citizens at home (you) or foreigners abroad (them). <br /><br />Most people in America subscribe to the above, whether or not you can get them to admit it.Jay–Ottawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10360356126450612113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-26012545746545815592015-10-17T01:17:03.648-04:002015-10-17T01:17:03.648-04:00I try to resist conspiracy theories, but I have on...I try to resist conspiracy theories, but I have one of my own. My most probable explanation of the dramatic difference between Obama the candidate and Obama the president is that an android was been substituted for the real Obama sometime between election day in November 2008 and inauguration day in January 2009. <br /><br />I just didn't realize how advanced the technology is, to create and program such a convincing replica! <br />voice-in-wildernessnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-21732852606201916092015-10-17T00:29:55.433-04:002015-10-17T00:29:55.433-04:00http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_backstory_...http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_backstory_on_bernie_sanders_and_israel-palestine_20151012#.ViHLGNfw_fE.email <br /><br />This is a very interesting analysis and history of Bernie's statements about the Middle East with a possibility for some change in his official comments and a video of his speech on the topic.<br /><br />It is: the Backstory on Bernie Sanders and Israel from Truthdig in case you cannot pull it up with the above access to the articlePearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-7538221659578975622015-10-16T17:35:03.729-04:002015-10-16T17:35:03.729-04:00Anti-war movement? Huh. In the United States? Huh...Anti-war movement? Huh. In the United States? Huh.<br />My little free public library sells used books all summer, May through October, as a fund-raiser. I was there on opening day of course, to get the best selection, they do add during the summer, so you may feel obligated to stop in and browse periodically. But I digress. I picked up several copies of books that looked interesting and/or that I wanted so I was successful. One of those was Dalton Trumbo's classic anti-war protest novel, "Johnny Got His Gun." I read it years ago, in high school and it must have had some affect on me because I am experiencing deja vu with the re-reading. It is the same book I read in high school: black cover with a "v for victory" hand sign and the WWI soldier silhouette. It is terrifying. My two sons went to the same high school I did thirty years later, but did not read it. Perhaps if it were mandatory reading there would now be a rabid anti-war movement. Better yet and in a perfect world, there would not be a need for protesting. Read it if you have not. Stev-onoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-42504038663992493852015-10-16T17:19:37.362-04:002015-10-16T17:19:37.362-04:00It would be nice to see some analysis of the U.S. ...It would be nice to see some analysis of the U.S. government position on Syrian president Assad. We are told that there must be regime change in order to negociate an end to the Syrian civil war, but we are never told why. What makes anyone believe that Syria will become a democratic nation just by removing Assad? Haven't we heard that trope enough before so that we can now recognize it as tripe?<br /><br />You don't have to be a fan of Assad or his party to sense that there's a deeper motive, and that it cares nothing about the well-being of the long-suffering Syrian people. Just as the war to displace Saddam Hussein was never intended to improve the lives of the longer-suffering Iraqi people.<br /><br />Mysteriously, the U.S. media are almost silent on this topic.<br /><br />Duane McPhersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-67347826204309977142015-10-16T14:12:09.774-04:002015-10-16T14:12:09.774-04:00Thank you Karen, Pearl, and Annenigma. The beat c...Thank you Karen, Pearl, and Annenigma. The beat certain does go on. Consortium has a timely piece about this today, as well:<br />https://consortiumnews.com/2015/10/16/the-reckless-guns-of-october/<br /><br />I am a supporter of Bernie Sanders to date - but he must speak out and address these issues. I appreciate you Karen and all of the commenters. Patricia M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-23507022243924658262015-10-16T14:03:25.935-04:002015-10-16T14:03:25.935-04:00"Don't vote for anybody unless she or he ..."Don't vote for anybody unless she or he condemns the wars and the death and the destruction. A mere promise to cut back or end them soon won't fly. (And that goes for you, too, Bernie Sanders!)"<br /><br />Hear, hear! Thank you, Karen. That's music to my ears. Why do we always give our votes away for nothing, making no demands? It's too bad that that crank Ron Paul was right on the one most important issue. He struck a chord with a lot of the young for his anti-imperialist stance. Why is it that only Libertarians see the problem of imperialism? Is it because they focus on the financial cost to the taxpayer which is YUGE? It's probably not a moral, but a practical objection, but at least they recognize it as a fundamental problem to democracy. <br /><br />We can't fix this country and restore our dying democracy until that BEAST is shrunk to the size where it can be drowned in a bathtub, and it starts with cutting off it's massively bloated arms! EEEAGGGHHHH! (Sound like Howard Dean screaming) <br /><br />Karen, did you forget to mention that President Peace Prize is expanding our military colonies, I mean presence, to Cameroon? Obama just informed Congress on Wednesday that he is ordering hundreds of troops and surveillance *cough*cough* drones to Cameroon allegedly 'to aid the Boko Haram fight'. You can bet once we have our foot and money in the door, they will welcome a big, shiny new military facility there in addition to the upwards of 1000 we already have around the world. I can't help but notice that all the countries in Africa where Obama sends troops and unarmed surveillance drones (for now) in Africa all happen to have coastlines. All the better for a Marine and Navy presence so we can control the seas as well as the land for The Empire. <br /><br />The beat of war drums goes on. <br /><br />Thanks for fighting the good fight with this blog, Karen.annenigmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-27797934797712890132015-10-16T13:57:22.742-04:002015-10-16T13:57:22.742-04:00A timely and vital column, Karen. Not much discuss...A timely and vital column, Karen. Not much discussion on this topic at the Debate other than mention of Hillary's support of the Irag war.<br />We need someone to start a strong anti-war movement but I am concerned about Bernie's record in this area in the past. Many of his supporters are of deployment age and it should be of grave importance to them. I hope he will address the issue of constant involvement by the U.S.in volatile situations we have no business being part of.<br />If Hillary should become president she will inherit Obama's agenda in Afghanistan plus other military decisions which will remain in the hawkish column under her administration. <br />I hope future debates will make this an important part of their agenda and that <br />Bernie will address this vital issue in order to hold on to many progressives who question his motives.<br />Pearlnoreply@blogger.com