Two days ago, Rush insulted millions of living and dead American military personnel. During his radio show, he called any soldier who disagreed with the Iraq mission a "phony soldier". A "real soldier", by contrast, is one who steadfastly agrees with Rush in sending troops to die in a pointless conflict.
Rush, by the way, never served a day in the military. He says he had a medical condition that resulted in a deferment. The condition? He had a pilonidal cyst, which is a clump of ingrown hairs, on his ass. (Don't worry, he had it fixed, so he doesn't have any trouble sitting on it all day).
You can hear Rush's broadcast, and read a full report on it, at the Media Matters web site.
For a much better take on this, go to the Army of Dude blog site. It's written by a "phony soldier" who just got back from fifteen months in Iraq, and he has some very strong and creative words about Rush.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Blackwater
Yes, this is another political rant. If you were looking for more cute pictures of the grandson, sorry, maybe next time!
Blackwater USA has been in the news a lot lately. They're the company that supplies security forces to contractors and embassy people in Iraq. Blackwater guys were involved this past week in a big shootout in Baghdad that killed somewhere between 11 and 20 Iraqi civilians. It has caused a big stink in both Iraq and Washington.
Actually, this has been a landmine waiting to go off for years. Consider: the security force people that Blackwater and other companies recruit are Special Forces, SEALs, and other guys who've been highly trained in special warfare and exotic ways to kill people. They're given lots of weapons and carte blanche authority to use them. And they've been removed from the annoyances of any legal restraints. They can go anywhere, do anything, and nobody can (or will) do anything about it.
Think I'm making this up? Think again. Our military forces (even the Special Forces that Blackwater recruits from) fall under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. If they kill or rape civilians or do something else that normal people like you and me consider a crime, they're prosecuted. The Marines involved in the shootings in Haditha are an example. Even our CIA guys are government agents and fall under government rules of conduct.
But private security firms don't. They aren't on US territory anymore, so they don't come under US laws. And an order by the Coalition Provisional Authority cuts them out of the Iraqi legal system. It says, "Contractors shall be immune from Iraqi legal process with respect to acts performed by them pursuant to the terms and conditions of a Contract or any sub-contract thereto." In other words, as long as they're performing their duties, Iraq can't touch 'em.
And after four years of war, with thousands of private security guys running around the country, not one has had any charges filed against him. For anything. And then consider whether it's reasonable none of these private-contractor Rambos would be so squeaky clean.
So the situation is perfectly designed for abuse. And Blackwater is a particularly egregious company. They have repeatedly stonewalled Congressional inquiries and outright lied when they finally got there. (See CNN reports here and here). Even when some of their people were killed, they covered up details to the families and to investigators (see another report here).
So it's way way way past time for Congress, the Pentagon, and the State Department to rein in these cowboys. The Pentagon and the State Department can do a lot right now if they really want to, just by changing or enforcing some of their own rules. Congress needs to craft a much stronger legal framework with some real teeth.
Private security forces aren't a bad thing in themselves. But give a Rambo a gun and remove any accountability, and you're asking for disaster. Now we've got the disaster, so let's fix it.
Blackwater USA has been in the news a lot lately. They're the company that supplies security forces to contractors and embassy people in Iraq. Blackwater guys were involved this past week in a big shootout in Baghdad that killed somewhere between 11 and 20 Iraqi civilians. It has caused a big stink in both Iraq and Washington.
Actually, this has been a landmine waiting to go off for years. Consider: the security force people that Blackwater and other companies recruit are Special Forces, SEALs, and other guys who've been highly trained in special warfare and exotic ways to kill people. They're given lots of weapons and carte blanche authority to use them. And they've been removed from the annoyances of any legal restraints. They can go anywhere, do anything, and nobody can (or will) do anything about it.
Think I'm making this up? Think again. Our military forces (even the Special Forces that Blackwater recruits from) fall under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. If they kill or rape civilians or do something else that normal people like you and me consider a crime, they're prosecuted. The Marines involved in the shootings in Haditha are an example. Even our CIA guys are government agents and fall under government rules of conduct.
But private security firms don't. They aren't on US territory anymore, so they don't come under US laws. And an order by the Coalition Provisional Authority cuts them out of the Iraqi legal system. It says, "Contractors shall be immune from Iraqi legal process with respect to acts performed by them pursuant to the terms and conditions of a Contract or any sub-contract thereto." In other words, as long as they're performing their duties, Iraq can't touch 'em.
And after four years of war, with thousands of private security guys running around the country, not one has had any charges filed against him. For anything. And then consider whether it's reasonable none of these private-contractor Rambos would be so squeaky clean.
So the situation is perfectly designed for abuse. And Blackwater is a particularly egregious company. They have repeatedly stonewalled Congressional inquiries and outright lied when they finally got there. (See CNN reports here and here). Even when some of their people were killed, they covered up details to the families and to investigators (see another report here).
So it's way way way past time for Congress, the Pentagon, and the State Department to rein in these cowboys. The Pentagon and the State Department can do a lot right now if they really want to, just by changing or enforcing some of their own rules. Congress needs to craft a much stronger legal framework with some real teeth.
Private security forces aren't a bad thing in themselves. But give a Rambo a gun and remove any accountability, and you're asking for disaster. Now we've got the disaster, so let's fix it.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Led Zeppelin
Tonight, while channel surfing, I came across "The Song Remains The Same", a film of Led Zeppelin's 1973 concert at Madison Square Garden. I was a big Zeppelin fan back then, and even got to see them in Memphis during their 1975 tour. We had the cheapest seats in the house, back BEHIND the stage, looking down on them. Can't say I remember much of it ... whether it's the fact that it was 32 years ago, or the fact I was pretty stoned, or both ... but I certainly remember being in awe of the sound those guys produced.
Which is what struck me again tonight. Led Zeppelin was brilliantly creative. Their songs were hard-edged and raw. Where most musicians are concerned with the "right" way to play their instruments, Page did all kinds of things to create unique sounds, like playing his guitar with a violin bow. You just don't see that today. Almost all today's groups (that you hear about, anyway) are slickly over-produced with all the jagged edges polished away. So about the best reaction you can hope for is "hey, that's pretty good!". Whereas with Led Zeppelin, my reaction is "oh ... my ... gawd ..."
So why don't we have more Led Zeppelins these days? I think part of it is the times. In the late 60's and early 70's there was a lotta turmoil. There were race riots and mass marches against the Vietnam War. There were hippies and druggies and straights and rednecks and Woodstock, and change going on in every facet of the country. And this was reflected in the music. The music of 1973 was a universe away from the music of 1963. You just don't have that today. There's no sense of large-scale social turmoil, just everybody going about their daily business. And the music of 2007 is really no different than the music of 1997.
Kinda makes me nostalgic for 1973. There was an energy then. But after we pulled out of Vietnam and the anti-war movement ended, people just wanted to party. Led Zeppelin gave way to the Bee Gees. The last time I felt anything remotely resembling the nation's sense of optimism in the 70's was Bill Clinton's first inauguration.
So while there are certainly some great young musicians out there right now (Jonny Lang, for one), I just don't see the creative geniuses to compare with Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hendrix.
Bummer.
Which is what struck me again tonight. Led Zeppelin was brilliantly creative. Their songs were hard-edged and raw. Where most musicians are concerned with the "right" way to play their instruments, Page did all kinds of things to create unique sounds, like playing his guitar with a violin bow. You just don't see that today. Almost all today's groups (that you hear about, anyway) are slickly over-produced with all the jagged edges polished away. So about the best reaction you can hope for is "hey, that's pretty good!". Whereas with Led Zeppelin, my reaction is "oh ... my ... gawd ..."
So why don't we have more Led Zeppelins these days? I think part of it is the times. In the late 60's and early 70's there was a lotta turmoil. There were race riots and mass marches against the Vietnam War. There were hippies and druggies and straights and rednecks and Woodstock, and change going on in every facet of the country. And this was reflected in the music. The music of 1973 was a universe away from the music of 1963. You just don't have that today. There's no sense of large-scale social turmoil, just everybody going about their daily business. And the music of 2007 is really no different than the music of 1997.
Kinda makes me nostalgic for 1973. There was an energy then. But after we pulled out of Vietnam and the anti-war movement ended, people just wanted to party. Led Zeppelin gave way to the Bee Gees. The last time I felt anything remotely resembling the nation's sense of optimism in the 70's was Bill Clinton's first inauguration.
So while there are certainly some great young musicians out there right now (Jonny Lang, for one), I just don't see the creative geniuses to compare with Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hendrix.
Bummer.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Children, Children
Today's theme is (duh) "children". First, here' s the latest on my 5-month-old grandson, Jackson.
Jackson's being raised to be a proper Chargers fan ... even though the Chargers got their butts kicked by the Patriots yesterday.
And here are my own two daughters, Indy and Soozee. I told my life drawing session that we'd have TWO female nude models last Wednesday ... but I don't think they expected these two!
Jackson's being raised to be a proper Chargers fan ... even though the Chargers got their butts kicked by the Patriots yesterday.
And here are my own two daughters, Indy and Soozee. I told my life drawing session that we'd have TWO female nude models last Wednesday ... but I don't think they expected these two!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Bush's War
Tonight George Bush gave another misguided, misleading speech. He announced a troop withdrawal as if it was a major initiative. In reality, he's simply ending his temporary "surge" three months past the original end date - a date that the Army determined would be the latest to prevent it from becoming broken. And he's still talking about "success", saying "conditions are improving". Is this guy completely cut off from reality? Can he really be that incredibly stupid? He doesn't have a clue what's really going on in Iraq. Honest to God, it's as if he's living on another planet, in a different universe, in a parallel dimension where Alfred E. Neumann is a revered sage. George Bush's performance as President makes Britney Spears' performance at the MTV Music Awards look like a smashing success. (Just try to find complete video of that performance on YouTube: Spears was so embarrassing that the network lawyers made sure that nobody will ever see that performance again. Maybe we should get them to go to work on George Bush.)
For a brilliantly written, short, and insightful view into Iraq, read the op-ed piece from the New York Times' August 19 edition. It was written by seven senior NCO's from the 82nd Airborne who have spent the last 15 months in Iraq. As they were writing it, one of them was shot in the head, but survived and is expected to recover. Today it was announced that two more were killed this morning in a truck accident. So three sharp young men, each of whom had infinitely more experience with what war is really all about than the man who sent them there, are now wounded or dead.
Read their article. Then read Bush's speech. And tell me who really knows what's going on.
For a brilliantly written, short, and insightful view into Iraq, read the op-ed piece from the New York Times' August 19 edition. It was written by seven senior NCO's from the 82nd Airborne who have spent the last 15 months in Iraq. As they were writing it, one of them was shot in the head, but survived and is expected to recover. Today it was announced that two more were killed this morning in a truck accident. So three sharp young men, each of whom had infinitely more experience with what war is really all about than the man who sent them there, are now wounded or dead.
Read their article. Then read Bush's speech. And tell me who really knows what's going on.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Stuff
Oh, what a busy day (I'm being facetious here). Lotsa playing catch-up on stuff that's been on hold until after the opening of my show. I had to take the Land Rover in for some routine maintenance today. "It'll take about an hour" ... NOT! Two and a half hours later, I'm finally filling out the charge slip. At least the dealer's mechanics are good. They always explain what's going on, what needs to be done, and what can be ignored. They're not cheap, but our Discovery has 128,000 miles on it and still runs and looks like new. Well, almost like new. The sales people have finally given up on trying to sell me a new LR3. "Oh, him again ..." They were always trying to get me to take an LR3 for a test drive. I figure, if I don't drive it, I won't want it. It's a philosophy that has worked so far.
Then it was time to collect the dogs from the studio, visit with fellow artists there, and head home. The dogs were overdue for a bath, so I gave 'em one, then took 'em for a walk to dry 'em off. Come to think of it, I've never posted pictures of my lovely little daughters, have I? Time to fix that. So here they are. The top one is Indie and the bottom one is Soozee. Whaddaya mean, you can't tell 'em apart? Shih Tzu's are the sweetest dogs in the world. Very smart, very loving, and when you have two of 'em, more entertainment than a Playstation.
Okay: bath done, walk done, dinner done. Dogs are napping (for the moment, anyway). Time to finish updating my web site. I changed some things around: got rid of the "giftshop" page since nobody ever used it, put in a section for my Forest Nymph photos, changed the photo of the Arts Council reception so Janis won't get mad at me, and made a lot of other nitnoid fixes. I think it looks pretty good.
One thing I didn't do today is artwork. I've found that if I don't get started on artwork by about 1 pm, then I won't get started on it, period. So I usually try to cram all my "stuff" into one day and then spend as many days as possible in the studio before needing another "stuff" day. So tomorrow is a STUDIO DAY! At least, that's what I'm planning.
General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker gave their testimony to the House today. I haven't paid much attention to the reports, but it seems like it was pretty much as expected. The military surge is working to keep violence down in some areas, but the Iraqi government has its collective thumb up its ass. Petraeus says we can have a token withdrawal soon, with the full surge being out by next July. Umm, excuse me, but doesn't that mean the surge would have lasted eighteen months? I believe that's a lot longer than originally advertised. And at the end of that time, we'd still have over 130,000 troops in Iraq, while some troops would be on their fourth or even FIFTH deployment. Unsatisfactory. I stand by my earlier statement: time to start pulling the troops out.
I keep hearing stepped-up noises that the Bush administration wants to go bomb Iran. This was evidently making the rounds on the internet over the past few days, and was even on NPR this afternoon. It would be absolutely the stupidest, most foolhardy, counterproductive, asinine thing that could possibly be done. I can't tell if they're really that dumb or if they're just letting the rumors fly in order to pressure Iran at the negotiating table. Given that Dick Cheney is still on the job, I wouldn't bet on anything. Time to write your congressman: no military action against Iran!
Then it was time to collect the dogs from the studio, visit with fellow artists there, and head home. The dogs were overdue for a bath, so I gave 'em one, then took 'em for a walk to dry 'em off. Come to think of it, I've never posted pictures of my lovely little daughters, have I? Time to fix that. So here they are. The top one is Indie and the bottom one is Soozee. Whaddaya mean, you can't tell 'em apart? Shih Tzu's are the sweetest dogs in the world. Very smart, very loving, and when you have two of 'em, more entertainment than a Playstation.
Okay: bath done, walk done, dinner done. Dogs are napping (for the moment, anyway). Time to finish updating my web site. I changed some things around: got rid of the "giftshop" page since nobody ever used it, put in a section for my Forest Nymph photos, changed the photo of the Arts Council reception so Janis won't get mad at me, and made a lot of other nitnoid fixes. I think it looks pretty good.
One thing I didn't do today is artwork. I've found that if I don't get started on artwork by about 1 pm, then I won't get started on it, period. So I usually try to cram all my "stuff" into one day and then spend as many days as possible in the studio before needing another "stuff" day. So tomorrow is a STUDIO DAY! At least, that's what I'm planning.
General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker gave their testimony to the House today. I haven't paid much attention to the reports, but it seems like it was pretty much as expected. The military surge is working to keep violence down in some areas, but the Iraqi government has its collective thumb up its ass. Petraeus says we can have a token withdrawal soon, with the full surge being out by next July. Umm, excuse me, but doesn't that mean the surge would have lasted eighteen months? I believe that's a lot longer than originally advertised. And at the end of that time, we'd still have over 130,000 troops in Iraq, while some troops would be on their fourth or even FIFTH deployment. Unsatisfactory. I stand by my earlier statement: time to start pulling the troops out.
I keep hearing stepped-up noises that the Bush administration wants to go bomb Iran. This was evidently making the rounds on the internet over the past few days, and was even on NPR this afternoon. It would be absolutely the stupidest, most foolhardy, counterproductive, asinine thing that could possibly be done. I can't tell if they're really that dumb or if they're just letting the rumors fly in order to pressure Iran at the negotiating table. Given that Dick Cheney is still on the job, I wouldn't bet on anything. Time to write your congressman: no military action against Iran!
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Art Opening
On Friday evening, there was an opening for my solo show at the Asheville area Arts Council's Boardroom Gallery. I have ten paintings from my "Meditation on War" series on exhibit. We had a great turnout: the gallery was crowded almost continually from about 5:30 right up until the staff started flashing the lights to send people out the door around 8:30. This picture was taken about five minutes before the first visitor arrived. I had all kinds of plans to take pictures during the evening, but spent all my time talking to people and didn't think of the camera again until we were cleaning up. So here's my test shot, and if Janis ever finds out it's on this blog, I'm dead meat.
So if you're in the Asheville area between now and the show's closing on October 26, stop by the Arts Council and take a peek. And let me know what you think.
Meanwhile, Rick and Julie have continued to send us more pictures of Jackson. He's the most photogenic kid I've ever seen.
I've been running this blog for a while now, and it seems I'm only interested in three things:
- Political rants
- Photos of the grandson
- An occasional comment about art
I'm not really THAT boring ... well, maybe I am ... guess I'll have to see what else I can write about.
For those of you who have your own blogs: do you find yourself thinking in blogspeak? I find that I get a lot of thinking done when I'm driving or mowing the lawn, and often my thoughts flow as if I'm writing another entry to this tome. Of course, by the time I actually get to sit down at the keyboard, that "flow" is gone. I'll be sitting here drumming my fingers thinking, "Now what the hell was it that I was going to write about?" Which is what I'm doing now.
Time to go do some more yardwork and conjure up some topics!
So if you're in the Asheville area between now and the show's closing on October 26, stop by the Arts Council and take a peek. And let me know what you think.
Meanwhile, Rick and Julie have continued to send us more pictures of Jackson. He's the most photogenic kid I've ever seen.
I've been running this blog for a while now, and it seems I'm only interested in three things:
- Political rants
- Photos of the grandson
- An occasional comment about art
I'm not really THAT boring ... well, maybe I am ... guess I'll have to see what else I can write about.
For those of you who have your own blogs: do you find yourself thinking in blogspeak? I find that I get a lot of thinking done when I'm driving or mowing the lawn, and often my thoughts flow as if I'm writing another entry to this tome. Of course, by the time I actually get to sit down at the keyboard, that "flow" is gone. I'll be sitting here drumming my fingers thinking, "Now what the hell was it that I was going to write about?" Which is what I'm doing now.
Time to go do some more yardwork and conjure up some topics!
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Hangin' Out with Jackson
"Oh, not much, just hangin' out ... what's new with you?"
Little Jackson is now about 4 1/2 very adventurous months old.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Rats Leaving a Sinking Ship
Friday was Karl Rove's last day on the job. "The Architect's" vision was for a permanent Republican majority in Congress and a solid hold on the Presidency. He pursued it with skill, single-mindedness, and ruthlessness. But now he's gone and, thank God, his vision is in ruins.
Rove's vision was essentially corrupt. It was all about one political party achieving and wielding power. In essence, it was no different than the German Nazis of the 1930's, or the Iraqi Ba'ath Party of the 1980's. Rove wasn't interested in statesmanship, or bringing people together, or achieving the best for the country. No, he wanted American power to be controlled by the few. And to achieve it, he was willing - no, eager - to use any means. "Divide and conquer" was his strategy. Remember statements like "if you're not with us, you're against us" and you'll see the hand of Rove.
Fortunately, Rove wasn't quite as ruthless as the Nazis or the Ba'athists. While the Third Reich was intended to last a thousand years, in reality it lasted a bit over ten. And Rove's "permanent Republican majority" was gone after six.
And now Alberto Gonzalez is stepping down. I didn't think it would happen, but miracles really do occur. As I stated before, Bush can pick some pretty good people when he has to - witness Admiral Mike McConnell as the intelligence director, and Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense. So let's see who he comes up with. Pundits are saying that Homeland Security director Michael Chertoff is a strong possibility, but he'd be a disaster. He hasn't done all that great a job at Homeland Security, and moving him over to Justice sends the message that Homeland Security isn't that high on Bush's priority list. Plus, he probably wouldn't make it through the confirmation process.
I'm still reading Al Gore's book "Earth in the Balance". It's scaring the hell out of me. I'm going around now looking at everything - I mean everything - in terms of its impact on the environment. When I see TV ads for new cars, it makes me think about how much energy went into making that car, and how much gas it'll burn, and how much pollution it'll put out. I'm not even halfway thru the book yet and I'm bummed!
Rove's vision was essentially corrupt. It was all about one political party achieving and wielding power. In essence, it was no different than the German Nazis of the 1930's, or the Iraqi Ba'ath Party of the 1980's. Rove wasn't interested in statesmanship, or bringing people together, or achieving the best for the country. No, he wanted American power to be controlled by the few. And to achieve it, he was willing - no, eager - to use any means. "Divide and conquer" was his strategy. Remember statements like "if you're not with us, you're against us" and you'll see the hand of Rove.
Fortunately, Rove wasn't quite as ruthless as the Nazis or the Ba'athists. While the Third Reich was intended to last a thousand years, in reality it lasted a bit over ten. And Rove's "permanent Republican majority" was gone after six.
And now Alberto Gonzalez is stepping down. I didn't think it would happen, but miracles really do occur. As I stated before, Bush can pick some pretty good people when he has to - witness Admiral Mike McConnell as the intelligence director, and Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense. So let's see who he comes up with. Pundits are saying that Homeland Security director Michael Chertoff is a strong possibility, but he'd be a disaster. He hasn't done all that great a job at Homeland Security, and moving him over to Justice sends the message that Homeland Security isn't that high on Bush's priority list. Plus, he probably wouldn't make it through the confirmation process.
I'm still reading Al Gore's book "Earth in the Balance". It's scaring the hell out of me. I'm going around now looking at everything - I mean everything - in terms of its impact on the environment. When I see TV ads for new cars, it makes me think about how much energy went into making that car, and how much gas it'll burn, and how much pollution it'll put out. I'm not even halfway thru the book yet and I'm bummed!
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Iraq: Where do we go from here?
Eight months ago, when Bush announced his surge, I surprised the hell out of myself by supporting it. The reasons were many and complex – go see my entry of January 14 for a complete rundown. And I gave it less than a 50-50 chance of succeeding. Now the surge is roughly eight months old, and in two weeks General Petraeus is scheduled to brief Congress on its status. I think things are clear enough right now that I don’t need to wait for Petraeus. I know what we must do.
It’s time to start pulling out of Iraq.
And the reasons are pretty simple. Our surge has been successful in bringing down the level of violence in Baghdad. But the Iraqi leaders have failed their country completely, having done nothing to build a working government and quell the violence. The militias (a fancy name for heavily armed street thugs) aren’t anywhere near ready to lay down their arms. Iraq is just another failed state like Somalia, and it’s time to recognize that.
The American soldier has (as usual) done an unbelievable job carrying out impossible orders. Read the blog An Army of Dude for insight into what it’s like on the ground. See the August 18 entry for a discussion about our “allies” against Al Qaeda in Iraq – they’re just working with us until AQI is gone, and then they’ll start killing our soldiers. And see his March 25 entry for a description of what ground combat is really like.
Now read the Time Magazine article titled “An Ambush in Karbala” from July 26, which describes an attack on U.S. forces, aided and abetted by the very police forces that the U.S. forces were there to train.
Today a GAO report was leaked that said the Iraqi government had failed on 13 of 18 benchmarks. The report was leaked in order to prevent the Bush administration from watering it down.
Earlier this month, the New York Times and Washington Post reported that the Pentagon can’t account for over 190,000 AK47’s and automatic pistols that it gave the Iraqi security forces. That’s a bit over 30% of the total given.
The U.S. shipped $23 BILLION in cash to Iraq soon after the war. At least $9 BILLION of that disappeared completely. Anyone want to guess how much of the remaining $14B actually accomplished anything?
Speaking of cash, we're spending $3 BILLION a week on Iraq. Think of what we could buy for that money. Medical insurance for every single person in the USA, for one thing ... legal or illegal.
I could go on, but I won’t. The bottom line is clear: Iraq is a quagmire (to use Dick Cheney’s own term), with an incompetent/corrupt “government”, run by thugs who have no interest in establishing peace. It’s sucking the life out of our country (figuratively) and our soldiers (literally). And there’s no end in sight.
It’s been credibly reported by current and retired American military logistics planners that a complete US withdrawal would take two years, even moving at high speed, simply because we have so many people and so much stuff over there. That’s two more years for the Iraqi government to use our forces as a fig leaf and try to get their act together.
But I think we need to start now. Get our troops, our friends (the translators and others who’ve trusted us), and our equipment out of Iraq. Let the al-Sadr’s and their ilk finish ripping their own country to shreds. Whenever they’re ready for peace, we can help them. But until then, we need to get out and stay out.
It’s time to start pulling out of Iraq.
And the reasons are pretty simple. Our surge has been successful in bringing down the level of violence in Baghdad. But the Iraqi leaders have failed their country completely, having done nothing to build a working government and quell the violence. The militias (a fancy name for heavily armed street thugs) aren’t anywhere near ready to lay down their arms. Iraq is just another failed state like Somalia, and it’s time to recognize that.
The American soldier has (as usual) done an unbelievable job carrying out impossible orders. Read the blog An Army of Dude for insight into what it’s like on the ground. See the August 18 entry for a discussion about our “allies” against Al Qaeda in Iraq – they’re just working with us until AQI is gone, and then they’ll start killing our soldiers. And see his March 25 entry for a description of what ground combat is really like.
Now read the Time Magazine article titled “An Ambush in Karbala” from July 26, which describes an attack on U.S. forces, aided and abetted by the very police forces that the U.S. forces were there to train.
Today a GAO report was leaked that said the Iraqi government had failed on 13 of 18 benchmarks. The report was leaked in order to prevent the Bush administration from watering it down.
Earlier this month, the New York Times and Washington Post reported that the Pentagon can’t account for over 190,000 AK47’s and automatic pistols that it gave the Iraqi security forces. That’s a bit over 30% of the total given.
The U.S. shipped $23 BILLION in cash to Iraq soon after the war. At least $9 BILLION of that disappeared completely. Anyone want to guess how much of the remaining $14B actually accomplished anything?
Speaking of cash, we're spending $3 BILLION a week on Iraq. Think of what we could buy for that money. Medical insurance for every single person in the USA, for one thing ... legal or illegal.
I could go on, but I won’t. The bottom line is clear: Iraq is a quagmire (to use Dick Cheney’s own term), with an incompetent/corrupt “government”, run by thugs who have no interest in establishing peace. It’s sucking the life out of our country (figuratively) and our soldiers (literally). And there’s no end in sight.
It’s been credibly reported by current and retired American military logistics planners that a complete US withdrawal would take two years, even moving at high speed, simply because we have so many people and so much stuff over there. That’s two more years for the Iraqi government to use our forces as a fig leaf and try to get their act together.
But I think we need to start now. Get our troops, our friends (the translators and others who’ve trusted us), and our equipment out of Iraq. Let the al-Sadr’s and their ilk finish ripping their own country to shreds. Whenever they’re ready for peace, we can help them. But until then, we need to get out and stay out.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
You Must Read This
One of the links on this blog is to another blog entitled "Army of Dude". It's written by a young soldier now in Baquba, Iraq. His writing is always extremely powerful. Right now he's about to finish up a 15-month tour in Iraq, and his latest post eloquently describes the situation on the ground. Forget Wolf Blitzer or Christiane Amanpour or those idiots at Fox: if you want an idea of what life for a soldier in Iraq is like, you must read Army of Dude.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
The Week In Review
It's been a busy week for just about everybody, it seems. In Washington, more rats are abandoning the sinking Bush ship of state. Both Karl Rove (a.k.a. "The Devil Incarnate") and Tony Snow (the President's press secretary) will leave within a few weeks. Rove's departure is about six years overdue. What a sleazebag: he's done more to foment partizanship and "us vs. them" mentality than anybody since Newt Gingrich. I like John Edwards' epitaph for him. "Goodbye and good riddance." Nuff said.
Regarding Tony Snow, he says he's leaving for financial reasons, that "his money's running out". Umm, excuse me, he makes over $168,000 per year from the government, but I guess that's just lunch money for the Republican power elite.
Now if we could just get rid of Alberto Gonzalez ... but that ain't gonna happen. Gonzo is the only thing standing between the wolves in Congress and Bush's ass. Congress can demand special investigators all they want, but Gonzo's the guy who would have to implement it, and of course he won't. And if Gonzo goes, his replacement would have to be confirmed by Congress, and they won't confirm anybody who would stand in their way. No, Gonzalez can pretty much plan on spending the next 17 months giving unbelievably bad testimony to Congress, while the Justice Department falls apart behind him.
And Dennis Hastert announced his retirement. Everybody forgets that he was Speaker of the House, but that's because he let Tom Delay (nominally just the leader of the Republicans) actually run everything. Goodbye, good riddance.
I got a copy of Al Gore's book "Earth in the Balance". Although I'm just a chapter or so into it right now, he really is an amazingly good writer. And the book is about more than just climate change, it's about the entire picture: overpopulation, economics, conservation, CO2 levels, sea levels, sustainability, politics, the whole thing. How he weaves all these disparate elements together into a compelling narrative is just amazing. And moving.
This week was pretty productive in my own little world. I finished up a corporate commission and also got another painting done in my "Meditation on War" series. Janis and I started talking about selling the Land Rover and getting something a bit easier on gas and maintenance costs. The Land Rover is a great car - solid as a bank vault, reliable, comfortable, and does everything we need it to, and more - but its mileage isn't that good (16.5 mpg ever since we bought it) and the regular maintenance is a expensive ... repairs are even worse. So we're thinking that maybe now would be a good time to trade for something else, while it's running great and everybody is pretty much used to $3/gallon gas.
Time to sign off ... my dog is pestering me to play, and since she is the Princess, I have to obey!
Regarding Tony Snow, he says he's leaving for financial reasons, that "his money's running out". Umm, excuse me, he makes over $168,000 per year from the government, but I guess that's just lunch money for the Republican power elite.
Now if we could just get rid of Alberto Gonzalez ... but that ain't gonna happen. Gonzo is the only thing standing between the wolves in Congress and Bush's ass. Congress can demand special investigators all they want, but Gonzo's the guy who would have to implement it, and of course he won't. And if Gonzo goes, his replacement would have to be confirmed by Congress, and they won't confirm anybody who would stand in their way. No, Gonzalez can pretty much plan on spending the next 17 months giving unbelievably bad testimony to Congress, while the Justice Department falls apart behind him.
And Dennis Hastert announced his retirement. Everybody forgets that he was Speaker of the House, but that's because he let Tom Delay (nominally just the leader of the Republicans) actually run everything. Goodbye, good riddance.
I got a copy of Al Gore's book "Earth in the Balance". Although I'm just a chapter or so into it right now, he really is an amazingly good writer. And the book is about more than just climate change, it's about the entire picture: overpopulation, economics, conservation, CO2 levels, sea levels, sustainability, politics, the whole thing. How he weaves all these disparate elements together into a compelling narrative is just amazing. And moving.
This week was pretty productive in my own little world. I finished up a corporate commission and also got another painting done in my "Meditation on War" series. Janis and I started talking about selling the Land Rover and getting something a bit easier on gas and maintenance costs. The Land Rover is a great car - solid as a bank vault, reliable, comfortable, and does everything we need it to, and more - but its mileage isn't that good (16.5 mpg ever since we bought it) and the regular maintenance is a expensive ... repairs are even worse. So we're thinking that maybe now would be a good time to trade for something else, while it's running great and everybody is pretty much used to $3/gallon gas.
Time to sign off ... my dog is pestering me to play, and since she is the Princess, I have to obey!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Dick Cheney '94: Invading Baghdad Would Create Quagmire
For once, Dick Cheney was absolutely right. Frightening, isn't it?
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Pictures of the Grandson
His daddy's raising him to be a Padres fan ... off to a good start!
I dunno about this "ocean" thing ... it doesn't taste so hot ...Saturday, August 11, 2007
New Painting
Here's my newest painting, "Riverside Rebuilding", size 18"x24". It's the riverside in Mostar in Bosnia, from my time there in 1996. The river was the front line between the Croat and Muslim sides, so the buildings were heavily damaged during the fighting. These buildings were being repaired and re-opened for business."Lost" TV Show
Janis and I just finished watching the first two seasons of "Lost". We got ourselves a Netflix account a while back and gave "Lost" a look to see what the buzz was all about. And we got hooked. The story line is always full of surprises and they almost always have a cliffhanger ending. So it was a lot of fun.
The basic storyline: an airliner gets lost over the Pacific and crashes on an island. A lot of people inexplicably survive in perfect health, but then find out that the island is really weird, and there are other people on the island (they call them the "Others" ... duhhh) who have some sort of unexplained mission in life.
But there are also some very disturbing elements to it that bothered me more and more as the series went on. Primarily, the "heroes" are really violent people. Quite a few of the main characters have committed cold-blooded murder, either in the show's real-time or in the flashbacks. And there are lots of other killings, too. By my count, the heroes have killed at least 14 people by the end of the second season. Some of them are their own people, too. We're supposed to identify with this?
The relationship with the Others is a central theme. We don't know much about them, except that they lie, are prone to using force, and they kidnap people. To my knowledge, though, they haven't killed anybody, although the "heroes" have killed at least six Others at this point. Frankly, I'm starting to have more sympathy for the Others than the main heroes.
It seems like every time there's a hint of trouble, the heroes go for the rifles and pistols and start ordering people around at the point of a gun. "Others", their own people, doesn't matter. "Do this or I'll kill you" is their main message. It all reminds me very much of the Bush Administration: shoot first and don't even bother asking questions afterward. I mean, if you want to know who the "Others" are, why don't you just leave your frickin' guns at home and go talk to them? Do you think you're going to get very far by stuffing an M-16 in their face and screaming at them? Doesn't sound like a very sound approach, either in TV or in Iraq.
I've heard that the show lost a lot of fans in season 3 because of unlikable characters and unbelievable (even by "Lost" standards) plot twists. I'll see it when it comes out on DVD. Meanwhile, I think I'll stick with re-runs of "Whose Line Is It, Anyway".
The basic storyline: an airliner gets lost over the Pacific and crashes on an island. A lot of people inexplicably survive in perfect health, but then find out that the island is really weird, and there are other people on the island (they call them the "Others" ... duhhh) who have some sort of unexplained mission in life.
But there are also some very disturbing elements to it that bothered me more and more as the series went on. Primarily, the "heroes" are really violent people. Quite a few of the main characters have committed cold-blooded murder, either in the show's real-time or in the flashbacks. And there are lots of other killings, too. By my count, the heroes have killed at least 14 people by the end of the second season. Some of them are their own people, too. We're supposed to identify with this?
The relationship with the Others is a central theme. We don't know much about them, except that they lie, are prone to using force, and they kidnap people. To my knowledge, though, they haven't killed anybody, although the "heroes" have killed at least six Others at this point. Frankly, I'm starting to have more sympathy for the Others than the main heroes.
It seems like every time there's a hint of trouble, the heroes go for the rifles and pistols and start ordering people around at the point of a gun. "Others", their own people, doesn't matter. "Do this or I'll kill you" is their main message. It all reminds me very much of the Bush Administration: shoot first and don't even bother asking questions afterward. I mean, if you want to know who the "Others" are, why don't you just leave your frickin' guns at home and go talk to them? Do you think you're going to get very far by stuffing an M-16 in their face and screaming at them? Doesn't sound like a very sound approach, either in TV or in Iraq.
I've heard that the show lost a lot of fans in season 3 because of unlikable characters and unbelievable (even by "Lost" standards) plot twists. I'll see it when it comes out on DVD. Meanwhile, I think I'll stick with re-runs of "Whose Line Is It, Anyway".
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
A Luddite Joins the New Millenium
With any new technology, there are "new adopters". These are the people who stand in line to buy an iPhone the moment it goes on sale. At the other extreme are the "late adopters", who don't buy into a new technology until it's been around a long time. Me, I'm an "antique adopter". I don't buy into a new technology until the old one isn't even available on eBay anymore.
I guess I've always been this way. I'm a guy who had not one but two cars with 8-track players installed. None of those newfangled cassette players for me! And I didn't get a CD player until it was hard to find vinyl LP's. Our very first DVD player is only a couple of years old. If the old technology works okay, why replace it?
One reason I'm this way is I'm a cheap bastard. I don't like having to replicate my music collection every time some geek invents a new way to play it and some marketing genius convinces the world that everybody must have it.
Another reason is that I've seen a lot of hot new technologies fall by the wayside. Remember Betamax? That was Sony's videocassette recorder/player system. It was a lot better than VHS and there was a marketing war between the two formats for a long time. But Betamax was proprietary to Sony and they wouldn't license it and it was expensive. Meanwhile, everybody else started making VHS machines and prices plummeted and the Betamax quietly went away. Me, I'd have bought a Betamax back in the day and then been pissed off when Sony dropped it. Experiences like that have a way of staying with you.
As for large-scale hi-definition liquid-crystal TVs, well, our old 32" tube set works just fine, thank you very much.
Despite all that, I bought my first album from iTunes a few days ago. Yes, it's a current phenomenon, so with my track record I shouldn't have even heard of it yet. But you can't miss the hype anymore. So I tried it out and it worked pretty well. It's a lot cheaper than going to your local overpriced department store, they're always in stock, and you can pick and choose which tunes you want to hear. Pretty cool. No, I don't have an iPod yet, but that'll come this fall. One thing at a time!
I guess I've always been this way. I'm a guy who had not one but two cars with 8-track players installed. None of those newfangled cassette players for me! And I didn't get a CD player until it was hard to find vinyl LP's. Our very first DVD player is only a couple of years old. If the old technology works okay, why replace it?
One reason I'm this way is I'm a cheap bastard. I don't like having to replicate my music collection every time some geek invents a new way to play it and some marketing genius convinces the world that everybody must have it.
Another reason is that I've seen a lot of hot new technologies fall by the wayside. Remember Betamax? That was Sony's videocassette recorder/player system. It was a lot better than VHS and there was a marketing war between the two formats for a long time. But Betamax was proprietary to Sony and they wouldn't license it and it was expensive. Meanwhile, everybody else started making VHS machines and prices plummeted and the Betamax quietly went away. Me, I'd have bought a Betamax back in the day and then been pissed off when Sony dropped it. Experiences like that have a way of staying with you.
As for large-scale hi-definition liquid-crystal TVs, well, our old 32" tube set works just fine, thank you very much.
Despite all that, I bought my first album from iTunes a few days ago. Yes, it's a current phenomenon, so with my track record I shouldn't have even heard of it yet. But you can't miss the hype anymore. So I tried it out and it worked pretty well. It's a lot cheaper than going to your local overpriced department store, they're always in stock, and you can pick and choose which tunes you want to hear. Pretty cool. No, I don't have an iPod yet, but that'll come this fall. One thing at a time!
Thursday, August 02, 2007
The FISA Flap
There's a lot of discussion in Washington these days (and hence in the political pundit world) about FISA and the need to update it. FISA is the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and it governs the collection of counterintelligence information in the U.S. It's one of the sources of Bush's "warrantless wiretap" programs. Who cares? Well, as a former intel guy, I do. So bear with me a bit.
Everybody agrees that FISA is outdated. When it was passed in 1978, it was designed around communications systems and "foreign" organizations that were very different than they are now. Today we have the internet, packet-based communications, GPS, satellite phones, cell phones, calling cards, IM, email, MySpace, and a host of other ways to communicate. In 1978, we were still getting used to push-button phones. Today we have do counterintel operations against foreign governments, known terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, unknown groups that do an attack and then vanish, "sleeper" cells connected to who knows what groups, trans-national organizations that may work with terrorists occasionally, and any permutation of the above that your brain can conceive. Basically, the entire problem is incredibly more difficult. Back then, you pretty much knew who your enemies were and what kind of communications they were likely to use. Now, we need to find out who our enemies are, and they can use (okay, they are using) the same communications systems that all of us are using.
This week I'm hearing a lot of noise about getting a new FISA bill passed before Congress goes out on recess for a month. To me, this is bad news. Any bill that's rushed through is a bad bill. They're rushing it because they don't want people to take a close look at parts of it.
One part that I don't like is that (reportedly) the proposed bill gives the Attorney General more leeway to authorize counterintelligence programs. Ordinarily, I wouldn't have a problem with this as most of our Attorneys General have been forthright, honest, and ethical men. But our current Attorney General is, unfortunately, Alberto Gonzalez, who has proven to be neither forthright, honest, nor ethical. Giving him expanded powers would be like giving automatic weapons to Attila the Hun. Pass this bill now and say goodbye to any protection for our civil liberties by the Justice Department.
Mike McConnell, our National Intelligence Director (and a forthright, honest, and ethical man), is right when he says we need a new FISA and we need it yesterday. But something this important needs to be carefully vetted first.
Everybody agrees that FISA is outdated. When it was passed in 1978, it was designed around communications systems and "foreign" organizations that were very different than they are now. Today we have the internet, packet-based communications, GPS, satellite phones, cell phones, calling cards, IM, email, MySpace, and a host of other ways to communicate. In 1978, we were still getting used to push-button phones. Today we have do counterintel operations against foreign governments, known terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, unknown groups that do an attack and then vanish, "sleeper" cells connected to who knows what groups, trans-national organizations that may work with terrorists occasionally, and any permutation of the above that your brain can conceive. Basically, the entire problem is incredibly more difficult. Back then, you pretty much knew who your enemies were and what kind of communications they were likely to use. Now, we need to find out who our enemies are, and they can use (okay, they are using) the same communications systems that all of us are using.
This week I'm hearing a lot of noise about getting a new FISA bill passed before Congress goes out on recess for a month. To me, this is bad news. Any bill that's rushed through is a bad bill. They're rushing it because they don't want people to take a close look at parts of it.
One part that I don't like is that (reportedly) the proposed bill gives the Attorney General more leeway to authorize counterintelligence programs. Ordinarily, I wouldn't have a problem with this as most of our Attorneys General have been forthright, honest, and ethical men. But our current Attorney General is, unfortunately, Alberto Gonzalez, who has proven to be neither forthright, honest, nor ethical. Giving him expanded powers would be like giving automatic weapons to Attila the Hun. Pass this bill now and say goodbye to any protection for our civil liberties by the Justice Department.
Mike McConnell, our National Intelligence Director (and a forthright, honest, and ethical man), is right when he says we need a new FISA and we need it yesterday. But something this important needs to be carefully vetted first.
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