Culture of criminality

In the past week the world and much of the American public has become aware of two more of the many criminal activities of the Bush regime. One is the existence of the secret CIA prisons in foreign countries, most likely in Poland and Romania, but also likely in other places. The other criminal activity is the use of white phosphorous and a new, "improved" form of napalm – chemical weapons – on civilians in Fallujah last fall. A documentary airing on Italian television details the horrors inflicted on the Iraqis.

This information is coming out at a time when the nation is being made aware of the Bush crime family’s exposure of the identity of an undercover CIA agent, the scandal variously known as Treasongate, Rovegate, Plamegate, Leakgate, and the CIA leak scandal. The agent, Valerie Plame, was "outed" because her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, exposed the Bush gang’s biggest lie that led to war with Iraq. For the unaware, a good chronology can be found here. Then there are the troubles of Bush interference runner Tom DeLay, whose felony trial for campaign violations is pending. His connections with omnicriminal Jack Abramoff are slowly being revealed, as are Abramoff’s connections to the Bush criminal operation.

Then there is the investigation of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist for insider trading, the same crime that landed Martha Stewart in prison for a lot less money.

Earlier this year we learned of the attempts to establish a propaganda network through the use of payments to journalists for planted stories, staging events, such as the recent video conference with soldiers in Iraq, and having a fake reporter ask questions at White House press conferences.

A criminal pattern is now in plain view for all to see. Add to this pattern the likely stolen elections of 2000 and 2004. And, lest we forget, the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. These attacks have not been proven to be perpetrated by the Bush crime family, but we must keep in mind that the Bush crime family is a criminal operation, and if they are capable of lying the nation into war, they are capable of anything criminal.

Given this predicament, what is likely to happen in the near and not-so-near future? Among more paranoid "leftists" there is pessimism, predicting that the Bush gang will get away with all their crimes, as well as many more, and also will succeed in establishing a "fascist" state in the U.S. Among paranoid "rightists" there is fear that the Bush gang will be brought down by the "liberal" media and the "thug" Patrick Fitzgerald.

One thing is obvious: The Bush crime family will do everything it can to divert attention, obfuscate, change the subject, stonewall, propagandize, smear, and rig the process so that they will not only not be held accountable for their crimes, but also so that they can act with impunity to commit even more horrible crimes. They will do everything they can to start another war, likely with Syria or Iran, but possibly with Venezuela in combination with an invasion of Cuba.

They will fail. For a number of practical reasons, such as lack of support and money, incompetence, and international condemnation, none of these war-mongering attempts are likely to get too far. If they do succeed in starting another war, it is likely to be lost, if not militarily, then politically. At the very least, the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force are likely to have had enough of being played for suckers, pawns in the Bush gang’s various criminal ventures. A coup d’état would be a distinct possibility. If that happens, swift justice would be meted out to the Bush gang.

But the main reason the Bush crime family will eventually be brought to justice is that the harm they cause is bad for the planet, and real problems cannot be solved when the "world’s only superpower" is headed by sociopathic criminals. Climate change alone will call for competent, real solutions. Other environmental problems, such as depletion of the oceans, will also call for real solutions. Problems such as overpopulation, disease, limits to economic growth, and terrorism cannot be solved by criminals. The only thing criminals are good at is crime, and this particular gang is not so good even at that.

This is, if not the most crucial and interesting time in history, one of the most. The problem is clear for all to see. We can choose to see it, or we can hide from it, lie about it, pretend it doesn’t exist, and try to affix blame other than where it belongs. If we choose to be irresponsible, it will be the end of the American republic, and likely will result in worldwide catastrophe. The suffering here and elsewhere will be unimaginable. If we choose to be responsible and bring the Bush crime family to justice, we can begin the long process of healing the Earth, ourselves, and our democracy. The choice should be clear. The longer we wait, the harder it will be. Impeachment is only the beginning.