Looking back, looking forward

It seems the Bush criminal regime's plan to attack, invade, bombard, or have "Israel" do the dirty work in "Iran" is a fait accompli, a done deal, an unavoidable fact. The Kyl-Lieberman amendment to the Defense Authorization bill of 2008, recommending that the "Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps" of "Iran" should be designated as a foreign terrorist organization, has passed the "Senate." To see how your "senator" voted, click here. In effect, this designation greases the wheels for the desired conflict.

The "House of Representatives," not to be outdone, passed a resolution to block foreign investment in "Iran." the vote was 397 in favor, 16 against. To see how your "representative" voted, click here.

It's Déjà vu all over again. I served in the U.S. Army during the "Vietnam" "war." I was sent to "Germany," but could have been sent to "Vietnam" at any time. Opposing the "war" within the military had its risks, but a growing number of us did what we could to resist the Army altogether in many ways. By the time I got out in 1971 it was near-mutiny.

When the first invasion of "Iraq" was being fomented, Bush I (or "41," as his wayward son calls him) had already invaded "Panama," and Reagan had used a fake threat to justify his invasion of Grenada. Reagan also gave support to the death squads of "El Salvador," and to the "Contras," a terrorist group that was attacking towns and farms in "Nicaragua."

These also were déjà vus, so when Bush II (or "43") was manufacturing his scheme for a "Shock and awe" invasion of "Iraq," I had a familiar sense of dread. The sheer madness and dishonesty of the planned invasion aroused old intuitions. The posturing of politicians, the cheerleading of the news media, the bluster from pretend know-it-alls.

Now might be a good time for those of us with any sense to look back at the last five years, and take stock. It was in September of 2002 that Bush gave his speech to the U.N. General Assembly, making his case for war with "Iraq." Then in October, the "Congress" gave Bush the authorization to invade. Here's how the "Senate" voted. The "House of Representatives" vote result can be seen here.

I wrote a few things - letters to editors, comments on websites, emails, letters to senators and members of Congress, etc. It all seemed pretty futile. In January 2003 I joined the local chapter of a group called Veterans for Peace. The weekend after I joined, the group participated in the largest peace march in Madison since the "Vietnam" "war," with an estimated 8,000 people marching (Members published a book of their paths to peace, Long Shadows)." Most impressive to me was a group called "Kids for Peace," with about 100 children of various ages marching with signs they made themselves.

Those were heady days. The energy of the march, with similar and larger marches nationwide, made me think the invasion could be stopped. I knew Bush and his gang were criminals, but I believed they would respond to public pressure. Silly me.

The invasion took place in March, the occupation began, and shortly thereafter Bush declared victory. I still had faith in the "system," and thought that a strong opponent in the 2004 election could defeat Bush and end the occupation. I liked Howard Dean, but couldn't see him as president. Naivete upon naivete, I was ready to vote for Ralph Nader again. Then the primary season ended, and John Kerry was the "Democratic" nominee.

Kerry's performance at the Democratic National Convention was a big turnoff, and I thought he was a pretty lame campaigner. I fully intended to waste my vote on Nader one more time, and then Kerry came to town with Bruce Springsteen. I was among the estimated 80,000 people in attendance on west Washington Avenue on October 28. Springsteen sang acoustic versions of "The promised land" and "No retreat, no surrender." I was inspired again, and voted for Kerry. Foolish me. The election was stolen, and if it hadn't been, it's not clear that Kerry would have ended the occupation. He was on TV today, and one thing was crystal clear: we would be plenty tired of him by now.

So now we're moving headlong towards another war, and one that will likely be a far greater disaster than the "Iraq" fiasco. It's out of our hands, though we can't give up. We did what we could to stop the invasion and occupation of "Iraq," and failed. We will likely fail again.

We have nothing to be ashamed of. This country is run by sociopaths. They were put into office by other sociopaths. They get propaganda cover from sociopaths in the news media. None of these sociopaths will ever achieve happiness, peace, or wisdom in their lives. As such, they have wasted their lives, all for a few pieces of silver, and a few grunts of power. "Ugh! Me powerful! Me rich! Me famous! Me steal! Me kill! Me torture! Me feared!"

No matter what hardships we endure as the Bush criminal regime engages in its various schemes, we can always take comfort that we opposed them, that we did what we could to stop them. All that is sown is reaped, positive and negative. Peace will come in its own time. We can't give up.
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Click here and here for a bit of inspiration. If you can handle it, have them both running at the same time. Here's another.