Mass Murder

Huffington Post reported today that an anonymous  Bush Administration official said the reason for the invasion of "Iraq" was that they were looking for a fight. "The only reason we went into Iraq, I tell people now, is we were looking for somebody’s ass to kick. Afghanistan was too easy," the former official supposedly said.

I submitted a comment, but it didn't pass the censors. I can post it here, though, passing my self-censorship:

The anonymous official should be easy to identify. All it will take is a grand jury. Starting a war because you were "looking for somebody's ass to kick" is mass murder. MASS MURDER. Worse by far than Newtown, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, John Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer and Ed Gein put together.

Families of fallen service members should file charges. The American people, who have been harmed, should file charges. Iraqis, individual and collective, should file charges. The UN should file charges. The International Criminal Court should file charges.

Now that we know for sure that the Bush regime faked its intelligence about Iraq, we might want to ask what else they faked. Like their version of the 911 attacks, and their activities before and after.

This news follows by a couple of weeks the story in the Guardian, in which renowned New Yorker columnist Seymour Hersh said the Obama Administration's version of the killing of Osama bin Laden is completely false. Not much was said about it here because we were too distracted with the theatrics of the "Shutdown."

Today we learned that the NSA has been conducting massive spying on French citizens, 70.3 million calls in a thirty day period. Obama called the French president to apologize.

There is a pattern to all this. Not a "conspiracy," as some would have it, but a pattern. Decision makers in high places act in secret, and they act on behalf of themselves and those they wish to please. This is the nature of the mass system. Democracy and accountability mean something in this reality, but not much. The NSA spies all over the world on everyone it can because it can. It has the technology and the budget. The Bush regime could invade "Iraq" because it could get away with it, and there was money to be made. No matter that a million "Iraqis" have died as a result. They don't matter when you're having fun.

The human species will learn eventually. Meanwhile, I've been mulling over some Woody Allen wisdom lately. This little vignette makes for a great followup. It all evens out in the end.
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It's been a busy day. The New York Times saw fit to print a comment I wrote.

I managed to pass the Huffington Post censors on a comment about "entitlements."

Wondering about the latest national emergency, "glitches" in the Affordable Health Care website? Click here. My response is still the most recent: 

Every time a new government function is initiated there are inefficiencies of various sorts. It's the best laid plans of mice and men syndrome. D-day had its glitches. The Marshall plan did not have a perfect "roll out." Social Security to this day has glitches and inefficiencies. Try calling your phone company or computer software provider.

This is filler news. Now that the shutdown (or is it Shutdown?) is over, busy tongues have to busy themselves about something else. Politicians and news media need to inflate this non-story into a super story because there has to be a super story to replace the very handy super story that Just ended.

I have an easy prediction. The "glitches" that have made the "rollout" frustrating for many "Americans" will be resolved within the next few weeks. The super story will fade long before that, likely by about Wednesday. Where, or where will the next super story come from? De nada. Anything will suffice. All you have to do is inflate it as if your life depended on it.

This too.

It's the end of the world!!! Impeach Obama!!! Abolish all health care!!! Something isn't perfect!!!

Leave it to Tom Ashbrook to hype the story up for the usual reason - to hype his show up. Generate interest, yea outrage and rancor, about a non-issue looking for a megaphone.

I'm reminded of an old Bob Dylan verse:

While one who sings with his tongue on fire
Gargles in the rat race choir
Bent out of shape from society’s pliers
Cares not to come up any higher
But rather get you down in the hole
That he’s in

Presidents have attempted to have a national health care program for over a hundred years. Now we have one. There are difficulties in getting it started. There will be other difficulties. It will get better. The sun will rise tomorrow. Tom Ashbrook will hype something else.

For a list of the Guardian's stories on Edward Snowden, click here.

Every time I link to this song, YouTube pulls it. There used to be a great live version. We'll see how long it lasts this time. It may just be a case of post hoc, ergo propter hoc. We do what we can.