Circuses and Rights During Wartime

Interesting how Congress has been reduced to gimmicks. Interesting how appearances are used to overshadow fundamental differences that are said to exist between Republicans and Democrats. Perhaps the lesson here is that there really is no difference; that it’s all a part of the same dysfunctional, irrelevant stew - or worse. The only voice that matters is POTUS’. Without cut-out POTUS, no one would be there, dressed in finery, kissing and hugging; beaming and patting backs. It’s a carnival barker‘s paradise put on every year for the amusement of themselves, and so-called political pundits. “…and let’s all meet afterwards for drinks.”

The public remains the foil. All that will be said and done will be tailored to appeal to TV couch potatoes. Remind that last year’s theme was ‘focusing on jobs‘ (like a laser). What happened to all those jobs? Fool me once…

The most memorable of these presidential high-performances (in my lifetime, at least) was back when LBJ announced he won’t be running for a second full term. Now that was news! It sent shock waves throughout the nation. Dare we hope for anything of substance?
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Make no mistake about it, yesterday’s bombing of the airport in Moscow was an attack on all of us. We diminish what happened when we ask why? The fact is, we do not understand the motives of terrorists. In last night’s interview with Stephen F. Cohen the word ‘Islam’ was mentioned exactly once.

The word ‘terrorist’ explains nothing - no motive; no philosophical or historical underpinnings - only nihilism. Seeking explanations under such conditions inevitably brings us back to ourselves. We are at fault - the enduring mantra of narcissists.

There are infinite explanations for why this may be so. The most plausible both start with ‘p’: ‘poverty’ and ‘politics’. There are infinite reasons that argue against both. This whole terror thing has become a (war) dance. The terrorists lead; we follow. We screen ourselves before getting on an airplane. The terrorists change tactics. They target innocents waiting for loved ones to arrive. We increase security perimeters. The terrorist target public places. We put up cameras on street corners. They send mail bombs consisting of wires, then powders, then liquids…

There is no winning this. We must be persuaded to lead. We must fight fire with fire. We must do as they do. Only, we must be smarter about it. We must lead. It does us no good to chuckle about Mr. Putin’s embarrassment as he chuckles about ours. We’re all in this together. We must work together - not celebrate momentary relief that it wasn‘t us (this time).

This is war. All is fair in love and war. In war, conventional niceties go out the window. We must do what they do. We must blow up their stuff. We must not play footsies with nations who sponsor terrorism - as Putin continues to do wit Iran. We cannot continually appease and change the language to reflect a fiction.

We must begin to close their mosques, bar them from our shores and send home those who are already here. Sure, it’s unfair. Many good people will suffer inconvenience. But aren’t we inconvenienced by them. Never once have anyone of us heard anything even close to condemnation from their side. Their silence makes them accomplices. Change must come from within. Perhaps once they are back home, they will change things. Why is the onus always on us - to change?

Muslim countries routinely attack Christians and Jews. In some, Christians and Jews are prohibited from even being there. Fine. It’s their turf. I know many families who wont allow smoking or guns in their homes. It is their right.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Houston, we’ve got a problem...

Houston, we’ve got a problem! We’ve got the Democrats referring to Republicans as ‘terrorists'. And, far from repudiating such sentiments, the president goes out to echo same by painting Republicans as ‘hostage takers‘.
Sounds like a war (of words). What’s missing here is temperance. Compromise has been swept off the table.

Imagine, Republicans as terrorists! That’s strong medicine to digest. Especially since there are people out there who are actually trying to kill us; and who, we all know, it is now improper to refer to as ‘terrorists‘.

There are only a handful of extremists, we are told. Yet, the most powerful army on earth cannot defeat them. No, they must be accorded rights as if they were (American) Republicans. In fact, they must be elevated above all Americans. They must not be profiled or searched at airports - same as our star-powered political class. While Americans are made to suffer every naked indignity we can think of, are expected to give up a significant portion of their hard-earned income to support enemy outreach (as endorsed by our president), they must also be persuaded to give up their freedoms; their holy places, their prayers and celebrations as not to offend Islam (and, to a lesser extent, atheists).

But every barely functioning state needs an enemy to blame for whatever might go wrong. It’s therefore lucky we have Republicans. These will happily offer their backsides on which to paint concentric circles. Like obedient dogs they will gladly run and fetch; or heel. We can tell them one thing and do another. They will believe lies, never bothering to scratch the surface beneath which we hide our pernicious designs. They’re ever ready to line up for the showers if it guarantees a thorough cleansing - only, we will decide what the definition of ’clean’ is.

Republicans. Poor, hapless saps. We’ve got them by the short hairs; running around like maniacs now, proclaiming victory; convinced that the tea parties have saved them and turned the diabolic Obama away from his original sin. He has heard the cry of the electorate: no more taxes! And now they swoon at the sight of him. “We have won!” they shout from the rooftops. Now we can return home and relax. All will be right with the world.

What will they say when the blessed cuts don’t materialize; when January 1st their paychecks shrink? They’ll blame Congress, of course; they’ll blame the system. Still they’ll take comfort in the fact (as they see it) that Obama is with them now. He too wanted tax cuts. The prodigal son has returned.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Random Thoughts

Good (bad) things come in threes. First there was the Deepwater Horizon oil platform explosion and subsequent collapse; then came the (failed) Times Square bombing. Question: Can we expect one or two more such incidents?
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Mayor Bloomberg: “We have no idea who did this or why”. Are we checking Times Square surveillance cameras for people wearing tee-shirts with tea party slogans?
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'Overseas Contingency Operation’?
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Good idea: Terrorist trials in civilian courts in Manhattan.
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Mayor Bloomberg: “The bomb squad was called... they did the job they're expected to do. The kind of job they're trained for.” Is the White House sufficiently trained and ready to do what the U.S. Constitution mandates it to do?
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Plan A was making friends with terrorists (sorry, I meant to say “man-caused disaster mongers”) and their enablers. What is Plan B?
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“Man caused disaster” - If not “man caused”, what is it? Accidental? Act of God? (Sorry!) What is the meaning of “man caused” accident? The accidental president. Just asking.
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Is the fact that nothing serious has happened thus far since Obama has been in office - excepting of course the Deepwater Horizon overseas contingency - testimony to Obama's overall competence? Or has he been (accidentally) lucky? We all know that Bush failed us as president, having neglected to prevent not only the most serious man made contingency operation on the U.S. homeland since Pearl Harbor but also meteorologically generated conspiracies specifically directed at the hapless inhabitants of the Gulf coast.
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Has anybody bothered to look up the meaning of the word "contingency"? Does it apply here?

Stop Punishing Us!!!

Let's see now if I can follow this: Because we aren't allowed to 'profile', every airline passenger must be viewed as a potential suicide bomber; and air passengers, are therefore expected to sacrifice that uniquely American convenience of being innocent until proven guilty. This approach is already flawed because, clearly, not everyone is a terrorist – please excuse me, I forgot for a moment that we aren’t allowed to use that word anymore. Let’s substitute ‘terrorist’ with the old Cherokee term, ‘one who smells of explosive substances’. Let’s continue…

Since it is impractical to screen every passenger, we must go by the numbers. This means, we screen every tenth (or any number) person. If the tenth person happens to be a four-year old child, or a 97-year old grandmother - or, heaven forbid, a 23-year old Caucasian male - these folks will be pulled from the line for special attention (from now on surely to include a rectal exam by a certified government health professional as well).

By the same token, if the eighth person in line happens to be a guy named Mohammed who’s on the terror list (there goes that banned word again – I guess, the list , by extension cannot be said to exist either), paid for his one-way ticket with cash at the airport, has no luggage or passport, and has wires sticking out of his shoes, we can’t touch him because (1) he’s not the tenth person (and we wouldn’t want to be sued if it turns out that he’s not planning anything). And (2) he’s obviously not white and we wouldn’t want to be seen as being racist. In fact, it’s been quite permissible in the past to bend the rules a bit in this situation, for, even if he happens to be the tenth person, we’re allowed to pretend he’s #11 or 9. As a person of color, he wouldn’t understand the self-imposed hoops we're required to jump through – and we wouldn’t want to offend, after all.

What to do? Profile! Use your brains!! Use your common sense!!! Realize we’re at war with these people!!!! Stop punishing us for what they do!!!!! Damn it!!!!!!

The Prisons Stand Ready

This parliamentary maneuver by the Dems, if successful (and at this point it sure looks like it will be), will not only kill health care, but will bankrupt the country as well. Additionally, it spells the end of representative government and insures that Marxists (under guise of the banner of an ass) will be in charge of our impoverished landmass forever. No doubt, this has been a great victory for the Left

What the Dems are doing reminds me of any one of the latest Hollywood monster blockbusters in which bigger and bigger guns are brought out to kill the beast: stimulus; health care; cap and trade; immigration...

In this case, the beast is us; we, the American people. I'm not sure why the Left continues to be so unsure of itself. Wasn't the election of Obama enough to knock us out for the count? Apparently, they didn’t think so. We also needed stimulus and healthcare; suffocating taxes; dwindling services...

For some reason the town hall confrontations and the tea parties didn't spawn enough violence for an excuse to call out the troops and put the clamps on broadcasting. Has anybody ever wondered why we have empty prisons sitting out in the middle of nowhere? Is this possibly meant for people who might refuse to buy health insurance, pay their taxes, or send their kids to government schools?

The crackdown hasn't started yet. But when it does, it's good to know that the prisons stand ready. In the meantime, we can put the terrorist there until after their trials are over.

Home-Grown Terrorists Plotting

Home-grown terrorists, plotting against us? Where is this coming from? Why is this happening? It's all those madrassahs and mosques and websites, preaching hate. Hatred is often aligned with righteousness for those shallow of thought. It is preached unceasingly in the Middle East.

But wait! Why single out the Middle East? Right here in America we have also succumbed to righteousness' allure. We too allow mosques, our public schools and prisons, our institutions of higher learning, our media to preach hatred directed toward opposing ideologies. Is it any wonder that the weak-minded should take some of this poison to heart?

For years now, we've sat by while talk radio has unabashedly smeared president after president; each duly elected to represent our nation. We're still doing it now, often with the red hot banner of righteous indignation unfurled and snapping in the storm. We listen compulsively for reasons to ridicule. It's become an industry in a nation that's managed to outsource everything else. And then we wonder why there are no longer any jobs in America.

Failing to Achieve the Ecstasy

Back when George Bush famously quipped that he wanted to spread democracy all over the world, he was roundly laughed at. The old woman (democracy) was already dying. Her two sons, communism and nihilism were ascending and preparing to take power. The election of Obama was proof certain that democracy had run its course. She stood weak and discredited, shamed by her own arrogance which precluded her from mounting a credible defense.

Communism seemed the most logical heir. He was older and could claim a record of sorts. Admittedly, there were gaps and disappointments in his resume but - being young and strong, with plenty of tricks up his sleeves - he succeeded in pulling himself back up each time after error and embarrassment had stained his effort.

Nihilism was the upstart. Nihilism had been subject to manipulation by his older brother in his younger days. No more! …and eventually the equation turned around.

Now nihilism rules. He has taken a bride named ‘solipsism’. There are no longer any rules. The degree of savagery determines success or failure. We’ve been there before – the Roman Coliseum – only no one remembers back that far.

It is acknowledged that, for many, history begins on the day they are born. Most of us have been living off the fruits – the success – generated by our culture. We have known little else. Happiness is relative. I’ve been astounded how few Americans travel to see how others live. If they did, they would know that their (good) fortune is quite unique. They would be more appreciative of those who came before. They might even be enthusiastic.

Lacking such exposure and perspective, however, they tend to look longingly at worlds that can exist only in theory. They tend to ascribe reality to tomes which, like fishing nets, can only capture debris of a certain size, while the vast balance filters through. Still, failing to achieve the ecstasy to which we all feel entitled, we’ve now resorted to attacking the net itself. Ennui is Sisyphus’ stone rolling down the other side of the mountain.

The terrorists are merely an expression of ourselves. ‘Solipsism’ taught us as much.