In which the middle-aged Peacenik mouths off about War Drones--and all the other things that make him cranky.
Mr Mahatma--who is a Mr in real life--lives in the valleys of Southern California with his wife, a herd of Dears, and an impressive collection of books. Pnorny!
He is reachable at: littlemrmahatma@yahoo.com
All writings are copyrighted 2003-2008 and trademarked: Little Mr. Mahatma
Wednesday, May 28, 2003 Could It Be? And there it was in todays Los Angeles Times buried in a column: Rumsfeld admitting that maybe Hussein's chemical and biological weapons were destroyed before the war. That's why we can't find the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WoMD) - THEY WEREN'T THERE! Damn that clever Hussein - forcing us to attack and overthrow him and don't we look silly now.
We went to war over nothing - a supposed threat to our security that didn't exist.
So what have we learned? First, our "Dear Leader" (or should we call him "Great Leader") lied to us. We didn't go to war over a threat to our security. There were other reasons. Gosh, what could they be? Oil, business interests, expanding "influence"...
Iraq *NEVER* posed a threat to our National Security. The only threat posed *MAY* have been to our corporate interests. In which case, the war clearly demonstrated the influence and control Big Business has in our Government. Removing Hussein has provided American businesses with tremendous opportunities, unlike the peoples of Iraq who get little opportunities.
War is a business for us; Rebuilding is also a business. Afghanistan, Iraq - just business as possible though with more media attention. How else can Raytheon and other "Defense" field test their weapons? How else can Halliburton get nice lucrative, open-ended, non-competitive contracts? Government Business.
Second, our intelligence sucked. We claimed all these dreaded weapons and yet we can't find them. So what exactly did our intelligence consist of? Did we have a witness to immediately show us where the *ANY* of the WoMD are? No, we're looking for witnesses. Do we have detailed maps and documents listing where the WoMD are? No, we're looking for those too. Satellite pictures may show building and trucks but they obviously failed in showing what were housed in them. (Damn Iraq, couldn't they post a big sign that said "Weapons of Mass Destruction built here!"). So what was our intelligence? (sigh) I guess there was (and still is) no intelligence in our leadership.
Third, our Government is frighteningly like one of those revivalist tent meetings. You have your leader-preacher up there casting off the devils (Hussein, Democrats, et al), preaching the gospel (pushing those tax cuts), and most importantly passing the collection plate (taxes, political donations, etc). The leader-preacher is trying to "save" the masses by showing them the path of righteousness, with the penalty of eternal damnation if you stray off the path (you're either with us or against us). Meanwhile, behind the scenes the leader-preacher enjoys the good life and works to expand his influence. Keep the sheep stupid, keep the sheep sedate, and keep them poor. Lead them around and keep them distracted.
So we went to war for reasons of National Security even though the threats weren't there. But our Government won't focus on that - now it's on how we removed the Evil Bastard Hussein and on rebuilding their country. So, once again, removing Hussein was a Good Thing - yes, no argument - but it wasn't even a part of the reasons given for our invasion. Bush is using distraction to cover his lies and/or his incompetence and/or real reasons for invasion.
So let's simplify all of this into something the rest of us non-Bush Cabinet-types can understand.
Bush himself said "We're on a Crusade against terrorism.."
Guess what? If you're not worth multi-millions you're a terrorist. If you disagree with our Government you're a terrorist. With all the perks and privileges that go with that status. 1:35 PM
Stupid White Men "Stupid White Men" by Michael Moore is one of those humor books so full of irony and nauseating revelations that it's almost unreadable. But I read it and enjoyed it. Except for one niggle that refused to go away. It's the same niggle that bothered me all through out the O.J. Simpson trial (Oh crap! Not that again! It's dead Jim!!!).
What bothered me about O.J. and what bothers me about Moore's book is that they both erroneously focused on race.
Moore's book would have been far more enjoyable if he had expanded his invectives on the CLASS bias in Politics, instead of a rail against Whitey. Maybe he's making some sort of politically correct Race appeal ("I'm Cool! I'm White. I can put down Whitey!) but it didn't sit well. His griping against Rich White Men needed to lose the color and gender distinctions. Rich Blacks, Asians, Women - Rich PEOPLE with their tentacles in our Government are the problem. How many poor people or small business can afford Lobbyists or make campaign contributions or attend $1000 / plate dinners?
Moore's book should have been called "Stupid Rich People".
And that brings us to to O.J.. Sorry, that trial was *NEVER* about race. It was about class. How many poor people - black, white, yellow, purple - could *EVER* afford the legal power that O.J. had? If any one from the lower 90% economic status had gone on trial with the same evidence but with "normal" attorneys, they'd have been literally buried by now. Six feet under for double homicide.
Yes, the Rich really do live by a different set of rules. Winona Ryder shoplifts and the prosecutors(!) work to keep her out of jail though she was guilty of grand theft. If Jose Garcia did the same thing he'd be in jail for grand theft, vandalism, and a variety of drug charges, and likely we'd never see him again. And many Rich people, particularly celebrities, get the dreaded punishment of Community Time for the crimes. Oh, they must suffer!
Moore calls for political change by acknowledging that the Democrats and Republicans are the one and same Party, and with that we need to create a new political party for the remaining 70% of Americans. Great idea, except the wealthy have such a grip on our Political System that even a grassroots movement is doomed to fail. Why? Because it costs an absurd amount of money to run for major offices and the rules are weighed heavily against any one who isn't a Democrat/Republican. The Federal Election Committee essentially has two sets of rules - one for the Demo/Repubs and the other for everyone else. Guess which group faces more hurdles and paperwork? Right - group #2. You get a cigar. And which group appoints the members of the Committee? Bingo! Group #1. Another cigar.
Between an election process that pretty much guarantees a race between two rich (white, male) candidates and an electoral process that doesn't work, our dear American Government is doomed to wallow in its own bloated stink.
And we want our system of Government to spread?!?
MESSAGE: To any other country thinking of emulating our style of Government. Don't copy it - improve it. Remove the corrupting influences and keep the system for the people. 1:35 PM
Monday, May 19, 2003 An Apparent Contradiction Golf, bowling, diving, curling, ski jumping, racing cars or horses - definitely. Basketball, football, baseball, arm wrestling - probably not. The first group of sports listed are those in which intergender mingling should pose no problem. The first group are comprised of those sports that require finesse, not strength or personal speed. The second group lists some sports where intergender mingling might not work simply because of physical differences between the sexes.
I know, this apparently contradicts an earlier post where I called for Restoration of Privacy. Here I am saying open up these sports. But in some competitive sports mingling the sexes makes sense and possibly could make cents, lots of them. Would as many people watch the Colonial Open if Annika Sorenstam weren't in it? Probably not. Pity Vijay isn't participating in the tournament. Gosh, he might get beaten by a girl.
But so what? It's not Annika versus Vijay. It's Annika versus the Colonial Open course. She may not drive the ball as far as most of the men but the rest of her game may compensate. Hell, Phil Mickelson hits the ball all over the place, but he's not winning everything as result. It's not always about power but control - finesse (Are you listening Phil?).
Best of luck to Annika. And here's to more sports where mingling the genders makes cents...er...sense.
Tuesday, May 13, 2003 Club Private If you watched the Masters Tournament recently you are no doubt aware of the outside campaign to open the Augusta National Golf Club to females.
You may have read in the news recently of some white high school students in Georgia holding an all-white prom. There's also an integrated prom being held that most of the other (meaning black) students will attend.
In todays age it is politically incorrect to have a private club that excludes a person based on *something*, usually gender or ethnicity but not always.
Yes, it's called Discrimination and certainly it's not correct when the issue is public institutions, corporations, and the like.
But... (Don't get me wrong)
Can a person have a little privacy?
We're halfway to somewhere and it's a nuisance not knowing which direction to go. Do we go all the way with integration and political correctness? Fine, forget Mens and Womens bathrooms and just have bathrooms. Fine, open all the clubs including ones that discriminate based on income. There's quite a few country clubs around me that require a six-digit initiation payment and that's discriminatory to me since I can't afford it. What? Income shouldn't be considered since it varies over time while gender and ethnicity don't change? Thanks to medicine you can change your gender. And for ethnicity you can lie, use makeup, or are we running background checks a la Nazi Germany? How about discrimination based on religious or political beliefs? I'm sure quite a few people would like to visit those secretive political groups that meet around Washington D.C.. And don't those Orthodox Jews keep the women separate in the temples? Terrible.
How about we restore some sanity and allow people to gather as they please. If Caleb and his buddies want to have a Whites only meeting then let them. If Bohort and his "'Braska Badgers" buds want to have a Members Only beer bash with strippers that's their business. If the Augusta National Golf Club want to exclude women from their membership that's their business. If the B.H. Adventurers Club want to limit members to those with only one testicle and a fetish for elephants that's their business.
Oh, but that will allow terrorists, extremists, bigots, and other potential threats to meet and plot. We need openness for National Security, not just political correctness and integration.
Bullhockey! What are you going to do? Limit the number of people that can gather in one location? Limit how long they can gather? Monitor their emails, phones, letters? Eavesdrop in on the conversations? Suggest that people turn one another in for "suspicious" behavior? Do DNA testing for "violence" genes? Force known and potential threats to wear stars on their clothes, or have an implant that tracks their movements?
Facing Reality The American Government as envisioned by the Founders is dead. A Government "by the people and for the people" has turned into a bloated corrupt monstrocity to rule over the people. This is not what we want. The fact that most people don't bother to vote is not necessarily a sign of apathy but likely of disgust. Why should I vote when my choices for President are essentially between two wealthy white guys with agendas that revolve around their connections?
Yes, there are more candidates listed but we never get to see them. The Presidential Debates are co-opted by the Democrats and Republicans. It's like going to the grocery store and seeing only two choices for toilet bowl cleaners. "Oh!" the grocer says, "we have more choices in back but we can't let you see them. If you want one you have to buy it sight unseen."
And so a person's vote is not one of choice but a strategic vote against the lesser of two evils. But you can only take so much and so you stop voting.
Our local newspaper had an article about how the Democrats are gearing up for the next election and who the likely candidate will be. Was the likely candidate the one with working grey matter between the ears? Was the likely candidate the one with definite positions on a variety of issues? Was the likely candidate the one with political integrity?
No. The likely candidate is the one who can raise the most money and there it is!
Politics is for the rich, the well connected. And their ties with Joe/Josephine America are simply related to votes. The politicians will say anything, promise anything to get your vote. Once elected, whatever they said or promised won't matter. Excuses will be forwarded as if you have any power of them once they are elected. Just look at Bush. He gave a variety of unsupported claims as justification for overthrowing Hussein. Many people around the world were outraged. Does it matter to Bush? No. His concern now is to gather votes for re-election. Lying and deceit are standards for politics.
September 11, 2001 - terrorists destroy the World Trade Center using airplanes. Bush declares Osama Bin Laden as *THE* person responsible behind that heinous act. In going after Osama we remove the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. We don't get Osama.
Bush declares that Saddam Hussein is thumbing his nose at the United Nations and has Weapons of Mass Destruction that present a security problem to the United States. We thumb our nose at the United Nations and remove the regime in Iraq. We can't find Hussein. We can't find Weapons of Mass Destruction.
But - Rah! Rah! - we won the battles.
Iraq is demonstrating for forming their own government but we don't want them to form a Shiite government like Iran. Don't those silly Iraqis know that we now own their country and that the government they have will be what we say they have? That's Democracy American-style. (Remember "Might Makes Right" - it worked for Hitler. It will work for Bush.) They can have their country back when we're done milking it for oil and anything else of interest.
The problem is simply the United States of America has never suffered the humiliation of being conquered. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we conquered the Native Americans with tremendous prejudice and humiliation but I'm talking our current Nation. We're one of the very few modern nations that has never been conquered. No wonder our arrogance is off the scale. We haven't learned to live with other nations. We think the world revolves around us.
But let's look at the big picture. Our Government is making big issues out of security - interior and exterior. We have a new Department of Homeland Security and a new foreign policy against terrorism that states, in part, we will strike pro-actively if we perceive a threat to our National Security. Also, we are concerned about terrorists getting Weapons of Mass Destruction (WoMD). Let's focus on those last two notions.
It makes sense, right? If another country is harboring terrorists and those terrorists may be a threat to our country we can go in and eliminate them. And we can eradicate the government that harbors them as well. Makes sense - security-wise.
And certainly if a terrorist group or a hostile nation is developing WoMD we should be able to protect ourselves and pre-emptively strike them down. Makes sense - security-wise.
Of course there a "But...".
But what if all countries adopted that mentality? Which country has the most WoMD. We do - by far. We have them all - nuclear, biological, chemical. We have them; we sell them. Which country therefore poses the biggest threat to the National Security of every other nation on the entire planet? We do - by far. Because if we don't like a nation, we can take them out.
And now that we've shown the world who is the Alpha Male Country, our government in their infinite wisdom is starting up nuclear weapons development and testing. What is this garbage? What a slap in the face to every human on this planet. We could use that nuclear money for so much more - like education, medicine, science. Heck, even a tax break.
We've shown the world that we're Big and Bad. Do we have to act like it? It's doubtful that the rest of the world will ever join together to stop us but never count it out.
