Allowing the Kittens and the Chicks in the Henhouse

Conventional wisdom is that you never want to allow the cat in the hen house if you want the hens to continue laying eggs. But think about this scenario. Put the kitten and chicks together in the hen house and allow them to get acquainted as they mature into grown hens and cats. My hunch is that they will become friends and learn to accept one another peacefully, if not collaboratively.

The Obama-Warren controversy can be likened to the scenario above. Is it to Obama's advantage to corral Warren in the hen house early so that later he will moderate his appetite for gay/lesbian bashing when Obama acts on his promises to promote equality for all, including gays and lesbians.

Obama is a very smart politician and he understands the value of putting the chicks and kittens in the hen house together. Both may learn to purr and cackle a more harmonious tune later as the golden eggs begin hatching.

Bush Gets the Boot and so Should We

An Iraqi reporter removed both of his shoes and threw them at President Bush as he was making his farewell speech to Iraqi government leaders and invited reporters in Iraq. The Iraqi reporter missed his target. Throwing shoes is the most demeaning insult one can imagine. He, the reporter stated that here is what Bush deserved for leaving Iraq with so many orphans caused by Bush's war. The reporter was arrested by the Iraqi government amidst swelling popular demonstrations demanding his release and supportive of his shoe-throwing action, displaying the distrust and anger against our country. Bush literally got the boot from the Iraqi people who have sustained hundreds of thousands of civilian war deaths (some estimates put the number over one million), and caused untold suffering and deaths from diseases caused by contaminated water and foods. Thousands of equally innocent American lives have been lost and tens of thousands have suffered debilitating life-long injuries because of this war based upon lies, and still supported by our current President.

We, the American people collectively deserve kicking ourselves with our own shoes for submitting to Bush war-mongering tactics for nearly 6 years. Why were we so paralyzed to accept Bush's actions without much opposition. Simple folks--the Iraqis and only a few American military volunteers were dying as a result. We were separated from the deadly havoc that reigned death daily upon the people of Iraq.

Throwing two shoes at a man, who may be considered as the first American President who could be accused as a "War Criminal", is but a minor incident. Yet the reporter was accused by the puppet American Iraqi Government of a "barbaric act" potentially subject to a death penalty by the " Democratic Iraqi Government" we have structured.

Will we ever learn from the past? Will we ever tame the wild beast that seems to inflame us during times of stress and learn to "count to ten" before reacting with a knee-jerk, go-to-war reaction? The world's innocent peoples have suffered because of compulsions to strike back even if the perceived enemy is totally innocent.

Perhaps the two shoes thrown at President Bush is symbolic of the fact that there are some among us who are sick of war for the sake of war. Let's throw our shoes instead at any boneheaded leader who believes that so-called "preventive war" is justified. Maybe the stench from our sweaty feet will make him or her think twice.

President-Elect Obama's Future Pathway--More or Less Military Actions?

Today we hear rumbles of spending hundreds of billions of our tax dollars to spur our economy. Additional hundreds of billions are being spent to salvage failing banks and investment companies. More billions will focus upon helping homeowners prevent foreclosure of their homes. Finally we are paying the piper for past corporate and individual indulgences and greed-induced behavior.

Yet, despite the social need for these expenditures we still blindly allow two wars to suck up our tax dollars at the rate of at least $500 billion dollars a year, and swallow at least another $600 billion dollars for worldwide military expenditures. Our taxes pay for about 800 to 1,000 military bases that are manned by nearly 300,000 military personnel. Many hundreds of billions of dollars are spent for CIA operations, the Pentagon and other covert purposes. Military equipment contracts for new and replacement equipment accounts for hundreds of billions of tax dollars every year spent by military contractors. Para military corporations are hired by our government as unofficial military combatants to do dirty wok in such locations as Iraq and Afghanistan. These contracts are often masked in secrecy and their costs are unknown. Adding to this gargantuan military bounty are billions if not trillions of dollars required to provide veteran benefits and health care for years to come. It is virtually impossible to value human lives lost, so the total annual cost is beyond accurate estimation. If an accurate accounting of all military-related expenses were available the estimate of the total annual tax cost would easily exceed 2,000 billion dollars (2 trillion dollars for those of you who can visualize such a large number).

How, you may ask, can we spend about 15% of the US gross national product (US GNP) on military expenses. The world's GNP is about 63 trillion dollars, so we are essentially spending about 3% of the total world's GNP for military purposes, and virtually half of the world's total military expenses. The answer is that we borrow from counties such as China and Japan with what amounts to promissory notes to pay back, with interest, in the future. Just how much debt is really incurred annually is undoubtedly a well hidden secret, and is virtually never discussed in "polite circles" unless you want to be accused of "not putting your country first".

Well risking that association, may I ask whether we are getting our bang for the bucks spent for military? Our Constitution clearly specifies that we will maintain an army for national defense. Can we possibly justify the trillions of tax dollars and lives lost during the last eight years as spent for our country's national defense? Clearly, attacking Iraq and mounting ongoing war in Iraq and Afghanistan have neither improved the defense of our country against invading enemies (the 9/11 terror attack was not an act of war against our country by either Iraq or Afghanistan, but the nation less terrorist organization, Al Queda), nor helped our stature in the world. Yet our present government seems intent upon following the same path regardless of the consequences.

I hope that the the new Obama administration will take a distinctly different track, and not only stop our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but also reduce our military presence world wide. This could demonstrate to the world that we will foster peaceful approaches to world conflict rather than knee-jerk military responses. We would be able to divert trillions of dollars to health care, education and peaceful job creation instead of the abyss of endless military actions, loss of life, and bottomless expenses.

As our country awaits the new administration, let us all contact President-Elect Obama and urge him to fundamentally change our addiction to military solutions to ameliorate world conflict.This would not only create the possibility of an era of global peace, but would also provide some of the revenue to pay off our country's debt and to fund essential health care, educational improvements, and massive job creation. These must become the cornerstones of our true national purpose, beyond the military dominance that now prevails. Let us turn back to the principles of our Constitution and rebuild our country as "One Nation Indivisible With Liberty and Justice for All". Help us regain our way, President-Elect Obama. The American people are counting on you to help create an era of peace and humanity-driven purposes.

The Difference That Makes No Difference Makes No Difference

If you were asked what single life factor is most important to you and your loved ones, what would you answer? Think about this before you reply. How many of you would answer,"good health"? Without good health most everything else would be burdensome if not impossible regardless of how much money you have. Whoops what did I write? Money enables you to get whatever you want or need. Or does it? Ask a multi millionaire who is dying from an incurable cancer and do you believe he will answer "money"?

Ask the nearly 50 million Americans who have no health care because they cannot afford the typical $12,000 insurance policy. They may die even though no medical care at all is available. Or they may suffer from diseases that they cannot afford to have treated. Money in their cases can make a difference. But should money determine whether or not health care is available to all, regardless of your ability to pay?

Most civilized countries in the world have nationalized health care for every citizen regardless of ability to pay. Social tax provides the cost of equal access to health care independent of one's income. Our country is the only civilized country that does not assure every citizen equal access to health care for rich and poor alike. In this respect we live in the dark ages.Will we emerge soon or will we continue to disregard the right to health care even as we proclaim that the right to life is paramount. How can we be so adamant about the right to life without being equally demanding for equal health care for all? Is it alright for a child to be born into a world where health care is only the right for the privileged who can afford it?

As a new President is about to lead our country we must all voice our demand for universal health care based upon a single payer Insurance companies and HMO's and their executives must not be enriched by a new, slightly tweaked, health care policy. The working people, and the poor and needy must be included amongst the recipients of the benefits, without assuring the financial well being or bailout of more business moguls and corporations as we already have with the financial conglomerate bailouts in affect and pending. The medical practitioners must also be assured fair pay as they are in civilized countries where their people are covered by single-payer, universal health care.

If we are served another ploy, that pretends to provide universal health care under the guise of protecting the medical insurance companies, we will once again abandon the people who not only deserve equal health care, but posses the the fundamental right to such care. We cannot pretend that some minuscule variation on the current corporate medicine, managed by insurance companies, is all that is needed.

The "difference that makes no difference makes no difference". Please President-Elect Obama make a difference for all citizens. Help lead the way to universal, single-payer health care.