Further thoughts on cowardly congressmen

I've had a further thought concerning my (Democratic) congressman's response concering giving telecommunication giants retroactive immunity.

That defense comes mighty close to the old German defense: "I was just following orders." I mean lets face it they were just following the president's orders right?

Cowards in Power

I wrote the following to my congressman based on his response to my plea that he not vote for retroactive immunity to the telecommunications industry.

Dear Congressman Space:

I received your response to my request that you vote against retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.

Quite frankly I am chilled by your response. When you write: "I understand your concerns regarding rewarding companies who may have acted unlawfully, but I also understand the need to protect companies who acted out of compliance with what they believed to be the best interests of our national security" you seem to ignore the great truth upon which our country is based. That truth would be that the rule of law, not of men control.

The president and the companies could have come to the congress and asked that the law be changed. They could have gone to the FISA court and ask for warrants (not a single request for warrants has ever been denied by those courts, if the reports I read are accurate). Instead they chose to break the law because they thought that they knew better. But it goes even farther then that. They thought they could do what they wanted and they did not have to ask permission.

What retroactive immunity would do is not even permit these matters to be investigated and litigated by individuals. We (you and I) are not permitted to know specifically all they did. By granting retroactive immunity you and the rest of congress would effectively close the door on any real investigation of what currently appears to be years of law breaking by this administration and these massive companies. I know that congress could, if it chose investigate, but right now that doesn't appear likely.

I am incredibly disappointed in you and your attitude towards the laws of this County. Those laws are what made our Country great and I see the Bush administration and its allies and enablers in congress breaking them down. I used to wonder how the Roman republic degenerated into the empire of the Caesars. I no longer wonder.

Wars of Peace

I've been thinking about all the wars that the USA has been involved in since I was born in 1946: Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Sudan, Lebanon, Croatia, Iraq (I'm thinking that there may be more that I haven't remembered).

OK technically they weren't all wars. OK none of them were technically wars. All most all of them were to maintain American hegemony in various parts of the world.

Why is it that we keep thinking that we are defending anything other than our hegemony? Because we are just too exceptional, of course. We would not do that, therefore, we don't. Ergo.

SCHIP

I am simply amazed at the right's attacks on government sponsored health care. The incredible fear of "socialism" is just amazing.

All western industrial nations in the world have government health care of one type or another. All that is except the USA. We are told that those health care systems are not as good at delivering medical goods and services as that in the United States, but it doesn't matter what kind of government, conservative, liberal, middle of the road, is in power that is one thing that is never tampered with: universal health care.

We may not be able to get more children covered. God God what is the matter with us? Are we that stupid? Do we not live in a representative democracy? Well OK we don't live in a representative democracy, at least not for some time.

Iraq

Got a phone call from my brother today. He's heading to Iraq, leaving this afternoon. He's working for a "contractor." How sad. He's been wanting to get into the action for some time. He's 55. Well at least he should be relatively safe. He claims that he won't be leaving the airport area in Baghdad (for a year?).

I'm not sure what he does (I think that he would have to kill me if he told me).

I have been opposed to this war from the beginning. He has never met a war he didn't like. Still he is my brother and I am concerned about his well being. I do hope he isn't harmed. Hopefully, he won't do much harm.

I should say that I have been opposed to all our colonial wars, since I was discharged in 1968. Like General Butler, I had no original thought while I was in uniform. Well that isn't exactly true. In Thailand we had a lot of time to read and the base library had several of Bernard Fall's books. Reading those I got a real education about Vietnam. Seeing the kind of living conditions the people of Thailand had, I began to wonder just why we were trying to protect those conditions and keep them from changing.

Let's face it I was a little naive and I really didn't understand the vast capitalist/colonial and neo-colonial conspiracy. Of course, I'm not sure it is really a conspiracy if it's out in the open. But like most Americans I was never given the kind of information from our news media that would allow me to analyze what we were doing. That's pretty sad, given that the media were much better then.

Still running day late and a dollar short

Just got back from a trip to Cleveland Clinic 6 hours round trip. Up and back and a 20 minute visit with the doctor. My fiance' is to have carpal tunnel surgery on November 20 and December 11. Finally. As I say a 6 hour trip and a 20 minute visit with the doctor. The surgeries should take 20 minutes each.

Got back and two little kittens we had thought we had rescued were dead. Our friend found them and buried them. Thank god, I am so grateful, I've buried 10 kittens in the last two months and I am just tired of it.

My God is arbitrary and capricious, how about yours?