Changing Our Thinking...

Just a really late night post with some links for interesting reading. There's a definite theme here. Follow me on this....



Maybe it's time to change our thinking on some things.

Like maybe we need to change our thinking that the Pentagon is a great place to spend our money and that doing so it is vital to our security.

Where else can we LOSE $2.5 trillion dollars and then get flack just for asking where it went?

Where else can we lose 190,000 weapons we sent to Iraq for the Iraqi National Security Forces and then watch helplessly after knowing we just armed the insurgents that are KILLING OUR TROOPS?

Where else could billions of your dollars be used for crazy ass ideas like "gay bombs"?

The Pentagon, that's where!

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Maybe we should change our thinking on our civil liberties. We seem to think we're this great Democracy that provides us with stronger civil liberties than the rest of the world. We scoff at Europeans that say otherwise. After the surveillance fiasco mentioned below, maybe we should be listening to them.

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Maybe we should change our thinking about why "they hate us". Anyone with a brain (note: this includes nobody in the Bush Administration) knows they don't "hate us for our freedoms". Maybe we should actually read up on how our own foreign policy over the years has helped foster a lot of the anger towards us in the Middle East.

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Maybe we should change our thinking on abstinence sex education.

For years repressed Republicans (who always end up in the most hypocritical of scandals) have tried to cut off funding for sex education, condom availability, planned parenthood, etc. Their failed line of thinking is no sex = no unwanted pregnancies and no diseases. Oh, such a simple world they live in. The problem with that is that since Bush got into office and they took this approach to sex education funding, teen sex rates have actually gone up. Worse their plans, besides being ineffectual, are also proving to be detrimental as they are not providing proper sex education. Or at least a major study by Oxford University says.

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Maybe we should change our thinking, collectively, that no President would want harm to come to us. And that, just maybe to some really evil ones, a few deaths are justifiable for a political power grab.

Why else would a President, when given a daily briefing paper on August 6, 2001 titled, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US" ignore it? Why else did he ignore similar intelligence in July, would he ignore it? Why else, when another member of the CIA flew down to bring extra attention to that briefing did he say, "All right. You've covered your ass, now." and dismiss him completely?

Why else would they continually spread bogus reports about potential terrorist attacks or "dry runs" unless they were just using it for political gain?

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Maybe we should change our thinking about Iraq and that our idea of Democracy can work there. Our democracy didn't come from the British holding a rifle to our heads and forcing us to write a Constitution, agree on a Congress and pass laws that are clearly more complicated (and objectionable to many Iraqis) than our political timetables suggest.

When Sunnis are quitting the cabinet our of fear for their lives, the chances of our ideal gathering of different political forces in one Iraqi Congress is likely misguided. They need to fight it out, just as we did in ejecting our British occupying forces, and decide on their own what they want their future to be. It worked for us in the late 1700s, it can work for them. As long as we are there, nothing politically positive will happen because every group will believe that the other is only working to appease the Americans, not do what's best for Iraq. That dooms us and them to failure there as long as we stay.

Maybe we should also consider the sickness and death we have caused there. Both directly from Iraqis being in the line of fire and indirectly from the effect of chemicals in our weapons and do the right thing. Get out now.

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And finally, maybe we should stop thinking that pathetically weak Congressional motions to stop Bush will work.

Contempt of Congress is dependent on a now very corrupt Department of Justice, who have said they will not enforce the citation.

Likewise Special Counsels are appointed by the same DOJ and since they are loaded with Bush appointees, there is no chance they will pursue perjury charges against people like Alberto Gonzales.

Censure is another worthless option proposed by Russ Feingold (Sorry Russ, I love ya but this is not a good option). It's a slap on the wrist at best and the way Bushco has ignored every other legal process, this would do nothing to them and they'd probably raise a toast in laughter to such a weak proposal.

The only option that will stop these criminals is Impeachment. As mentioned below though, there's not enough Democrats with spines to do this.

Maybe we should start changing our thinking about impeachment. After the attempt to get Bill Clinton for oral sex, impeachment has been portrayed as political suicide and petty politics.

While that instance was, this is not. There are more than high crimes and misdemeanors involved. There is outright treason from the entire Executive Branch to try this case on.

But hey, if none of the above sways your thinking on any of those issues, maybe our state and federal government enforced Civics and History curriculum in our schools have paid off and we really are trained to think one way and one way alone....

Their way.

Think about it.

-Rp