Sarajevo

He sat with his back to the door, breathing heavily, hardly daring to make a sound. Those men were still after him, he knew, and if they didn’t catch him where he sat, they would catch him tomorrow night. If not then, then maybe the next day. Or the next day. When was the next day? It was dark; that much he knew, but the old ideas of day and night were slowly blending together, homogenizing into one continuous stream of gray throughout his existence.

It was spring, 1993. He knew that, of course, because he could remember the number of suns that had risen and fallen since the siege began, all those months ago. But at this moment, with the sounds of the exploding city cascading all around him, he was alone, devoid of light, with this door holding him up his only source of companionship in the deserted city.

There was a time in his life when he knew the world and its beauties. He would wake up and travel down his neighborhood to the market on the corner, buy a loaf of fresh bread, and bring it back to his loving mother and sister. His father was busy campaigning for independence in the capital city, and all of his father’s friends were busy promoting independence from Yugoslavia. His father would sometimes give him pamphlets to distribute around his neighborhood, which he did with pride; he loved his city, his country, and his family. He would come home at night after his Saturday was spent distributing flyers and making sure people knew about the movement, his father reading a newspaper and his mother making dinner, and he would ask his father how the movement was going. “It’s slow,” he would say, “but we will win.”

He wished they hadn’t.

It took him a moment to recognize where he was; this door, this plain, oak door, keeping him from being discovered, tortured and killed by the enemy, the invaders, seemed oddly familiar. His head was resting just below the doorknob; as he perused the bombed out interior of the building he was in, he could see some vaguely familiar objects: a bed frame, buried underneath a mountain of rubble, which in turn left a gaping hole in the ceiling of the third floor flat that he was taking refuge in. beside that stood a small table with a lamp that had, miraculously, survived the bombings.

It was his room. This hiding spot, his place of refuge for so many years, had been transformed by a year of war and his involvement with things that no one else should have ever been involved with, into a palace of destruction. It was ruined, torn to shreds by the Serbian forces that controlled the hills beyond the entrance to the apartment complex. But despite the destruction that lay all around him, he had been transported away from the horrors of modern-day Sarajevo, free from the devastation that lay before him. His room was as it always was, his bed made, his lamp on, his desk cleaned. He did not see the mortar round that had taken a chunk out of the ceiling, nor the bullet holes that decorated the walls. He saw peace.

At first he was mystified by the change, and almost scared. He rose slowly, marveling at the wondrous change in events, as if God himself had plucked him out of the hell that he was living in and transported him to some magic land where there was no war, no horrors, no genocide. His father had always said: “look with your eyes, but feel with your heart;” his words now echoed through his son’s ears as he took a look around this majestic scene. But though his eyes saw his every wish and dream come true, his heart spoke of a different tale, one filled with sorrow, pain and misery.

On the day of independence, his father had come home not in happiness, but in fear. “Run, grab your things,” he had said, “We must leave immediately.” He heard his father’s words and ran to his room, grabbing clothes and stuffing them in a small backpack that he had used for school. Everything else, he knew, had to be left behind, for his safety. He may have been young, but he was still smart, and he knew that the political turmoil was about to erupt into all-out war. He heard his father shout down the hall and, zipping his backpack, flung the door open.

His mother, father and sister ran to the car and began driving south, to the airport. Apparently, his father had a contact in the airline, and he could get them out of the country. But when they arrived at the airport, the Yugoslav National Army had already seized it. His father tried to gain entry, pleading with the army men, but they merely dragged him out of the car, along with his mother, his sister, and him, and lined them up against the wall of the entrance to the airport. Without a sound, the army men had shot three bullets – incredibly loud too – killing his family.

He could only look on as the army man lifted the gun again, pointing toward him, without so much as a grimace or a smirk of satisfaction on his face. Just a quiet, “I’m doing my job” attitude showed on his face. He knew that he had to do something quick, lest he end up like his family, so he ran. The army man shot after him, but he was too quick, weaving through parked cars as he ran away from that scene of horror.

How could they do that to my family? He thought wildly, the blood pounding in his ears as the adrenaline filled him, making him run even faster. How could they just shoot them like that? The tears were hot on his face, but he continued to run, even after his breath had left him and he was gasping for air, his legs burning from the continued torture he was giving them. He had run into the heart of downtown Sarajevo, where he could hear gunfire and loud explosions and could see people running, like he was, desperately trying to flee the city. The chaos was hard to handle, the tanks rumbling along side streets and the sounds of gunshots still filling his ears.

He continued to run, not stopping for anything, until he reached the west end of the city, where the enemy wasn’t patrolling as of yet.

A bang at the door brought him back to his senses. The beauty of his room, and the horror of those memories, left his mind quickly as his flight responses kicked in. He scrambled around frantically, looking, seeking, pleading with the lord above to find him a place to hide, away from these invaders. He could hear them shouting beyond the door, that beautiful, thick oak door, and in his small, cramped room could not bear to run for another moment.

There is nothing left for me here, he thought. There is nothing that I can do, nothing I can say, to bring my family back. I’ve been running for so long, so long! From the police, from the army, from the weapons that they use and the poisons that they drop, I run from it all. I cannot sleep, I cannot eat, my mind is full with horrors and atrocities that I cannot bear repeating! Why can I not just die?

His bed was warm when he sat down, his pillow, though covered with rubble, still holding that warmth that it had when he had last slept on it all those months ago. The dreams came flooding back to him, first of Marla, the American journalist who had sheltered him at the bakery, then of Dianna, the Catholic nun who had been killed by a mortar round.

They had been traveling together, trying to cross the public square and get back to their refuge at the bakery. They had rescued Sister Dianna on that day as well, though the life they had rescued had not lasted too much longer. Marla was leading them through a small alley which opened onto the square, and on the opposite side he could see the bakery that had been their home for the past month. They had waited for the third patrol (in reality, the same patrol that had almost caught them an hour earlier) to pass, and when it did they bolted.

But for the luck they had, it was amazing they had lived so long. The daily mortar barrage had started back up, and Dianna was hit by shrapnel from a car that had exploded. Marla had been struck too, in the leg, and was losing blood quickly. Without thinking, the boy (who knew Sister Dianna was already dead) ran to his companion, shouting for help.

He was frantically waving his arms, searching with panic for someone to help. He saw a few people – mostly refugees – turn away in their windows, afraid of the mortar blasts, and the boy was afraid that no one would come to help them. After what seemed like an eternity of shouting, help finally came, but it was the wrong help; it was the enemy.

He saw them before they could open fire; he quickly got up and ran – ran into the nearest building, where he flew down the corrugated hallways and corrupted stairwells of the apartment complex, coming at last to a door. He flung it open and ran inside, shutting it behind him, and ran inside another room which he quickly shut the door to as well. And as he looked up, he could see his old room, so long gone, with a gaping hole above the bed and rubble shattering everything he had left behind.

He had wept, that was for sure, but he had not moved from his seat against the door. Surely the patrols were out looking for him, as they always were, and even as a fugitive he could not believe that they would kill him. But always the thoughts of his family came floating into his mind, and he could not remember them as well as he could the day before; they had taken even his memories.

He lay down, then, on his rubble-strewn bed, and dreamt of his family, playing a board game together, laughing and smiling. He could see his mother baking her famous cookies, his father reading the paper and pretending to be interested in the game. His sister was making fun of him for throwing the dice funny, but he didn’t mind; it was enough to be there, with his family, with their shrinking faces and their not-so-familiar smiles and their odd new home; all he knew was that he was home.

The Downfall of America

The political landscape in America is changing.

As we move ever closer to a truly global economy, we as Americans need to take a look at just what we are gaining and losing. We need to focus on what globalization, as a whole, is doing to America, and what its role in American politics is going to be. Globalization holds many positives in many people's eyes: a united humanity, the death of nation-states, the rise of a world government and the abolishment of borders--not in the traditional sense, but in the economic sense--and, most importantly, lower prices.

But, with all these positives come negatives. A united humanity is great, but will it be like the Star Trek version, where there are no wars? No. Humanity will never be united like that, ever, because our basic instincts overcome the desire for harmony. We are a warring race, one that cannot see further than 10, 15, or even 20 years in the future. What about the death of nation-states? Again, that is bad, because with the death of nations comes the death of culture, and with the continuing crusade against Islam happening right now in the Middle East, America is put into the middle of a fatal game of cat-and-mouse, where the mice are now learning how to use hammers and the cats only have their claws.

World government? The idea sounds great, but what will that mean? It means that there will be a world body, much like the UN, that consolidates the world into one big omnibus government. The WTO, the UN, the EU, all will be consolidated into this one government. Good-bye, soverign nations.

I have spoken about this before. Originally, I proposed a world government, but one where each nation keeps its soverignty as nations, but gives up trade rights and other little things like that. But, as I grow up and my eyes are opening, I see that that is an impossiblity. No one will abdicate their power, and nobody wants another big brother looking after them. As good as it sounds (a united government), alas, it cannot be.

America hangs by a delicate thread. As of right now, our economy isn't doing too bad. Unemployment is down, jobs are up, and the quality of life in this country has never been better. But it can become better, if we step up and take a look around.

America was built on the back of business. You can say what you want about religious freedom--the first colony here was based on tobacco and indigo. American's are all about business, and business comes first. This line of thinking has become something that no one wants to hear, but we all see. We all know that business is good--it keeps the economy going. Unregulated business, touts some, is the best business, because when business runs business, everyone wins. But, history has shown us that that is not the case.

And with globalization comes the advent of a new type of laizze-faire capitalism, the one where unregulated products come from overseas and pollute American stores. The type of capitalism where business is booming, and the economy is up, so why fuck with it, right?

But the truth of the matter is that America is not the land of the free and the home of the brave. We are the land of the so-called free, where "free" nowadays means keeping in line with the government and going along with the status quo because times are up. This is the same thinking that was prevalent during the Cold War and McCarthyism: "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." But this adage is losing face, because our government has repeatedly let us down, no matter what we do for it.

We asked for protection. The largest failure of U.S. Domestic Security happened six years ago, and the conspiracy theories roaming around the internet about whether or not Bush knew about it and did nothing have proven true. We asked for a good economy. This has happened, but at the cost of lead-based toys poisoning our children and unsafe products coming to American shores. We asked for jobs. There are more jobs than ever, but they are not jobs we want. They are McDonalds, and Bi Mart, and Wal-Mart. The idea of a 9-5, Monday-through-Friday job at the local parts warehouse is nothing but a pipe dream. We asked for cheap goods--some we got, others have gone up in price considerably. We ask for government aid. We don't recieve it--look at New Orleans, two years after Katrina.

This is not the fault of one man. This is the fault of all men, of all women, in Congress right now. They have let us down. They have failed the American people by serving their own needs and ignoring their constituents. They have been pushed around and bribed by lobbyists representing the oil industry, the pharmecutical industry, the toy industry...name an industry, there's a lobbyist out there for it. This is the fault of Congress, no more, no less.

So, as we enter into this new stage of political life, we need to ask ourselves: what happened? Where is the America that was so strong, that could fight any foe and prevail? Where is the America that cared about Americans, and vice versa? We've done a hell of a lot for this country--we've given up our blood, our sweat, our tears, our freedom--and what do we get? Lead-based toys from China and bottled water from Korea.

This is not a question of whether or not globalization is good. It's about where America is going to be in the next century; hell, in the next decade. America has prided itself on being the best because its people had the best. Now, its people have some of the worst. We have lower quality of living standards, we have lower test scores, we have lower GDP's, we have lower incomes per capita, we have higher gas prices, we have higher infant mortality rates, we have higher poverty levels.

We are living in Rome at the fall of the empire. And now the question is raised: what will happen when we fall? Or, better yet, what will we do to prevent the fall?

I have no answers, and this is likely the last post on this blog about politics. I am jaded, and I am sick of the lies fed by all politicians. So, no more. I am officially done. You can expect to read about Halo 2 and bunnies for all I care. Just think about where we are headed, and what that means to you, and your family.

-Anteaus

Why We Give Thanks

Today is officially turkey day. Thanksgiving. Football day.

Whatever you call it, it's the day we give thanks for being Americans, for God being up there, for our family, our friends, our good health, our good fortune, and just about anything else we can give thanks for.

But, or so it seems to me, Thanksgiving has really lost the meaning of what it was originally intended to be. Originally, it was an homage to the Native Americans that helped the Puritans out when they would have otherwise starved to death. And, to repay them for their hospitality, we stole their lands and murdered their ancestors.

I apologize. This post is not meant to go that way. What this article is about is just to make sure that we don't lose the spirit that embodies Thanksgiving. It's to make sure that this holiday does not go the way of Christmas, with its mass-marketing campaigns and total disregard for the tradition and history behind it. Thanksgiving may just be a day where we make turky and stuffing and watch the Lions continually lose. But it didn't start that way.

Thanksgiving was originally created as a holiday to honor the pilgrims and their plight through the first Thanksgiving (which, more likely, happened in September), not as another way for corporations to make more money. Because that's where Thanksgiving has gone. We have forgotten all about the traditions that make up the holiday. Now, it's a day where we stuff our faces and watch football and make sure we have enough leftovers to feed us should a nuclear war break out.

But that's not what it's about. It's about tradition. When you sit down to eat (as most of you already have), make sure you give thanks to the Native Americans for helping us out in our time of need. Had it not been for them, the pilgrims would not have made it through the winter and we probably would not have Massachusetts right now. Make sure you apologize for the sins of our forefathers, who took their lands and raped their women. Make sure that you know what you are celebrating when you sit down to that wonderful turkey dinner.

It's something that is slowly slipping through the cracks of time and globalization. It's a tradition that we cannot afford to lose--because if we do, we lose who we are as Americans.

So give thanks for everything in your life, and make sure you remember why exactly we are celebrating--and thank accordingly.

-Anteaus

The Best Man for the Job

As the election looms closer and closer, I've found that it's been getting harder to support any of the candidates, Republican or Democrat. I mean, it's obvious that there is not a single Republican capable of leading this country on the path that it needs to go on, and many of the Democrats are idiots and aren't willing to step up and talk about the issues that are really facing this country. Save one.

Bill Richardson is a total dark horse candidate, but he has real potential. He's pro choice, supports the death penalty, supports gun rights, supports gay rights (while I'm still unsure about his stance of gay marriage), opposes "don't ask, don't tell," supports Native American rights, will leave "zero troops" in Iraq, believes in universal healthcare, and thinks that the No Child Left Behind Act is a waste of time. He has extensive experience in foreign relations, not only having served as a committee member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee but also as UN Ambassador, and brokered the release of two American hostages being held by Iraq in 1998--without a shot being fired.

His governorship of New Mexico has bolstered New Mexico's business sector, and Forbes listed Alburquerque, New Mexico as one of the best cities in America for business. He legalized marijuana for medical purposes, and when asked whether or not that would hurt his electoral chances, he merely said "it doesn't matter. It's the right thing to do."

He's met with North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Syria, and more. He's sat across from the world's most evil men, looked them in the eye and told them what they needed to do. And they listened. He brokered a ceasefire in Darfur, talked to Kim Jong Il himself about nuclear energy (this was during the Clinton administration), and is actually the only presidential candidate currently running for president that has any executive experience, having served as Clinton's Secretary of Energy from 1998-2001. During this tenure, he spent many hours talking to Clinton about his energy policies and how to better them.

So, let's see how many things he's on the "good side" of:

Energy
Foreign Affairs
Education
Gay Rights
Iraq War
Abortion
Gun Rights
Native American Rights
Civil Rights

The list goes on. The fact of the matter is that this guy is the ultimate candidate: knows his way around the hill, knows how to talk to countries, knows how to deal with energy wisely, is a Democrat (so he won't let scandals like Enron slip through the cracks), is supportive of blacks, gays, native americans, and women, is pro-choice, and thinks Iraq and the NCLB are a waste of time.

Remember when John Kerry was where Bill Richardson is now? God, let's hope these nominations go the same as in 2004. Because then, Guiliani would be running against Richardson--no question there.

-Anteaus

The Plight of the American Man

I am sad.

I am very sad. Because today, when I went to drop off my daughter at my grandparent's house, I discovered that my 70-year old grandfather now has to work again because they don't get enough from social security to pay their bills. Not because their benefits are decreasing, but because the cost of all the stuff they have to pay for to continue living have increased dramatically.

Now, I can sit here and bitch and moan about why they are having to do this, but today I will not. All I am going to say is that blows. Why is this happening? Why are we forced to keep 70-year old men at work to afford to live?

I guess I lied earlier when I said I wasn't going to point the finger at anyone. But it's someone's fault: the government. Democrats, Republicans, Mormons, they're all responsible. They are responsible for the welfare of the people, for their safe-keeping and their continued support of their government. All we have to do is vote.

That's it. That's our job when it comes to government. And we've done it. We've done it admirably. We've voted in every election since the beginning of this country. But now it's time for the government to do their job. It's time for us, as working-class, American citizens, to take back the country. To make damn good and well that the government is doing what it's supposed to be doing.

America is being held hostage by the big corporations who donate massive amounts of money to political candidates, no matter their party affiliation. All these corporations ask in return is for the government to turn around when they're bending us over and...well, you know. That's it. And the government, in true fascist nature, does exactly that.

Anyone who denies this is just like them: a fascist, corporate bigot with nothing in mind but the money they can make. How can people not listen to this? How can we, as Americans--AMERICANS!--let this happen to our nation? The land of the free, the home of the brave, where people come to escape injustice and wrongdoing in their own country? Why now, as we enter an era of information and the pinnacle of civilization, are the roles suddenly reversed? Has it become so bad that people are fleeing the country that offers the most freedoms?

It seems that way. Because this is not America. This is Corporationland, the funhouse where rich people go to get their freak on at the expense of the workers there. Wake up and see this, people, that's all I'm asking. Wake up and realize that this nation is being held at gunpoint by the very people sworn to protect it. It's the fox guarding the henhouse, only we know that he's eaten some chickens. And we're still letting him guard the henhouse, keeping some insane idea in our minds that he's good at what he does and will protect the chickens.

What happened? I am abolutely dumbfounded at what this country has become, because I for one am a man who knows his history. America did not used to be like this. We became the best because our people were the best, our government was the best. We were the best because we were constantly on the lookout for things that we could make better, whether it be the roads or the conditions of the workers or the food or what have you. We've been through laizze faire capitalism, and it doesn't work. When the government steps out of the way of business, and lets it run unchecked, then the corporations can do whatever they want to do.

And that means not following health laws, like we saw in The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. If you haven't read it, you need to, because that is laizze faire capitalism at its finest. And that's where we're headed again. May God have mercy.

-Anteaus

Sick of All the Lying

I just watched Sicko, the new Michael Moore film. And he is a genius.

I'm sorry, but as I watched the film, I could not but burst out with a "you sick bastard" or "fuck you and your drugs" or "I wish you'd die already." It's hard not to, because when you see what these people are doing to this country, you're going to scream some obcenities too. I curse because it puts my anger into a word that people are going to be shocked to see. "I'm really mad about this" doesn't have the effect of "I'm fucking pissed!" You see? So, if you have a problem with all my cursing, contact me and I'll try to tone it down.

Now, back to Sicko. If any of you haven't seen it, you need to. You FUCKING NEED TO SEE IT!!!!!! I swear, you have to bear witness to the atrocities that the healthcare companies, the White House, and the pharmecutical companies have committed against the American people for the past...however long the idea of healthcare has been around. They are lying, cheating scum, these healthcare companies. They don't care about people, they care about profits. They deny people insurance coverage over anything. If you had a yeast infection four years ago, you have a pre-existing condition and you're now denied coverage. Cancer? Denied. Pulmonary Fibrosis? Denied. Broken foot? Denied.

In Britain, they get paid more money for the more people they save. What a fucking concept! Do your job, get more money. It's that simple. So, if the majority of your patients quit smoking, you get a bonus in Britain. If the majority of your patients die, you get a bonus in the United States. There's something wrong here, isn't there?

Sicko isn't another Fahrenheit 9/11. You can't claim bias on this one, because there is no bias. Gitmo detainees--the same fuckers who killed 3000+ people, who we swore we would get dead or alive--are getting top-notch healthcare at Gitmo. That's better than the soldiers get. But why? Why are we paying for fucking crowns for some Taliban terrorist's mouth, but a guy who has PTSD and is grinding his teeth to the gums can't get shit?

You're going to get a kick out of this. Moore and a bunch of people rented speedboats and headed down to Gitmo. They were denied entrance, so they went to Havana. All the people who were with Moore at the time had something wrong with them, and they couldn't get it taken care of in America. And these people were 9/11 rescue workers, for fuck's sake! These people were shunned by America, so they headed to Cuba, the sworn enemy of democracy, and they got treatment the same as any Cuban.

And guess what? They got their problems fixed. They got put on the medications they needed, that their American insurance companies denied because of various things, for all of 3.20 pesos...that 5 pennies in America. 5 fucking cents! Holy mother of God, how can prescription medication cost only 5 cents? They have to cost at least $100, or maybe $200!

As Americans, we can't understand the role that government is supposed to take because government has always been the "bad guy." We have that Sam Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson view of government, and the White House is now King George. It's sick, because everyone else in the western world actually now trust their government to do the right thing.

And that is why universal healthcare will never work in America. We are too corporatist. We believe in the value of the dollar, and other countries don't. We believe in low taxes, but most of Europe has higher taxes. It's not "we" in America, it's "me." And "me" just so happens to be the corporations that run the fucking country. There's a word for that, where business and government unite. I can't think of it...is it....is it "fascism?" I think that's the word, wait, let me check Websters...yep, that's the right word. Wait, wasn't Germany in 1939 a fascist regime? What about Spain? Wasn't King George fascist in the 1760's? Huh. What a coincidence, I guess.

Go see this movie. It will open your eyes to the truth of the matter and make you realize that America really isn't the best place to be. But it can be. We just need to be Americans and wake the fuck up and TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!!!!!!!!

TAKE IT BACK!

-Anteaus

Raping the Children

Oh my God. Have any of you avid listeners seen this yet? It's up on AOL, and this is the first place I've seen it. Here's the link:

http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/toy-containing-date-rape-drug-pulled/20071107211109990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

How do you respond to something like this? A toy containing a date-rape drug when you swallow it? Holy mother of God, I am absolutely floored by this. And where are these Aqua Dots made? In CHINA.

So, we've got lead-painted toys coming from China, toys--made for kids--with removable parts that kids swallow and die from coming from China, and now toys coated with rufee drugs coming from China.

What will they think of next?

If this isn't the #1 argument against free trade I don't know what is. And what has the media done about this? Absolutely nothing. Like I said, this is the first place I saw it, and I've been to several of the major media outlets. Now, CNN and MSNBC and hell, even FOX might have covered it, but right at this moment (10:37) I saw nothing.

Something needs to be done about this, fast. There are too many unsafe toys coming from China that need to be checked and, gee, I don't know, NOT SOLD! Chinese products are known to be less-than-great quality-wise, but this takes it to a whole new extreme. We need to stop importing from China, or set up some regulations, or something like that.

Because that's where the problem with free trade lies. The United States has regulations and rules that companies need to abide by in order to sell their products. But China does not. And where is like 80% (that's not the number, but you get the gist) of all our household goods coming from? The People's Republic of China. It's sick, and the government isn't doing anything about this.

I was going to get some Aqua Dots for my daughter. Obviously, I'd be careful (she's only 2), and she could only play with them with either me or my wife, but the fact remains that they're cool toys. Now, though...I'm thinking of just not buying anything that comes from China, because my daughter is only 2 fucking years old! As a parent, this really pisses me off to a degree that Satan would be scared of me. It's wrong, morally and legally, but moreso morally. How the fuck can you let a country import toys that are coated with fucking rufee drugs? How is that fucking possible? How in the hell is president sleeping at night? Oh, let's not forget the 3700+ American soldiers that are lying in the sands of Iraq right now, or the fact that millions of American kids still have no health insurance, or that oil prices are now sky-high, or that his cabinet and administration are under fire for torturing people, or that the people that they put in charge of the Justice Department are corrupt little fuckers who don't believe waterboarding is tortue...do I really need to continue?

The fact of the matter is that we need to look beyond the veil here and actually do something about this. We need to step up, not as citizens, but as parents, and boycott this shit. We need to stand up and say we will not stand for this, we will not let our kids play with rufees. Because that's basically what we're doing if we let them play with Aqua Dots.

So, go ahead and give your kid a date-rape drug that will kill them. Be my guest. But when they die, and you're still lauding the free market system and the cheap goods coming from China, and your kid dies, and it's your fault because you let him play with those fucking Aqua Dots, don't bitch and moan and make a fuss. Because you let it happen. You killed your kid. You let them play with a dangerous toy, they died, and because you were too fucking stupid to see the harm that can come from date-rape drugs (people use them to rape people, you know) and let your kid swallow them, they are no longer among the living.

Protect your kids. Because they are the future, the past, the present, and when we're gone they're the ones who are going to be running the show. Be nice to your kids, they pick your nursing home.

-Anteaus

Containment's new Boob Job

What a lot of people don't understand is that, ultimately, we prevailed in the Cold War. We "stopped" Communism from spreading out of Eurasia. But what cracks me up is that it took the political prowess of an actor and a scumbag to achieve it.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but Korea ended with the Chinese beating the shit out of us when we invaded. Vietnam ended when we realized that 20,000+ American lives wasn't worth it anymore, and Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese in 1975. These were both cataclysmic failures in the minds of the containmentists. But, it took Nixon extending the olive branch to Red China in the height of the Cold War and Reagan to tell Gorbachev to back the fuck down in order for us to get that accomplished.

Containment turned into failed foreign policy during the mid-20th century. It was an idea that was based in fear, in mutually assured destruction (or MAD), and based on the total lack of self-control by some of the Red Hunters like Joe McCarthy and McCarthyism, they spread that fear into the hearts and minds of today's generation.

And now, according to those who came before me, the idea of containment is not only a good idea, but a great idea. We need to contain "fundamentalist Islam" in the Middle East and destroy it from the inside out. We need to waste thousands of American lives to achieve this, just like Vietnam. And I'm sorry, but the war in Iraq is just like Vietnam in almost every sense. There's a civil war going on, and we're stuck in the middle of it. Half the time we don't know who the enemy is. We kill innocent civilians, soldiers are coming back with half their bodies missing, and now people are saying that we're winning the war on terror.

That's like saying we're winning the war on communism.

Now, I'm not from the Cold War era, and I'm told that it's a very scary thing. Well, I'm sorry to say it, but I'm growing up in the Fundamentalist era, and I'm pretty damn sure that this era is going to be the fucking end if we don't step up and say that what we're doing is wrong. Obviously, the "war on terror" is just a scam for the majority of the baby boomers to go along with the Bush administration's illegal operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. We're torturing people in our prisons, balking at what "torture" means, and fitting the law to what we're doing to people.

This is starting to sound like Berlin, 1937.

You can call me a fucking psycho liberal conspiracy theorist if you want, but you people need to wake up and examine the facts. Bush lied us into the war, he's lying about what's going on, he lied about the motivations and now he's lying about torture. He knows that he's in deep shit and he knows that the only thing left to do to blow his cover is for the Democrats in Congress to grow a pair and stop his as..

This is why he is so bloody confident. He knows that his party is the "morally right" party, and this will stand against all opposition like a "stone wall" and save America from the terrible terrorists. That's what Joe McCarthy thought too, and look what happened to him, huh?

This whole war is just like giving containment a boob job. That's all it is. The same war from 40 years ago is being fought again, but against different people and for different purposes. Johnson and Nixon and Kennedy and Ford wanted to protect America. Bush wants money. But when he's blown up the world, there won't be any need for his money, no matter how rich he is. He'll just be another casualty in World War III, MAD, lying on the side of the road leading to Camp David.

God, let's hope not.

-Anteaus

The World Government

To some, the idea of a "world government" is parallel to "Nazism" or "Fascism." To others, it's an idea closer to "world peace" and literal "justice for all." It's a term that, so far, no one has had an ideas on how to work it or conquer it. It's something that virtually no one in any sort of power wants, because it takes away from their power.

But the fact of the matter is that the world is in trouble. We are fighting enemies that cannot be destroyed, because those enemies are being manufactured by us. I'm not talking about terrorists; I'm talking about global warming, about consumerism, about the fall of values in place of dollars. This is a sickness, something that no one wants and no one needs.

There are two sides to a "world government:" side A, which is a president, who presides over a world Congress, who are appointed by the people of the different countries. Much like the United States. Now, another part of "Side A" would be the fascist idea, where there's one ruler and no one gets a say. But that won't happen, because this world still means something to someone, right?

Now, back to the world democracy. The upsides are that no one would have to fight anymore. Everything would become "westernized" and homogenous, and everyone would have an equal say in what happens. But this is completely impossible. It's impossible because people don't like it. They don't want to be ruled by different people from the western world--this is what we're not getting in the war in Iraq right now. People don't like the western world because all we want is more, more, more, no matter who gets hurt.

Not only that, but the logistical nightmare would be insane! There's no way that we could hold world-wide elections in over 200 countries simultaneously. We don't have enough manpower to oversee that. Plus, some countries have an inherent advantage over others, and it would be much like the House of Representatives. Also, people would only want what's best for their country, rather than the world, so there goes the entire idea of a world America right there.

Now, here's side B: redraw the UN. We don't need a world government, we need all the governments in the world to work together. Get the fucking U.S. out of the U.N. pocketbooks and grow a pair. It's sick the way that the UN is now, because no one is stepping up to lead. We need a peacekeeping force in the UN, not a council that decides whether or not we're going to slap someone on the wrist or not.

Seriously, the UN today is a joke. It's a world body comprised of old fuckers who wouldn't know what to do if a kid asked them for a dollar. It's insane. And the US is in there, fucking with the works, basically running the show. We can't have that, not in a world organization like that. It needs to be equal. There needs to be laws. Here's how the charter should run:

1. All countries must give a percentage of their standing army, navy and air force to be used by the UN and strictly for UN purposes. This army will be no less than 5,000,000 men.
2. The UN is a peacekeeping force only. We will stop torture, genocide, regicide, or human rights violations with force. We will depose whatever leader is doing these horrendous acts and set up a UN government inside the country until peace can be restored.
3. There are no "ifs," "ands" or "buts" about this. The President of the UN will be in charge of determining whether or not use of force is justifiable. Force is only justifiable if one of the above conditions is met.
4. Any country not following the international laws set down by the UN, including any and all international treaties recognized and adopted by the UN, will be dealt with harshly by sanctions. These sanctions may be upheld by the use of naval/air blockades, military force, or any other action deemed necessary by the charter of the UN.
5. There are no business deals allowed between a government and a business. No "government contractors" are allowed inside the UN. Only the leaders of nations are allowed in the UN. Any country found breaking these rules are subject to sanctions and/or military force. See #4.

That's just a start. But that's what we need. We need a check on the peaceful nations as well as the violent ones, too. Stop this shit in Iraq, stop letting Americans die for nothing. If the UN were there, under a jointly-led coalition force of UN peacekeepers, the US would not be there and the country would probably be restored by now. They would control the world's supply of oil. Fuck, we probably wouldn't even need oil. There would be scientific breakthroughs the world has never seen before.

We can't let countries lose their heritage. That's why the UN wouldn't be involved with things like that. They'd have a team of some of the best economists and financial advisors in the world to decide about economic policy for international goods. Country relations in regards to treaties and trades would not be infringed upon. Just a peacekeeping organization dedicated to the eradication of evil and the promotion of human rights and civil rights and freedom across the world. That's what the UN would do.

-Anteaus

John Fogerty and You

Have any of you listened to the new John Fogerty album? You know, the guy from Creedence Clearwater Revival who hasn't really done anything in the past...30 years? Well, he just put out a new album, and I'll give you a taste of what it's saying:

Long Dark Night:

George is in the jungle
knockin’ on the door
come to get your children
wants to have a war

Come on
Lord you’d better run
Be a long dark night
before this thing is done

Brownie's in the outhouse
Katrina on the line
government's a disaster
But George, he says it’s fine

Come on
lord you’d better run
be a long dark night
before this thing is done

Rummy's in the kitchen
messin’ with the pan
Dickie’s in the back
stealing everything he can

Come on
Lord you’d better run
be a long dark night
before this thing is done

You better run
you better run
Lord you better run
Lord you better run

Runnin’ down the highway
shoutin’ to the Lord
George's got religion
and you know he can’t afford more, yeah

Come on
Lord you’d better run
be a long dark night
before this thing is done

be a long dark night
before this thing is done
oh Lord

In the vein of old-school Creedence meets...I dunno, the Dead Kennedy's or something. I guess you could call it new-age swamp rock. Not quite southern punk (although some of his songs are), but damn close.

If you can, buy this amazing album. You will not be disappointed.

-Anteaus

The Right-wing Media and You

Oh boy, oh boy oh boy.

This isn't a commentary about an article I read, per se, but rather a commentary on the blatant disregard for news that our media takes when it comes to reporting it.

If you follow the news at all, like I do, you'll see that some news stations are better than others...at reporting entertainment. It's sick when the OJ Simpson trial or whatever the hell it was gets more attention by Faux News than the Blackwater scandal that's ripping apart British headlines. When Britney Spears warrants more media attention than the war in Iraq does, it's a bad day in news.

But there's a reason. See, in the White House, there's a thing called the "Spin Room." It used to be called the "Press Room," but anyone connected with that room couldn't legally call it that because there's too much lying going on. Now, here are the rules of the "Spin Room:"

1. No reporting on anything you have heard.
2. No asking relavent questions.
3. No photographs showing the President in a bad light.
4. No doing your job as Press Corps Agents and actually reporting the news.
5. You must print the story that the White House has given for you (copies on the back table).
The penalty for breaking even one rule is blacklistment from any future journalism jobs.

Now, we here at Freadom Meadows believe in a free press. One that is not burdened or hampered by the mass amounts of lies and spin that is directly fed from the hand of the Bush Administration. We believe in Walter Cronkite. We believe in Dan Rather. We believe in the news.

Because the news of today is nothing. It's run by a trust of media conglomerates who pander to the White House because they don't want bad things happening to their families. The only person who doesn't have to fear is Rupert Murdoch, and the only reason why that is is that he and George Bush, Jr. have pillowfights on Friday nights. Sometimes, it goes a bit further than that, but we'll respect the privacy of the President.

The news is no longer news. If you want news, read Common Dreams, or the Daily Kos, or the BBC.

-Anteaus

The Evil Ways of the Republicans

I still can't get over the SCHIP veto thing. In fact, I listened to Lars Larson explain why they actually did veto it. And he said that it "helps illegal immigrants, increases spending and gives healthcare to people who don't need it."

That's a crock of shit. And I know it.

My wife and I are not poor. We are not rich, but we are lower-middle-class economically. We make about $35,000 per year, with a two-year-old to feed. We do it. We pay the rent, and the car, and the insurance for the car. And that leaves us, after all is said and done, with about $150 a month to play around with.

Now, for those of you who don't know, health insurance costs a bit more that $150 a month. Try...$450. Or $500, depending on where you're shopping. I know, because I got quotes. I saw the plans.

Now my daughter does not have healthcare. She's overdue for her 2-year-old shots because I can't affording the fucking things because I have no money for which to pay the fucking costs of the fucking shots. The only way that she could get shots...is if SCHIP kicked in.

Because we would be covered. We don't make enough money for private healthcare, and our companies do not offer it. SCHIP could have gotten my daughter her shot. But she can't get it now, because my wife and I cannot afford to get them.

Bush and John McCain and whoever else was against this bill are evil. They do not care about America, because at the end of the day America is reliant on its children. The poor, the homeless, the wealthy, the affluent, it doesn't matter. These are the people who are going to fill our shoes. And we're throwing them to the dogs.

And for what? Just because we can? Because there's too much cost associated with the SCHIP program? Because it provides services to illegal children? WHO THE FUCK CARES!?!?!?!? Personally, I don't give a flying fuck if some illegal gets his two-year-old shots, because that baby just might get deported back to Mexico when he's seven and become a leader in Mexico that propels it to the standards that we in America have.

This is sick. Anyone who is for spending blank checks on a senseless war which is killing thousands of people every year, and not for spending money on a bill that can save thousands of lives a year is an amoral, sadistic, cold, evil-hearted, fucked-up son of a bitch and should burn in hell for eternity.

So fuck the Republicans, because kids always come first.

The Evilness of Bush...

SCHIP. The State Children's Health Insurance Program. And Bush vetoed it. The full story's here, on MSNBC:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21111931/

Apparently, giving free healthcare to children in families who make too much to be supported by the government, but too little to be supported by the private insurance companies, is a bad thing. These kids are evil, I say, evil! We must smite them with the glimmer of hope, which is then quashed by a man in a shitty pinstripe suit by a veto.

And the Democrats, while trying to get an override, fear they don't have enough support in the House to overturn the veto. How sick is that?

Seriously. This is a serious question: how fucked up do you have to be to veto a bill for kids? There is something seriously wrong with this president, beyond his screwed up view on Christianity or his zealous belief in pax americana. It goes past his undying belief that the world will be a better place where business runs the government. This delves into the realm of the seriously twisted. These are kids, the ones who we are charged with protecting no matter what the cost. If it costs $.67 more for a pack of cigarettes, so be it. I don't smoke, but I know plenty who do, and they're all more than willing to pay a buck more for their cigarettes if it means thatt their kids get the healthcare they deserve.

This is just wrong. And what else...John McCain is supporting the veto! Talk about a complete campaign killer, I mean, even Republicans are supporting this bill! How can he do this and still sleep at night?

I don't know. Do you?

-Anteaus

The Republican Plague...Antidotes are Available

Here's something that might pique your interest. I've talked about it before here:

http://freadommeadows.blogspot.com/2007/09/defense-of-marriage.html

In Oregon, a group called The Defense of Marriage Again has just delivered over 60,000 signatures to the Secretary of State to get two gay rights amendments back on the ballot. They want to overturn the same-sex unions and also the anti-discrimination bill that passed last year.

What is wrong with these people?

Are they so insecure that they have to bash people who don't have sex with the opposite gender in order to make them feel better? Are they so homophobic that they have to put down gays in order to bring themselves up? This is facism in its purest form: denying rights to people based on who they have sex with. You know who also did this: Hitler. Now, I'm not comparing the two, per se, because these people have absolutely no chance of getting political power (that matters), but the fact that they are fighting an anti-discrimination bill is just beyond me.

This goes beyond what is considered moral by the Republican Party (yes, this is a right-wing nut group). This goes beyond what we as Americans think is moral. In the 1950's, we still had laws banning interracial marriage. This, in turn, was deemed unconstitutional. What's the difference with gay marriage?

People will cite the so-called "snowball effect." "If we let gays marry, what's to stop people from marrying their dogs?" What a crock of s**t. This argument has no basis in reality, because dogs are not people. And you know what? If you really want to marry your dog, there are places in Vegas that will let you do that. Are these marriages legal? Of course not. Do the people in these marriages know that? Of course they do. Is that affecting how we live our daily lives? No. So there's that argument shot down.

The current marriage laws state that marriage is between one man and one woman. In the 1800's, voting laws were "white males 21 and older, who hold property." (paraphrase, of course) So, if you were black but had property, you couldn't vote. If you were a woman, you couldn't vote. If you didn't own land, you couldn't vote. But all that changed, right? Why can't these laws change? The truth is that the Republican party is afraid of change. But change is good. Progressivism is good. We saw that in the 1920's, and the 50's, and 60's, and 70's. The parlence of our times is changing rapidly.

And, the most basic principle: these are human beings. They are American citizens. End of story.

-Anteaus

Voting on the Vote

Sorry about the lack of posts, I've been a bit busy.

Anyway, here's something. You've all heard about the new Voter ID law that's going up now? There's been huge debate on the subject, whether or not people should be required to have a "Voter ID Card" before they vote on the ballots. How idiotic is this?

First off, we already have voter ID's and stuff. You need to register to vote, right? So that, in turn, signifies that you are a citizen (because they do check that, you know), you're over 18, and you're not a complete idiot. But even if you are a Republican, you still have the right to vote. The vote is the one symbol of democracy that will never falter. When we lose the vote, we have lost our democracy.

Voting is a right, not a priveledge. And by a right, I mean that you have the obligation to vote. These are the people who, in essence, run your life. You read their platforms and you listen to their beliefs, and if they conform with your beliefs--or come reasonably close--you vote for them. Ignorance has no place in politics.

This is a true statement. Voter suppression has been going on in this country ever since the inception of the Articles of Confederation! Let's take a look: poll taxes, literacy tests, disenfranchisement, grandfather clauses (ruled unconstitutional, but still)...the list goes on and on. These are tactics used by conservatives throughout history to keep the voting rights in the hands of the few. This is why we have the electoral college. We have proven that we no longer need it, because with the advances in technology we have the ability to count votes on the night of the elections!

But with the advancement of technology comes the advancement of political agenda. Let's take the recent electronic voting scandals involving Diebold. Now, with one simple flick of a switch or push of a button, you can make the readout say whatever you want and vote for whichever candidate you want them to say. This is simple...they've proven it.

Now, there is a simple solution to all of this: absentee ballots. Washington State has adopted a completely absentee ballot system, and guess what: it works! It's cheap, it's easy, people can vote at their leisure, and voter turnout has never been higher. Why? Because people can sit in front of the fireplace, with a cup of coffee in their hand, and vote for their next governor, or their state representatives, or their congressmen, or different ballot measures. It's quick and painless, and the voting instructions are not marred by stupid punch-holes or complicated electronic machines. It's simple: here's what you're going to vote for, here's what it does, and if you like it, fill in the "yes" box. If you don't, fill in the "no" box. When you're all done, seal it and send it back. Problem solved.

It's easier than paying your bills, and postage is free. What a concept, huh?

But the Republican party isn't keen on nation-wide absentee ballots. In fact, they want to keep the electronic voting machines simply because they're a hassle and easy to tamper. If you can't stop people from voting by making is severely complicated, then just change the vote altogether. It's sick, and it's wrong. We need to stand up and take back the vote.

-Anteaus

The Man of the Hour

Iranian president Mahmoud (?) Ahmadenijad (?)...we'll call him "the President," for purposes of this article...wants to go visit ground zero. And the entire media is in an uproar. Sorry, Fox News (Faux News) is in an uproar. Everyone else is too busy following O.J. to the Palms Casino to care. And no one is happy.

There have been many, many people interviewed by Faux News--you know, survivors of the 9/11 attacks, siblings of people who died in the towers, Mitt Romney--who don't want him to come. They see him as a wholly evil person who we can never deal with, ever.

I, however, see things a bit differently. The president of Iran is a human being. He might not be nice, but he is human. And he is the leader of a country that we have continuously slandered and looked down upon. This is due to the fact that he is purportedly seeking to build a nuclear weapon. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who have been working hard in Iran, differ. They have no evidence to support the Bush administration's allegations that Tehran is seeking to build a nuclear weapon. But that's beside the point.

This visit could prove to be a stepping stone to strengthening relations with Iran. If Bush wants Tehran to get out of Iraq (an allegation that has proven fact), he's going to have to talk with the Iranian president about it. Now, if these two could come to an agreement about various topics; i.e nuclear proliferation, the war in Iraq, etc. This could be the turning point in our relations with Iran, and, subsequently, the Middle East in general.

Now, I'm not saying that anything will come of this. It could very well end up as a political fiasco for both parties (Bush and Tehran), but at the same time we cannot deny him entrance into the country. Last time I checked, the United States was open to all tourists, and the Iranian president wants to tour ground zero. What's wrong with that?

-Anteaus

Condoleeza At It Again

The Bush administration is officially retarded. Not that they weren't before, mind you, but now they have gone a step too far. In a statement yesterday, Condoleeza Rice stated that the IAEA should butt out of Iran, stating that the IAEA is "not in the business of diplomacy." Here's the story on CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/19/rice.iran/index.html

The IAEA has been speaking with Iran, and Tehran has cooperated with the U.N. agency thus far. However, Rice, while stating that cooperation between the two entities is a good thing, "this would not be the first time the Iranians made an agreement just to break it."

Now, this is true, in a sense. But let's not forget that her position as Secretary of State is to communicate to different countries and maintain and forge alliances. She's our foreign diplomat, for God's sake! And she deliberately slanders the Iranians, calling them basically a pack of liars who are known for not cooperating. The Bush administration has accused Tehran of attempting to build a nuclear weapon, despite the fact that the IAEA has not confirmed this.

This sounds like classic warmongering. Let's look at the Bush track record for just one moment:

He pulled out of verious U.N. and other world-wide treaties, including Kyoto;
He invaded Iraq without the consent of the U.N., with no consequence;
And now he's talking about taking away Iran's nuclear capabilities, without the IAEA telling him that they either are or are not.

This is absolute madness. The entire point of the United Nations is to facilitate peace between nations and use force to stop a country from agressive actions against another nation. That's what they do. But the U.N. needs to grow some balls and acknowledge the fact that the U.S. is sidestepping them at every turn, flaunting the power of the United States in the U.N.'s face, and making sure that the U.N. takes a backseat to the United States.

Bush has facilitated all of this. Now, another meeting between the U.N. and U.S., plus the other members of the U.N. Security Council (and Germany) is scheduled for Friday, with talks going into next week.

What cracks me up the most is that the IAEA and their director, ElBaradei, won the Nobel Peace Price in 2005 for their efforts to stop nuclear proliferation. This administration is taking the front stage in dealing with world issues, but the problem is is that they don't know how! It's completely asinine to think that this administration has their head on straight about Iran, Iraq, or any other country for that matter. Here's proof:

Where the f**k is Osama bin Laden? Oh, that's right...in PAKISTAN! We know, the Pakistani government has said that he's there somewhere, but they don't want to go searching because it would be a massive failure. Which is a bunch of crap, if you ask me. And the Bush administration won't go searching for him because Pakistan is our ally and they don't want to break their sovereignty. Which, again, is a bunch of sh*t.

Any other president would have been committed to catching that son of a bitch as soon as humanly possible. They wouldn't have gotten lost in the Tora Bora caves in 2003. They wouldn't have led us into Iraq to get slaughtered like cattle; and they sure as sh*t wouldn't have waited four years to catch the biggest terrorist this world has ever seen. It's like he doesn't care if Americans die, as long as he gets to play in the big boy's chair. It's sick. It's wrong. And it sure as hell is not what America is all about.

It's time for America to take a stand. We need to send a message to this administration to stop meddling, and send a message to Congress to grow some balls and serve some subpoenas that are backed by the DOJ.

I don't know. You decide.

-Anteaus

And the Taser Goes To...

Have you heard about the kid who was tasered for asking a question? Here's the full video at Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bVa6jn4rpE

So, here we have a Q&A forum with Senator John Kerry (D-MA), and when it was his turn he asked a question regarding the 2004 election, impeachment of George W. Bush, and if he and Bush were members of the secretive Skull & Bones society at Yale. But, campus officials thought he talked just a bit too long, and was forced away from the podium.

This is where it gets hazy. I must admit, this guy was kind of an a**hole. Check out the video at the link above and you'll see what I mean. But, at the end of the video, he keeps saying "What did I do man?" and "Don't tase me bro!" Now, there are four or five different private security officers around this guy, he's not resisting anymore, and out of nowhere these security people taser this guy and he starts screaming in pain. This is classic police brutality.

Again, for the most part, this guy was...kind of...resisting arrest. That in and of itself is questionable. Why didn't the police just escort him out of the building and prevent him from coming back in? At any public place I've been, where there's security, if a person is being rowdy they grab his ass and chuck him out, no questions asked.

But instead of doing that, they throw him on the ground at the back of the venue, in the venue still, and proceed to try and arrest him. I'm sorry, you get him out of the venue first. That's classic training. You don't let a whole gaggle of people watch as you assault and attempt to arrest this man. And after all that, he says he'll leave if they just let him up. They clearly have a firm grasp on him, I mean they're holding him down aren't they? So why didn't they let him up?

And after this, he pleads with them "don't tase me bro!" and they proceed to anyway. That was unnecessary force at its finest. That's like the freaking Rodney King beatings. Absolutely ridiculous. This is, again, classic police brutality. Forcing this guy down for asking a question? That's not cool by any standards. That was not necessary force, which is the defense that the security force is going to put up.

Now, he was resisting arrest, I will give you that. But at the same time, these people wouldn't just escort him out. They take him to the back and taser him. Taser him, when he's already down and not a threat to anyone. He's screaming, sure, but that's the first rule of crowd control: take the dissenter out of public view. Come on, man, it's basic. Freaking BASIC! These security people are class A morons, through and through. They don't know how to arrest somebody...that guy was half the size of half of those people! Why didn't they just throw him on the ground, chuck him in cuffs and escort him from the building?

I dunno about you, but this just incenses me. I am livid pissed right now. If there's not a lawsuit from the kid, and those security people get away with this, then there is something seriously wrong with the justice system of this country.

I don't know. But until next time...

-Anteaus

Squeeze Some More OJ Out Of That Glove!

Oh, man, what a wierd day. So they finally get OJ for something other than the murder of his wife...which, by the by, he probably (nay, definitely) did. He gets off of those charges, and now he's going back to court to defend himself against some good old-fashioned looting! Where's this going to end?

The media's playing it up like it's no big deal. Check out what CNN had to say:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/14/simpson/index.html

This is rediculous. You know he did it. How can you think he didn't? He's breaking into a hotel room to steal his own memorabilia back? Why hadn't we heard of this before? I mean, if someone broke into his house and stole a bunch of his sports stuff, it'd be in the news, right? So, OJ is in trouble again, and there's nothing he can do now, other than rely on his crack defense team that's been working overtime trying to keep him out of the news.

-Anteaus

Petraeus Doesn't Know Jack

General David Petraeus has stated, repeatedly, mind you, that the United States will be able to pull out 30,000 troops by summer '08. This, however, is a bit of a shock, seeing as how THE TROOPS THERE AREN'T GETTING THE JOB DONE! This just boggles my mind. How can a man who wrote the book...quite literally....on insurgency and how to deal with them go against his own advice?

He states in his book that to quell an insurgency, you need to have one soldier for every forty citizens in the country. Now, Iraq has around 26,000,000 people living there. And there about 170,000 U.S/Coalition troops (the words are so interchangeable now it's not even funny). Now, here's the math: there are roughly 150 Iraqis per U.S. troop. That seems a little off, in my opinion.

"It will be a long, hard grind. Right now, I think that grind is making progress."
-Ryan Crocker

This dumbass ambassador to Iraq actually believes that what we're doing in Iraq right now is working. Let me break it down:

The Iraqi government is split along religious lines, Sunni, Shi'a and Kurd (however they're represented);
The surge is an exercise in futility;
The death toll for American troops is rising fast;
At last check, 54% of Iraqis said that the attacks on U.S. troops was justified;
There are no profit-sharing agreements within the country, meaning that the dichotomy between the extremely wealthy and the extremely poor is only getting wider;

The American people do not see progress. I do not see progress. Congress, as dumb as they are, do not see progress. Crocker is right about one thing: it will be a long, hard grind. But there's only so much to grind down. Recruitment levels are down. People don't want to go to Iraq because it's an exercise in futility, one that's costing Americans their lives and sending $11 billion dollars a week down the drain. I don't even know what $1 million looks like, let alone $11 billion!

David Petraeus is a puppet, and the Bush regime is pulling the strings. He's hoping that this gig in Iraq will help him get the presidency. This has been heard by several different key Iraqi officials. This man is a patsy, nothing more. He doesn't know what he's doing in Iraq and all he wants to do is build his political career. Men like that make me sick.

I mean, come on! How do you expect to win a war when you go against your own mandate? That's the real question of the day. To see the full report, check out the link below:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/12/iraq.petraeus/index.html

-Anteaus

American Education System gets a Reform Job

Oh, man, was I in for a shock. I have a video that everyone should watch:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=17824978

This has to be one of the funniest videos in a long time...and it's all true! See, the problem with the American education system is that it's stuck. No one wants to take the time to really sit down and address the problem with education.

But then again, it's not the education system itself, but rather where exactly the schools are located, you know, in which districts. Take me, for instance. I went to Camas High School, and the district itself had plenty of money. Now, on the other hand, take Flint, MI. Over there, it's very, very poor. There's not a whole lot of money pouring into the schools, so kids are forced to get into the military just to go to college.

Flint, as it happens, was the site of one of the biggest car manufacturing plants in America. But, what, 10 years ago, it folded and moved overseas, single-handedly killing the entire town. Now, Flint is a shadow of its former self, with high unemployment and a ton of military recruiters. These recruiters prey on the kids who have no out, because they can't afford to go to college. Their school relies on NCLB funding, so they don't learn anything important, which only hampers their chances of going to college, and the government just doesn't care about them.

All of those factors are the direct result of the free economy that we have with the rest of the world. The globalized economy let that one factory, which employed thousands of people, pack up shop and move across the globe to a place where they can make cars for a fraction of the cost. This, in turn, killed the city, which in turn killed the education system, which (in turn) led so many kids to join the armed forces.

Welcome to America.

-Anteaus

The Defense of Marriage

In today's society, it's hard to deny anyone anything. If someone wants something, they can go and get it. But when it comes to basic human freedoms, it's a little harder to find what you're looking for.

Throughout American history, the "land of the free" has never truly been free for a lot of people. Only until recently did we allow interracial marriages, or abolished poll taxes, or given a damn about what African Americans and women in this country are truly worth. But now, to replace these two groups, America has decided to scapegoat a new minority: the gay community.

Gay marriage is, by constitutional decree, legal. You cannot deny it, you cannot say that it does not; it is completely and inherently legal, and it says so in the 14th amendment. Due Process and Equal Protection, both of which guarantee the rights of marriage to homosexuals, were written into the Constitution by a man who knew that the only way to be a progressive nation and set an example was to give everyone the same rights, no matter what color they are or which sexual organ they prefer.

Arguments against gay marriage are sketchy at best. The only piece of legislation that contests it is the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, passed by Clinton in 1996. It says that Congress doesn't have to respect marriage certificiates handed out to gay couples and it defines marriage as "union between one man and one woman." The only reason this is still in effect, however, is that the Supreme Court is packed with seven (count them: seven!) republican, Moral Majority justices that seek to bring America back to before the march on Washington.

It's time for true change in this country. Nothing can happen while an entire group of people are left out of the loop. Marriage is not just for tax purposes; it's to profess your love for another human being, to tell the whole world that you love that person more than anything. Civil Unions will never come close to this. It's not about the tax breaks you get. It's about love. True, unadulterated love. How can you deny that to one group of people because they happen to like the same gender?

-Anteaus

Today, we Grant You Your Wings

I know it's been a while, but if you're reading this, congratulations! You've made it to level two.

Recently, a lot of things have been in the news. General Petraeus giving his Iraq report to Congress, the sixth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, just how bad this government truly is. But the thing that we haven't really touched on is the declining middle class. As the world strives to unite under a global economy, some countries benefit, and some don't. America belongs in the latter rather than the former. Sure, prices for clothes and video games are low, and we can buy just about anything we want. But that's not the point. The point is that there is a price for these "luxuries," a price paid in American lives.

I'm not talking about the war in Iraq; I'm talking about the rising number of people in poverty and how it is now harder than ever to escape it. Poverty is a pit that a lot of people are at the bottom of. During the 1950's and '60's, hell, even the '70's, the government was helping people to escape it. Use whatever metaphor you like, but the government was providing many, many jobs to people and as such the economy was bustling. Especially during the 1950's, where unemployment was insanely low. This economy relied on one thing: the middle class.

You know, the people who make a decent living but they don't make so much that they're Donald Trump. They were working-class Americans. These people could save money, buy a house, buy their kids some good Christmas presents, and afford to live comfortably. Now, however, the middle class is virtually gone. The middle class is disappearing faster than angel food cake at a weight-watcher's convention. Now, that's not to say it's not there anymore; no, there is still a middle class...buried underneath the millions of people who have slipped off the deep end into financial trouble, all at the hands of the free market.

This is where we grant you your wings. You see, the economy is turning more and more into a global entity, and slipping away from protecting the people who rely on it to survive. As the economy becomes less and less focused on American people, and more and more on American businesses, the whole country suffers. Those businesses are exploiting the loopholes and the low-to-non-existent tariffs surrounding this country by moving overseas to countries with relatively weak economies. This, in turn, lays off thousands of Americans at a time, while saving the American company a ton of money by exploiting workers overseas.

This is why labor unions were originally created: to stop the exploitation of American workers. Well, thanks to a free market economy, all those companies have done is moved away from America and into a country that they can exploit, whether it be in human lives, resources, or whatever else. Labor, money, greed...it all goes round and round. The free market ideals that this government is pushing on the American people and the rest of the world is appalling. It weakens America by strengthening the dichotomy between the rich and the poor, while at the same time taking away American jobs and sidestepping the laws that govern this society.

Take a moment to try and understand this whole situation. Is the cost in American lives and livelihoods high enough for you to take action? Or is it just low enough to not care and keep buying your cheap clothes at Wal-Mart?

-Anteaus