Support Our Troops

Both the Army and the Marine Corps accepted more recruits with so-called “moral waivers” in 2007 than in 2006. Congress, and “curiously” not the Pentagon, released the new figures. The Army brought in 511 recruits in 2007 with the waivers, compared to 249 in 2006. The Marine Corps accepted 208 soldiers with moral waivers in 2006, while it took in 350 last year.

What kinds of crimes do these recruits with waivers commit? The felonies run the gambit from manslaughter, robbery, terrorist threats, and bomb threats to aggravated assault and weapons charges. The figures and crimes speak for themselves. The military, unable to attract recruits to fight the unpopular and immoral wars in Iraq and Afghanistan must turn to felons to fill their ranks.

With the human rights abuses at Abu Grahib, Guantanamo prison camp, and gross violations of the rules of war at places like Haditha in Iraq, one wonders why even more moral waivers aren’t issued.

The Death Penalty

This week (April 16) the U.S. Supreme Court approved the resumption of the death penalty through the use of lethal injections (Baze v. Rees). In its decision, the court approved the so-called three-drug protocol used in Kentucky, the state which provided the test case for this ruling. States that adhere to these guidelines are now “free” to resume executions that have been on hold since the court took this case and many states began an informal and voluntary freeze pending this decision.

The death penalty is heinous! It turns the state into the perpetrator of a crime, with generally far more time to develop a motive and premeditation than the criminal. A significant issue in the use of the death penalty has been the attempt to bring justice to the victims of horrific crimes and those who survive the victim. That argument states that the death penalty gives a sense of finality to victims, and is offered as justification of the use of the death penalty for those who experience lasting repercussions following the horrors of violent crime. The latter keeps the cycle of an eye for an eye going on and on, providing an illusory sense of finality.

But none of this analysis analyzes the actual reasons for the use of the death penalty in the U.S. First, there is a strong sense of vengeance in the U.S., both on an individual and state-by state level: it is states’ rights carried to an extreme. Those elements, by themselves, are reason enough for the explanation of such overwhelming support of the death penalty among a majority of the population. But secondly, and more importantly, the death penalty is a means by which society can apply the ultimate punishment to those who don’t fit its economic needs, the poor, and finally, those who fit into racial groups that have historically borne the brunt of intolerance. These are the people who traditionally are found on death row. These people have become spurious to the economic and political systems. Once defiling the legal line in the sand, they become disposable!

Why We're In Iraq

Why We're In Iraq

Dozens of people were killed today by car bombs in Iraq. Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, Conoco, Phillips, Chevron and dozens of other “smaller” oil companies have qualified to drill for oil there. Do the math: Around one million Iraqis killed and over four thousand Americans have met the same fate, and all for the liberation of Iraq’s oil! Worldwide food shortages grow as crops are given over to the production of Ethanol, with no meaningful environmental program forthcoming from the U.S. government.

Abe Osheroff

“Because the bastards will never cease their evil, and the decent human beings will never stop their struggle.” Abe Osheroff

Gang of Five Plan And Oversee Torture from The White House Basement

The Gang of Five

Here is the new Rogues' Gallery of those in the Bush Administration who were instrumental in approving and overseeing torture carried out against suspected terror detainees. The link is to the ABC News article that broke the story. They are: Colin Powell, Condolezza Rice, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and George Tennet.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=51143&sectionid=3510203

What A Lulu! (Don't Use lulu.com)

What A Lulu!
(Don’t Use lulu.com)
I’d like to discuss the pitfalls of using lulu.com for self-publishing projects. I turned to Lulu on the recommendation of a fellow writer. What a catastrophic mistake!

Self-publishing is a valid activity for writers in the current world climate on near-unlimited print and media outlets. Traditional publishing is okay too, but attempting to get the attention of a publisher and dealing with editors is a major, major headache.

Lulu is not, I repeat, NOT the way to go in self-publishing. First, the writer cannot get in touch with these people directly. They do not answer the phone, but rely on e-mails that often do not directly answer your publishing questions, and they most often take days and days to respond. Next, their so-called online “operators” or agents are absolutely unfamiliar with the product that they’re dealing with. For example, if the writer has a question about the size of a prospective book, or resizing the work from a word processing program, that writer can expect to get at least three different answers to three questions from different operators. They generally don’t know what they’re doing! Often these so-called “specialists” will begin answering another writer’s question(s) while writing to you. Also, the writer will receive similar wrong answers that a different writer has submitted to lulu, making the experience seem like a three-ring circus. I have e-mail after e-mail that I’ve saved illustrating the latter!

If a writer expects to get some relief as a consumer with the Lulu folks, well then the writer can wait until hell freezes over. When the writer makes a mistake in the detailed process of self-publishing, then you’re stuck with the result. These folks make no refunds and have absolutely no sympathy, especially for a writer going through the process of writing a book for the first time.

There are many, many good self-publishing companies. Lulu is definitely not one of them!

A New Gun "Law"

When it appeared that the forces of Right-Wing reaction could go no further, the Florida legislature passed a bill making it legal for workers to take their guns to work. Malls and shopping centers are not off limits either for the wondrous and influential workings of the gun lobby, lead by the notorious National Rifle Association. Florida Governor Charlie Crist, heralding this amazing piece of reactionary work, stated, “People being protected is the most important thing to me.” Crist is a member of the NRA.

Protected? Like the innocent kids and teachers at Columbine, or the students and professors attending class at Virginia Tech? Oh, but the Florida bill prohibits guns carried to work at public schools. A great concession from the folks who want a gun or two in every house, in every parking lot, in every car, and at every workplace!

The Second Amendment…well, I think that was meant for when there was an imminent threat from a foreign power, not your fellow worker or next-door neighbor!