Democracy for New Mexico

Sunday Bird Blogging in Mourning

Bosco, solemnly pacing atop mourning black, says,
NOT IN MY NAME. I do too.

As the corpses of more women, children and old men are exhumed from their makeshift basement bomb shelter in Qana, Bosco the peach-faced lovebird mourns along with millions around the world who still have a conscience. Black is the color for this Sunday morning full of death, destruction, false pride and stubborn stupidity on the part of those who still believe, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, that violence can beget peace or justice or progress or "victory."

This sickening delusion pervades many parts of the planet these days, driven by the aggressive madness of so-called "leaders" -- political, religious and military -- who choose to incite more violence, not quell it. They move people and planes and bombs and missles and rockets and tanks around on their Stratego boards as if this were all a game of revenge and counter-revenge, with no real blood or guts or rigor mortis muddying the abstract geopolitical landscape. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain, don't they? Oh, they feel potent. Powerful. In the throes of adrenalin rushes. In control. Innocent humans suffer for their kicks. Innocent humans are turned to pulp. Those caught in the middle of the "military maneuvers" struggle without food, water, medicine or a way out.

To the freakishly immoral "leaders" and "military strategists" it IS all a game. Oh, who's winning? Who gains "power"? Who must eat crow? Every single time it is the ordinary people, the civilians, the infants, the women who bear the brunt of the murderous destruction. The "leaders" sit in air conditioned comfort, pondering how big and strong and powerful they can look to their peers -- others involved in the same pathological quests. All of them admiring their own cleverness.

Corpse of a child in Qana.

Stop the killing now. All of you. Enough. Enough. Enough. I say any who continue cheerleading or participating in this killing spree on any side should be criticized loudly for their blood lust. All of them should be shamed for their genocidal aggressions masquerading as "defense" and "bravery" and "courage" and "honor." It is nothing less than venomous murder on a grand scale and it will, as this brutality always does, bring nothing but more of the same. As an American, I cannot tell you how sick it makes me feel to see alleged representatives of the American people holding back the urgent international tides pushing for an immediate cease fire. It is American "leaders" who are allowing, even encouraging, the carnage in order to permit an outcome of "victory." Shame on all who support them in this.

Corpses of two women in Qana.

Innocent human beings are dying in Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, while the militarists slither for "advantage." The only ones who win in these wars are the arms dealers, the oil barons, the defense contractors and their cronies who purport to lead their nations. A pox on them all.

An article in the Belgravia Dispatch summarizes the expected horrific results of this, as a commentator calls it, temper tantrum:

This 'accidental' war (as The Economist recently put it) will end up having proved something of a disaster for all parties involved save, perhaps, Hezbollah. Israel will not have eradicated Hezbollah (a totally unrealistic war aim, regardless, Krauthammer and Co's reckless imbecility aside), the United States has complicated its regional position immensely, and, as Cohen points out, the Cedar Revolution lies in ashes. Was the IDF action worth hundreds dead, thousands wounded, massive flows of internally displaced and refugees numbering in the hundreds of thousands, an environmental disaster unprecedented in Lebanon's modern history, and the scuttling of Lebanon's tenuous movements towards emergence from an oppressive Syrian yoke? All for, at the end of the day, a deal on Shaba Farms, the return of the two soldiers (probably in the context of a prisoner exchange anyway), French and other troops on the Lebanese-Israeli and Lebanese-Syrian borders (gee, wonder how porous that latter one will be?), and some (likely mostly chimerical) 'disarming' of Hezbollah?

Well no, of course not, this was more by way of an ill-advised temper tantrum than a serious military operation, as Arik Sharon would himself admit, if only he were aware of the disaster underway. Sharon would have recalled previous Lebanese quagmires and would have well understood (aided by the wisdom of years and the lack of any need to prove himself) that resort to airpower, in the main, cannot succeed in this context, with the specter of hundreds and hundreds of civilian deaths earning Israel international opprobrium in every world capital (save Washington), and that there is no real, sustained post-'82 appetite in Israel for a massive land incursion regardless, not least given the ultimate futility of same. No, Sharon would likely have chastised Ehud Olmert for his impestuous over-reaction, one so helpfully fanned on by myopic strategic blunderers and amateurs in Washington, both in policy and journalistic circles.

So yes, we mourn today for all the dead. All the wounded. All the victims of the geopolitical Stratego games. And we urge everyone reading this to stand up and say STOP IT NOW in any way you can think of. All moral authority (such as it was), on all sides, is in shambles.

REPORT: Bush Mulls Sending U.S. Troops to Lebanon

We knew it was only a matter of time. According to a post on Harper's that relates information provided by a "well-connected former CIA officer," Bush is tossing around the idea of sending U.S. troops to Lebanon. They'd apparently make up most of a so-called "international peacekeeper force" that sounds very similar to the farcical "coalition of the willing," created to cover Bush's unilateralism in Iraq. It's estimated that at least 10,000 to 30,000 troops would be needed at the border to have any chance of "success." Bush is allegedly pondering this action because NATO, Britain and other European nations are balking at the idea of sending troops in any significant numbers, if at all.

While this idea reportedly has support within the Administration and the Pentagon, the uniformed military apparently wants no part of it. After all, our military is already neck deep in the big muddy, quagmired in Iraq as civil war erupts. Also:

The former CIA officer said that the Bush Administration seems not to understand Hezbollah's deep roots and broad support among Lebanon's Shiites, the country's largest single ethnic bloc. “A U.S. force is going to end up making, not keeping, peace with Hezbollah. Once you start fighting in a place like that you’re basically at war with the Shiite population. That means that our soldiers are going to be getting shot at by Hezbollah. This would be a sheer disaster for us.”

The scenario of an American deployment appears to come straight out of the neoconservative playbook: send U.S. forces into the Middle East, regardless of what our own military leaders suggest, in order to “stabilize” the region. The chances of success, as we have seen in Iraq, are remote. So what should be done? My source said the situation is so volatile at the moment that the only smart policy is to get an immediate ceasefire and worry about the terms of a lasting truce afterwards.

Not Content With Causing 9-11 and Katrina, Gays Cause Israeli-Hezbollah War

Yes, you read that right. I never guessed GLBT folks were this damned powerful. Who knew all those lavender vibrations were mighty enough to call down the wrath of the dogs, er, I mean gods. But who can deny the cosmic truth?

Some kind of supernatural force that's repelled by (or attracted to) homosexual energies is making planes crash into towers, tropical storms form themselves into Category 5 hurricanes and rockets fly in the Middle East. At least according to various "religious leaders." You'd think these types would be busy with helping the poor, healing the sick or humbly serving as their brothers' keepers instead of blaming same sex lovers for their problems. Apparently not. They seem to have an abundance of time to devote to feeding intolerance and throwing rocks from the confines of their glass houses.

A World Net Daily article reports on how rabbis are claiming that plans for a gay pride parade have managed to spark what some are calling WW III:

Are Israel's troubles in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and the Hezbollah rockets slamming daily into major Israeli population centers here a result of the Jewish state's tacit support for a homosexual parade slated for next month in Jerusalem? Some rabbis seem to think so, and they are attempting to block the event from taking place in Judaism's holiest city.

"Why does this war break out this week, all of sudden with little warning? Because this is the exact week the Jewish people are trying to decide whether the gay pride parade should take place in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv," Pinchas Winston, a noted author, rabbi and lecturer based in Jerusalem told WND.

... many religious leaders believe the Israeli government's decision to allow a world homosexual parade in Jerusalem is having real-life consequences.

"This [parade] is an attack against God himself," Winston said. "God has told the Jewish people, 'If you are not going to fight for my honor, you will be forced to fight for your own honor.'"

... Lazer Brody, an author and dean of the Breslov Rabbinical College in Ashdod, Israel, concurred with Winston.

"When God’s presence is in the camp, nothing can happen to the Jewish people," Brody stated. "But If the Jewish people bring impurity into the camp of Israel, this chases away God's presence."

Similar to the logic that once prescribed dunking "witches" to determine their guilt, isn't it? If they didn't drown, they were guilty and had to be put to death. If they drowned, hey, no problema anymore -- they were innocent.

The Rabbinical Congress for Peace, a worldwide coalition of over 1200 rabbinic leaders and pulpit rabbis released a statement this week asking Israelis to "increase the holiness" of the country while it was at war by praying and among other thing cancelling the World Pride event.

Wow. It seems to me the best way to "increase the holiness" of a country when it's raining down bombs on innocent civilians would be to stop it, not blame a gay pride event.

... Meanwhile, Yehuda Levin, a member of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, has come to Israel specifically to prevent the homosexual celebration from taking place. He said a homosexual parade is akin to a parade of "prostitutes promoting prostitution, or adulterers encouraging others to try adultery at least once in their life."

"Israel is the Holy Land, not the homo-land," Levin told WND.

Snappy sound bites and everything. I guess other sins don't bother this bunch, at least not enough to blame the sinners for the war. They're not making reference to "hetero-sex-outside-marriage-land you'll notice. Or greed-and-intolerance-land. Or "rampant-consumerism-land." Or "over-the-top-armed-aggression-land." No, it's clear the gays, once more, are to blame. Such an easy target. Doesn't require a bit of soul searching on the part of any cleric or straight person, does it? Move along. Nothing to see here.

I wouldn't be surprised to start hearing calls of "off with her head" anytime any Queen of Hearts makes the scene where the "holy ones" lurk. Dadaists everywhere must be laughing. Marcel Duchamp must be rolling in his grave. Lunatics everywhere are howling.

Weekly ABQ Vigil for Middle Eastern Peace Fridays in Nob Hill

From KUNM event calendar:
Dates, Time: Every Friday, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Venue: Intersection of Wellesley & Central 
Presenting Organization: >Arab-Jewish Peace Alliance
Email Address: nmmecca@hotmail.com 

Description: LET PALESTINE LIVE! LET LEBANON LIVE!
Please join us in a peaceful vigil calling on the world to LET PALESTINE and LEBANON LIVE, and calling on the US and International Community to STOP THE ATROCITIES BEING COMMITTED BY THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT. We will gather each Friday evening from 6:30 - 8:30 PM on Central and Wellesley in Nob Hill. Wear black and bring signs if you are able.

Our Own Private Syriana

With all the 24/7 coverage of the carnage in Lebanon and Israel, not much attention has been paid to the deepening disaster in Iraq. An LA Times article describes the escalating, cold-blooded violence that took another 100 lives in Iraq on Sunday alone:

Victims of the Sadr City bombing, which residents attributed to a suicide bomber, included poor Shiite teenagers who operate vending stands selling groceries to support their families during summer break. Officials said 70 people were wounded in the bombing.

... Many U.S. and Iraqi officials say Shiite militias, many with ties to the highest echelons of political power, represent a greater danger to Iraqi security than Sunni insurgents. At least 21 bodies of men believed to be Sunni Arabs were discovered in western and central Baghdad on Sunday, all of them shot in the head and bearing signs of torture in the style attributed to Shiite militiamen with possible ties to the Interior Ministry.

This is how a Reuters story describes the rapidly deteriorating situation:

Iraqi leaders have all but given up on holding the country together and, just two months after forming a national unity government, talk in private of "black days" of civil war ahead. Signalling a dramatic abandonment of the U.S.-backed project for Iraq, there is even talk among them of pre-empting the worst bloodshed by agreeing to an east-west division of Baghdad into Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim zones, senior officials told Reuters.

... Broadly speaking Iraq could split in three: a Shi'ite south, Kurdish north and Sunni Arab west. But there could be fierce fighting between Arabs and Kurds for Mosul and for Kirkuk's oil as well as urban war in Baghdad, resembling Beirut in the 1970s.

If anyone can figure out what's in the minds of Bush and the neocons other than a pathological hunger for some sort of demented, nihilistic oil empire that flourishes amid total cultural breakdown, let me know.

Think: the utter destruction we've caused in Iraq has unleashed the Shi'ite militias there, yet we're making emergency shipments of bunker buster bombs to the Israeli military to drop on Shi'ite neighborhoods in Lebanon. We're allegedly seeking to construct democracies by winning hearts and minds, yet every strategy we pursue seems designed to stir up more anti-American fervor and radicalize even moderates. Nothing is being built except American military bases. Stability in the region decreases with each passing day. Hatred is suckled. Order is deconstructed. There are needless and brutal deaths on all sides.

More and more, Bush's complicated weaving of various strains of corruption, chaos, cold-blooded opportunism and wreckless violence into an ugly patchwork quilt of aggression and greed resembles the portrait of oil mongering insanity presented in the movie "Syriana."

We watched it this weekend and thought it captured the deadly and confusing madness of the Bush era to a tee. The shots of George Clooney in Beirut were especially jarring given recent events. Have you seen it? The film's blurbs: This is about our interests in the region. Oil is running out and 90% of what's left is in the Middle East. This is a fight to the death. Everything is connected."

Bush's Plagues Grow and Mutate

Juan Cole pulls no punches in reporting without flinching on what's being said in the world press about the disintegrating situations in Iraq and Lebanon. About 100 civilians are being killed each day in Iraq these days. Think about that. The plague of violence, unrestrained aggression and civilian murder begun by Bush and the neocons now spreads unchecked by an administration caught up in the shameful pathology of its own hubris, stubborness and greed.

I didn't link to any of Juan's posts in particular -- just read down his main page and stop anywhere. We should all be in mourning what all this portends. What goes around comes around. There is no way to prepare, really. So many chickens will be coming home to roost. None of this was necessary. Excerpts:

... ' Britain's junior foreign minister Kim Howells, visiting Beirut, Saturday questioned Israel's military tactics and slammed its killing of "so many children and so many people. These are not surgical strikes," he said of the air and artillery bombardments since July 12 that have killed more than 300 civilians in Lebanon.

... Israel on Saturday attacked and partially crippled the media outlets of the Christian and Sunni factions in the Cedar Revolution that Bush and his supporters trumpeted as the foundation of the "new Middle East."

... In Iraq, young Shiite clerical nationalist Muqtada al-Sadr gave an incendiary sermon in which he predicted Israel would collapse like New York's twin towers on Sept 11, 2001, if Sunnis and Shiites join in their fight. "I will continue defending my Shiite and Sunni brothers, and I tell them that if we unite, we will defeat Israel without the use of weapons," Sadr said during a speech in the southern city Iraqi city of Kufa. ' Yes, Bush has certainly created a model democracy in Iraq. (Muqtada has 30 members in parliament, and in conjunction with the Da'wa Party, he is a king maker in the new system).

... ' Separately, Lebanese security sources said towns along the border had been targeted by 2,500 bombs, missiles, rockets and shells between Thursday night and dawn Friday. The sources also accused Israel of using cluster bombs in an attack on the Southern town of Blida. The sources added that phosphorous and cluster munitions were also on Al-Orqoub, Hasbayya, Ramta, Zaaourta, Amfit and other border villages. Israeli shelling also destroyed a pharmaceutical plant Tyre.

... Israel has killed so many civilians in South Lebanon that health authorities are forced to stick them in mass graves. Megan Stack writes: ' "I've been a doctor for years, and I've never seen anything like this," said Nabil Harkus, who stood over a trio of unidentified corpses. "They can't fight Hezbollah because Hezbollah is not an army," he said, referring to the Israeli warplanes overhead. "They kill the people because they think it's the only way to stop Hezbollah." The Lebanese government has confirmed the deaths of 350 people in the fighting so far, but rescue workers here warn that the true tally is probably much higher. Relentless bombing has wrecked roads and rendered communication so spotty that no one knows how many people have died. '

Meanwhile, Bush rushes more "precision bombs" to Israel. Yes, you read that right.

Outrage of the Day: U.S. Charging Americans to Get Out of Lebanon

This statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Beirut takes the cake:

The Department of State reminds American citizens that the U.S. government does not provide no-cost transportation but does have the authority to provide repatriation loans to those in financial need. For the portion of your trip directly handled by the U.S. Government we will ask you to sign a promissory note and we will bill you at a later date. In a subsequent message, when we have specific details about the transporation arrangments, we will inform you about the costs you will incur. We will also work with commercial aircraft to ensure that they have adequate flights to help you depart Cyprus and connect to your final destination.

Since when does the U.S. government charge its citizens for rescuing them from war zones? This is what's happening with our citzens stuck in Lebanon as Israel continues its air and rocket attacks there.  I guess the feds have to get money somewhere to help cover the massive cost-plus invoices submitted by Halliburton and Blackwater, not to mention all those billions "lost" in Iraq without a paper trail. This is not the America I grew up in. This is not America, period.

Bipartisan Support for Impeachment a Welcome Sign of the Times

(Click on images for larger versions)

From Leland Lehrman of Northern NM's Mother Media:
New Mexicans may recall that the overwhelming majority of Democrats who showed up this Spring to vote on the Party's Platform want to impeach George W. Bush. Ask anyone who was there, the noise was thunderous. If you were not aware of that very relevant fact, you will soon be reminded when an official flyer describing the platform of the Democratic Party of New Mexico starts making the rounds as we approach Election Day. Under the heading "Election Issues," along with important voting system watchdog provisions such as "Support the requirement that electronic voting machines have open source code" and "Support automatic recounts of paper ballots and machine rechecks in a randomized sample of precincts in each election," stand the brave words of New Mexico's Democratic Party faithful: "Support the impeachment of President George W. Bush."

Sadly, on this and other issues, the men and women who make up the party have had to fight with the leadership to make their views known and have them officially recognized. And although I'm sure there are many who deserve the credit for making sure that the will of the people gets put down in black and white, Terry Riley, a veteran and activist from Albuquerque gets my thanks for his courage and tenacity in the face of officialdom.

Terry Riley talking to NM Sen. Linda Lopez at
the 3/5/06 signing of the paper ballot bill

Mr. Riley, a friend and colleague from recent Legislative Sessions where we both worked on voting system reform, is the man who put together the nicely designed brochure entitled Issues of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, now available for download and distribution. Check out these other gems from the broadsheet:

• "Support the preservation of Otero Mesa, Valle Vidal and rejoin the Kyoto Treaty."
• "Oppose the continued military occupation of Iraq, and urge the government of the United States of America to plan immediately for the withdrawal of its military forces from Iraq, specify a target date for the completion of the withdrawal which is no later than December, 2006..."
• "Call for an immediate repeal of the Patriot Act."

New Mexico's Democrats are not alone in wanting accountability, and as Chris Hassell of Santa Fe Beeswax Candle recently commented, Americans must beat the divide and conquer strategy of partisan politics and take on criminal behavior with one voice. Republican House leader from Texas, Representative Ron Paul has also called for Bush's impeachment. In a recent radio interview on the GCN radio network, Rep. Paul stated "President Bush has presided over a system wide doctrine of violating the Constitution at every turn and that he should be impeached..." Amazing as it sounds, other Republicans may follow suit. Randi Rhodes recently reported on Air America that as many as five Republican candidates for State Assembly as well as the Republican candidate for Attorney General in Kansas have switched to the Democratic Party, either from genuine conviction or from a desire to be able to win.

Rep. John Conyers, whose office produced the excellent documentation of voter disenfranchisement and possible fraud in Ohio in 2004, will move to the Chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee if Democrats win back the House in November. Rep. Conyers has stated, albeit very obliquely, that in that event, and given he finds impeachable offenses during his investigation of Administration criminality, he "would forward that information to the Judiciary Committee," read: begin impeachment proceedings. Any real investigation of this Administration will find impeachable offenses. Let's get him in position and then hold Conyers to his word.

With the Middle East rapidly descending into total chaos, courtesy the international neoconservative militants, time is of the essence, and Americans must weigh in loudly to drown out the blaring wartime propaganda from the media establishment. The next election, and those immediately following, will have an enormous impact on the safety of our world, and all its people, so get busy. Whether conservative or liberal, right wing or left wing, make sure your voice is heard and support leaders who represent you accurately.

Note: To subscribe to Mother Media's email newsletter, contact leland.lehrman@gmail.com. Leland Lehrman also has a blog and a Mother Media website.

Big Mouth Bush

You've probably already seen something about Bush's gruffly sophomoric commentary on the situation in the Middle East caught by a still-on microphone at a G8 event. He's making one of his signature tough guy faces and chomping on a big ole cheekful of hard roll. Nevertheless, I wanted to post it here, if only to keep the buzz going, or document history, or something. It can still be hard for me to believe that this shallow, vulgar, ignorant, reckless bully is the President of the United States of America in the 21st century.

Bush's summary of what needs to be done about the Middle East crisis, between chews, amounts to this:

See, the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hizbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over.

If only the world would listen to The Decider, eh? This is what passes for penetrating analysis and effective strategy in BushWorld. And he chews like a pig, to boot. Here's a transcript of the entire exchange by the Washington Post. It omits the chomping sounds. Here's a video of a segment of the conversation from Reuters that includes the chomping. Funny but not surprising that the mainstream media is hung up on the fact Bush uttered the word "shit." Out here in the real world, we're more concerned about how offhandedly shallow he is about this crisis.

The always measured and factual Juan Cole provides commentary on Bush's statements, which ends with this chilling observation:

It is a little window into the superficial, one-sided mind of the man, who has for six years been way out of his depth. I come away from it shaken and trembling.

I can relate. And I can also think about what our world might be like right now if someone with this writer's sensibilities were in charge. (Be sure to savor the quotes by conservatives with a drooling WW III jones.) I hear the train a'comin and it isn't any kind of peace train....

No Way Out

AP photo of bombing in Lebanon

Does anyone else feel like a horribly critical line has been crossed with the recent Israeli-Palestinian-Lebanese conflicts crashing onto the world stage? I thought so. Round and round it goes and where it stops, nobody knows. Are we already at a point of no return?

As with many things Middle Eastern over the past 6 years, I blame the Bush administration and its neocon nightmare makers for a large part of the chaos, miscalculation and brutality that's exploding there. Bush and his cronies have quite a track record of making bad situations worse. Since Ariel Sharon was incapacitated by a stroke, BushCo has completely abandoned diplomacy and paid little attention to the growing tensions in the area. Now that his Iraq occupation has effectively pinned down our military forces and sparked innumerable new fires of reaction and revenge, Bush stands back and watches. He does nothing. He sends no-one to the region. He refuses even to pretend to be an honest broker bent on peacemaking. He seems, instead, to actually relish the increasing violence as another front in his militaristic "war on terror."

Unlike past presidents, he's refusing to pressure the Israelis to show some restraint in their responses or use diplomacy to pressure and persuade the parties to step back from the abyss. Given his attitude, you have to wonder if this is playing out exactly as the neocons planned all along. Anything is possible with this bunch.

Onward to Syria and Iran? I wouldn't be surprised if Rove et al. see that possibility as a useful way to scare people and force them back into the arms of The Decider War President as the '06 election nears. Added bonus? High oil prices benefit George's oil biz friends, especially those who operate domestically, including in his home state of Texas, and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, where expanded drilling will soon be allowed.

As usual, billmon is well worth a read on this situation. Bottom line: just as in Iraq, there seems to be no good way out of the violence, economic dangers and deaths boiling up in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon, at least with Bush in power and Republicans running the entire Congress. If nothing changes, the consequences will impact us all, in a myriad of ways. The price of oil may well continue to skyrocket, the world's financial markets may well continue to deteriorate and the chaotic death and destruction may well spread to the entire region. America and Americans will be viewed by more and more people around the globe as part of the problem, not part of the solution. Terrorism will increase, especially here. The future of our nation, the world community and the planet itself will be in even more jeopardy than it is now.

Thanks George. Thanks Rummy. Thanks Cheney. Thanks Rice. Thanks neocons. You fed the fires and now you can watch them all burn and spread.

What a high price to pay for all those Christian right voters who supported BushCo in '04 because their reverends convinced them that gay marriage and a woman's right to choose are ruining America's morals. Well, I'm sure many of them are actually pleased as punch about the developments in the Middle East. YaaaaaaHoooooooo! The end days are a comin' ! Armageddon's on the way! The Rapture's up next! Victory!