Which Way We Going?

(NASA Photo of our sun)

It is the center of our Solar system. And, not surprisingly, it looks nothing like you.

Priorities. Prioritizing. It's critical to the successful management of any undertaking. It assigns an order of importance to things. It requires decision, which operates on a perception of importance. It's not a difficult thing to do.

Fifteen years ago one in every fifteen hundred children born in America would suffer some form of Autism. 1 in 1,500. Today the statistic is one in every one hundred and ten. 1 in 110.

Let's prioritize. How important is this?

$300 Million Dollars. That's how important it is. That's the money our Government gave (in total) to deal with the matter of Autism. $300 Million.

$300 Million dollars is a lot of money, but then so is $100.00. Don't believe me? Next time you're broke imagine what you could do with a hundred bucks. $300 Million is a lot of money. It's also an insufficient amount of money. 1 in 110 children. In my view the increase in Autism is a national crisis. And by crisis I mean CRISIS. A plague. A national disaster.

Research and care and support are necessary. $300 Million . Inadequate. Superficial. Pathetic.

$300 Million. What was the amount our Government gave to Wall Street? Anyone remember? What was the amount spent - in real money and in borrowed funds - to wage war? Anyone remember? What was the amount spent on the last Presidential Campains? Anyone remember?

$300 Million. 1 out of every 110 new Americans.

I really don't need a calculater to figure out that $300 Million is woefully inadequate. Do you?

Priorities.

Hmm.

Disposable People

"At any given time," an Economist explained, "fully ten to fifteen percent of America's population is unnecessary."

"Unnecessary?"

"I know it sounds terrible, but... Yes. Unnecessary. Expendable."

"Expendable?"

Heavy sigh. "Look," he continued. "I'm not saying it's... Ok, it's callous, to be sure, but... It sounds terrible, I know." Another sigh. "But it's true. It's just the way it is. Those are the facts."

Unnecessary. Expendable. These are words that denote worth, value. To hear them applied to human beings is rather startling. Shocking, actually.

"It's an acceptable figure." the man continued. His eyes widened then he quickly added, "And by that, I mean the numbers. Ten to fifteen percent. I don't mean to imply that it's acceptable from... from... a moral standpoint."

His face flushed red.

"Unnecessary. Expendable. Disposable?"

It took a moment, and three more shades of crimson to color his face before he nodded his head slowly. "It's a sad fact of life, but a fact nonetheless."

I scratched my head not knowing what to say.

"But, they do serve a valuable purpose." he hurriedly added. "They are a good, necessary buffer. For the workforce. For the economy. For economic growth."

More words would not make this a more palatable concept.

"Look. It is the way it is." He set his jaw and stared at me, somewhat defiant.

Unnecessary. Expendable. Disposable.

"And what do we do with these unfortunate ten to fifteen percent?"

"That's not a concern of capitalism." he answered. That's a societal concern... a moral issue. It's not an issue in the study of capitalism. It has nothing to do with capitalism. It's not a factor."

"Not a factor?"

"No."

"I see."

"I mean... It's a factor for those involved in social issues, or... who have humanitarian concerns, or... It's not the concern of true capitalism itself. That's all I'm saying."

Indeed.

Foreign Policy

Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi, at 27 years old, overthrew the King of the United Kingdom of Libya on September 1, 1969. He quickly moved to align himself with the worlds most treacherous leaders, and promoted anti-Western terrorism. His ordered acts of terrorism and death are long and well documented. In 1968 then President Ronald Reagan ordered approximately 66 U.S. aircraft to attack Libya in response to a Libyan supported bombing in Berlin. Since that attack the Colonel, and Libya as a whole, has been virtually ignored, and isolated, by/from most of the world.

In 2003 the Libyan leader stepped back onto the world stage announcing that he would cease pursuit of nuclear weapons and WMD’s and, as an act of good faith, turned over his supply of dated and dried ‘yellow cake’. (2003, it should be noted, is the same year the Colonel ordered the assassination of the head of the Saudi Royal family. The attempt failed.)

So, one might wonder, what’s up with this man that most Western leaders had referred to, and proclaimed, a mad man in the past? A change of heart? An epiphany of sorts that has now transformed him from terrorist to saint? This is the same man who sent agents to blow up Pan Am Flight 103 which killed 270 - Americans, British, and others.

Let’s consider a few things. The UK, in it’s wisdom, immediately decided (with U.S. approval) to reward the former mad man by agreeing to sell him the latest in conventional arms and armament (complete with training by the UK’s own military trainers). Exactly what every former mad man should have; a modern, well-equipped, well-trained Army. In addition, France (again with U.S. approval) has negotiated to build a nuclear power plant in Libya. What more could a former mad man want? Credibility? The U.S. gave that by removing Libya from the list of countries deemed as terrorist or terrorist-supporting.

Of course, Libya’s order of roughly $10 billion in new AirBus aircraft probably went a long way in calming the last few fears any Western leader may have had about his sincerity. And the possible $6.4 billion dollars Westinghouse may receive for its nuclear reactor didn’t hurt either. Ok, his oil (which is plentiful) probably had a bit of influence as well.

But what the heck, let bygones be bygones, after all the Colonel himself said that the government in Libya (which is him) is the truest form of democracy being practiced in the world today. Western leaders apparently agree.

Western foreign policy truly is foreign, isn’t it?

Eyes to see and ears to hear.

In 1953 Iran, then a free and democratic nation, was introduced to the ‘Shah’, courtesy of the United States and the CIA. Today, thanks to America’s failed and foolish intervention, Iran is what it is. The Iranian people suffered greatly under the American imposed and supported ‘Shah of Iran’, and for many years. When the people of Iran finally revolted (as people usually do when oppressed by rulers that hold no interest in their welfare) America had once again ‘created’ a new worst enemy.

A half a century later America is in the midst of repeating the same mistake and creating yet another new worst enemy. The government of Iraq, like their U.S. backers, has invested little toward the welfare of the Iraqi people; corruption abounds. Millions upon millions of dollars, and control of untold millions more, has most Iraqi officials at each others throats. Shiite officials now contend with other Shiite officials for control and governance of certain Iraqi assets, and positions of control and influence in certain Ministries. The battle for power (and its accompanying wealth) has permeated this U.S. governed government. Does something smell a little fishy here? No, not fishy, oily.

The bottom line is that the Iraqi people have been left to fend for themselves. With little help from either the U.S. or Iraqi governments, many Iraqi’s have fled to Syria. There, many woman have been forced into prostitution in order to feed their families. The exploitation of the displaced Iraqi’s by the Syrians has been atrocious, but even more atrocious is the complete and total lack of provisions and protections for the Iraqi’s by either their own government or the Coalition leaders.

Fast-forward a few years from now and wonder why the Iraqi people might not view America very favorably.

Are we forever doomed to repeat our failures and continue to create our own worst enemies? The myopic view our government has of the world will prove quite costly in the future, yet again.

Our so-called leaders have said 'they hate us because of our freedoms'. How sanctimonious, and stupid. We have a long history in the Middle East, and it's not a good history.

Aah! Couldn't have said it better.

Rep. Pete Stark (California) has a way with words. And, acoording to a CNN Poll, 88% of those polled agreed with him. (Click 'read more' for the whole story and a link to watch the video)

read more digg story

HUH?

$50 Billion?

In his State of the Union address he said 'we' have to control spending. Now, he's asking for $50 Billion more for Iraq (to continue funding 'the surge'). $50 Billion! That's in addition to the money already budgeted for the war (about $460 Billion), and in addition to the $147 Billion of 'supplemental funding' previously requested. Is the man insane? Is Congress insane? Or are 'we' insane for allowing this to continue? (Answer: All of the above.)

What will it take - honestly - before we stand up and say "No!" to this insanity?