Where Have All the Neocons Gone?

We are blessed to live in this day and age of the Internet. For an information junkie like me, having so much information at my fingertips is a dream come true. Did you know, for example, that you can find hundreds of old time radio shows online for free? This morning I was listening to an episode of Escape from 1950, starring Vincent Price and called Three Skeleton Key. It's a story about starving rats fleeing a sinking ship to invade an island lighthouse in search of fresh flesh. The story reminded me of a news item I saw today.

Apparently, key neocon warmongers have signed on as advisors to the Rudy Giuliani campaign. Here's a quote from the New York Observer from Norman Podhoretz, a Giuliani advisor.

America should be working to overthrow governments in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt and “every one of the despotic regimes in that region, by force if necessary and by nonmilitary means if possible,” he said. “They are fronts of the war. You can’t do everything at once. And to have toppled two of those regimes in five years or six years is I think a major achievement. And maybe George Bush won’t be able to carry it further, but I think he will. It may have just been given to him to start act one of the five-act play.”

I have nightmares about a Giuliani vs. Hillary race. I think in that scenario Giuliani wins, and you know that saying, "Well, it's not the end of the world!"? Well it doesn't apply.

Another $46 Billion? Not So Fast.

It's been a while since I blogged. One will forgive me for focusing on business, and feeding the family when really we are so close to the Armageddon. It really is that you know. No more or less. The President made a mistake in talking about World War III the other day, but really it's what they want. Massive fear. Gear up the old military industrial complex. How about we see if those nukes we got actually work?

I find myself lately thinking of the World War II Germans a lot. They had to know they were being led by a madman. Didn't they? Yet I've never read anything about how they must have felt helpless. Helpless to make a difference. Helpless to do anything to stop the insanity. Does anyone know of a book that looks at WWII from that standpoint?

The President has thrown another $46 billion war bill at Congress, and my suspicion is that they've already got their checkbooks out, but they shouldn't have. They should know that this is where the rubber meets the proverbial road. We're smart enough to know they can stop the war in Iraq by not approving the money. We know that they can refuse to approve the additional money without a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. Some say they're afraid to take that step, but I say they should be afraid not to, because this is why we elected them. We're not stupid. We know where their power lies. It's in the purse strings, and it's their turn to step up and be counted by history; to be statesmen instead of politicians; to stop governing by how it will affect the next election and start governing by doing what is right. It's time.

Because that's the big lie now , isn't it? The lie that the poor beleaguered Democrats can't stop the Iraq debacle because the big bad Republicans won't let them. The truth is that they can stop it anytime they want. They have the votes to prevent a spending bill from passing. They have the votes to filibuster the President's 46 billion if necessary. What they don't have is the courage. It's not that they can't stop the war. It's that they won't. It's a choice, and they choose not to.

There are consequences to cowardice. That nice safe cushy seat may seem not so comfy when you're facing a primary challenge. Your name on the list of those who voted to fund the war may not seem so insignificant when the next election rolls around and that tight race you're in becomes even tighter because your base stays home rather than choke down another vote for you. Most important, there's the consequence of having to answer to your children and grandchildren when they get old enough to realize that you could have stopped it, but you didn't, and they ask the question on all of our lips. "Why not?"

The Decision Once Again

He wakes with a start, sitting up in bed, cold sweat beading on his forehead. The dream again. It had been gone for a while, a few months of peace, but lately the dream is back, every night.

It's 2000 again. They are sitting in his hotel room: his wonderful wife; a few “trusted advisors”; some close friends; the hangers-on. He has two choices. He can hang in. Fight on. It would be bloody, and he’d probably still lose. Alternatively, he can fold, play the statesman, say it is for the good of the country, and rest. The dream is so vivid he can feel the old weariness, hear the inner voice that just wanted it to be over, the weight of the decision weighing him down once again.

But in the dream it's different. In the dream he fights on. There are tears, groans, cheers, and this time, this time he wins. He is tested to be sure, and he rises to the occasion. More tears. This time of a broken nation. But he reacts well. He does the right thing. He catches the bad guys. He helps heal the nation, and with that banked good will he inspires the people to move on. Education, technology, infrastructure, energy independence, the environment. Oh the progress he makes – in the dream that is. That’s when he wakes up, every time. The feeling of loss is palpable. The sense he’s let his country down closes in on him like so much wet cotton.

The paper is on the nightstand. It has been there for a week now. He picks it up.

“Ours is an urgent call to service on behalf of the country we love, the democracy that’s slipping away from us, and a world and planet that are in peril. We write on behalf of our children and grandchildren and plead with you to lead us to a brighter future.”

It's a lot to ask of one man, of one family, going through it again. It would shatter everything. He smiles at how the press would drool over it, but he knows that behind the shocked grins are real teeth. Oh he knows.

The ad is looking for a hero, but do heroes have these doubts? He knows they do. Enough navel gazing. He has a big morning ahead. Showered, shaved and in his best suit, some coffee in his system, he goes out to meet the car that will take him to the press conference. It's time.

Congress. Listen up! Defund the war.

When I started this blog it was not my intent to constantly talk about war and politics. In large part the purpose of this blog is to vent what's on my mind, and I don't think I realized how much politics and the war are right at the forefront of my thoughts. As much as I try to get away from it; as much as I pretend to be paying less attention than I used to; I guess the truth is that my heart breaks for the state of our nation. I promise to talk about other things, but for now, the two of you who may occasionally read this will need to forgive me.

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So did you catch it? It was in the news for maybe a split second before being displaced by more speculation as to the parental suitability of the Britney bimbo and important notification of who got thrown off Dancing with the Stars. The item you're forgiven for possibly missing is that in a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll about 2/3 of Americans favor reducing or eliminating funding for the Iraq War. I've got to give the Shrub credit. I would have said it was virtually impossible to get 2/3 of Americans to agree on anything. Maybe he is (finally) a uniter.

Meanwhile, David Obey, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said yesterday that he won't let any supplemental war funding bill out of committee without a stated goal to end U.S. involvement in combat operations in 2009 and a commitment to allow adequate time at home between deployments of our soldiers. That is the best news I've heard in a long time. Let's hope it holds.

As for the rest of Congressional Democrats, WAKE UP!. The majority of Democrats, in fact the majority of Americans, expect you to end the war, and woe be unto you if you don't.

Mark October 12th on Your Calendars

What's October 12th? That's the day that the Nobel Peace Prize recipient for this year is announced. If the stars are in alignment the winner may be one Al Gore. I'm hoping that the winning of the Peace Prize will be the final straw that pushes Mr. Gore to declare his candidacy for President in the 2008 election. If he runs (Please God.) he has my vote.

10 more days.