The Medicine of the World

Why is it that soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are committing suicide after they return to the United States? If the horrors publicized from Viet Nam are any indication of the severity of war, how could life in the good old U.S. of A. be nearly as traumatic? Why is it that when cruise ship employees get their “land legs” back, they find that life in the good old U.S. of A. isn’t nearly as humane as life in floating prisons? Cruise ship employees do not incur the gross physical trauma of soldiers at war, but is there a connection between their mental demeanor when they return to America? Both groups live similarly when they work. Soldiers are taught to bond and support one another in their brigades, battalions, and platoons. Cruise ship employees are taught the same, yet when each group returns isolated to the United States do they find life equally as difficult? The social mechanism that is inherent in communal work seems not to apply to the United States. Does that mean that when enlistees of the United States armed services and cruise lines embark on their journeys of conjoined work and living they are taught a different socio-economic system that is more effective for them? Do the shallow rules of Capitalism not favor a well-formed, integrated, humanistic work force employed for both national defense and recreation? Do the shallow rules of Capitalism favoring an elitist social class no longer apply when the spin is removed, the smoke has cleared, and the napalmed middle and lower classes are exposed? America’s financial structure has been decimated by the grubbing leaches of a Capitalist elitism, and there is nowhere left to turn. The soldiers that have gone to war to fight for the rights of this faction permanently have been branded with our loss. They come back to America, their home, and are met with indifference, poverty, neurosis, and failure. The only difference is America is not shouting, “Baby burner” at the war veterans from Iraq. No yet. The Republican spin machine effectively has masked their evil agenda, and donning suits and ties in the White House’s Oval Office they have demanded respect from America for keeping her safe. None of the ramifications of their covert agenda for which have been accounted. The muck toils on. The sludge of Bush Cheney has become the petroleum upon which America depends, but our reliance on automobiles is waning. How do we clean up this sludge? Would it be to indict members of Bush’s past White House? It seems America wants to burn some witches at the stake, because it might provide a faux resolution to the eight years of incest. Monsignor’s Mondavi’s fingers are still ripe with the smell of Johnny’s anus, but life tools on. The Holy Roman Catholic Church bought their false contrition. Bush and Cheney got their war. What are the American people getting? What are the troops that are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan getting besides decreased bodily mobility, insanity, and poverty? They support system that was supposed to be in place to support these troops evaporated as quickly as federal regulation. “Now you see the money, now you don’t.” The scorched earth of America is smoldering like Mount Redoubt, oozing lymphatic fluid like an open sore. “Where will the detainees go,” Cheney asks? What about the International War Tribunal at the Hague? Isn’t the jail of Slobodan Milosevic appropriate for hundreds of “would be” terrorists? He mastermind and engaged in mass genocide like Hitler. Certainly a diplomatically neutral war tribunal would be the proper place to house these detainees. Maybe the thunderous roar of a dying Fidel Castro’s voice is more threatening to these Islam Jihadists? If America were to allow her incarcerated Saudi step children to stray from the longitude of America, she would become accountable to Europe. The wunderkind no longer could hold the torch of the American Dream, instead only basking in her tainted former glory. She would have to pony up to the plate of Western Civilization, admit her flaws, and ask for guidance. She would have to grow up. For the world economy to heal, Barack and Hillary’s diplomacy is needed. They cannot let right wing insults of “Having coffee with Iran” stop their pursuits. While terrorism is a grievous threat, if we are not willing to drop the bomb, then an alternative method is needed. Al Qaeda is afraid, because unequivocal irrational evil has no reason or rhyme. They have to be treated like children. Pooling the adults in the world is the easiest way to expose the children. If America cannot equally stand as a peer to Europe, then the cause is lost. It is time for Congress and the media to put down their sticks and stones, find a common good for the world, and devise effective solutions. If they don’t, as Obama says, the results could be irreversible.

"Happy Birthday, Mr. Vice-President" War is Business

Who better is there to predict a catastrophic terrorist assault on the United States? His odds are the same as your local weatherman. Stick your head out the window and guess. With fifty percent of America believing Armageddon will occur in our lifetime, his odds still are improving. Stir in these entries on his resume: 1. Commandant Incognito 2. War Profiteer. 3. Nazi. Still his odds are rising. (“The opening bell sounds,” either the Wall Street Stock Exchange or a bout between Halliburton and Blackwater.) Who better is there to predict a catastrophic terrorist assault on the United States? Could we sign a contract like Mumbai? Is the dog wagging its tail or is Cheney “Wagging the Dog?” Diversionary tactics are a crucial part of war, and lest we not forget still we are at war. The Democratic Party wants peace. It cannot be refuted, because with the ousting of George W. Bush from the White House “Hum and Strum” has made an unannounced appearance similar to that of Barack Obama as a presidential contender. Whence does it come? America cannot travel back through time to the l970’s. Although war is not new to the United States, this “War on Terror” is. While politicians are looking for ways to put a bandaid on Bush’s evil agenda, the wounds will continue to fester. Although Bush and Cheney have left Washington their tactics will continue. It may appear Congress is battling itself, but the same puppeteers are controlling the world’s purse strings. As Obama continues forcefully to feed Congress his new and often appropriate agenda, the world continues to turn. The army senselessly tools on, as soldiers murder their wives, rob banks, and commit suicide. Who still is at the helm? Bush and Cheney. Who better is there to predict a catastrophic terrorist assault on the United States? At one time America was a more enlightened nation, but as Wall Street let our economy collapse the need for war mongering continues. It is the most sobering instinct. When we cannot understand or solve our domestic infrastructure, we always can brutalize foreign regions ripe with natural resources. Maybe the United States should sell poppies. That’s a green industry. If we stopped subsidizing paramilitary activity with Afghan-grown narcotics, then maybe we could get out of the war business. What would Halliburton do then? For Cheney war is business, and we cannot forget that the stimulus for war can be a terrorist attack. Whence will it come, Mr. Cheney? Are you signing the check?