The Lost Decade - The West's Obsession With The Middle East

What the fuck are we doing? And by we, I mean the west. And by doing, I mean what the fuck are we doing in the Middle East? At all.

The war in Afghanistan is soon approaching its tenth anniversary, we don’t have a clear objective, we don’t have a clear plan, and we certainly don’t have anything that even vaguely resembles an exit strategy. They don’t even mention the fucking words “exit strategy” in relation to this war. I know a guy who took way too much LSD and now believes that he is a glass of orange juice and the rest of us are walking straws that are trying to drink him. And even he can’t imagine an exit strategy for this fucking war. Fine, I don’t actually know that guy, but the point remains.

The war in Iraq is officially over but there are still 50,000 American soldiers there. That’s twice the population of my home town. We are set to withdraw completely at the end of the year, but that’s pretty hard to take seriously when the Secretary of Fucking Defense is saying that we might just keep that 50,000 there a little bit longer. Back in the day, the Secretary of Defense was called the Secretary of War, which means that Gates is a foremost authority on areas concerning the wars. If you posses any ability to read between the lines, this is simply Gates preparing us for the likely event of staying in Iraq even longer. For what purpose? No one fucking knows.

And now we have this war in Libya. I don’t mean to sound like an anti-rebellion of an oppressive regime fuddy-duddy, but, don’t we already have two wars that we can’t afford? And how is bombing civilian populated areas going to aid in the pro-US sentiment of the Libyan population? This could lead to an increase in the anti-US sentiment and create a hot bed of insurgents. Where have I heard this before?

Then there’s the latest installment of the ever popular game show “Let’s Piss Of The Extremists” brought to you this time by Rev Terry Jones. I believe whole heartedly that this dickhead has every right to burn a Qu’Ran if that’s what he chooses to do. I also believe that if it wasn’t Terry Jones, these dickheads would simply find some other reason to be dickheads. Like they did with The Satanic Verses. Like they did with the Danish cartoons. Like they did to Theo van Gogh. Terry Jones does not have blood on his hands, but I think he has managed to reiterate an important point: the Middle East is a violent place.

Bare in mind, that it wasn’t just in any country that the violent responses to the Qu’Ran burning took place, but rather, Afghanistan. Yes, Afghanistan, where we have been fighting - both on the ground and in the hearts and minds of the population - for ten years. Our alleged allies. I.E., the war - both the physical and the war of ideas - simply is not working. Jesus, these assholes in the Department of Defense know how to waste a decade better than the Rolling Stones.

So, what the fuck are we doing further aggravating the people of the Middle East? The gigantic black elephant buried underneath the ground is oil. If you want to say any different, just answer this question: why has the United States not sent one troop to aid the rebels in combating the nearly seven year genocide of the Sudan but sent in troops to aid the rebels in Libya after only a matter of months?

You know what? Fuck the price of gasoline. The West needs to get out of the Middle East. Entirely. No troops. No weapons. And especially, no money. To any country in the Middle East. Including the nearly three billion dollars sent annually to the Middle Eastern irritant, Israel. Let’s face it, the Middle East hates having a gigantic Western occupation of one of its terotorries. And if you remove religion and the guilt from the holocaust from the equation, that’s all the modern state of Israel is. We can’t make them leave, but we certainly don’t have to keep funding them.

If we do this, the extremism will die down and the enlightenment of the Middle East will eventually come slowly but surely to the countries that have the Internet. And eventually, everyone will have the fucking Internet. Think I’m an idiot? Tell that to the Egyptians. The revolution did not need bombs. It did not need guns. It did not need United States forces. It needed to simply come from within. That takes time. Not just any kind of time, but, more specifically, the kind of time spent not worrying about getting blown up or someone that you love dying horrifically.

Worried about the price of gas? Sell your fucking SUV and become part of the solution to perfecting alternative energy sources. The most frustrating part of the energy debate is that we don’t even have to come up with new energy sources, we simply have to use them. I am sick and tired of watching the world try to commit suicide so that you can own a fucking hummer .

Is anybody in power going to listen to me? No. I’m not stupid. But I’m also not buying any argument that supports this clear pathway to destruction. Also, nobody cares enough to protest it. That’s because there is no draft. If there were, we would be out of the Middle East so fast it would trigger IEDs.

So, here’s the to-do list: cut off the middle east, don’t use oil, and for God’s sake, hug a Muslim. I’m sure they’d appreciate it.

60

Arlen Specter has been one of my favorite Republicans for a long time. It's not just because of the issues that I agree with him upon such as abortion and increasing the federal minimum wage. There has also been a laundry list of things that I have disagreed with him upon - from gun control to the death penalty to his vote for the PATRIOT Act (yes, I know EVERYBODY but Russ Feingold voted for it, but, that doesn't make it right.).

The reason why I like Arlen Specter has to do with the fact that he has a history of when everybody in the room has reached a consensus of being the guy to go "hey, wait a second." It takes a lot of balls to be a moderate in the incredibly polarized political climate in which we live. There is honestly no political capital to be gained by it because you're always getting your ass kicked from both sides of the aisle. Don't get me wrong. Specter is far from perfect. He is, after all, a human being, and, more over, a politician. Just think about the way that he treated Jim Jeffords when Jeffords decided to leave the Republican Party.

Well, the universe has an odd way of balancing things out. If your girlfriend is always worried about you cheating, she is going to cheat on you. If your boss is always worried about you stealing money from the register, he is going to steal money from the company. And if a senator makes a huge ass out of himself when someone switches parties, he is going to eventually switch parties.

I'm currently a registered independent residing in New Jersey but I've always planned to move in to Philly when my lease is up on my apartment in the summer. When I settled down across the river, I wasn't sure if I was going to register as a Democrat, but, I was pretty sure that I was going to vote for Specter in the general election. The stimulus vote is what did it for me. It showed me that here was a guy that was interested in what was best for the country, regardless of how unpopular it would make him. I also felt that with a Republican party going increasingly rightward, that having a moderate in the mix was good for the country overall. (Because, let's face it - we're a two party system. And if there are going to be two parties - it's best if they're both sane.)

I'm still not sure if I will change my affiliation to Democrat, but, I'm sure now that I'm voting for Specter. Of course, being a Democrat does make him loose his appeal as being a calming influence to the conservative Republicans. But, being a Democrat in what is looking to be a 60 Democratic congress does mean that he will be a calming influence to an increasingly cocky Democratic government. Either way you look at it, Specter is useful in making sure that nobody gets too power crazy.

Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is Congess

I would like to make a request that some of the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act be used to measure the exact size of the House of Representatives collective testicular fortitude. I want this done, because the amount of balls it takes to regulate and demonize an industry while simultaneously shaking them down for more money than ever before is completely beyond my personal understanding.

I am, of course, referring to the House's passing of a bill that will that would grant unprecedented government regulation to the tobacco industry in the form of making tobacco directly controlled by the FDA a day after raising the cigarette tax by 2.5 times.

Listen, I know that smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States today. Here's the thing: so do all the smokers, and they don't care.

To the Congress and all other people who support this legislation, please understand that we are not living in the 1940's any longer - smoking is not allowed in most public places (which I support), cigarette ads are not allowed on TV or the radio (which I also support), vendors who are caught selling tobacco to minors are heavily fined ( which I ALSO support), and Joe Camel has gone the way of Crystal Pepsi (wondering what my opinion of that is? if you guessed 'I support it', you guessed correctly). It's time for anti-tobacco folks to realize that they've won, and that there is only so much you can do to protect people from themselves.

The thing is, I believe that those that voted for this bill know all that and are only passing this bill to score some brownie points with 'health conscience' voters.

If the industry is such a blight on society, why did the same congress that is hell bent on punishing it today, pass a bill yesterday to raise the federal cigarette tax from 39 cents to $1.01? In other words, if tobacco is such a problem, why do they want more money from its sale? And why is it the tobacco consumer - the person that congress is claiming to try to protect - the one footing the bill? Why not come up ways to have the tobacco producer pay more taxes? Now, I'm sure if that happened, the tobacco industry would of course find a way to work the cost of the tax hike into the product, but, one doesn't need a pair of x-ray goggles to see the blatant desire of the government to want a direct piece of the cigarette money action.

And isn't it odd that the same congress that wants to help poor people is introducing a tax that effects lower income Americans three times as much as upper income Americans? Whether the cigarette tax represents a truly regressive tax is up for debate, but, what is not up for debate is the fact that poor people smoke more than rich people and therefor will pay more than rich people for the cigarette tax.

If the government wants to get some more money by getting some of the action from a wealth producing industry, so be it. But, it is disingenuous to believe that this new bill to more heavily regulate the tobacco industry is anything more than a cynical way to pretend like they give a damn while at the same time creating a few more highly paid government jobs.

By the way, the new regulations will also help to cement the place of Phillip Morris as the head of the tobacco industry, which might explain why the company supports the bill.

Obama's Decision To Speak At Notre Dame Commencement Draws Controversery

Whoever would have thunk it? A politician, someone who makes a living having opinions on big issues, would generate controversy when he decides to speak at a university whose religion typically holds the opposite opinion from him on a big issue?

Tired of me speaking in generalities? Fair enough. Obama has decided to speak at Notre Dame's commencement and the pro-life groups don't like it. Allow me to hold back my surprise.

Abortion opponents are planning on making there way from all across the country to display all kinds of graphic photographs in protest. Honestly, I can't believe that anybody would be shocked by the prospect. Protest groups go where they think they will generate the most media attention. When a popular president is involved, you can't get much better in terms of having the spot light.

For the record, I'm pro-choice. My reasons for this is my belief that because the fetus is not a viable, independent being, and that it lives only off of the woman, it is a part of the woman's body and therefor, the woman has the right to make choices about her own body. My own pro-choice beliefs do not impair me from seeing the other sides point of view, and they have a first amendment right to say their peace, even it is in a graphic and socially inappropriate manner.

Others, like, senior Billy Lyman, feel differently:

"Both my grandmothers are coming. They don't want to see that on their way into the ceremony. Nobody should be subjected to that on such a happy day. I'm really concerned the day is going to be marred."

Billy, I suggest you call a doctor and get a prescription for two testicles. Apply immediately and check on their progress often. Welcome to America, Billy, where people are going to say and do things that you don't like on a daily basis. And that includes the day that you go get that diploma. By the way, feeling as though any particular day has a set emotion attached to it (i.e. 'happy day') is rather sophomoric and intellectually devoid of the complex nature of this crazy planet of ours.

If the thought of a couple of disgusting photographs is going to ruin your day, then how is the fact that there are millions of people dying, starving, being raped, and tortured while you go out drinking with your buddies and tell them that you guys are always going to stay in touch sit with you, Billy? The assholes are going to do what they are going to do, and it is your job as a person, to do what you do regardless of how anybody else feels about it. This a major part of being an adult, and I'm rather surprised that nobody told you this in that fancy school of yours. I guess that's Catholic education for you.

And don't worry about your grandmothers, Billy. Both of them have been through a lot already. Hell, they fucked your grandfathers. They may have even had abortions themselves that they never told you about. If they were ever in the health field, they could have performed abortions. Even if that never happened, fact is, they have been through a lot, and they will be just as happy for you getting your diploma with or without a bunch of assholes waving around signs with pictures of dead babies.

WHAT?!

Yes, somebody actually painted this. Yes, they showed it to somebody else, and, for whatever reason allowed the person that they showed it to to scan it.

Now, aside from the obvious and offensvie overtones that Obama somehow wants to turn the US into Mexico, what the fuck is actually doing on in this picture?

What's with all the underwear floating in the middle of nowhere? And underwear clad multi-racial models that a;; have white bodies?

If you were disgusted by this painting and are a glunty for punishment, go to badpaintingsofbarackobama.com.

(props to Andrew Sullivan for being the one to point me in to the webside)