Kevin Tillman, Pat's brother and fellow soldier: Cauldron of Truth. Bless him!

Kevin Tillman, brother of the late Pat Tillman and fellow soldier in the Iraq war, writes the most truthful and powerful indictment of that folly that I have seen. His courage and leadership are what may yet save America and its democracy....


After Pat's Birthday

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/200601019_after_pats_birthday/

Posted on Oct 19, 2006

By Kevin Tillman

Editor's note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful, must-read document.
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It is Pat's birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice. until we got out.

Much has happened since we handed over our voice:

Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can't be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them.

Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few "bad apples" in the military.

Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It's interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don't be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that "somehow" was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.

Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat's birthday.

Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman,
Kevin Tillman

An Ode to the Axle, the Cello and Hugh Masekela

I was enjoying a beautiful Bluegrass ride through the rolling hills of central Kentucky after a day of watching fast women and pretty horses Keeneland when James Taylor’s classic Fire and Rain blared forth. With it came memories of my sophomore year at Lafayette High: football Friday’s and first dates, crisp cold gray days with the multi-hued leaves filling the streets and lawns.

But what makes this such a powerful song? Certainly, there’s James himself, the author and creator. But I submit to you that there is so much more. Whoever planned the cello part was pure genius. Whoever played that cello did so to perfection. Whoever arranged the song and produced it did so flawlessly. And whoever engineered the sound, thereby creating the final product was at the top of their game.

Like any musical recording, it is ALL these working in tandem that creates the tunes so familiarly fabulous to our ears. That cello in Fire and Rain is so powerful that the song could never be the same without it.

Same with Hugh Masekela’s trumpet in the Byrd’s “So You Want to be a Rock and Roll Star.” The song is hypnotic, but it is Hugh’s horn that makes it a heavenly harmony. It soars!

This all reminded me of the axle, that forgotten but essential part without which the wheel would be useless. The wheel gets all the credit as the greatest invention of all time, but where would it be without the humble axle.

Look behind the “stars” of your world. You’ll find a million such axles, cellos and Hughs.


RFD 10/18/06

Unholy Hoax: The "Clash of Civilizations"

The best lie contains elements of truth, thus making it devilishly difficult to expose. So it is with today’s biggest lie: that “Islamic fascists” are bringing on a “clash of civilizations” to take over the world.

The truthful elements are obvious. There have been many acts and statements of violence in the name of Islam by rogue extremists. 9/11 happened and is attributed to this group, who, it is claimed “hate us for our freedoms” and want to destroy us. That image is further tarnished by their seeming intolerance of free speech, most recently shown by their demonstrations in the wake of the Pope’s speech.

Yet, the larger truth is that all such words and actions are but from a very small number of the Muslim world. They do not speak for mainstream Islam. In fact, most Muslims view such extremist terrorists for what they are: criminals. For example, Sheik Fassa al-Guood, an Iraqi Sunni tribal leader is leading a force of 20,000 men to “purge (Ramadi) of these infidels.” He continued, “People are fed up with the acts of those criminals who take Islam as a cover for their crimes.”

Exactly. The 9/11 perpetrators were criminals. Suicide and subway bombers are criminals. As the Sheik correctly noted, they use Islam as a cover. So why are our leaders falling for this bait and actively encouraging an onset of this clash?

One possibility is that they need a foil to serve as a scapegoat against which they can unleash their “solution”: a new era of military domination as outlined in uncanny detail in the Project For A New American Century, PNAC, which you can read online. In it you’ll find that the war in Iraq was planned long before 9/11, that they predicted a “new Pearl Harbor” event so as to convince Americans of the need to vastly increase the military and that our future, if this plan is allowed to continue, will put us on a course of perpetual conflict.

It is far better to deal with terrorists as the criminals that they are, than to create a clash that need not be.

Democracy’s Seven Deadly Sins

“Democracy.” We hear a lot of talk about this all-defining concept. It is the magic elixir for the world’s political ills. Politicians brandish the term as they would a crucifix before a vampire often coating their actions with the honey of “Democracy” in order to win our support.

Yet true Democracy is often different than what we are led to believe, so it behooves us to better understand this most American of our ideals.

To best define something, in this case Democracy, it is helpful to look at its polar opposite, what it is not. “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,” which I have been devouring the past two months is a divinely ordained wake up call in this respect. In it we learn, by negative experience, the essential elements of a true democracy. That is, since Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler represented the polar opposite of a free democracy, by studying the characteristics of this most fascist of states we can more clearly appreciate what defines our free democracy, and be better able to follow it.

First, the hallmarks of Hitlerian fascism:

1) A populace made subservient by catastrophe and fear;

2) Political leadership more focused on personal gain and/or special interests than the greater public interest;

3) Concentration of power, without the safeguard of checks and balances, in the head of state; who had

4) A powerful military made accountable to that head instead of to the people; and who also had

5) Control of the airwaves that enabled the constant broadcast of false information; and who

6) Gave total priority to corporate interests over those of workers and lower classes; and who

7) Eliminated dissent through intimidation and brutal force, and the fomenting of public opinion against critics of the head of state through appeals to nationalism and patriotism.

These are the Seven Deadly Sins for not only democracy but for all free, communal societies. Now let’s look at the corresponding polar opposites for each of these traits in truly free democracies:

1) A populace with faith--in their country, in each other and in their government;

2) Political leaders, fairly elected and solely focused on the greater public interest;

3) Shared political power with safeguarding checks and balances on the head of state;

4) A powerful military answerable to the citizens through their elected representation;

5) Open airwaves, treated as the public franchise they are, where divergent viewpoints are given equal time;

6) Workers’ interests are equal to those of the corporations;

7) Encouragement of comment and criticism as a patriotic act.



Remarkably, a perfect example occurred as I was writing this. George Bush gave his speech calling for Congress to pass his military tribunal legislation so “…the men our intelligence officials believe orchestrated the deaths of nearly 3,000 Americans on September the 11th, 2001, can face justice.”

Bush said his military commissions would ensure a full and fair trial for the accused and that “The Supreme Court determined that military commissions are an appropriate venue for trying terrorists, but ruled that military commissions needed to be explicitly authorized by the United States Congress.”

Yet this is not so. First, his is a gross mis-statement of the Court’s ruling in Hamdan v Rumsfeld, where it ruled that any military commission or court-martial proceeding must comply with the law of war as defined by our USMJ and the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Secondly, Bush could have had the trials long ago under these well-established rules. Instead he unilaterally and unnecessarily trashed our honored system of justice for no reason whatsoever. He would deny the accused such basic rights as knowing the evidence and witnesses against them, while allowing hearsay and potentially coerced testimony to be used as evidence

So why this need to run roughshod over our Constitution as well as our international obligations under historic treaties? If the government’s case is as strong as Bush tells us it is, then why the need to try them in Hitlerian style? For those kangaroo courts were similarly ordered, the verdicts all but certain before the “trials” ever began.

Further imperiling our Democracy, the president continually grabs more and more power to himself while trying to eliminate the checks and balances our Constitution demands. Most blatant are his “signing statements.” These are done after Congress—a Republican-dominated Congress at that—passes laws that are already reflective of his desires.

But this is not good enough. He has, over 750 times, RE-INTERPRETED those laws even further so that they will mean EXACTLY what he “interprets” them to mean. Never before his presidency has this been done to this degree, and it was never done at all until Reagan’s term of office.[1]

Traditionally, Congress hammers out compromises, the truest act of a representative democracy, and the President signs the bill or vetoes it, which allows Congress to re-address it. Instead President Bush has not vetoed even one bill. He deceptively ushers in members of both parties, smiles, signs and takes photos. THEN, he effectively reneges by making the newly signed law say what the Congress never intended.

These are anything but acts done within a true Democracy. They are more akin to the classic definition of fascism. A non-partisan Congress would not allow this to happen. But like the Reichstag in Hitler’s day, Congress goosesteps to its leader’s tune, ignoring the Constitution, the people and our over 200-year history of representative democracy.

Add to all this: 1) The Administration’s branding of dissenters as disloyal traitors, 2) their complete capitulation to the captains of commerce, 4) a populace made divided, suspicious and fearful, 4) unprecedented levels of scandalous Congressional sell-outs, and 5) a compliant media that has too often abdicated its traditional role as a watchdog for the truth and the commission of Democracy’s seven deadly sins is nearly complete.

I say nearly because in spite of efforts to chill it we still have a robust freedom of speech with many outlets for its voice. We remain Americans to the core, innately connected to the highest ideals of our nation’s noble beginnings. Regardless of the occasional shortcomings of its leaders Americans will in the end defend their democracy.

In the meantime we are left to love the sinner, while hating the sin.

[1] For an excellent review of Bush’s signing statements see: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/04/30/bush_challenges_hundreds_of_laws/

Repairing Our World with Flight 5191

I had planned to say something totally different, and in a similarly different tone, about the governor’s merit hiring settlement.

But I write this as I pray for the family and friends of loved ones lost on flight 5191, grateful that my itinerary called instead for the next flight through Cincinnati, on whose runway I now sit. My last trip was through Atlanta so I could just as easily have been among the dead or dying this ill-fated morning.

While I worried about who I may know aboard 5191 I realized that a co-worker may yet be on board and hoped beyond hope that he took a later flight instead (I later learned that he did).

I then wondered why the gates of our emotion should hinge so surely on our personal connections with those who pass on. After all, we are all brothers and sisters, and each life is equally precious. So while it is understandable that we feel more strongly about those who are close to us, familiarity is no pre-requisite for human empathy.

Thus does another catastrophe put in perspective the supposed hot issues of today, unmasking the truly trivial nature of our daily dramas. In this light the hiring debacle pales in importance.

This is to not to excuse either official mis-conduct or the all too prevalent political penchant for prioritizing greedy self-interest over our greater public interest. Rather it is to use this tragedy to direct our steps up a higher path, individually, and collectively.

Like 9/11 and hurricane Katrina, flight 5191 builds within our breasts a heartfelt human compassion--for the dead, for the grieving, and for each other. It may also leave us with a feeling of remorse as we perhaps regret the opportunities now forever lost to show our love, appreciation or kindly word to one we will never see again.

I recalled something I once heard about how much better our world would be were we to treat each other as if our next time together would be our last. As if we or they may be on the next flight 5191.

And it is by remembering this through all levels our community that we will repair our broken world.

Rfd 8/27/06

On Music Appreciation

A serendipitous sway shows the magic in the music we listen to today

What all started this whole train of musical appreciation thought was my 25+ year relationship with the fine folks at Hart Shaffner Marx’s designer suit division, the one that markets such suit labels as Kenneth Cole, Perry Ellis and Pierre Cardin.

A couple of years ago I was their guest for a Celine Dion concert at Caesar’s Las Vegas during the huge MAGIC menswear show.[1] Her incredible show began with the song Nature Boy, which I had vaguely remembered hearing sung by somebody, some long time back in my youth. My host told me the incomparable Nat King Cole first recorded this song, so when I returned home I bought the album, which I fished out and loaded in the sultry heat of my car while motoring around town today.

Now there are MANY musical masterpieces (and subjectively if any one person finds magic any music—yes, even, gangsta rap—then that music is for that person a masterpiece), but listening to the fluidly melodious voice of Nat King Cole, his accompanying orchestra and the arrangement on songs that defy the ages with familiarity made that word, “MASTERPIECE” bubble through my consciousness.

From “The Very Thought of You”, to “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” then “Route 66,” “Unforgettable,” and by “Mona Lisa” my spirits were soaring with appreciation for Mr. Cole, and for the power and magic of all and any music that can move our soul at any particular moment, mostly when we least expect it.

L is for the way you look at me O is for the only one I see V is very, very extraordinary E is even more than anyone that you adore can

You know, there are more than just the lyrics, the words and the voice that delivers them that creates the euphoric sensations we sometimes experience while listening to a song that strikes our soul. It is a micro-cosm of life, of all things working together in harmony that enables our enjoyment of, well, EVERYTHING.

Literally, everything, from the smallest toothpick to the most elaborate skyscraper--and even a little lily—is a culmination of hundreds, thousands of processes. Products come by an incredible series of human activity sharpened through centuries of building upon each prior generation’s progress and encompassing a worldwide network of people working together AS A TEAM. From the cultivators of raw materials, to the shippers, the designers, engineers, manufacturers, marketers, deliverers, maintainers and users it’s all one big harmonious interplay.

Just like the next song…”Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,”
♪ Missed the Saturday dance…Heard they crowded the floor…Couldn't bear it without you Don't get around much anymore…

And the next one… “Straighten up & Fly Right,”

The buzzard took the monkey for a ride in the air
The monkey thought that everything was on the square
The buzzard tried to throw the monkey off his back
The monkey grabbed his neck and said now listen, jack
Straighten up and fly right, Straighten up and fly right,Straighten up and fly right
Cool down, papa, don't you blow your top. (I love that line!)

And then my favorite, “Nature Boy,”[2] the haunting melody with the message of all that really matters:

There was a boyA very strange enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far, very farOver land and sea
A little shy and sad of eye But very wise was he
And then one dayA magic day he passed my way
And while we spoke of many things Fools and kingsThis he said to me
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn Is just to love and be loved in return"
"The greatest thing you'll ever learnIs just to love and be loved in return"

Again, the interplay of voice, of instrumentation, cadence and tempo create the finished product. And most important to our listening enjoyment are the sound engineers, the producers and the technology that allows me to motor around with music at my beck and call, recreating a 1948 performance as if they were performing for me alone. Incredible!

And “Unforgettable.” So “Smile.”


[1] The theatre, the lights, the setting and physical changes for each of her songs was 25th century spectacular, as was her whole concert…simply Unforgettably unbelievably great!

[2] Nature Boy was written by eden ahbez (he refused capitalization as he thought it reserved for the divine only), an unlikely source for one of the greatest songs of all time.

From the Wikipedia: eden ahbez, born Alexander Aberle (April 15, 1908 – March 4, 1995), and adopted by a Kansas family and raised under the name George McGrew, was one of the few genuinely unique characters of pre-rock American popular music.
Ahbez composed the song "Nature Boy" about friend and fellow freegan "Tribesman" Robert Gypsy Boots Bootzin, who was leading a lifestyle which strived to be all natural and Spartan.
Eden lived a bucolic life. He refused to use capital letters to spell his name. He travelled in sandals, camped out below the first L in the Hollywood sign above Los Angeles, studied Oriental mysticism, and cultivated a Christ-like appearance with his shoulder-length hair and beard. He claimed to live on three dollars a week, sleeping outdoors with his family, eating vegetables, fruits, and nuts.
In the mid-'50s, he did some recording with jazz musician Herb Jeffries; he also did some occasional composing and singing, sometimes for rock & roll novelty records. His most comprehensive statement as a recording artist, however, was the 1960 LP Eden's Island, a bizarre record which mixed exotica album and beatnik poetry. Many consider it as one of the weirdest exotica records ever created.
Ahbez was also photographed with Brian Wilson in the studio in 1966, lending further credence to the theory that the head Beach Boy was influenced by exotica during the Pet Sounds and Smile sessions. He died in 1995 after being hit by a car.

For even more about this incredible story and how he got his song to Mr. Cole you MUST read this: http://www.spaceagepop.com/ahbez.htm

Islam Falsely Accused

Before I eat another bite or take another breath I must correct a mis-characterization that if left to stand would sew ever more fear and hatred in our already compromised world. President Bush said in reference to the foiled London bomb conspiracy: “… this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation.”

He surely did not intend to disparage the Islamic faith or its adherents. Yet the effect of parroting a phrase so mindlessly repeated by many in the media is to unfairly condemn the Muslim world and in the process brand an entire religion as something that it most certainly is not

The truth is that yes, there are some people who want to commit heinous crimes against other people. In this case the alleged attackers were Pakistani British residents who were targeting passengers destined for America. Of course, those passengers would have included Muslim as well as Christian, and possibly Pakistani as well as American citizens.

Nevertheless, the high-profile nature of their crimes obscures the fact that they are but a tiny sub-sect of Islam. They in no way represent the mainstream body of faithful Muslims. Nor are they part of an alleged conspiracy for world domination for there simply is none.

This alleged plan is part of a self-fulfilling prophecy long enshrined in the concept of the “Clash of Civilizations,” first espoused by Samuel Huntington in 1993. While it is true that the effect of conflicts between the West and the Middle East are in that sense conflicts between two differing cultures, that is not the reason for such disputes per se.

The reason is as old as humanity itself: the quest for resources. The root cause of what they call “Islamic fascism” is not religious or cultural. Rather it is the incursions into the lands of those peoples, that to their sensibilities are dis-respectful, immoral and certainly done in a way that we would never tolerate in our own lands, thus violating the very heart of Christian ethics—do not unto others as you would not want done to yourself.

Islam is one of the three Abrahamic religions along with Judaism and Christianity. It has always been tolerant of these other religions, as the Koran teaches. Jewish citizens flourished under Muslim rule in Spain during the nearly 8 centuries of Moorish rule from 711 to 1492.
And you will find no greater praise for Jesus than in the Koran. In fact it esteems Jesus as the Messiah, the Word of God, God’s most enlightened and sinless prophet. For example:

· in Oud Emrom 5-45, Jesus is referred to as, "the greatest above all in this world and the world to come."

· S-5-46: "And, in their footsteps, we sent Isa (Jesus), the son of Marium (Mary), confirming the law that had come before him. We sent him the gospel. Therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the law that had come before him. A guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah (God)."


· 3.45: When the angels said: O Marium, surely Allah gives you good news with a Word from Him (of one) whose name is the '. Messiah, Isa son of Marium, worthy of regard in this world and the hereafter and of those who are made near (to Allah).

There is no conflict with Islam and those of other faiths. The heinous acts of those who see themselves as victims or fighting for victims do so in response to perceived injustices against them. As they perceive that more justice is shown to them—for instance, the ending of wars and dominations of their lands and the beginning of statehood for the Palestinians—the less mayhem they will attempt.

Remove the thorn to calm the lion.

Richard F. Dawahare 8/12/06

Is-raelity TV (TonyVision)

I’m tired. I’m just ready to give in. It’s been a week of high anxiety and low blows. It started with the shocking finality of a brother’s death—in reality a blessed release to eternal comfort for Tony, yet a gut wrenchingly sad void for us. Beyond this personal tumult rages the object of my non-professional political pointer—the war in Lebanon, of which I’d previously written from opposing viewpoints.

There is a string of meaning in Tony’s life, death and the events in the Middle East that exposes a higher truth. First, in Tony’s eulogy I stated the two themes of my life with him that jumped out. One, that love is truly a choice…and one we MUST make if we desire the happiest most fulfilled life for all. See, Tony had some innate characteristics that defied convention. Through these traits I learned to forego judgment, empathize more and love no matter what. This also enabled me to FEEL outside of the box, and thus, feel outside of my own perspective and comfort zone, which is the pre-requisite for empathy.

The second theme is the importance of humor no matter how dark the circumstances. The pre-requisite for enabling this humor to enter our lives is humility, the same ingredient that allows us to see our selves and our situation objectively. It allows us to literally laugh at ourselves when that scenario is called for.

His funeral brought together many people from a variety of backgrounds. There were Jewish, Christian, Muslim and I’m sure agnostic and atheist all present—and all united in the shared spirit of love and compassion. By sheer coincidence I had learned from my Jewish friend about a mother-in-law whose parents were killed during the Holocaust in Nazi concentration camps. She was a teen and escaped only by her cunning and suffering of various humilities.

He proved—graphically and emphatically—that the holocaust is NOT a distant memory. It is recent and real. He also proffered another slant on Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. First, he truly believes the Arabs, through Hamas and Hezbollah, really DO want to wipe out Israel. He also pointed to news reports and analysis that say this whole thing is really a power play for Iran to try and take control of the region, that there is struggle between Shiite (Iran, Syria) and Sunni Islam (Saudi, Egypt, Jordan), and by having Hezbollah successfully withstand Israel, leave them (Shiite) able to brag that they are the real protector and voice of Islam. Beyond that, such fundamentalists want to impose their religion by force on the rest of the world.

Apparently there is AGAIN virulent anti-Semitism in France, which is indication of a similar sentiment throughout Europe. This makes the recent memory of the Holocaust a very relevant reminder of the absolute necessity of a JEWISH homeland. Thus, the right of return for Palestinians admittedly done wrong by their expulsion in 1947-48, is not acceptable, for eventually they would outnumber the Jewish citizens and possibly vote to deny any more Jewish people in. WHERE WOULD THE NEWLY PERSECUTED JEWISH EVACUEES BE THEN?! It is a legitimate concern, friends, a legitimate concern.

At our mercy meal I spoke to a Palestinian immigrant friend, who was one of those thrown off their land. He came in 1951; his father was killed over there. The method of eviction was similar to the Lebanese situation now, except there were more men on the ground with weapons ruthlessly used against the defenseless native population with the certain intent to kill or create fear enough to make them flee. The ironic thing is that he said the vast majority back then were Christian Palestinians, most of whom have left leaving it predominantly Muslim.

Back to my Jewish friend who perceptively noted that the Palestinians are the new Jews. He then asks, “Why are they living in tents with all the surrounding Arab territory that could easily accommodate them?” He answers: because the Arab nations WANT IT THAT WAY! They want that festering sore in order to help bring about their real goal of destroying Israel. He truly, truly admits that there were injustices done early on, and even now, the killing of innocents is atrocious. But their very survival depends on rooting out the Hezbollah who hide amongst those innocents.

Even he admits that the deaths are too much and too damaging for Israel to continue and that they must have a ground invasion to truly control the Hezbollah, or negotiate some ending. He sees the bombing as I do: inappropriate and counter-productive.

Whew. I’m back to the beginning. The lessons of Tony Vision clear the path to peace. ONE, should all concerned choose to Love, practice EMPATHY, they would see that everybody is right in this conflict. TWO, using humor or in this case, HUMILITY, would have them conclude that the blood won’t dry until each of them says, “we’re sorry, we’re wrong.”



Richard F. Dawahare 7/30/06

A View from an Israeli’s Shoe

I can’t sleep. So I feel called to take a second look, really the 102nd look, at this Israeli/Palestinian situation this time by putting myself in the skin of a Jewish person. Not the superhuman “above-the-fray” person that exists mostly in the realm of spiritual idealism, but the human one, the feeling one, the one that’s about like me.

Okay, so now I am of a race, a culture that only 60 years ago was subject to the worst atrocity imaginable. Solely because of a trait over which I have no control—my blood, my ancestry—I was sought out for extermination. I was helpless, powerless, feebly and futilely consumed by the hate-filled bestiality of perverted humanity.

For centuries prior at different times and places, my forbears were similarly despised, falsely blamed, chased, burned at the stake or otherwise degraded on account of this same ethnicity.

But the holocaust made manifest the millennia of abuse known only through the history books. There are survivors, there are pictures and there are indescribable shudders of horror that anything like this could ever possibly happen again. God forbid we, me, my people—or any other strain of humanity—be so defenseless, so vulnerable to this treatment. By GOD’S will, by all that is true and just this should not, WILL NOT, happen again.

I begin to see that strength and self-reliance are crucial to preventing even the possibility of this occurring again. A safe land is the first step, a bastion of freedom for all—yes, especially of my race—who wish to come, or if the situation ever demanded—must come. And to insure protection against this past suffering I, we, will do anything. Hopefully, we can do it all with consistent justice and in accord to our highest nature, but when necessary we will do anything—ANYTHING—to insure our safety.

Yes, my people may have committed some acts against our highest nature that in other eras we would have decried, and yes, we may be doing them now. But the sin of these actions PALE in comparison to the sin done to us and to what we will prevent from ever occurring again. If we ever go down again it will never be from being weak, unprepared or unguarded. And who could blame us.

So in Israel, with help from others sure, but by OUR hands, by OUR will, have we forged this new land, this new security. Others in the region still seek our destruction; try as we might to get along. Why can’t they see, why can’t they feel, why can’t they empathize? Regardless, if they can’t and won’t refrain from harming us, we must stand ready to insure our safety. For this we have armed, we have trained, we have girded ourselves--boys, girls, men, women. Ourselves alone, for who stood up for us before, and on whom can we depend again? No one but ourselves, alone.
------------------------------

When I step back into my own skin I see it and understand it, and by damn, before I let anything like what happened before I’ll commit--or allow others in my behalf to commit--about ANY lesser atrocities.

And that is part of the tragedy, for if I can’t see more perspective—in this case that I/we are not endangered as we were for centuries before--then our actions that we think so essential to our preservation will on the contrary build resentment to our people and possibly, ironically, lead to a renewal of contempt against us—based only on blood and ancestry, yet again.

As I’ve long said—the situation is one where everybody is right. But the blood won’t dry till we (both sides) say we’re wrong.


Respectfully, Rfd 7/25/06

Beyond Israeli Propaganda: Jewish leaders cry ‘Emet’ (Truth)

“Rich, your family is from Lebanon originally, isn’t it? This must be killing you,” a friend asked in church this morning. “Yes, all my grandparents are from there[1]. And yes, it is difficult.”

Israel’s invasion is very problematic for me, and not nearly because Lebanon/Syria is the land of my forebears and where relatives still live. In fact, just as I was sitting down to write this my paternal cousin called, and then she initiated a three-way call with her daughter who is now in Beirut. I just spoke to her and her fiancé, who by coincidence is a distant cousin on my mother’s side.

But Israel’s terrorism on the Lebanese is troubling regardless of any personal connection I may have, for injustice is injustice no matter on whom it is visited. And while the perception may be that one with such ties can never be objective I should not let the potential charge “oh he’s just a homer” prevent my search for the highest truth and my standing upon that lofty perch.

On the contrary, I shudder to speak contrarily about Israel. I have longed believed in the necessity of some kind of Jewish homeland, especially in view of the Holocaust. Yet the roots of today’s conflict were sewn in the very creation of Israel by the eviction of nearly 1,000,000 Palestinians from lands they called home for over 2000 years.

Indeed, a review of today’s headlines show that Israel is using nearly identical methods to those in 1947-48 by attacking defenseless Lebanon, where Israel has driven 500,000 from their homes. 500,000. FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND. And why? Because, Israel says, Hezbollah captured 2 Israeli officers.

Is Israel really serious that their reason for killing innocent Lebanese children and destroying its infrastructure—bridges, airports, water, power, communications systems-- is that Hezbollah arrested a couple of their soldiers, when Israel has arrested many hundred times more in a tit-for-tat exercise that has been going on for years?

Not a chance. Israel has long planned this invasion, and typical of “might makes right” military machines, they have used lies, and politically appealing cover to justify this outrage.

What’s at play is much more sinister. Naseer Aruri, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Massuchusetts, Dartmouth and author of Dishonest Broker, America’s Role in Israel and Palestine, said that by its invasion Israel seeks “…to forestall a diplomatic solution based on two states, for which Hamas has been more than ready.”

Professor Aruri cited Hamas’ Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s recent peace initiative that appeared in a Washington Post op-ed piece. “And it seems whenever Israel is threatened with a ceasefire or a peace offensive, it bombs its way out of a diplomatic settlement.”

And this is the nut. For all their stated desire for a Palestinian state Israel has sabotaged its creation by building settlements, conducting terror raids, building walls, depriving Palestinians of power, water and economic livelihood and laying down such a thick carpet of anti-Palestinian propaganda that American’s continue to support the billions we give Israel each and every year.

Of course Israel has the right to exist. Palestinians readily accept this, yet they insist on the same for them. As Haniyeh said, “We want what Americans enjoy—democratic rights, economic sovereignty and justice.” And until now, and ever since 1948 this has been denied to them by Israel’s defiance of not only International law but Judaism’s historic moral code.

The world does not need my protestations of Israeli intransigence. It can get all it would ever need from Jewish leaders themselves, who see in Israel a state acting ostensibly on their behalf, yet behaving so contrarily to their ancient moral code:

1) “How tragic that in our own time the very state established by Jews in the aftermath of this evil (the Nazi Holocaust) has become a place where racialism, religious discrimination, militarism and injustice prevail; and that Israel itself has become a pariah state within the world community. Events taking place today are all too reminiscent of the pogroms from which our own forefathers fled two and three generations ago -- but this time those in authority are Jews and the victims are Moslems and Christian Palestinians.”[2] [18 prominent Jews endorsed this ad in The Nation, calling for American Jews to “dissociate from Israel.” They expressed concern that "the close identification in the public mind between Israel and Jews -- an equation vigorously fostered by both the Zionist movement and the American Jewish lobby, which has come under its control -- threatens to stigmatize Jews everywhere."

2) Rabbi Reuben Slonim: “Today we Jews are losing [the] humanism and universalism of Judaism, all for the sake of Jewish statehood. We love Israel, and so we should, but we are so blinded by that love that we are willing to pay a prohibitive price for it. We condone acts we would declare unconscionable anywhere else in the world: nuclear weapons are wrong but necessary for Israel; apartheid is wrong, but for the sake of Israel's survival we will tolerate it; human rights are critical, but not for the Palestinians; we have a right to a state but Palestinians do not. Our racism towards Arabs would be regarded as anti-Semitism if others spoke of us in the same light. In all things we need to remember that the Jewish people and the Jewish state are but instruments, not ends in themselves; that what is good for the world is good for the Jews, not what is good for the Jews is good for the world; that the ultimate goal of the Jew, if he be truly Jewish, is to serve humanity.”[3]


3) Reb Binyomin, a prominent writer, strongly criticized actions that occurred during the creation of the Jewish state. In 1953 he wrote: "After the State of Israel was established, I began receiving news about the terrible things perpetrated both during and after the Israeli-Arab war. I did not recognize my own people for the changes which had occurred in their spirit. The acts of brutality were not the worst because those might have been explained somehow . . . Far more terrible was the benevolent attitude towards these acts on the part of public opinion. I had never imagined that such could be the spiritual and moral countenance of Israel. . .”[4]

4) Nathan Chofshi A Jewish settler who witnessed the birth of the Jewish state and did not like what he saw. In a 1959 reply to a rabbi who "parroted" the official version of the Palestinian exodus from Israel, he bore witness to the campaign to expel the Palestinian population: "We came and turned the Arabs into tragic refugees. And still we dare slander and malign them, to besmirch their name; instead of being deeply ashamed of what we did, and trying to undo some of the evil we committed, we justify our terrible acts and even attempt to glorify them.”[5]


5) One of the leading Israeli anti-Zionists today is concentration-camp survivor Israel Shahak, who currently heads the Israeli League for Civil and Human Rights. Shahak believes that "the State of Israel is a racist state: “In this state people are discriminated against, in the most permanent and legal way and in the most important areas of life, only because of their origin.”[6]

6) Israel Shahak again: “I would say the only human response to Holocaust is to try not to be like Nazis, in word or in deed. What brought the Holocaust was the racist attitude towards Jews, the division of German society into Jews and non-Jews on grounds of race. This is exactly the same thing that is happening in Israel.”[7]

7) Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt and other Jewish leaders in a letter to the NY Times: “The public avowals of Begin’s party are no guide whatever to its actual character. Today they speak of freedom, democracy and anti-imperialism, whereas until recently they openly preached the doctrine of the Fascist state. It is in its actions that the terrorist party betrays its real character; from its past actions we can judge what it may be expected to do in the future.”[8]

8) “A shocking example was their behavior in the Arab village of Deir Yassin. This village, off the main roads and surrounded by Jewish lands, had taken no part in the war, and had even fought off Arab bands who wanted to use the village as their base. On April 9 (The New York Times), terrorist bands attacked this peaceful village, which was not a military objective in the fighting, killed most of its inhabitants—240 men, women, and children—and kept a few of them alive to parade as captives through the streets of Jerusalem.Most of the Jewish community was horrified at the deed, and the Jewish Agency sent a telegram of apology to King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan. But the terrorists, far from being ashamed of their act, were proud of this massacre, publicized it widely, and invited all the foreign correspondents present in the country to view the heaped corpses and the general havoc at Deir Yassin.The Deir Yassin incident exemplifies the character and actions of the Freedom Party. Within the Jewish community they have preached an admixture of ultranationalism, religious mysticism, and racial superiority. Like other Fascist parties they have been used to break strikes, and have themselves pressed for the destruction of free trade unions. In their stead they have proposed corporate unions on the Italian Fascist model. During the last years of sporadic anti-British violence, the IZL and Stern groups inaugurated a reign of terror in the Palestine Jewish community. Teachers were beaten up for speaking against them, adults were shot for not letting their children join them. By gangster methods, beatings, window-smashing, and wide-spread robberies, the terrorists intimidated the population and exacted a heavy tribute.”[9]

We should not be surprised at a reality that is so different from that which our government and media present to us. Every reference by Israel, by our government and our media to the Palestinians calls them “terrorists.”

Lost in our media’s constant referral to Palestinians as “terrorists” lays the true nature of Israel, long buried in the dead sea of propaganda. This nature was first described by none other than Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt and other Jewish leaders in a December 4, 1948 letter to the New York Times. They condemned the emergence of what was to become the dominant political force in Israeli politics, the “freedom party,” led by Menachem Begin.

They said Begin’s party was “closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties. It was formed out of the membership and following of the former Irgun Zvai Leumi, a terrorist, right-wing, chauvinist organization.”

Then, a warning that has tragically been ignored ever since: “Before irreparable damage is done by way of financial contributions, public manifestations in Begin’s behalf, and the creation in Palestine of the impression that a large segment of America supports Fascist elements in Israel, the American public must be informed as to the record and objectives of Mr. Begin and his movement.”

Instead of heeding this advice America has given $160 BILLION over the last 50 years to the Israeli war machine. Every failure of peace is automatically blamed on the Palestinians. All events are sold from the perspective of an Israel built upon the corrupt foundation Dr. Einstein and others so courageously warned about.

The problems in the Middle East are primarily of Israel’s own making. To achieve peace they must:

1) END THE OCCUPATION;

2) Follow UN Resolution 242[10], and the more than 70 others that condemn Israeli behavior, its unlawful land grabs and their oppression of the Palestinian “refugees”;

3) Follow The Commission on Human Rights[11] directive to “desist from all forms of violation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and other occupied Arab territories; to respect the bases of international law, the principles of international humanitarian law, its international commitments and the agreements it signed with the Palestine Liberation Organization; to withdraw from the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem as a basic condition for achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.”

Remove the thorn to calm the lion.




Respectfully, Richard F. Dawahare 7/23/06

PS Many of the quotations are from an article by Edward C. Corrigan, Jewish Criticism of Zionism, http://libaware.economads.com/jewcritzion.php

[1] My maternal grandparents were Lebanese (although I remember my grandmother saying she was born in Bethlehem) and my paternal grandparents from Syria. But prior to WWI this was all “Syria” and was controlled by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. My paternal great-grandfather was the Christian mayor of a small Syrian village. The Turks were killing all such non-Muslim leaders and killed him. My great-grandmother hid my grandfather in a well, as the Turks were looking for his oldest son to kill as well. He got out and emigrated to the US as a young teenager, meeting his wife in NY and settling in Jenkins, Ky. My maternal great-grandfather and others were conscripted in the Ottoman army. Many of the next generation came to America to avoid reaching a similar fate.
[2] "Time to Dissociate from Israel," The Nation, February 13, 1988, p. 19.
[3] Reuben Slonim, Grand to be an Orphan (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company, 1983), p. 175.
[4] Hans Kohn, "Zion and the Jewish National Idea," The Menorah Journal, Autumn-Winter 1958, p. 42.
[5] Jewish Newsletter, 9 February 1959, cited in Gilmour, p. 74.
[6] Israel Shahak, "The Racist Nature of Zionism and the Zionistic State of Israel," The Link, Winter 1975-1976, p. 10. For an example of the work of the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights see Report on the Violation of Human Rights in the Territories during the Uprising, 1988 (Tel Aviv: The Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights, 1988).
[7] Charles Glass, "Jews Against Zionism: Israeli Jewish Anti-Zionism," Journal of Palestine Studies, Autumn 1975/ Winter 1976, p. 77.
[8] Isadore Abramowitz, Albert Einstein et al, “New Palestine Party,” New York Times, Dec. 4, 1948; ProQuest Historical newspapers the New York Times (1851-2003) pg. 12.
[9] Albert Einstein, et al ibid.
[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Security_Council_Resolution_242
[11] http://www.hri.ca/fortherecord2001/vol3/israelchr.htm

Who’s a Terrorist in the Middle East?

This site encompasses my personal philosophy of peace, so I reject forceful, violent means such as Hezbollah or Hamas use as well as the thorn inducing their actions, the violent conflict-initiating means Israel used to take land belonging to the Palestinians.

Yet this site also stands for truth, as best as we can define this often nebulous term. So it is fair and just to ask: just who is a terrorist, especially in the Middle East? If one honestly addresses the roots of the conflict in the Middle East one will find “terrorism” all around, starting with Israeli Zionists. In 1948 their terroristic “Freedom Party” (Tnuat Haherut) led by Menachem Begin, massacred the Arab village, Deir Yassin. Such terrorism continues this week with Israel’s horrid invasion in Lebanon, not made any less illegal by calling it a defensive response to Hezbollah.

Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt et al in a letter to the NY Times (see below) accurately described the terrorist nature of the violent machine that was to control Israel. They said it was “a political party closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties.”

Those bands of Zionists massacred many defenseless Palestinian villages, which for hundreds of years had lived under Ottoman rule, and for at least 1500 of years before were home to native Arabs AND Jews (though a much smaller percentage). 750,000 to a million of the Arabs, the Palestinians, fled their homes at the gunpoint of Israeli terrorist guns.

That dislocation, that injustice, that crime against humanity is the root cause for all the problems in the Israeli/Palestinian/Hezbollah/Hamas/Syria conflict today. (With Iran, there is the additional layer of American subversion of internal politics for control of oil).

The further loss of territory in 1967, and later still, the many strategic Palestinian lands taken from them by the Israeli settlers—ALL illegal under numerous UN regulations—further entrench and strengthen those roots of discord.

Remove the thorn and the lion stops roaring. At the least: Israel--remove all illegal settlements, follow all UN resolutions, and there will be no Hamas or Hezbollah.

I personally know Palestinians chased by gunpoint from their homes. Even they—with this emotional experience fresh in their mind—accept the right of Israel to exist. They do not support the violent means, what we call the “terrorism” of those trying to right the wrong. Yet they yearn for justice, for re-compense. Others want their land back taken since 1967 or 1980 or 1990 or 2000.

Without at least this level of justice, forget it. There will be much worse catastrophes there, and because of that, all over the world.

Then it won’t matter whom you call “terrorist.”

PS Now we know why Israel wants nukes and all the military might they have. It’s the same reason Lebanon needs it (to prevent such Israeli monstrosities as occurred this week and in the 1980’s). It’s why Iran and Syria want it. Why should one country have it and not another? Oh, because they are countries that support “terrorists” namely, the unorthodox defenders of a cause that is just—the reclamation of illegally taken lands by Israel with the support of the United States. Might makes right when it’s wearing the right colors, and when there’s so much more of it than on the side that opposes it.

PPS A logical retort from the “other side” to a question in a recent Louisville Courier-Journal editorial Terrorist provocation, “Those who have clucked about a "disproportionate" Israeli response might ask themselves what government anywhere would accept such murderous provocations without delivering a powerful response” would be “what group of people could remain passively submissive to the initiators of murderous provocations?”

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1948 letter of protest against Israeli 'fascists', 'terrorists'

A Letter To The EditorHANNAH ARENDT, ALBERT EINSTEIN, et alThe New York Times, 2 December 1948Among the most disturbing political phenomena of our times is the emergence in the newly created state of Israel of the “Freedom Party” (Tnuat Haherut), a political party closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties. It was formed out of the membership and following of the former Irgun Zvai Leumi, a terrorist, right-wing, chauvinist organization in Palestine. The current visit of Menachem Begin, leader of this party, to the United States is obviously calculated to give the impression of American support for his party in the coming Israeli elections, and to cement political ties with conservative Zionist elements in the United States. Several Americans of national repute have lent their names to welcome his visit.It is inconceivable that those who oppose fascism throughout the world, if correctly informed as to Mr. Begin’s political record and perspectives, could add their names and support to the movement he represents. Before irreparable damage is done by way of financial contributions, public manifestations in Begin’s behalf, and the creation in Palestine of the impression that a large segment of America supports Fascist elements in Israel, the American public must be informed as to the record and objectives of Mr. Begin and his movement.The public avowals of Begin’s party are no guide whatever to its actual character. Today they speak of freedom, democracy and anti-imperialism, whereas until recently they openly preached the doctrine of the Fascist state. It is in its actions that the terrorist party betrays its real character; from its past actions we can judge what it may be expected to do in the future.Attack on Arab VillageA shocking example was their behavior in the Arab village of Deir Yassin. This village, off the main roads and surrounded by Jewish lands, had taken no part in the war, and had even fought off Arab bands who wanted to use the village as their base. On April 9 (The New York Times), terrorist bands attacked this peaceful village, which was not a military objective in the fighting, killed most of its inhabitants—240 men, women, and children—and kept a few of them alive to parade as captives through the streets of Jerusalem.Most of the Jewish community was horrified at the deed, and the Jewish Agency sent a telegram of apology to King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan. But the terrorists, far from being ashamed of their act, were proud of this massacre, publicized it widely, and invited all the foreign correspondents present in the country to view the heaped corpses and the general havoc at Deir Yassin.The Deir Yassin incident exemplifies the character and actions of the Freedom Party. Within the Jewish community they have preached an admixture of ultranationalism, religious mysticism, and racial superiority. Like other Fascist parties they have been used to break strikes, and have themselves pressed for the destruction of free trade unions. In their stead they have proposed corporate unions on the Italian Fascist model. During the last years of sporadic anti-British violence, the IZL and Stern groups inaugurated a reign of terror in the Palestine Jewish community. Teachers were beaten up for speaking against them, adults were shot for not letting their children join them. By gangster methods, beatings, window-smashing, and wide-spread robberies, the terrorists intimidated the population and exacted a heavy tribute.The people of the Freedom Party have had no part in the constructive achievements in Palestine. They have reclaimed no land, built no settlements, and only detracted from the Jewish defense activity. Their much-publicized immigration endeavors were minute, and devoted mainly to bringing in Fascist compatriots.Discrepancies SeenThe discrepancies between the bold claims now being made by Begin and his party, and their record of past performance in Palestine bear the imprint of no ordinary political party. This is the unmistakable stamp of a Fascist party for whom terrorism (against Jews, Arabs, and British alike), and misrepresentation are means, and a “Leader State” is the goal.In the light of the foregoing considerations, it is imperative that the truth about Mr. Begin and his movement be made known in this country. It is all the more tragic that the top leadership of American Zionism has refused to campaign against Begin’s efforts, or even to expose to its own constituents the dangers to Israel from support to Begin.The undersigned therefore take this means of publicly presenting a few salient facts concerning Begin and his party; and of urging all concerned not to support this latest manifestation of fascism.[signed]Isidore Abramowitz, Hannah Arendt, Abraham Brick, Rabbi Jessurun Cardozo, Albert Einstein, Herman Eisen, M.D., Hayim Fineman, M. Gallen, M.D., H.H. Harris, Zelig S. Harris, Sidney Hook, Fred Karush, Bruria Kaufman, Irma L. Lindheim, Nachman Maisel, Seymour Melman, Myer D. Mendelson, M.D., Harry M. Oslinsky, Samuel Pitlick, Fritz Rohrlich, Louis P. Rocker, Ruth Sagis, Itzhak Sankowsky, I.J. Shoenberg, Samuel Shuman, M. Singer, Irma Wolfe, Stefan Wolfe.—New York, Dec. 2, 1948

“Heil Schicklgruber!”? Depressingly, No

The big black swastika beckoned, like a satanic siren willing me to it. I’ve had William Shirer’s epic “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” for some years, but by happenstance ran across the thick 1000+-page tome as I was leaving to visit an ailing brother in Florida.

I must’ve read and heard about Hitler, the Nazi’s, the Holocaust, WWI, the Versailles Treaty, Mein Kampf, WWII ,etc., etc., 3500 times*. Actually thought I knew most of the origins of how such an evil monstrosity as Hitler could come to power. Yet such is the improbable magnitude of Hitler’s rise, his spell on a nation, and the horrors that followed, that I can almost never get enough of reading about, trying to understand the real truth about, how this came to be.

So I lugged the thick book on the flights to Ft. Lauderdale and delved into it.

Mr. Shirer digs deep, to Hitler’s grandparents, to his upbringing with a domineering civil servant father who pooh poohed Hitler’s interest in art, his bohemian poverty in Vienna as a young teen, his failure to get into the Art Academy, living with the outcasts, reading, and filling his mind with the anti-Semitic lies (as well as books of all kind) that he would take for truth as the cause of the poverty, the division of the Germanic peoples-- his brethren of superior Aryan blood--with divine right to rule, and to rule with the Nietzschian iron fist, then his joining the German Army in WWI, his meritorious service until their surrender, which surrender Hitler, the industrial corporate and military elite ordered then falsely blamed on the “November Criminals,” the combination of the forward thinking political leaders who sought a new democratic German Republic, and who were back-stabbed by the military leaders, who wanted to run the show along with the old monarchy and industrial elite.

He then follows Hitler’s accidental arrival at the German Worker’s Party meeting where about 17 showed up, this the future Nazi party, which a shrewd, calculating and hard working Hitler would, over the next 10 years, forge into the beast it would become. He did it scientifically, learning from past failures, that any new political movement must get the approval of traditional power centers, like the military, the monarchy, the industrial elite, in order to get the masses to buy in. He learned from the failed Beer Hall Putsch, that force would not work, that he must succeed through the Constitutional way—the VOTE. He learned the psychology of controlling the masses, of propaganda, and he was tenacious in sticking with his vision.

While there were many twists and turns that would have prevented Hitler’s ascent, there are two that stick out:

1) His father, Alois, was an illegitimate child who for his first 39 years bore his mother’s name, SCHICKLGRUBER. While the probable father, Johann Hiedler (later changed to Hitler), married the mother 5 years after Alois was born, he never legitimized him. After the mother (Hitler’s grandmother, Anna) died Johann disappeared for 30 years. Then, at 84, he resurfaced to testify before a notary in the presence of three witnesses that he was the father of Alois Schicklgruber, probably to help him get a share of an uncle’s inheritance. The parish priest scratched out Alois Schicklgruber and put in Alois Hitler, the father who 13 years later sired Adolf…Hitler, not Schiklgruber.

We must understand, as Shirer says just how important this last minute name change was to history. “There may not be much or anything in a name, but I have heard Germans speculate whether Hitler could have become the master of Germany had he been known to the world as Schicklgruber. It has a slightly comic sound as it rolls off the tongue of a South German… 'Heil Schicklgruber!’? It is a little difficult to imagine.”

2) The Great Depression. By the late 1920’s the new Democracy in Germany was finally starting to work. Inflation and the Versailles Treaty dictates were both easing, people started working, saving and living well. Then, the Great Depression hit and wiped it all out. Like everywhere else, but probably even worse in Germany because of its debts, the economy tanked. This alone provided the opportunity for Hitler and his Nazis to ply with propaganda upon a susceptible, suffering people their destiny to rule as a superior German race, and blame the current democratic republic, the Jews and internationalism (as opposed to strident German First and ONLY nationalism) as the scapegoats preventing their rise.

And I’m only 100 pages through.

*I actually worked this out: from the time I first heard of him, oh about 12 years old, then studied in earnest at 16-17, I figure I must have thought, read, mused, or analyzed this situation AT LEAST twice a week. I am now 51, 51-17=34, 34 X 52 x 2 = 3536. Is this manic on my part? May be, yet all that transpired is still so hard to believe…even harder that something equivalent could ever occur again—that it more than intrigues me, it re-awakens that old adage: humanity that does not learn from history is doomed to repeat it.

Another Political OUTRAGE!

10 kids die DAILY from GUNS yet 188 Republicans and 42 Democrats killed a trigger lock mandate that would save them. Our lawmakers have once again sold out to the special interests that fund this bribery. That is, they vote the way the interest group wants to the exclusion* of the greater public interest (in this case FOR the gun lobby and AGAINST innocent children) and thereby get money and power in return.

[*This is the key part of the equation that makes such vote-peddling rise to the “bribery” level. There are undoubtedly examples where the public interest position dovetails with the moneyed one, but this is clearly not one of them].

Sure both parties are guilty; but for the past 25 years it’s been pretty much a Republican show, and they have received the lion’s share of the political grease, perhaps 75% to 25% in keeping with the famous Enron donation percentage. But why quibble, this blatant abuse is a key reason that so many Americans: 1) distrust our political system, b) hold those running it in such low esteem and c) refuse to vote in elections that they view as an exercise in futility.

Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, the Colorado Republican who made this proposal, said that locks on weapons don’t prevent the slaughter of children, they only make "personal protection more costly." In a piece of convoluted logic that is totally ignore the facts, she continued, "Many things around the home are dangerous when used without proper instructions or supervision. But it is not the government's job or responsibility to mandate every conceivable protective mechanism imaginable."

So tamper-proof aspirin bottles are well within government’s rightful sphere of consumer protection, but GUNS are not?!

If this wolves-guarding-the-henhouse system of ours is “democracy” then why kill so many Americans and Iraqis to force same upon them?

Rfd 7/10/06

PS This is NOT a gun-banning argument. I would stand by the NRA should a real threat materialize to ban guns. But reasonable restrictions, safety measures, etc. that better protect the public are just and right. They are not the “give ‘em an inch they’ll take a mile” step to gun elimination.

How Horses Schtup

So Phil, what does the “LF” mean by the $60,000?” I asked. “That means you must pay the money when the mare (the female horse) has a foal (a baby horse) and it stands on its legs.” Phil (not his real name) was showing me the horse farm’s brochure, which was top drawer, high-glossed perfection, the kind where you can see you fingerprints. Beautiful Bluegrass sunsets, white fences and…horses. Spectacular!

I began to wonder about this horse breeding business in a way I never really thought of before—the mechanics of how they get the stallions to “perform” so many times. (Phil said the studs went at it practically non-stop).

“Hmm, so do they have to ‘stimulate’ the stallions?”

“No, they’re pretty much ready.”

“Well, is there much of a courtship, I mean, is the female just as ready to, uh, copulate?”

“First we put a ‘teaser’ in there with a mare to see if she’s ready to mate.”
“A teaser?”

“Yeah, we bring another male in the breeding barn and see if the mare is receptive.”

“And then you take the ‘teaser’ horse out and bring the stallion in?”

“Right.”

“Hmmm, sounds cruel to the teaser horse. I mean, you get him all hot and bothered and then just yank him out. Do you get him a…substitute mare, a concubine, some kind of magazine at least?”

“Nah, they just go back to the field. Ernie is my favorite; he’s been at it a long time. He’s real cool, knows what to expect.”

“Okay, when you bring the stallion in to do his thing what’s that like?”

“Well, we have the barn, with padded walls, and put the mare and stallion in there together.”

“So-o-o-o, how long does it take for the parties to, uh, what, make love? Mount? Do it? Is there any foreplay, any romance? Do you have posters, soft music, hay-scented fragrances or anything to help get them in the mood?”

“Nah, it’s pretty much horse-rape, the stud just goes after her. Sometimes she’s easy, sometimes not. It’s over pretty quick.”

And that’s how future Derby winners are made, as well as the thousands more that just eat grass and look good in the fields and farms of our beloved Bluegrass.

Rfd 7/8/06

Devaluing America On the Third of July

It’s a real shame that on the eve of the Fourth of July, wherein we celebrate our nation’s highest ideals, our top political leaders attack them. Yesterday, Senators Mitch McConnell, John McCain and Lindsay Graham attacked the Supreme Court for insisting that our government follow not only its own laws (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), but also those of a binding legal treaty to which we have long been a signatory, the Geneva Accords.

Instead these Senators, along with President Bush, would have us try our military prisoners in secret courts, unilaterally developed by the president, which deny even the smallest amount of due process. It is so bad, so unfair that even the military lawyers object to the rank injustice. The accused have no right to be present for the trial or to see all the evidence against them. It is so bad that not a single case has been tried.

As Justice Stephen G. Breyer said, "Where, as here, no emergency prevents consultation with Congress, judicial insistence upon that consultation does not weaken our Nation's ability to deal with danger. To the contrary, that insistence strengthens the Nation's ability to determine -- through democratic means -- how best to do so.”

McConnell is concerned that American servicemen could potentially be accused of war crimes. But that is what treaties are all about. We therefore do unto others what we want, and through the treaties expect, in return. What McConnell demands violates fundamental fairness as well as national and international law, and as such is truly contrary to the spirit of the American ideals bequeathed by our forefathers.

And if you accept McCain’s argument that the decision “is somewhat of a departure…of people who are stateless terrorists” then you reject the very notion that we are in a war at all, for a state of war demands a concrete declaration against a defined other state. He, and Bush, cannot have it both ways.

Either we are at war, which Bush has declared since 9/11, wherein all prisoners are due the protections of our own law, the UCMJ, and the Geneva Accords, or we are not at war, and those prisoners are treated instead as common criminals in international courts of law.

It is anti-American to denigrate our inherent values and diminish our system of justice. Bush was wrong to have done so all this time. That is what the Supreme Court has said. Yet our leading Senators persist in making America less than America.

This, on the eve of the Fourth.

Rfd 7.4.06

A Response to a letter criticizing Senator Mitch McConnell on his vote against the anti-flag burning amendment.

With all respect I must risk your wrath as I know how you feel, but I must be truthful. This is the ONE, and about the only issue, upon which I agree with Senator McConnell. Think about it: the flag stands for the premise of FREEDOM, even to burn it to express one's displeasure with the government, the state or whatever one associates with the flag.

Is it a contemptible exercise? YES!! Is it dis-respectful? YES!! Does it fulfill ANY of Rotary's Four Way tests? NO!

Yet, that is what the flag stands for--the freedom to express an opinion in such distasteful means. And you know what--there are hardly ANY incidents of flag burning anyway---zilch, none. This issue is repeatedly brought forth by politicians seeking to rile the emotionalism of voters they hope will vote for them. There simply IS no problem of flag burning and even if there were, that would mean there are some serious problems in the country that must be addressed. Better to allow such venting than to squelch free speech, driving it underground to fester and ferment.

Another factor--an especially vital one to those who trumpet the Ten Commandments--is that to seek this kind of protection for a piece of cloth, the FLAG, is to IDOLIZE that object, thus VIOLATING THE SECOND COMMANDMENT..."Make unto thee no graven image..."

Rather than skewer McConnell look at the motives of those pushing this red herring amendment non-issue.

Sincerely, Richard

ps. I can and do criticize McConnell on his many votes against the greater public interest and FOR private/corporate greed. He represents much of what is wrong with our political system and with the ever increasing concentration of power and wealth in the hands of the few, at the expense of the many.

----- Original Message -----

Subway Notes

I take the subway whenever I want to get around NYC, and a Times to read while blending with my fellow riders. These news items infuriated me:

1) Estate Tax Repeal and Refusal to consider Raising the Minimum wage—The Republicans added to the repeal bill yet another tax break, this time to the timber industry, in order to sway 4 Democratic Senators to vote for the whole package. I’ll be clear: THE ESTATE TAX IS AN ESSENTIAL Democracy-protecting vehicle. It does more than raise money—it prevents the ever-accumulating massed wealth in the hands of the few, the aristocracy who controls the political process.


And that is EXACTLY what we’ve been seeing with the politicians in power the last 10 years. The influence peddling, the industry-writing-the laws and policies (Enron et al writing energy policy, the credit industry writing the Bankruptcy “reform” Act e.g.), the no-bid contracts, the bribes and giveaways to the well-connected this is ALL part of the CONCENTRATION OF WEALTH and power to the EXTREME DETRIMENT of our Republic.

America was founded on the ideal of democracy and equality—equality of opportunity, as well as of the protection of rights and laws. And the founders structured our system to prevent the hereditary aristocracy and vast inequalities of wealth of the European kingmakers and king-keepers from which they came. The Estate Tax is a check on that corruptive power, and its dilution is directly contributing to the corruption in Washington today. It is exactly as Franklin Roosevelt said, “Great accumulations of wealth cannot be justified on the basis of personal and family security … Such inherited economic power is as inconsistent with the ideals of this generation as inherited political power was inconsistent with the ideals of the generation which established our government.”

Any so-called free market capitalist should understand that no taxpayer is an island. It is ONLY through an intricate network of all citizens, from the laborer, the burger-flipper, as well as the professionals and the force of law that enable ANYBODY to make whatever fortune they do make

Teddy Roosevelt, the second to last truly great Republican President (Eisenhower was the last, NOT Reagan) said: “The man of great wealth owes a particular obligation to the State because he derives special advantages from the mere existence of government.” Roosevelt recognized that wealthy citizens were aided in their endeavors by government protection of wealth and property rights. And at NO TIME SINCE THE GILDED AGE has that been more true than today!

Yes, the exemption should have been increased—and it has been. An honest discussion can help determine the proper exemption amounts and the rates of taxation above that exemption. But the lies—DAMNED LIES—of the pro-repeal camp is sickening. Let them point to even ONE family farm lost from paying the tax. THEY CAN’T!! The tax only affected 2% of estates to begin with. And with reforms, those unfairly hit—a miniscule number—can be rescued without a wholesale elimination.

Hastert and company followed this gift to the rich by preventing a floor discussion on a much overdue raise in the minimum wage. When their shouts of “CLASS WAR!” begin in the next election cycle remember--THEY started it.



2) Bush Compares Iraq War to Hungary’s Uprising. That is the problem with America in a nutshell: the PRESIDENT, who theoretically represents the top of our society, makes such an UNEDUCATED, horribly flawed analogy betraying a complete lack of understanding of history, OR WORSE, intentionally lies about it to further compound his earlier lies that set about our war of conquest and control of Iraq and its oil fields.

In fact, Hungary’s uprising was only one of many in its thousand-year history against all its occupiers (the Mongols, the Turks, the Nazis) and monarchs (the Hapsburgs). In fact the Soviets “liberated” Hungary from the fascists after WWII. Of course the Hungarians wanted out from under Stalin’s cruel heel, and although their 1956 revolution failed it did compel their puppet leader to institute reforms—living standards raised and it remained in the Soviet sphere until Gorbachev dismantled the system in 1990.

In Iraq, if anything it is we, the USA, that is playing the role that the USSR did in Hungary and the Iraqis want nothing more than to be rid of us and our control. In Hungary a citizenry who for hundreds of years were fighting to rid the yoke of submission once again did so under Stalin. In Iraq, WE started the maelstrom, NOT THE IRAQI CITIZENS!!

But, hey, it’s a great sound bite…and with today’s Foxification of our corporate media that’s ALL that counts.

By time I climbed the stairs out of the subway into the blazing sun, I had definitely seen the light. Thanks to God.

rfd

FORE-gotten: An Ode to the Woods

“You have quick hands, you must be a golfer,” the gentleman told me as my finger hit the ‘door open’ button just as the elevator was closing in on him.

“Nah, don’t play much…but I used to love it!” I then recalled those days of pine and glory. I’d light up an Antonio and Cleopatra and lay it on nature’s scalp before swinging away. (I got a special thrill from this, I guess because the cigar was a pure substance of the ground and this sort of connected me to mother earth as well—I GUESS). Then I’d look at those fairways that just begged for a down-the-middle drive and the tall trees and sand traps that inevitably ended up with it.

Yet the game for me was not about the score as I learned early on that golf was not my destiny. Instead, the game was about the sights, the sounds, the feel, even the smells. Who can’t appreciate GOLF AROMAS: fertilizer, fresh cut grass and clubhouse chips, dogs, nuts and nabs! And I couldn’t wait to prance across those cushy soft greens, which were noticeably harder in seasons of draught.

But the most satisfying of all—even better than sinking a long putt—was the sound of that perfect drive off my Ben Hogan wood. Whoosh…THWAP! and about one drive out of twenty the ball’d be where I always looked (I always thought positive): high, down the middle and respectably long. There was nothing that felt as good as a solid wood-on-ball strike… well, I do exaggerate here, there are LOTS of things that are better than that, but it was sweet, as you who golf know.

As a boy I occasionally went with my dad and his foursome. I loved to look at those duck-headed clubs, the shiny shades of wood kept in colorful covers of all varieties. I knew right then and there that one rite of manhood, other than wearing boxer shorts and pleated pants, would be the day I could take a controlled swing with that NUMBER ONE WOOD. Not the 3 or 4 woods, which were fun to swing because they were still woods, yet so much lighter. Nah, they were just tricycles. The big test was the DRIVER!

So it surprised me to learn that you can’t even FIND a wood today—they’re all big ol’ metal heads now. Space-aged titanium and alloys and grotesquely large heads that give golfers a larger sweet spot. Seems golfers are not traditionalists, they just really want the best chance of having the longest, and most accurate drives.

The woods have gone the way of the bat, replaced by today’s technology that either enhances performance or economy. Free markets apply to golf so there are no laws against this kind of progress, nor should there be. Yet like other areas of life where personal values check behavior and choice a collective desire to cherish tradition could bring back the wood.

I prefer to honor the THWAP! of tradition, so I will the wood. Alas, most will ping away and go for the win.

-------------------------------------------------

*ASTERISK*

Today’s athletic feats, be they home run records, field goals or sprints—impressive as they are—must mostly be asterisked for if it isn’t space-age equipment changes, then it’s one of many evolutionary advantages today’s athletes enjoy vis-à-vis yesterday’s legends. These include vastly higher nutritional opportunities, a greater public placement of value (even national pride), hype and DOLLARS on athleticism, as well as a quantum jump in equipment options and technology.

Pooped and Pooped upon...

I’m tired—pooped (no sleep last night as an old fraternity brother was in for a funeral then a 6 am flight to NY, followed by a sultry pavement pounding day, ending with a Vegan eatery’s candlelit reading of a NY Times editorial, The Call of the Gun Lobby, that prods this output) —but simply MUST use whatever coherence I yet have to share this latest in a long, long line of Republican Congressional travesties (okay Republican friends, I see I’ve already lost you with that, but please read on).

With Bush railing against terrorists, with “national security his constant credo, the Republican-led House is set to make POLICE OFFICERS FELONS for sharing data on ILLICET GUN DEALERS all because of the GUN LOBBY, its influence, its MONEY. Additionally, since Bush has taken office he has hidden vital information about illegal gun trafficking—classifying it as a “state secret”—thus “putting the privacy of unscrupulous gun dealers over the safety of the public.” NY Time editorial http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/19/opinion/19mon1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin.

This echoes the UNBELIEVABLE post 9/11 sell-out that protected the ability of terrorists and other criminals to get guns by forbidding the sharing of gun purchase records between law enforcement agencies, then mandating the destruction of all such purchase. This severely undercuts Bush warnings of terrorism for how serious can that be if the same wolf-cryers are so cavalier about laws that are aimed at catching them……………………………………………………………………………………………………….,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the terrorists……..slee-e-e-p, s-le-e-ep, YAWN, sl-e-e-e-e-e-e-p-pp…………y…….//,’;;;/..

NO! No, NO SLEEP---THAT IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING-- WE have been doing!! WE ARE ALL ASLEEP. We go about our affairs, kid’s softball games, club golf foursomes, cookouts, business trips, backyard burgers, weddings, reunions, x-boxes, gardening, etc. etc. either unaware of the perverse sell out of our common interests to power and influence, all the illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll (that is my fingers laying on the l key as I doz-z-z-e off).

Just think of their brazenness, that if they are so openly on the take by making policemen FELONS FOR DOING THEIR JOB PROTECTING US!!!!!!, how much more are they selling us out on matters much further under the radar screen????

Republican friends—do me a favor—don’t vote Democratic, for you think I am just slamming the GOP. Well…. I AM, and have been slamming TODAY’S utterly corrupt Republican Party which has turned utterly Jekyllian from the honor of Ike, even, GASP, Nixon and the fine Gerry Ford.

NO, NO, NO, Democrats have NOT acted against the greater public interest to anywhere NEAR the same degree or on as many fronts as these Republicans. Some of you say “I agree that these guys are bad, but where is a Democrat I can truly trust to do better?” …………….Oh, the heck with it, good knight…er night. I’ve said ljpijkllll what I wanted t ol and what difference dossss ………..

Where are the Lions?

I recall a youthful Sunday in church when this warning from Jesus totally baffled me: “you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” (MT 24:9, LK 21:17).

Huh?! Everybody was a Christian. In fact, it seemed to me to be just the opposite, if you weren’t a Christian, you were more likely to be scorned. I simply could not conceive of being in a threatened position by being a Christian. [However, years later I DID feel so threatened by being a follower of Jesus, which is NOT necessarily the same as being “Christian.” A subsequent essay will detail this experience].

Ever since, I had often wondered just how that kind of persecution would be and what turn of events would have to occur before we “Christians” would experience what Jesus was talking about. Would the butcher, the baker or burger maker suddenly scowl as a believer walked by? Would the cop on the beat or political powers that be clamp down on us a la Nazi Germany and the Jews?

The early Christians in Rome came to mind. Visions of lions devouring our faithful-unto-death bodies, releasing our souls to eternity, consumed me, even though I supposed the Christian-riddin’ death machine would more probably match the technology of the times. In America, and most of the world, cries of persecution are ludicrously false.

Yet hearing the shouts of many Christians today, one would think Christianity is under a severe state of siege. Cackles from the highest tabernacles cry “persecution!!” Behind every “Happy Holidays,” every Constitutionalist separator of church and state, every proponent of equal treatment for all people under the law lurks the lion of Christian persecution.

These pretensions are a total distortion of Jesus’ teachings and they demean the very real persecutions of the early Christians. In fact they are nothing more than a part of the plan to instill Christianity as the official state religion, wrongly entwining it within our government.

Hmmm, you might ask—“What’s wrong with having God direct our affairs, we even print our money with ‘In God We Trust’?” Here is the disconnect: First, God, as perceived by the deists who founded our country, and the Universal Moralists today, is truly universal in nature, as such God is God as God of all—Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Catholic, Jew, Protestant, Zoroastrian, even agnostic and atheist.

Second, the Christian crusade to revolutionize America is totally against the teachings, principles and life of Jesus himself, the namesake and central figure upon which Christianity supposedly exists!

Jesus would never “Lord” himself over anybody. He never sought to create a political order, a government or nation. Indeed Jesus said: “MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." John 18:36.

On the contrary, today’s evangelicals have become a political monolith, the surging wind beneath the Republican Party and part of the GOP’s very strategy for dominance. Their leadership uses lies, deceit, raw power and military might, packaging Manifest Destiny and end-times prophecy to energize and enthuse its Evangelical base.

Why do the “Left Behind” Christians fail to see the vast difference between their actions and Jesus’ teachings? Jesus himself said that “…I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." John 18:37. And that truth is nowhere more clear than in his Sermon on the Mount (MT 5:3-10), the TRUTH that God blesses those who put their faith in God, not man-made weaponry or ideologies, that God blesses the mournful, the gentle and lowly, those hungering for justice and work for peace, those who are merciful and whose hearts are pure, and finally God blesses those persecuted—TRULY persecuted—for righteousness sake. To all these will come God’s Kingdom.

Instead, the current leadership preaches division, fear and hatred. They constantly stoke the fires of the “Clash of Civilizations” between Islam and Christianity—a lie, a damned lie, if there ever was one. They preach fear and hatred of anything that varies with their own version of the truth, be it evolution, stem-cell research, animal rights, or equal human rights.

It is one thing to preach the Gospel (the TRUTH) to all nations as Jesus directed, but quite another to force upon any nation, including our own, a man-made religious doctrine about how to interpret, teach and live by that truth. Otherwise we end up with lies, damned lies, and falsities that discard truth, that throw science in the trash and exalts “biblical inerrancy.”

Subsequent essays will show that much of the Bible is allegorical as well as contextual, but suffice it to say that the mentality that IS NOW CONTROLLING our nation’s government is the same that denounced Galileo for saying that the universe did not revolve around the earth, but that the earth revolved around the sun.

Today, the lion devours truth, and it often wears a Christian mantle.

Rfd 6/18/06

POSTSCRIPT:

Kevin Phillip’s latest book, American Theocracy, foretells the disaster facing America should we fail to check the ruinous confluence of religious fanaticism, unprecedented national debt and the inevitable decline of oil. Phillips, a former REPUBLICAN strategist and Nixon Administration member, is a stickler for the lessons of history, and he compares the nearly exact scenarios that faced—and brought down—both the Dutch and the English in centuries past.