Gaza

As the propaganda machine does it's usual song and dance, I can only hope people are turning to the Internet for better information.

As a self-employed person (how else could I get away with talking as I do?), time is my great enemy.

I am trying, though, to spend at least some time reading and posting links to the more informative articles I come across.

Here's two articles you may find interesting, neither of which will see the light of day in America's information supply:

Eric Margolis Israel's 'Fait Accompli' in Gaza

Bringing the Arab-Israeli War Home

In my lifetime, the center of which was consumed by the supremely tragic war in Vietnam, I have never, ever felt this badly for - and about - America.

What we have allowed to happen in the Middle East, and what we paid for with our tax dollars, isn't going to yield any more shots across the bow. We are accomplices and financiers of actions in the Middle East that save secured the rage of too many people. That rage and sense of injustice has cast a fog over our country. Unless we do something about it, it's only a matter of time before really bad things happen to us for what's been done in our name.

There are two key ingredients to the American problem: government and our information supply.

The solution to the government problem has been right in front of us all along: campaign finance reform. Make it so everyone in this country has 1 vote and can't buy others. It can be done because nobody is in that election booth with us when we decide. The problem is getting the best people onto the ballot in the first place. This can be done using the Internet and voting system even a run-of-the-mill programmer can write.

We must pay our elected representatives very well, but they must agree on this limit on their income, and no tricks. That is, they must commit their career to public service, and we will pay them well for it, so the best people will apply. Even if we have to pay Congresspeople a half-million a year each, that's peanuts to the robbery that's been administered by the ruling class now in charge.

One such election and America's face will change from the ugly to beautiful. Inside America, the average person isn't like our rulers. We're not getting together to say this because we have no means to, so we think "it must be just me", shake our head and go on about our day. It's not just you, or I, it's many millions of us who subscribe to those most basic sense of Christian morality - and not the spun and distorted views all over the TV screen.

For our information supply: we've got the Internet. What's missing is the consumption by the Internet of the TV screen. Simple technical feat, and then we'd have millions of channels to choose from. But don't worry, there will be a new breed of editors to help you navigate the maze. More is good, less is bad. Media consolidation has left us today with the worst system we could possibly imagine: it is nothing less then a propaganda machine.

Somewhere here I want to say these things, because they are very much on my mind today.

Arrogance, belligerence, war, those horrible weapons and the spirit of hatred they produce are ugly.

Family, friends, love, trust, music, justice, building things, conserving our environment, real freedom, real democracy and good information are beautiful.

We want to look up and contemplate the stars, not down into a sinkhole of despair. We are witnessing, as we speak, our own slide into that sinkhole, with consequences well beyond history's worst.

We can do nothing, as we've basically done. We can stay the course and keep paying with the blood of our children and our treasure. Or we can join in peaceful protest so loud that it cannot be ignored. Try to image a hundred million people feeling as I do right now - and then saying so? We can't know what would happen because it's never happened before, but it can't be any worse then the plight we're in right now!!

We've got to realize that the attack of 9/11 was a response to arrogant and belligerent behavior in the Middle East, and that behavior that was supported and abetted by you and I. Just suppose 9/11 was really just a shot across the bow, a warning of what could happen? When I see them again, I'll post some links to articles by people who have seriously studied the status of those many thousands of wmds out there.

The Muslim sense of justice has been deeply violated by American actions and, even more importantly, attitudes. Now, with the invasion of Gaza, the flames under that kettle are turned up some notches. We know what a handful of determined people can do. What if even a small percentage of 1.3 BILLION Muslims explode on us?

I think that's exactly what will happen unless you, I and a hundred million other people speak up, declare ENOUGH, replace every seat in Washington with fairly elected representatives of the American people, and put the neocon gang on trail in the World Court for what they've done.


Bill