united states

Chris Knight's avatar

Here is a rendering based on various busts and statues of the mad Roman emperor Nero…

And here is George W. Bush during his speech yesterday…

“In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior.“

— Daniel chapter 8, verses 23-25

One of my best friends is fond of saying that “the eyes are the window of the soul”. Folks, I see that picture of Bush, and there’s only a pitch-black abyss staring back. No wonder he doesn’t care how many people die in this war of his....

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Chris Knight's avatar

Americans may soon be required to have a passport to board a domestic flight. Or… get this… to picnic in a national park.

Yup, you may soon have to possess a passport the next time you want to fly off for a visit to Aunt Tilly in Akron, or take the family to vacation in Yellowstone.

How in the world is this different from “Your papers, please…” in the Soviet Union?

How, indeed?

Will people keep ignoring what is happening, now so obviously right before our eyes? Will the people of this country ever take off the rose-colored glasses and stop denying what is going on?

I’ve said it before, will say it again: America has suffered more grievous damage during George W. Bush’s time as President than she ever has throughout her entire long history. And I don’t know if we’ll ever recover from it all adequately enough....

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Stu Bykofsky, a writer with the Philadephia Daily News, is seriously suggesting that the best way to “save” America is to have another attack like 9/11.

Two months ago, a Republican party official also said that America needs to be attacked again so that people would appreciate President Bush.

If “saving” America means not only anticipating, but openly hoping for the deaths of innocent people, then America does not deserve to survive at all.

I mean that.

Here is the biggest problem that I have with these self-styled “neoconservatives”: they believe that America’s strength is supposed to be in material wealth and military might. They don’t give a damn about the value of individual life. How else can they sincerely consider it to be “good news” when it’s reported that the death toll of American military is the lowest in several months… and not bother to ask themselves if even ...

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Of all the writers on the ‘net that I’ve made a habit of regularly reading – and there aren’t that many, truth be known – few have held my admiration longer than has Norman Liebmann, AKA “Firehat”. Liebmann is the guy who created the classic television series The Munsters, among other things. And he’s always had a rapier-like wit that he’ll turn loose on anything deserving of derision. Well, today he tears into George W. Bush, with a wrath that can only be called legendary. A very brief sample:

In trying to fathom the immigration policy of George W. Bush, if we rule out treason, stupidity becomes the default explanation – and an explanation that is not an excuse. It is remarkable that anyone as trivial as Bush can manage to provoke such hostility. Bush traveled the world as a President and returned as a refugee.

Mash ...

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I’ve never understood why most churches in this country put an American flag in the sanctuary, practically on par with the cross. As if the apostle Paul had the believers in Corinth prop up a Roman standard emblazoned with S.P.Q.R. in the corner of their meeting place.

A flag is a symbol of temporal power and authority. It has no place in a house of worship… unless what the flag symbolizes IS a focus of worship.

And if it is, then there is a problem.

Jesus called His followers the “salt of the earth”. Only a little salt will preserve the meat. But if the salt loses its saltiness, as Jesus said, then it is worthless. And it does nothing. The meat will deteriorate.

That’s what Christianity in America has become: it’s lost its salt. Because too many of those who boast of Judeo-Christian morals don’t realize the damage they ...

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Once upon a time, this may have been news of interest to the average American. Today, I doubt there are very many barber shops across the country that this is going to come up in as a topic of discussion.

If America still had the manufacturing infrastructure that it possessed 20 or 30 years ago, I could see this as cause for celebration. But as I’m seeing a lot more layoffs and plant closings (usually to relocate overseas where the employment is cheaper) I have to wonder how much of this “profit” is coming at a cost to the middle class. Curious, that it seems there is a correlation between the number of workers who lose their jobs in this country to how their respective former companies seem to only gain financially.

A robust economy cannot be long sustained when its foundation is primarily service industry.

Among the things that ...

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Story at MSNBC about soldiers returning to Iraq after considerably shorter respites than is sought by military policy. Some brigades are being sent back into the combat zone after being home only 7 months, when there’s supposed to be one year’s rest after each year deployed.

Why are the soldiers being sent back so quickly? Because there’s not enough military personnel to fully accommodate our presence in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. If this administration decides it wants to go to war with Iran, it will get even worse for our men and women in the armed forces.

Just one more indication that our armed forces have become spread too thin through the worst mismanagement of military resources in American history....

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