WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ZIONISM AND RACISM - NOTHING

Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ZIONISM AND RACISM - NOTHING

THAT'S WHY TRUMP AND NETANYAHU GET ALONG SO WELL

.

The atrocities that the Israelis are currently committing against the Palestinian people is no less evil and unconscionable than what the Nazis committed against the Jews during WWII.  With that said, I’m about to engage in a discussion that I generally make it a point to avoid – discuss the collective nature of White folks.
.
The reason I make it a point to avoid this subject is because I don’t want to add to the disinformation disseminated by many Black racists (oh yes, racists come in Black too), and that is, that there is something more intrinsically evil in White people than there is in any other racial group. The tendency to be brutal and unjust is not race-based, it's all about greed and opportunity.  Clear evidence of that can be seen on the continent of Africa where Black people are committing some of the most brutal atrocities anywhere in the world against one another, and you also see it among other groups of people based on religion, greed, and politics, and we're now seeing it in Israel.

.

The fact is, as humans, just as intellect is distributed equally across our species, so is malevolence. We all have a tendency to be self-serving and corrupt given half a chance. The only difference between White people and any other group is that they have the power (for now, at least), thus the opportunity to reflect that side of their nature – and again, for anyone who wants to challenge my assertion in that regard, I invite you to witness the Black-on-Black mayhem that’s currently taking place on the continent of Africa, or take the police out of the Black, or White, communities of America and watch the level of enlightenment that prevails – it would be the survival of the fittest within a week.

.

So it seems that the common trait shared by all those who tend to be inhumane, brutal and corrupt is neither race, creed, nor color, as the state of Israel is currently making perfectly clear. What murderers, Nazis, and brutes all have in common is power, opportunity, and greed - and let there be no doubt about it, that’s the source of most of the turmoil in the Middle-East. The power, opportunity, and greed of Israel and the American military/industrial complex makes them no different than Hitler and his storm troopers.  But whenever anyone seeks to objectively examine the reality this issue they’re immediately met with hysterical charges of being either unpatriotic, anti-Semitic, or both. As a result, while everyone is aware of the problem, we tend to turn a blind eye to it.

.

But this is an issue that desperately needs to be addressed, because due to our failure to do so, American troops are dying, the United States Treasury is being looted, and the entire world is being placed at risk. So enough with all of the name-calling and accusations, Israel’s behavior needs to be scrutinized just like any other country in the world.

.

Pure, objective, and unadulterated truth is not nearly as complicated or elusive as we try to make it seem in this country. But since truth doesn’t lend itself to being Black, White, Jew, or Gentile, when the truth comes up less than a perfect fit to our carefully constructed comfort zone, we tend to beat, distort, and convolute it into a more comfortable fit. The entire rationale behind Zionism is a perfect example of that.
.
We do ourselves a gross injustice by failing to address Zionism in a straight forward manner, because no matter how you distort it, truth will always prevail in the end, and our attempt to elude truth is the source of most of our problems in this world. We all seek to distort the truth in a way that is most palatable to our special interest – and this problem is magnified by the fact that our writers, political pundits, and politicians have a natural tendency to seek applause and self-interest over truth. So if we’re indeed dependent on the truth to set us free, let us not doom ourselves to a life of death, carnage, and intellectual bondage by living a lie - and the truth is, regardless to what hardships the Jews have endured, that does not give them the right to rob others of their land.

.

Trying to live a lie has repercussions.  It leads to  poor and middle-class young people being wooed by slick government commercials to become cannon fodder in wars to sustain that lie. But take it from an old Marine, young people; it only leads to you giving up your life to accommodate the selfishness and greed of others. The government will woo you with the glamour of military life. They'll show you standing there proud and strong in your spotless uniform at home with all the girls looking at you with admiring eyes. But they won't show you the real picture - the picture that Trump, his father, and grandfather went out of their way to avoid. They won't show you lying in 110 degree heat in agony thousands of miles from home bleeding to death from the stub that used to be your leg, or looking at your foot in a bloody boot twenty-five yards away from where the rest of you lie dying. They’re being criminally remiss in not showing you that side of military life, and all in support of a lie.

.

Now, don’t get the impression that I’m a pacifist, or hate the military, however – I’m not. There IS a time when war is justified, but not to steal land from others based on a farce . You know it’s time to go to war when you’re prepared to see your own loved ones become its first casualty, but it’s abundantly clear that no one in our government has reached that point as yet. If they had, they’d be encouraging their kids to enlist.

.

Where is Liz Cheney, the Bush girls, or the Trumps? They can drive a truck. But no, not on your life – their idea of patriotism is cheering on the dying “little people” from the lobby of Mar-a-lago and exclusive tennis clubs, and demanding that everybody stand for a flag that none of them are willing to shed a drop of blood for - at this point, four generations of Trumps have avoided military service like the plague.  So be all that you can be, but don’t be a fool. You won’t be fighting for your country, you’ll be fighting for Exxon and Halliburton’s collusion with Israel to rob the people of the Middle East and gouge the American taxpayer.

.

The truth is, the dispute over Israel is nothing less than “The Manifest Destiny” being reenacted. When the Europeans came to America and began to strip the indigenous people of their land, they justified their unholy atrocities by declaring that it was "God’s will" that they settle and bring his word to this “uncivilized land”– it was their manifest destiny. So in true civilized, Christian fashion, they began to spread the Holy word of God through the hot muzzle of a Gatlin gun. It was a brutally unconscionable and gruesome event, but what could these good Christians do? After all, it was God’s will that they slaughter those “Godless savages.” That is the exact same scenario that's currently being played out in the Middle East today. It began with the “creation” of the state of Israel in 1948, and the campaign continues as I speak – but this time, it’s called Zionism, and just like with the Manifest Destiny, they've gone over there and stole the land of others, and then justified it by saying God gave it to them.  

.

In 1882, while Jews were being massacred throughout Russia, Leo Pinsker, the founder of the Zionist movement, published a small booklet entitled “Auto-emancipation”. It pointed out that Jews would never find equality in Russia, so it was necessary for world Jewry to establish their own homeland. At first he didn’t care where it was located – in fact, the area encompassing Zaire, Africa was even considered. But later, Pinsker recognized that in order to get Jews to immigrate in numbers large enough to establish a homeland, he needed a location that would inspire the Jewish soul, and no location in the world would suit that purpose like Palestine, the land of Zion – “the land that God had promised the Jews.” The fact that there were indigenous people already living in Palestine never even crossed his mind.

.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines Zionism as follows: “Zionism: An organized movement of world Jewry that arose in Europe in the late 19th century with the aim of reconstituting a Jewish state in Palestine. Modern Zionism is concerned with the development and support of the state of Israel.”

.

Thus, Zionism, by definition and design, is a doctrine dedicated to the taking of Palestine – and on May 14, 1948, European Jews did just that. Between 1944 and 1948, due to their experience with the Nazi’s, Eastern European Jews wanted to get off the European continent by any means necessary, so various Zionist organizations created the Bariha (escape) Organization that helped close to 200,000 Jews to leave Europe and settle in Palestine. Prior to that time, in July of 1922, the League of Nations (the progenitor of the United Nations) gave Great Britain a mandate to protect the people of Palestine, but on November 29, 1947 when the U. N. General Assembly passed a resolution to partition off Palestine between the Arabs and Jews, Great Britain announced that it was terminating its mandate. The end of the British mandate was to go into effect on May 15, 1948, but on May 14, 1948 the Zionists declared the creation of Israel, a Jewish state.

.

But in order for the new State of Israel to have any legitimacy, it had to be recognized by the United States. The U.S. State Department was less than enthusiastic about creating a Jewish state in Palestine, but shortly after President Truman took office, European Zionist, Chaim Weizmann, convinced the president that it was only just that the survivors of the holocaust would be given their own homeland. Truman agreed, and recognized the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, and all hell’s been breaking loose ever since.

.

The Israeli-American alliance was a match made in Hell from the very outset – they didn’t even trust each other. One of the largest units in the CIA is dedicated to the prevention of Israeli spying on the United States, and one of the biggest spy scandals in U.S. history involved an Israeli spy name Jonathan Pollard, an American of Jewish descent, born in Galveston, Texas. But in spite of that, Israel receives more U.S. foreign aid than any other country in the world, and we’ve made them one of the most formidable military forces in the world. The reason for that?–oil.

.

Israel stands as an extension of the United States in the Middle East, within easy striking distance of Middle Eastern oil fields. So what we have in the Middle East is an unholy quid pro quo -The United States will help the Israelis steal Arab land, and the Israelis will help the United States steal the oil beneath the land.

.

So the Israeli claim that their slaughter of the Arab people is simply an attempt to defend themselves is nothing but a farce. Granted, when someone invades your home you do have a right to retaliate against them, but Europeans have about as much right to call Israel their home as I’d have of tearing off a part of China simply because I converted to Buddhism.

.

Far be it from me, however, to say who’s a Jew and who’s not, but I think we can all agree that European Jews are not the same Jews that were spoken of in the Bible. But, of course, you're not supposed to even whisper such sentiments here in America. To say that European Jews don’t belong in Israel, or to speak out on any atrocity that the State of Israel might commit, is considered anti- Semitic in this country. But even that’s a farce. There’s a big difference between being anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist. To be anti-Semitic is to be against a people, while being anti-Zionist is to be against a philosophy. After all, all Jews are not Zionist. But there’s another issue here as well. How can you be anti-Semitic towards Europeans? They aren’t even Semites.

.

The situation above describes exactly why we’re in Iraq and Afghanistan today. Thus, all of the killing in the Middle East is about European hubris, injustice, and greed. The entire justification for Europeans being in the Middle East at all, is based on a lie – and that includes Europeans by way of the United States.

.

How can you go into your neighbor’s home and kill his family, then call him the aggressor? And now they’re talking about invading Iran! It’s all about racism and greed. Think about it– as bad as the Germans and Russians treated the Jews over the years, you’d think the Jews would have been given part of one of those countries. If they’d done that, European Jews wouldn’t have even had to leave home. But White folks don’t play that – no matter how much they hate each other, or what kind of atrocities they've committed.  "Oh, hell no. Not our land!  Go over there and take some land from those heathens." But what's so ironic about it is, they're using their abuse during the holocaust to justify doing exactly the same thing to the Palestinians. But they seem to think that's different, and not nearly as horrific, because the Palestinians aren't White.
.

Israel orders African refugees to leave country within three months or prison

www.independent.co.uk › News › World › Middle East

1. 
   

Jan 2, 2018 - The Israeli government has ordered thousands of African refugees and migrants to leave the country within three months or face prison. ... Israel calls them "infiltrators" and says they are mostly economic migrants whose numbers threaten its Jewish character. ... Israel’s Prime Minister ...
.

COMMENTS

JONATHAN SHUTMAN:

You and I are much in common. Different perspective here. If want to talk sometime, let's arrange a time. Was listening to McCoy's Peresina in car, WBGO Newark. Brought back memories, concert at UC Berkley, 1972. Common ground in the music, Israel is minimally complex as is/was Zionism
.
ERIC WATTREE:

Jonathan, this issue is not debatable. Zionism is bigotry - period. There's no justification for it, and there's nothing the least bit complex about it. Donald Trump wants a White homeland too.
.
JONATHAN SHUTMAN:

Will send an email. Historical rape and plunder? 1948, 1938, 1860, 1066? Jews have always been the scapegoats. Still reading your comments. Looking for Ottoman Empire, Crusades, Spanish Inquisition. We agree on much, but culpability and man's inhumanity to man is far reaching, as is pockets of decency and better within Israel.
.
ERIC WATTREE:

Jonathan, all of that what you're talking about doesn't justify bigotry. The world is sick to death of giving Israel a pass based on this bullshit whining. One hundred million Native Americans were slaughtered right here in RECENT history. So the only people that's listening to that nonsense you're spewing are other Zionists. Everybody else is sick to death of listening to it - including many Jews.
.
JONATHAN SHUTMAN:

Will write. Too much to address with few words.
.
ERIC WATTREE:

Jonathan, save your breath. You'll never be able to convince me that Jews have been treated so badly over the centuries that they should be allowed to take other people's land and get away with murder and bigotry. That's complete and utter bullshit, and my mind is not wired to tolerate bullshit. The rules of conduct should be the same for EVERYBODY, regardless to WHAT they've gone through in their history. They should just get over it, just like every other group in the world. God doesn't have any "chosen people."

.

Eric L. Wattree
http://wattree.blogspot.com/
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)
.
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

Let's Set the Record Straight - Black People Don't Hate Tavis Smiley and Cornel West Simply Because They're Critical of Obama

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Let’s Set the Record Straight - Black People Don’t Hate Tavis Smiley and Cornel West Simply Because They’re Critical of Obama

.

Why is it that most Smiley and West supporters always jump to the unwarranted conclusion that the only reason that Black people dislike Tavis and West is because they’re criticizing President Obama? That’s an extremely presumptuous point of view, and it’s not true. The majority of Black people aren’t hostile toward Tavis and West BECAUSE they criticize Obama, but for the WAY they criticize Obama.

.

The reason we become angry every time they criticize Obama is because Tavis and West are arrogant, petty, self-serving, condescending, and disrespectful, and those flawed character traits come to the forefront whenever the subject of President Obama comes up. In addition, their criticisms never come coupled with constructive solutions, so it’s obvious to the Black community that they’re not actually interested in the issues; they’re merely USING the issues as a pretext to attack the man - and Cornel’s repeated racial slanders clearly validate that perception.

.
Black people clearly understand that ALL politicians’ feet should be kept to the fire, and that includes Obama’s. I’ve written several articles criticizing President Obama, and I’ve also written articles explaining WHY it’s important to hold his feet to the fire (http://wattree.blogspot.com/2011/01/obama-supporters-vs-cheerleaders.html), but when I criticize Obama I make sure that my criticisms are respectful, issue-specific, constructive, I ALWAYS come armed with solutions - and I send them to him. A case in point is an article I wrote in November 2009 entitled, "Could Obama Fall Victim to a Change We Can’t Believe In," where I said the following:
.
"The President needs to recognize that there is nothing he can do that's going to make him acceptable to the GOP - that is, unless he agrees to appoint a Republican vice president, then resign. By now it should be clear that even while he's asleep, the GOP is trying to hatch plans to destroy him. So by spending more time thinking about them than he is his base, he's playing right into their hands.
.
"I mentioned power as one of the reasons that Cheney's trying to rush the president into Afghanistan. I wonder if the president has considered the fact that Cheney just might be trying to get him to make the same kind of mistake in Afghanistan that the Bush Administration made in Iraq in order to take the Iraq issue off the table for the 2012 election? If during the 2012 campaign America is bogged down in Afghanistan with the useless death of thousands of U.S. troops, all of a sudden, Bush, Cheney, and the GOP won't look all that bad. The president should think about that possibility, since the machinations of Dick Cheney make Machiavelli look like a trainee.
.
"On the other hand, if the president would have the CIA go after Osama Bin Laden (through the use of intelligence, instead of blindly shooting at rocks), then pull out of Afghanistan, and then make an agreement with the government of Pakistan to help them protect their nuclear arsenal, he'll be looking pretty good in 2012, and he won't have the deaths of thousands of U.S. troops to have to justify."
.
Thus, Black people are way out in front of Tavis and West on MOST issues, so the repeated suggestion by Tavis and West that Black people are blindly working on "Obama’s plantation" is a slap in the face of the Black community. They’re saying the very same thing that White racists are saying - that Black people are just a bunch of stupid zombies - "Dem niggas ain’t got sense like we do, boss."
.
That attitude is not lost on the Black community for a minute. They don’t like it at all, and as a direct result, they don’t like Tavis and West at all. The Black community looks upon them in the very same way as they do any other slanderous bigot.
.

RELATED CONTENT

The Real History of the Poverty Tours

http://wattree.blogspot.com/2013/03/beneath-spin-eric-l_24.html 
.
A List of Obama Accomplishments
http://pleasecutthecrap.com/what-has-obama-done-since-january-20-2009/

 .

Eric L. Wattree
http://wattree.blogspot.com/
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)
.
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

　

Sphere: Related Content

The Fool Strikes Again: Cornel West Calls President Obama a War Criminal

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

The Fool Strikes Again: Cornel West Calls President Obama a War Criminal 

Once again Dr. Cornel West has gone out of his way to inflame headlines and relegate a complex issue to the waste bin of simplistic zealotry by calling President Obama a war criminal.
.
In his typical pseudo intellectual fashion, West continues to shout the obvious - that innocent people are being killed in war - in the most inflammatory tones as though he's relating something new.
.
While most Americans are against the killing of innocent noncombatants, we also recognize that it invariably happens in every war. That’s one of many things that makes engaging in war such a horrible thing. But Cornel West is shouting from the rafters and going into public convulsions as though the first time it's ever happened is under Barack Obama. Thus, I'd like to challenge Dr. West to name one war in the history of mankind where innocent noncombatants weren't killed.
.
During WWII, a war that most Americans consider a heroic undertaking, we dropped not one, but two atomic bombs on Japan - one each on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - killing men, women, children, newborn babies, cute little puppies, and cuddly little kittens. So again, ALL wars involve killing innocent noncombatants, but now, all of a sudden, everybody wants to whole Barack Obama to a different standard than we’ve held every head of state since long before Jesus walked the Earth. We need to examine that attitude - especially Black people, because it looks an awfully lot like it’s grounded in racism.
.
So here's the problem with people like Tavis and West - they invariably shoot from the hip with inflammatory comments and disseminate disinformation in order to garner headlines to promote their own selfish agendas. As a result, instead of enhancing debate, they distract from any serious discussion of the issues - and in the process, they lend comfort to the most harsh and dedicated enemies of the Black community, but they don't seem to mind that at all.

.
In addition, West is not privy to even one sentence of the intelligence that President Obama has at his disposal. Yet, he’s shooting off his mouth as though the CIA is putting a condition report on his desk every morning for his review. We must never forget that Pakistan, right next door to Afghanistan - and where Osama Bin Laden was found and killed - is armed with nuclear weapons, and the president has a responsibility to see to it that those weapons never fall into the hands of Al Qaeda. If they do, America, and YOUR family, will fall under the dire threat of nuclear annihilation.
.

So while people like Tavis Smiley and Cornel West are jumping up and down in ignorance, and engaging in a recklessly selfish attempt to gain headlines and get the president's acknowledgment, the President is engaged in serious business - America’s business. So they have to understand, just like irate children seeking attention, that the president doesn't have time to come out and play, and regardless to how many tantrums they engage in, or how inflammatory they become, the president simply doesn't have time to come sit in the sandbox with them.
.

Adults understand that the issues aren’t as cut-n-dried as people like Tavis and West would have us believe. Yes, on the surface it seems like simple common sense that it’s wrong to kill an American citizen without due process - even if that citizen is collaborating with the enemy. But place yourself in the position of the president for a moment. Let’s say you have credible information that Al Qaeda is going to launch an attack on an American position on Tuesday morning, but you can prevent the attack by launching a preemptive drone attack on Al Qaeda's position on Monday night. You have one problem, however - you also have intelligence that indicates there’s a collaborator on the enemy site who is an American citizen. Are you going to hold off your preemptive attack because the collaborator hasn’t been afforded due process?  I don't think so, any more than a police officer is going to wait on a court order to defend himself on the street.
.
And let us not forget that once a precedent has been set of holding off attacks in order to protect the lives of American collaborators, from that point on Al Qaeda can use that against us. All they have to do is surround themselves with American sympathizers as human shields to insure themselves against attack. So these issues aren’t as simple as they might seem at first blush. While, of course, we must be careful to protect the rights and security of innocent American citizens, jumping up and down screaming and pointing fingers is not the kind of approach that is appropriate for considering such weighty concerns.
.
But a Cornel West supporter recently called me to task for constantly challenging Dr. West’s intelligence. He asked, "Eric, who made you judge and jury to attribute intelligence or lack thereof, to any individual?"
.
That's a reasonable question, so I'll try to give a reasonable response. My assessment of a person's intelligence is not based on their credentials, but on their behavior. And who am I to make such a judgment? I'm human, and human beings are called upon to make such judgments hundreds of times a day just to survive. It's called assessing your environment. In this case, it's extremely important for the Black community to assess West's competence, because, considering his flagging, but still substantial influence, failing to understand his character, motivations, and shortcomings could have a devastating impact on our community.
.
The results of the 2000 election stands as a perfect example of my contention.  George W. Bush won the 2000 election by winning Florida by 537 votes. In that same state, the Nader/West coalition peeled away 97,488 votes. So one could argue that West is more than a little responsible for the suffering that's currently going on among Black people today. And you know what? West didn't learn a thing. He tried to team up with Nader again in the last election. So either he lacks intelligence, or he's engaged in collusion with the Republican Party. It's very important, therefore, that the Black community make a valid assessment of who this man is.
.
As Min. Louis Farrakhan so adroitly pointed out to Tavis Smiley, President Obama is not turning grey-headed for nothing. He’s dealing with serious issues, and he’s privy to information in which we can only speculate. So it’s one thing to question policy, but when Cornel West goes around making incendiary comments and calling the President of the United States a war criminal, it's not only childish, irresponsible, unprofessional, and ignorant, but it lends support to the enemies of both the Black community, and the American people as a whole.

.

.
RELATED ARTICLE
Poverty Pimp, Inc.

Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

Well, Mr. President, I warned You Over Two Years Ago

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Well, Mr. President, I warned you over two years ago - on November 2, 2009, to be specific - about allowing the Dick Cheney and the GOP to goad you into Afghanistan. Now, with the 2012 election coming up, they don't look so bad, because you've allowed them to entice you into getting the very same kind of uselss death and destruction on your hands as they had in Iraq, and in the end, you're going to have to do exactly what I suggested back then - simply pull back, and assist Pakistan in defending their nuclear weapons. So maybe you need to trade in your advisors for my crystal ball.

.

Could Obama Fall Victim to a Change We Can't Believe in?

At this point Obama's presidency could go either way - he can either become one of the greatest presidents this country has ever known, or go down as an exciting experiment that went bad. It's all up to how he handles the expectations of Independents.

.
The biggest problem that Obama currently faces is becoming a victim of his own effectiveness. During the campaign he raised the nation's expectation so high that just being a good president won't do. He promised a change that we can believe in, which led many of us to believe that he intended to trash the way business is done in Washington, but that promise seems to be totally inconsistent with what seems to be his irrepressible desire to hold hands and sing Kumbaya with the very Republican leaders from which we wanted a change.
.
This has fueled the growing suspicion by many that both parties are beholding to the same cabal of power, and only feign having differing philosophies toward governance. That suspicion lies very close to the surface for many Independents - after all, that's why they're Independents in the first place.
.
And President Obama hasn't helped himself in that regard. For a man who is ordinarily so politically astute, even before he became president he did a curious flip-flop on the FISA issue. According to Greenchange.org, on October 24, 2007, Bill Burton of the Obama campaign indicated, "To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies." But by June 20, 2008, Obama issued a statement reversing his position, indicating that our national security needs were more important than his objections.
.
That deeply disappointed many Independents, since a citizen's right to sue a telecommunications company for invading his or her privacy in violation of the law has nothing to do with national security. Those are the very constitutional rights that we're trying to keep secure. But while many Independents have kept that in mind, at least Obama had the integrity to take that stand prior to our making the decision on whether or not to vote for him.
.
But then once he was elected President, Obama made another curious statement with regard to the criminal activities and alleged war crimes committed by the Bush administration. In spite of the fact that there are strong allegations and prima facie evidence of torture, and some of the most unconscionable violations of the Geneva Convention since the Nuremberg trials, President Obama stated that he wanted to move the nation forward, and not look back.
.
Many Independents have two problems with that. First of all, President Obama seems much too willing to move forward with regard to the fat cats, while lower-ranking personnel are rotting in prison. That's in direct conflict with the American ideal of equal justice under the law. And secondly, since most of these atrocities were committed against the citizens of other nations, it is the height of arrogance for us to be "the deciders" of whether or not those responsible should be held accountable. That also runs contrary to American ideals, and the concept of "a shining city on the hill."
.
And now we're talking about sending thousands of more troops to Afghanistan. The question is, why? The nation has yet to be provided with a reasonable explanation of why we should be meddling, once again, in another country's internal affairs. One would think we would have learned something about the futility of that by now. It's a recipe for disaster.
.
There's only two legitimate reasons to have our troops in that part of the world. The first is obvious - to make damn sure the nuclear missiles in Pakistan don't fall into the hands of Al Qaeda. The second reason is to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice. So why can't we simply pull out of Afghanistan and deploy enough troops in Pakistan to protect the missiles, then let the CIA and law enforcement deal with Osama? That way we save both treasure and lives, and we're not creating more enemies for the United States by killing innocent people.
.
But many Independents suspect that there's another agenda afoot. Actually, Cheney's giving it away. Independents recognize that Dick Cheney has absolutely no integrity, so when he gets passionate over an issue we know to follow either the money or power. Thus, many Independents suspect that what's actually behind Cheney's insistence that we go recklessly rushing into Afghanistan has much more to do with Halliburton's bottom line than it does America's best interest. And while Obama has shown himself to be an excellent president in many ways, his one shortcoming - and a shortcoming that may very well bring him down in the end - is his tendency to try to appease the stupidity and greed of the GOP.
.
The President needs to recognize that there is nothing he can do that's going to make him acceptable to the GOP - that is, unless he agrees to appoint a Republican vice president, then resign. By now it should be clear that even while he's asleep, the GOP is trying to hatch plans to destroy him. So by spending more time thinking about them than he is his base, he's playing right into their hands.
.
I mentioned power as one of the reasons that Cheney's trying to rush the president into Afghanistan. I wonder if the president has considered the fact that Cheney just might be trying to get him to make the same kind of mistake in Afghanistan that the Bush Administration made in Iraq in order to take the Iraq issue off the table for the 2012 election? If during the 2012 campaign America is bogged down in Afghanistan with the useless death of thousands of U.S. troops, all of a sudden, Bush, Cheney, and the GOP won't look all that bad. The president should think about that possibility, since the mechinations of Dick Cheney makes Machiavelli look like a trainee.
.
On the other hand, if the president would have the CIA go after Osama Bin Laden (through the use of intelligence, instead of blindly shooting at rocks), then pull out of Afghanistan, and make an agreement with the government of Pakistan to help them protect their nuclear arsenal, he'll be looking pretty good in 2012, and he won't have the deaths of thousands of U.S. troops to have to justify.
.
And he'd look even better if he allowed Attorney General Holder to do his job with respect to the Bush administration's war crimes. First, he'd firm up his base by restoring their confidence that he stands for the rule of law, and he would also allay the fear that he might be a puppet, controlled by some powerful cabal.
.
Another upside to that is that once Holder begins his investigation into the Bush administration, there's absolutely no doubt that he's going to find criminality, cronyism, and corruption seeping so deep within the GOP that Republicans will be so busy snitching on one another, and covering their own asses, that they won't have the time to plot against either him, or the American people.
.
Now, THAT, would be a change that we could believe in.

. 

Eric L. Wattree

Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com

Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

A Zionist’s Response to “What’s the Difference Between Zionism and Racism?”

Beneath The Spin*Eric L. Wattree.

A Zionist’s Response to “What’s the Difference Between Zionism and Racism?”

I recently posted an article entitled “President Obama: What’s the Difference Between Zionism and Racism?” In response I received several comments from a gentlemen who posts under the name of Tim 2. His comments were so reflective of the typical Zionist reaction to this debate that I thought it would be enlightening to present it as an article under its own name.

Tim 2
June 18, 2011 - 4:26 pm

Eric – You obviously believe the Jewish State of Israel has no right to exist and should not exist. As a result, everything else that comes from you is just hot air and noise. If the majority of Palestinians and other Arabs/Muslims believe as you do, then there will be no peace. And, more importantly, if the goal of Arabs/Muslims is your goal, to destroy Israel, then your criticism of Israel is worthless and empty and hypocritical and non-substantive and arrogant and duplicitous and, of course, self-serving.
.
Also, for you to believe that you are not anti-Semitic (all stupid word games aside) is atrocious and flagrant self-deception at best and purposeful and callous malevolence at worst.
.
Eric L. Wattree
June 19, 2011 - 8:17 am
.
Tim 2,
.
I have a philosophy that I’ve developed over the years about ALL ideologues regardless to their ideology, and it is the following: Efficient thinkers give truth priority over ideology, while ideologues give ideology priority over truth.
.
Your comment just validated that philosophy. Like most ideologues, you seem to see things in black and white, and you also tend to make unwarranted assumptions. What evidence do you have that I don’t think Israel has a right to exist? I was very clear in the article that I don’t like the way the United States came into being either, but that doesn’t mean that I’m advocating the overthrow of the United States. So what made you leap to the conclusion that I was advocating the destruction of Israel? The fact is, I’d settle for the outrageous compromise of agreeing that Israel stop stealing land under the pretext of national defense, and exist as a true egalitarian democracy. That would work for me, how about you?
.
Tim 2
June 19, 2011 - 12:56 pm
.
Explain to me what you mean by an “egalitarian democracy” first. A dollar will get you a hundred that your solution is the destruction of the nation-state of the Jews (ie, as Israel exists now).
.
The truth is Eric, you and everyone like you deny not only the history of the Jewish people (probably the most severe type of anti-Semitism) but believe you are clever enough to formulate your hate and motivations in such a way that they become opaque or even mis-understood.
.
When you can accept Israel as the nation-state of the Jews, then I’ll listen. Otherwise, you’re just whistling dixie.
.
Eric L. Wattree
June 19, 2011 - 5:05
.
Tim 2,
.
I think that egalitarian democracy is self-explanatory – a one man, one vote democracy where every person has equal rights. You knew exactly what it meant, but you want a state that has a legal right to discriminate against all non Jews. There’s a word for that – bigotry. Thus you’re arguing for the legal right to do to others what you’re always whining about being done to you. That seems kind of hypocritical to me.
.
And Tim, your insistence that anyone who disagrees with you is anti Semitic is not only arrogant, but it’s getting very old. The world used to give Zionists a pass on that argument, but the world is gradually waking up to the fact that the cruelty and the loss of life that’s taking place in the Middle East as a direct result of our catering to Israel is resulting in yet another Holocaust, but this time it’s being carried out by Israelis. So you’ve just about played the sympathy card out.
.
So spare us the guilt trip, because it ain’t working anymore. I’m not buying into the send-your-sons-to-die-to- prove-that-you-don’t-hate-Jews bit. So if you want to accuse me of being anti Semitic, knock yourself out. Your Zionist gravy train is about over. We’re tired of dying so you can live in privilege.
.
Tim 2
June 19, 2011 - 5:23 pm
.
Eric –
.
I don’t want a pass from you or your kind. Nor do I expect you or your kind to admit you’re anti-Semitic, so I certainly don’t expect you to feel “guilty” about any of your horrific ideas and thoughts presented here.
.
And just because I disagree with you, doesn’t make me conclude you’re anti-Semitic. It’s just that you are. And you are one of the worst kind of anti-Semites.
.
I only want one thing and that’s for you to know you’re fooling no-one, not even yourself.
.
Eric L. Wattree
June 19, 2011 - 9:23 pm
.
Tim 2,
.
Hmmm, let’s see. You said,
.
“And just because I disagree with you, doesn’t make me conclude you’re anti-Semitic. It’s just that you are. And you are one of the worst kind of anti-Semites.”
.
Wait a minute. I think I get it. You don’t conclude that I’m anti semitic just because YOU disagree with me. You think I’m the worst kind of anti Semite because I disagree with YOU. Oddly enough, that kind of makes sense to me. Anyone who thinks that everyone should have equal rights in Israel hates Jews. I think I’ve got it.
.
No wonder there’s so much turmoil over there. Your philosophy is, anyone who disagrees with you is the enemy. That kind of thinking is not only dangerous, but absolutely psychotic.
.
Eric L. Wattree
June 20, 2011 - 7:20 am
.
Tim 2,
.
There are many Jews who take the exact same position that I do with respect to Zionism. Are they anti Semitic? Then what makes me any different from them? You've presented absolutely no evidence that I'm anti Semitic. Thus, the only basis that you have for coming to that conclusion - at least, the only basis that you've stated in this discussion - is that I'm a non Jew who disagrees with your belief that Zionist should be given the right to discriminate against non Jews. That represents the epitome of intolerance - Hitlerian intolerance. So I think I'm on solid ground in suggesting that Zionism represents the Nazi wing of Judaism.
.
Tim 2
June 20, 2011 - 8:14 am
.
Eric,
.
You mean I haven’t given you my rationale for why I believe you are an anti-Semite. You have never asked me for that, choosing instead to project your own rationale upon me.
.
Here is my rationale:
.
1)Your article denies the history of the Jewish people ( I did state this in an earlier comment and added that this is perhaps the most sever e type of anti-Semitism). This is exhibited most clearly by statements, “Far be it from me, however, to say who’s a Jew and who’s not, but I think we can all agree that European Jews are not the same Jews that were spoken of in the Bible,” and “Think about it– as bad as the Germans and Russians treated the Jews over the years, you’d think the Jews would have been given part of one of those countries,” and ““Granted, when someone invades your home you do have a right to retaliate against them, but Europeans have about as much right to call Israel their home as I’d have of tearing off a part of China simply because I converted to Buddhism.”
.
2)You accuse Jews of being racists and of ethnic cleansing if not of outright genocide claiming in your article, “How can you go into your neighbor’s home and kill his family, then call him the aggressor? And now they’re talking about invading Iran! It’s all about racism and greed,” and “So the Israeli claim that their slaughter of the Arab people is simply an attempt to defend themselves is nothing but a farce. “
.
3)You accuse Israel as being the source of all mid-east and even worldwide problems and conflicts and, more importantly, of costing US citizens’ and soldiers’ lives saying, “This is an issue that desperately needs to be addressed, because due to our failure to do so, American troops are dying, the United States treasury is being looted, and the entire world is being placed at risk.“
.
4)You compare Zionism to Nazism saying in your last comment to me, “So I think I’m on solid ground in saying that Zionism represents the Nazi wing of Judaism.”
.
Your comments are the quintessential comments of an anti-Semite. They revise or fabricate history and fact to libel, demean and defame an entire people.
.
Eric L. Wattree
June 20, 2011 - 10:06 am
.
Tim 2,
.
First, when you accuse someone of being anti semitic, or anything else, for that matter, they shouldn’t have to ask you for your rationale. A fundamental rule of 7th grade English is when you make an assertion you should start substantiating that assertion in the very next sentence.
.
And regarding the other issues that you bring up, that’s not proof that I’m anti Semitic. Those are the facts as I see them, and many non Zionist Jews take some of the very same positions. Just because a person disagrees with you doesn’t mean that they hate you. I disagreed with my late wife all of the time, but I loved her dearly. I currently disagree with my children on many issues, but I also love them dearly. And I have a growing number of disagreements with Barack Obama, yet, unless he does something incredibly stupid, I intend to vote for him in the next election. So we’ve come full circle back to your very dangerous belief than anyone who disagrees with your distorted belief system is the enemy, and I repeat, you and Adolph Hitler would be in full agreement in that regard.
.
And finally, you’ve now accused me of defaming “an entire people.” That’s a flat-out lie. I’m not criticizing all Jews, any more than I would criticize all White people of being Nazis, or all Black people of being hip hop artists. I’m critizing the criminal malevolence of Zionism. Period. But the fact is, you find it convenient to conflate Zionism with Judaism in an attempt to generate sympathy for your bigoted philosophy.
.
Texas Vet
June 20, 2011 - 8:24 am
.
I’m sorry Eric that you had to listen to Tim 2 blabber on. He can’t help it if his head is screwed on backwards. But, you handled him well and with compassion. Thanks. As a fellow human, he deserves that much, though he seems unwilling to respond in kind.
.
Keep writing Tim 2. But think clearly. Just remember, you’re tangling with serious intellects in Wattree and some of the rest of us on this site.
.
Texas Vet. First Cav
.
Eric L. Wattree
June 20, 2011 - 10:44 am
.
Thank you, Tom.
.
Based on this guy’s philosophy we should be bitter enemies instead of best friends. After all, I’m a progressive and you’re a staunch conservative. We disagree on many things, so naturally, you must hate Black people.
.
Eric L. Wattree
http://wattree.blogspot.com/
Ewattree@Gmail.com
.
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

President Obama: What's the Difference Between Zionism and Racism?

Beneath The Spin*Eric L. Wattree

President Obama: What's the Difference Between Zionism and Racism?

I’m about to do something that I generally make it a point to avoid – discuss the collective nature of White folks. The reason I make it a point to avoid this subject is because I don’t want to add to the disinformation disseminated by many Black racists (oh yes, racists come in Black too) that there is something more intrinsically evil in White people than there is in any other racial group.

The fact is, as humans, just as intellect is distributed equally across our species, so is malevolence. We all have a tendency to be self-serving and corrupt given half a chance. The only difference between White people and any other group is that they have the power, thus opportunity, to reflect that side of their nature – and to anyone who wants to challenge my assertion in that regard, I invite you to witness the Black-on-Black mayhem that’s currently taking place on the continent of Africa, or take the police out of the Black communities of America and see the level of enlightenment that prevails – it would be the survival of the fittest within a week.

So it seems that the common trait shared by all those who tend to be inhumane and corrupt is neither race, creed, nor color. What they all have in common is power, opportunity, and greed. And let there be no doubt, that’s the source of all of the turmoil in the Middle-East – the power, opportunity, and greed of Israel and the American military/industrial complex.

But whenever anyone seeks to examine this issue they’re immediately met with hysterical charges of being either unpatriotic, anti-Semitic, or both. So while everyone is aware of the problem, we tend to turn a blind eye to it.

This is an issue that desperately needs to be addressed, because due to our failure to do so, American troops are dying, the United States treasury is being looted, and the entire world is being placed at risk. So enough with all of the name-calling and accusations. Israel’s behavior needs to be scrutinized just like any other country in the world.

Pure, objective, and unadulterated truth is not nearly as complicated or elusive as we try to make it seem in this country. But since truth doesn’t lend itself to being Black, White, Jew, or Gentile, when the truth comes up less than a perfect fit to our carefully constructed comfort zone, we tend to beat, distort, and convolute it into a more comfortable fit. In the process, however, we do ourselves a gross injustice, because no matter how you distort it, truth will always prevail in the end. That is the source of most of our problems in this world. We all seek to distort the truth in a way that is most palatable to our special interest – and this problem is magnified by the fact that our writers, political pundits, and politicians have a natural tendency to seek applause and self-interest over truth. But if we’re indeed dependent on the truth to set us free, let us not doom ourselves to a life of death, carnage, and intellectual bondage by living a lie.

And the truth is, our poor and middle-class young people are being wooed by slick government commercials to become cannon fodder in a war for profit. But young people, take it from an old Marine, it’s all a lie. They’re only showing you the benefits and upside of military life, with you standing proud and strong in your spotless uniform at home with all the girls looking at you with admiring eyes. They’re not showing you the real picture, with you lying in 120 degree heat in agony thousands of miles from home bleeding to death from the stub that use to be your leg, or looking at your foot in a bloody boot twenty-five yards away from where the rest of you lie dying. They’re being criminally remiss in not showing you that side of military life.

Now, don’t get the impression that I’m a pacifist, or hate the military, however – I’m not. There IS a time when war is justified, but this ain’t it. You know it’s time to go to war when you’re prepared to see your own love ones become it’s first casualty, but it’s abundantly clear that no one in our government has reached that point as yet. If they had, they’d be encouraging their kids to enlist.

Where is Liz Cheney, or the Bush girls? They can drive a truck. But no, not on your life – their idea of patriotism is cheering on the dying “little people” from the lobby of exclusive tennis clubs. So be all that you can be, but don’t be a fool. You won’t be fighting for your country; you’ll be fighting for Exxon and Halliburton’s collusion with Israel to rob the people of the Middle East, and gouge the American taxpayer.

The truth is, the dispute over Israel is nothing less than “The Manifest Destiny” being reenacted. When the Europeans came to America and began to strip the indigenous people of their land, they justified their unholy atrocities by declaring that it was God’s will that they settle and bring his word to this “uncivilized land”– it was their manifest destiny. So in true civilized, Christian fashion, they began to spread the Holy word of God through the hot muzzle of a Gatlin gun. It was a brutally unconscionable and gruesome event, but what could these good Christians do? After all, it was God’s will that they slaughter those “Godless savages.” That is the exact same scenario that is currently taking place in the Middle East today. It began with the “creation” of the state of Israel in 1948, and the campaign continues as I speak – but this time, it’s called Zionism.

In 1882, while Jews were being massacred throughout Russia, Leo Pinsker, the founder of the Zionist movement, published a small booklet entitled “Auto-emancipation”. It pointed out that Jews would never find equality in Russia, so it was necessary for world Jewry to establish their own homeland. At first he didn’t care where it was located – in fact, the area encompassing Zaire, Africa was even considered. But later, Pinsker recognized that in order to get Jews to immigrate in numbers large enough to establish a homeland, he needed a location that would inspired the Jewish soul, and no location in the world would suit that purpose like Palestine, the land of Zion – “the land that God had promised the Jews.” The fact that there were indigenous people already living in Palestine never even crossed his mind.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines Zionism as follows: “Zionism: An organized movement of world Jewry that arose in Europe in the late 19th century with the aim of reconstituting a Jewish state in Palestine. Modern Zionism is concerned with the development and support of the state of Israel.”

Thus, Zionism, by definition and design, is a doctrine dedicated to the taking of Palestine – and on May 14, 1948, European Jews did just that. Between 1944 and 1948, due to their experience with the Nazi’s, Eastern European Jews wanted to get off the European continent by any means necessary, so various Zionist organizations created the Bariha (escape) Organization that helped close to 200,000 Jews to leave Europe and settle in Palestine. Prior to that time, in July of 1922, the League of Nations (the progenitor of the United Nations) gave Great Britain a mandate to protect the people of Palestine, but on November 29, 1947 when the U. N. General Assembly passed a resolution to partition off Palestine between the Arabs and Jews, Great Britain announced that it was terminating its mandate. The end of the British mandate was to go into effect on May 15, 1948, but on May 14, 1948 the Zionists declared the creation of Israel, a Jewish state.

But in order for the new State of Israel to have any legitimacy it had to be recognized by the United States. The U.S. State Department was less than enthusiastic about creating a Jewish state in Palestine, but shortly after President Truman took office, European Zionist, Chaim Weizmann, convinced the president that it was only just that the survivors of the holocaust would be given their own homeland. Truman agreed, and recognized the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, and all hell’s been breaking loose every since.

The Israeli-American alliance was a match made in Hell from the very outset – they didn’t even trust each other. One of the largest units in the CIA is dedicated to the prevention of Israeli spying on the United States, and one of the biggest spy scandals in U.S. history involved an Israeli spy name Jonathan Pollard, an American of Jewish descent, born in Galveston, Texas. But in spite of that, Israel receives more U.S. foreign aid than any other country in the world, and we’ve made them one of the most formidable military forces in the world. The reason for that?–oil.

Israel stands as an extension of the United States in the Middle East, within easy striking distance of Middle Eastern oil fields. So what we have in the Middle East is an unholy quid pro quo -The United States will help the Israelis steal Arab land, and the Israelis will help the United States steal the oil beneath the land.

So the Israeli claim that their slaughter of the Arab people is simply an attempt to defend themselves is nothing but a farce. Granted, when someone invades your home you do have a right to retaliate against them, but Europeans have about as much right to call Israel their home as I’d have of tearing off a part of China simply because I converted to Buddhism.

Far be it from me, however, to say who’s a Jew and who’s not, but I think we can all agree that European Jews are not the same Jews that were spoken of in the Bible. But, of course, you’re not suppose to even whisper such sentiments here in America. To say that European Jews don’t belong in Israel, or to speak out on any atrocity that the State of Israel might commit, is considered anti Semitic in this country. But even that’s a farce. There’s a big difference between being anti Semitic and anti Zionist. To be anti Semitic is to be against a people, while being anti-Zionist is to be against a philosophy. After all, all Jews are not Zionist. But there’s another issue here as well. How can you be anti Semitic towards Europeans? They aren’t even Semites.

The situation above describes exactly why we’re in Iraq and Afghanistan today. Thus, all of the killing in the Middle East is about European hubris, injustice, and greed. The entire justification for Europeans being in the Middle East at all, is based on a lie – and that includes Europeans by way of America.

How can you go into your neighbor’s home and kill his family, then call him the aggressor? And now they’re talking about invading Iran! It’s all about racism and greed. Think about it– as bad as the Germans and Russians treated the Jews over the years, you’d think the Jews would have been given part of one of those countries. If they’d done that, European Jews wouldn’t have even had to leave home. But White folks don’t play that – no matter how much they hate each other.

Eric L. Wattree

http://wattree.blogspot.com/

Ewattree@Gmail.com

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

Mr. President, Osama’s Death Can Breathe New Life into Your Presidency

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Mr. President, Osama’s Death Can Breathe New Life into Your Presidency

First, Mr. President, allow me to congratulate you on bringing Osama Bin Laden to justice. That one act alone separates you from the disingenuous chest-beaters who have been manipulating American misery to gain political traction. No longer can they wrap themselves in the flag and strut around in their ineffectual, faux patriotism while they accuse the President of the United States of “palling around with terrorists.” The quiet and effective way in which you’ve gone about carrying out America’s business clearly distinguishes who’s the adult in the room, and who's the true American.

But Osama’s death could also provide you with an opportunity to correct one of the biggest mistakes of your presidency. It gives you a second chance to extricate the United States from the no-win quagmire in Afghanistan, and that part of the world.

In my November 2, 2009 article, Could Obama Fall Victim to a Lack of Change We Can Believe in?, I said the following:

"There's only two legitimate reasons to have our troops in that part of the world [Afghanistan/Pakistan]. The first is obvious - to make damn sure the nuclear missiles in Pakistan don't fall into the hands of Al Qaeda. The second reason is to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice. So why can't we simply pull out of Afghanistan and deploy enough troops in Pakistan to protect the missiles, then let the CIA and law enforcement deal with Osama? That way we save both treasure and lives, and we're not creating more enemies for the United States by killing innocent people.

“The President needs to recognize that there is nothing he can do that's going to make him acceptable to the GOP - that is, unless he agrees to appoint a Republican vice president, then resign. By now it should be clear that even while he's asleep, the GOP is trying to hatch plans to destroy him. So by spending more time thinking about them than he is his base, he's playing right into their hands.

"But many Independents suspect that there's another agenda afoot. Actually, Cheney's giving it away. Independents recognize that Dick Cheney has absolutely no integrity, so when he gets passionate over an issue we know to follow either the money or power. Thus, many Independents suspect that what's actually behind Cheney's insistence that we go recklessly rushing into Afghanistan has much more to do with Halliburton's bottom line than it does America's best interest. And while Obama has shown himself to be an excellent president in many ways, his one shortcoming - and a shortcoming that may very well bring him down in the end - is his tendency to try to appease the stupidity and greed of the GOP.

“I mentioned power as one of the reasons that Cheney's trying to rush the president into Afghanistan. I wonder if the president has considered the fact that Cheney just might be trying to get him to make the same kind of mistake in Afghanistan [and now Libya] that the Bush Administration made in Iraq in order to take the Iraq issue off the table for the 2012 election? If during the 2012 campaign America is bogged down in Afghanistan with the useless death of thousands of U.S. troops, all of a sudden, Bush, Cheney, and the GOP won't look all that bad. The president should think about that possibility, since the machinations of Dick Cheney makes Machiavelli look like a trainee.

“On the other hand, if the president would have the CIA go after Osama Bin Laden (through the use of intelligence, instead of blindly shooting at rocks), then pull out of Afghanistan, and make an agreement with the government of Pakistan to help them protect their nuclear arsenal, he'll be looking pretty good in 2012, and he won't have the deaths of thousands of U.S. troops to have to justify.”

So it seems that I was right on the money, at least, with respect to the way to go after Osama Bin Laden, and I’m virtually certain that I’m right about the rest as well. So Mr. President, at this point you should simply say, “Ok, we’ve done what we set out to do. We’ve brought Osama Bin Laden to justice so our job is done.” Then you should get the hell out of there as fast as you can go.

Eric L. Wattree

http://wattree.blogspot.com/
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

Could Obama Fall Victim to a Lack of Change We Can Believe in? (Reprise)

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Could Obama Fall Victim to a Lack of Change We Can Believe in? (Reprise)

In light of what's currently going on in the country I thought this would be an appropriate time to reprise this article that was published on November 2, 2009.

At this point Obama's presidency could go either way - he can either become one of the greatest presidents this country has ever known, or go down as an exciting experiment that went bad. It's all up to how he handles the expectations of Independents.

The biggest problem that Obama currently faces is becoming a victim of his own effectiveness. During the campaign he raised the nation's expectation so high that just being a good president won't do. He promised a change that we can believe in, which led many of us to believe that he intended to trash the way business is done in Washington, but that promise seems to be totally inconsistent with what seems to be his irrepressible desire to hold hands and sing Kum By Ya with the very Republican leaders from which we wanted a change.

This has fueled the growing suspicion by many that both parties are beholding to the same cabal of power, and only feign having differing philosophies toward governance. That suspicion lies very close to the surface for many Independents - after all, that's why they're Independents in the first place.

And President Obama hasn't helped himself in that regard. For a man who is ordinarily so politically astute, even before he became president he did a curious flip-flop on the FISA issue. According to Greenchange.org, on October 24, 2007, Bill Burton of the Obama campaign indicated, "To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies." But by June 20, 2008, Obama issued a statement reversing his position, indicating that our national security needs were more important than his objections.

That deeply disappointed many Independents, since a citizen's right to sue a telecommunications company for invading his or her privacy in violation of the law has nothing to do with national security. Those are the very constitutional rights that we're trying to keep secure. But while many Independents have kept that in mind, at least Obama had the integrity to take that stand prior to our making the decision on whether or not to vote for him.

But then once he was elected President, Obama made another curious statement with regard to the criminal activities and alleged war crimes committed by the Bush administration. In spite of the fact that there are strong allegations and prima facie evidence of torture, and some of the most unconscionable violations of the Geneva Convention since the Nuremberg trials, President Obama stated that he wanted to move the nation forward, and not look back.

Many Independents have two problems with that. First of all, President Obama seems much too willing to move forward with regard to the fat cats, while lower-ranking personnel are rotting in prison. That's in direct conflict with the American ideal of equal justice under the law. And secondly, since most of these atrocities were committed against the citizens of other nations, it is the height of arrogance for us to be "the deciders" of whether or not those responsible should be held accountable. That also runs contrary to American ideals, and the concept of "a shining city on the hill."

And now we're talking about sending thousands of more troops to Afghanistan. The question is, why? The nation has yet to be provided with a reasonable explanation of why we should be meddling, once again, in another country's internal affairs. One would think we would have learned something about the futility of that by now. It's a recipe for disaster.

There's only two legitimate reasons to have our troops in that part of the world. The first is obvious - to make damn sure the nuclear missiles in Pakistan don't fall into the hands of Al Qaeda. The second reason is to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice. So why can't we simply pull out of Afghanistan and deploy enough troops in Pakistan to protect the missiles, then let the CIA and law enforcement deal with Osama? That way we save both treasure and lives, and we're not creating more enemies for the United States by killing innocent people.

But many Independents suspect that there's another agenda afoot. Actually, Cheney's giving it away. Independents recognize that Dick Cheney has absolutely no integrity, so when he gets passionate over an issue we know to follow either the money or power. Thus, many Independents suspect that what's actually behind Cheney's insistence that we go recklessly rushing into Afghanistan has much more to do with Halliburton's bottom line than it does America's best interest. And while Obama has shown himself to be an excellent president in many ways, his one shortcoming - and a shortcoming that may very well bring him down in the end - is his tendency to try to appease the stupidity and greed of the GOP.

The President needs to recognize that there is nothing he can do that's going to make him acceptable to the GOP - that is, unless he agrees to appoint a Republican vice president, then resign. By now it should be clear that even while he's asleep, the GOP is trying to hatch plans to destroy him. So by spending more time thinking about them than he is his base, he's playing right into their hands.

I mentioned power as one of the reasons that Cheney's trying to rush the president into Afghanistan. I wonder if the president has considered the fact that Cheney just might be trying to get him to make the same kind of mistake in Afghanistan [and now Libya] that the Bush Administration made in Iraq in order to take the Iraq issue off the table for the 2012 election? If during the 2012 campaign America is bogged down in Afghanistan with the useless death of thousands of U.S. troops, all of a sudden, Bush, Cheney, and the GOP won't look all that bad. The president should think about that possibility, since the machinations of Dick Cheney makes Machiavelli look like a trainee.

On the other hand, if the president would have the CIA go after Osama Bin Laden (through the use of intelligence, instead of blindly shooting at rocks), then pull out of Afghanistan, and make an agreement with the government of Pakistan to help them protect their nuclear arsenal, he'll be looking pretty good in 2012, and he won't have the deaths of thousands of U.S. troops to have to justify.

And he'd look even better if he allowed Attorney General Holder to do his job with respect to the Bush administration's war crimes. First, he'd firm up his base by restoring their confidence that he stands for the rule of law, and he would also allay the fear that he might be a puppet, controlled by some powerful cabal.

Another upside to that is that once Holder begins his investigation into the Bush administration, there's absolutely no doubt that he's going to find criminality, cronyism, and corruption seeping so deep within the GOP that Republicans will be so busy snitching on one another, and covering their own asses, that they won't have the time to plot against either him, or the American people.

Now, THAT, would be a change that we could believe in.


Eric L. Wattree

Http://wattree.blogspot.com/
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

Christian bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

The Economy is Just a symptom - it's Hypocrisy, Stupid!

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

The Economy is Just a Symptom - it's Hypocrisy, Stupid!

Every Sunday preachers across this country are preaching about Hell and damnation. They claim that if we don't repent and change our ways we're going to die and suffer Hell's fury throughout eternity. While that's a powerful pitch, that's not actually how things work. It is true that bad behavior will cause us to suffer, but our suffering isn't limited to the hereafter; ignorance and bad behavior creates our Hell right here on Earth. Clear evidence of that is that we're currently living in the pits of Hell as we speak.

When God created man, he created him to be complete and self-sufficient. God deals in perfection, thus, man requires neither a user's guide nor technical support to guide his spirituality. God gave man all the necessary tools that he needed to survive in his environment, just like he provided birds with the sense to fly South in the Winter, and the instinct to know exactly which direction to fly in order to reach their destination. Similarly, God provided man with a mind that allows him to create his own destiny, and a conscience that constantly reminds him of right from wrong. In short, God incorporated his word, and his will, within us. It's called "common sense." It is only when we ignore that common sense and allow the corruption of man into the mix that we are led astray.

But man has allowed other men to circumvent God's gift to humanity. We've allowed Godless, greedy, and self-serving men to gain control over our minds by convincing us that we can only know God through them, and that God has made them the gatekeepers of his kingdom. Then, in order to circumvent our God-given common sense, they've convinced many of us that to even question their word on this matter is to smite God's will, and will result in the most severe punishment - again, "throughout eternity."

That threat is a powerful deterrent for the less thoughtful among us to pursue man's natural inclination to embrace logic and reason. So it is through this device that greedy, Godless, and powerful men have convinced the gullible to worship man over God, and to have more "faith" in the words of man than in the deeds of God, and God's clear intent for man to be a logical being. It's the perfect scam. The gullible have been persuaded that they must pay homage to the powerful in order to please God, and they've been convinced to sacrifice themselves and their families on the promise that they'll be rewarded when they die. What makes this scam so perfect is that it's open-ended, and the scam artists never have to worry about anyone ever coming back to say they were lying.

The above scam is totally responsible for why the poor, middle class, and undereducated are experiencing pure hell right here on Earth.  The gullible have been convinced by their man-God to embrace hypocrisy, and ironically, it's that very hypocrisy that's causing them to cut their own throats. While these so-called emissaries from God claim that God wants us to love our neighbor, it is the hatred of our neighbor that's driving both our foreign and domestic policy. This nation has been convinced that God frowns upon our failure to protect the rich, and our urge to protect our own families represents "the evils of socialism." As a result , in 2008 $711 billion - 18% of our entire budget - went towards this "Christian" nation's capacity to kill others, while middle-class families have lost their jobs, their homes, and poor people are starving. Where were the Tea Baggers then, or when the Bush administration literally "lost" $8 billion in Iraq, then built an embassy in Iraq that's rivalled only by the Vatican in size and opulence - and on a credit card?

This, they tell us was God's will. They also tell us that it was God's will to send poor and middle-class kids to war - against a country that did absolutely nothing to us - without the necessary equipment to protect their lives. And it was also God's will to make these kids pay for the equipment that had to be cut from their wounded bodies as they lie on the battlefield, and later, forced these young troops to pay for their own meals while they laid in the hospital recuperating from their wounds.

While it is merely curious how the powers that be could get poor and middle-class White people to buy into this scam, it's absolutely astonishing how they got Black people to believe that a White man with creamy white skin, blue eyes, and flowing blond hair was born in the desert to a woman who never had sex - especially since Black people were taught this while they were tied up next to the mules.

What it goes to show is, if you can get people to fear the Bogeyman (Devil) as children, then continue that lie long enough, passionately enough, and often enough, you can get people to believe in anything - and it doesn't hurt at all if you have opportunists in their own community getting rich by propagating the lie.

The Christian Bible says, "Know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." That's good advice. The people of this nation need to understand that the Bogeyman is not going to get them for questioning a lie. That's not the Devil causing them to question their "faith, " that's God trying to tell them to stop being idiots and use their common sense. The only Bogeyman is man himself, so they should not be afraid to use the common sense that God gave them. God doesn't need an intermediary. He's not saying anything to any other man that he's not saying to all of us.  If he did, I'm sure he would have informed Popes of the past that it was inappropriate to torture human beings during the Inquisitions, and certainly he would have pointed out to  the current Pope that it was inappropriate to put the reputation of the church before the welfare of children who were being molested by his priests - don't you think?

Now, I'm not saying that all religious people are liars, thieves, or stupid, because that's certainly not the case. Some of the most honorable and well-meaning people in this country are devout Christians, Muslims, and followers of various other faiths, but what I am saying is that they should all take a moment to ask themselves one question:  When they embrace the dogma related to them by man, are they truly worshiping God, or are they actually worshiping man himself? After all, if man truly believes in what he's been selling us, then America was founded in direct violation of several of the Commandments - that we shouldn't steal or kill, that we should love our neighbor, and that we should treat others as we want to be treated. In addition, we are currently guilty of colluding with Israel to commit the very same sins against the Palestinian people as we speak. So are we really being led by God?

While I'm not religious, meaning that I make it a point to keep man out of my relationship with God, I am very spiritual. But the God that I believe in would never say that it's alright to go to another country and kill a million people just because they're sitting on oil and don't believe what I believe; neither would he say that it's alright to torture other men as long as we call it an "enhanced interrogation technique." And he certainly wouldn't say that we should condemn an entire religious group based on the actions of a few criminals that just happened to be of that faith.

So my God suggested that I close with the following question: He pointed out that it was "Christians" who enslaved and lynched Black people in the South, so does that mean that Black people should burn Bibles and prohibit Christian churches from being built in the 'hood?

Think about that. Then consider the depth of our hypocrisy.

Eric L. Wattree
wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content