Oh my gazi! Roskam investigates Benghazi

 

My Illinois Sixth District Congressman Peter J. Roskam finally gets a task to give him a break from voting 55 times to defund and dismantle the Affordable Care Act, voting to deny extension of unemployment insurance to the long term unemployed, voting against every domestic jobs creation bills to rebuild American infrastructure, and working to shut down the government as he did last year, inflicting a $24 Billion dollar hit to our economy. The task, of course, is to participate in the House's fraudulent rehash of the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack that has been investigated numerous times by Congress and the State Department. House Democrats have rightly called this politically motivated probe a "stunt" and are considering boycotting a Democratic presence on the Benghazi panel. Speaker Boehner's announcement was greeted by a firestorm of critical questions from the press who called him out on Republican attempts to use the Benghazi hearings as a fundraising tool, a ghoulish tactic that must cease. Time after time they demanded to know why the GOP is doing this. And time after time Boehner answered each question this way:

  "Our focus is getting to the truth about Benghazi." "Our focus is getting to the truth about Benghazi." "Our focus is getting to the truth about Benghazi." It was as pitiful a response to an important and valid inquiry by the press as one will ever hear.

Go to Roskam's website, www.roskam.gov and you won't find anything about creating jobs. You won't find anything about rebuilding American infrastructure. You won't find anything about supporting critical immigration reform. You won't find anything about securing full citizenship for gays. You won't find anything about giving women full reproductive freedom. You won't find anything about supporting the elimination of the avalanche of money perverting our electoral system. What you will find is "Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi". Oh yes, also more totally bogus disinformation demonizing the IRS which collects the money which pays Roskam's fabulous salary and benefits; and more feeble attempts to degrade the Affordable Care Act.

Greece NY's imaginary friend spreads chill at town council meetings

This non-theist (a kindlier, friendlier term than atheist) sure is glad he doesn't live in Greece, NY. Thanks to the narrowest of margins, five Catholic justices decided that the Greece Town Council can open each public meeting with a prayer, which is always a Christian prayer and often invokes the power and guidance of Jesus Christ himself. On its surface opening a public meeting with a Christian prayer appears to violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment which forbids the establishment of religion in the public sphere. The specific language is unambiguous: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." This is an absolute prohibition and is designed to prevent, according to the Constitutional Framers, that when the roles of the government and religion are intertwined, the result too often has been bloodshed or oppression. How then, did the Court, in Town of Greece v. Galloway, square their decision allowing Christian prayer in town meetings with the Establishment Clause? It was curious indeed. They argued that first, prayer in a public meeting has a long tradition in American history. Second, they said that Greece, NY, didn't prescribe only Christian prayer even though in practice that's all my fellow non-theists and all non-Christian Greece residents get. Finally, they proclaimed that the opening prayer was innocent, caused no real harm and for God's sake, it's kinda cool. But try to imagine the mindset a non-theist or non-Christian trying to make a point or get a favorable ruling when the council members know full well he thinks their reliance on an imaginary friend for guidance is delusional nonsense. I'd bet on that person's opposition getting the favorable ruling. 

There are many more pressing issues to be corrected in our highly dysfunctional democracy, and nobody expects the Greece, NY opening Christian prayers will cause 'bloodshed or oppression'. But they can still intimidate and hinder the rendering of a full and fair hearing there for folks who don't believe. The Establishment Clause is designed to prevent that, but five of the six Catholics on the Court failed to employ that sacred concept. Opening each town council session with a Christian prayer will do nothing to aid council members render good governance. It will, unfortunately, provide a chill over folks infinitely more grounded in reality than those confusing the business of governance with the practice of religion.

Hey, Mr. President: after 238 years, isn't it time to elevate one of our side to the Supremes? And if you do, he or she won't need God's help.

Mr. Jones stays in Washington

Though little publicized, the North Carolina GOP Primary victory of 20 year Congressman Walter Jones over challenger Taylor Griffin, was among the most important primary races of 2014. Jones, whose 3rd District includes Marine Corp base Camp Lejeune, is a fervent critic of America's criminal wars it Iraq, Afghanistan and all future wars of futility, murder and bankruptcy the American war party is planning. Jones is no progressive. He's a conservative on domestic issues. But though he initially supported the Iraq war, he was smart enough and wise enough to see through the lies and propaganda and scare tactics the war party used to cause the hundreds of thousands of deaths, including 4,422 US servicemen. Jones got fed up attending the arrival of soldiers returning to Camp Lejeune in body bags and began to speak out about the catastrophic path of American foreign policy controlled by the neocons in government, the media and their most fervent foreign backers in the Israel Lobby.  That infuriated the neocons enough to make them take the unprecedented step of primarying a 20 year GOP stalwart with a neocon friendly challenger. Neocons like Bush advisors Karl Rove and Ari Fleischer, National Review warmonger Bill Kristol, RNC Chair Haley Barbour, even Alaska Half Governor Sarah Palin all descended upon North Carolina's 3rd District to get rid of the war party's biggest critic in Congress. Just like the outcome in their Iraq and Afghan wars, they failed. Jones is now positioned to become the second most senior member of the House Armed Services Committee.  Anyone who thinks Jones doesn't recognize the bi-partisan madness infecting American foreign policy should read this Jones quote from his address to a North Carolina Americans for Liberty Group: “Congress will not hold anyone to blame" (for America's wars). “Lyndon Johnson’s probably rotting in hell right now because of the Vietnam War, and he probably needs to move over for Dick Cheney.”

 

Jones' Primary win is tantamount to victory in November. That gives us at least two more years of Jones speaking truth to power before the neocons gin up for another run at their fearless nemesis. Right on, Congressman Jones.

Hangman now sitting on Death Row

The inevitable but slow death of the proverbial Hangman can't come soon enough. The recent botched executions in Ohio and Oklahoma, where both bad guys died slowly and painfully, should give pause to every citizen lusting for state sponsored murder to satiate their blood lust. That, simply, is the only reason the death penalty still survives in 20 of 195 countries... and 32 of the 50 states in the fifth most prolific killer of its own citizens, the good ol' USA. Actually, only nine of those 20 unenlightened nations practice it with any regularity. In order of frequency they are China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, USA, Yemen, Sudan, North Korea and Bangladesh. Those of you still rejoicing at every execution are in some pretty ignorant and hateful company.

Oddly enough it may be simple practicality that puts the Hangman in his own noose. Lethal injection is used in all 32 states still in the killing business due to the vulgarity of hanging or firing squad, and the enormous expense of both gas chambers and electric chairs. While lethal injection was both cheap and efficient, it's no longer either. Manufacturers of lethal drugs have stopped selling them to assist in state sponsored murders. Oklahoma screwed up last week's execution because they were experimenting with a home-made three drug cocktail that failed tragically.

We should use this development to remind every citizen and every political leader that there is no societal reason to add to our staggering annual murder count by individuals with a few dozen utterly senseless additional deaths under the color of law. It is a terrible way for a society to show its respect for life. It does not reduce heinous crime. It sometimes murders an innocent person. It makes vicarious murderers of us all whose tax dollars enable the killing. Each state sponsored murder diminishes our humanity. To all those who still support it, ask yourself which country you'll immigrate to when the last US state joins the vast majority of countries who've recognized and outlawed its barbarity.

Rutgers gives Judson University a civics lesson

Former Secretary of State and presidential national security advisor Condoleezza Rice cancelled her May 18th commencement address at Rutgers University due to protests by students and faculty. Their beef with Rice as commencement speaker stems from her involvement as spokesperson and cheerleader for the George W. Bush administration's 2003 illegal, immoral and criminal war in Iraq that has left Iraq in ruins with daily bombings killings hundreds monthly over eleven years later. Rice has never been investigated, much less indicted or convicted of war crimes for her involvement which included her public call for war so the "smoking gun of Iraq WMD wasn't a mushroom cloud" over the US. But the court of public opinion convicted her long ago and she must be careful not to travel to countries, unlike the US, who take Geneva Convention admonitions against war crimes seriously.

The students and faculty of Rutgers gave their counterparts at Elgin's Judson University, an Evangelical institution which has garnered the title for inviting Bush era war criminals to speak at their annual March World Leadership Conferences, a good civics lesson. Judson has invited three of them in the last four years: George W. Bush in 2011, British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2013 and Ms. Rice just two months ago. Not only didn't the students and faculty at Judson protest or work to cancel her speech or discourage her from speaking, they filled the hall, gave her rousing ovations, and gushed about her leadership charisma to the press afterword.

Rice has the freedom to spew her nonsense about political leadership and public service to any forum willing to give her a venue. But an educational institution which purports to promote education and moral leadership has no more sense inviting Rice to speak about that subject than the NAACP would have inviting Nevada rancher and grazing thief Cliven Bundy to speak about how blacks were better off under slavery than freedom.