ISIS war body counts mimic Viet Nam

The US has fired over 20,000 missiles on ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria since August, 2014, killing over 23,000 folks there, including innumerable innocent women and children. While the government brags about this grotesque accomplishment, there is no evidence ISIS fighters are being reduced, as new recruits flow in from around the world, including the US. Blowback even includes mass murder of innocents in the US. That reminds this aging anti Viet Nam war protester how our government based their whole propaganda campaign for retain American support for our criminal Viet Nam War on massive Viet Cong body counts to prove we were winning. Fact is we lost, and fact is we are losing the war against ISIS. Besides being unwinnable, it doesn't even need to be fought. ISIS is the bastard child of our criminal Iraq war which shattered the artificial boundaries of Iraq. Chaos we imposed on Afghanistan, Libya and now Syria in our utterly misguided attempts to depose the elected President Assad, have greatly exacerbated the Sunni-Shi'ite civil war of which ISIS is simply the Sunni side. Even more insane? Our best allies in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Israel, and the UEA, are all supporting ISIS in one form or another.

 

But there are some winners here. The missile makers profits skyrocket while missile supplies plummet. They struggle to keep up re-supplying our WMD against the Sunni side. The military careerists have their filthy, nasty war to score promotions. The Xenophobes who demonize Muslims for personal or political gain are ecstatic. In the GOP presidential race it's a race to Armageddon to see who can out warmonger the others. Even progressive Democrat Hillary is banging the war drums with her insane 'no-fly' zones and sanctuary areas in Syria.

 

Meanwhile, the US is cheering on NATO ally Turkey for killing Russians who are killing Turkish fighters in Syria. That's a recipe for WWIII. You can faggetabout any US sympathy for the victims of the ISIS shoot down of a Russian airliner or the Turkish shoot down of a Russian bomber.

 

Get your popcorn and chips, have a seat in front Fawning Corporate Media and get ready for

a real life tragedy of immense proportions.  

Rauner role model for Illinois governance? Ted Cruz

Gov. Bruce Rauner may be a one per center who spent, with his nine fellow one percenters, $65 million to buy the governorship, and then amassed another $40 million stash to influence legislators and local officials. But the super rich are not his true role model for implementing his vision of anti-union, anti-prevailing wage and anti-workman's comp agenda. It's really Texas Senator Ted Cruz, whose ideological fanaticism ins...pired the 2013 GOP federal government shutdown to derail Obamacare, which threw the country into chaos for 15 days, and inflicted a $24 billion hit to the economy before Cruz capitulated. Having tasted shutdown blood once, Cruz tried again this year using the GOP demonization of Planned Parenthood, but failed to bring along enough Republicans to pull off Shutdown 2015. Even his fellow ideological fanatics had enough of his governing malfeasance.

Enter Bruce Rauner, the billionaire political novice, who sought the Illinois governorship to unseat progressive Pat Quinn in 2013, vowing to 'shake up Springfield.' Many naïve voters bought that message, never imagining Rauner would implement a 'slow motion' shutdown of Illinois finances and governance for 11 months now with no end in sight. All the pain of this 'shutdown light' has fallen on workers, the poor, the needy; while the Rauner class sails along in typical resplendent luxury. Read the press, in the tank for this heartless austerity, and it's easy to blame the Democratic majority for this year long saga of our chaotically sailing, budgetless ship of state. You will simply not learn from them that the legislature passed a budget in May that Rauner vetoed for non-budgetary reasons: the legislature wouldn't pass Rauner's hurtful, purely political, austerity agenda. The budget having a deficit was not an issue. Without Rauner's shutdown mentality, the two sides would simply meet solely to discuss responsible spending cuts combined with responsible revenue increases to achieve a legal, balanced budget. Rauner's response was to hold up that normal, responsible process till the legislature implements his non-budgetary agenda. After months of wrangling the two sides finally met December 1. Rauner used his public statement time to re-iterate: No Rauner agenda, no budget.
Rauner hasn't declared his choice for the GOP presidential nominee. He's too busy orchestrating his slow motion Illinois shutdown using the infantile shutdown principles of Sen. Cruz. Least you think Rauner supports fellow billionaire and blowhard Donald Trump, think again. Ideologically, Rauner's governance most closely mirrors, the Prince of Shutdown, Ted Cruz.

Privacy addicts 'in your face' response to District 211 transgender settlement

The privacy addicts in Palatine-Schaumberg's high school district 211 sure have a double standard for showing respect for privacy. Opponents were outraged School Super Dan Coats sheparded through a settlement with the US Civil Rights Division which will get District 211 in compliance with federal sex discrimination guidelines for transgenders. Hundreds of them showed up and dozens spoke out against any settlement with Uncle Sam, furious that darling daughter might catch a glimpse of a penis their perfect God somehow affixed to one the parents' darling daughters. The young lady has adopted a feminine name, entered the correct sex on her passport and is accepted on female sports teams at Schaumberg High. But many clueless parents can't yet fathom this is a total non-issue to the vast majority of students. They've mostly all seen the penises and vaginas they don't have, some more up front and personal that their petrified parents would care to acknowledge. It's unlikely any believes the transgender in question, or any others that may appear, is a sicko like presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who joked about going back in time to high school to masquerade as a transgender to ogle the princesses in their locker room. 
 

But common sense prevailed Thursday. The school board voted 5-2 to get back into compliance, assure the transgender in question, and future ones, will be treated fairly, so District 211 can get their $6 mil in federal funds. Some of the mob that descended upon the meeting wanted a piece of the board that approved the settlement, feeling they were sold out. It required the cops to shield the board members' escape.

Wasn't that a special way for the opponents of a fair settlement to show their respect for privacy?

Roskam on gun control sounds like 'jaberwocky'

In the wake of the latest slaughter of Americans by Americans with 300 million plus guns that even someone on the 'no fly" list can acquire like candy, It's instructive to examine the gun control record of IL 6th District Congressman Peter Roskam. Go to his website www.roskam.house.gov and you'll find one substantive link going back 17 months ago in which the congressman responded to a question from DC newspaper Roll Call on what the House will do on gun control. Roskam, who gets an A rating from the NRA and $3,000 in cash for his efforts protecting the profits of the assault rifle and high powered ammo makers, used 118 words of 'jabberwocky' to say "ABSOLUTEY NOTHING!"

CQ Roll Call: "On gun control, the Senate is set to begin debating a bill to expand background checks. What can Americans expect the House to do?"

Roskam: "On the issue of guns and firearm safety: Remember, the House has a fairly low expectation of the United States Senate. The Senate has demonstrated a capacity in the past to come up with deals and gangs and schemes and this and that, and very little, by the way, of substance. So, if two senators are able to persuade a majority of senators through their process, and a bill comes over, what you’re going to see is, it will be referred to the Judiciary Committee for consideration. So there’s not going be an attempt to put the Senate bill on the floor directly, and our members will have a lot to say about it. And you’ll see really a highly functional process engaged, all the way around."

The congressman got it wrong when he opined ""On the issue of guns and firearm safety: Remember, the House has a fairly low expectation of the United States Senate." No, congressman: on gun control we in the Sixth District have a low expectation of YOU!"

Walt Zlotow
Glen Ellyn