Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Trib editorial calls for more doomed, perpetual war

The Trib's July 8 editorial 'Why Obama can't leave Afghanistan' makes no case for maintaining the longest war in American history. You discredit your plea for more war in the first sentence when you accurately state Afghanistan has been at war for centuries, beginning with the reign of Alexander the Great, and that "war has been a way of life in Afghanistan." After 15 years of US failure there, what makes you think we can change that? Without one iota of evidence that the civil war in Afghanistan represents an existential threat to our Homeland, you frivolously call for indefinite warfare that has buried 3,509 US and coalition soldiers, and a trillion dollars of badly needed resources to rebuild America. You are unintentionally hilarious when you posit "some Americans will wince at that decision." No dear sirs and madams, it will make the millions of us peace loving Americans cry, contemplating the utter waste you encourage while America crumbles and the needy go without. And how dare you claim "Obama’s Iraq experience showed him what can happen when U.S. troops pull out en masse and leave poorly trained, poorly equipped local security forces to safeguard citizens." Iraq was largely destroyed as a functioning country from the criminal 2003 US invasion which you championed and have never apologized for enabling. We peaceniks know how difficult it is for a media giant like to Trib to toss out 15 years of warmongering and admit the truth of the colossal and deadly failures of Afghanistan and Iraq . But there is no better time than now for the Trib Board to help steer the US Titanic "Perpetual War" around so the next generation of Trib editorial writers can start with fresh and peaceful slate.

Monday, July 11, 2016

Roskam lonely Illinois GOP presence at Trump coronation

Talking heads at the GOP Convention next week will have a limited number of Illinois GOP'ers to interview on the impending coronation of racist, xenophobe, misogynist Donald Trump as their presidential candidate. The only Illinois GOP biggie who hasn't bailed on the loathsome Donald is my congressman Peter Roskam (IL-6). Pete sees all the KKK and white nationalists flocking to the Trump bandwagon and gloats 'he's bringing new voters into the GOP.' If Roskam is concerned about Trump leading the cheers to smack around Trump rally protesters, even offering to pay legal bills for their shenanigans, he's keeping mum. He's knows his conservative Sixth District base loves Trump, giving him a resounding Illinois Primary win. No way will Roskam follow the lead of his principled Republican Senator Mark Kirk and disown the poisonous racism infecting the Trump campaign and spilling into our body politic. Besides Kirk, state GOP head Governor Bruce Rauner has bailed on the Trump coronation, as well as all other seven Illinois GOP congressmen, DuPage County Chair Dan Cronin, Illinois Highway Authority Chair Bob Schillerstrom, Illinois Manufacturers Association President Greg Baise, top GOP fundraiser Ron Gidwitz and Regional Transportation Authority Chairman Kirk Dillard.
Decency, principles, public good all take a back seat to the Roskam agenda of restricting women's reproductive rights, degrading the IRS's ability to keep the republic solvent, preventing national health care, sabotaging rapprochement with Iran, protecting the NRA's lucrative assault weapons juggernaut, and ignoring climate change concerns. Hey, what's more important: Protecting the commonweal or breaking predecessor Henry's Hyde's record of 16 Sixth District victories?