Use Veterans Day to promote peace, not war

Started 98 years ago today, Armistice Day was established in the UK to commemorate the armistice that ended WWI a year earlier. In 1926 Congress added it to the US to "perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations...a day dedicated to the cause of world peace." The war party, working through Congress, changed it to Veterans Day in 1954, the same year they put 'under god' in the Pledge. Since then it has largely become a commercial for American perpetual war around the world which today sees over 250,000 soldiers deployed in 140 countries. Every day we bomb innocents in at least 8 countries we know of. While every decent function of government loses funding, the annual increase in our $700 billion plus military budget alone dwarfs what most countries spend on their entire military. All vets but the near centenarians of WWII fought in undeclared wars which slaughtered millions while doing nothing to promote peace...and they know it. After 63 years it's time for another name change. How about Peace Day, to honor the peacemakers like Dr. Martin Luther King, Ghandi and a true American hero, Pvt. Chelsea Manning, who spent seven years in prison for outing American war crimes in Iraq. As John Lennon famously sang, 'Give peace a chance.'

Use Veterans Day to promote peace, not war

Started 98 years ago today, Armistice Day was established in the UK to commemorate the armistice which ended WWI a year earlier. In 1926 Congress added it to the US to "perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations...a day dedicated to the cause of world peace." The war party, working through Congress, changed it to Veterans Day in 1954, the same year they put 'under god' in the Pledge. Since then it has largely become a commercial for American perpetual war around the world which today sees over 250,000 soldiers deployed in 140 countries. Every day we bomb innocents in at least 8 countries we know of. While every decent function of government loses funding, the annual increase in our $700 billion plus military budget alone dwarfs what most countries spend on their entire military. All vets but the near centenarians of WWII fought in undeclared wars which slaughtered millions while doing nothing to promote peace...and they know it. After 63 years it's time for another name change. How about Peace Day, to honor the peacemakers like Dr. Martin Luther King, Gandi and a true American hero, Pvt. Chelsea Manning, who spent seven years in prison for outing American war crimes in Iraq? As John Lennon famously sang, 'Give peace a chance.'

Roskam cool with $1.7 trillion tax bill budget deficit

During the eight Obama years, my congressman Peter Roskam (IL-6), railed against every attempt to provide life saving health insurance to the needy, rebuild America's crumbling infrastructure, invest in renewable energy, expand educational and job opportunities; indeed, anything designed to help the little people and the commons. His argument was always any increase in budget deficits to help the less fortunate was unacceptable and not an extra tax dollar could be levied against the rich as offset. Then, for Roskam, a miracle happened...his GOP gained the governmental driver's seat. Suddenly, budget deficits not only became acceptable; they became a way of funneling trillion dollar wealth in tax cuts to his wealthy base. While 78% of the proposed Roskam tax bill cuts go to the golden 5% Americans, fully a quarter of middle class workers will see a tax increase. Roskam is cool with that $1.7 trillion in additional budget deficits because as the pressure to offset them mounts, Roskam can go after Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, all life saving programs for working stiffs; a burden on the greedy rich who don't need or want them. That's how it works in Roskam's worldview...the public interest always loses to self interest rightly understood.

Yemen in the time of cholera, Part III

In Part II, I urged support support for the upcoming November 2 vote in the US House on Concurrent Resolution 81 which, if passed, would have forced an end to America's illegal, criminal support of Saudi Arabia's war against neighboring Yemen. The war has killed tens of thousands, inflicted cholera on possibly a million Yemenis, and brought millions more to near starvation, in the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe. H.Con.Res.81 is authorized by the War Powers Act of 1973, which guarantees a floor vote on ending presidential imposed military action by any congressman seeking to end such action. But the night before, House leadership under Speaker Ryan, ruled that 1,778 tanker refueling missions pumping 54 million pounds of fuel into 7,564 Saudi bombing missions does not constitute 'introduction of United States Armed Forces includes the assignment of member of such armed forces to command, coordinate, participate in the movement of, or accompany the regular or irregular military forces of any foreign country or government when such military forces are engaged…’ (War Power Act of 1973). Since Ryan ruled we weren't at war, the War Powers Act doesn't apply, the resolution isn't privileged and the vote was cancelled. He did compromise, allowing debate and vote on a non-binding resolution next week.

That is the way it works in an America controlled by the war party who use perpetual war to gain power and wealth on the bodies of the innocents we destroy and the American treasure we squander. But we in the peace party will cheer on the 4 sponsors of now cancelled H.Con.Res.81 and their 39 co-sponsors who will take the House floor next week to shine a light on our dastardly, cowardly destruction of the pitiful country of Yemen.

Machine guns and madmen

Every country has madmen capable of committing heinous crimes. But only America allows the manufacture and sale of machine guns to people either already mad or capable of becoming so. The kindest, most gentle person alive can snap and go on a shooting rampage killing dozens with a legally bought machine gun. Or the same person can gradually deteriorate over time with the same result. Remember gun spokesman screen star Charleston Heston who boasted,  "I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands"? Actually, it was simply squirreled away from Chuck after he became senile. But how many other aging, inevitably unstable elders pose the risk of a massacre with a machine gun. And yes, let's call it what it really is...a machine gun. It takes a machine to mow down 58 concert goers in Vegas or 26 worshipers in a tine rural Texas church. 'Assault rifle' is an insulting euphemism masking the grotesque carnage these monstrous weapons wage on our society. The president and the Congress, bought off by the gun lobby and political cynicism, are not doing the critical function of protecting society from its most defective citizens. Limit guns to the six shooter or the single shot rifle, all that's needed for hunting or self protection, and the nearly weekly gun massacre becomes extinct. A private citizen has no more right to a machine gun that he does a rocket propelled grenade or a nuclear weapon. Don't mourn for the victims of the massacre of the week. Mourn for untold thousands, including possibly you and I, who may be the next pop up figures in the American shooting gallery enabled and allowed by a society seemingly bent on self destruction. 

Forget tax bill...GOP already funneling middle class wealth up to ravenous weathy

The GOP don't need no stinkin' tax cut bill to keep the sweep of middle class wealth moving inexorably upward to the greedy rich. Since 2010, they have cut the IRS' budget by 18% and reduced enforcement staff by a quarter. The mega rich with their mega mouthpieces have taken notice, fearing less and less the formerly long reach of the tax police. Not satisfied with simply gaming the system through enforcement cutbacks, Republicans endlessly repeat the Big Lie that US businesses are the most taxed in the industrialized world. But the official 35% business tax rate they cite to justify this latest legislative giveaway averages just 21% with many profitable companies paying zilch. And that decimated IRS enforcement staff? The 1 Percenter in Chief is proposing to another round of waterboarding in the bathtub of Republican greed.