Bush, Obama, Trump: All tools of US war party

The only constant in American foreign policy is senseless, perpetual war. Once America reigned supreme following World War II, it created the concept of American Exceptionalism. This gave President Truman and his 12 successors the right to change regimes around the world with impunity, and blow up those countries whose leaders refused to leave quietly. The biggies are Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and dozens of others large and small who've been violated by our hubris. We never forgave tiny Cuba for sticking up to the US bully, so we continue to punish their wonderful, peaceful people with a cruel embargo 58 years on.

Bush the Younger, in a grotesque example of 'transference', blamed Saddam Hussein for the 911 attacks to deflect criticism of his negligence. The result is a shattered Iraq with waring sectarian factions likely never to find peace. Obama talked peace on his march to the White House; then figuratively pardoned the Bush administration war criminals saying 'We must look forward rather than back." Then Obama bombed Libya into a failed state so his Secretary of State Clinton could boast, "We came, we saw....he (Qaddafi) died." That's not statesmanship; that's criminality. Trump too, talked peace when he wasn't spewing racism and Xenophobia, during the campaign. Either he flipped on his own or was counseled by the Masters of War who really run US foreign policy. Threatening war with North Korea, seeking to destroy the peace saving Iran deal and appointing two top Bush administration war criminals, Gina Haspel and John Bolton to important posts, have put smiles on war party faces.

That's the way it works in America, the worst proponent of senseless, perpetual war in our lifetime...likely in history. Presidents come and go... war party never leaves

Roskam's 'wild card' Trump goes bonkers with Bolton pick

My congressman Peter Roskam (IL-6) came out for his self-described 'wild card' Donald Trump for president in August, 2016, because he put aside Trump's degrading comments and boorish behavior as rookie mistakes. Fourteen month in, Roskam's sophomore 'wild card' is firing (or having them flee in horror) his advisers on a near daily basis. Yesterday his top lawyer quit and his National Security Adviser, H.R. McMaster was fired. McMaster, a 3-star general, was one of the few moderating influences left in Wild Card's administration. Worse, he replaced him with possibly the most virulent warmonger ever to serve in government, John 'Bonkers' Bolton. Bonkers served as adviser to Bush Junior, not whispering, but shouting in Bush's ear to attack Iraq. Bonkers earned his sobriquet promoting war against a myriad of countries we have more than token disagreements with. Bolton is so scary even Republicans joined with Democrats to push him out as Bush's UN Ambassador by refusing to confirm him. Since then he's become a free lance warmonger, advocating attacks on North Korea and his true bete noir, Iran. Roskam may likely support Bonker's appointment as Roskam has long been in the 'stop Iran at all costs' wing of the GOP, railing against the Iran nuclear agreement which likely prevented war in 2015. Wild cards are fine in poker. In the presidency...and the Illinois Sixth, they're simply dealing disaster.

Rauner victory speech steeped in pandering, delusion,

Bruce Rauner has perfected the art pretending his first 38 months as governor was anything but the abrogation of the basic principles of good governance. In his cold, cruel victory speech Tuesday, given before his opponent conceded, he omitted he didn't secure a single one of his proposed 44 reform measures. He didn't fess up to worsening every indicator of Illinois' economic health: budget solvency, timely paid bills, expanding taxpayer base, among others. He neglected to mention the myriad of social safety net resources reduced or even abolished under his governance. He offered not a single serious proposal to improve life for us 13,000,000 Illinoisans...unless you're a member of the 'less taxes for the well off, less services for everybody else' club. He doubled, tripled, quadrupled down on his worthless mantra that he's the guy who can smite the imagined crooks running the other party. His endless bashing of Mike Madigan is as tiresome and worthless as Bush's endless bashing of Saddam Hussein. That won't repair his base, utterly fractured by the Queen of Mean, Jeanne Ives, but it does make him feel good about a hopeless cause pushed by a man utterly tone deaf to what good governance requires. Rauner should have examined his floundering failure these past three years, and channeled Tom Buchanan in 'The Great Gatsby' who "smashes everything up and retreats back into his money." Instead he dipped into his countless millions to eek out victory over one on the scariest, cold-hearted persons to ever seek the governorship. Now he faces a fellow billionaire who, fortunately, possesses both a heart and a soul. That's a good choice for the electorate this November.

Tough to digest

While most are digesting Tuesday's election results, I'm gaging on the dreadful, cowardly vote of the 55 of 99 senators that defeated Senate Joint Resolution 54 which would have ended America's criminal support for Saudi Arabia's criminal war against neighboring Yemen. Over 10,000 dead and millions suffering cholera and starvation from US made Saudi bombs and food/medicine blockade enabled by the US. American opposition to this man made humanitarian catastrophe would shut down the Saudi onslaught pronto

Introduced by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah), Senate Joint Resolution 54 was defeated 55-44. Republicans voted 45 to 5 to defeat the measure. Had all Democratic senators voted for peace, S.J. Resolution 54 would have passed 54-45. But Ten of 49 Democrats joined with the 45 Republicans to keep the US war party supplying the Saudis. Only 5 of 49 Republicans voted for peace. We expect the GOP to support perpetual war, but not the Democrats. The 10 Democrat warmongers are Coons (D-DE); Cortez Masto (D-NV); Donnelly (D-IN); Heitkamp (D-ND); Jones (D-AL); Manchin (D-WV); Menendez (D-NJ); Nelson (D-FL); Reed (D-RI); and Whitehouse (D-RI). They and the 45 Republicans voting for war should be required to visit Yemen to see the carnage they enable. I'm sure our government could persuade the Saudis to halt the bombing during their death finding mission. Bringing their own food and water might also be advisable.

A missed anniversary

Did you, like me, miss the big news story of the 15th anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom on the news yesterday? If so, wasn't your fault cause it wasn't aired. Mainstream media, like the government, doesn't mention our failed, criminal war that began March 19, 2003, if at all possible. I still remember hosting a St. Joseph Day celebration that night where the talk focused on the utterly insane war based on lies, fear, intimidation and loathing that was actually underway. After the failed Vietnam War which I protested as a teenager, I didn't believe we'd make a similar mistake, but we did. Never underestimate the ferocious zeal of the war party, including the military, the media, the weapons makers, and of course our leaders, who thrive on ginning up enemies and causes to fight, squandering trillions and getting millions killed, maimed or homeless in the process. Our criminal Iraq war, tho out of the news, still goes on with 5,000 pieces of canon fodder futilely trying to keep peace between Sunnis and Shi'ites in a broken, defiled Iraq. The war has spread like a cancer into Syria, Yemen and parts of Africa. We helped create al Qaida in Iraq; then march into other countries to combat them there. A great business model for the war party; a catastrophe for mankind. We never learn and apparently never will unless the people rise up and demand this madness stop. Alas, that would involve turning away from those dancing stars and bachelor-bacheloretts long enough to give peace a chance.

Is Ives the Trump of Illinois?

The political buzz has state rep Jeanne Ives nipping at Governor Bruce Rauner's heels in the GOP gubernatorial Primary. Ives' blistering attacks on Rauner's largely imagined liberal 'social agenda' as being traitorous to the GOP base has made inroads in Rauner's early, seemingly insurmountable lead. Ives is riffing on Trump's successful 2016 Primary run which demolished the 15 establishment candidates using a canny combination of not so subtle racism, xenophobia and personal attacks. While not nearly as crass and incoherent as Trump, Ives is playing to her largely affluent, white base to rail against immigrants, people of color, the LGBT community and people in need, whom she claims Rauner is favoring over the true Republican base. Like Trump, she appears to enjoy, even encourage, the withering criticism from progressives over her tactics, including an ad that congered up every stereotype of the 'other' whom her base despises.   

Many progressives, including me, felt Trump was the easiest Republican candidate to defeat in 2016. How wrong we were. Let's not make that mistake again with the Illinois governorship. Jeanne Ives, like Trump, seeks office to govern solely to her base; not all 13 million of us. And like Trump, Ives, though unfit to govern, may end up the Republican candidate in the general election. 

Ives' gubernatorial campaign theme

Ives: For those whom Rauner was not heartless enough

Walt Zlotow
Glen Ellyn