Too absurd to lampoon

Too absurd to lampoon

Famed political satirist Tom Lehrer, who died in July at 97, long lamented the end of his beloved political satire career. That occurred in 1973 when the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Henry Kissinger the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the Paris Accords designed to end the Vietnam War.

The ceasefire quickly fell apart allowing the war to grind on for two more years till North Vietnam overran the South, sending the US military fleeing in chaos.

Kissinger, architect of Nixon’s vaunted peace plan that elected him in 1968, voraciously promoted endless war for 3 years prior to the award that killed over a million Vietnamese as well as 20,000 US soldiers. Not a single one of those deaths were necessary. Yet, Kissinger proudly accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1973, then spent his remaining half century endlessly defending his murderous war policies.

Lehrer remarked at the tine "Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize". Lehrer felt real-world political events had become so absurd that satire could no longer effectively lampoon them.

Fifty-two years later the Nobel Prize continues to go to figures more deserving a War Prize. This year the Committee selected Venezuelan opposition political figure María Corina Machado who for over 20 years now has been supporting US efforts to overthrow the socialist Venezuelan governments of Hugo Chavez and Nicholas Maduro. She currently backs Trump committing mass murder obliterating small unarmed boats in the Caribbean near Venezuela and has endorsed US land strikes in Venezuela which appear imminent.

Her strong ties to Israel’s Likud government have increased since they began their genocide of Palestinians in Gaza two years ago. One reason is her opposition to the Maduro government’s support of a Palestinian state.

If Tom Lehrer were still alive, he’d no doubt remark how right he was 52 years ago….one can’t satirize such an absurd, senseless Peace Prize pick.

 West Suburban Peace Coalition to discuss status of Gaza ceasefire at November Educational Forum

Title: Gaza ceasefire doesn't end Palestinians' suffering    ``

When: Thursday, November 13, 7:00 to 8:00 PM Chicago time

Speaker: Matthew Hoh

Matthew Hoh is a former Marine Corps captain, Afghanistan State Department officer, a disabled Iraq War veteran and a senior fellow with the Eisenhower Media Network. He serves on many peace organizations including Veterans for Peace , World Beyond War and Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity


Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88201527915?pwd=EqEsd6mawDgjYcAd5gObrp0pnYkbYx.1


Contact Walt Zlotow, zlotow@hotmail.com 630 442 3045 for further information

Biden, Trump mental declines compared

Biden, Trump mental declines compared

Difference 1: Biden's mental decline became apparent in fourth year. Trump's became apparent in first year.

Difference 2: Biden remained committed to democratic, constitutional rule during his mental decline. Trump has remained committed to his authoritarian, unconstitutional rule during his mental decline.

Walt Zlotow, Glen Ellyn IL

Turn Veterans Day into Peace Day

 

Turn Veterans Day into Peace Day

 

Started 106 years ago November 11, Armistice Day was established in the UK to commemorate the armistice that ended WWI a year earlier. In 1926 Congress signed on for the US to “perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations…a day dedicated to the cause of world peace.”

 

The US national security state, working through Congress, changed it to Veterans Day in 1954, the same year they put ‘under god’ in the Pledge. ’For a country dedicated to peace and secularism, 1954 was a bad year indeed.

 

Since then, it has largely become a commercial for promoting American militarism and perpetual war round the world which today sees 170,000 soldiers deployed in 80 countries. To a country engaged in perpetual war worldwide, peace is a word that dares not speak its name.

 

America provoked, enabled and prolonged the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine killing hundreds of thousands, turning Ukraine into a failed state with no chance of victory. Not satisfied with that bloodbath, the US funneled tens of billions in weapons for Israel to largely obliterate Gaza, killing over 100,000 while leaving the remaining 2.2 million Palestinians with little food, water, medicine, electricity or hope.

 

We regularly bomb innocents in a number of countries; Somalia alone over 100 times under the Biden and Trump administrations. Senseless US warfare is about the only thing both parties agree upon.

 

While every decent function of government uplifting the commons loses funding, our defense budget has soured to over $1 trillion. The annual increase alone is larger than most countries spend yearly on their entire military.

 

All vets but the dwindling centenarians of WWII, fought in undeclared wars which slaughtered millions while doing nothing to promote peace…and they know it. After 71 years it’s time for another name change. How about Peace Day, to honor people of peace like Dr. Martin Luther King and a true American war hero , Pvt. Chelsea Manning, who spent seven years in prison for outing American war crimes in Iraq? Peace Day would put the focus on peace November 11, not endless war.

 

It’s time once again, as we did in 1926, “perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations…a day dedicated to the cause of world peace.”

As John Lennon famously sang, ‘Give peace a chance.’

 

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL

Cheney’s death recalls sad complicity of media in his rush to endless war

 Cheney’s death recalls sad complicity of media in his rush to endless war

Dick Cheney lived or 22 years past his primary role ginning up, then launching the immoral, criminal Iraq war. Much is being written in his obituaries regarding his crimes against the countries and peoples he defiled and destroyed for decades before his Iraq war swansong in power.


But we should reflect that Cheney could not have committed his crimes on the world stage without a complicit American media. They handed him the microphone week after week following the 911 attacks to spew his lies of the need to invade first Afghanistan, then Iraq. He used the catchphrase “If you will” to entice his fawning hosts and the gullible public to believe his next statements were incontrovertible facts when they were monstrous lies promoting endless war.


One hugely influential media figure called out the lies and paid a steep price. Highly rated talk show personality Phil Donahue dared to tell truth to Cheney’s lies. Ratings be damned, MSNBC fired him just a month before Cheney triggered the Iraq war. An internal memo put it bluntly stating Donahue “presented a difficult face” for NBC at a time when the rest of US media was in total support of a glorious war whose coverage would goose their profits.


Twenty-two years later Dick Cheney died but sycophantic US media lives on, ignoring without a peep of protest, US support of Israeli genocide, criminal attacks on several countries and obliterating
small, unarmed boats on the high seas.


Dick Cheney’s legacy to America and the world a sorrowful one indeed.


Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL

Humane Pritzker will sign ‘right to die’ legislation in spite of Chicago Tribune editorial against

 Humane Pritzker will sign ‘right to die’ legislation in spite of Chicago Tribune editorial against

The Trib’s editorial ‘Pritzker should veto ‘right to die’ bill’ used 700 words to offer nothing of substance promoting that veto.

First concern that the barriers for assisted suicide will be softened offered no evidence other than California reducing the requirement for a second request from 15 days to 2 days. No evidence was offered that the change caused a single, unnecessary assisted suicide there.

Second concern regarding persons with disabilities offered not an iota of substance against assisted suicide. The Trib simply shares the concern “whether some in the medical community have an inherent bias against their (disabled) constituency.”

Third concern is preposterous. Stating its ‘troubling…that so many seriously ill people may pursue such a path (assisted suicide) or fear of becoming a financial burden on their family” is quite a stretch. "May pursue such a path" is simply conjecture to oppose a humane bill to alleviate enormous end of life suffering.

Fourth concern is just a rehash of first concern that assisted suicide may (again) become easier and more frequent. The Trib looks north to the more humane country of Canada where a whopping, according to the Trib, 1 in 20 deaths in now by that humane alterative to end of life suffering. Oh, the horrors up north.

Before ending with another Pritzker veto plea, the Trib states “Compassion should guide end-of-life policy.” What Trib readers deserve is a little less fear mongering and a tad more compassion.

Walt Zlotow, Glen Ellyn

Ribicoff nailed Chicago street mayhem…just 57 years before it arrived

 Ribicoff nailed Chicago street mayhem…just 57 years before it arrived

August 26, 1968 is a date seared in my political junky memory. As a Vietnam war opponent supporting George McGovern for president, I settled in to watch Connecticut Senator Abraham Ribicoff nominate my hero.


This was an astonishing convention as over 8,000 protesters descended on Chicago to disrupt the certain nomination of Hubert Humphrey, committed to following his boss LBJ going down the rabbit hole of endless war in Vietnam.


Half way into his 9 minute speech extolling McGovern's character that endeared him to peace progressives, Ribicoff got a tad carried away. Mindful of the chaos engulfing Chicago’s streets as those protesters tangled with 12,000 Chicago cops working 12 hour shifts. Ribicoff adlibbed on his long litany of McGovern’s qualifications. “And with George McGovern as President of the United States we wouldn't have to have Gestapo tactics in the streets of Chicago!


Of course, Ribicoff’s description was hyperbolic nonsense. The overworked cops, like every police force in the land, had neither experienced nor trained for a huge, organized protest designed to incite police overreaction to disrupt a convention. 


But 57 years on, watching Trump’ s trained, masked thugs slamming hapless Chicagoans, mostly of color, to the ground day after day, simply to keep Trump’s MAGA crowd screaming with glee, sure looks like Gestapo tactics to me.


Prescient Abe lived for nearly 30 years after his famous (or infamous to Dick Daley) 22 words that will forever be remembered in ’68 Convention history. But if he could come back for just a day to watch local Chicago news, he’d smile and say…’Told ya so.’


Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL 

Hegseth to Congress…’I have no idea who I’m murdering on the high seas...and I don't care’

 Hegseth to Congress…’I have no idea who I’m murdering on the high seas...and I don't care’

Pete Hegseth’s War Dept. held a briefing Wednesday for Congress on their criminal, unconstitutional bombings of small, unarmed boats in the Caribbean and Pacific killing 61 unidentified US murder victims.

 

Not only did Pete’s Murder Unincorporated not divulge the names of the dead, it said that was unnecessary since they were obviously drug smugglers bringing in fentanyl to kill thousands of unsuspecting US drug users. And in Hegseth’s newly renamed Department of War, suspected drug smugglers aren’t interdicted, boats searched and actual drug smugglers arrested. They and their boats are simply blown to bits

 

Morally centered Democrats arrived at the hearing Wednesday poised to object to Hegseth’s murderous lawlessness… but they were turned away. Only high seas murder supporting Republicans were allowed in. Democratic Senator Mark Warner blasted this show hearing: “It’s not optional (to allow in Democrats). It’s a freakin’ duty. When an administration decides it can pick and choose which elected representatives get the understanding of their legal argument of why this is needed for military force and only chooses a particular party, it ignores all the checks and balances.”

 

Next day Pete pivoted and allowed Dems in…but barred War Department attorneys who would have to offer legal justification for their boss’ ongoing mass murder on the high seas. Likely reason? If they had an iota of moral, ethical and professional decency they’d say….’Absolutely none.’

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL