I Was A Card Carrying Democrat - Part 1 - The Making of a Liberal

This is the truth.  Since the first election I was able to participate in, I voted Democrat.  There were some local elections that I did some independent voting (ie, somebody other than a Democrat if I liked them), but in terms of national politics, I voted Democrat.  President, Senators, Congressional Representatives.  You name it.  Democrat.

My parents were card carrying Democrats.   Some of my earliest memories were riding around in a panel van with my Dad, handing out flyers, with big signs on the sides of the van, urging people to vote for the Democrat running for Sheriff of the county we lived in and my Dad worked in.  My father is now a retired Deputy Sheriff, by the way.  I remember the big PA system he had rigged in the van and the pre-recorded message he played as we drove around the neighborhoods.

It was almost like religion.  You know, where your parents enjoy a certain denomination and that's the denomination you are raised in, so, when you grow up, you usually continue in that denomination?  Unless you marry outside of it and, either by choice or necessity, convert to your spouse's particular religion or denomination.  That's not me.  I'm not married so I can't claim to be influenced by such an outside source when it comes to politics.

Rather, it was a slow change that eventually came to a head with an epiphany. 

Now, like an alcoholic attending my first AA meeting, I will admit that I was a Democrat and voted for Dukakis, Clinton, Clinton, Gore.  Just saying it does not make me feel better, so much as I feel slightly ill.  No weight off the shoulders.  Just the realization that I didn't know squat about politics.  Foreign policy.  Economics.  Taxes.  You name it, I didn't know it.  I didn't know about pork barrel spending.  Congressional and Senatorial committees.  Lobbyists.  So much I didn't know.

Let me be clear on the subject.  I am not bashing the Democrat party for pork barrel spending or special interests money, lobbyist, etc.  I am very well aware of how both parties work and how much money they get and from whom.   As far as I am concerned, both parties could do with some righteous clean up of the campaign funding issues as well as some personal policing of their activities.  I am also very well aware that "policing" themselves is like asking the fox to watch the hen house.  Further, that politics is a very ugly world sometimes and, if one of the parties decided to play "fair" by my standards, it is very likely that party would lose the next election.

So, special interest lobbying barely makes it on my scope unless the candidate espouses some policy directly related to it that gets my attention: positive or negative attention. 

I digress.  Where did I come from?  Aside from my parents obvious party affiliation, we were best described as "lower middle class".  Just above the poverty line.  Law enforcement officers and other emergency workers have never been paid what they are worth, in my opinion.  We did ok, but my Dad worked three jobs, security largely.  His regular job and then different security jobs that he took in the evenings or on the weekends.  My Mom finally went back to work when I was about 15. 

I remember buying clothes for school every year.  I think back now and realize that I was a brat.  Ungrateful.  I didn't realize my parents struggle to feed and clothe three kids on a policeman's salary.  I recall that my major angst back then was that I was unable to have a pair of Jordache jeans.  Do you recall how popular they were?  They cost over $30 a pair back then and that was a lot of money on a policeman's salary.  I wanted some and my parents wouldn't buy them for me.  Instead, I got some knock off designer jeans and fake Nike tennis shoes from K-Mart.  You know the shoes I'm talking about?  They looked like Nikes but the Nike wing was upside down.  I was embarrassed, back then.  I wanted to be "in" and those clothes were not going to make me "in". 

Christ, I was a twerp!  That was the first realization that we were not "elite".  Not like some of the other kids at school.  As I grew older, I think I held a grudge against them, those "elites", for that.   When I came of age to vote, I associated them with "those Republicans" who had more money than they knew what to do with and were "holding us down."  Immature, I know.  But that's how you start your political association.  First your parents and then your  financial stature.  Back then, I would have bought into the "two Americas" routine for sure.

One thing that I had going for me.  My parents wanted something better for me and my brothers, so they constantly pushed us on education.  One time I brought home a "C" and you would have thought that the world had come to an end.  But, I studied and made plans to go to college.  That didn't happen.  But that's another story.

About two years after high school, I moved to Philadelphia where I lived for 10 years.  You may not be aware of this, but Philadelphia has a very large Democrat population.  All of my friends from Philadelphia are Democrats.  Very liberal as a matter of fact.  When I moved there, I had come from a moderate sized city, but the BIG city was a shocker.  I remember the first time I walked around Philadelphia on a historical tour.  I insisted that my friends take me.  They weren't really into it as they had lived there all of their lives, but I wanted to see Independence Hall, Valley Forge, the Liberty Bell.  I am a history buff to say the least.

On this walking tour, we were in George Washington Square near Independence Hall.  There were sky scrapers the size of which I had never seen before.  It was a blustery October day.  We were all in our coats.   I know they were cold, but I had to see it.  Philadelphia.  Where the Declaration of Independence was signed.   As we walked through Independence Mall to George Washington Square, the first interesting thing happened.  I could hear a man shouting at the top of his lungs:  "Nicky Scarfo is a liar!  Nicky Scarfo is a murderer!" and a few other things about "Nicky Scarfo" that were highly uncomplimentary.

For some historical perspective, Nicky Scarfo was a mob boss in Philadelphia during the early '90s.  He was alledgedly behind an upswing in mob related violence.  I knew very little about this as I had barely been in city for a month, but, like all rubbernecking gawkers, I wanted to see what was going on.  Before I could turn, my friends on either side of me, grabbed my arms and told me "not to look" and "keep walking".  About which time we came abreast of the fellow shouting.  He was appx 6'2" with long scraggly hair and a beard and mustache to match.  He was dirty.  His clothes did not fit.  The arms of his shirt only reached about 3 inches above his wrist and his pants were about 3 inches above his ankles, white socks with some very beat up shoes.

Two park rangers came up about then and started leading the man away.  I was still rubber necking.  I remember my friends distinctly, "Somebody should do something about those  people.  They should be put away somewhere.  When they cut the budgets for the state institution, they had to turn those people out.  Now they are just walking around, not taking their medicine.  They need to be taken care of."

Those people.  These are my liberal friends people.  Those people.  Of course, I thought it was terrible that those people couldn't get treatment like they needed.  Why weren't we taking care of those people?

A little later we had walked into George Washington Square where the sky scrapers were.  I was marveling at the statue of George Washington and the monument to the unknown soldier of the Revolutionary War, when I noticed something strange.  On the steps of these sky scrapers, where the door entries were, there were refrigerator boxes.  Lots of them.  At least 30 or more.  Lined up on the steps.  I asked my friends what that was about.  They explained that these were homeless people.  They would bundle up in rags and blankets and such and use the refrigerator boxes like small homes.  The indention of the sky scraper entries and the boxes kept some of the cold wind off.

Just like in the movies.  Except this was real.

Can you imagine what I felt?  I mean, we had some homeless people in my town, but they were certainly not out in front like that.  In your face.  Holy shit, I thought.  We should do something about that.  How can we have so many homeless people?  There was something wrong.  We needed to fix it.  How could we just let these people be homeless?  I thought the government should do more.  We have a social obligation.  We should help people, dammit!  What was going on with these budget cuts that wouldn't help people with obvious psychological issues?  How come we couldn't help these homeless people get into programs to get them cleaned up and a job and a place to live?  What was wrong with us?

It never seemed to end, either.  There is something traumatic about leaving your small world and going into the big one.  You are exposed to many things very quickly. 

I remember living in Drexel Hill.  It was a nice, older, middle class neighborhood.  I drove over the Ben Franklin Bridge every morning to go over to the New Jersey side of the Delaware.  I would hop on Hwy 30 and then 38 to take me over to Moorestown on the other side of Cherry Hill.  You have to know the area.  Moorestown and Cherry Hill, New Jersey are relatively "upscale" areas.  But, to get there, once the bridge let's you on to the NJ side of the river, you are driving through the Camden and then Pennsauken.   Camden is not somewhere you want to drive in the dark.  You stay on the main roads.  Unless you are looking for something "extra" or are unfortunate enough to live there or are going to the amphitheatre they built a few years ago.

When you drive down Hwy 30 in Camden, you will see the things that you only see on "Cops".  Drug dealers on the corners.  Hookers walking the streets.  Liquor stores every other block.  Dilapidated "no-tell motels" that were built in the '50s and have signs "Adult Movies, queen size beds, hourly rates".  And strip clubs.  Not "gentleman's clubs" as they are called here.  Raunchy, dirty buildings with "adult bookstores" attached.

You may have heard that Newark is the arm pit of America?  Camden is the left arm pit and Newark is the right one.

One day, I was driving back home from work and the traffic came to a halt.  Apparently there was an accident on the bridge.  Accidents on the bridge meant that you were going to set there for awhile.  So, there I was in a seedy part of the world with nothing to do.  I looked to the right and there, standing under the pedestrian over pass, was a group of prostitutes.  One of them still sticks in my mind.  She was a tall, thin black woman wearing a red sequined halter top and matching little skirt that was barely wide enough to cover her ass.  She wore red stiletto heels and a short, white rabbit's fur coat that was open, even though it was cold.  The only thing that is a blur is her face.  I can't remember that very well.  Just the outfit and the shoes.

She and the others were calling out to the cars as they drove past.  Ducking down and looking inside to see if anyone was interested.

I looked away quickly, because these folks didn't care who they got into a car with and I didn't want them to have the impression I was "looking for a date".  But, I couldn't help myself.  I kept looking.  It was a train wreck and I had to see.  Just then, a little black Toyota pulled up and she started talking to the driver.  I can't remember what he looked like either.  Just remember that bizarre feeling of watching something horrible about to happen.  Right then the traffic started moving.  I don't know if she got in the car.

I just remember driving on, feeling a little sick.  There was something wrong with the world when a woman had to sell her self.   

A few weeks later, my car broke down and I attempted to take the bus to work.  I had never taken public transportation before.  In order to get where I needed to go, I had to take the bus to the transfer center in Camden.  That's right.  You have to get off in the arm pit of the world and catch another bus out of there.  That was an eye opener, too.  It was cool out still and I was wearing business clothes and a raincoat, carrying my umbrella and brief case.  I was standing at the designated area along with other people from all walks of life.  Business men, school kids, cleaning people (yes, you could tell by their jumpsuits and accoutrements). 

A woman was walking up and down the line of people asking for money.  She was black and very pregnant.  Her hair stood out in all directions.  Looked like a manic version of the Statue of Liberty's head.  She had on a brown, horizontally striped shirt that was not big enough to cover her stomach.  Very popular these days, but believe me, this was not a fashion statement so much as a lack of clothing.  Black stretch pants that didn't come up over her belly.  No coat.  It was about 45* and rainy.   She was wearing flip-flops.

I remember her face.  She wasn't heavy, but her face was puffy.  The puffiness of over indulgence in drugs and alcohol.  She had a few pock marks.  Her eyes.  That's what I remember the most.  They were wide and unblinking.  You could see a lot of the white around the iris.  Her pupils were so small, you could barely see them in the brown of her eye.  She stopped and asked me for some money.  Her speech had that odd, disjointed pattern of people that had to think really hard to put the words together.  I had to tell her "no".  I didn't. I barely had the $2 on me to pay for my bus fare.  I had planned it that way because I knew I had to transfer in Camden and I didn't want to take the chance of carrying more money on me.

She kept asking.  She said she needed to take the bus so she could make her baby's doctor appointment.  I knew that she was high.  I new that she just wanted the money to get high some more.  And she was pregnant.  I don't know which feelings were stronger:  pity, guilt or disgust.

I remember riding along later, looking out the bus windows and thinking what a fucked up world it was.  Wondering how people came to that point.  Why we couldn't do something about it.

It just seemed to re-enforce my feelings that we needed to DO SOMETHING!  How come the government couldn't get these people into programs?  How come she wasn't in a hospital getting cleaned up?  Why couldn't we make her stop abusing her child?  That's what it was.  Child abuse.  I knew.  I was working for a neonatal nursing company at the time and we had plenty of children on our rolls that were crack babies.  Lots of foster parents taking care of these children.  Medicaid programs to pay for their treatment.

There was something wrong in the world and I wanted to fix it.

Summary only...

Technical Difficulties - Email

To my friends,

Apparently, hotmail is experiencing some difficulty in deliverying emails outside of the hotmail world.  This may be due to the new anti-virus wall that has been put up or it is a new project by microsoft to control the internet.  LOL

Which ever, some of you may have been expecting emails from me that were not delivered or are in some sort of eternal delay.  I have received messages from hotmail saying they were unable to send these messages to the servers of these other companies like yahoo.

If this continues, I will change email addresses and notify you of the change.  My apologies to any for interrupted conversations.

Kat

Summary only...

Stirring Up The Hornets' Nest - Apt analogy and Stupid Argument All At The Same Time

On a previous post, It Has Changed Me For Better Or For Worse, a commenter, Robert, talked about his own anger and how it effected him. He also made a comment:

The anger I feel is not directed toward Arabs, but toward people that would kill me, my family, my fellow countrymen, or Western Civilization.

As fervently as I hope that no American will be hurt, just as fervently I hope for the well being of Iraqis.

I've said this before and I'll say it again. Anyone who thinks we truly want war is deluding themselves. I'd love to be able to just ignore thin[g]s like Iraq, but I don't think that's possible or responsible.

When I read this comment, I thought, "Yeah, all those people who want to claim that the war in Iraq is wrong because we might 'stir up the hornets' nest' and cause more people to hate us, really haven't got a clue about the reality in the middle east or the reality of our enemies."

The more I think about the anti-war crowd, the more I think that they are really afraid. When I say "anti-war", I am not talking about those idiots that march around who are truly anti-establishment and not really pacifist or have other political reasons that have really nothing to do with protesting the war in Iraq.

No..The anti-war that I am talking about are the people that want us to pull out of Iraq right now, or say that we shouldn't have gone there because we didn't really have a good reason or that we shouldn't have gone there because it didn't help the war on terror. It actually "stirred up the hornets' nest".

I like that saying "stirred up the hornets' nest". I think it is funny as all get out when these folks say that about how we will now have "more terrorists" because of this action and not less. It will cause more people from that region to hate us. Really? You think trying to get rid of the bad guys is going to make more bad guys? Don't these folks realize that the "hornets' nest" is already stirred up? You ever notice that they killed a couple thousand people already and are putting out websites saying they want to do it some more? Can you get anymore "stirred up" than that? What a stupid argument.

The Hornets' Nest:  A Modern Day Parable
By Kat-Missouri

First, the "hornets' nest" is a good analogy to describe the terrorists groupings and activities. However, what these people tend to forget about the "hornets' nest", is that the longer you leave it alone, the bigger it gets and the more hornets are bred or join the nest.

Eventually, that little nest that was up in the corner of your front porch with just 10 or so hornets flying around and you just killing 1 or so every other week, is now a giant nest with hundreds, if not thousands, of the little bastards flying around and every time you step out your door they are swarming around you, trying to sting you and you are trying to fend them off. Getting stung more and more often because you have now let the nest go for so long, that knocking it down and destroying it will be even more dangerous. Now, instead of just going over with a can of bug spray and a broom, you are going to have to come up with some sort of strategy to protect yourself and knock it down and kill as many of them as possible before they can sting the hell out of you.

And you know you have to do it, because your kids can't even go out the front door anymore for fear of being stung and your wife is bitching at you for not doing something sooner.

There's always that brilliant guy that comes up with the "long distance" plan. You know, the one that thinks he can just get the high pressure hose out and spray it from 10 ft away and knock it down, maybe drown a few hornets while he's at it? That's the guy that forgets that the little bastards can fly and as soon as he knocks the nest down, a couple of hundred of them start swarming all over and stinging the shit out of him. That always seems to be the guy dressed in a Hawaiian print shirt, a pair of shorts and some birkenstock sandals. He doesn't think much about protecting himself. And as soon as he starts getting stung, he runs for the house, with the hornets flying all around him, trying to get inside out of the way. Of course, several of them make it in the house with him and proceed to terrorize his family while he runs around with a rolled up newspaper trying to swat them.

And worst yet, he didn't really destroy the hornets' nest. It's still in the front yard, with hundreds of them, angry and swarming around, looking for their next victim. God forbid that one of his neighbors comes out to get in his car or the kids come out to play and now they are getting stung, too, because he didn't really have a plan.

Hornets and Terrorists

That's how I see our current situation with the "Islamist" terrorists. There was once a small problem. We ignored it because we thought, "hmmm..This isn't really a problem. They can't do much to us, some little group of terrorists. They are waaaaay over there and we can take them out whenever. We'll just swat them if they get too close." Then we thought, "Damn, I think those terrorists are getting a little big for their britches, stinging us at the first World Trade Center bombing, then they had to go blow up the Kenyon and Nairobi embassies, then the USS Cole. Let's go drop a long range tomahawk missile on them. We can knock out the big nest and maybe get a few of the terrorists at the same time. Wouldn't it be great if we knocked off the "queen" bee at the same time?"

And of course what happened was that it just pissed the terrorists off and they followed us back into our house, our country and proceeded to dive bomb our people and the rest of the hornets...er..Terrorists started swarming all over the area and neighbors, looking for soft targets to sting and planning for the next time we were stupid and thought we could do some half assed job of destroying them and protecting ourselves.

Back to the hornets' nest...

Now, the hornets' nest is in the front yard, still swarming with hornets. Some of them have flown off to join the other nests that were already being built under the eaves of the house, by the back door. The nest in the tree that hangs over the kids' swing set. The nest in the eaves of your neighbors house, next to the garage door. They were ignored and were able to spread out through the neighborhood. Now the little bastards are everywhere and a new plan is required. Now, the neighbors have to be called and tell them not to come outside or send their kids out to play because this freaking thing is in the yard and they will be in danger.

The wife is now suggesting that you should call the pest control people (the UN) and get them to come out and take care of the nest for you. You call them up and they tell you they won't be able to come out to your place for at least a week because they are booked solid and they are going to have a meeting (security council) to discuss which jobs are a priority. The guy on the other (Kofi annan) end suggests that you leave them alone and maybe they'll just fly off under their own volition. He can have somebody drive by and check the situation out (unmovic) but he won't be able to do anything until the meeting is over.

Then the big shocker: how much is it going to cost to get the pest control guys to come out and take care of it? The guy on the other end names off a figure that makes you a little dizzy because you are still trying to pay for that window that was broken last week and the car needs repair and your wife wants to go on vacation to Disneyland or something. So, you thank the guy kindly through clenched teeth and hang up the phone, cursing pest control guys and their stupid meetings. Now you need another plan.

So, you call up your neighbors. First the guy on the right(Mexico) and he says he doesn't want anything to do with it. His door and garage are on the other side of the house and he's not worried about it. Besides, haven't you pissed the hornets off enough?

Then you call the guy on your left (Canada) and he is pissed at you. You stupid bastard. Why couldn't you leave good enough alone? Now his kids and wife might get stung. Why don't you wait until the pest control guys (UN) can come and take care of it? You try to explain that this will take too long, but he doesn't want to hear it. He'll take care of the nest in his eaves his own way, but you are shit out of luck if you think he is going to come over and help get rid of the big one.

The whole time, the nest is still active...buzz, buzz, buzz...And the hornets are trying to figure out how to get in your house. You've shut the doors and windows, but the vents and the attic fan are still open and it's just a matter of time before they figure out how to get in.

You call the guy across the street with the Peugeot and Citroen in his garage (France). He too thinks you are a stupid bastard for messing with the hornets nest. If you had just left them alone, they would have gone about their business and hardly bothered you. Besides, he has a hornets' nest on his porch and he just swats them when they get too close. He also thinks that the hornets can change they're behavior if you introduce some different things into their environment; like classical music.  That should keep them calm.  He says that his grandfather swears by that technique. No need to try and destroy the nest. He also wants to collect the honey (oil) from the hive because it tastes really good on his baguettes in the morning. Why couldn't you have just done the same? Besides, why should he get stung for YOUR mess?

You tell the guy across the street that you were thinking about getting the pest control guys (UN) to come and take care of the problem. This really pisses him (France) off because you will destroy his ability to get honey (oil) you insensitive bastard. You thank him for his time, through clenched teeth and hang up the phone, not saying what you want to say because he is on the neighborhood association board (NATO) with you and you might need his vote on a few things later on.

You call the guy next to him with the BMW (Germany) just to find out that the Citroen character has already called him and he is against the plan as well. Don't call the pest control guys (UN) because he doesn't like them spraying shit around in the neighborhood and he will sue if they do. He's on the neighborhood association board (NATO) as well and he will start something if you don't listen to him. Then he tells you the kicker...Citroen guy and he are part owners of the pest control company (UN) and knows the other owners well and he can assure you that you will NOT be getting any help from the pest control guys. Not only that, but he is cultivating his own little hornets' nest and wants to try Citroen guy's plan of changing their behavior by being "nice" to the hornets. He's sure they won't sting him and his family if he just let's them be and walks softly around them. He needs that honey (oil) for his struessel in the morning. At most, he is willing to let you come over and get the tools (military bases) he borrowed from you out of the garage.

The nest is still active...buzz, buzz, buzz...a couple of the smart ones have figured out how to get into your vents and attic fans but they haven't made it into the main part of the house. Just a matter of time before they sting you and your family. The queen bee is busy laying eggs and creating more of the pesky little bastards while you are trying to figure out how to destroy the nest on your own.

In the meantime, your wife (Colin Powell) is after you to call the pest control guys (UN) again. She doesn't want to hear any excuses about Citroen guy owning a piece of the business. Really, you all have had block parties together and you helped him with his ground hog problem a couple of years back, he can hardly want to keep you from getting rid of your problem. She's sure that he will not block your attempt to get the pest control guys out. You just have to show him how bad the problem is. Take some pictures. Show them around. As a matter of fact, she will go fax the pictures to them while you make the call.

When she leaves the room, you call up your brother (Donald Rumsfeld) and tell him about your problem. He says he has a plan and he'll be right over. The wife (Colin Powell) comes back and tells you that the pictures went well and she is sure if you will just call the pest control guys, they'll be right over. So you pick up the phone and call the pest control guys. They cut you off in mid sentence..."Sorry, the owners already called and said that we were not to help you out. Really, we suggest that you leave them alone and they will eventually fly off."

You hang up the phone and give your wife the evil eye because she just made you look like a schmuck for calling when you KNEW that it wasn't going to happen. You can't be really mad at her because she was just trying to help, but dammit, this is not getting the job done. Just putting it off. She insists that she called Citroen guy's wife, Dominique, and she swore that she would talk him out of blocking the pest control guys. Whatever. The wife throws up her hands and goes into the kitchen to start making phone calls to the other wives in the neighborhood to see if their hubbies might be able to help out.

Your brother (Donald Rumsfeld) finally drives up and makes a dash for the back door with the plans in his hand. You grab some brewskies and start looking them over. He says all you need is a couple of guys, some protective clothing, gasoline, blow torch, the riding lawn mower with the snow plow part, trash can with a lid and maybe plan on getting some grass seed and fertilizer because you are going to have to repair the yard (middle east) when you get done burning the hornets' nest. You are like, "What?" "Yep," your brother says, "the only way to get rid of these little bastards is to blow the nest to kingdom come and burn it where it lays." Otherwise, you risk the hornets spreading out like before. His friend Paul (Wolfowitz) had been studying the idea for some time and he thinks you have to go after the hornets where they breed. The big nests.

You now explain to your brother that you have other nests growing as you speak, but he warns you to keep your eye on the ball and take care of one nest at a time. You can knock off the smaller nests when you are done.

About that time, your wife comes back from the kitchen and tells you that she has spoke to the people down the street. They are sure that their hubbies will help out because you went down last year and helped them get rid of their red ant problem. Right about then, you noticed that the other neighbor from across the street just drove up in his Santana (Spain). He just got home from work and maybe if you catch him in time, the asshole next to him won't have been able to call and talk to him, too. You get on the phone and sure enough, while you're talking to him about the plan, you can hear his wife (socialists) in the background, yelling at him not to get involved because the hornets might fly over there and attack their children too. They have enough of their own problems. The kids need him to spend more time at home. Why should he risk getting stung for that guy across the street?

You can hear Santana and his wife having a whispering argument muffled through the phone, but Santana comes back on line and tells you that he can help. Not much, because his wife is pissed, but maybe he can hold the trash bag or something. He has definitely been swatting a few too many hornets himself lately.

Pretty soon, the guy with the Aston Martin (UK) returns your call and he is willing to help out. He doesn't have much, but he's been worried about the hornets, too. Then the neighbors down the road whose red ant problem you helped them with. And that guy with the Ferrari (Italy). He's kind of flashy and has a big mouth, but he's sort of likeable after you get a few beers in him. They are all gungho. Definitely need to get rid of the hornets, too.

Now you've got your neighbors (coalition) and your stuff ready to go. You put on a long sleeve shirt and pants this time, with some gloves and work boots. You have some mosquito netting from your last camping trip over your head topped off with your Dad's old fishing hat. The rest of the guys are decked out in the similar stuff.

You tell your wife and kids to shut all the doors behind you when you go. Your oldest child is jumping up and down, telling you to go "kick some hornets' butt". He got stung when the hornets chased you into the house and he wants those hornets DEAD! Your second oldest just looks at you hoping you have a good plan, but thinks that it is going to go bad and wonders why you can't just leave the hornets nest in the front yard. Your youngest child has always worried you. He wraps his arms around your legs and starts pummeling you, demanding to know why you have to go and destroy the hornets. They aren't all bad hornets. They didn't ALL sting you. Besides, there's a snake (North Korea) in the backyard that you should kill first and Citroen guy gave his kid (Iran) an alligator (nukes) for Christmas and it got loose in the neighborhood. Shouldn't you be killing that thing first? He's also sure that stupid Jewish kid down the road sent the hornets over to colonize your front porch, just to see you kill them.

You look at your wife, "Hon..Please, get the kid. Maybe when he's older he will understand why the hornets have to be destroyed. We'll get to the snake and the alligator tomorrow. First, the hornets' nest"

You all march out to the garage and get your tools. You have your friend with the Aston Martin jump on the riding lawn mower. The damn thing is kind of old and you have to give it a push to pop the clutch. You grab the gasoline and the blow torch. Santana has the garbage can with the lid and your friends from down the road that used to have the red ant problem grab some rakes and a shovel. Your brother hands you a walk talky with low batteries and tells you he will direct your actions from the safety of his car.

In the meantime, your youngest child runs into the bedroom, grabs some crayons and paper and makes a sign that he hangs in your front picture window: HORNET KILLER! Your oldest child is cheering you on and the middle one just stares at you through the window, sure that you are going to make the hornets mad and they will just get stung some more. The middle child and the youngest child are already imagining getting a step daddy that won't go messing with the hornets and will stay inside and play with them. Your wife is looking through the file cabinets for the health and life insurance should something happen to you.

Your neighbors are all looking out their windows, staring at you and waiting for you to get stung. They are thinking that it is going to be real funny to watch you get stung. Some even have their video cameras out, so they can record you killing the innocent hornets and getting stung. This will make one hell of a story to play on the 6 o'clock news.

Finally, you push on to the hornets nest. Quick as lightning, you dowse the nest with gasoline. Then you blow torch it and watch it go up in flames. Hundreds of the little bastards get burnt up instantly. Some start flying off and others try to attack you and your friends. Everyone is smacking them as fast as they can. Finally, the fire burns down and your friend on the lawn mower, uses the snow plow to push the hornet's nest towards the trash can and the guys from down the street with shovels and rakes push it into the trash can that Santana is holding.

Suddenly, Santana's wife screams. Two of the children were stung by some hornets that made it over to their house. She is now yelling at him to get his ass back to the house. She has already called a lawyer and is arranging to divorce him for getting involved with that bastard across the street and endangering their children. The poor schmuck tries to explain that the kids would have gotten stung sooner or later if he didn't help with the hornets' nest, but she is having no part of it. He drops the lid on the trash can and starts walking away. You feel for the guy, but you already knew he was going to get a divorce because his wife had been fooling around with the pool guy (Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist Party) for the last year and you just didn't have the heart to tell him.

Aston Martin's wife is yelling at him, too. Did he get stung? No. Well neither did she or the kids. Why did he put himself in danger when they could have been safe and sound in their house? What if the hornets now come down the street and get them? Aston Martin just rolls his eyes and waves to the wife. "I'll explain it later", he says.

In the meantime, your brother walks over with a friend (George) who had been hiding in the car. His friend is an expert on hornets, he thinks. He looks down at the blackened nest and pronounces, "The queen bee isn't here." You are like, "What?!" "Sorry", he replies, "you must have missed her." Now your eyes start flying around to the other hornets' nests in the yard, wondering which one she ran off to and which one you should knock down next. Just then, your brother in law (Bremer) pulls up in his pick up truck. Your wife must have called him. He walks over and looks down at the big black spot in the yard (middle east). "Damn. I didn't think you would make this big of a mess. I only brought a scoop of seed and a handful of fertilizer."

You look a little cross at him, because you are still trying to figure out the next move to get rid of the rest of the hornets and he is talking about fixing the yard. But, you know you have to do it because, if you don't, the neighborhood association (NATO) is going to send you letters and start trying to fine you for making their area look bad. And they'll do it too, because you have now just made them look like a bunch of punks for just hanging out in their houses while you killed the hornets not to mention their pet project of cultivating hornets might be messed up.

You turn to your brother in law (bremer) and ask him what it will take. He starts reeling off a list of stuff a mile long. You can't just plant some seed and fertilize it and expect the yard to look nice. You are going to have to take up the whole section, roots and all, put down some new dirt (reconstruction), some sod (new government), some weed killer (democracy), a large amount of fertilizer (money) and you don't have all the tools for that. You ask brother in law how much it will cost. After hem-hawing around a few minutes, he tells you a figure.

Well, CRAP! The car repairs are definitely going to have to wait and the wife is going to be PISSED when you tell her that the vacation is off. They are just going to have to stay home and enjoy the pool. You look over at the picture window and wave to your wife at which time you notice that the window is half full of crayon signs saying: YOU LIED! HORNETS DIED! HORNET KILLER! IT'S A ZIONIST PLOT TO TAKE OVER THE NEIGHBORHOOD! IT'S ALL ABOUT THE HONEY! WE WANT A NEW DADDY! KERRY FOR DADDY! (WTF?) Who is Kerry? You definitely need to talk to your wife. Your youngest child is in serious need of some therapy.

You tell the brother in law to get started and write him a check. Aston Martin says he'll leave the tools there, but he has got to go home and try to explain to the wife why the hornets had to be killed. Your other friends, who had the red ant problem, are busily cleaning up whatever they can and swatting a few hornets that are still buzzing in the area.

You turn to your brother, Donald, and tell him to come over tomorrow. You need to start planning to get rid of the other hornets. You ask him if he knows anybody that can coral a snake and lasso an alligator. He thinks he has some people in his palm pilot that might be able to do the job for cheap. Then, trudge into the house. You look like hell because you took a few stings to the face and neck where you weren't well protected. The oldest child runs over and gives you a hug. You're a hero and they wouldn't trade you for another Daddy in the whole world. The middle child looks at you and nearly feints. You were stung, just like they told you would happen and you didn't get the queen bee. What good was destroying the hornets nest if you didn't get the queen bee? Maybe a new, smarter Daddy is a good idea. Maybe the new Daddy could figure out how to do it without getting stung. Whatever. You are sure they might come around with some explanation and you put that in the back of your mind to take care of tomorrow.

The youngest is still marching around with signs, chanting. You take them upstairs because it's bed time and when you open the door, they have pictures of Che Gueverra, Fidel Castro and Michael Moore posted on the wall. Worst yet is the Palestinian flag and the little doll with a yamuka on it's head and some stick pins all over it. This kid is definitely going to therapy. First thing in the morning if you can help it.

You go into the bathroom and doctor up your stings. The wife (Colin Powell) comes in and tells you that she is still trying to talk to Dominique and Helga to convince them that the hornet killing fest was a good idea and that they should talk their husbands into getting rid of their hornets, too. You grunt and continue to fix up the stings, thinking, "that will be a cold day in hell." But you know that those hornets are going to have to go too, if the neighborhood is going to be safe again. This is going to be a long, hard row to hoe. You wonder if your raise will cover all the damages?

Finally,  you sit down in the recliner with a brewskie and the remote control.  Need to catch some news and relax.  You hit the first channel, CNN (Communist News Network).  What the hell?  Your youngest child has been playing with the remote again.  The screen shows a few clips of you setting the nest on fire and then your friends swinging their arms wildly at what appears to be nothing in the air.  The reporter comes on, "Neighborhood was turned into an inferno today when a resident decided to kill a few bees that were alledgedly stinging his family.  Bees are indigenous to the area and have lived there for a long time.  Some of the neighbors were shocked to see the bees attacked so viciously.  Reports from the local vetenarians hospital, where the injured and dead bees were taken by some of the concerned neighbors, indicate that most of the bees were just drones going about their business when they were attacked by the angry resident with fire for no apparent reason.  As many as 2 million innocent drone bees might have been killed.  The angry resident was stung by the resistance bees and had to be taken to the hospital.  Unsure of his condition at this time.  Back to you, Christiana."

Uhhh...Were these guys talking about your neighborhood and the HORNETS that had been stinging you and your family for weeks?  Who were they talking about?  Innocent drone bees?  Were there any such thing?  Who the hell went to the hospital? 

Click to the next channel:  Hornet TV (Al-Jazeera).  That's it!  If that little pain in the ass touches the remote again, you are going to have to spank him!  Reporter Hornet comes on: "Buzzzzzz, buzz-buzz-buzz, buzzzz..."  You turn on the caption just as a close up picture of a hornets' nest on fire and burning and burnt hornets laying on the ground comes on the TV.  The caption reads: "Millions upon millions of of innocent drones were murdered today by an ugly, mean giant who wanted the hornets' nest for himself.   Hornets at the scene report that the giant killed mostly female drones and baby drones without stingers.   The angry hornets report that there were no militant drones with stingers in the area at that time. " 

Cut to a scene with hornets in balaclavas and headbands. "The hornets are swearing vengeance on the ugly, mean giant.  They promise to sting the giant's children in their eyes, nose and mouth until their heads swell up and fall off.  The spiritual hornet, Buzzallah Buzzamed, has issued a buzzwa against all ugly, mean giants everywhere and calls for all true hornets to rise up and sting the giants where ever they are.  Stinging the giants until their heads swell up and fall off is condoned by the holy hornet book, the Buzran."  Cut to a scene of Santana's house, with the children running around and close up of the hornets stinging them repeatedly and then falling to the ground.  "The hornet resistance killed three thousand giants today in honorable hornet resistance.  Buzzallah Buzzamed gives prayers for the martyred hornets that give their lives in the name of Buzzallah, by martyring themselves when the stinger is lost.  Buzzallah bless them."

Ok...This is really buzzarre.  Innocent hornets?  Just a bunch of female drones and baby drones with no stingers?  Three thousand "giants" killed?  Where the hell were they reporting from?  Report continues:

"Hornets, mud daubbers, wasps and other bees from the area are sending aid to the families of the martyred hornets.   Some are packing now to go help their fellow resistance hornets against the giants. "

Shit!   Alright, Citroen guy was partly right about stirring up the hornets' nest, but what were you supposed to do?  Stand around and watch the nest get bigger until it took over your whole front porch?   Wait until your family was stung so bad they had to go to the hospital?  Maybe you could have just moved out and let the hornets have your house?

Click on Fox Watch.  Reporter, "In a stunning victory over the evil hornets, one resident finally took it upon himself to destroy the hornets nest on his front porch.  Reports indicate that as many as one thousand hornets were killed today.  Anonymous sources, close to the resident, indicates that the queen bee got away.  Sources indicate that additional assistance from other neighbors may be required to find and destroy the rest of the hornets' nests.  Supplies and money for such a project are low, but the sources say they will continue to strike the hornets where ever they are found.   Fox Watch was able to obtain secret recordings of Citroen guy calling the pest control guys and telling them not to assist the resident with his problem.  According to anonymous sources at the pest control headquarters, the pest control guys were more than willing to abstain from assisting the resident as secret documents show they were taking pay offs from the hornets in honey.

In other news, a Jewish boy in the neighborhood had to be taken to the hospital when he suddenly fell down on the ground clutching his head.  According to his parents, he had been complaining of pain for several days.   Later, a lone hornet apparently made it into their house and stung the boy in the face.  He is in stable condition and his parents are planning to put up hornet blocking screens all through the house to insure that the hornets never get in again."

Ok...Now you've had enough of this crap.  Time for bed.  You are going to have to get up early and finish taking care of the hornets.  Then there's the yard to be fixed up and you hope like hell your brother knows somebody who can take care of a snake and an alligator roaming around.   How are you going to convince that dumbass across the road that hornets don't make honey, honey bees do and he needs to get off his ass and help you get rid of the hornets at his house?  Doesn't he know that only honey bees can be cultivated?  Hornets don't do anything but sting you?

You lay down in bed, next to the wife who has her back to you.  She's pissed now because you and your stupid hornet escapade has made her friends mad at her.  Whatever.  You turn off the light and close your eyes.  Just as you drift off to sleep...buzzzz, buzzzzz, buzzzzz.  Dammit!   Some of the bees have made it into your house.  Add that to your list of things to track down in the morning.  Maybe you should just create your own "hornet watcher group" who will help you track down the hornets?  Does anybody speak buzz?  You are definitely going to make sure that the hornets don't come back to your neighborhood and sting you or your family.  Even if it's only you who goes around with the gasoline and the blow torch.

Now close your eyes.  You have a lot of work to do tomorrow.

Summary only...

Correction: Overstated Saudi Oil Revenues on "Blood For Oil" Part 4

I was recently informed by a commentor that I may have overstated the value of the Saudie Oil revenue in Blood for OIl Part 4 under the section titled "That Nasty Thing Called Oil". After reviewing his logic, I would agree. Mike in SC states:

About the 432 trillion dollars Saudi "produces"That number is a bit far fetched. In fact, per Yahoo finance Saudi GDP was only 191 billion (1995 dollars) or $227 billion in today’s dollars (2004) by contrast this is a mere 2.36% of our $9.63 TRILLION GDP and ONLY 55% of OUR DEFENSE budget $416B. And Saudi is producing 9.9 Mbbls/d with an estimate capacity to produce 13 Mbbls/d MAX for the foreseeable future. It is doubtful even the Saudis could maintain production let alone al Qa'eda without technical ex-pats. Although this sound like a lot of money they are in fact 31st of 191 countries in GDP. One also must take into account that oil prices fluctuate wildly they were $10/bbl just 2 years ago. Thirdly, Saudi produces 4 grades of crude heavy, medium, light and ultra light that all sell for different prices. Currently Saudi light in NYX is only $36.19/bbl with medium at $31 and heavy at $30 or so. Out of that GDP must come expenses to maintain oil production and the nation or the economy collapses, 23 million people can't eat sand

Very good point Mike. I am very happy that somebody else read the info and was inclined to look it up.

While writing this section, I made a very common error: estimations based on general information. Because I simply wanted to show that the oil in Saudi Arabia was worth a lot of money and should not be placed in the hands of some crazy folks that would like to do us in, I did a "quick estimate" on known numbers without putting the details of gross revenue minus overhead, production costs and materials into the number. I also did not consider the very good point that Mike makes about the different oil types being worth different value per barrel and effect on total GDP

Excellent job Mike!

The rest of Mike's comments are on the original entry's comments if you care to read them.

In regards to whether the lack of accuracy on this subject denigrates the rest of the entry, I will stand by everything I write as I have never purposefully inflated a number or left out any number or information just to make a point. However, you may find that Mike pointing to an error in the work might lead you to consider that the work has more errors in it.

Please, be my guest to review anything I have said, find different information and post it here. I am more than happy to have somebody provide different information and debunk my debunking. This is the appropriate method for debating. You will note that I always provide the links to any data I am working with so that you have the opportunity to review the numbers yourself, without interpretation from me, and draw your own conclusions.

Thanks again.

Summary only...

A Computer Told Me What Career to Follow

Just kidding...another interesting "personality" test. These things are starting to scare me a little. Dead on several times. My current "career" is listed in here. Can you guess what I do for a living? No fair peeking at my profile...

Extroverted (E) 50% Introverted (I) 50%
Realistic (S) 51.61% Imaginative (N) 48.39%
Intellectual (T) 71.43% Emotional (F) 28.57%
Easygoing (P) 67.74% Organized (J) 32.26%


Your type is: ESTP

You are a Promoter, possible professions include - real estate broker , chef, land developer, physical therapist, stock broker, news reporter, fire fighter, promoter, entrepreneur, pilot, budget analyst, insurance agent, management consultant, franchise owner, electrical engineer, aircraft mechanic, technical trainer, EEG technologist, radiological technician, emergency medical tech., corrections officer, flight attendant.

Take Free Career Inventory Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Funny thing...it actually lists a career I have considered several times. Guess what that is.

Summary only...

What Freud Thinks About Me

Well...after all these really deep thinking posts, I think it's time for a little fun.  I found a Freudian personality test on line and decided to take it.  Very interesting results, which I will post here.  I made a comment on a previous post about an IQ where I said I hate to be labeled.  Well...maybe I lied.  LOL

Actually, these tests are at least humorous and we need a little humor right now. 

Freudian Inventory Results

Genital (80%) you appear to have a progressive and constructive outlook on life. Latency (40%) you appear to have a good balance of knowledge seeking and practicality. Phallic (50%) you appear to have a good balance of sexual awareness and sexual composure. Anal (46%) you appear to have a good balance of self control and spontaneity. Oral (33%) you appear to be stubbornly and irrationally against receiving help even when it might be the more intelligent option.

Take Free Freudian Inventory Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

That last one...where it says I am stubbornly, sometimes irrationally against receiving help...How the hell did he know? LOL I think this guy was talking to my Father. My Father told me this same thing last week. Of course, then he got on his favorite topic of, "this is why you haven't found a nice guy and gottne married and had 2.5 children", etc, etc, etc. Notice he didn't say anything about the dog. I already have one of those.

Some other things it says...

Freuds theorized that there are 5 stages of psychological development. At the oral stage the main issue is dependency, at the anal stage the main issue is self control, at the phallic stage the main issue is sexual identity, at the latency stage it's skill development, and at the genital stage its creativity and productivity.

Freud theorized that psychological problems are related to problems during one or more of these stages. For example, being too cared for or too neglected causes someone to be orally fixated, too much or too little control causes someone to be anally fixated, insufficient parental role modeling causes phallic fixation.

An orally fixated person is either irrationally dependent (expects what they want to just appear) or irrationally independent (always refuses help).

An anally fixated person is either irrationally self controlled and servile to authority or has no self control and is compulsively defiant of authority.

A phallicly fixated person is either a sexual compulsive (sexually innappropriate/promiscuous) or sexually repressed.

Freud did not classify any latent fixation but I think it is as plausible as those at the other stages. I speculate that people that like to learn and acquire knowledge without any purpose or people that are compulsively non curious represent both dysfunctional ends of the latency spectrum.

The genital stage is the final Freudian developmental stage and according to Freud people don't all succeed at this. Freud believed the ideal for human happiness is to be happy in love and work, problems in one or the other cause unhappiness.

Like any personality system, Freud's developmental levels are just a theory, so, be speculative about your results.

Summary only...

It Has Changed Me, For Better Or Worse

Today I traveled again to San Diego.  Sunny San Diego where it is a few degrees cooler than my home state and definitely a few % points less in humidity.  I spend between 15-30 hours a month traveling on airplanes.  It is strange really, that after 9/11, my job seemed to demand this kind of travel from me more and more. 

After 9/11, I made a concerted effort to watch who was boarding the plane with me, where they sat and what they were carrying.  Was that paranoid or just being more concious of possible problems?  Are those two concepts the same?

Today though, I was extra tired.  I had stayed up late the night before finishing my "Blood for Oil" treatise and had to get up extra early to catch my flight.  I was late getting to the airport and thus the gate.  When I got to the gate and went through security, my stainless steel watch and silver rope bracelet decided to set off the metal detector.   Usually, I take them off and put them in my purse to be scanned, but I was in a hurry.  The nice female security guard on the other side of the gate asked me to step over to the extra screening area.  I complied without complaint.  It was not the security guard's fault that I was running late and had forgotten to remove my jewelry.  As a matter of fact, I really felt no angst at all as this was not the first time something had set off the alarm and I had been asked to be "wanded".  Traveling so much has made me accept these things as norm and I knew, the quicker I complied, the quicker I would get it over and on the plane.

Of course, my shoes were on the conveyor belt going through the x ray machine, so I padded over in my stockings and sat in one of the chairs provided (note to would be travelers...if you do not want to be embarrassed by your shoes, make sure that the inserts are not cock-eyed and that you put odor eating powder in your shoes to protect your fellow passengers and guards and keep them from setting off the "smell sensor" that detects gun powder and other residues).  I have done this exercise several times so I knew what to expect.  I lifted my right foot even as the security guard was going into the spiel of what was expected.  She laughed a little and we made small talk about the routine of this kind of procedure while we proceeded through the process.  I stood on the little matt that has an outline of feet.  The "foot" marks are designed to make you stand in a spread eagle position for better wanding capabilities of the security folks.  Some might find that a little intimidating or even humiliating, but again, I didn't mind because it was routine.

After wanding my wrists and identifying my two main pieces of jewelry, she proceeded to wand my shoulders and back.  If you are a woman and wear a bra or a guy that knows anything about women's underwear (hopefully not because you wear it yourself), you would know that women's bra's are torturous devices with metal clasps and underwire, designed to make you look good and feel bad about it all at the same time.  As the lady security guard wanded me, the metal in my bra proceeded to make the wand beep.  If you know anything about security at all, you will know you are now about to be touched by a stranger in places you wouldn't normally allow a stranger to touch (at least one that wasn't six foot tall, broad shouldered, strong chin and hands, carrying two dozen roses and repeating "I think I love you" over and over again).

It was over in quick succession, the guard thanked me and I replied "you're welcome", which brought a smile to her face while she escorted me back to my bags.  When I got to the conveyor, the next problem presented itself.  I was originally going to check my traveling bag and only carry my computer on board, but since I was running late, I decided to carry it on board and, thus, had to send it through the x-ray machine.  Guess what was in my bag?   A small maniucre set that I always carry with me which included a stainless steel "cuticle pusher" (men, if you have never had a manicure, these are also torture devices; if you are unsure what this is, ask your wife, girlfriend or any woman you meet that has manicured nails and they will explain the "no pain, no gain" concept of these devices), "cuticle clippers" (see also, "torture devices"), nail clippers, giant emory board (nail file) and a small bottle of clear, cuticle oil.  Basically, I was the security guards' traveler from hell.

The guard had screened my bag twice and now proceeded to ask my "permission" (definitely a euphamism) to search through my bag.  He proceeded to go through the regular spiel of not reaching into the bag or otherwise trying to interfere with their search (I guess some people are just stupid and must argue with these people as if it will make one iota of difference or speed up the process).  He asked me if I had anything sharp in the bag which immediately reminded me of the manicure set.  At this point, I was frustrated with myself.  The gate was now over head paging me to make it to the plane before they closed the door.

To speed up the process and to keep the guy from having to paw through my underwear and other personals in front of every body and God, I quickly indicated where the manicure set could be found.  I was a little annoyed with myself because I was sure that it would now be confiscated and the contents of the manicure set had been assembled by me at no little cost.  Another security guard was standing close by (kind of pudgy guy, couldn't tell if he was there for back up or if he was just a voyeaur with no other traveller to annoy), when they paged me a second time, I asked him nicely if we would wave to the gate and let them know that I was standing in the security check point and, please, please, please, don't leave without me because I was supposed to be meeting my boss on the other end and this would not be good.  He did so and the gate personnel came over with my tickets.

At the same time, the other security guard located my maniucre set and proceeded to pull out all the parts.  After explaining what each item was and testing the oil for him, he put it back in my bag and told me I could go.  I was momentarily surprised, but decided not to push my luck.  I grabbed the bag and ran for the plane.  I guess a 5'4" woman in a business suit did not look like a terrorist that needed her" pointy objects" taken away.

I sat in the last seat available.  This was Southwest, the airline of the "cattle calls".   Again, if you are a non-traveler, the seating is first come first serve.  If you are the last poor slob to get on the plane, you are likely to be getting a middle seat between a fat, smelly guy that takes up his seat and part of yours and doesnt know that square, terry cloth ties went out in the eighties and, really, combovers don't hide anything (better to shave and go bald; it is sexy),  a woman with a 2 year old that is going to scream your entire trip, kick and pummel you as they inform the entire plane of their distress or a grandmother that will insist on telling you about her latest paranormal experience the entire 4 hours of flight (this has really happened to me folks).  When you have only had 3 hours sleep, these are NOT top on your list of traveling companions. 

I was fortunate today.  A really cute, if hopelessly younger and married, man was sitting by the window and a nice lady, reading a book, were mine.  Bliss as I sat back and proceeded to catch some shut eye before the long day ahead (my boss is notorious for holding meetings all day long and into the wee hours of the night).  But, no such luck for me.  I did not notice that the woman with the distressed 2 year old was sitting in the seat across the aisle.  Soon as the plane lifted off, the poor child proceeded to exclaim it's angst for the entire plane to hear.  For the next hour and a half. 

I can't say I wasn't a little huffy about it, but really, what was the mom supposed to do when a baby can hardly understand how to clear it's ears when the cabin pressure changed?  I knew sleep was lost, so I got out my book that I have been trying to read for three weeks (usually, I read a book a week: half on the way to wherever and half on the way back, but I haven't been traveling the last 3 weeks so the book has been languishing) and tried to read.  No rest for the wicked.  Or is that the weary?

Plane landed in Phoenix to let passengers off and pick them up.  This is where my boss got on the plane and proceeded to sit next to me for the remainder of the trip.  Someone else you really don't want as a traveling companion after only 3 hours sleep.  Your worst nightmare is trying to string together coherant sentences and converse with the guy that will give you your next review.  There is no sleeping then.  Suck it up.  You need this job.  You love this job.  Besides, you have definitely worked for people that you would gladly kill and stuff their bodies in a garbage dumpster.  He doesn't even come close to that mark, so you can make the effort.  But still, I had only 3 hours sleep.

We were behind schedule when we landed.  We  both had conference calls to attend to in less than 45 mins and had no breakfast or lunch yet.  We grabbed our bags and walked quickly to the area where we could catch the rental car buses.  My boss was chatting about something as I scanned the rows of buses for our rental car company's logo.  As we walked down the line, I saw "him".  A thin man in jeans and a blue dress shirt.  He had dark skin, a thin, hooked nose in a thin, rather patrician face.  His beard and mustache were trimmed with a little grey.  On his head, he wore the traditional skull cap of many muslim sects.  He wore black loafers and no socks.  I swear to you, he looked like a young bin Laden.

Can you tell by my description that I was staring at him?  I did.  Not, too long, but long enough.  Long enough for me to notice that I was staring.  My boss and I got on the bus and I sat listening with half an ear as he continued making small talk and I stared out the window.  I was just a little shaken by the incident.  Not because what he looked like.  Not because I was afraid, though his appearance had given me pause.  Not because I thought he was a terrorist and he should be reported immediately (he wasn't doing anything but sitting there).

I was shaken because I was reminded that there are some people that had taken airplanes and rammed them into buildings.  I was shaken because, this act, which I so detested and swore would not deter me from flying, changed me in a way that I had not recognized until the moment I stared at this man, the same way I realized I had stared at people of middle eastern decent for the last 3 years.  Not in that, "oh, look, somebody who is different.  Wonder what interesting place they come from" stare.  But the look that says, "I am suspicious of you and if you make one false move, you will get clobbered with a heavy object."

Frankly, as I write this, the same feelings came over me, inlcuding the last feeling: anger.  I was so fucking angry right then.  I'm angry right now.  These bastards had changed me in a way I thought no one could.  They have made me paranoid.  They have quite possibly subverted my usual acceptance of people at face value and turned me into, what I call a racist.  Even as I try to justify this to myself, that really, I'm not a racist, I would never exclude anyone or denigrate anyone for their race or color, I know that I have made an exception in my subconcience and now my concience, that this might exclude middle eastern people.

Even as I cheer on the Iraqi people and hope for their better, brighter future.  Even as I read other webblogs from Iraqi citizens that talk about freedom and share many of the similar ideas of myself and fellow citizens of the US.  Even as I share comments with these same folks, I realize that some where, I have put a modifier on my acceptance.  Because of their race, color, religion, place of origin, I am waiting for them to prove to me that they are not like "the others".  AS they pass this proof, I have accepted them and, in the case of my fellow bloggers, placed them near in my heart like brothers and sisters, fearing for their safety.  Insisting that I read their blogs each day to know that they are still alive by seeing that they have posted today.   In some ways I recognize that I have done this as a defense mechanism to try to stem the tide of my own bigotry, lest I become them, those 19 men on the planes.  That bastard who believes he is curing his region, his religion of the infidels.

Right now, I wish these bastards in hell, burning and screaming like their many victims.  Burning for making me recognize this thing in me.  Burning for changing my world.  Burning for changing me when so many things, so many people before have never been able to do so.  I think I hate them like I have never hated another human being in my life.  I want to destroy them for destroying a part of me.  This is no impersonal revenge or justice I require for killing 3000 of the worlds citizens in my country; for making me watch people jump from 110 stories of a burning  building; for making me see thousands of people carrying pictures of their dead loved ones; the eerie silence I still hear in my mind, echoing with the high pitched siren sounds that indicate a fireman has fallen.  These things require our action.

No...this is personal.  I want vengence for the piece of my soul that has been taken; the piece of me that has been destroyed.  I said once that I woke up on Sept 12, 2001 to a different world.  On July 20, 2004, I woke up to a new me.  Someone I am not sure that I am ready to deal with.

As I write this, I begin to believe something very strongly.  The best punishment for this bastard and his followers is not a quick death by a missile from an unmanned predator.  It is life.  It is the witnessing of the thing that he most feared.  A new birth of a free and prosperous nation.  Freedom that he so loathes.  The spread of this freedom from country to country until it squeezes him into a corner where all he can see above the bodies of his dead compatriots, is the the thing that he most feared:  Freedom staring him in the face.

Then and only then may he find surcease in the fires of hell at the tip of a tomahawk or a MOAB or the assassins bullet.

Tomorrow, I must get up and go to work.  Recognizing that I have been changed, for better or worse.

Summary only...

Thomas P.M. Barnett

For additional reading to go along with the entry below:  Blood for Oil Part #4, you should add his webblog to your list of things to read on a regular basis. 

Summary only...

Busting Conspiracy Theories (#1) -Blood for OilPart 4: Oil, Economy, Terrorism and National Security

In my post called Tipping Points, I left a closing remark about how the "broken window" theory might apply to Iraq. If you haven't read that post already, please take some time to read it and understand the premise of "broken windows" theory. Then, come back and read this entry. If you've read the entry, let's continue on.

Broken Window Theory and the Middle East

Think about "tipping points", "good epidemics" and "broken windows theory". The middle east serves as our "high crime" area. This is where most of the "terrorists" come from. The terrorists are able to plan and operate without impunity because there was no one that tried to stop them. There was no one that tried to "fix" the problem. The middle east has high poverty, low employment, little freedom, an extreme religious indoctrination of it's youth and many "broken windows". A breeding ground, as it were, for the enemy.

How could we effect a change? Fix the "broken windows"? For years, we have had a policy of "non-intervention" and "detente diplomacy" (accept whoever is in power of any given country, regardless of their stature as "dictator" or how they rule their people, do business as necessary and allow "the people" to sort it out for themselves). We did little but mouth "platitudes" and "request" that these leaders change their actions towards their people. We never insisted. We never demanded. As long as we were getting what we wanted from the current government, we took no action. The windows remained broken.

The leaders of these countries, fearing our power and possible ability to cause their demise, have sown fear and mistrust in their populations for the United States and western culture, thru real or perceived threats to their security. Couple that with people seeing that we continue to do business with these regimes and the people get the idea that we are some how complicit in their condition. That we support these governments. Enter the reactionaries or "terrorists". Somebody is responsible for their condition. They cannot strike out against the government or demand changes (they think) because we support that government and give it power. Hence, we are the bad guys to the common people who have no other exposure to the west but through government approved media. This allows the "terrorists", who have a grander scheme in mind, to have a plethora of people from which to obtain "followers" to carry out the battle plan against the west.

Now we have an area, full of "broken windows". It's obvious that our previous policies in the middle east did not effect the changes we wanted and certainly left us exposed to the kinds of attacks we experienced on September 11, 2001. I do not excuse this episode with this treatise, but simply point out the truth of the matter. The question remains, what can we do about it?

That Nasty Thing Called Oil

One area that continues to be a problem, as well as a rallying point for the anti-war folks, is the oil that flows from this region. Not just Iraq, we're talking Saudi Arabia, United Emirates, Qatar, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Iran, etc, etc. The oil from this region, as I have previously pointed out, makes 30% or more of the world oil production. If countries, including the US, decided not to do business with these countries, the entire world economy would begin to crumble.

We are a world economy based on oil. Every aspect of our daily lives is directly related to the availability and cost of oil. The cost and availability of food, clothing and shelter, depends on the cost of oil. The more the oil costs, the more gas costs. The more gas costs, the higher delivery costs. The higher delivery costs, the more food, clothing and shelter costs. Those are just a few examples. Imagine trying to drive to work? Getting gas, parked in line, a la 1978? Gas that is $10/gallon?

So, we cannot simply stop doing business there without having a serious and immediate impact on the economy. Further, if the US decided to take the "high ground" and insist on this, other countries would not necessarily follow suit. They would continue to do business with little or no effect on their economy while ours went into the toilet. Our dollar would be worth nothing on the market. We would not be able to buy weapons, support the military, support our infrastructure (roads, schools, government programs), buy products from the world (or they would be 20 times the cost they are now).

In short, we would be in a severe depression. We would be vulnerable to internal and external conflict. Countries like China wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of the situation. Taiwan would be instantly re-annexed. Other countries now enjoying freedom under our umbrella of protection would be threatened if not find themselves at war because that umbrella would be gone.

Have I convinced you yet that the war is for oil? If your mind is going that way, you need to stop and expand your thought processes for a moment. What I've said so far is:

1) The middle east has many "broken windows"
2) We (the entire world) do business (buy oil) in these "broken windows" areas
3) Because we do business with the "broken windows" governments, we are perceived as the reason that the windows are broken
4) The policies (detente diplomacy) that we have used in the past have fostered the perception that we are responsible for keeping the windows broken
5) Islamist terrorists, who have a different plan (previously discussed but to be reviewed again), use this as a tool to recruit people for their terrorist activities
6) If we stop doing business with the broken windows governments, the terrorists will continue to attack us regardless
7) If we stop doing business in the broken windows region, we will severely decrease our ability to obtain oil
6) If we do not obtain oil from the broken windows region, our economy will suffer
7) If we do not obtain oil from the broken windows region, we cannot support our military
8) If our economy and military abilities are weakened, we are vulnerable to attack or at least, our international power is severely limited
9) If we are vulnerable to attack or have limited international power, our allies are vulnerable to attack (Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Israel, etc)

We are damned if we do and damned if we don't!

Ok...Let that swirl around in your mind for a moment and then, we will take a quick look at the "terrorists" plans and how international politics or power tug of wars are intertwined in this problem.

Islamist Terrorists and The New Caliphate (read, Greater Nation of Islam)

Think of these names: Osama Bin Laden, Abu Al-Zarqawi. What do those names bring to mind? Terrorists? September 11, 2001? Iraqi "resistance"? Islamists, if you're a little more advanced.

What about these: Al-Qaida; Hezbollah; Islamiya Al-Jihad; Hamas; Abu al-Sayyaf; Harakat al-Mujihidin; Palestinian Islamic Jihad; al-Jihad. Have you even heard of half of these groups? These groups are all "Islamist" organizations designated as "terrorists". If you want to see more, go to 2001 Designated Terrorist Organizations

Now, the question is: What do these groups all have in common? What are their goals? I have discussed this in a previous post Identifying the Enemy.

The enemy has one plan: to re-create the Caliphate or great Ottoman Empire that spread from China to France from 700 AD to 1569 AD and actually continued in some form to the 20th century. It had slowly lost territories over the millennia until it collapsed back upon itself through petty wars as well as being over run by imperialist European countries.

Under this plan to re-create the great Caliphate, they are planning to slowly take over those countries that, while practicing some form of "fundamental" Islam, do not meet their high standards and are in essence, corrupt. (...)

The US and the world have a reason not to want these "jihadist" to come to power. Not the least of which that these would be the most repressive regimes ever known to mankind (probably considered worse than the Nazis). Worse, is the prospect of these new "regimes" coming to power over countries that have large reserves of oil. This would give the Islamists power over the world economies and an undiluted source of income (...)

With an undiluted source of income and the power to screw with the economies of "non-believer" nations, these new regimes would be able to black mail these countries or worse yet, use the income to obtain WMD.

Contrary to popular belief, they don't "hate us" because of our foreign policies. Our foreign policies have certainly played into their hands, but is not the root cause of the situation. These groups want to establish Islamic theocracies in the countries they operate from. They abhor freedom. They will squash whatever society they come to rule. Anyone that does not believe as they do will be slaughtered: Muslims and Non-Muslims alike (see terrorists attacking normal Iraqi citizens).

In essence, we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. If we withdraw economic or diplomatic support for these countries (Saudi Arabia, specifically), there will be civil war beyond that which is currently taking place. The Saudi government is under attack by it's own extremists (yep, like Dr. Frankenstein and his monster). If we de-camp, it is very likely Saudi Arabia (largest single producer of oil) will fall to the extremists within. Let's review that:

1) Saudi Arabia Oil is worth about 432 trillion dollars (28mil bbls/day X $42.33 X 365 days)(you must wonder why they have such a shitty economy)
2) Wahhabi extremist who want to build a Pan Arab nation takes over the country
3) Sympathizes with OBL and sees western world as an impediment, if not a downright threat to their existence
4) Countries will still do business with Saudi (because they have no choice; there is nothing else to be had or their economies will go in the toilet; they go, we go)
5) Imagine 432 trillion dollars in the hands of people that really hate us
6) Imagine 432 trillion dollars in the hands of people that would like to control the region.
7) Imagine France, Germany and Russia, hoping to increase their influence in the region.
8) Imagine France, Germany, Russia and North Korea hoping to help their economies by selling weapons, materials and possible nuclear materials to a new state hungry for the technology and hates us.
9) Imagine a country and resources in the hands of Wahhabi extremists that don't really like the Iranian Shiite theocracy in Iran.
10) Imagine a country and resources in the hands of Wahhabi extremists that hate Israel and thinks that Jordan is a US puppet
11) Imagine a country and resources in the hands of Wahhabi extremists that would threaten the entire region with war
12) Imagine an entire region, rich in oil, that is in eternal warfare
13) Imagine what the world would be like without the oil from the middle east due to internecine wars

Now...If you have imagined all of these scenarios, imagine the final scenario: What would the middle east region look like in 3-5 years? What threats would we have to contend with? What would our economy and the rest of the world look like?

These are basically theories. Anyone of them could be wrong and anyone of them could be right. The point here is that the US and other countries must look out for their best interests. When considering these possibilities, we must choose the best option. The President (whoever that may be) and congress, have to make these decisions. Usually, we must err on the side of caution. In the instance of Saudi Arabia, we have obviously chosen the devil we know. In the past, this has gotten us into trouble (see Shah of Iran, South Vietnam, Cambodia, Panama, Chile, etc).

So...What can we do about it? Saudi Arabia is a state that oppresses it's people, limits their freedom, controls their religion and media, imprisons (and possibly tortures and executes) political dissidents. How do we change them and still maintain at least a halfway decent ally that isn't near as oppressive as the one that could come to power? We have already tried "talking". Invasion is out of the question (the whole world would be up in arms).

Iran oppresses it's people, limits their freedom, controls their religion and media, imprisons and definitely tortures and executes political dissidents. They have a massive army. They have economic ties with France and Russia. They are well on their way to having nuclear abilities (supposed for power only; thank you France, Pakistan and North Korea).

Syria...Secular government with Islamic terrorist ties. Oppresses it's people, limits their freedom, controls their religion and media, imprisons and definitely tortures and executes political dissidents. Small army, but brainwashed masses. They have economic ties with France and Russia.

(Does anyone notice a trend here? All of the countries that are a threat to the region and the security of the western world have economic ties with two of our "allies").

Now, the question begs, without actually invading all of these countries, how do you get them to change when current diplomacy has had little effect? Frankly, they must change because they are the broken windows.

Let's Talk About Other Countries Interests

Here's the reality: While the US is THE superpower in terms of economy and military, it doesn't mean that other countries aren't getting their piece of pie and eating it, too. They might try to claim some "higher moral ground", but the reality is that they have deep economic and political aspirations in the region.

Let's start with the Oil For Food fiasco over at the UN. So many countries had their hands in the cookie jar, it's hard to figure out if anyone is blameless (except the US, who was only buying the oil, not a contractor for the food). If you want to know how the whole scam worked, read these articles and a new site I found, dedicated to talking about this issue:

Did the UN Know What Was Going On?
Ditto

Where There's Smoke, There Is Fire

Yep, They Knew

How about a breakdown of the ongoing situation:

UNSCAM

How about a list of the companies and countries involved:
Fox News Gets Info

Guess Who Tried To Block The Investigation?

Ok...This is enough of that issue for now. But it should start making you understand some issues.

Let's talk about who was drilling and exporting oil from what Middle Eastern Countries. Many, many countries are involved in the drilling of oil in many of the middle eastern countries. I am about to direct you to a site called "Judicial Watch". For the record, this group is officially seeking information regarding the Cheney Energy Task force documents (of which they only supply you the parts that support their theory that the war was for oil, but you can read what you want).

Maps and Charts of ME Oil Fields

Two large companies stick out: France's Total Elf and Russia's Lukoil (recently raided by Russian government for supposed illegal activities). You will also notice that Canadian oil companies have some major contracts as well.   And China, too.  Let's not forget that they are in desperate need of oil for their growing industry and economy. 

You will notice that the majority of the contracts are held by countries that blocked the last UN resolution.

Cheney Energy Task Force

Speaking of economy, there was a big hoopla about the Cheney Energy Task Force. Depending on which side of the argument you get involved with, the Cheney Energy Task Force information might be construed as an inside lobbying job by companies in the industry. Some organizations like "Judicial Watch" are attempting to get the Task Force to release more documents under the Freedom of Information Act. The supreme court recently denied a suit demanding the release of information indicating that the President is allowed to have briefings and other consultations concerning policy making decisions remain "secret" as it could impair his ability to act. This will only stand as long as all of those on the panel were actually government officials. The problem lies in the task force asking companies in the industry for information.

Basically, everyone is attempting to split hairs on whether having gathered information from the industry could be construed as having members that were not government officials. The reality is, all members of the board were government officials. Information gathered from the industry does not mean they were part of the board.

Another organization Natural Resource Defense Council contends that much of the policy derived from this task force was actually cut and pasted from recommendations from the industry and this backs up their contention that this is not "privileged" information. However, the courts still contend that it is the make up of the panel that counts. That keeps the information largely "privileged" and out of the hands of the public (right or wrong).

Now, I have read the documents that were released. Many will contend that this was an inside job to help industry friends of VP Cheney and President Bush by trying to circumvent certain EPA and industry standards that are costly to these businesses. However, once I read what documents were released, it became apparent that there was very strong economic and foreign policy reasons for reviewing these issues.

First, a major issue here is our dependence on foreign oil and other resources (natural gas for instance). It has been a source of contention for both the left and the right. Dependency on foreign resources leads us to make foreign policy decisions that are "the lesser of two evils". The second issue here is that terrorism and other disturbances in the areas that largely produce these resources, are having a serious effect on the price of these resources. Like the price of a barrel of oil; no matter how much is being pumped out, the price continues to increase. If you read my previous posts on this subject, experts are estimating that a barrel of oil could go as high as $52/barrel in the next 2 years (or less). This has serious implications on the US and world economy.

I want to digress for a moment and explain some world economics here. France, Germany (all European countries) and England are already paying almost 5 pounds (British) for a liter (less than a gallon) of gas. This is largely because they have few refineries that produce gasoline (petrol) in their countries as well as the very strict rules that they have for pollution control on these industries. Pollution controls are nice, but they are costly. This, plus very large taxes used for social and public works, makes gasoline very high priced. This also means that these countries are very interested in what happens in the "broken windows" region. They just have a different idea of how to handle it (generally ignore the greater problems and just work through diplomatic channels as each new situation arises). The new US policy contends that this kind of behavior is leading to the very problems that we are seeing there and must have a more direct approach to curing it.

But, let's return to the Energy Task Force (ETF) and economics. Basically, the ETF is looking at how it can minimize the impact of the government restrictions on the industries and allow prices for these resources to remain the same or decrease. This basically fits in with the Bush/Cheney economic plan to insure that the money stays out in the private sector and does not impact the economic growth of the US. The economy has been well documented to have been declining in the the last year and a half of the Clinton administration. Growth in economy, whoever the President, cannot be sustained forever under one policy. Policies must grow with the changing economy. September 11, 2001 accelerated this problem with smashing of our economic center by the terrorists.

A little economic lesson...

The President then had to consider how best to get the economy back and fast. This would have been the job for any President, Republican or Democrat. Under the economic policy of this administration, they believe that less taxes and cost burdens on industries, means more money for the industry to expand, which means more jobs, which means more money in the private sector, which means more people buying goods and services, which means more money in businesses, which means more expansion, etc, etc, etc. A circular economy growth. This is the same plan that Reagan used in the 80's that continued to see it's prosperity in the 90's only to start slowly draining away as the government recognized new revenue paths for it's increasing government programs.

At first, the taxes seemed small enough not to effect business gains, but, after only a few years, it began to have a telling effect. This was covered up by the pronouncement of the "surplus" which was, in reality, only a 10 year projection based on a theory and did not actually exist. Unfortunately, that is not how it was presented to the public. In a very short period of time, the government taxation began to outstrip the economic growth which began the economic stagnation and downturn of 1999. Now, the other issue here is that, one year after taking office, the new administration had the gall to announce that this surplus did not exist. At which point, the Democratic party began it's campaign by stating that the current administration spent it all. This should be funny to anyone who remembers this story, because the supposed surplus was to be worth about $115 mil. Wow! In a government that spends over $400 trillion might actually have a "surplus" that gets spent? Really, if you want to know about the surplus, where it came from, how they made these projections and why they were false, please see this site: Budget Surplus Allocation.

Back to the Energy Task Force...

The ETF was also looking at maps of oil fields in many countries. Particularly, undrilled reserves. This included Iraq (where the whole blood for oil chant starts up), Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Caspian Sea, the Korean peninsula (off shore both North and South Korea),etc. This is appropriate for the government to look at in terms of their energy policy. You can't make good decisions on your energy policy without knowing all of the variables. These variables, or availability of resources, could insure that the price can be maintained or only increase slightly if these resources were made available (supply and demand economics).

The government, believe it or not, has also been putting money into looking at alternative fuel sources like fuel cell technology. This has been going on for sometime, it just seems to not have the funding some people would like. (My brother says that the government should stay out of the funding-except minimal-and allow private industries to research and develop as this usually leads to the most cost effective approach). The Department of Defense is actually heading a fuel cell study:
DOD Fuel Cell.

The President actually told us what the ETF was all about in his 2003 State of the Union Address:

Our third goal is to promote energy independence for our country, while dramatically improving the environment.

I have sent you a comprehensive energy plan to promote energy efficiency and conservation, to develop cleaner technology, and to produce more energy at home.

I have sent you clear skies legislation that mandates a 70 percent cut in air pollution from power plants over the next 15 years.

Even more, I ask you to take a crucial step and protect our environment in ways that generations before us could not have imagined. (...)

In this century, the greatest environmental progress will come about not through endless lawsuits or command-and-control regulations, but through technology and innovation.

Tonight I'm proposing $1.2 billion in research funding so that America can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles.

A simple chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen generates energy, which can be used to power a car, producing only water, not exhaust fumes.

With a new national commitment, our scientists and engineers will overcome obstacles to taking these cars from laboratory to showroom, so that the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free.

Join me in this important innovation to make our air significantly cleaner, and our country much less dependent on foreign sources of energy.

Here is a reality check for you: Some experts believe that the oil reserves from non-OPEC countries will peak within 26 years.  Some believe that it is less.  Some believe that the peak has already been reached.  Some experts indicate that OPEC oil reserves will peak in 88 years.  Some believe that is too generous an estimate and may be only 50 years.  See what theEnergy International Agency has to say about it.

National Security

There are many things we have to worry about on the front of National Security.

• North Korea would like to invade South Korea
• North Korea getting nukes
• North Korea selling nukes
  • to terrorists, other rogue states, etc
• Iran getting nukes
• Iran selling nukes
  • To terrorists, other rogue states, etc
• Iran interfering in Iraq
• Iran is harboring Al-Qaida
  • Seriously, Osama's son is a "guest" after his citizenship was revoked in Saudi Arabia
  • Question: Why does Saudi Arabia only "revoke" the citizenship of certain criminals?
  • Answer: Because imprisonment, torture and beheadings are only for the poor and the foreign
  • Imprisoning sons and grandsons of wealthy Saudi Citizens might cause a problem for the Royals. This would mean that they are not above the law either
• France is helping Iran obtain nuclear materials
  • Supposedly for energy reasons
  • Iran has one of the largest oil reserves, why do they need nuclear energy?
  • An elected official in France actually admits to wanting to arm Iran or other regimes in the ME with Nukes to counter the "Zionist": Nuke the Jews
• India has nukes
• Pakistan has nukes
• Pakistan has sold nukes 
  • The AQ Khan connection
• Pakistan still has Al-Qaida
• China would like to re-annex Taiwan
• China has nukes
• Saudi Arabia possible all out civil war
• SA civil war threat to allies in the region
  • Like Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, etc
• SA still has Al-Qaida
• Israel has or has not nukes
• Palestine and many other Arab nations want to wipe Israel from the map
• Syria sponsors terrorism and might be complicit in Iraq issues
• Afghanistan Taliban trying to retain power
• Afghanistan still has Al-Qaida
• Iraq possible collapse into a civil war
• Al-Qaida and Other Terrorist groups are planning to attack US
• Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups are planning to attack EU countries
• Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups are planning to attack US allies
• Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups are attempting to or have created chemical and biological weapons to use when they attackk

Does this mean that it's about oil?

Part of the national security plan is to protect American interests, both foreign and domestic. 

• America has some serious economical and energy interests in the Middle East. 
• America has serious interest in protecting her allies abroad from aggression.  Aggression against an ally is aggression against America.
• America is under threat within our own borders from "terrorists" who would like to take out our government

Can You Imagine How the Price of Oil Effects The Cost of a Cup of Coffee?

That was just a shock value header.  But you should think about it.  Something so simple as a cup of coffee can be effected by the price of oil.  Now, we could probably do without coffee.  We would have many people in caffeine withdrawal and probably some mass murders if the price of coffee became inhibitive.  Coffee could become a prized commodity.  What would happen in your neighborhood if half of your neighbors could no longer afford a cup of coffee?

Personal Story

The business I work in is home healthcare.  Specifically, we supply life saving equipment to patients in their homes.  This reduces the cost of healthcare by reducing the number of days a patient spends in the hospital or nursing home or other rehabilitation facility.  The equipment we supply is anything as basic as a wheelchair or a hospital bed, to oxygen or ventilators to respiratory compromised patients and chemo-therapy, intravenous antibiotics, intravenous nutrition (I'll explain this someday).

Part of the cost  of providing these services includes the cost of buying gasoline for our delivery vehicles.  Every year, the cost of gasoline has increased.  At the same time, the cost of equipment has increased.  At the same time, insurance companies and the federal government have continued to decrease the amount of reimbursement that we can receive for services.  So, our cost rises while our cash decreases.  What happens then?

In a previous post, I talked about "lay offs".  Whenever the cost to provide a service does not allow for the appropriate profit margin (about 15-20%) or is above our reimbursement, we have to review these services and consider whether we can continue providing them.  If we decrease these services, that means less personnel are required.  That means "RIF": Reduction In Force.  This also means that many patients cannot remain in their homes (remember I said it was cheaper?).  This means that their is a rising cost to the insurance carrier.  That means a rising cost of insurance to millions of workers like you and me.  There is also the factor that patients are known to recover better at home, in familiar settings.  So, now they don't recover and the cost is even higher.  That means that the company's cost of benefits for employees is higher.  That means our profit margins are lower.  That means....
 
You get the idea?  From a simple thing like rising oil prices, the industry I work in suffers, the patient suffers, and eventually, society suffers (over burdened with uninsured patients). 

In Summation...

We are reliant on oil.  The world is reliant on oil.  There are people from and in that area that would like to kill us or at least make us so weak we cannot interfere with there plans.  They will hold the world hostage with the oil.  They will use it to become militarily strong, including WMD.  Continued terror attacks are effecting our economy now.  Withholding oil from growing countries will cause an economic decline.  If their economy goes, ours go.  We have to be able to build new technologies.  This is a long term goal.  We must have oil while this is resolved.  We need oil to operate our military and supply daily needs (like food, healthcare, etc). 

There are people from the area that would like to kill us.  There are countries in the region that are threatening to us and our allies.  There are countries in the area that are a threat to each other.  ME region warfare is a threat to the security of the world.  They export it to our country.  Our economy cannot suffer another blow like 9/11.

There are countries/regimes that are killing their own people (Sudan).  Any country we do business with that is killing their own people en masse makes us complicit in their torture and death.  This in turn creates the atmosphere for new recruits to the New Caliphate calling.  The New Caliphate people would like to kill us.

Wow!  Am I sounding like a broken window?  It can be construed that this is all about oil.  Some ME citizen could read this post and think that, I am sure.  But the dangers and priorities are set based on the existing imminent threat.

Which threats that I have listed, energy, economy, terrorism and national (or international) security do you believe is the priority?  In what order would you list these priorities?  If you can list them in the correct order, why does anyone think that the US national security priorities are different than ours? 

So, once again, the question begs the answer:  How do we protect ourselves? 

Broken Windows
 
Why It's Not About Oil

So..I've talked about oil enough.  It exists.  It exists in the areas that are currently a threat to our national security.  Not just because of oil.  Tomorrow, if oil no longer existed and we were forced to create a new energy source (which we would), there would still be war and there would still be threats to the USA and the rest of the free world.  Why?  It is very simple, for the hundreds of thousands of years that man has walked this earth, he has always looked at what other men have and has always coveted it.  Whether that is a better hunting ground, a better field for growing produce, better grazing for herds, water rights, minerals, spices, precious metals, precious gems, property in general, wealth, technology, power...Man is an ambitious, often jealous and covetous beast.  No amount of failed utopias has ever been able to wipe this ambition from man's genetic make up.  It is, at it's very core, Darwinian in men's struggle to reign supreme over other men.  It is only through law and moral code, that some men are able to overcome the rampant desire to simply take from other men through treachery or force of arms.

Therefore, should these states, whose current economies are almost solely based on the dwindling resource of oil, become defunct, they will fall into the anarchy currently seen in Rwanda, Brunei, Sudan, etc.  These types of countries threaten our security far more than China, the next country seeking economic and strategic power.  A country like China, that has nuclear weapons, is in the same boat as the USSR.  To even approach war on this footing is the assurance of "mutual destruction".  China, in a very real sense, has been defeated by the global economy.  They need global acceptance in order for their country to prosper.  Threatening the USA, with whom China enjoys #1 trade status, would be the instant defeat, the economic ruin of that country. 

The threats we see from these other defunct states, including Iraq (pre-liberation), Iran, Syria, etc, is their ability to export, what T. Barnett refers to as, super empowered individuals.   These are people that learn their trade in the internecine wars of these 3rd world countries, use these countries as bases of operation and are free from impugnity because we do not (as yet) have a reach into those countries either economically or militarily.  We have become so advanced in weaponry, struggles between 1st world nations, on a state to state or global basis, would result in the destruction of civilization.  However, it is now the low-tech individuals, that can sneak with in our borders, that can threaten our entire infrastructure, our security, our existence. 

These men will espouse any number of ideologies for their reasons to attack the USA or other free countries.  Including religion, political, national and economical reasons.  They all hide the espousers true intent, which is to find their own niche in the power structure of the world.  In doing so, in creating their own dictatorships, they will continue to foster wars, famine, disease, poverty, massacres, slavery of whole nations for the purpose of creating their own power base.

This is a threat to the USA and other free countries because this generates a recurring cycle of violence that can have disastrous effects on economies and the very existence of some countries.  These people, often referred to as terrorists (which is very short on ideological explanation), cannot exist if we exist.  We, the free countries of the world, are an anathema to their ideology.  So, they will continue to attack us in order to weaken or destroy us, so that they can fulfill their own, terrible dreams of ruling other men through intimidation, murder and financial power.  To believe any less of these ideas, the intent of these men, is to hide from the reality of an ever changing, globalized world where such people can infiltrate and destroy any society if left unchecked.

What Are Our Options?

There are few options to be reviewed.  We could withdraw into our own borders, withdraw our military, close our borders to all and limit our trade.  The reality of this ideology, espoused by isolationists, is flawed because it would mean our own demise.  Since the moment that man first traveled to another town, another country to do business, we have been headed down a path to the globalization of economies.  To even pretend that we could stop such movement is ludicrous.  With the advent of internet and e commerce, this globalization already exists and people are refusing to recognize it's existence.  At most, closing our borders would only postpone the inevitable.  It would signal our defeat and leave us as vulnerable to attack as any economic or military failure. 

The option to ignore it and continue to try to work with these failed regimes through diplomacy (detente diplomacy), leaves us just as vulnerable as we will still represent a power standing in the way of the next tyrants dream and, therefore, we are still prime targets for attack.  Countries, such as France, Germany, Spain, etc, that have refused to recognize this probability, only create the very atmosphere in which these attacks can occur.

The last option, an option that is opposite to the very policies we have adhered to for the past 60 years, is that we must attempt to bring these failed countries on line and into the global fold, both economically and strategically.  They must become part of the 1st and, at the least, 2nd world countries that are participating in this global economy.  This can only be accomplished when these countries are ruled by the rule of law.  Where they are constrained to behave by certain international edicts because it is in their best interests, both as a country and as citizens of the world, to maintain this status.  Countries, such as China, that have joined the World Trade Organization, have enjoyed an incredible improvement in their country's and citizens living conditions and personal financial status, which leads to more interest in commerce and less interest in shooting somebody.

Applying the Broken Windows Theory

In order for these countries to join the global commerce movement and become a non-threat to the rest of the world, certain actions must be taken.  First, it is only free countries with free peoples who are able to act freely in trade and politics that will be successful.  Any countries that have dictatorships or mock democracies, cannot join this movement as they are not trust worthy.  Governments are not open to the people nor other countries.  Therefore, the first thing that must occur, the first window that must be repaired, is the government of these countries.  These governments can change through one of three methods:

1)  Self change to democracies or other free republics.  This can only occur in these countries, like Saudi Arabia, if the leadership is capable of recognizing it's potential down fall.  For instance, Bahrain, which has at least a symblence of elections and parliament.  Saudi Arabia maybe too far under the grips of it's ruling elites own narcissism and entanglement with the extremist religiosos of their country to extradite themselves without civil war.  As this is the least likely to occur, the US will continue to support it as a fringe country to the global world economy until it collapses and the US is forced to interfere to insure that the radical ideology that requires our demise, does not come to power.  Other countries include Columbia, South America where the division and drug sales has direct links to arms selling and terrorism.  Self change is the hardest and least likely.  This can be accomplished through economic and diplomatic pressure and is only useful in countries that are on the "fringe" of the global economy.  These countries can quickly fall back to the "third world" if the pressures from within result in civil war.

2) Change Through Economic Interaction with 1st World Global Economies.  This is only possible for countries like China and India where the infrastructure is wobbly, but in place to support free enterprise.  India, while having one of the largest populations in poverty today, is also one of the fastest growing economies.  Regardless of political persuasion, it is very unlikely any President, Democrat or Republican, will take any legal actions or try penalty taxes on companies that export jobs.  The creation of wealth and enterprise in other countries has a direct correlation with our financial abilities in the world economy.  Jobs in India, create stability and economic growth.  This leads to direct interaction with other global markets.  This is a long term solution that was used on China.  However, it is the country's cultural make up and desires of economic strength that will result in this sort of change.  This can occur with diplomacy and economic assistance (ie, IMF).  There are a limited number of countries in which this will actually work.  Countries such as France, Germany, Russia, etc. Prefer to use options number 1 and 2 to attempt these changes in almost all countries.  Unfortunately, the change brought by these actions is slow and certainly will not work in places like Rwanda, Sudan, etc.  Countries like Iran, Syria and Iraq that have some form of organization, might be able to move in this direction, but like Iraq, Syria and Iran are in the iron grip of totalitarian governments that will not let go lightly and, therefore, are likely to fall under option three:

3) Change Through Force.  This is everyone's least likeable change.  It means war in some shape or fashion, either against a known tyrannical dictatorship or interference in existing civil wars.  These are also long term commitments.  This means committing to stabilization efforts with troops and money.  As in the case of Iraq.  This country was threatening on many levels.

• Continued wars with neighboring countries
• Continued threat against same neighbors
• Support of terrorists (perjorative here, without their ideologies made public and maintstream, they will remain ambiguous), including material, monetary and actual physical bases
• Threatening to attack the US and other free countries through cooperation with said terrorists or by development of weapons of mass destruction (nuclear and biological)
• Threatening world economy through interdiction of neighboring "fringe" globalization countries flow of natural resources (like oil)

The "broken windows" must be repaired through political and economical reform or force as necessary.  This will require the development of financial packages, government development programs and specialized military forces that will need to be able to destroy combatant enemies and be able to build a country from scratch.

Every country, in it's own way, must be like a New York city block, that requires repair of infrastructure, small business loans to re-start commerce, education of free politics and security.  As in Iraq, when the terrorists bomb an oil pipeline or a gas pipeline, the pipeline is instantly repaired.  This causes little interruption in the output of this resource and keeps the economic flow of the country going.  Repairing the pipeline, quickly and every time, is like fixing a broken window.  And every time they attack it, we learn more about their tactics and are able to counter them through low and high tech means, further thwarting their plans of interdiction.  We have indefinite resources.  They do not.  Eventually, the security, thwarted attacks and repairs to the infrastructure will convince these people to move on or become part of the growing economic structure so they can get a piece of the pie that is being denied to them by their current practice (see, Al Sadr and Mehdi Militia defeat as example).  Just like the criminals in New York City.

This has greater implications in the entire region.   Iraq becoming a democracy, with the rule of law and free trade, is like the cleaned up neighborhoods of New York: the neighbors on the next block get the criminals back in their yard and are forced to clean up or continue to suffer the consequences.  Iraq will bring a unique internal pressure to bear on the surrounding countries.  As the neighboring citizens see it's prosperity, they will demand that for themselves and either politically or through force, change their government and lifestyle to reflect that of it's prosperous neighbor.  Again, "terrorists" will be forced to assimilate and become part of the positive change or will be slowly squeezed and then taken out all together by ours or the neighboring countries security forces as they threaten to derail that countries prosperity.

Iraq is the tipping point, the first broken window in an area rampant with broken windows.

Other Information:  After writing most of this treatise, I came upon a book and a website titled "The Pentagons New Map: War and Peace in the Twentyfirst Century", by Thomas Barnett, in which he surprisingly talks about the same theory, the tipping point, in the middle east.  And here I thought I was being original.  I haven't read the book yet, but have seen excerpts on this webpage and it seems to indicate the same message I am advocating and appears to be the message of the President, although softly-softly as this idea may cause a serious uproar in the US.  The reality is, after 9/11, the US was ready to hear this policy.  Three years later, it is not so ready.  The lack of additional attacks has somehow stagnated our country's understanding of the new world in which small groups of men from these 3rd world countries can attack us without impunity as long as we continue to allow these countries to exist.

Our choices are very limited:

• Countries change by themselves
• Countries change through diplomatic and economic pressure
• Countries change through force

None of these actions alone will resolve the problems.  We have been hoping that actions one and two would be more prevalent, but in reality, they are too slow a reactor on countries that are far down the food chain.

To protect ourselves from future, horrific attacks, we must confront the enemy directly as well as destroy their bases from which they recruit their foot soldiers.  By re-creating these countries, through any of the means specified, we narrow the field of operations, we destroy their ideology by replacing it with a proven and effective ideology (democracy and free markets) and we destroy them directly.

 Long Road to War

Excerpts and Analysis of the Bush Doctrine

Defense Planning Guide: Projections on World Threats and Reaction Capabilities of the US

Conclusion...

After reading this closing to the "Blood for Oil" conspiracy theory treatise, you should be able to come to the conclusion that there is oil in those countries and it is very important to the world economy.  However, the greater conclusion should be drawn that the absence of oil in these regions do not mean an absence of national security concerns.  Terrorist will breed wherever they are able to operate with out direct impact to their own operations.  The fact that some countries in this area have oil and are on the fringe of the global economic world, only makes them priority number one as the countries that have the most impact, would lend the most support with their financial capabilities, to the terrorists who would attack us.  If you can read all of this information and still conclude that the war was for oil or the personal gain of President Bush, VP Cheney and their associates, you are living in a very small world.  You should wake up before you find the larger world on your door and you missed the trip.

You can see by the actions in Iraq, that the "broken windows" theory or, better known as the "Bush Doctrine" of foreign relations, is taking shape and already having a serious impact on the region.  Some will proselytize doom and gloom.  But, the fact is that Saudi Arabia has already took it's first step towards offering local elections.  Libya has decided to disarm itself.  Syria, North Korea and Iran all feel threatened enough, without even the US making noises about attacking them beyond President Bush's speech on the "Axis of Evil" that they are shaking their sabers (rusted and bent as they are) trying to show their strength.  The reality is, it shows their fears and their weaknesses.

The questions to ask are:  Which one will be next? And, how will it fall? Option 1? Option 2? Or, Option 3?

You be the judge.

Summary only...