JibJab.com does it again!

Go here: JibJab.com

Then, go here: Lies

Then here and here to get a better idea of why I want to spend some time in Europe.

Also: Cat Fight on Capitol Hill - thank you Senator Boxer. I do believe that she may be the only Senator with any balls left on the hill.

Oh and keep in min that as Condi's hearings go on, and the war in Iraq goes on and the inauguration is tomorrow, the drudge report's top story (above the headline so to speak) was about FOX's sigh of relief that the new season of American Idol still had high ratings.

Why is that news? Yes, yes, I know that media is an economic engine, and that television ratings provide some data on understanding the concerns, interests and flavors of the week of the American public, but I'm looking for more "ultimate" answers. As in how the hell did the world today get to the point that then ratings of a singing contest are so important, as opposed to say, progress on environmental issues, disparity issues and other necessary social issues that really should have the kind of "ratings" and attention from America if indeed US citizens want to leave a better world for their grandchildren.

While following some links around I came across a Message Board of red state conservatives, who spent a lot of time ripping Boxer to shreds, but not with any strong arguments. In fact, the theme of the page seemed to be that:

"Why is it, that some of our elected officials, are so short sighted. Can none of these morons see the bigger picture for our future??

In simple terms: We were attacked- unprevoked (sic)--- we took the overdue fight to the place where the attackers gathered and planned for years. !!

The capture of OBL, and the weapons of mass destruction , which were there, as evidenced by the whole world, are a side note. These two issues WILL be resolved in time."

This is a quote form the site

What frightens me most is that we were not attacked by the people whom we "took the overdue fight to". We built up Hussein over years because he was an enemy of Iran and we held the erroneous opinion (not the first time) that the enemy of our enemy is our ally. We actually DID take the fight to Afghanistan briefly, because the Taliban was there. But as Gore Vidal put it so well (and others have agreed), taking the fight to Afghanistan the way we did to root out Al Queda would be like bombing Sicily for months on end to stop the Mafia. You'll catch a few, kill a few, ruin lives for hundreds of thousands not involved and mount tens of thousands of civilian casualties in the end. But you won't get the big leader in that war. Consider, that when the twin towers were bombed the first time in the 90s, we took a police action, caught those responsible and they are in jail today. Even after bombing Afghanistan and failing to stop al-Queda (perhaps some folks are distracted by the war in Iraq, but I am personally not and do expect further nastiness from militant extremist Islamic groups in my lifetime) we re-focused all of our troops and intelligence on Iraq - rather than continuing the pursuit of Bin Laden and Queda higher-ups. It's nice that we have a cute deck of cards with all of these Baath party officials on them - but none of these people planned the 9-11 attack against the US, and in fact, some of these people only came to power through US assistance a decade or two back.

I have met reporters who have been to Afghanistan. It's hell. Ugly, messy, terrifying. Not good. They never used positive terms to describe the infighting, destruction, poverty, hunger, drug trade etc. that defines the country today. Iraq is in a near state of civil war. Al Queda is not slowed down a bit and now operates in more countries than it did 5 years ago. Boxer asked intelligent questions of Condoleeza Rice - why did we go to Iraq when the real perpetrators of crimes against the US were not there? One of the guys on this site says "We needed to!".

Need? What was the need? I felt no threat from Iraq - their military was so weak that it fell in a matter of days. And as every national and international expert has been forced to admit in the last year and a half - Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction, our intelligence was simply bad. I’m not sure how anyone who has read the reports on WMDs over the last 18 months could make the statement: “the weapons of mass destruction , which were there, as evidenced by the whole world...” It’s simply not true. Hussein did gas Kurds, but we have probably killed even more civilians in the war on Iraq than Hussein did during his reign.

The arguments that Boxer brings up are not “liberal” arguments. They are questions about why we send our soldiers to die. What national security really means. They are questions about future polices and playing it straight with Americans. If “patriotic” types really do think there were weapons of mass destruction and that Hussein had anything to do with the twin towers, they are not getting accurate info form either their elected officials or the media – not a surprise on either account.

The folks at this site also go on to quote a lot of democrats and other liberal congress people who over the years have signed on to various plans to oust Hussein and/or stop his WMD programs. I have to admit, it's an impressive list that seemingly makes hypocrites out of any democrat who supported action then but now doubts the wisdom of the war. But the data has changed. When all of those congress people made those statements, our faulty intelligence painted a picture of impending doom from Iraq. The data now shows, nearly irrefutably, that Hussein was a pathetic leader with no real opportunity to anyone much harm outside his own borders. We got it wrong.

The war is a sham. And worst of all if the neocons were hoping that this would be a first step to democratizing the middle east - a long term plan that, I can understand might be considered by some as a genuinely benevolent foundation to one's actions, well, they have mis-planned again. I forget who said it, but Democracy requires an educated society. I do not mean to imply that the Middle East is uneducated, but most of the citizens are not versed in democracy as every 10 year old is here in the US. Democracy has to spread naturally. People have to read about and be convinced that it is their best option. Iraq needs Thomas Paines, and Jeffersons, Samuels Adams and Paul Reveres if it is to turn to democracy, not a US forced and led election.

I too want to live in a safe and prosperous free country. But the Stock Market is still below what it was when W. came into office. Gas prices are still high and likely to rise (heating fuel in New England ain’t cheap), the environment is only getting worse, overall worldwide terrorist attacks are likely and we live in a country where more and more areas are off limits/restricted to the public and mobile military missile sites roam the streets during our presidential election. The Patriot Acts limits rights rather than granting more freedoms, and our deficit is ballooning at a rate that no sane economist can look at and feel good about. The dollar is weaker against the Euro and Airbus just kicked our ass in the aerospace industry. This administration is not doing its people much good. It’s just that simple. My life is not better, it’s worse, as a result of the decisions of my elected officials. And I don’t see it getting any better any time soon.

I’m worried.