Oliphant Parts

In the sixties, we began the war on poverty. In the seventies, we began the war on poverty. With little Bush, we now have the war on terrorism.

Prior to the reign of our current president, we seemed to have had some success with the war on poverty, although drugs are kicking our collective ass. Per the Drug War Clock, we spent about $600 per second in 2003, and it has only gone up since then. And what do we have to show for it? Other than an increase in incarcerated non-violent felons, not much.

So, where do we stand in the war on terrorism? Or, if you prefer the language of our Clueless Leader, the war on terror (gotta keep those night-sweats at bay, or the terrorists have won!). We temporarily removed the Taliban from power in Afghanistan and destabilized that nation. This might have been a good thing, or at least acceptable, since the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan sheltered and supported Al-Qaeda. We also invaded and destabilized Iraq under the guise of the war on terror/terrorism. This is arguably not such a good thing, as Iraq had no ties to Al-Qaeda, was not considered a supporter of anti-American terrorism, and involved a preemptive war (internationally, not generally considered a smart move or the right thing from a moral standpoint). We’ve also developed secret prisons throughout the world, become highly involved in torture, and as long as they aren’t Americans, we seem very unconcerned about whether those we kill are innocent civilians or terrorists. We have isolated ourselves politically, destroyed any good-will other countries may have had for us after the 9/11 attacks, dramatically increased the terrorist threat levels against us and demonstrated a zeal for wanton cruelty. In other words, we have resorted to terrorism to fight terrorism: We have become the enemy. So, where do we stand in the war on terrorism? Neck deep in our own excrement.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was trying to break away from political commentary, but this is just too funny. Per Drunksfeld, a bunch of guys who are supposed to be sitting in the caves, living in the stone age we’ve bombed them back to, are actually more tech-savvy than anyone the American government can hire:

Rumsfeld also said al-Qaida and other Islamic extremist groups have poisoned the Muslim public’s view of the United States through deft use of the Internet and other modern communications methods that the American government has failed to master.

“Our enemies have skillfully adapted to fighting wars in today’s media age, but for the most part we — our country, our government — has not adapted,” he said.

I so wanted to avoid politics, but it is somewhat difficult with this administration. So, the budget needs to be balanced, or deficits tamed, or something. Wouldn’t eliminating the tax cuts that we’ve been handing out to the wealthiest 5% (or was it 1%) or so, those folks who tend not to run out and immediately boost our economy by spending that money, go a long way in helping with this? How about not giving billions to energy firms? I know it’s silly, but shouldn’t doing something to improve the lives of the majority of Americans be a priority for our government? As someone else said a while back, “I have a dream,” and that dream involves a government that works for the good of the people, not for the good of the corporation.