Grateful Dead

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The Senator from Boston had his jaw clenched with righteous indignation. WE KNOW the facts behind this war crime. HISTORY WILL condemn us if we fail to act. Fuck John Kerry! The US was the first nation to use weapons of mass destruction -- Throwing Small Pox in the blankets of native Americans in the first known instance of germ warfare known to mankind. While all perpetrators of crimes involving weapons of mass destruction should be held accountable, I wonder if John Kerry considers the first atomic weapons needlessly dropped on Japan (The Japanese were ready to surrender but not unconditionally: They wanted to preserve their Emperor - that was their sole condition) weapons of mass destruction? Endless indignation from clench-jawed politicians who don't know their history make me puke! This country will reap what it has sewn, no matter how many petty tyrants we cut down along the way.

God knows May Day and Labor Day are the only holidays for us working folks!

I wonder if we would be going after Assad with that first cruise Tomahawk? If we miss will Assad unleash chemical weapons attacks all across Syria? If Assad falls do we have a hundred thousand troops or so ready to go into Syria to find and secure their chemical weapons? Will Israel decide this is a good time to go after Iran's nuclear program? Should we risk our national security to get involved in another countries religious war? I guess these are just a few questions we should be asking our leaders. God bless our leaders with wisdom and I hope y'all have a great Labor Day weekend.We will survive !

In the wake of the 1993 hangover resulting from faulty intelligence that suckered them into the Neo-cons war in Iraq, the British Parliament yesterday dealt a striking blow to Cameron on a watered down version of a vote that some type of force must be used to punish Assad. Labor was the main mover behind the vote but many in the Tory (conservative) side of Cameron's coalition bolted. It's too bad we don't have some senators with enough cojones to match that. Instead we have clowns like Ted Cruz. Having said that, while I am in favor of taking out Assad, there are no good options for the US in Syria. Had we not gone to war in Iraq one could imagine a transference of US military assets in a "coalition of the willing" from a far more successful Afghan campaign to a boots-on-the-ground Tom Clancy-like invasion of Syria. That ain't gonna happen. Assad and the Chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are threatening Israel if the US attacks in any way. Israel is silent and and quietly gloves-up with chemical gear for it's entire civilian population. Bottom line: No matter what anybody does, Assad has nothing to lose. The genie is out of the bottle. The latest news is he napalmed a school in Aleppo, Syria's second largest city yesterday. The sound bites from the BBC were horrific, people with burns screaming to be let into hospitals...

I don't think we have the cards to play this hand. It hurts to watch the evil ASSad has brought upon the Syrian people,but I would hope for a much larger coalition of countries be willing to get involved before any military action is taken. A large coalition could also help bring about a diplomatic solution.

President Obama is not showing his cards and is noticeably passive with the dire situation in Syria. Potential consequences are very serious to ponder. Johnman's former employer has positioned several assets in the Mediterranean: when will the Tomahawks lift?

The Entergy Corporation announced the closure of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear power plant in Vernon, VT. at the end of the 2014 power cycle. While there was a massive citizen's movement against this plant and nukes in general, it wasn't people power that brought Entergy's caving-in, leaking nuclear plant to shutting down. It was the competing low price of natural gas. Of course, if you want to know the story, follow the money. The bad news? The NRC (Federal nuclear oversight agency) gives all nuclear power plants in the decommissioning process up to 60 years to dismantle plants. And, the NRC has no Federal Waste Depository for on site used nuclear fuel rods piling up on site past the time of decommissioning (at all sites in this country).

If only we weren't still licking our wounds from the war in Afghanistan, the invasion of Iraq, and the general collapse of our economy....

You can't turn on the news without hearing the drumbeat for military action against Syria. This has not been a rush to judgement as in the Iraq war and Assad has truly crossed a line of no return with his use of chemical weapons. The problem is that Assad HAS crossed the line and there is no deterrent for him and his regime. If we lob a few cruise missiles at high-value targets it makes no difference. The choice is still between defeat and sure death for Assad or victory. Remarkably, Syria still has Iran, Russia and to a lesser degree Iraq as allies in his corner. If there were a country who would take Assad and his family and higher-ups into exile it would present an alternative but there is no such country. World markets are roiling, this time with good cause. There are no good choices in this conflict for the US. A war-weary nation is not about to occupy Syria and stay until democratic elections can be achieved. The US is not even willing to expend treasure to keep up an air blockade. This is frightening on many levels.

President Obama will speak in front of the Lincoln Memorial and though he is a good to above average speaker he isn't going to electrify anybody. He'll point out some well known facts and offer some solutions but they will be nothing more than platitudes and odes to a truly great leader of African-American people. This isn't to say that Obama hasn't challenged the black community, especially black males, to do better. He has. What he should do is something truly provocative, like propose a bill for reparations. Not that that would have a snowball's chance in hell of being passed.