Interestingly enough, our government can use pepper spray against its own citizens, but cannot use it in warfare. See the Chemical Weapons Convention here.

Is freedom of speech an illusion in our country? Take a glance at this YouTube video of police pepper spraying students at UC Davis the other day. The video is long enough that you can see the crowd was peacefully assembled.

Just who are the police protecting and serving these days? Perhaps the bankers, politicians and wall street barons?

The babble that passes for news on most television stations equates dissent with unpatriotic behavior. Which is dangerous. Dissent is essential for a healthy democracy. An entire generation has come of age in this country without experiencing a proper, thoughtful, debate. This season’s Republican debates are so absurd that they would not be out of place airing on Comedy Central.

In February of 2009, I suggested it was time for another revolution in this country (Revolutionary Road). Perhaps this is what the Occupy movement will become, but it has yet to find a voice.

I am not against capitalism. My wife and I watched a show the other evening on the construction of the Airbus A380 which we had the pleasure of flying last summer. Such a plane would not be possible without capitalism and the financing it provides. You cannot imagine Aeroflot, the flag carrying Russian airline, coming up with something like that. But our government certainly isn’t here to help. Congress can’t even balance a checkbook much less decide whether pizza is a vegetable!

More later once I have had a chance to eat my vegetables…

This is Not a Democracy

Dear Mr. President,

Please do not veto the request for Palestinian statehood that is expected to be made at the United Nations on Friday.

This can be the defining moment of your presidency and the point at which North Africa and most of the Middle East realizes that the United States is a true friend and supporter of those struggling against tyranny.

It is also the moment you can point to where you earned your Nobel Peace Prize.

Sincerely,

Richard Watson and Deborah Dodd

The news in the Financial Times this morning is that President Obama is directing United States representatives to the United Nations to vote against Palestinian statehood. The article notes that it was one year ago that Obama told the UN General Assembly “Palestinians will never know the pride and dignity that comes with their own state…” Although the quote was in the context of Israelis and Palestinians reaching a peace agreement, it now seems disingenuous.

It is time for Mr. Obama to return his Nobel Peace Prize.

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, otherwise known as Lenin to you and me, stated that one of the primary mistakes made by the Commune in Paris during 1871 was their failure to seize the banks. A revolution must have capital! If our government does shut down this evening, perhaps our troops abroad, whose military pay will be delayed, can come home and seize the banks. There is room at the inn for bankers at Guantanamo Bay.

What really frosts me though, is that our lawmakers continue to get paid, whatever happens. And that, is reason enough to vote for neither Republicans nor Democrats in 2012. Imagine the message that would send if we tossed Republicans AND Democrats out of Congress and the White House in 2012. You know how I’ll be voting…

From the Financial Times this morning, in an article discussing the “political pranksterism” of James O’Keefe comes the following:

Once a camera is turned on in a private meeting, only a hardened bore is capable of saying things that will not get him fired on the spot. That is why hardened bores make up an even larger proportion of our political leaders.

They do get blamed for everything, don’t they? Along with “greasy rats,” Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has blamed al-Qaeda for the unrest in his country. Apparently, al-Qaeda has been “slipping a mickey” into the water supply.

With a straight face, the good Colonel has said “I am surprised that nobody understands that this is a fight against terrorism.”

What worked for George Bush is good enough for Muammar. Nice to know we have a new partner in the war on terror.

President Obama recently gave his analysis of the events in North Africa…”All the forces that we’re seeing at work in Egypt are forces that naturally should be aligned with us, should be aligned with Israel – if we make good decisions now and we understand sort of the sweep of history.”

Remember what Churchill said…”nourish your hopes, but do not overlook realities.”

John Kerry has called for sanctions against Libya. That’s sure to stop Gaddafi from his quest for martyrdom! He’ll no doubt reconsider his “everything will burn” outlook and plead with his country to forgive him. Especially if he says he has found Jesus…well, maybe not Jesus.

At the moment when the US should be funneling humanitarian aid in truckloads through Egypt into eastern Libya (note to the CIA and State Department: the border with Egypt is open), John Kerry calls for sanctions? Against which Libya John? The new government in the east or the one that will soon be burning in the west?

Can we have the shutdown of our government now for awhile?

Just think of the goodwill we can generate in both the new Egypt and the new Libya by getting something right for a change. This is no time for another study. Let’s get the trucks rolling and the aid flowing. People are dying and need our help. We can sort the politics out later.

A new day is dawning in the deserts of North Africa. How refreshing if it would happen here as well.