Empire

The other day I stumbled on this Tom Lehrer song, —>> read more –>>

 On March 19, 2003 George Bush, Dick Cheney and th —>> read more –>>

Americans feel that government, at all levels, is —>> read more –>>

Having successfully avoided much of the national m —>> read more –>>

Submitted Today to Hudson’s Register Star Letter t —>> read more –>>

The return of George Bush to the national scene with the release of his memoir, Decision Points, once again roused feelings of anger and despair. Anger that we have such a weak sense of ethics, basic right and wrong stuff, in our culture. This man and his cohorts lied, aggressively distorted facts, and mislead the country into what has turned out to be a disastrous adventure in aggression in Iraq. If we had any real politics in this country at least some national politicians should have been calling for his impeachment and, perhaps,  trial for war crimes.

As another anniversary of the events of  September —>> read more –>>

There is much to applaud in Obama’s speech: control of nuclear weapons, assertion of human and civil rights, multilateralism in conflict resolution and enforcement, denial of religion as a justification  for oppression of others. But, we come to a significant claim, one that the US government has asserted for my entire lifetime,  and which the US media and populace would support:  “Whatever the mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: the United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms.” And, Obama continues with the summary moral claim that underlies this assertion, “We have borne this burden not because we seek to impose our will. We have done so out of enlightened self-interest – because we seek a better future for our children and grandchildren, and we believe that their lives will be better if other peoples’ children and grandchildren can live in freedom and prosperity.”

Americans do not like to use the word “empire” in reference to the country’s role in the world. Our Presidents uniformly role out rhetoric that sounds just like Obama’s. Here is a paragraph from his Inaugural speech: And so, to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born, know that America is a friend of each nation, and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity.  And we are ready to lead once more. This is heart warming.  But, turning to some of the facts on the ground……

Americans are amazingly ignorant of the scale and —>> read more –>>

An article in today’s NYTimes about cyber crime, m —>> read more –>>

November 1, 2008 So, here I am having coffee and m —>> read more –>>

November 1, 2008 So, here I am having coffee and m —>> read more –>>

North Korea – a visit to the “Axis of Evil” Recent —>> read more –>>

Through our friend Esther Hanig we attended a show —>> read more –>>