Happenings

I have found it heartening that recently, Greek youths rioted, burned, and generally created several days of havoc in response to what now seems like an unwarranted and overly aggressive, while certainly unnecessary, police shooting of an unarmed civilian man.   It made me wonder why every police shooting in the United States doesn’t spawn the same reaction. Why should we allow our fellow unarmed citizens to be gunned down in the streets by police trained in anti-terrorism and paramilitary tactics, and bearing assault weapons, and high-capacity firearms?  There was a day in this country when city blocks were burned to the ground in reaction to police brutality, and in my view, our government could use a reminder that we the People are not its bitch.

I am also heartened somewhat by the now apparently abject failure of the federal bailout of the investment banks.  A few of us knew going in that it was doomed to failure, yet we were all soundly chastised by colleagues, friends, relatives, passersby (nothing personal, Dad, but your son knows that of which he speaks – get used to it).   So screw the naysayers, I think we’re entitled to gloat a little, even if the ultimate upshot of our righteousness is that the economic pillar of lies our nation’s capitalism stands upon crumbles, and we sink into a depression.  We the righteous did not create the potential consequences of getting it 100% bass-ackwards WRONG – we just raised the potential downside of a failed bailout, and suggested that the approach being considered and then implemented was bound to be ineffective from the outset.

In other news, I spent a glorious weekend in Asheville NC last weekend, attending the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam (20th Anniversary). I wore and luxuriated in a variety of lacy undergarments, and shopped openly for women’s shoes (size 12, of course), taking advantage of the open-minded atmosphere of this lovely little hippie enclave to enjoy being “out” a little.  I did not have the gumption to attend the concert en femme, but I went as frilly as I dared.  I saw one unfortunate couple busted right in front of me by the NC State Troopers in the outdoor smoking lounge under a stairwell, for god’s sake, for smoking a doobie in public.  I was just about to ask my man there whether he’d consider sharing the wealth when the fuzz swooped in on these two hapless stoners, and nailed them to the wall right there in front of 100 people.  Lucky schmucky, that’s me, eh? 

Peace, people – y’all stay cool

 

Kisses, KM

$10,000,000 here, $10,000,000 there – Pakistan out of control

Leafing through the Yahoo news tonight, there appeared an article describing the intentional destruction by Pakistani nationals, Taliban or their sympathizers, Radical Islamists (or as they would have been called in the old days, “freedom fighters”) of as many as 160 U.S. and NATO assets, mostly Humvees, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles at two apparently inadequately guarded supply stations near Peshawar, Pakistan.  That Pakistan has been an ally of this country goes without saying — but I fear that what we may be seeing is an evolution in its current status, to now be instigateur in an attempt at broadening or at least stoking the current middle eastern conflict into a “greater middle eastern” conflict.

This one, in my eyes, bears watching closely – folks here in the U.S., you have been served, as those are YOUR tax dollars smoldering in the dust out there in Peshawar.  There are U.S. soldiers out there who were waiting on Humvees both for use in the field, and for use in an eventual evacuation of the middle east theater.  So how are they supposed to get out now, if that’s what President Obama decides would need to happen?

Mark my words, what better way for Cheney, and this twisted, waning Bush administration to make things difficult for the new guy than to severely damage one escape route for a bunch of troops?  Or maybe, out of an abundance of reverse psychology, maybe the Cheney/Bushies want us to get riled up at this humiliation like a modern day Lusitania, a Remember the Maine, or some similar psychotic reaction by the rabble.   You probably could have moved 800 soldiers at a time with those vehicles.  Are they now stranded in the mountains of Afghanistan?

I just finished watching “Charlie Wilson’s War”, and thoroughly enjoyed it – well worth the rental.

Kisses everyone, KM.

 See article, below . . .

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081207/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_20