HORRIBLE!!

Things happen so fast and furious round here and I've been jumping from one topic to the next while trying to finish off a long blog entry that I'm pretty sure no one will be all that interested in. That one is about how insulated we are in our little groups and how easy it can be to feel like people of the world while surrounded by the cotton of our little boxes.
Then the whole thing comes crashing down through the cover of my lil' box with the release of the horrible and upsetting new Abu Gahraib torture pictures. I strongly caution anyone who wants to look at these that they really put an indelible image on your minds eye. So don't look if you're someone who will be haunted by this (like me, unfortunately.) Though I strongly believe that they have to be seen. The vast majority of the people held there, sometimes for 3 or more years with out charges, are innocent victims of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. This is not the work of just some "low hanging fruit," as Bill Mahr put it. This is an institutional failure from the top on down. The fact that so many people have been held there for so long without any due process is mind-boggling to someone who has taken our rights and the rules of war for granted. Boy, has living through this time in government changed all of that idealistic thought.

What are we supposed to think at this point? We have a government gone wild and its gotten to the point where its so bad that even people who pay no attention are finding it on the cover of their National Enquirer or on their Today show instead of the cooking segment. Its time for everybody with a mind to wake up and think about this stuff.

What is America and what do we stand for? How do we govern and what are our laws? Do we care about our constitution or is it maybe not so important to most people?
These are conscious decisions that have to be made before the mid term elections if we are going to make a real change here. If not, then things will continue spiraling downward for at least another 2 years. No one can tell you what is important to you. But don't be like a baby transfixed on the shiny ball of one issue. Look at the big picture and what you want to be the underlying tenents that differing opinions rest on. The administration in office is chipping away at the foundation of our government and turning America into a tyrannical, isolationist country. Our rights are being eroded and if anyone thinks that this couldn't happen to them, just keep in mind that the government is wiretapping all over the place and anyone you know could know someone who knows someone. It is a small world and you just can't say that you couldn't be wrongly picked up just like any of those prisoners.
Our government is building huge detention centers in the Southwest! These are said to be for emergency influx of illegal aliens or some such thing, but every article I read about this has a tacked on disclaimer in the form of this operative line: " ...Or to support the rapid development of new programs...." Now what does that mean?

I am not an alarmist. I am actually very level headed and a realist. I believe in the checks and balances of our government between sane groups of citizens who follow the law. At the same time I know that alot has gone down and that alot of covert operations are going on all of the time. But this particular Administration is run by a fringe group of extremists who are every bit as extreme as any of the infamous dictators in history. We have enough warning here to stop this before it gets any worse. They believe that they are fighting for a greater good and that God is on their side. Do they have to escalate to torture and killing on American soil before we stop them? How bad does it have to get? They are breaking the law and not being called on it because they have control of the bodies in government that would usually provide oversignt. So, with no body of government or press to oversee what is going on, it is up to us citizens and bloggers, Republicans and Democrats and third parties to say that enough is enough!

I have been hearing alot of Lefties who are disgusted with the Democratic party talk about a revolution and a strong third party candidate. I have to say that I find this really troubling because we cant afford to split the vote this time or any time soon. The people who voted for Nader in 2000, or the people who didn't vote at all because they didn't feel like their vote counted, made a decision back then that put the country on this path. So many votes are stolen or lost that every vote does count. If we are ever to have a successful third or even fourth party in this country we have to first take control away from the extremists who have somehow gotten themselves into office. So even if it comes down to holding my nose and voting for Hillary, I will. And then after that I will work on getting the fairness doctrine back in place and making it possible to have more viable candidates.

Someone wrote to me on a blog the other day that I had fallen victim to the Democrat's line; that the Dems are evil and that until we all start a revolution we will be in this position. Well, um...I guess....But realistically, we have to work within this broken system to fix it. There is no third party candidate who will be able to win the presidency in 2008. If you know of one or don't agree with me, then please leave a comment. I would like to know how exactly it will go when the third party takes over or the people take to the streets. Back here in reality, you should be mad at the Democratic party, if that's how you feel, and let them know that you are not giving them money or support but will instead support individual candidates. But you cant possibly think that you will go and vote for the Greens or any other candidate besides a Democrat for president this time round. We are in a hard place and this is war, in more ways than one! The Democratic party is pushing out candidates who don't seem viable and want all support to be behind the strongest candidate. Its tragic that we cant see our wonderful system play out with debates and decisions and letting the people decide, but it is critical that we line up our candidates in a methodical fashion and work in concert with eachother.

This is what the Republicans have been doing for years, with incredible foresight and plans put in place meant to play out over many administrations. They lay in wait for their time, laying the groundwork for what will be. We have to be the same. This is not about money or power anymore. It is about people's lives and our enviornment and what we leave for our children. The reprehensible decisions made during this administration will go down in history as a well planned movement to change the very structure and fiber of our country.

Like it or not, this administration was made possible not only by the idiotic Democrats who cant get their act together, but by our own idealism about what our country should be. So, rather than looking at the hard facts some people threw votes to a third party to send a message or whatever. Its so great that we have that freedom, but with that freedom comes the responsibility to look at what is happening and realize that your vote is needed to get rid of the evil that has invaded us. I love it that we have so many voices in this country and that people have so many ideas. I love that we can debate and that things balance out somehow...Usually...But as we now have a huge imbalance, we have to take the drastic measure of all getting together and putting whatever the lesser of the two evils is.

If you question it just look at those pictures....Look at the number of soldiers killed in Iraq...Look at the way in which our officials break the law and get away with it. This list could go on and on but I think I've made my point.