A Common Enemy

Forest v trees. We all need to pile onto one end of the seesaw thru the elections and then we can scatter into our many respective points of view.

The current administration has been responsible for killing a million innocent people in Iraq. I cannot type that without being sick. I have spent my entire life working to save a mere few thousands of lives, and in the meanwhile, my government has killed a million people. May God forgive us, for the rest of the world will not.

I truly cannot contemplate the NEXT big thing which is aggressive war against Iran. I came into blogging because Washington insiders who opposed Bolton were horrified about this next step that would truly take our country off the cliff.

This administration is responsible for the shredding of our Constitution. The degrading of our planet. The justification of the unthinkable -- torture, the abdication of the Geneva Conventions, and starting a war of aggression. Our country.

Eyes on the prize folks. We have a real enemy in common. We are fighting evil, the Biblical kind of evil. Money versus human lives. Power versus human rights. It is ugly and wrong.

Can we please, please, please get behind the only chance to turn things around in the short term, and then argue the fine points and the frankly hurtful points of division, after we have given it our best effort, our one big push in November?

We need a Democratic president and we need to help elect as many progressive Senators and Congressmen as we can. It is a race against time and a race against insanity. Let us work together to fight against this insanity and not attack each other. There is an enemy, and it is not us -- let's stand together for now and work out the fine points later please? The Germans went down because the left dissolved into bickering factions. Let's do better, ok?

*******

photo by pagedooley at Santa Monica Beach, one cross for each American killed in Iraq.

Webb and Iraq and Iran

I should be happy about the progress being made in the Senate and House Judiciary hearings, and I am to a point. I fell into a funk considering our military situation. Stepping back from the motherblog, I spent some time thinking about more mundane matters such as lovely children and my new Louboutins. It does not create a balance against the horror but I must try to find joy where possible.

But there are matters of war and peace which are slipping away from us. The Webb amendment to give troops adequate rest before being sent away to get shot at: 56 favored this, 41 against. And that means it passed? Oh no, it failed, because this was a cloture vote. Now we see who -really- supports the troops.

The Webb amendment was a compromise between historical ratios of fighting and rest, which are 2:1 for regular forces and much greater for reserves and guard. The bill would set the ratio at 1:1 for regular forces; current troops are fighting for 15 months and off for only 12. The Senate couldn't agree to 1:1? Who will agree to sign up to fight with no end in sight, for a bogus war begun based on lies about weapons of mass destruction?

It is destroying our reserves and our national guard as well. Someday we might need the guard at home. New Orleans anyone?

Then the Senate passed a bill using very provocative language about IraN, using terms like murder of US troops. This is the kind of step that can lead to more propaganda, falling into war, real war, the kind where the other country might actually strike back against us. And for what? Oil, power, our supposed ally in the Middle East?

Spare me. No, better: spare our troops.

*******

The dove and the kindergarten child

As if to underscore yesterday's post on spiritual communication with animals, today there was a dove trapped in my garage, banging into the windows looking for escape. Finally she rested on one window sill, probably wondering what next, the urgent question for those of us with OCD. I spoke to her calmly as I gradually eased closer, explaining that I would open the other garage door for her but it would be noisy, and not to be afraid. The door opened with what was probably an awful sound to a small bird. She waited without flinching. Then I slowly came closer and moved my arms in the direction of the open door. She flew out.

A dove, sign of peace, as we rush to another war of aggression, against a country that is by all accounts YEARS away from even having a nuclear weapon, Iran. Will the mainstream media report on the 2003 diplomatic overture from Iran through the Swiss which offered to settle all outstanding obstacles? Of course our leaders threw it in the wastebasket. Can they pick it up again and smooth out the wrinkles?

I fear there will be a false flag incident which will be blamed on Iran. They have even given us little clues, that "Iranian" mines are endangering U.S. ships. So when the newspapers report that Iran has "attacked" one of our ships and we must go to war, what will we do? God help us.

I was trying to silence my mental white noise today and listen to the still small voice of God. Sometimes there are sufficient coincidences that even I must admit they rise to the level of synchronicities, events which are spiritually related. On the way to an appointment I planned to go to the bank's drive-thru. But there were delays.

First, the above mentioned dove. Then, a construction detour on my customary route. Finally, an extended stop for a school bus waiting for a kindergarten child to get everything organized for the big step off the bus. It took so long that the driver closed the bus door and let a couple cars go on. But I waited to see the outcome. Finally the wee lad came forth and crossed the street to his waiting mother. They have 6th graders as patrol guards in the morning and afternoon, but the mid-day kindergarten busses need them as well. Perhaps parents of five yr olds are sufficiently involved that this treacherous crossing of the dangerous street is guarded well enough.

Those of us who follow national politics, including the Libby trial, observe that there are some other treacherous crossings to concern us, and I wonder if we have enough patrol guards.
.

My ADD interferes with my OCD

True quote from my best friend. We were discussing the joys of being both ADD and OCD when she came up with this gold. Need to think about the implications.

May I ramble on a bit? All right, you say, and in fact necessary to identify a post as being uniquely mine. Not kind of unique, sort of unique, nearly unique, [uniquer--per egSon] thank you lovely children who know this pet peeve. It is either one of a kind or not. Unique or not unique. /rant.

As to rambling, you might think this was the very sign of me posting, rather like looseheadprop's spelling errors at firedoglake. It's how we know it is her speaking.

This lovely friend came over today, as every Friday, to help in whatever way I needed for the Russian Medical Fund work. Today the agenda was to keep the president from quitting. Again. But rather seriously this time.

According to my friend, there are still children who will die without our help, and no one will take my place if I quit [what is WRONG with this world], and I probably am strong enough to keep doing this work. Gratuitous swear word inserted here. I apparently continue to have the obligation and the opportunity to save lives if only I will keep going. So be it. But I hope it's worth the cost.

We operated on a child from Tadzhikistan, who came to us from another center that will remain nameless to protect the guilty. The parents SOLD THEIR HOUSE to pay for his first surgery at the other institution, and they nearly killed him. They at least had the conscience to send him on to us. We did his repair, undoing their strange cutting and pasting, and now he has a chance at a normal life.

I watched the re-do surgery and sat with the mother, who was understandably hysterical, as her son came from surgery to the ICU. I explained to her that the surgery went well, was perfectly normal, yet her son would look strange being under anaesthesia and with tubes sticking into him. We spoke in Russian, which was her second language and mine. Yet as mothers we communicated at a higher level. She trusted me since I too had children.

That's the good news. The bad news: there are people in the city where I work who are actively trying to shut down our program, which saves the lives of 350 children a year.

Why? To bring a trickle of federal money toward their own program, so they can have a small and weak program that kills more patients than they save. They want to expand their own program at the cost of killing ours.

Can you hear my response? Their inability to see beyond themselves is evil.

Yet at some level I am sympathetic. It is always hard to see beyond oneself, or beyond one's own organization. But in this case, for them to succeed, children will die. I WILL RESIST.

My alcohol counselor is unhappy. Better I should withdraw from this struggle and work on my own sanity. What is morally right here?

I have already decided to withdraw from the issue of war and peace between the United States and Iraq/Iran/et cetera, for the benefit aof my sanity. Must I leave my work of 10+ years as well?

Webb: "Invasion and Occupation"

Senator James Webb [I just LOVE saying that} pulls his weight on the Armed Services Committee interviewing General Pace.

He called the so-called war in Iraq: an "invasion and occupation." This is from a Marine platoon leader in Vietnam, and Secretary of the Navy. His words about military engagement are not carelessly chosen.

He had a sharp reply for Senator Lindsey Graham about why people join the military. It is not for "policy," which Graham was putting forth on behalf of the Administration, but because they love their country, have a family tradition of serving in the military, are looking for camaraderie, or are trying to better themselves. Policy indeed.

I missed the hearing and then missed the C-Span rerun. At least I was able to alert fdl folk about the rerun, maybe some kind person taped it for YouTube. [This is on the edge of being abbrev if not already. uTb?]

In another conversation, with Secretary Rice, he asked if the Administration would go to war against Iran without the approval of Congress. Answer: Hint. It wasn't no. Not no means yes. Of course it's a moot point as we are by some indications already in Iran with special forces.

Am so grateful we helped elect Webb. I began in February 2006 when his ratings were in the asterisk range. Read about his candidacy and said This Is It.

Called up and sent a check. Got involved with get out the vote efforts. Attended meetings and actually had to Talk With People™, agony for shy little egregious. Surprised myself by calling friends and asking them to donate.

Met with Webb, and Governor Warner, and gave each of them with my business card. On the back, the egregious political platform:

Domestic policy: the Constitution
Foreign policy: Geneva Conventions

If we lose these, we have truly lost our way as a nation.

Dreams of the future

Talking with one of my children about the future. It makes all those years of peanut butter sandwiches and carpools worth it. Don't ask me about the teenage arguments :)

What they want to do in the future...so many possibilities. Addressing egregious social problems, raising children, making money to provide for a comfortable life, trying to make the world better for the future. How to make all goals work out.

I have to look back with some satisfaction that I have already made these decisions, and for me they worked out. I did have ferrari children [don't ask me about their bipolar/teenage crises], I did make enough money to have a comfortable living, and I have had the privilege to address larger issues i.e. saving the lives of children in Russia while working for peace there.

Making things better here in the US? Slow going. Molasses. Donating/killing brain cells thru alcoholic madness. What the bloody hell---literally---ARE we doing in Iraq/Iran. Are we the Matrix, carrying out the will of another country? I hope I'm wrong.

There are terrorist threats from Iraq and Iran, yes, but for others, not for the United States. What does it mean, "existential threat." I am more sympathetic to that than you might imagine, being depressed, I am all over existential threats. But how does that translate into sending our young men and women into battle?

Mental illness open house. Welcome.

I'm mentally ill, politically active, and increasingly sick due to our war in Iraq/Iran.

Canaries/mine

What's on your mind?