Divide & Conquer

Rev. Michael Pfleger


Pfleger is a longtime Obama friend and was in the audience at the National Press Club for Wright's press conference, and when we talked afterward, he realized Wright created a problem for Obama. I was told Pfleger's comments stunned some in the Obama camp because they expected him to be more politically savvy -- and not take on Clinton, especially at Trinity, of all places.

----- Pfleger thinks Wright causes a problem for Obama? And then Pfleger performs the same sort of song and dance?

I find it disturbing that these crazy men of cloth, Pfleger and Wright, have built careers, and sometimes personal wealth, on exploiting black anger. Yes, there is racism in America, and always will be to some degree - but what have Wright or Pfleger done to ameliorate the situation?

There's an old joke : One day a farmer, after spending years with his mule plowing hard, unyielding soil in the hot sun for long hours every day, decided he had had enough of such labor. One day he put down his plow and looked to the sky and proclaimed, "Oh, God, this sun is so hot, and this ground is so hard, I do believe this Negro is called to preach."

Every wonder why current black "leaders" are preachers? Establishment whites approve of black men who put down the plow and do little but beg for more money from a pulpit, particularly from the pulpit of the white man's god.

Without strong families and moral principles, which is what these preaching fools should be bellowing about from the pulpit, the majority of blacks, whether we admit it or not, will never compete economically in white America. Disrespect education and keep having babies you cannot provide for on the master's modern plantation, and sit back and wait for reparations if you want.

While I can agree with Wright and Pfleger on a point or two here and there - personally, I wouldn't give two shits for either one of them - both have oversized egos and are out first and foremost for themselves and personal glory. Both are smug and pandering to their audiences. Both are slick players in the Chicago political machine, and would throw their own momma under a bus for vanity and with an amen.

A small nagging voice asks me if their animosity and theatrics is to widen the racial divide.

And remember, I'm no fan of Hillary so this is not in her defense.

To my children I passed the idea of don't get mad/get equal - prove you are as good or better than the white man. You have more access and opportunity now than at any time in American black history - especially to education and mobility.

Guys like Pfleger and Wright, while condemning white entitlement, push black entitlement and wrath. How does that make any sense? Whatever became of forgiveness?

Deconstructing the Myth of Castro

Fidel Castro ruled Cuba for 50 long years, or 49 to be exact, and finally handed the presidency to his brother in February 2008.

The US has had an embargo on Cuba for nearly as long. Depending on who and where you read, the official history of US/Cuban relations is blamed on various actions/reactions.

Short version: Batista was the US puppet and upon his overthrow in 1959, D.C. via the CIA, immediately attempted to invade and restore Mr. B., and with the failure of the Bay of Pigs in 1961, the US has since enforced a trade embargo to punish the Cuban people.

The "left" has defended Fidel for 50 years.

The "right" claims Castro is a dictator who oppressed his people after climbing in bed with the Soviets to spread communism in our backyard.

The "right" has condemned Fidel for 50 years.

Having lived through the life and times of this history here's what I know.

Initially, the US welcomed a democratic Cuba after the overthrow of Batista, and the CIA had even contributed funds to Castro and his men during their exile in Mexico, from which they launched the revolution that overthrew Batista. I've been aware of CIA/Castro connection for as long as I can remember although it doesn't seem to be part of the "left" or "right" official history.

But, as it was 2 years before the Bay of Pigs, it's reasonable to assume Washington expected to make the same arrangements with Castro as they had with Batista. It's also reasonable to assume the CIA "left" funded Castro as often is the case in Latin America, it is SOP to fund both sides - whoever wins will owe US.

It's been said that in the beginning Fidel denounced communism, was pro-capitalist; he simply wanted to rid Cuba of the dictator Batista. It is also said that Castro became angry with the US after US refusal to sell him arms and the relationship between the two countries quickly soured. Castro promptly began to acquire armaments from Belgium until the US issued a "friendly warning" to that country. Castro then turned to the Soviets who were more than happy to accommodate.

In March of 1960, over a year after Castro came to power, the CIA recommended to Eisenhower, the use of anti-Castro Cubans in Florida for the Bay of Pigs invasion. Seventeen months later Kennedy would have the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Seldom mentioned is the monthly rental income from the US for Guantanamo Bay. It is said that Castro does not cash the checks, stuffs them in a drawer. At $4000 per month that's about $2.5 million. Castro did cash the first check he received way back in the beginning but later said that was a mistake, an oversight. Cashing that first check, however, validated the lease agreement between Castro's Cuba and the US for continued use of Gitmo.

Perhaps Castro feared a push to vacate Gitmo would assure the US would remove him from power.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Personally, I believe the embargo is vindictive. Personally, the idea that Castro is a hero is childish romanticizing.

But here are some facts to consider. Has any president ever been qualified to hold office for 50 years? I don't think so. Does anyone believe if the CIA had wanted to take Castro out they couldn't have?

Consider that although the US has maintained a trade embargo, most of the rest of the world has not. Cuba has always had trade with Canada, China, Russia, Spain, Venezuela, U.S., Italy, Mexico, Japan, France, Spain, the UK, the Netherlands and Germany, and many others.

The islands main products are: Beans, Cassava, Cobalt, Chrome, Coffee, Copper, Iron Ore, Livestock, Maize, Nickel, Oranges, Rice, Sugar Cane, Sweet Potatoes, Tobacco, Tropical Fruits. Major industries are: Agriculture, Cement, Chemicals, Fertilizers, Fishing, Food Processing, Light Consumer Production, Metal Refining, Mining, Oil Refining, Textiles, Tobacco Products. Major exports are: Chemicals, Coffee, Copper, Fish, Fruit and Vegetables, Nickel, Rum, Sugar, Tobacco.

The current population of Cuba is 11,000,000. So why has an island rich in resources, and trade partners with many other Western nations and the USSR - done so poorly for a population only 2 million larger than New York City? Where has 50 years of Cuban wealth gone?

Why are Cuban physicians currently in Venezuela defecting from Cuba? Have they not seen Sicko? Do they not know how good they have it in Cuba?

Why has it been only recently, under Raul Castro, that the average Jose Blow will be allowed to buy a personal computer? Although Internet access will still be restricted.

So tell me - is Fidel Castro a hero who emancipated his people from the evil imperialists, or just another tinpot Caribbean dictator who made an island his personal property? Are 50 years of poverty and social restrictions solely the responsibility of the US refusing to trade with Cuba? Or because Castro and his ruling class are, dare I say it, inept and corrupt?

With Castro's death, it's very likely Cuba will be opened. Just in time for the American "left" and "right" - enter Hugo Chavez, who will play the part of icon for the "left" and enemy for the "right."

Coined Outrage

Left/progressives are upset that the US military in Iraq is proselytizing for Christianity. You know, you'll find a few witnessing for Jesus no matter where or what - but this is just outrageous, immoral, illegal, unconstitutional (the usual "left" adjectives).

"Left" icon Juan Cole writes: "Many Sunni Arab Iraqis, once the country's ruling elite, now feel oppressed by Shiite, Kurdish and American Christian dominance. The story that Marines are passing coins to Sunnis in Falluja with Christian messages on them is felt as a further humiliation, especially coming after the incident of the US soldier using the Qur'an for target practice. The coins passed in Fallujah had John 3:16 inscribed on one side, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." This verse is not a good place to begin a Christian-Muslim dialogue. The Qur'an explicitly rejects the idea that the One God can have a "son" as polytheistic. Some Islamic theologians have argued that the phrase "Son of God" is a metaphor, which cannot be translated literally into Arabic. In any case, there are lots of Gospel verses that Muslims might find interesting, but they would generally take this one as a clear signal that Bush's Christian Soldiers consider Iraqi Muslims to be supine and abject."

Jason Leopold, another "left" icon, writes: U.S. Soldiers Launch Campaign to Convert Iraqis to Christianity. In addition to coins and Bibles, there have been reports of the distribution to Iraqi children of Christian comic books published by companies such as Chick Publications. These inflammatory comic books, published in English and Arabic, not only depict Mohammed, but show both Mohammed and Muslims burning in hell because they did not accept Jesus as their savior before they died. Christian proselytizing DIRECTLY violates General Order 1A, Part 2, Section J issued by General Tommy Franks on behalf of the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) back in December of 2000...

BAGHDAD - A U.S. Marine handed out coins promoting Christianity to Muslims in the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, outraged Sunni officials said Friday. The U.S. military responded quickly, removing a trooper from duty pending an investigation.

---- As a lifelong heathen and agnostic, I'm only slightly irritated when religious folk slip flyers under my windshield wipers in the parking lot. I am much more irritated when I see hype from self-styled experts Cole and Leopold. One would think there's a massive military offensive to convert all of Iraq to Jesus. Odd is it not, that an "award winning investigative journalist" like Leopold does not have a copy of said comic book, or even a page, to share with us.

Fact: Apparently it was 1 Marine passing out coins, now removed from duty. Bibles and comic books in Arabic are not likely to be numerous; even so there are Christians in Iraq who might appreciate the material.

This may shock you - but the military has more pressing concerns and duties than recruiting Christian converts. And, I might add, if a few hundred Holy Bibles find their way into Muslim households, with shortages being what they are, those pages are likely to be used in the bathroom for more than reading.

Leopold states: In a newsletter published in 2004 by the fundamentalist group International Ministerial Fellowship (IMF), Capt. Steve Mickel, an Army chaplain, claimed that Iraqis were eager to be converted to Christianity and that he personally tried to convert dozens of Iraqis, which is also an apparent constitutional violation.

Imagine that, a chaplain who would try to spread his faith.

And yes, as always, the First Amendment is thrown in for good measure - the State not supposed to promote religion, etc. (Anyone besides myself find it ludicrous that left/progressives chant no God in government funded public schools - but government funding is okay for teaching/promoting homosexuality in the same schools? What happened to the mantra 'government out of our bedrooms' - oh, I know, we took the bedroom into the 1st grade.)

I suppose the good news may be the "leftist/progressive" exspurts have ran out of troop atrocities to provoke public outrage. But even more hopefully - so have the Iraqi.

Here Come Da Dems - Act IV

Scott McClellan / Act IV, Scene 6, You Didn't Give My Momma the Guvnaship.

Scott McClellan, memoirs, "“WHAT HAPPENED: Inside the Bush White House and What’s Wrong With Washington.”

“I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby,” McClellan wrote.

“There was one problem. It was not true.”

McClellan then absolves himself and makes an inflammatory — and potentially lucrative for his publisher — charge.

“I had unknowingly passed along false information,” McClellan wrote.

---- What's going on? A disgruntled employee performs a BushCo bash in time for the election? A weak link in the Bush crew seeking to capitalize on scandal? A clueless schmuck unaware of his political surroundings or what his cronies were up to for years as he supported rightwing propaganda, before, during, and after the war, and then had an epiphany?

It's a ruling class chess move to swing the pendulum "leftward" ... back and to the left ... back and to the left ... uh where was I ... oh, yes, back to the democrats, to bolster the illusion of choice, to restore the illusion of honest and caring government lackeys who are out there and come to tell you the truth (and make a few dollars in the process).

It's showtime!

The Same Coin

CARACAS, Venezuela: Manuel Marulanda, the guerrilla tactician whose rise from peasant origins to top commander of Latin America's largest rebel group was a mythical feature of Colombia's long internal war, died on March 26 in a mountainous hideout in the Meta department in central Colombia. He was believed to be 76 years old.

James Petras: Marulanda, unlike many better-known ‘poster-boy’ guerrillas, was a virtual unknown among the elegant leftist editors in London, the nostalgic Parisian sixty-eighters and the New York Socialist scholars. Marulanda spent his time exclusively in ‘Colombia profunda’, the deep Colombia, preferring to converse and teach peasants and learn their grievances, rather than giving interviews to adventure-seeking Western journalists. Instead of writing grandiloquent ‘manifestos’ and striking photogenic poses, he preferred the steady, unromantic but eminently effective grassroots pedagogy of the disinherited. Marulanda traveled from virtually inaccessible valleys to mountain ranges, from jungles to plains, organizing, fighting… recruiting and training new leaders. He eschewed tripping off to ‘World Forums’ or following the route of international leftist tourists. He never visited a foreign capital and, it is said, never set foot in the nation’s capital, Bogota.

--- I supported FARC as a people’s resistance movement in the ’60s and ’70s but they failed to obtain and sustain the support of the masses, and today’s generation of Farc-sters are thugs. They traffic drugs, run guns, kidnap, rape, murder. The elders are no longer freedom fighting heroes - but aging criminals, raising their young to maintain a lifestyle of jungle hegemony - by any means necessary. They are no longer a “resistance” but have become no different than those they fight against - and are very aware that the “left” in the US is simpatico.

The American "left" - always advocating non-violent movements at home yet praise and pay homage to violent rebellions abroad, although at home and abroad the "left" are fighting the same enemy, are they not? US government policy?

Petras does not mention FARC's execution of 3 US Indian (AIM) activists Ingrid Washinawatok, Lahene Gay, and Terence Freitason on Venezuelan soil in 1999 after they were kidnapped for ransom in Columbia.

No mention of why the "left" is against child soldiering yet 30% of FARC members are under 18, many under age 15.

The "left" romanticizing violence - "the ends justify the means" - the same b.s. the "right" uses to justify their crimes, but no surprise - America's left and right are both sides of the same coin.

Obamboozle

Where I've Been

Gardening, vegetables and roses. Preparing for youngest daughter's wedding on July 5. DIY projects around the homestead.

I have also been posting on a dissident website (under a pseudonym), which feels somewhat like cheating on this blog.

For the life of me I cannot understand how anyone can be excited about Hillary or Obama. The public can't be that dumb - tell me it isn't so.

More later. Perhaps when I find that "change you can believe in" and some of that 3 a.m. audacity.

Elmo Terrorist

The Bowman family, of Lithia, Fla., said an Elmo doll belonging to their 2-year-old son, James, began to spout death threats towards him after they changed its batteries.

The Elmo Knows Your Name Doll started saying "Kill James!" in a sing-song voice, the site reports.

"It's not something that really you would think would ever come out of a toy," James' mother, Melissa, told the site. "But once I heard, I was just kind of distraught."

----Now, I'm not saying there's any connection but today I received these fotos from one of my sons, with the description that "Elmo hostage taking during our MOUT training (military operations in urban terrain). Basically I was taken hostage and taped up on a chair with IEDs strapped to it and an elmo doll holding a gun to my chest." But made me go hmmmmmmm.

Housecapades

Number 2 son at WH yesterday.
In first foto J. is claiming
he did not have sexual relations with that woman.