Thursday, February 05, 2009

I Hate The War

Because it's an action that starts tomorrow and because it sets up the point of this entry, from today's snapshot:

Starting with an action that begins tomrrow and runs through Monday in the US. Military Families Speak Out explains:

Come to Washington February 6-9 to demand "The Change WE Need"
President Elect Obama opposed the war in Iraq before it started, calling it a "dumb war." But he and his advisors have also said that they plan to spread the return of combat troops from that "dumb war" out over sixteen months and to keep tens of thousands of other troops on the ground in Iraq indefinitely.
So from February 6-9, MFSO will be traveling to Washington to bring the new President and new Congress the message that it is long past time to bring all our troops home from Iraq. The four days of events will include:
* A teach-in featuring the voices of military families, veterans, and Iraqis, explaining the need for an immediate and complete end to the war in Iraq -- and the human impacts of continuing the occupation. Friday, February 6 from Noon - 3:00 p.m. at Mott House, 122 Maryland Avenue.
* A solemn procession from Arlington National Cemetary to the White House beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 7. Meet at the front gate of the cemetery right outside the exit of the Arlington Metro stop. Please arrive early.
* A "Meet and Greet" and Legislative Briefing from 3:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 8 at the Mariott Metro Center.
* Lobbying members of Congress to end the war in Iraq. Meet in the cafeteria of the Rayburn House Office Building at 9:00 a.m. Monday, February 9.

Friday from noon to three p.m. will offer the teach-in at the Mott House (122 Maryland Ave, NE Washington, DC). Among those scheduled to participate are Joyce and Kevin Lucey, Elaine Johnson, Tim Kahlor, Stacy Bannerman, American Friends Service Committee Raed Jarrar, IPS' Phyllis Bennis, Iraq Veterans Against the War's Kris Goldsmith and Ryan Deckard and Veterans for Peace's Mike Marceau. (An aspect of the previous sentence will be noted in tonight's entry. If you have a question about it, wait until tonight's entry.)

Questions? Community members held there questions (if they had them) (thank you). Visitors wondered why this or that didn't get a link. Why would it? The decision was made by me to link to organizations and then Raed Jarrar got a link instead of AFSC. Why? The friend I was dictating it too said, "Hold on." And then told me what was on the front page of AFSC a little take-web-action bulls**t of "Help Barack."

The stimulus is still be written (and Barack's taking yet another break). It takes some real stupidity to issue a call to support something that is still being written. But exactly why are Quakers doing web-actions for the White House -- in support of, no less -- to begin with. I worked with AFSC from time to time during Vietnam. I have nothing to do with it today and we note it in snapshots on a case-by-case basis. That's due to the fact that so much of what it does is useless in my opinion. It's not on our permalinks and it's never been.

In Feb. 2003, I started speaking out against the impending illegal war and thought AFSC would be a great resource. And then I checked it. And though I thought it would become a better once the illegal war started and as it continued, that never happened.

One of the few organizations that worked to get US troops out of Vietnam and it's still around and all it demonstrated is that having a history didn't help it much. Sorry, wish I had something wonderful to say about the organization. Don't. Elaine and several other friends from back in the day can do a wicked parody of today's AFSC and why it went right down the drain.

But to be really clear, militant Quakers back in the day didn't cheerlead LBJ or Nixon. They didn't cheerlead lesiglation before it was written. They didn't make fools out of themselves.

I'm not in the mood for promoting authoritarinism or authoritarian worship or any mindless activity that strips a person of their critical thought abilities or their rights.

And if anyone sees the above as rude to a religion, Quakers really aren't a religion in the US anymore. A religion doesn't take non-believers. A religion worships a god or gods. When you start bringing in people, as they have in the last decades, who don't believe, there's really no point in calling yourself a religion. [Click here, pay attention to figures eight and nine. You can also see Edward James' "Quaker Theology Without God?"] And you really better hope that there's not another draft because there's no way Quakers will get the exemption they once did automatically. Not when they've turned the congregation now includes agnostics and atheists. The exemption was based on religious teachings and practice. When you water that down by bringing in people who do not believe in your god, that means you're not a religion. You're a social club, but you're not a religion.

So if someone thinks I'm trashing religion, I couldn't trash the Quaker religion because they've already spent the last decades trashing it themselves.

As they've watered down their religion, they've watered down their beliefs. And it's no surprise to find them cheerleading legislation they haven't read (can't read what's not written) and trying to turn their church (social club) over to a politician.



It's over, I'm done writing songs about love
There's a war going on
So I'm holding my gun with a strap and a glove
And I'm writing a song about war
And it goes
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Oh oh oh oh
-- "I Hate The War" (written by Greg Goldberg, on The Ballet's Mattachine!)

Last Thursday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 4236. Tonight? 4237. Just Foreign Policy lists 1,311,696 as the number. Finally they move it up from 1, 307,319 -- where it had been stuck since January 4th. Their current number is 1,311,696.

Meanwhile, Barbara Starr and Mike Mount (CNN) report, "The Army said 24 soldiers are believed to have committed suicide in January alone -- six times as many as killed themselves in January 2008, according to statistics released Thursday." Stephanie Gaskell (New York Daily News) observes, "In a rare move, the Army released monthly suicide data Thursday to highlight the growing problem. Last week, Army officials said its suicide rates were at their highest in nearly 30 years. Last year, 128 soldiers committed suicide and another 15 suspected cases are pending. Last month, Army officials believe that 24 soldiers killed themselves - compared with just four in January 2008."

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