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Fuck America
Feb. 14th, 2003 10:18 am*Warning this post may be scattered and unintelligible--I am ever so angry*
Right now I'm watching Secretary of State Colin Powell (what kind of fucked up country puts a general in the leading diplomatic position?!) address the UN Security Council and I don't think I've ever been so disgusted with this country or so angry at glaring hypocrisy. If I ever have to hear another statement lauding our shining example of democracy in the world (after a clearly purchased and stolen presidential election), our desire for peace (ha!), or the dangers of Sadam Hussein (let's talk about North Korea, shall we? Saudi Arabia anyone?) I am going to puke. Vomit. Everywhere.
This war on Iraq is one of the bigger scams I can recall in my short political memory. It's not about Sadam; it is about oil. It's about influence in the area. It's about GW making the money for a gluttonous band of supporters in the oil and defense industries.
And ultimately, it's about poor people (soldiers,citizens, Iraqis) dying and suffering for the profit of a few. Every war has been about that at some level. It's fucked up. There's no moral gray area---this war is wrong. Period.
Urgh, and now Powell is talking about the problem of Iraqi "minders" accompanying the inspectors. How ironic, considering that General Powell was one of the people directly responsible for blocking press access in the Gulf War using that exact same tactic (not to mention limiting which news organizations could cover it, using government censors to edit news materials, and refusing any access to the press). It should probably be mentioned that we were also the nation responsible for putting CIA operatives on a UN Iraqi Arms Inspection Team (surprise, that was also when Iraq kicked out the inspectors).
France and China aren't supporting the US (France is using the stronger rhetoric). They both have veto power, although I suspect neither will use it. But I hope they do...god I hope they do. It won't stop the war but it will show this charade of "due process" for what it is.
And George W. Bush, I don't think I've ever hated a man more. I hate the future he's creating and I hate that my generation is going to shoulder the burden of his budget decisions, his foreign policy actions, and his changes in domestic policy. It will take years to reverse the damage that man and his administration have wrought.
The only good thing is all of this is that it's giving me momentum towards DC. I don't think that I can change anything, but I'll die trying. I'm looking at non-profits and NGOs that aren't bound up in the political horse-trading and poll-watching bullshit that's so rampant at the Capitol. Or perhaps I'll find a legislator with principle--if I can do that, anything is possible..
I'm a particular foe of the defense industry. In the late 90s the GAO released figures showing that 36% of the entire defense budget was eaten up by waste and fraud (that's a peace time estimate). The entire procurement process encourages this, with profits set on a fixed percentage of cost with no control on costs whatsoever...this is how you get your $12,000.00 toilet seats. The defense industries also have some of the worst track records for environmental pollution and screwing their employees over (mostly due to the endless hiring and firing cycles)--not to mention the moral statement that they make their money off war.
It's ironic that I feel so strongly about this considering that both my father, step-father, and step-brother make their living in this exact industry--defense aerospace to be exact.
But it's also the same industry that gave my grandmother ultimately fatal respiratory problems, my grandfather cancer, and my mother chemical hepatitis. I also get tested for cancer every year, compliments of Company X (who shall remain nameless given a gag order clause in a class action suit).
I suppose I have personal, as well as political, stake in making sure that this industry doesn't loot the government coffers.
I am so frustrated and so angry.
I'm going to turn off the news.
Right now I'm watching Secretary of State Colin Powell (what kind of fucked up country puts a general in the leading diplomatic position?!) address the UN Security Council and I don't think I've ever been so disgusted with this country or so angry at glaring hypocrisy. If I ever have to hear another statement lauding our shining example of democracy in the world (after a clearly purchased and stolen presidential election), our desire for peace (ha!), or the dangers of Sadam Hussein (let's talk about North Korea, shall we? Saudi Arabia anyone?) I am going to puke. Vomit. Everywhere.
This war on Iraq is one of the bigger scams I can recall in my short political memory. It's not about Sadam; it is about oil. It's about influence in the area. It's about GW making the money for a gluttonous band of supporters in the oil and defense industries.
And ultimately, it's about poor people (soldiers,citizens, Iraqis) dying and suffering for the profit of a few. Every war has been about that at some level. It's fucked up. There's no moral gray area---this war is wrong. Period.
Urgh, and now Powell is talking about the problem of Iraqi "minders" accompanying the inspectors. How ironic, considering that General Powell was one of the people directly responsible for blocking press access in the Gulf War using that exact same tactic (not to mention limiting which news organizations could cover it, using government censors to edit news materials, and refusing any access to the press). It should probably be mentioned that we were also the nation responsible for putting CIA operatives on a UN Iraqi Arms Inspection Team (surprise, that was also when Iraq kicked out the inspectors).
France and China aren't supporting the US (France is using the stronger rhetoric). They both have veto power, although I suspect neither will use it. But I hope they do...god I hope they do. It won't stop the war but it will show this charade of "due process" for what it is.
And George W. Bush, I don't think I've ever hated a man more. I hate the future he's creating and I hate that my generation is going to shoulder the burden of his budget decisions, his foreign policy actions, and his changes in domestic policy. It will take years to reverse the damage that man and his administration have wrought.
The only good thing is all of this is that it's giving me momentum towards DC. I don't think that I can change anything, but I'll die trying. I'm looking at non-profits and NGOs that aren't bound up in the political horse-trading and poll-watching bullshit that's so rampant at the Capitol. Or perhaps I'll find a legislator with principle--if I can do that, anything is possible..
I'm a particular foe of the defense industry. In the late 90s the GAO released figures showing that 36% of the entire defense budget was eaten up by waste and fraud (that's a peace time estimate). The entire procurement process encourages this, with profits set on a fixed percentage of cost with no control on costs whatsoever...this is how you get your $12,000.00 toilet seats. The defense industries also have some of the worst track records for environmental pollution and screwing their employees over (mostly due to the endless hiring and firing cycles)--not to mention the moral statement that they make their money off war.
It's ironic that I feel so strongly about this considering that both my father, step-father, and step-brother make their living in this exact industry--defense aerospace to be exact.
But it's also the same industry that gave my grandmother ultimately fatal respiratory problems, my grandfather cancer, and my mother chemical hepatitis. I also get tested for cancer every year, compliments of Company X (who shall remain nameless given a gag order clause in a class action suit).
I suppose I have personal, as well as political, stake in making sure that this industry doesn't loot the government coffers.
I am so frustrated and so angry.
I'm going to turn off the news.
