Books You Must Read by David Gordon

Books You Must Read by David Gordon: "In Speaking of Liberty, Lew Rockwell usefully complements Higgs’s analysis of the dangers of war. He insightfully asks: how can one rationally favor both the market and a bellicose foreign policy? 'The framers intended to keep the US out of foreign wars. They understood that a government that goes abroad in search of monsters to destroy will end up destroying its own people. The foreign policy apparatus of today inflicts a horrible cost on the world. But the greatest cost of all – or at least the one that should matter to us the most – is the cost to the liberty that is our birthright.'"

Enron & Bush Connection

Democracy Now! | Enron: The Bush Connection: "ROBERT BRYCE: She was on the board at Enron at the same time that Graham was in the Senate sponsoring legislation that benefited Enron. Not only did Graham not recuse himself, he sponsored legislation that effectively allowed Enron to operate as an unregulated commodities exchange. So, I mean, there's plenty of -- Enron's money corrupted a lot of elements of government, and it wasn’t just the Bush administration. I’m not saying that to excuse the Bush administration, because, I mean, when you look at Enron and you look at the Bush administration, you see the similarities. Both operated with this clear idea that they were going to change the world, that the world was going to follow their new business model and that that was going to change the world forever.

What else? Well, they launched brutal attacks on anybody who doubted any of their programs. They had huge surges in debt that they covered up with creative accounting. We see that now with the Bush administration, creating some of the largest deficits in American history of any presidency in American history, and also just this idea that they were on a religious mission. This was -- their business model was going to change the world. No one could doubt them. Anyone who did was immediately cast aside. And in a word, it's the same commodity, the same trait that brought down Enron is the defining trait of the Bush administration, and that's hubris. It’s the Greeks’ fatal flaw. And I think that that clearly came home to roost with Lay and Skilling, and I think eventually it’s going to come home to roost with the Bush administration."

Enron and Congress

Democracy Now! | Enron: The Bush Connection: "ROBERT BRYCE: Sure. Let me make one point I think that we've missed here. It's not just the Bush administration, as well. I mean, Congress had a hand in allowing Enron to do what it did. Let's look at the case of Phil Graham. Phil Graham was the one who carried legislation that allowed Enron to do a lot of the things it did and avoid federal oversight at the same time that his wife, Wendy, was on Enron’s board.

AMY GOODMAN: Phil Graham, the former Texas senator.

ROBERT BRYCE: Former senator from Texas. So Enron had tremendous power in Congress, as well, that allowed it to operate with a free hand in the energy trading business and to operate really as an unregulated commodities broker, an unregulated commodities exchange.

AMY GOODMAN: Just one second, because I spoke over you. I spoke over you. The former Texas senator Phil Graham's wife, Wendy, say again her role.

ROBERT BRYCE: She was on the board at Enron at the same time that Graham was in the Senate sponsoring legislation that benefited Enron. Not only did Graham not recuse himself, he sponsored legislation that effectively allowed Enron to operate as an unregulated commodities exchange. So, I mean, there's plenty of -- Enron's money corrupted a lot of elements of government, and it wasn’t just the Bush administration. I’m not saying that to excuse the Bush administration, because, I mean, when you look at Enron and you look at the Bush administration, you see the similarities. Both operated with this clear idea that they were going to change the world, that the world was going to follow their new business model and that that was going to change the world forever."

The Beginning of an Old Era, The Mob is Still in Place

Democracy Now! | Enron Execs Found Guilty on Multiple Conspiracy, Fraud Charges: "GREG PALAST: I was wired, yes. And unfortunately for Tony Blair, I was wired. And when he called me a liar on the floor of the House of Commons, we said, “Well, let's listen to the audio tape.” But, you know, that's not done here in the U.S. I mean, at the same time that we were busting Enron over there, the U.S. press here was acting like Ken Lay, like especially writers like Thomas Friedman of the Times, like he was, you know, Elvis on a pogo stick. He was bringing the wonders of the free market to electricity, this guy who was basically leading -- like I say, you have to understand it's a mob. And one thing I am very discouraged at, reading the coverage, it's all about symbol of an era, as if it's gone, as if under George Bush that era is over. No, that era is beginning. Okay, they got rid of the guy who kicked it off. They had to. He went too far. But the whole gang is still operating. That's one of the big evils."

The Bush Family Enron's 'armed sales force'

Democracy Now! | Enron Execs Found Guilty on Multiple Conspiracy, Fraud Charges: "GREG PALAST: Before he was governor. This is George's brother. And what Jeb was saying is “My father would very much appreciate if you would give Enron the deal.” And the finance minister was just floored. He thought that this was being muscled into giving away Argentina's resources to some guy he’s never heard of: Ken Lay. This is Jeb Bush. Neil Bush then goes on the payroll of Enron to sell the Saudis water systems for Enron. You have to understand that literally the Bush family has been kind of an armed sales force for Enron, and an empowered sales force, sometimes on the payroll, sometimes just in office and the gimme is, of course, the huge political donations.

And that really hasn't been touched in the U.S. papers, the huge international reach of Enron, including, by the way, Mr. Tony Blair, where I broke a story there about Enron's influence with the Blair government, that huge amount of money was paid into the Labour Party to allow Enron to bust the rules to allow them to build power plants in England. I mean, Tony Blair had a lot to answer for, but that story was covered there."

More Evidence of Bush' Hipocrisy

Democracy Now! | Enron Execs Found Guilty on Multiple Conspiracy, Fraud Charges: CRAIG MURRAY: It goes back to before George Bush became President. In 1997 or 1998, George Bush, as Governor of Texas, had a meeting with the Uzbek ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Safayev, which was actually organized and set up by Kenneth Lay of Enron. And if you go to my website, you can find a facsimile of Kenneth Lay's letter to George Bush, telling him to meet Ambassador Safayev in order to conclude a billion-dollar gas deal between Uzbekistan and Enron. And that was the start of the Bush relationship with the Karimov regime.

Karimov is one of the most vicious dictators in the world, a man who is responsible for the death of thousands of people. Prisoners are boiled to death in Uzbek jails. And he was a guest in the White House in 2002. It's very easy to find photos of George Bush shaking Karimov's hand."

More Bush Lies

Democracy Now! | Enron Execs Found Guilty on Multiple Conspiracy, Fraud Charges: "JIM HIGHTOWER: Ken Lay, whom George W. fondly called “Kenny Boy,” was the major campaign contributor to George W. Bush, and they exchanged Christmas cards with each other. Ken Lay was very personal, very close with the Bush family.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I do know that Mr. Lay came to the White House in -- early in my administration along with, I think, twenty other business leaders to discuss the state of the economy. It was just kind of a general discussion. I have not met with him personally.
. . .
GREG PALAST: Excuse me, Secretary of Energy. He wanted to name the electricity cops, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, so Ken Lay secretly gave Dick Cheney a list of three names. Now, you have to understand, Al Capone used to have to buy off the cops. Here's Ken Lay trying to get them appointed. He said, “Here's three good choices for chairman of the commission that's supposed to regulate me.” Right? That he already knew that he was being asked for the $9 billion back, right?

Anyway, George Bush gave him a real extraordinary Christmas gift. He appointed all three guys to the Energy Commission. So Lay appoints his own regulators, and he did this before in Texas, when George, when George Bush was Governor of Texas, when George Bush says he didn't know Ken Lay, and I've got a letter in Armed Madhouse showing a note from Ken Lay saying, “Here's the guy I want to be my regulator, the cop that's supposed to be watching me,” and sure enough, Governor George Bush appoints Ken Lay's personal cop."

A Nation in Chains by Chris Floyd

A Nation in Chains by Chris Floyd:

"With the world's attention understandably diverted by the latest scandals and shameless posturings of the Bush Faction – domestic spying, bribes and hookers at the CIA, military units roaring down to the border to scare unarmed poor people looking for work – few noticed a small story that cast a harsh, penetrating light on the corrosion of the national character.

Earlier this month, the International Centre for Prison Studies at King's College London released its annual World Prison Population List. And there, standing proudly at the head of the line, towering far above all others, is that shining city on the hill, the United States of America. But strangely enough, the Bush gang and its many media sycophants failed to celebrate – or even note – yet another instance where a triumphant America leads the world. Where are the cheering hordes shouting "USA! USA!" at the news that the land of the free imprisons more people than any other country in the world – both in raw numbers and as a percentage of its population?"

"

Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire

Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire: "I was returned to full duty back at Fort Lewis, reinstated as a Muslim chaplain. My record was wiped clear, after which I, of course, tendered my resignation, received an honorable discharge in January of 2005, and upon separation, I would receive another, a second Army commendation medal for exceptional meritorious service.

I didn't receive an apology. Yes, I am an eternal optimist, and I hope one day that I will receive an official apology, and I believe that by speaking out, speaking the truth, and making people aware of what's going on in Guantanamo and letting others know what happened to me, as a U.S. citizen held in this so-called war on terrorism, that one day all of this will lead to a well-deserved apology. Thank you."

Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire

Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire: "We call this tactic “sensory deprivation.” Sensory deprivation, it's something that I recently read that the American Psychiatric Association has included in a draft of their definition of torture.

Sensory deprivation. I was subjected to sensory deprivation, but I knew about this tactic, because that's, of course, how I saw prisoners being treated and subjected to when they are in-processed into Guantanamo when they are flown in from Afghanistan under this very same tactic of sensory deprivation; its purpose, which is meant to instill fear and intimidation. You, yourselves, maybe have seen the pictures with the prisoners wearing the hoods on their head. Well, I feared also that a hood would be then thrown on my head, but fortunately for me, that practice of hooding had just been stopped months before my arrest. I also feared of being kicked and beaten violently, especially after hearing some of the prisoners when I spoke with them down in Guantanamo, how they were kicked and beaten during their transport down to Guantanamo."

Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire

Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire: "I was arrested in secret, held incommunicado. I never showed up at the airport in Seattle like I was supposed to have, where my wife and daughter were waiting. They didn't know what happened to me. My parents in New Jersey had no idea what had happened. I essentially disappeared from society, from the face of the earth. But my family would learn of what happened to me ten days later, when government leaks to the media were then reported, first by the Washington Times, that I was now arrested and charged with these heinous crimes of spying, espionage, aiding the enemy, and mutiny and sedition, which is like trying to overthrow the government. All of these capital crimes, and, yes, I was threatened with the death penalty days after my arrest by a military prosecutor."

Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire

Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire: "Gitmo's secret weapon. Now, what was Gitmo's secret weapon? Well, from the viewpoint of a chaplain in the United States military whose role is essentially to advocate for the free exercise of worship for all individuals, to advocate for religious freedom, Gitmo's secret weapon was the use of religion against the prisoners, whether to try and break them or frustrate them in the course of trying to glean information from them or in the course of detaining them.

Now, how was religion being used against the prisoners? Well, prisoners would come and they would tell me that when they were taken to interrogation, they were, of course, shackled at the wrists and at the waist and at the ankles, as prisoners down in Guantanamo are shackled, and they would tell me that they would be forced to sit in the center of what was painted on the floor, a satanic circle. The interrogators would attempt to force them to bow down and prostrate, you know, like in the form of the Islamic prayer where Muslims bow down and prostrate, while the interrogator is screaming at that prisoner that “Satan is your god now, not Allah!” This is how religion was being used against prisoners."

Democracy Now! | UN Panel Calls for Bush Administration to Close Guantanamo Bay Military Prison

Democracy Now! | UN Panel Calls for Bush Administration to Close Guantanamo Bay Military Prison: "GABOR RONA: First, thank you for having me on, Amy. The significance of this entire process is that, in addition to what you mentioned, this is the first time that the U.S. has come before the scrutiny of an international legal body since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This is not a situation in which the U.S. appeared because it was being called on the carpet. Quite the contrary. States are required to file periodic reports to the committee, which is charged with monitoring compliance with the torture convention, and the U.S. is a party to the torture convention. So this is a routine process.

What I think was not routine, though, was the fact that the United States sent a large and very high-level delegation to Geneva to appear before the Committee Against Torture, expressed its respect for the process and for the expertise of the members of this committee. It's an independent committee. It's not a political committee. The people on the committee are experts in their field. And the United States presented very detailed information about its legal arguments, asserting why it felt it was in compliance with its international legal obligations, but did not present a great deal of information about its practices, the facts.

And it was gratifying to see that the committee rejected much of the United States' legal posturing, invited the United States to provide more information about actual practices, and in no uncertain terms was critical of the United States’ practices of secret detentions, of interrogation techniques that amount to torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, of the process of extraordinary rendition, which is nothing more than enforced disappearances, and of several practices taking place within the U.S. criminal justice system, supermax prisons, and police stations.

AMY GOODMAN: We only have a minute, but how signific"

Whose Death is Worth More?

Reflecting Hubris by Tom Engelhardt: "Let me offer a few framing comparisons:

1. Sometime in the coming week or two, the number of American soldiers killed in the Iraq and Afghan Wars will exceed the 2,752 people who died in or around the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 (including those on the two hijacked jets that rammed into the towers). With a combined death toll of 2,739, the war dead have already crept within 13 of that day's casualties in New York. Here's a question then: Who thinks that the United States will ever spend $500 million, no less $1 billion, on a memorial to the ever-growing numbers of war dead from those two wars?"

A Parable for Americans

Space Aliens From Luxemburg: A Horror Story by Stefan Molyneux: "Let us imagine that tomorrow morning, when you flip on CNN, you see Wolf Blitzer being jostled by surging crowds. Everyone is running, staring at the sky in fear. 'Space aliens have landed in Luxemburg!' cries Wolf, wide-eyed and almost hysterical, 'and they have a message for all mankind!'

There is a burst of static, and then you see a drooling, bulging-eyed monstrosity gripping prepared notes in its slimy sea-green tentacles.

'Citizens of Earth!' it gurgles, 'We bring good news! We see that, all over the world, citizens live under the slavery of what you call ‘governments.’ Millions of you are unjustly imprisoned, billions are stolen from you through taxation, and government-owned WMDs threaten the very survival of the planet! This is a moral abomination, and we have come to put a stop to it!'"

Violence Robs Iraq of Christian Heritage

Violence robs Iraq of Christian heritage: "there is social discrimination of Iraqi Christians. And since the collapse of central authority (beginning with the second US-led invasion), Iraqi Christians have been targeted by extremists",
...
"Grim future

Despite the difficulties in practising their faith and threats, an Iraq bereft of Christians is difficult for the community to grasp.

Christians pre-date Islam by some 700 years and have lived in the area known as Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) since St Thomas the Apostle preached in 30 CE and founded the East Syriac Church.

'I can't imagine an Iraq without Iraqi Christians, says Hancock.

'Iraqi Christians contributed to Iraq with their skills and loyalty to the country. It is sad to watch what happened to them for the last three years.'"

We Have Figure It Out!

Political Cortex: Horseshit! Bush and the Christian Cowboy: "Mr. Bush tells Oval Office visitors from Germany:

'You cannot lead people unless you're optimistic about what you're doing. You've got to believe it in your very soul. One of the interesting things about the presidency is people watch me like a hawk. They're looking at my moves. And if I'm going to be wringing my hands and if I'm all worried about the decisions I make are not going to lead to a better tomorrow, they'll figure it out.
. . .

And so when you talk to me today, I just want you to know I not only strongly believe in the decisions I make, I'm optimistic that they're going to work -- very optimistic.'"

But, we have figure it out. Your decisions are not going to lead to a better tomorrow regardless of what you do with your hands.

Less We Forget

Pope John Paul II calls War a Defeat for Humanity: Neoconsevative Iraq Just War Theories Rejected: "Americans were largely unaware of the depth and importance of the opposition of Church leaders to an attack on Iraq, since for the most part the mainstream media did not carry the stories. In the same way, many Americans were unaware that Pope John Paul II spoke against the first Gulf War 56 times. Media in the United States omitted this from the commentaries on the war. Many have also been unaware of the number of Iraqis killed in that war (not to mention the war which recently 'ended'). In February 2003 Business Week published an interview with Beth Osborne Daponte, a professional demographer who worked for the Census Bureau. The first Bush administration tried to fire her because her published estimates of the number of Iraqi deaths conflicted with what Dick Cheney was saying at the time. She was defended by social science professionals and was able to keep her job. Her estimates: 13,000 civilians were killed directly by American and allied forces, and about 70,000 civilians died subsequently from war-related damage to medical facilities and supplies, the electric power grid, and the water system.
...
In the past few years, Catholic neoconservatives have been attempting to develop a new philosophy of just war which would include preemptive strikes against other nations, what might be called a "preventive war." George Weigel has published major articles defending this position since 1995. First Things magazine published his articles and editorially agreed with this point of view. The present Bush administration has used these writings to defend the strike against Iraq. Shortly before the war began, through the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, President Bush sent Michael Novak to go to Rome to try to justify the war to the Pope and Vatican officials. Catholic News Service reported that the two-hour symposium was attended by some 150 invited guests, including lower-level Vatican officials, professors from church universities in Rome and diplomats accredited to the Vatican. Since with one voice Rome had already rejected the argument for a preventive war, Novak took the approach that a war on Iraq would not be a preventive war, but a continuation of a "just war," Iraqi War I, and actually a moral obligation. He argued that a was also a matter of self-defense, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, was an un-scrupulous character, and therefore it was only a matter of time before he took up with Al Qaida and gave them such weapons.

Novak did not succeed in convincing Church leaders-in fact, some commentators reflected that his efforts might have had the opposite effect. Novak's credibility in this argument was perhaps under-mined by his employment at the American Enterprise Institute, heavily funded by oil companies, some of whom began advertising in the Houston Chronicle for em-ployees to work in Iraq even before the war began. Administration officials denied for months that the goal of the war on Iraq was related to oil. On June 4, 2003, however, The Guardian reported the words of the U.S. deputy defense secretary, Paul Wolfowitz (one of the major architects of the war). Wolfowitz had earlier commented that the urgent reason given for the war, weapons of mass destruction, was only a "bureaucratic excuse" for war. Now, at an Asian security summit in Singapore he has declared openly that the real reason for the war was oil: "Asked why a nuclear power such as North Korea was being treated differently from Iraq, where hardly any weapons of mass destruction had been found, the deputy defense minister said: "Let's look at it simply. The most important difference between North Korea and Iraq is that economically, we just had no choice in Iraq. The country swims on a sea of oil."

"

Are Bush's Actions those of a Christian?

From the Iranian Letter we have the following simple question:

"Mr President,

You might know that I am a teacher. My students ask me how can theses actions be reconciled with the values outlined at the beginning of this letter and duty to the tradition of Jesus Christ (PBUH), the Messenger of peace and forgiveness."

The simple answer is: There is no way to reconcile them.

Bush policy and actions cannot be reconciled with Christian teaching. Remember the words of John Paul II, when he rigthly opposed the Bush doctrine of preemption, before the war against Iraq started, as opposed to Christian teaching in principle; a fact that most Christians in the United States, many Roman Catholics, have ignored. The Pope warned about all the evil that would grow from Bush's Doctrine, and held him responsible for it. Bush war of aggression was declared to be inconsistent with Christian just war theory, even before no WMD were found. The fact that there were no WMD only made the point even more clear.

The president, and the American people who support him are responsible for all the evils ensuing.

The Pope rightly argued that the Bush administration's principle of preemption would conduce to endless war in the world. That is what we are witnessing.
So for all you Christians out there who may feel chided by the fact that a Muslim may challenge Bush to live up to his Christian profession. Please, remember that he is not the first to do so.

Bush is not acting according to Christian principles. Neither are those who support him. Therefore, faithful Christians ought to be reminding them of the fact until they repent and amend their evil ways.

If Bush Has His Way. . .

We will have yet another senseless war in the middle East, hundreds of thousands of more deaths and destruction.
Iran is not a threat, as Iraq was not a threat.
Bush is the threat. His administration uses pride, prejudice and fear to justify its ideologically driven agenda. Its ultimate purpose is not justice, truth and peace; but power, manipulation and self-interest.

I write this as a Christian. I beleive more Christians need to take a stand against the deception and evil policy of the current administration. I pray that God will have mercy upon us and more Christian would take a stand for truth and resist all forms of abuse and manipulation.

Pen and Sword: A Letter From Iran by Chris Floyd: "But there is no chance – zero, zilch, zip – that Bush will make any move at all to lessen the tension. We will probably never know if Iran's nuclear ambitions are peaceful now because the Bush gang is taking every possible step to goad Tehran into leaving the NPT and girding itself for the coming war by seeking nuclear weapons. They are moving systematically to cut off every possibility of a peaceful solution – save the abject surrender of Tehran. The Bush Regime's insistence that any Security Council resolution on Iran's program contain the draconian 'Chapter Seven' strictures – which allow for military action in response to non-compliance – give glaring indication of Washington's true intentions. They want war – or else they believe that by ratcheting up the war fever to intolerable levels on the diplomatic front (along with the covert ops they are now running inside Iran), they will force the Iranian regime to crumble on its own, after which the Americans can march in – at the head of an 'international coalition,' no doubt – to 'restore order' and receive the hosannas of the grateful population.

This won't happen, of course. So we will, in the end, if Bush has his way, have war. It is therefore incumbent upon us all to do whatever we can to keep this swaggering fool from having his way, and his war. Let's close by giving the last word, via Juan Cole, to the Iranian dissident Shirin Ebadi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for her resistance to the Iranian theocracy. Her words present a clearer vision of what will come than the bloated fantasies of the Bush Regime's puerile strategists:

'The only beneficiaries of the war are people who sell arms. As a Muslim Iranian, I state here that I do criticize the government of Iran. But this does not mean that America has the right to invade Iran. And if America has not learned its lesson from Iraq and thinks of invading Iran, notwithstanding all of the criticisms we have of our government, we will defend our country to the last drop of our blood. And we will not let an alien soldier set foot on the land of Iran. If American speaks of globalization, this doesn't mean that the whole world is seen as one village and Bush is seen as the only sheriff of that village.'"