War Words

All my life the words "appeasement" and "Munich" meant cowering before the totalitarian bully, a metaphor that encouraged war sooner rather than later.  I heard it about the Soviet Union.  I heard it about Vietnam.  Fortunately, we avoided war with the Soviets but went to war with the latter and took  me personally to the farthest edge of that dark national experience for no good reason.  So I've always discounted the bias against negotiating with adversaries.  For me "appeasement" and "Munich" are catchphrases meant to avoid serious discussion and debate. 

Now it turns out that recent scholarship shows those canards to be as empty as I thought.  With greater access to wartime records, researchers are able to paint a more nuanced picture of the difficult choices facing Great Britain as Germany re-armed under the Nazis.  Instead of the cowering democracy afraid to confront the threatening Nazi bully, Neville Chamberlain played a weak hand as best he could.  In return Britain got one more year to prepare for a war it was in no position to win in 1938. 

Chamberlain's biggest mistake was declaring that he had secured "peace for our time" when all he'd done was buy time.  At least he got that much--time--of his grandiose statement.  A more useful result than a more recent grandiosely stated accomplishment.

Good Choice

For once, I can say something good about Mitt Romney.  I appreciate Romney selecting Paul Ryan as his running mate.  Ryan has articulated a clear vision of America.  It's not a vision I agree with but now that it has been officially introduced into the presidential campaign, Ryan's vision (and all of the economic changes that go with the vision) may actually  prompt some real discussion of the role of the federal government in 21st century America. 

Highlighting Ryan's "Path to Prosperity" only says that Romney is a "More of The Same" candidate.  Ryan's budget plans continue the concentration of wealth in America that began with Saint Ronald the Reagan and has continued ever since.  All the tax cuts, deregulation and military spending that was supposed to create prosperity for all gave great profit to some at the expense of many. 

Mitt Romney hopes we will be stupid enough to believe that fairy tale once again. 

Thinking of Rush

'Nuff said.


With great appreciation to Berkley Breathed.

Procrastinations

An article about energy competition and exploitation in the South China Sea tells me that the world will do no better in making the conversion to a sustainable economy than I do in making difficult major life decisions. Difficult decisions are easily postponed because there is still time. Yet one day there is no more time. The shit happens and you deal with it as best you can, knowing all along you could have done something to prevent it. It's happened to me.

In my experience American society and the world seem about the same, only on a much larger scale. We know that an exploitative economy based on growth is not a sustainable option on a finite planet, the only planet we have. It will end. Putting some thought into how it will end and how we will leave a living planet to future generations would be a gift to those who will inherit the aftermath of our capitalism.

But we don't because that would involve confronting contradictions and making hard decisions. We continue to consume and rely upon fossil fuels that are not only limited, but they are also costly (dollars and soldiers). The resulting carbon emissions bid fair to change the planetary climate in adverse ways. We have all these reasons that we should be seeking viable alternatives and yet we do not.

And it's not a new issue. Americans have been talking about "energy independence" since the 1973 Oil Embargo and sustainability has been part of the discussion since the 90's. But we've not moved away from fossil fuel dependence in all that time; real change was never cost-effective. That's genuine procrastination.

Still, change will come and the decisions will make themselves. Real change will be not only cost-effective but also absolutely necessary. Our species will learn to adapt. Or not. It's that simple. Mother Nature truly bats last.

In the meantime nations are rushing to claim, control and exploit fossil fuels, building up military forces and harassing competitors. Same old. Same old. And no real solution at all. Only temporary advantage.

post script

The original title for this post was "I'm No Better" reflecting that like the world, I avoid difficult decisions. But after writing the last paragraph, I realized that I am not "rushing to claim, control and exploit fossil fuels, building up military forces and harassing competitors". I am better in that respect.

BP of the Prisons

The murderous escapees captured Thursday were brought to you by a private company.

The reason the men were able to escape is rooted in a culture of complacency that developed at the prison in the six years it has been open, the report said, and those factors were complicated by opening a new unit and shuffling inmates around the complex this year.
[...]
The report released Thursday highlights problems at the Kingman facility that arose over time and led to indifference about behavior and indicators that would have caught the attention of administrators at state-run facilities. It found:

• False alarms were so frequent the staff learned to ignore them. ....

• Inmates at the facility did not groom themselves according to standards, and as many as 75 percent walked the complex without ID badges. ...

• Turnover at the facility was high, leading to a lack of training. The warden indicated nearly 80 percent of her staff was new or newly promoted.

A private company under contract to an anti-government Republican.

Say no more.

You Have the Right...?

The US State Department's annual report on human rights is taking flak from Russia and China. Both nations are not only objecting to the US judging them. China and Russia fire back with their own accusations: Guantanamo, Bagram, Afghanistan and even in The Homeland.

The Chinese response touched on America's gun crime and prison population and alleged rising problems with crime, poverty, homelessness and "chronic" racial discrimination. It called U.S. college campuses unsafe and said spying on U.S. citizens by their government had reached unprecedented levels.

Russia offered remarks about "domestic violence leading to the murder of children, including those adopted in Russia," as well as "racism and xenophobia toward migrants, and Islamophobia,"

Of course, these countries will object, you say. No one likes to be criticized. You would be correct but simple defensiveness and pride do not gainsay the truth of the Russian and Chinese observations. Both countries make valid points about the US, noting the very real shortcomings of America's social, political and economic systems and highly militarized foreign policies. These days America's credibility on human rights is pretty thin.

Of course, neither Russia's nor China's correct assessment of America in the early 21st century necessarily disputes US reports on human rights in those countries. Safe to say, all three societies ignore and curtail human rights when necessary, with necessary subject to various expedient definitions.

The biggest shortcoming is the absence of any report on the United States in the very long list of nation reports. I mean, if the State Department can report on Canada, it shouldn't be that much harder to look south of our shared border. But that report would be even less credible. Self-reporting is notoriously suspect.

None of this means the State Department reports have no value. They provide a good starting point for understanding human rights. Just have some salt handy.

postscript

Another good starting point for understanding human rights is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

John McCain Gets My Vote

For proposing joint town hall meetings with Obama. Yeah, I know McCain made the challenge because he sucks at debate and reportedly does well in give and take but I like the idea. Lord knows, contemporary presidential debates are little more than a series of mini-speeches with the occasional gaffe or enduring soundbite, but they at least put candidates together, face-to-face for a few hours. Town halls would do the same and offer different perspectives.

I recommend three debates and three town halls this year, a home and home series with formats geared to each candidate's favored venue. The nation might learn quite a bit from the experience. If nothing else, the change would add something new to what is already a way too long and tedious campaign.

If three and three is too much, two and two would work. Even better would be an extended series of debates as in Lincoln-Douglas but that's not going to happen in this day and age. Hell, we can't even get a single hour of unscripted exchange.

It Never Fails

The latest weapon: high explosive rocket-propelled propane tanks.

The use of the rocket-propelled bombs reflects militiamen's ability to use commonly available materials and relatively low-tech weaponry to circumvent security measures that have cost the U.S. military billions of dollars.

Human ingenuity seems boundless when it comes to fighting. 9-11 was a pretty simple job, too. That's why empires are always vulnerable.

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats. Those Without Boats May Experience Some Difficulty.

CheneyBush seems to think that India's rising affluence is important to the rising cost of food.

"when you start getting wealth, you start demanding better nutrition and better food," he said. "And so demand is high, and that causes the price to go up."

America and the western world have been demanding "better" for the past couple hundred years, certainly during my entire lifetime. Apparently, this is not a problem since it didn't raise prices.

Light Blogging Week

Just got back from an overnight on the Rim (more crowded after Memorial Day, even on a weekday) and head to professional continuing education Thursday and Friday (must keep the credential credible) so I won't be here for a while.

About the only event worth noting is Cindy Sheehan's retirement. Or burn out. I don't do nearly what she has done to speak against the war and I'm burned out. Imagine all that plus the invective and hatred from the wingnuts. She's a brave woman. We should all be so brave.

Friday is my Third Blogiversary. Maybe I'll do something for the occasion.

Til Later.