is this really happening?

now that I am likely to be designated an enemy combatant I figured I may as well share some more words of wisdom from my quote book before being dragged away...

"paying attention to the world leads to conclusions that some would prefer to ignore. far better to strike heroic poses about 'islamo-fascism' and denounce the 'excuse makers' who seek to understand the roots of terror and to act to reduce the threat, people who are - in the words of New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman - 'just one notch less despicable than the terrorists and also deserve to be exposed.' the category of such despicable characters is rather large, including the most respected specialists on the topic and US and other intelligence agencies." - n. chomsky

"americans do not like to think of themselves as aggressors, but raw aggression is what took place in iraq." - john prados

"it's a versatile line of argument: the more egregious the failures of the Republican administration, the stronger the conservative case for reducing government." - geoffrey nunberg

"capitalism is most successful when people have faith in the justice of the system and when they trust government to be a fair broker between the interests of business and the people whose lives it affects." g. nunberg

"budgets are moral documents, revealing our true priorities, and must be judged morally, not just economically." - jim wallis

"the root of war is fear." - thomas merton (trappist monk)

"it's the first time that I've seen such a long-term, orchestrated plan of deception by which one branch of our government deliberately misled the other on a matter of war and peace." - r. mcgovern (former cia analyst)

"what is and has always been lovely about our country is our right and our duty to criticize those in power, to dissent from their policies if we think them to be wrong, and to hold our alternative vision to be as fully valid as theirs." - rev. peter gomes

"who will bear no sacrifices [of those that the president is calling for in this 'war on terror'] is also clear; the beneficiaries of the bush tax cuts and the recipients of the lucrative contracts for iraqi reconstruction, which are going to carefully selected American corporations like Halliburton, where Dick Cheney was the former chairman of the board. those who will not sacrifice, in other words, are the wealthy and powerful allies of the Bush Administration and its core constituency. it is not hyberbole to say that those beneficiearies of the wartime tax cuts and contract deals should be called war profiteers." - j. wallis

"as long as you believe you're a victim, you are not accountable." - jeff halper

"the American occupation of Iraq now costs about $1 billion per week. yet American religious leaders cannot succeed in getting our government to approve $5 billion for child care over five years." - j. wallis

"introduction of nuclear power will both provide for the growing needs of iran's economy and free remaining oil reserves for export or conversion to petrochemicals." - henry kissinger (you would think they would at least listen to their own)

and now...a few particularly poignant thoughts in this time of crumbling democracy...

"WE CAN'T CHOOSE OUR NEIGHBORS ANYMORE. WE CAN'T CHOOSE THE BENEFITS OF GLOBALIZATION WITHOUT SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES, AND WE SHOUDL REMIND OURSELVES THAT 'LOVE THY NEIGHBOR' IS NOT ADVICE: IT IS A COMMAND." - bono (yes, even a rock star gets it)

"IF CERTAIN ACTS OF VIOLATION OF TREATIES ARE CRIMES, THEY ARE CRIMES WHETHER THE UNITED STATES DOES THEM OR WHETHER GERMANY DOES THEM, AND WE ARE NOT PREPARED TO LAY DOWN A RULE OF CRIMINAL CONDUCT AGAINST OTHERS WHICH WE WOULD NOT BE WILLING TO HAVE INVOKED ON US." - chief justice robert jackson as prosecutor at Nuremberg (on behalf of America, my deepest and sincerest apologies to justice jackson and humanity for failing)

"A NATION THAT CONTINUES YEAR AFTER YEAR TO SPEND MORE MONEY ON MILITARY DEFENSE THAN ON PROGRAMS OF SOCIAL UPLIFT IS A NATION APPROACHING SPIRITUAL DEATH." - rev. martin luther king, jr. (on behalf of a spiritually dead America, my deepest and sincerest apologies to rev. king for failing)

"IF YOU WANT PEACE, WORK FOR JUSTICE." - pope paul vi (if the rock star doesn't convince you, maybe the pontiff can)

and finally...special for our president (although that title no longer seems appropriate given the collapse of our democracy under his leadership), here are some words he may recognize and wonder just how well he has managed to heed them...

"IF WE ARE AN ARROGANT NATION, THEY WILL RESENT US. IF WE'RE A HUMBLE NATION, BUT STRONG, THEY'LL WELCOME US." - g.w. bush (october, 2000)

"LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, PRAY FOR THOSE WHO PERSECUTE YOU." - jesus of nazareth

"BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS, FOR THEY SHALL BE CALLED THE CHILDREN OF GOD." - jesus of nazareth

for the sake of humankind mr. bush, if you insist on trashing our constitution please, please, please at least reread the bible...and pay attention this time.