Tantrum in the Oval Office

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- WHITE HOUSE.

 

 

"REMEMBER, GUYS, BE NICE," SAID SECRETARY OF STATE AND ANGER CONDI RICE AS SHE LED US INTO THE OVAL OFFICE.

 

THERE WE WERE FACE TO FACE WITH THE BULLY BOY OF THE UNITED STATES IN WHAT WAS PROMISED TO BE IN AN EXCLUSIVE AND HARD-HITTING INTERVIEW. 

 

WE KNEW WE'D BE DISAPPOINTED.

 

ASKED ABOUT THE IRAQ WAR, BULLY BOY SWORE, "WE'RE WINNING IT, BOYS.  ALL THE GIRLS ARE GOING TO LOVE US!"

 

"MISTER BULLY BOY," WE SAID, "ALREADY 12 US SOLDIERS HAVE DIED IN IRAQ THIS WEEK."

 

BULLY BOY SNARLED AND BEGAN JUMPING UP AND DOWN WHILE WHINING, "ARE YOU TRYING TO SPOIL MY BUZZ!  CONDI SAID YOU WANTED TO DO A FUN INTERVIEW!  FUN!  FUN IS FUN.  I KNOW FUN.  FUN'S MY WHOLE LIFE."

 

BULLY BOY JUMPING UP AND DOWN SHOOK THE FLOOR AND CAUSED A FRAMED PHOTO ON HIS DESK TO CRASH TO THE FLOOR.

 

HE COVERED HIS MOUTH WITH BOTH HANDS AND LOOKED NERVOUS.

 

"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TELL BIG DICK ARE YOU?" HE WANTED TO KNOW.  "JUST CAUSE HE'S PRESIDENT OF VICE DOESN'T MEAN HE'S THE BOSS OF ME!  DON'T TELL HIM!  DON'T TELL HIM!"

 

WE ATTEMPTED TO CALM BULLY BOY DOWN WITH WORDS BUT HE WAS HYSTERICAL SO FINALLY ONE OF US SLAPPED HIM ACROSS THE FACE CAUSING HIM TO PULL IT TOGETHER. 

 

SINCE IT LOOKED LIKE IT HAD BEEN SO MUCH FUN, THE OTHER ONE OF US WENT AHEAD AND SLAPPED THE NOW CALMED BULLY BOY AS WELL.

 

HE GLARED BUT JUST RUBBED THE SIDES OF HIS FACE.

 

"HEY, KNOW WHAT WE NEED?" ASKED BULLY BOY, LOOKING EXCITED.  "TUNES!  TUNES TO ROCK OUT ON.  WE CAN DO SOME AIR GUITAR AND HAVE SOME KEWL FUN!"

 

BULLY BOY RUSHED OVER TO THE RADIO.

 

"I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU GUYS BUT I LIKE MY MUSIC BAD -- BAD COMPANY, BAD FINGER, REBA MCENTIRE -- SHE'S JUST BAD."

 

HE CHUCKLED AT HIS OWN JOKE AS HE FLIPPED ON THE RADIO.

 

"THE UNITED STATES INVASION OF IRAQ WAS AN ILLEGAL ACT OF WAR.  IT WAS UNSUPPORTED BY [. . .] INTERNATIONAL LAW, THE U.S. LAW, THE U.S. MILITARY CODE OF CONDUCT NOR BASIC MORALITY.  WITH THE EXCUTION OF THE WAR AND THE ONGOING OCCUPATION A CLEAR PATTERN OF WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY HAVE AND ARE BEING COMMITTED. SOLDIERS THEREFORE WHO REFUSE TO FIGHT, TO STAND UP TO THE WAR, WHO SPEAK OUT AND ACT OUT AGAINST THE WAR ARE NOT ONLY MORALLY RIGHT IN THEIR RESPONSE BUT LEGALLY REQUIRED TO TAKE SUCH MEASURES.  THEY'RE UPHOLDING THEIR OBLIGATION TO REJECT ILLEGAL ORDERS AND TO DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES."

 

WE RECOGNIZED THE VOICE.  IT WAS ANTONIA JUHASZ, AUTHOR OF THE BU$H AGENDA.  SHE WAS SPEAKING ABOUT CORRUPTION ON A PANEL FOR IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR'S WINTER SOLDIERS INVESTIGATION.

 

"CONSTITUTION -SCHMANSTITUTION!" HOLLERED BULLY BOY AT THE RADIO SPEAKERS.  "IT DON'T EXIST NO MORE!  I KILLED IT!  SHOT IT DEAD AND WIPED MY ASS WITH IT!"

 

BULLY BOY GIGGLED AND TURNED TO US EXPECTING, WE'RE ASSUMING, HIGH-FIVES.  WE LEFT HIM HANGING. 

 

"THERE ARE TWO AREAS I'M GOING TO TESTIFY TO THE ILEGALITY OF THE WAR.  THE FIRST IS THE WAR'S OBJECTIVE," ANTONIA JUHASZ EXPLAINED OVER THE AIR WAVES.

 

"ILLEGAL!  I MAKE THE LAW!  I MAKE THE LAW!" BULLY BOY SHOUTED AT THE RADIO.

 

TURNING TO US, HE ASKED, "WHO DOES THAT ARAB THINK SHE IS?"

ACTUALLY, WE INFORMED HIM, HER NAME BEING ANTONIA JUHASZ, WE WOULD SUSPECT SHE IS LATINA.

 

"WELL I'LL PUT HER IN GUANTANAMO!  I WILL!" HE INSISTED.  "CONDI!  CONDI!  GET YOUR NO-ONE-COULD-HAVE-GUESSED ASS IN HERE!"

 

CONDI CAME DARTING INTO THE ROOM AS BULLY BOY BEGAN INSISTING THAT HE WANTED TO PUT "ANTONIO BANDERAS" INTO JAIL.

 

CONDI TURNED TO US AND ASKED US ACCUSINGLY, "DID YOU LET HIM WATCH SPY KIDS 3?  YOU KNOW THAT'S TOO ADVANCED FOR HIM."

 

"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME, CONDI! I WANT ANTONIO BANDERAS' BUTT IN GUANTANAMO BAY NOW!"

 

"BULLY BOY, CALM DOWN," CONDI ADVISED, "DICK IS SOMEWHERE IN THE BUILDING. YOU DON'T WANT HIM TO HAUL YOU OVER HIS LAP AGAIN."

 

BULLY BOY SNARLED BUT CALMED DOWN SOME WHAT.

 

CONDI PATTED HIM ON THE HEAD AND TRIED TO CALM HIM DECLARING, "NOW WE CAN'T PUT IN ANYONE IN GUANTANAMO.  WE'VE GONE OVER THIS.  YOU ARE OUT OF OFFICE IN JANUARY AND NO ONE LISTENS TO YOU ANYMORE."

 

"THE WAR'S OBJECTIVE -- THERE ARE CERTAIN AREAS, AND I'M SURE MANY OF YOU COULD ARTICULATE THESE EVEN BETTER THAN I CAN," ANTONIA JUHASZ WAS SAYING.  "THE INTERNATIONAL LAW DOES SUBSTANTUATE FOR ONE COUNTRY INITIATING A WAR AGAINST  ANOTHER COUNTRY.  THAT LIST DOES NOT INCLUDE SEIZURE OF ANOTHER COUNTRY'S NATURAL RESOURCES NOR DOES IT INCLUDE THE HOPED FOR POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND HEDGEMONIC GAIN THAT GAINING THOSE RESOURCES WOULD GRANT. A NATION.  I CERTIANLY DO NOT STAND AS A MINORITY PERSON AT THIS POINT IN STATING QUITE AN OBVIOUS FACT, QUIT OBVIOUS AT THIS POINT BY MORE PRESTIGIOUS PEOPLE THAN MYSELF THAT THE WAR IN IRAQ WAS CLEARLY A WAR LAUNCHED AND FOUGHT FOR AND CONTINUED TO BE FOUGHT FOR: OIL."

 

"MAKE IT STOP, CONDI," BLUBBERED BULLY BOY POINTING AT THE RADIO, "MAKE IT STOP."

 

CONDI SAT DOWN AND BULLY BOY CRAWLED INTO HER LAP AS SHE ATTEMPTED TO SOOTHE HIM WHILE SHOOTING US DIRTY LOOKS. 

 

FEELING THAT THE INTERVIEW HAD ENDED, WE LEFT THE OVAL OFFICE.

 

 

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

 

Starting with war resisters.  Judith Scherr (Berkeley Daily Planet) reports the Berkeley's City Council was set to adopt the measure of sending Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper a letter in support of war resisters; however, Council member Gordon Wozniak demanded a full discussion (in what was a big whiney move on Wozniak's part).  The discussion took place Wednesday night. Kriss Worthington and Max Anderson recommended the letter to Harper, Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) and Stephane Dion (Liberal Party leader).  The [PDF format warning] text of the recommendation notes the request would be "that the government of Canada establish provisions to provide sanctuary for U.S. military service members who are living in Canada to resist fighting in the Iraq War."  [PDF format warning] The proposal notes:

 

Throughout the Vietnam War era, Canada provided a place of refuge for United States citizens seeking to resist the war.  Because of Canada's rich tradition of being a refuge from militarism, approximately 200 U.S. military service people have moved to Canada to resist fighting in the Iraq War.   

However, it has become more difficult to immigrate to Canada and these war resisters are seeking refugee status in accord with United Nations guidelins.  Unfortunately, their requests for refugee status have been rejected by the Canadian Refugee Board.  Several resisters have appealed the Refugee Board decisions to the Supreme Court of Canada.  While a court decision is pending these resisters are vulnerable to deportation back to the United States where they may face years of incarceration or even worst penalties.

 

In November  the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals of Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey. Today, Canada's Parliament remaining the best hope for safe harbor war resisters have, you can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use. That is the sort of thing that should receive attention but instead it's ignored.           

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum. 

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).    

 

 Iraq Veterans Against the War Winter Soldiers Investigation which began last night and continues through Sunday and the hearings will be broadcast at the Iraq Veterans Against the War home page an on KPFA with Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz hosting and the KPFA live stream will also be available at Glantz' War Comes Home as well as on KPFK, WBAI and at the Pacifica Radio homepage which notes its live coverage will be from (EST times) 10 in the morning to seven at night on Friday, nine in the morning until seven at night on Saturday and ten in the morning until four in the afternoon on Sunday that should apply to all Pacifica stations that are broadcasting the hearings. Viewing options and meet ups can be found at Iraq Veterans Against the War. (Dish Network is airing it on satellite TV -- today and Saturday). Today's testimonies will cover rules of engagment, healthcare, contractors and war profiteering and the aims of the wars (Iraq and Afghanistan). Tomorrow will kick off with discussions on gender and sexuality, racism and the 'other' to dehumanize the enemy and various costs of the illegal war. Sunday will cover how the US military is breaking under the strain of the wars and GI resistance. (Click here for a schedule.)

 

The IVAW website was overwhelmed with visitors today so, should you have trouble streaming, remember the other streaming alternatives.  The first panel was moderated by Jose Vasquez who explained the rules which included that after someone testified, they would then have a decomposing support session and should not be approached by the press or anyone else until that was taken care of.  In addition, unlike the VA, they have set up support groups and systems to ensure that all witnesses offering testimony had support for the next few days.  The basic pattern was that each veteran would give their name, explain when they served (in either Iraq or Afghanistan) and then share their testimony.  Some non-veterans testified as well on areas of corruption and war profiteering.

 

There were many strong highlights.  This is not an exhaustive list.  Other community sites will be posting (Trina's called dibs on Adam Kokesh) and we'll be covering this at The Third Estate Sunday Review (Sunday's hearings will be covered in Monday's snapshot).  Hart Viges spoke of his time serving in Iraq and how he would go on round-ups and think the guilty and innocent were sorted quickly.  Only later did he find out that "people being detained are being detained for years -- their parents don't even know where they are."  Jason Washburn discussed how you could shoot an Iraqi civilian and get away with it -- by his third tour he noticed that they were unofficially (wink-nod) allowed by the command to have shovels and "if we accidentally did kill a civilian we could just drop a shovel" which would indicate -- under the US military command's screwed up understanding -- that the person shot must have been digging a hole to plant a roadside bomb, in which case, the killing was a-okay.  John Michael Turner began his testimony by tossing his dog tags to the audience (IVAW members were in the front rows, so they caught them and can return to them to him if he wants them back) declaring, "F.U. I don't work for you no more."  He spoke of the damage done in Iraq and spoke so clearly that the damage the illegal war had done to him was audible.  He declared, "I am sorry for the hate and destruction that I have inflicted on innocent people" and noted that "until people hear the truth about what is going on in this war, people will continue to die."  That really is the point of the hearings and various witnesses made it very clear that they were not attacking those they had served with, that this was not about finger-pointing at US service members, this was about the policies in place and the orders being given by higher ups through the chain of command.

 

The healthcare issue was addressed as well.  Eli Wright spoke of how "military healthcare doesn't get enough attention" and advised service members struggling to get the medical care they have been promised, "Don't keep it quiet and, unfortunately, in many cases you can't rely on your command" to do the job for you.  He noted how difficult it could be, while you serving, to speak out for your healthcare needs but that it's often the only way to receive treatment. In Monday's snapshot, we will note the veteran by name but I didn't know him and if we wait to find out who he was the snapshot will never go up.  A veteran discussed how he was told repeatedly about the benefits he would have.  How it would apply to his family.  Reality was the military provided nothing. (His last name may have been Peterson.)  He was serving in Iraq and his wife began to miscarry.  She phoned and was told that she was probably miscarrying.  Could she get an ambulance?  Did she have $1500?  The wife ended up hunting down a friend to take her to the facitilities.  They arrived at 4:00 pm.  She was miscarrying but they closed at 4:30 and couldn't see her.  The woman was miscarrying and the US military was refusing treatment.  They wouldn't even request an ambulance.  Her friend drove her over 20 miles to another facility where she miscarried.  Eric Estenzo spoke of injuring his back in Iraq and getting wonderful care -- while enlisted.  As soon as he was discharged, he found a different life.  He suffered from PTSD, he had trouble readjusting which made keeping a civilian job very difficult.  He felt on top of the world, with $17,000 in cash, and quickly found himself homeless though he didn't realize it then and was, in fact, "house surfing" before he realized what was happening.  He was in Hollywood, attempting to stay with a friend, and saw some people giving out food to the homeless.  He was hungry and thought it would be fine to grab some food.  Eating it, he realized he was homeless.  It took a support network of other veterans and his own courage and strength to fight the VA system and demand the care he needed.

 

Corruption and war profiteering was another panel.  KBR was the focus of Kelly Dougherty's testimony.  She discussed how she and others serving in Iraq assigned to protect convoys were repeatedly put at risk when a KBR vehicle broke down, how they were told it was an asset to be protected even if that meant killing someone and then they would be told to forget it, to destroy the vehicle and move out.  Iraqis desperate for fuel or the contents of the truck were not a concern and, if pressed, the US military command would instruct service members that distributing something in the trucks (before destroying them) could cause a riot.  All of which goes to Doughtery's statement of Iraqis, "I'm looking at people I can't even look in the eye."  Moving to Kuwait after serving in Iraq and while waiting to be sent back homes, service members were living in a KBR tent city.  Doughtery explained, "When we were leaving . . . we were put in these tent cities.  Our tents were completely covered with mold on the inside."  The tents had bunk beds and not cots so service members were not allowed to (as some wanted) sleep outside the tents to avoid what appeared to be Black Mold.  Instead, they suffered from respitory infections.  Dougherty noted "this living condition where we couldn't even be in the place were we were supposed to live without getting sick."  KBR made a big profit of the illegal war.  KBR provided the troops with tents that made them sick.  Where's the audit on that?  Non-veteran  Antonia Juhasz spoke about the realities that some (including some in the peace movement) forget, "the very extensive pre-planning."  [Me: Because of that really bad 'documentary' (No End In Sight) some have yet again forgotten reality and claim that there should have been planning or better planning.  What's taking place in Iraq was planned.]  Juhasz went over how this was planned in depth, how Paul Bremer continued to the plan with his Bremer laws and how the Iraqi people are the ones suffering and there is no 'win' to be found.  The only answer is for foreign troops to leave Iraq and allow "Iraqis to sort it out."  Juhasz has documented this at length in her writing (including her book The BU$H Agenda).

 

Veteran Adrienne Kinne, speaking on healthcare, offered this reality, "The best preventative healthcare for our soldiers in uniform is to not use them to fight illegal wars."  The hearings continue Saturday and Sunday.  [Again, that is not everyone who poke and today and early tomorrow you will find more at the community sites -- Rebecca's Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude; Cedric's Cedric's Big Mix; Kat's Kat's Korner; Betty's Thomas Friedman is a Great Man; Mike's Mikey Likes It!; Elaine's Like Maria Said Paz;
Wally's The Daily Jot; Trina's Trina's Kitchen; Ruth's Ruth's Report; and Marcia's SICKOFITRADLZ.]

 

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