I have maintained for the past few years that the person sitting in the Oval Office should not only be impeached, but should be tried for crimes against humanity. In an article today on the AlterNet website, a Nuremberg prosecutor stated that George W. Bush, as the leader of the United States, has broken the highest law of the United Nations—the law against unprovoked aggression toward a sovereign nation—and that he should be tried for this most heinous crime at the International Court at the Hague. I feel vindicated. I’ve stated on several occasions that I believe this so-called Administration is the worst thing that has happened to this country since the Cuban Missile Crisis. When young people ask me (as a Navy veteran) whether they should join the military, I advise them against it—at least until these so-called “leaders” leave office.
I joined the military in 1971, during the Viet Nam conflict because I felt that whether the war, itself was right or wrong, the troops deserved our support. At that time, that was not a popular position and people questioned my decision to enlist in the military. I still feel that our troops deserve our support, but I do not recommend that anyone who is not already in the military enlist—not even in the National Guard. I fear that the greedy, power-hungry people who have managed to maneuver themselves into positions of leadership will send them off to Iraq or to yet another nation that has neither attacked nor provoked us in over a decade.
Meanwhile, back home, our rights are being removed right left and sideways. A VA nurse in New Mexico was arrested for sedition for expressing thoughts similar to these on the Internet. And a man was arrested at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago for wearing a tee shirt to his doctor’s appointment that said “Veterans for Peace.” In my book, Rock Bound, people are arrested for defending the Bill of Rights. As a friend said on my Yahoo Group, “The Freezeland era approaches.” I was frightened when I read about the nurse in New Mexico, but this most recent travesty strikes close enough to home to leave me absolutely terrified. I was treated at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center for over a decade. I would proudly wear such a tee shirt to an appointment there. In fact, if I were not babysitting my grandkids right now, I would be up in Chicago protesting that arrest. But my daughter needs me here so I am not free to risk arrest.
The economy is so bleak that I am helping my kids pay their bills as well as babysitting for free. I just paid $3.05.99 for gas a few days ago here in Terre Haute. I hate to think what my kids and sister in Chicago are paying for gas. Yet, I have no doubt that Bush and his oil-tycoon buddies are getting extremely rich because of the so-called crises that have occurred during this Administration. They have created an atmosphere of fear and hate in this country, which rivals that of the aura of distrust that was aimed at Germans during World War I and at the Japanese during World War II. Meanwhile, we ignore the UN and the Geneva Conventions while Osama Bin Laden, the man who actually orchestrated the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and whose family has propped up every business venture at which “W” has failed, remains at large. And Iraq is now a war-torn country, destroyed at the hands of the US. And nurses and veterans are being arrested for expressing their views. Just like in Russia during Stalin’s Administration. Or in Germany under Hitler. Or the US under Freezeland. I’m glad we’re not ready to start mining the Moon yet. At least, I hope not.
