Is "Peaches" Petraeus Really a Trojan Horse?

Are there MORE military engagements
hidden within the beast?

"Satan" on War:

There has never been a just one, never an honorable one - on the part of the instigator of the war. I can see a million years ahead, and this rule will never change in so many as half a dozen instances. The loud little handful - as usual - will shout for the war. The pulpit will - warily and cautiously - object - at first; the great big dull bulk of the nation will rub its sleepy eyes and try to make out why there should be a war, and will say, earnestly and indignantly, "It is unjust and dishonorable, and there is no necessity for it," Then the handful will shout louder.

-Chronicle of Young Satan - Mark Twain

3192 years ago - as exact as any myth would have it - The Greeks entered the City of Troy through stealth: the gift of an enormous sculptured horse, which, unknown to the Trojans, contained the military force they had so successfully kept at bay throughout a very long siege.

"Do not trust the horse, Trojans! Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks, even bringing gifts". (Spoken by Laocoon from Virgil's Aeneid.)

Has Bush given the nation General David Petraeus as a gift to shore up Senator McCain's campaign, while full knowing that Petraeus' ambitions will not stop at the position of U.S. Central Command in the Middle East, and might eventually extend to the White House itself? There have long been slight murmurs as to Petraeus' ultimate ambitions. If he were considered a hero (after a prolonged and agonizing campaign in Afghanistan and Iraq and some other military engagementa), he would have the nation's debt in his hands no matter who was President before him, be he Democrat or Republican. Washington, Grant, Eisenhower eased into the Presidency with very little competition. Heroes are seldom tarnished by their exploits. Yes, Petraeus could very well be that stealthy.

Of course, it's ridiculous to think that Bush would have thought up such a scheme since he doesn't have the intelligence God gave a goat, but someone else has certainly pondered the idea: Petraeus - possibly? His biography certainly shows him to be the most self-driven man of his time. Below is a partial list of his decorations (numbering over 40 - including badges).

More wars? Oh, that's just "Peachy"*

Would that this Trojan Horse were just a synonym for junk email.


*Petreaus' nickname at West Point because no one pronounced his name correctly.

U.S. military decorations
	Defense Distinguished Service Medal
	Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster)
	Defense Superior Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster)
	Legion of Merit (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters)
	Bronze Star (with “V” Device)
	Defense Meritorious Service Medal
	Meritorious Service Medal (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters)
	Joint Service Commendation Medal
	Army Commendation Medal (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters)
	Joint Service Achievement Medal
	Army Achievement Medal
U.S. unit awards
	Joint Meritorious Unit Award (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters)
	Army Meritorious Unit Commendation
	Army Superior Unit Award
U.S. non-military decorations
	State Department Superior Honor Award
U.S. service (campaign) medals and service and training ribbons
	National Defense Service Medal (with 2 Service Stars)
	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
	Iraq Campaign Medal
	Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
	Armed Forces Service Medal
	Humanitarian Service Medal George Bush's brilliant idea for a Trojan Horse: incomplete and made of sand:

FYI: The Beutiful Trojan Horse at the top of this post is the one guarding the entrance to FAO Schwartz (or what used to be) toy store at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

Politics, War, the Economy, Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage: Forget Obama, Clinton, McCain - Let's ask ourselves: WWSS!?

What Would Shakespeare Say?

Today is the 464th birthday of William Shakespeare. Everyone has heard of Shakespeare and many people have heard quotes from him in literature, movies, art, advertising, erotic literature, contracts, slogans and in almost every country of the world (I say almost because I found out that the country of Bhutan has very little electricity, and almost no TV or radio. Very few books too. But it's progressing. Before long you will hear their first general impression of the United States: Much Ado About Nothing.)

While the current campaigners for President may frequently ask themselves WWJD - What
Would Jesus Do? - I think that foraging for answers merits looking into the Bard's mind as well. It's easier, too. Jesus didn't write anything and his sayings hardly amount to a slim volume but Shakespeare gave us a phenomenal array of wisdom in the form of verses, puns, platitudes, soliloquies, rejoinders, etc. In fact, I'll wager that Shakespeare is quoted more than Jesus, simply because he's covered every base 10 times over.

Here are some examples along with sprinklings of a few of the million images the Bard evokes:

War:

(substitute Caesar with George Bush)

Marcus Antonius:

And Caesar's spirit, raging for revenge,
With [H]Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war,
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.

Julius Caesar Act 3, scene 1, 270–275

Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth

Ceasar:

Give me my robe, put on my crown;
I have Immortal longings in me."

Antony and Cleopatra (V, ii, 282-283)

Politics and sex (aka as Religion and Sex or John Hagee)

He hath given his empire Up to a whore.

Antony and Cleopatra (III, vi, 66-67)

Money and the economy:

I have profess'd me thy friend, and I confess me knit to thy
deserving with cables of perdurable toughness. I could never better stead thee than now. Put money in thy purse; follow thou the wars; defeat thy favor with an usurp'd beard. I say put money in thy purse. It cannot be long that Desdemona should continue her love to the Moor—put money in thy purse—nor he his to her. Othello Act 1, scene 3, 336–344

Falstaff by (who else) Orson Wells


Same-sex marriage:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. "Sonnet 116," 1–8

A veritable flock of fairies from "Dream"

More Politics:

Malcolm:

My liege,

They are not yet come back. But I have spoke
With one that saw him die; who did report
That very frankly he confessed his treasons,
Implor'd your Highness' pardon, and set forth
A deep repentance. Nothing in his life
Became him like the leaving it.

Macbeth Act 1, scene 4, 1–8

Hamlet

Unqualified Love, Sage Advice and

Two Images of Oberon

Othello and Desdamona

There is a great deal of wisdom and love in Shakespeare. And humor as well. The "other" book doesn't have that. Wisdom. Love. Humor. All of these things are absolutely necessary for survival. Every human being needs them.

Happy Birthday, oh Bard of the world!

Who Do You Trust More: God, Your Cult Parents or Child Protective Services?

Or are you just brainwashed enough to trust only the first two?

There once was a popular daytime game shoe called Who Do You Trust? It was hosted by Johnny Carson. Trust pitted two people, then Carson would ask the man (first) "Will you, sir, answer this question, or will you trust this woman to answer it?"(one man one woman, but not a married couple) against each other (or in a sense themselves). The questions were typical game show questions but were asked in a serio/comical manner meant to educate and entertain the timeslot viewers (kids coming home from school). In a sense, it was a battle of the sexes mixed with Groucho Marx. One major difference between Carson and Groucho, was that Carson often participated in demonstrations of the contestants' interests or hobbies. On one memorable show he tried his hand at driving a miniature race car (and crashed into a wall).

After the above paragraph I wanted to embed several videos concerning the Texas Polygamous sect story, but I guess my software is all for polygamy.

The whole situation now boils down to who trusts who or WHO!

• The women have been screaming for their children saying there was no abuse.
• The men have given interviews, one saying that he thought girls in Texas could marry at age 14.
• One former son of the compound tells of being kicked off the ranch for the silliest offenses simply because they were competition to the older men. Other male teenagers tell of the same kind of abuse: being taken to a road and abandoned and told "good luck"!
• Former women who have "escaped" telling the media that girls getting "married" and pregnant as young as 13 was the norm.
• Child Protective Services defending their actions by saying that they are protecting the children (especially the teenagers) from abuse and forced marriages with older men.
• The DNA researchers who say that they'll be able to tell exactly who is related to who ...in about one month (!!).

Put in a different perspective: we're dealing with 416 children who can't tell you who their real parents are; with "lost boys"; with a religious system that hates the outside world.

And from the looks of the men on the CBS interview (please trust ME on this) look as if they are alien automatons in (slightly) human form. They are definitely NOT good advertising for home-schooling. They certainly can't answer the expected questions with any credibility. It's possible that they don't even know the names of their own children. That begs the question: were these guy chosen out of the group to be representatives for the FLDS or were they merely expedient?

There is something inherently wrong in a sect that can't put forth three men capable of a coherent sentence. Pat Robertson might approve, but not the rest of the country.

It's late and I have to wrap this up, but do I want to? NO. The children of this isolated sect were not treated fairly by anyone (not even by the CPS) least of all their parents. Do these women and men think that their selfish little sect will somehow be passed up by the modern world? Mennonites and Amish have absolutely no delusions about their world.

And their members are free to leave without fear of reprisal. These men and women both have stories to tell, but they aren't telling them to anyone.

This picture was taken after a standoff involving the search for Warren Jeffs the leader of the FLDS (who was later captured and sentenced to 10 years in prison). Can that little boy (now at least eleven) tell us anything? His face can, even if he's not allowed to.

Mr. Death and the Pope: Capital Punishment and Capitol Torture

...Or Which Is Cheaper - Lethal Injection or Waterboarding?

As everyone in America knows, death is not cheap: funerals rarely come with discounts and some of the remaining next of kin find themselves in debt. But how much does it cost to execute someone?

The Leuchter company's lethal-injection system, at $30,000, is the cheapest execution system the company sells. (Prices do not include installation.) The Leuchter electrocution system costs $35,000, and a Leuchter gallows would run about $85,000. More and more states are opting for Leuchter's $100,000 "execution trailer," which comes complete with a lethal-injection machine, a steel holding cell for the inmate, and separate areas for witnesses, chaplain, prison workers, and medical personnel. Leuchter's gas chambers cost nearly $200,000.

"When I was a kid," he says, "and used to go with my father to Massachusetts prisons, there was a story about another small kid, another prison worker's son, who once sat in the state's electric chair. Eleven years later he was killed in the same chair. He'd gotten mixed up in some murder. Anyway, a legend developed that if you sat in the chair, you'd die in it. Well, I sat in that chair too. And I didn't get electrocuted in it later. I sat in the chair and now I make electric chairs."

He smiles. "I created a new legend."

Susan Lehman, 1990, Atlantic Monthly

There is a documentary regarding Fred A. Leuchter titled Mr. Death, The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter (1999). It focused primarily on his involvement for the defense of Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel. (Trivia: Leuchter and his new bride at the time of his testimony for Zundel honeymooned at Auschwitz).

Very strange: I've googled Fred A. Leuchter and, while still possibly alive, there is no mention of his life after 1999.

And remember: those are 1990 prices.

Just in time for Pope Benedict's appearance in the U.S., the Supreme Court upheld the use of lethal injection in execution. So what did Benedict say on that topic? Well... nada. Of course, he upholds John-Paul's views on capital punishment, but he didn't say anything specifically damning on the subject. One interesting statement made about John-Paul and the death penalty:

In order to avoid being considered a hypocrite for asking people to go against Scriptural requirements concerning the death penalty, Pope John Paul II should "attempt"* to make an infallible declaration against the death penalty. The teachings of God are infallible. They can be further expounded but never diminished or reversed. God is consistent not capricious.

And what about Benedict's views on torture? Here's an interesting twist: he's beatifying (the next step to sainthood) a Filipino priest who was known to take an active part in the torture of another Filipino priest:

According to written testimony from the victim, [Father] Olaso participated in the 1896 torture of a Filipino priest named Fr. Mariano Dacanay, who was suspected of sympathy for anti-Spanish revolutionaries. Dacanay's own account asserts that Olaso and a handful of other Augustinians encouraged guards who were administering the torture, and that at one point Olaso himself kicked Dacanay in the head, hard enough to leave the suffering priest semi-conscious.

So, on count one, nothing. And on the count two, a bit of relativism.

Oh, and what about the cost of torture?

Justin Lindborg in a symposium on torture

Why do we walk in the gray areas? Do we, as a nation, desire utter peace of mind so much that we are willing to sully ourselves by flirting with such techniques? How can we with one arm punish violations of the Geneva Convention and with the other arm commit the very atrocities we condemn.

But to the general American public, we don't really condemn torture: it's condoned in our very media of "entertainment". Movies and TV routinely feature forms of torture with some benefits for the torturers (us).

This was posted on John Cole's Blog Balloon Juice:

[In an article discussing the TV show The 24 and it's protaganist, Jack Bauer who routinely uses torture] The new article provides a nice holistic picture of torture in America. The guys at the top – Dick Cheney, David Addington and his clan of neoconservative insiders – clearly wanted torture so badly that you wonder if they wrote those memos with their pants on. Jack Bauer was hardly needed with those guys. However, the peope at the other end of US power don’t have such black souls. The privates and NCOs with more ordinary American values, guys who would soon be called on by their superior officers to do morally repulsive things, would need some extra motivation. To get over their resistance to abusing helpless prisoners Jack Bauer, maybe the first mass media “good guy” who tortured on a regular basis, clearly made a major difference.

The cost? I can hear: "hey Vojir, give us dollars and cents!"

After reading about execution and torturing, I find that I can't. Sorry.

Borgias and Nazis and Queers PART II

The Hypocrisy of a Pope Behind Kind Words

In the post below, I said that Pope Benedict XVI would never be seen shedding tears at Jerusalem's Wailing Wall. However, today he was seen visiting a synagogue in New York and well as addressing a group of Christian evangelical leaders:

The Jewish community makes "a valuable contribution to the life of the city," Benedict said. "And I encourage all of you to continue building bridges of friendship with all the many different ethnic and religious groups present in your neighborhood." ("a valuable contribution" - just not the right contribution)

At his visit with Christian leaders, the pontiff said allowing individual congregations to interpret the Gospel undermines evangelism at a time when "the world is losing its bearings" and needs "persuasive common witness" to salvation in Christ. (i.e. you cannot interpret the Bible - only church theologians and hierarchy. THEY will interpret it for you - THEY will tell you what to think!)

"Only by holding fast to sound teaching will we be able to respond to the challenges that confront us in an evolving world," Benedict said at the evening service with Protestant and Orthodox clergy at St. Joseph's church, which was founded by German immigrants and still regularly celebrates Mass in German. (And who determines sound teaching?)

"Only in this way will we give unambiguous testimony to the truth of the Gospel and its moral teaching. This is the method which the world is waiting to hear from us." (What? "the method" - should clergy study Stanislavski?) ("unambiguous testimony" - sounds dangerously like a fundamentalist - for a noted theologian, he's not very bright on this score.)

I wonder if Pastor John Hagee will call him a whore if he meets him.

And I still don't see him shedding any tears for anyone.

In the Roman Jewish Ghetto

EXTRA!! Movie About Christian Anti-Semitism Premiers Today!

Good Timing!

The book, Constantine's Sword, deals with Christian anti-Semitism from the time of Emperor Constantine's "conversion" (313 CE) to today's Benedict XVI and all of the Christian Right. Written by former Catholic priest, James Carroll it was the winner of the 2001 National Book Award. It's very large (750+pages) but very engaging. Carroll takes you through the astonishing struggle Judaism has had under Christianity in a largely personal way. He was interviewed yesterday on ABC News and, while struggling to seem unbiased, has to admit to the Catholic Church's complicity in the events leading to the rise of Hitler and the Holocaust: i.e., while many people have called Pius XII "Hitler's Pope" Carroll correctly defines the pope as "Hitler's Cardinal" (before he became pope, Pacelli as the Vatican's Secretary of State, was directly responsible for the treaty between the Vatican and Germany - the ReichsConcordat of 1933).

Today, a documentary based on the book premiers:

In reviewing the Ben Stein movie Exposed (see post below), TV Guide reviewer Ken Fox has this to say:

Check out the documentary CONSTANTINE'S SWORD, released in theaters on the very same day as this slickly produced bit of nonsense, if you need a reminder of the atrocities fueled by terrible distortions of religious beliefs. --Ken Fox

John Anderson (Newsday) In "Bowling for Columbine," Michael Moore went looking for the heart of darkness in American culture. In the considerably more serious, sober and oh-so-solemn "Constantine's Sword," writer and ex-priest James Carroll goes looking for the genome of violence in Christianity and has little trouble finding a churchly culture based in conquest and awash in blood.

Ron Wilkerson (Monsters & Critics):

Although the film starts out as an apparent frontal attack on the Catholic Church, it subtly widens its perspective to look at a much larger and more important picture. The real issue becomes the genesis of hate replacing love as the central doctrine of organized religion. The present day microcosm is the Air Force Academy’s apparent obsession with evangelical Christianity, which has reached the point of obsession based on the documented reports of anti-Semitic slurs and harassment by the cadets. Remember, these cadets are the guys who will control your nuclear weapons in a few years.

Andrew Sullivan (New York Times Book Review):

And it is a book of a deeper sort -- a rigorous theological and moral dialectic that Carroll, the author of ''An American Requiem,'' never removes from the personal necessity of choice, for good over evil, for memory over denial and for love over power.

I intend to see this movie. Hope it's as good as the book.