March 4, 2009 at 12:04 P.M. Numerous obstructions, cyberattacks, prevention of communication efforts make writing difficult. Disruptions and vandalism are always expected. MSN Groups, I am told, is still "closed." My computer's cable signal is blocked, regularly, causing me to lose my access to the Internet as a means of censoring me.
March 1, 2009 MSN Groups "closed." Cybercrime, "error"-insertions, obstructions of access are still expected from Trenton's political hirelings and friends. Right, Senator Bob? How's the Babe? Several hours of warfare were necessary to post a revised essay that has been corrected in identical fashion several times before. I will try to make some progress on that essay concerning Union City's Municipal Corruption.
Ian Urbina, "Recession Drives Surge in Youth Runaways," in The New York Times, October 26, 2009, at p. A1. (Still losing several hundred thousand jobs per month.)
Timothy Williams, "Deadliest Bombs Since '07 Shatter Iraqui Complexes," in The New York Times, October 26, 2009, at p. A1.
Floyd Norris, "Markets Plunge Around the World; Dow Falls 4.2%," The New York Times, March 3, 2009, at p. A1. ("Key index reaction to Bush-Cheney effects plunges the market under 7,000 for the first time since 1997.")
Charles Duhigg, "U.S. Likely to Keep the Reins On 2 Fallen Mortgage Giants," The New York Times, March 3, 2009, at p. A1. (Finally, some regulation of mortgage giants to prevent irresponsible lending.)
C.J. Chivers, "A Warning ('Incoming'), a Blast, a Fight to Save an Afghan Life," The New York Times, November 1, 2008, at p. A1.
Peter S. Goodman, "Specter of Deflation Lurks As Global Demand Drops -- Consumer Cutbacks Could Lead to Falling Prices, a Tough Problem to Cure," The New York Times, November 1, 2008, at p. A1. (America's automobile industry is melting down.)
Lisa W. Foderano, "Forget Caviar: Holiday Parties Feel the Pinch," The New York Times, November 2, 2008, at p. A1.
"Missile Attacks, Apparently by U.S. Kill 27 in Pakistan, Including Qaeda Operative," [sic.] The New York Times, November 2, 2008, at p. A7. (One of 17 missile attacks by U.S. against villages. Most victims are civilians, like children and old people -- "collateral damage.")
"Oh, Washington While You're Bailing ...," The New York Times, November 2, 2008, at p. A22 (Editorial).
David Barksamian, "In Person: Citizen Gore Vidal," In These Times, November, 2008, at p. 40.
"Bush/McCain: Standing Between You and Equality," Equality, November, 2008 (Human Rights Campaign -- 2008). ("Full Equality and Marriage Rights for Gays and Lesbians, as a Democrat and Republican Commitment is long Overdue.")
September 1, 2009 -- We are beginning to see signs of economic recovery and reaction, largely based on confidence and trust for Obama, Biden, Clinton. The recovery of America's economy, effforts at a solution in Iraq/Afghanistan, release of some detainees and efforts to try the remainder, defusion of threats in Latin America and elsewhere -- all of this suggests a strong start for Mr. Obama's administration. Mr. Holder's decision to investigate C.I.A. interrogation practices provides a lesson in what an Attorney General should do and be: an impartial, non-political law enforcer. It is important for people to see the situation that existed when Obama came into office, a situation described in this essay. Make no mistake about it, our troubles are far from over. Someday, New Jersey will have an Attorney General abiding by the Constitution and not by a system of political favors.
A Times editorial alluded to the slight difficulty that: "New Jersey has $400 MILLION less than needed for a $33 BILLION budget." The editorialist failed to explain that New Jersey's unpayable debt is $36 BILLION. Pension funds are painfully "short" about $500 MILLION. The debt in New Jersey is placed on future taxpayers' backs. Trenton politicians and judges are tired of stealing from the state's impoverished workers. They are now stealing from the Garden State's children, whose future earnings are being grabbed today in the most disgusting display of public thievery in the nation's long history of corruption. Future tax payers' lives are burdened by this state debt. No wonder they're losing 3,000 jobs now, another 4,000 before the end of the year. "Come visit the Garden State!" $1 BILLION tax increase was approved for 2009-2010 budget in New Jersey, of which perhaps 40% will be misspent or stolen with the assistance of members of the bar. These persons disapprove of me. I disapprove of them.
Attempts to deny or obfuscate with regard to these statistics must be expected from Trenton's minions. The closing of several pharmaceutical companies has already produced an additional 16,000 jobs lost in New Jersey. Businesses are, appropriately, frightened of New Jersey's corruption, tainted courts, out-of-control mafia and bribed politicians.
"Missiles believed to have been fired by remotely piloted American aircraft slammed into two villages close to the Afghan border on Friday, killing 27 people, including [one] operative with Al Qaeda [allegedly] and other foreign militants, intelligence officials said."
"The new strikes raised the number of such attacks to at least 17 since August. The attacks have angered many Pakistanis and put strains on a seven-year alliance between the United States and Pakistan, where rising violence is exacerbating economic problems and threatening the country's stability."
At least five additional attacks against civilian centers have taken place, probably without his specific consent, since President Obama took office. Protests involving thousands of civilians in Pakistan have erupted, anti-Americanism is on the rise, Islamic militarism is also on the rise. Taliban influence is spreading, including within the government to which we are sending financial aid. The killing of Taliban leaders results in their replacement by new leaders. Thousands of innocent Pakistanis have been killed in order for the U.S. to kill some, alleged, Taliban leaders. The Taliban itself may claim these leaders have been killed to deceive U.S. intelligence and allow Taliban soldiers to operate with greater ease, both in Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as elsewhere.
American actions and disregard for international law is weakening a government allied with the U.S., while strengthening Islamic fundamentalist factions capitalizing on rage at U.S. killings of civilians. Much the same is true in Syria. The forces pouring into Iraq and Afghanistan to kill Americans in suicide bombings and terror attacks are coming from all over South Asia and the Middle East, according to Mr. Rumsfeld. This pattern has been developing for some time.
Alliances are being created by "factions" in the Islamic world and sympathetic Latin American governments that wish to see the U.S. bogged down in an unwinnable war as we make new enemies every day. Washington is helping in the effort to make America the most hated nation in the world. The economic consequences for us of this anti-Americanism will be in the billions and may lead to more loss of innocent American lives. With some exceptions, Hollywood is being hurt by these "get tough" policies and so is every other American industry.
Senator Biden's "candid" remarks were treated as a "gaffe" by the press. More likely, Biden was sending a signal on behalf of the Obama campaign to people who do not wish us well: "We know that you're thinking of 'trying' or 'testing' us early in the administration, if we are elected, and we're letting you know that we'll be ready. Don't try it."
This so-called "gaffe" may have saved thousands of American lives. Similarly, if people see the censorship to which I am subjected, every day, it may be possible to shame the nation's institutions into abiding by and enforcing the laws against cybercrime and censorship. It is a slim hope, but it's something to work for -- legally. Thus far, I continue to be censored and suppressed. Crimes committed against me go unpunished. Is MSN closed? "Approximately"? These blogs have received about 25-50,000 hits. Most of the visitors to these blogs are not counted. They -- we -- do not matter in America.
"Pakistan's government insisted that the missile strikes -- along with a highly unusual ground raid by United States commandos in September -- violated its sovereignty. It insists the Pakistani military is confronting the militants, pointing to the current offensive just north of Waziristan that has killed 1,500 insurgents."
America's secret war in Pakistan is not generating media scrutiny in the United States. There are about 3,000 U.S. soldiers already in Pakistan. How many more will be needed before the situation is described as another front? Who is next Korea? Cuba? China?
"Pakistan's alliance with the United States is deeply unpopular among lawmakers and many other civilians, who say it fuels violence by the extremists and who complain that the raids prompt retaliatory terrorist attacks within Pakistan by militant groups entrenched in the tribal areas."
If you believe that a nation with a nuclear arsenal and large military forces falling to Islamic fundamentalist factions is a good thing, then you will approve of these Bush Administration tactics. Otherwise, you have to wonder what are they thinking in Washington, D.C.? Efforts to duplicate the Abu Ghraib tortures are probably planned with Americans as victims to be photographed, with the images obtained then placed on-line -- all in retaliation for the atrocities committed against Muslim men. Are we winning the "War on Terror," Mr. Bush? Senator McCain? My picture was taken, surreptitiously, as I waited for a subway train. I wonder whether efforts will be made to post altered images of me on-line?
Mr. Obama has said that the U.S. will end the hostilities and depart from Iraq. You decide who is more "patriotic." I think it is more "patriotic" to abide by the rule of law and work for peace whenever possible, saving rather than throwing away American lives. Inserting "errors" in these essays does not constitute a response to these charges and arguments.
Next to front page stories detailing the grisly effort to save a life crippled by terror-bombing in Afghanistan and discussions of the likely recession (or even "depression") coming to us thanks to Wall Street's "out-of-control fantasies," we find a despairing description of the hardship facing Park Avenue New Yorkers forced to contemplate Holidays without some of the finer things, like $200-400 caviar.
"Against a backdrop of gyrating markets, widespread layoffs and bank failures, the fall social season and holiday fetes are being downsized. Caterers and party planners said they were seeing cancellations -- and, even more, the entertaining equivalent of a buzz cut, with simpler menus, fewer guests, shorter hours and less glamorous glassware."
I do not believe that I can endure "less glamorous glassware." Oh, my God, "... 'Nobody is ordering caviar as a first course,' said Sean Driscoll," of Glorious Food caterers. Horrors!
"Adam and Olivia Flatto, who entertain frequently at their Upper East Side apartment, said they would likely have low-key parties, and told recently of an event they helped to plan at which the centerpieces were changed from fresh flowers to fresh apples -- not just less expensive, but more utilitarian. Debbie Bancroft, who writes a society column for Avenue magazine and plays host at her homes in Manhattan, Southampton and the Berkshires, said she expected less vintage Champagne to be poured this season, as well as 'more meatloaf and less filet.' ..."
What? No filet for Muffy?! (Only one alteration, so far.)
The distance between these people's lives and the realities of the world in which they live (or is it the world in which they live?), should be a source of discussion and concern. These affluent lives are not going to be possible in the world of the twenty-first century. We are entering a period in history when the so-called American Dream -- which was a myth for me -- glittering life-styles that seemed possible for several generations during the twentieth century, when carbon-based fuels were plentiful and cheap, will appear dream-like to people.
Americans are encountering an idea that they have never before faced: the inevitable and determining reality of limitations, an end to the frontier, along with ever-expanding upward mobility. Through no fault of their own, new generations may do less well than their parents. Perhaps they will be fortunate enough not to be tortured by their government as I have been and as so many others in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo continue to be tortured or killed.
In addition to the rise of China and India, much of the Third World will not accept hunger and destitution, exploitation and misery as the cost of American and Western affluence. No, this is not "Communism." It is just common sense and "ethics" -- in the true meaning of the word -- that will not permit continuing violations of human rights and "crimes against humanity" resulting from grotesque economic injustice. Vandalizing my writings just does not seem like much of a response to what I am saying. I wonder whether my books are still available on-line? I hope so. How do you live with yourself, Terry Tuchin? "Adjust."
The American Constitution does not promise a ranch house and two car garage to everyone. That document was the product of a small, embattled nation that sought guarantees of spiritual and moral rights against the State and in favor of the individual -- individuals regarded as equals before the power of government. "The pursuit of happiness" would not have been defined in strictly material terms by Mr. Jefferson, since liberty did not mean making the most of every opportunity to screw over your neighbors. However, liberty did and does mean the right to think and speak as one pleases, without being censored, threatened, being targeted by abusive government officials, or subjected to reprisals outside the boundaries of law. We have the right not to be raped, stolen from, insulted and slandered secretly by witnesses against us who remain unidentified, and we are entitled not to be labelled "unethical" by mafia whores like New Jersey's Supreme Court justices. ("What is it like to be tortured?" and "Law and Ethics in the Soprano State.")
We are in serious trouble as a nation. I do not envy President Barack Obama. Gore Vidal was asked by an interviewer recently for his views of the country's future, "A couple of years ago, you were talking about the impending economic collapse of the country." (Prophetic!)
"We're in it." -- Gore Vidal said -- "But my predictions -- I'm a master of the obvious. If you spend money at this rate on an unjust war -- and a war that will have no outcome favorable to us, ever -- don't be surprised."
"Bush is insane. We have a better word in Italian. It's deficente. He's deficient in the mental department. Deficente. [Bush] got applauded when he attacked two innocent countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, and he'll try it again. 'I'll be popular because I'm going to hit Iran. [Cuba? North Korea? Syria? China?!] It's the source of all evil, heh, heh, heh.' And he starts to whinny like a horse. ..."
