Inhumane Humanity

Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed. --Herman Melville

Thursday, February 19, 2015

I Wish You Ill Will

Hoarding it all
I revere stark poverty; I admire squalid living conditions; I envy never-ending hopelessness; I relish rampant crime.  I support extremely high infant mortality rates, ghastly poor health amongst children and adults alike.

For, I enjoy my piece of the pie and I not only don’t care about you missing your just desert, I fervently hope you never have one.

Seem a bit harsh?  Perhaps, even colossally insane?  How about precisely what it is - extraordinarily short-sighted and inhumanely self-centered.

The comments in support of all these claims are plastered all over the Net, on Facebook, Google +, Twitter, etc.  People enjoying the fact that they are at least comfortable, if not well off.
These hoarders worked hard for what they have and, if by the luck of birth, they are fortunate enough to advance through life with minimal resistance to success, they don’t see why anyone else should have a piece of that success.  Even if it costs them little or nothing.

Hell, even wild animals aren't that selfish; they hover over only their kill to ward off others, not the entire herd of gazelle.

Minimum Wage in the United States has been a topic of contention for more than a century, with change finally succeeding as early as 1912 with Massachusetts passing the first wage law, followed by thirteen more states and the District of Columbia.

With the help of organized labor and federal wage laws, the wealth gap in the US began to decrease for six decades.  The standard of living in began an upward movement as housing, health, and even simple creature comforts became accessible to the average American.  Everyone was generating success, happily sharing the pie.

Then along came the new poor mans folly, championed by a very wealthy, successful politician with little regard for the plight of the poor.  Welcome to “Trickle Down Economics,” an economic idea which states “that decreasing marginal and capital gains tax rates - especially for corporations, investors and entrepreneurs - can stimulate production in the overall economy.”

While this is as full of holes as a down-range artillery target, it is only a theory, all be it a very faulty one.  However, due to it’s main progenitor, it grew in popularity, along with his attacks on organized labor and the common man.

Worshiping at the alter of ignorance, the nation’s workers turned their backs on organized labor and began dismantling the very thing that gave them an edge in the battle for wealth equality.
The US worker began bulldozing virtually every gain they made prior to the 1970s; every inch of progress erased.  All on the whim of a silver screen icon; our hard-working laborers are stuck in Horror House on Highway Five.

"Unions were necessary at one time, but no longer."

Kind of like having a pacemaker and feeling better, you order it removed; isn't it?

And now, the work of tens of thousands who tried to decrease the wealth gap in the US, is disappearing.
Union and equality comparison
The really weird thing about this?  The same folks who complain about wage inequality are the very same who say they no longer need unions.  Whaaaaat?  Forget the dying heart, use that damned defibrillator on their heads, perhaps it'll revive some of their dead brain cells.

And of course, they want the entire herd of gazelle, not just their own kill.

They” don’t need raises (I already have mine)!  “They” are comfortable enough (I already have my comfort)!  “They” don’t need expensive health care (I already get mine through work)!  “They” don’t need equal opportunity (I already had mine when I was born)!

Yet, when “they” must rely upon entitlement programs simply to survive; “they” don’t need assistance using my tax dollars?





Those of you wishing others ill won't take even a moment to analyze what you’re arguing against; so I've done it for you:  With a raise of $3.25/hr in the federal minimum wage and using the BLS numbers as recipients, we’re talking an increase to ALL industries combined within the US paying minimum wages of $11.7 billion.

Now; if we apply this cost to McDonald’s ALONE, we would see an increase of $2.02 per hamburger (JUST HAMBURGERS, no other food stuff from McD’s included).

And; if we spread that out over the top burger sellers; McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Dairy Queen, Arby’s, Sonic, Jack in the Box, Hardees, Carl’s Jr., and the 7 remaining major burger chains (total of 16 considered) the average impact on burgers alone would be a paltry $0.32 per burger. And that, as indicated, is for BURGERS ONLY; this doesn't include the plethora of other food things sold by these 16 fast food businesses.

Nor does it include any of the other fast food businesses such as pizza chains, sandwich chains, Mexican food, Chinese food, etc. which would share the burden.

In essence; how would the increase in the minimum wages impact the businesses which would carry the bulk of the burden? How would it impact you? So little it wouldn't even be worth your time to calculate the change.  In fact; it only works out to $0.46 per shopping trip at Walmart to give them a raise to $10.00/hr.

With the poverty level for an average family size of 3.14 according to the 2010 census (and yes, many families are depending upon minimum wage earnings now), the proposed raise to $10.10/hr would barely lift the average family above poverty level and that’s IF they work a full time job = 2080 hours per year.

"They deserve a break today," so, rather than wishing them ill-will, stop pissing and moaning about $0.46 and give it to them?

Friday, February 13, 2015

The True Axis of Evil
No instance; no motivational factors are tenable in the willful mistreatment of other human beings. Fear can never be the determining force of our behavior; it simply cannot be.

If we succumb to such reactionary impulses, we’re turning the entire human race into nothing more than a despicable species; the lowest form of life on the planet.

Through such abhorrent barbarism, we’re fully approving congenerous behavior, by those we consider our enemies, to be exacted upon us and our own.

There simply are no perversions of law, or manipulation of language, as the Bush Administration so ardently sought, that constitutes righteous acceptance of torture, or indeterminate incarceration.

The legacy of the Bush Administration is now and will forever be seen as nothing more than a heinous blight on the history of humanity.

Though, they will likely never be prosecuted, they have so much for which to be proud!

We owe a huge debt of gratitude for the few in power who stood up to Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Yoo, and David Addington.

They are the voice of reason among despots.  History will be generous to them.

Tuesday, February 03, 2015

Mohamedou Ould Slahi; Collateral Damage in The War on Morality in Government

Liberty Weeps
terrorism [ter-uh-riz-uh-m]   noun   “the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.”
Terror and helplessness are the favored tools of evil.  Together, they destroy any semblance of sanity you may think you have; they wreak havoc upon your ability to reason, while taking you to unimaginable realms of depression and confusion.

When people, so devoid of basic humanity they no longer resemble a human being themselves, learn to use these tools, the entire human race should tremble and piss in our shoes in fear.

We’ve seen them before; Hitler, Stalin, Khan, etc….  More creature than human, wielding tremendous power and using that power for pernicious, profoundly immoral objectives; men of nightmares without end; ethos from hell, manifest from a world beyond comprehension.

Characters whose legacy chills and reviles in the realm of terror.

Thankfully, we have the United States; where the rule of law, decency and humanity are strong; a nation which reveres human rights so strongly, we send our children to war in far away nations to fight and die for those basic rights; to defend the banners of freedom, democracy, and equality.

The sword of truth, the banner of righteousness:  The US government is there for us; a safety net designed to shelter us all from aggression, both external and internal.

It is!  Isn’t it?  Isn’t that the US government’s focus; to reign in terror?

A voracious reader, I’ve read many stories.  Some have been invigorating, sad, and inspiring.  But, never have I read a more profound story than that of Mohamedou Ould Slahi.

An account, at the hands of terror, so vivid it penetrates one’s soul, and the perpetrators deserve as many adjectives one can conjure – despicable, shameful, inhumane.

And if it wasn’t for the work of those helping Mr. Slahi tell his story, it would still be hidden from us; tucked away in some dark, dank, fowl sewer by the cowards living in that sewer and who executed the plan to defile Mr. Slahi’s spirit.

Yes; the plan!

A de facto, verifiable document outlining the manner in which another human being was to be beaten, tortured, raped, and terrorized.  To destroy the human being that is Mohamedou Ould Slahi.

The fact that these people had a written plan should speak volumes of their contempt for human rights.

The plan of the government of the United States to “reign in terror.”

Guantanamo Diary.” is the horrific account of Mr. Slahi’s experience with our nation of righteousness, of ringing the sound of liberty and equality; the United States.

And, although it matters not, for such behavior defies all that the United States represents, be they guilty or innocent (I’m right about that; aren’t I?), Mr. Slahi is not only utterly innocent, he has yet to be charged by the government holding him captive in his dungeon of terror; denied all due process every human being deserves.

He has been kidnapped, has suffered “extraordinary rendition,” tortured by foreign governments, and “disappeared” to GTMO where he has suffered unspeakable crimes, at the hand of the US government.

All while reigning in terror?

And to make it perfectly clear; these crimes, while they have been committed against one man,  Mohamedou Ould Slahi, they are crimes against all humanity by those in our government consumed with hate and revenge; actions disguised in a phrase – “the war on terror.”

And that is precisely what Mr. Slahi’s story is about – hate, revenge, and collateral damage.

However, Mohamedou Ould Slahi isn’t just collateral damage in some “war on terror,” as some would have you believe.  Rather, he is the epitome of the war being waged against the very concept of equality and rights of all human beings.

He is indeed a martyr, fighting for us as much as himself.

The moment I began reading Guantanamo Diary, I knew precisely why Mr. Slahi was still being held in a box at GTMO; he has been consumed by the mother of all catch 22 scenarios, a catch 22 conceived and executed in hate.  The men who hold him will not release him, simply because he is there, and he is there because; well because!  He is a prisoner of terror who cannot be released for fear he will divulge the terror that has taken his life.

Mohamedou Ould Slahi is the ultimate “I can’t let you go because you’ve seen the real me.”
The ease with which the military and intelligence machine in this country can consume a human being the way Mr. Slahi has been consumed frightens the hell out me.  And it should terrify you.

Make no mistake!!! We have been served!  And, Mohamedou Ould Slahi is the process server.

The unbridled power given these “American” establishments through the verbiage of the Patriot Act and the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorism has delivered to humanity pure evil.

The US government is obligated under international law to respect, protect and fulfill human rights. Each Guantanamo detainee must either be charged and fairly tried in federal court, or be released to countries that will respect their human rights.

Yet, the cowards hide behind semantics created with twisted logic dismantle US and international law and spit on international treaties.  They trample even the most basic human rights and have executed behavior that all but the most contemptible “human being” would consider repugnant.

Guantanamo is not about justice for the September 11 attacks; Guantanamo is about revenge, torture, indefinite detention – terror.

This nation wasn’t built around military might, riches, land, businesses, or even religion; it is principles that define who we were supposed to be; about standing up for something we hold dearly.

And, if we no longer wish to live by those standards; why in hell are our children still dying in foreign wars?

What is left to defend?
Mohamedou Ould Slahi 

As-salāmu ʿalayka Mr. Slahi