[from Vivien Limon of Upland, CA.]

I did not sign up for this. when I was born we, as a country, were involved in the 1960’s. Change and peace and equality were all big things. But I know I was born in the United States of America. We are a nation that is unusual in that we have always followed the Constitution. A document written by some people who were brilliant. They wrote something that stood for equality and freedom. Our country, though it went through tribulations, still stayed strong and grew. We were a free people. Other countries copied our Constitution. Countries such as France and Japan. But now, it seems Abraham Lincoln’s words are ringing true. Our greatest enemy will be from within. It is. His name is George W. Bush. Not only has he established the Patriot Act which is and has some unconstitutional aspects…you shouldn’t be able to arrest just anyone off the street. He has engaged in wire-tapping of innocent individuals without any court orders. He has bypassed our courts in order to destroy the natural
environment without even a chance for the public to hear the reasoning. He has made this country a dictatorship. I didn’t sign up for a dictatorship, I signed up for freedom.

[posted in www.livejournal.com/~cushka.
Friday, Feb 17]

[From Vivien Limon, California (Southern, which is different than Northern)]

I have a problem I’m not willing to admit. They say talking about it is good for you. They also say that admitting it is the first step to recovery. So here goes…for the last six months or so I have been more than a liberal (bad word in the “free” United States now), I even have flirted. Ok more than flirted with calling myself a Socialist, Green Party and even Anarchist. I didn’t have any belief in our system anymore. Now, I won’t go into why I believe that our country is on the wrong track but I will say that I feel I have a horrible secret now. You know what that is? Capitalism. Yup. The same thing that defines our country and the hated Republicans…(I don’t really hate Republicans but I dislike some of the things they do). I own stocks. What’s more they are S&P 500 stocks. Sorry. But it gets worse. In the last two weeks I have begun to save money to buy a franchise…oh oh. I’m definitely a lost cause. I want to sell vitamins and Body Shop, and I’d like to get into online,
*cough, cough* stuff…I guess I’m hippocrite. I’m trying to redo my ideas. I still agree with some Socialist-Green Party-Anarchist stuff but I’m also going to have to admit that I like some things of Captitalism. Maybe I’ll make a political party called Pseudo-Capitalism or Half-Captitalism. I don’t know. Any ideas would be gratefully taken.

We were at the Urgent Care yesterday taking care of my sister’s bad ankle when I decided to look up (I rarely look up, which is a shame since so much of what’s special is found there). I saw a man sitting against the wall. At first glance, he looked homeless. I hate to say, I generalized. But upon closer examination, I decided I was wrong. His shoes, they looked like work shoes, were spotless and even looked new. His clothes were clean and again looked taken care of. He was wearing a cap, or a beanie looking cap. I decided because of the cap, he could be a navy or ship person. Then he started to read his book. The book looked like it was an older published book. It had no bookjacket. I couldn’t make out the title since I didn’t have my glasses (which are on order). His glasses were basic black and the kind of simplest kind. I mean nothing fancy or trendy. In fact, the kind that cost the least. But he was careful with them. At one time he saw a young boy try to exercise by doing
push-ups. He called to him, asked his name, introduced himself and gave him so tips as well as encouragement. You know what, it struck me after my initial impression that I was way off…I need to work on first impressions. Obviously, I’m not fair about them. But more importantly, how am I seen? What’s my first impression? Am I as simple as him? Do I want to be? Yes, I do.

[Mortart
Location:Monroe Township, New Jersey, United States ]

My initial posting under this title (12/18/05) has produced 18 comments so far from readers. This response is unprecedented. Much of it was undoubtedly spurred by the recent citation of Octogenarian as “The Blog of the Week” by WXPNews, a popular on-line magazine. The intensity of the comments shows that the Iraq war is probably the most critical issue of the day for public discussion. I am pleased that my blog is being utilized as a forum for debate (see below).

About half the comments support my view that the Bush Administration’s decision to invade Iraq was a dreadful mistake. The other writers vigorously defend it.

What disturbs me about the critics of my view is their illogical insistence that the war’s opponents are in effect opposing the war against radical Islamic terrorism. In making this argument,President Bush and his supporters clearly imply that that it is virtually unpatriotic to oppose the war. At the same time,they continue to explain that Iraq was invaded in response to 9/11. And when this explanation is dismissed, they return to those other excuses for the war: that Saddam Hussein threatened the U.S. with WMDs or that we are embarked on an idealistic crusade to introduce democracy to the Muslim world.

Arguing that those of us who oppose the war are also against the war on terrorism, reader Rick, for example, has written: “There are those poor fools who believe that if we just talk to the terrorists and try to understand their view a little better, then everything will be alright. Those are the types of people who, if allowed to be in positions of power, scare the hell out of me.”

In all candor, I am “scared out of hell” by the Iraq war’s defenders who fail to recognize that the Iraq invasion is actually hampering the war on terrorism. The invasion has set us back in this critical endeavor by diverting manpower and other vital resources to an unnecessary war.

As has been pointed out by many military and intelligence experts–at least those who have no partisan need to support the Bush Administration (e.g., Gen. Brent Scowcroft)–we have turned Iraq into a breeding ground and training center for terrorists and have lured Al-Qaeda and other jihadis into the country. In short, we have alienated the Muslim world and created new enemies.

Moreover, the situation in Iraq has allowed Iran–a far more serious threat with WMDs than Saddam ever was–to become an influential player in the country. In the past, Saddam, admittedly a very dangerous dictator, had been a barrier against both Iran (with whom he had waged war) and Al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremists who regarded Saddam as a religous infidel.

Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, where we had successfully destroyed Al-Qaeda and its Taliban hosts, the Islamic terrorists appear to be making a comeback.

So where do we stand now? An American general has been quoted as admitting that one reason for the insurgency that continues to kill and maim our troops is our very presence in the country. And despite all the hoopla about the Iraq elections and the photos of happy voters with their purple fingers, the country is in chaos and is facing a civil war.If extremist Shiite factions gain control, which is very possible, Iraq–or at least the huge regions that they would rule–could wind up as a theocratic ally of Iran.

And for this, we invaded Iraq?

[Posted: Sunday, December 18, 2005]
[octogenarian.blogspot.com]