Vision Circle

Disloyal Opposition

Now it appears that Bush is "fighting back" against the people who say the Bush administration lied about the reason the U.S. went to war against Iraq.

President Bush on Friday shot back at critics claiming his administration misconstrued or lied about pre-war intelligence showing that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, saying "it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began."

Frankly, I think it is the Bush administration that is deeply irresponsible.

The Bush administration said the reason for the action against Iraq was because of WMDs. They then said it was because of violations of U.N. sanctions. They then said it was because of Saadam's treatment of Iraq citizens. Then it was said the seed of Democracy in the country would be good for the Middle East.

At one point, the president was saying that Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11/2001 attacks, but the vice-president was saying that Iraq was involved.

Did the Bush administration communicate a clear and consistent story for the action against Iraq?

No.

In fact, the most consistent and supportive reasons for action against Iraq came not from the Bush administration, but from commentators and pundits who backed the administration.

Men and women of our country were sent to fight in a foreign country, yet the President of the United States, seemingly, can't give a straight answer on why we are there.

In short, the Bush administration can't communicate worth jack!

So, when the opposition takes advantage of this lack of communication, the supporters of the president say the opposition is working against the interests of the U.S.

I have a question about working against the interests of the U.S.

The White House Cabal

Lawrence Wilkerson lays out the structural and managerial failings of the neocon cabal.

I believe that the decisions of this cabal were sometimes made with the full and witting support of the president and sometimes with something less. More often than not, then-national security advisor Condoleezza Rice was simply steamrolled by this cabal.

Its insular and secret workings were efficient and swift — not unlike the decision-making one would associate more with a dictatorship than a democracy. This furtive process was camouflaged neatly by the dysfunction and inefficiency of the formal decision-making process, where decisions, if they were reached at all, had to wend their way through the bureaucracy, with its dissenters, obstructionists and "guardians of the turf."

But the secret process was ultimately a failure. It produced a series of disastrous decisions and virtually ensured that the agencies charged with implementing them would not or could not execute them well.

Rosa Parks passes away

Rosa Parks passes.

Thank You Mrs. Parks.

The hunter is the alert man

In sense, the hunter had to “become” his prey in order to hunt at all. The hunter had to know what the animal ate, the terrain it favored in different seasons, when it migrated and where, when it mated and gave birth, and a hundred other details. But most important of all, he has to know how to look.

This “looking” encouraged the development of a certain kind of attention. The hunter “does not believe that he knows where the critical moment is going to occur,” as hunter and philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset noted in Meditations on Hunting.

He does not look tranquilly in one determined direction, sure beforehand that the game will pass in front of him. The hunter knows that he does not know what is going to happen, and this is one of the greatest attractions of his occupation. Thus he needs to prepare an attention of a different and superior style – an attention which does not consist in riveting itself on the presumed but consists precisely in not presuming anything and in avoiding inattentiveness. It is a “universal” attention, which does not inscribe itself on any point and tries to be on all points. There is a magnificent term for this, one that still conserves all its zest of vivacity and imminence: alertness. The hunter is the alert man.

“The Code of the Warrior: in History, Myth, and Everyday Life”

The Government Fails, Time and Time Again

The government fails, time and time again, and it is due to its massive size, politics, hubris, incompetance, and graft.

While I wasn't blogging when the Department of Homeland Security was created, I stated in web forums and email lists that creating that department was nothing but a waste of time and money.

If its main job was to prevent another 9/11, all that had to be done was to add a cabinet position to head over seeing of the different 3 letter agencies to make sure that they share information in a timely and efficient manner. Then all that had to be done was to give that position the authority to fire people at will and remove regulations that prevented information from being shared. That position should also have had an inside track to be able to go to congress and state what laws needed to be changed or removed to bring down the legal barriers between the different 3 letter agencies.

Note: Some of those laws are the reason for "The Wall" and those laws are on the books because of prior abuses by the different 3 letter agencies. I know this, but some of the resulting regulations were a burden.

Bled, Misled, and Spiritually Dead

AJC reports black conservative coonshow du jour;

"We're not just a church, we're an international corporation," Long said. "We're not just a bumbling bunch of preachers who can't talk and all we're doing is baptizing babies. I deal with the White House. I deal with Tony Blair. I deal with presidents around this world. I pastor a multimillion-dollar congregation."

"You've got to put me on a different scale than the little black preacher sitting over there that's supposed to be just getting by because the people are suffering."

"Any problem people may have with his charity, Long said, was rooted in some people's expectations that pastors should be poor.

"I would love to sit with you and walk with you through the Bible to show that Jesus wasn't poor," he said.

His congregation is inspired by seeing its pastor do well, Long said.

"I'm not going to apologize for anything. ... "

Chavez offers Americans cheap fuel

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, popular with the poor at home, has offered to help needy Americans with cheap supplies of petrol.

Full Monty; is either one of the cruelest disinformation bomblets of all time, or, the genuine article showing us how this brother Works. Is it any wonder he's got old devils talking out the side of their necks on teevee? Next thing you know, they'll be calling him the anti-Christ.

Black Conservatives and Authentic Advocacy

What philosophical and practical positions would black conservatives embrace/espouse if their prescriptions were the same as those used by white conservatives?

In other words, are black conservatives asking black folk to do something that white conservatives do not do, would not do, have never done?

Economics, politics, social, military. What are black conservatives saying preaching that is/is not practiced by their sponsors? Does the rhetoric match the reality??

Though We Are Told To Mourn It

this is a post that, for many of you, has already awakened your senses to Wynton Marsalis and Rev. Jeremiah Wright laying it down about "Premature Autopsies." this piece, written by Stanley Crouch, became an integral part of my disciplined academic growth while at the university of michigan...and i have been thinking a great deal about one of the lines that always stuck with me.

"These are the ones who follow in the footsteps of the gifted and the disciplined who have been deeply hurt but not discouraged, who have been frightened but have not forgotten how to be brave, who revel in the company of their friends and sweethearts but are willing to face the loneliness that is demanded of mastery."

mastery demands a serious willingness to walk alone...and for me, this is an ongoing process/challenge of engaging and disengaging for a purpose - because one cannot apply mastery if the cost is forgetting the rest of this brilliant description.

On Our Shoulders

The On Our Shoulders program was created out of the empathy felt by its founder, Ray Cook, as he watched countless youths die and become victims of violence on the streets of Baltimore.

The counseling, education and skills training offered by On Our Shoulders helps young people develop career potential and connections to advanced education.

The program components include:

Group Sessions

* Assessment
* Review Street Violence Statistics
* Health and Hygiene Classes Conducted by Registered Nurses
* Individual Drug Counseling and Referral
* Young Mothers/Fathers Group
* Support Groups for Young Victims of Violence

On The Job Training

* Pre-apprenticeship Training
* Catering, Food Handling and Baking Classes
* Clerical Training
* Construction/Electrical/Plumbing
* Barbering/Braiding (Hygiene Enhancement Classes)
* Modeling Training/Fashion Shows

Skill Enhancements

* Academic Skills
* G.E.D. Preparation and Testing
* Computer Skills
* Job Readiness Skills
* Life Skills/Coping Skills/Decision Making Skills
* Paid Internships
* College Preparation/Scholarships/Advanced Education

Crimminal Assessment

* Help young people understand charge papers and court procedures
* Provide an assessment on program participants to the courts
* Appropriately recommend "On Our Shoulders" as an alternative to incarceration

Advanced education will be based on academic performance, attendance, punctuality, and commitment to the program. Our youth will need to demonstrate a high degree of motivation within the program to receive a court representation and assessment verification.

On Our Shoulders
2846 West Lafayette Street - Baltimore, Maryland 21216
Phone: 410.947.3700 - Fax: 410.947.3200
[email protected]