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ISEFIRE - The ISEBRAND.COM blog |
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Darkness From
IseFire reader, Scott Bramlett: The newscast was the first thing I heard on the radio this morning, right after waking up. This means consciousness was a little soft, not so protected. The idea of this horror made it to the core of cognition, and then thought kept turning it over and over. And the way my thought worked this morning was that I found myself first in the place of this man, Nick Berg, and then that of his family. From Nick Berg, I extrapolated the simple truth of the delicacy and tenderness of all human flesh, how quickly we feel pain. From this, I considered the delicacy of the human mind and how quickly it darkens under brutality and suffering, the terror of unfathomable darkness, the merciless and final separation from everything dear. War forgets all of this. It sets an abstract ideal over the quotidian domain of human experience, pain and bliss, both. The reality of war puts these things second. It demands this demotion of human reality to meet its ends. But the world only becomes real for humanity in general in individual human hearts. This is why each brutal movement, each act of violence and terror darkens the whole of humanity's experience, because each of us is humanity in the particular. All these particular concrete existences go to form that large abstract concept. This is why killing in all but the rarest of instances (perhaps that of mercy killing) is a crime against humanity, and why each murder that is ever perpetrated is a crime against humanity, whether in war, or on our streets in so-called peacetime. We are now not only at war, but are at war under false pretences. This is a terrible, terrible conflict, and will, I am sure, be universally considered a high crime years (and hopefully not many) from now. It is difficult to go about my normal business, having entertained these considerations. Still conscience demands movement, the taking of some action. I've
been discussing Mr. Berg's murder with colleagues today. For many,
it is clear that the blame for the current wave of horrors is in
the hands of this nation's executive. It is difficult to fathom
that George W. Bush remains in office after it has become all too
clear that he led this country to battle in Iraq, having obfuscated
the awful events of September 11, 2001 as the basis for such an
action. Not yet has any connection been shown between the terrorist
attacks on that day and the nation of Iraq. In light if this, how
is it, my colleagues and I wonder, that President Bush is still
happily perched in his seat in the Oval Office, but President Clinton
was impeached by Congress for acts far less deadly and dishonest?
Having asked the question, the one thing that looms large as an
answer to my heartache and that of many of this country's citizens
is the expulsion of George W. Bush and his henchmen from their offices
as administrators of the American government. It is this, or despair,
a world gone dark not only for Nick Berg, but for us all. "We
tried it in the paddies, now let's try it in the sand!" The
idiocy of Bush's decision to invade Iraq I'm
sitting here this evening watching Battlefield
Vietnam on the Discovery
Times channel, and am more convinced than ever that
if Club Shrub members Bush (who sort of flew in the then-called
"champagne unit" unit in Texas during the war...when he
bothered to show up) and Cheney (who got five deferments while John
Kerry bled and fought) they would not have decided
to play invader-generals and attack Iraq. The
New York Times today ran an
editorial against the City’s failure to suggest
a protest site (or march routes) as an alternative to Central Park,
which they refuse to let protesters use for a rally during the RNC
convention. The
editorial does not make it clear that permits for marches and rallies
go to different city agencies, and NYC Parks & Recreation only
has jurisdiction over the rally, not the march.
When chairing Manhattan Community Board 5's parks committee, I routinely took up for discussion proposals for parkland improvement. The parks department receives less than 1% of the city’s budget. What they are able to accomplish, largely through monetary corporate and private gifts, is impressive. I know the countless hours of labor and many thousands of dollars the upkeep of Central Park requires. But…HELLO?!?! it's a public park, and there is simply no alternative location in Manhattan for a 250,000-person rally.
My
proposal: as rally attendees leave the park
the organizers, United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), can have volunteers
with donation buckets at the exits. If each attendee gave only $1,
UFPJ would end up making a $250,000 contribution to New York
City Parks & Recreation. (And trust me, they need the money!) Keeping
George W. Bush safe from protesters' freedom of speech... AP: "Security costs for the Republican National Convention this summer will hit $76 million, says [New York City] police Commissioner Ray Kelly." Rest
assured, my fellow Americans... Oh, we of little faith! Who are we so to fret even as God has found fit to give us His chosen leader to bring us through the night? All will be well--just ask Dana, she'll paint you a picture of blessed assurance. Video There's also video related to Steve's men on Fox News' site. Steve's sister Allison: Look under "Related Information" then "Related Video" for the clips. The most recent clip is at the top of the "Related Video" list. The clip listed after it occurred the night before, I believe. Those
Are Steve's Guys In The New York Times, and He's Quoted! Call
for PM Blair to resign for sake of Labour victory New
blogs Why
Media Matters matters greatly Rummy's
tummy's upset, I bet Hackworth, having received countless e-mails from soldiers in Iraq--concluded that Rumsfeld had gotten the U.S. and our troops into a mess, and called for his dismissal. |
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