A Resolution for 2007: More Cheers, Fewer Jeers! (or, until the effects of the holidays wear off)

Ah, the new year has arrived, so I'd like to make a few observations. First, the War on Christmas isn't going well. This free-for-all holiday prevailed once again. I guess the godless hedonists, the secular humanists and all other "season's greetings" generics are subdued by the onslaught of the Christmas commercialism. Second, I re-discovered that by not exercising certain muscles (including the brain) it makes it all that much harder to bounce back into top shape. Third, I gained several pounds because of the liberal libations and the free time to enjoy them during this insipid ..religious holiday. In order to get back into the groove of things, I'm starting exercising today, slowly at first, so forgive my lapses. Let's see what's happening...

The country is bidding farewell to a former president. I was alive in the '70s but too young to know anything. When Gerald Ford became the country's only non-elected VP and eventually President, disco was making a greater impression on me than politics! It was much later, as a student, that I examined the Watergate era. I have to say that Ford respected the checks and balances in our constitution, as did many Republicans of that time--something that can not be said about the Republican Congress of the last 10 years! Veep Cheney said in his eulogy that Ford "was his mentor" but this only demonstrates Dickey's utter hypocrisy. Much the same can be said for all those neocons who've destroyed all what was good of the old Republicanism.

Ford was against the Iraq war and had publicly criticized the misleading efforts leading up to the war and, later, the incompetence of conducting the war/occupation in Iraq. No Republican mentions this today. No Republican likes to talk about Ford's message of inclusion and tolerance [this article's worth reading]today. He supported women's rights, and although he opposed "abortion on demand," he was in favor of abortion when "unfortunate things happen." Ford paid a political price for pardoning R. Nixon by losing the election to J. Carter. I think he believed he was doing a service to the nation by "putting this nightmare behind us." However, his two biggest mistakes were Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld! Talking about an ..axis of evil.
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Did you watch the two versions of Saddam's execution widely available on the Net? What did you think about the haste and the way to execute that tyrant? [this video is Tom Brokaw's take] One thing we should not forget is that this madman was created and destroyed by the US. When he picked a war with our enemy, Iran, we gave him weapons, military intelligence on Iranian targets, and we looked the other way when he tortured and killed hundreds of thousands of people, many of his own country. When will the US learn that we can't convince people about the sincerity to spread freedom & democracy while we support brutal regimes?
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We observed another sad occurrence (or "just another number" according to White House spokesman, Tony Snow), that is, the US death toll in Iraq has exceeded 3,000. The number of servicemen with serious injuries are in the 20,000s. Obviously, our casualties in this war of choice exceeds the number of people killed on 9-11. I wish every American took a look at the faces of those fallen soldiers... Check The New York Times Faces of the Dead for an excellent reminder that humans are sacrificed for no good reason by people with the arrogance of power and the stubbornness of an ignorant mind. Weep if you like but do whatever to help in putting an end to this ill-conceived war.

Lastly, I would like to wish my readers a great year ahead, one filled with health and happiness and all sorts of personal achievements. Life is to be lived in the here and now. Don't worry about heaven & hell and how you'd spend your "time" there while you're wasting this unique experience of being alive now. Every person can make the world a better place. As a liberal would say, be good for goodness sake, for virtue without choice is non-existent!

Cheers!