Bill Moyers: What it’s like to go to war (video) and an alternative from Thich Nhat Hanh

Karl Marlantes, courtesy of tatteredcoverbookstoreblogspot.com.

Watching the video of Bill Moyers’ interview with Karl Marlantes, titled What it’s like to go to war, was not a pleasant interlude this Saturday afternoon.  But since he and other young men and women are sent into combat in my name, I felt obligated to tune in.

Marlantes' description of his experiences in a kill or be killed environment reminded me of an incident at my apartment building a few years ago. Walking across the parking lot one afternoon, I stopped to chat with a young man wearing an Army camouflage uniform. He was sent home from Iraq to recuperate from an illness and, he expected to be deployed again soon. When I asked him about his combat experiences, he turned pale, and the expression in his eyes was one of pure terror.

The incident confirmed my long ago conclusion that war is insane, and the expectation that you could send young men and women into combat and expect them to return home mentally and emotionally unscarred is part of the overall insanity. All the more reason, we should be required to watch the video posted below or read the full transcript. It’s the least we can do to honor the youth we send to war.

Coincidentally, I’m re-reading along with my meditation group, Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, Calming the Fearful Mind: a Zen approach to terrorism, which should be required reading for all Americans as well.

Here’s the video: What It’s Like to Go to War

Gun Talk in the aftermath of the Colorado massacre

Alleged killer James Holmes.

My first thought when the news broke about the massacre in Aurora, Colorado was what did you expect? The language of killing is now commonplace in our culture here in the US of A.  And it comes from the top down. President Obama carries on the tradition of kill, not capture, initiated by his predecessor George W. Bush following 9/11. We recently learned that Obama sits calmly at his desk in the Oval Office approving a targeted kill list for unmanned Predator Drone attacks in Pakistan and elsewhere.

Our children unquestioningly accept casual killing in playing video games that are won by instantly wiping out as many people-like figures as possible. If young soldiers manage to reach the age of 18 with even a trace of squeamishness about killing the “enemy,” military training with advanced versions of childhood video games will soon cure them.

In the aftermath of the Arizona shooting in which Rep. Gabrielle Gibbons was seriously injured, I posted a blog noting the availability of Glock handguns online. A couple of days before the recent incident in Aurora, Colorado, I noticed that post suddenly appeared in my website’s top 10, and it has remained there ever since the shooting. Yesterday we learned that the suspect,  James Holmes, built his arsenal without background checks from online sources. Incidentally, his arsenal included two Glock handguns.

 Zealous supporters of the right to bear whatever style of arms they choose – including handguns and other weaponry not designed for hunting animals -  are of course rising to the defense of the gun industry. I spoke to one such supporter the other day. She mentioned that a relative died in a motorcycle accident and asked if I thought we should ban motorcycles.

Um, motorcycles are designed for transportation, not as weapons.

In the meantime, Richard Kaufman has a thoughtful post up at the Christian Century in which he attempts to initiate a rational conversation on the topic of guns:

When I turned 12, my parents bought me a gun so that I could go pheasant hunting with my dad. It was a simple 20-gauge shotgun. The first time I shot it, I thought it was going to blow off my shoulder. I wasn’t that great of a marksman. The only time I killed a pheasant was when I was in my 20s

.

The gun went with me on several moves. But when my children were at the age when I thought they might be curious about guns, I sold it at a garage sale. I didn’t want something tragic to happen to them or anyone else. I’ve never owned a gun since.

I believed then what I believe now: unless you’re in law enforcement or are a hunter, you don’t need a gun. And if you own guns, the guns and ammunition should be locked up and secure so they can’t fall into the wrong hands.

Read more:

Barney Frank: “Thank you, Elizabeth Warren”

I am pleased to post this letter I received from Barney Frank this morning:

Dear Virginia,

When it became my responsibility as Chairman of the Financial Services Committee in 2009 to begin work on a financial reform bill, Elizabeth Warren was one of the first people I made sure to consult.

Elizabeth was focused to a very great extent on her concept of an independent agency to protect consumers from being abused or taken advantage of in their financial dealings. She and I began working together to get the necessary Congressional support to make this part of the law.

I knew before I met Elizabeth that she was the intellectual leader in this field. What I learned to my benefit was that she was -- and is -- a natural legislator and leader.

On the first anniversary of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that she did so much to create, I've signed a card thanking Elizabeth for her hard work and determination to make it possible and I ask that you sign the card with me.

While Elizabeth was not then a Member of Congress -- a condition I hope that will soon be changed -- she had a great understanding of the way in which our process worked, from both the procedural and political standpoint.

She was also a rare example of someone who was extremely talented at both the inside and outside parts of the work.

That is, she was a perfect ally in my dealings with other Members of Congress, and a great asset in her ability to communicate with the broader public and to mobilize the support that was needed to overcome the entrenched opposition of virtually every financial institution.

I am proud, as I said, of the work I was able to do as Chairman to create the Independent Consumer Bureau. We are fortunate that we had a President who was committed to doing everything he could to help this get adopted.

And we were particularly lucky to have, as the spearhead for this particular effort, an advocate who combines a zeal for the substance with a pragmatic understanding of how to achieve it.

I'm very pleased to ask you to join me in thanking Elizabeth for this great effort, and letting her know of your appreciation.

There is one last thing I want to say. We now face a situation where there is a serious effort to undermine financial reform and weaken the new consumer agency.

Mitt Romney has even called for full-on repeal. And in Congress, Republicans have been using a variety of tactics to chip at it in ways that are more obscure and complicated but still devastating.

We need to elect Elizabeth Warren and to protect the Democratic majority in the Senate in order to protect American consumers. It's critical for the future of our economy and our country.

Barney Frank

Hillary Clinton’s stature continues to rise

Secretary Clinton meets with Crown Prince of Bahrain Sheikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, at the Department of State. State Department photo by Michael Gross

It’s still out there in the blogosphere: diehard Hillary haters regurgitating the Obama campaign’s stale  attacks on her character in ’08 after Axelrod, et al realized their candidate couldn’t defeat her in legitimate policy debates. Much to the dismay of her detractors, however, Hillary's stature continues to rise.

As secretary of state,  Hillary's brilliance in foreign policy matters is evidenced in her article on smart power published yesterday, July 18, 2012, in the New Statesman:

As the balance of world power shifts, the US is developing a novel range of diplomatic, social, economic, political and security tools to fix the world’s complex new geopolitical problems.

I touched down in Beijing in May for the fourth round of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue with a jam-packed agenda, but the world’s attention was focused instead on the fate of a blind human rights dissident who had sought refuge in the American embassy. Suddenly, an already delicate trip had become an outsized test of the US-China relationship.

Throughout history, the rise of new powers usually has played out in zero-sum terms. So it is not surprising that the emergence of countries such as China, India and Brazil has raised questions about the future of the global order that the United States, the United Kingdom and our allies have helped build and defend. Against this backdrop, those few days in May took on even greater significance: could the US and China write a new answer to the old question of what happens when an established power and rising power meet?

Read more:

Hillary’s record-breaking tenure as secretary of state

SOS Clinton meets with  Shimon Peres in Jerusalem on July 16, 2012. State Dept Image.

Hillary Clinton speaks in measured tones, never seems to be out of breath or in a hurry, and yet continues to break records in miles traveled and countries visited as secretary of state. It has to be her to do lists; I envision her on her plane at nightfall, crossing off the items she’s completed that day. (That’s after she catches up with her texting.)

The AP reports:

WASHINGTON (AP) — If diplomatic achievements were measured by the number of countries visited, Hillary Rodham Clinton would be the most accomplished secretary of state in history.

While historians will debate and eventually rate her tenure as America's top diplomat, Clinton is already assured of a place in the State Department record book.

Read more:

Electronic cigarettes: an inexpensive, healthier alternative for smokers

I quit smoking several years ago with the assistance of the Clean Break program. At the time, I was unaware that the harm from smoking comes primarily from the tobacco delivery system – nicotine, itself, is relatively harmless. I was also unaware back then of the availability of electronic cigarettes, an inexpensive, healthier alternative for smokers. This morning I came across this article at ConsumerWeeklyTips that offers good news to tobacco users:

If you haven't already heard, Electronic cigarettes have grabbed the attention of countless tobacco users worldwide. Everyone from movie stars to your neighbors are using them. But are they really a healthier and cheaper alternative to traditional cigarettes? Can they really help you quit smoking? Creators and product users now say you can enjoy a cheaper, healthier cigarette without the bad smells, second-hand smoke, or cancer causing chemicals. With these huge claims, we decided to uncover the electronic cigarette for our readers.

A few of the benefits claimed from using the electronic cigarette:

• No tar, tobacco, carbon monoxide, or ash.
• Get the same amount of nicotine as a regular cigarette.
• Each cartridge costs less than $2 and is equivalent to an entire pack of cigarettes.
• You can save over $1,000 each year.
• You won't "smell" like a smoker any longer.
• Different flavors are available.
• No more second-hand smoke.

We decided to see what expert medical doctors and product users had to say about electronic cigarettes, and the results were surprising. In fact, Joel Niztkin, Chair of the Tobacco Control Task Force for the American Association of Public Health Physicians concluded that "...if we get all tobacco smokers to switch from regular cigarettes to electronic cigarettes, we would eventually reduce the US death toll from more than 400,000 a year to less than 4,000, maybe as low as 400." (1)

Read more:

News flash: Humankind’s role in the ecological network of relationships

Here’s a little news flash for all those who continue to delude themselves into believing that humankind has absolute dominion over the planet: We do not possess the right to thoughtlessly exploit the Earth’s natural resources, nor are we entitled to destroy any of our fellow inhabitants.

That’s right. We are as embedded in the ecological network of relationships and as reliant on its support as any other species. That would include the wolves struggling to survive in Montana. Just this morning, I received this alert from Jamie Rappaport Clark of Defenders of Wildlife:

Virginia -- Just wanted to make sure you got my message about our new wolf ad.

As we prepare to go live in Times Square, the War on Wolves rages on. Yesterday, officials in Montana approved a plan to allow widespread wolf trapping, triple the number of wolves an individual can kill in a single season, and eliminate hunt quotas across nearly the entire state.

Please donate now to help run our wolf ad, fight to ensure a lasting future for wolves and protect the wildlife and wild places you cherish.

Thanks,

Jamie

Defenders of Wildlife: Wildlife Alert

Help reach millions

for wolves

Help run our ad in Times Square (artist's composite)

We need to raise $65,000 by July 20th to get this ad in Times Square.

Help Us Reach Millions for Wolves Donate Now

Please donate today to get the word out about the West’s War on Wolves during the busy tourist season New York City.

Dear Virginia,

Imagine seeing wolves in Times Square. You can make it a reality.

Donate today to help run our new wolf ad in Times Square -- and put the War on Wolves front-and-center before the eyes of America.

Most Americans don't know what's going on in the West. Extreme anti-wolf policies have led to a War on Wolves in the Northern Rockies.

In just over one year, nearly half of Idaho's wolves have been eliminated. And with year-round hunting and other extreme wolf-killing policies, officials are aiming to reduce Idaho's wolf population down to minimum numbers.

In Montana, anti-wolf extremists are turning up the heat on state officials, urging them to follow in Idaho's wolf-killing footsteps.

And at any moment, federal officials could turn the fate of Wyoming's wolves over to a state plan that allows wolves to be killed on sight by virtually any means across the majority of the state.

Now we have the chance to expose millions to the War on Wolves -- and rally their support with our latest ad.

Will you help us raise $65,000 by July 20th to run our wolf ad in Times Square and protect the wildlife and wild places you care about?

Wolf recovery is one of the most important conservation success stories in this country -- and we can't let the War on Wolves turn back the clock.

That's why we're doing something big -- Times Square big -- to expose anti-wolf extremism to an entirely new audience and send federal officials a message they can't ignore.

Donate today and help put wolves in Times Square.

Jamie Rappaport Clark  

Sincerely,

Jamie Rappaport Clark

President

Defenders of Wildlife

P.S. Please donate now through our secure website to help us place our ad in Times Square. Or call 1-800-385-9712 to donate by phone.