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POPSA Simple Observation The war in Afghanistan has become an aimless absurdity. It began with a reason, to find Osama bin Laden. Or so we were told. Since then, he ‘may have’ moved into Pakistan. No one knows for certain. Is it really necessary to continue this seven year long bled letting against a bunch of religious extremists and druglords many of whom have safe haven in Pakistan, only for the occasional victory? Victories that soon are negated by retaliatory actions of many of the same people we are there to ‘bring into the 21st century’. Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s corrupt government skims the very drug trade that funds the indigenous forces NATO forces are fighting against and will therefore never lift a governmental finger to stop it.
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POPSHyper-Patriotism in "Christian America" I have pride in this country. I also see its flaws and make an effort to change them. We live in a global society and holding the belief that we're somehow exceptional clouds reality to such an extent that correct decisions become increasingly difficult to adopt.
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POPSEurope’s complicity in evil "Nothing is any different under Obama. Obama has escalated war in Afghanistan; started a new war in Pakistan; tolerated or supported a military coup that overthrew the elected president of Honduras; is constructing seven new US military bases in Colombia, South America; is going forward with various military projects designed to secure US global military hegemony, such as the Prompt Global Strike initiative that intends to provide the US with the capability to strike anywhere on earth within 60 minutes; is working to destabilize the government in Iran, with military attack still on the table as an option; supports America’s new military African Command; intends to encircle Russia with US bases in former constituent parts of the Soviet Union; has suborned NATO troops as mercenaries in US wars of aggression." How should Europe react?"
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POPSAbout the Sagittarius This ninth zodiac sign is ruled by the Planet Jupiter. People under this sign are highly optimistic. You'd hardly see them in gloom. Also, they are full of patriotism. No wonder many war heroes were Sagittarius.
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POPSWar is not a video game During this, one of the bloodiest months in the Afghanistan war, the spots promote a somewhat comforting, if disturbingly misleading, message — and it is aimed not just at potential soldiers, but also at the public at large. For the former, the goal is reassurance. As Bush-era attempts to conflate bellicosity and patriotism were undermined by persistent body bags, military recruitment has become more challenging. In response, the Pentagon hopes to make prospective volunteers believe their tours of duty will be as safe as a night on the couch.
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POPSThe CIA interrogation investigation: I am ashamed of my country More: I guess what especially turns my stomach here is that the idea wasn’t just to inflict mental anguish on a presumably odious man in order to extract information. It was to inflict that pain by exploiting, as a weakness, whatever flicker of nobility or love remained in an otherwise wretched soul. It was a method of torture that would have been effective only because and to the extent there was something human left in him. Maybe I’m being overly sentimental, but every cell in my body is telling me this is sick and wrong.
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POPSGovernors Oppose Federal Martial Law Powers, Invoke States' Rights This could apply to any potential Swine Flu emergency declarations or any other federal responses during acts of terrorism, disasters, or crises whereby the Pentagon has pleaded a domestic role for power. See Clipmark U.S. Military Plans for H1N1 Flu Outbreak Good for the governors and states' rights! As a side, people should note that because Governor's have authority over each states "National Guard" that they could invoke their authority to NOT DEPLOY these troops (never intended for foreign wars) to unjust wars, or war undeclared by Congress (the only lawful wars) for foreign operations, i.e. Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. They have full legal power to resist if only they have political courage to stand upon principle against mistaken notions of zeal or "patriotism" invoked to push such wars. More on that here.
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POPS10 Reasons Why Republicans Seldom Serve in the Military
Here are 10 reasons why so few Republicans show up at the military induction center. 1. World War Two was the last white war. A war fought with a large white participation. Korea saw a growth in minority participation, but by the time of Vietnam, class distinctions had grown, and war was mainly fought by a collection of white trash southern hillbillies, whites on the run from the law in the States, and blacks and Mexicans. War became a half-way house for those perceived as losers, while increasing numbers of whites decided to spend their time going to college on student deferments and amassing cash in lucrative careers. 2. Many white right-wingers, while they won’t admit it, don’t like blacks because they consider them to be lowly niggers. They don’t want to eat next to one in the mess hall, and certainly not sleep under one in a bunk bed. 3. Most right wing successful politicians and pundits got where they are because they focused on the prize, advancing themselves. The
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POPSAmerican flag forced down because someone "found her flag offensive" Political correctness. Can anyone say anything good about political correctness? We sellout our own convictions trying to please everyone. Haven’t we learned that if you try to please everyone you end up pleasing no one.? “Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.” Reportedly from a contest entry at Texas A&M (unconfirmed). The person who took this flag down should be slapped around and forced to explain her actions to every veteran of every war. Not politically correct but its the right thing to do.
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POPSRight-wing military writer: We may have to kill war journalists According to Peters: "The point of all this is simple: Win. In warfare, nothing else matters. If you cannot win clean, win dirty. But win. Our victories are ultimately in humanity’s interests, while our failures nourish monsters." I would say the opposite. Victories in Imperial wars simply breed more Imperial was of conquest.
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POPSThe Day of the Dead
Very moving take on what Memorial Day has come to represent to some people. Are we really any freer today for their dying in Iraq and Afghanistan? These are very different wars with very different goals than what America previously fought. There can be no honor in fighting an illegal war. Our military machine is geared toward rewarding soldiers for taking the lives of people who threaten our country, even if those people are defending their own country against US aggression. I’m not trying to disparage anyone whose head is filled with ‘visions of glory’ for fighting for their country. Those visions tend to evaporate pretty quickly when seen in the light of reality. The man responsible for getting us into this situation did it for many selfish reasons. To avenge his father, to create a financial windfall for his cronies, to stimulate our economy and to extend our reach across this planet. And who is paying for it? The bravery we need to see now is in stopping this madness
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POPSIf Obama Cedes Ground to Cheney, We’ll All Pay a Heavy Price Excellent commentary by Gary Younge on why we need moral leadership. Americans are sorely lacking in moral leadership. For fear of being labeled unpatriotic, congress allowed an illegal war in Iraq. For fear of being labeled unpatriotic congress is allowing torture, an affront to America’s core values, to go unpunished. For fear of being labeled unpatriotic Americans are being forced to accept that patriotism is taking on a new face. It has now become patriotic to follow our leadership into an immoral abyss. It is now official: we rule out of fear rather than principle. If our founding fathers were alive today, this would kill them. Do we have the choice to turn this situation around? Yes. Do we have what it takes to pull it off? I fear the answer is no, but I hold hope that someone will find the ability to make it happen.
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POPSRolling Thunder Roars Through Nations' Capital Rolling Thunder, Inc., is a non-profit organization with more than 88 chapters in all 50 states, which work year round to ensure the nation never forgets that American prisoners of war and missing in action still remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. The organization raises funds to help veterans and serves as legislative advocates on veterans' issues. Members volunteer to visit local veterans hospitals and educate people about the POW/MIA issue. Crane said Rolling Thunder’s hard work over the years is evident, as they’ve impacted citizens from all across the country to join and take part in advocating their cause. Bikers, such as Danny Kang, from Richmond, Va., participated in Rolling Thunder for the past two years, but unlike many of the others, he’s not a veteran and doesn’t come from a military family, he said. An American pilot in the Korean War saved his grandfather, Kang said.
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POPSMemorial Day Patriotism, Myths, and "Day of Deceit"
Memorial Day has become a means of self-justification and propaganda to paint a picture of military operations through "remembering the dead" into National Righteousness. Books like this one quickly counter and dispel such myths about the wars Americans have fought in, being misled by Presidents on a global agenda instead of wars of self-defense. the eminent newsman, Edward R. Murrow, who snacked with FDR the night of Pearl Harbor, told his wife the president had revealed: "the biggest story of my life, but I don't know if it's my duty to tell it or forget it." According to Stinnett, years after the war ended, Murrow informed another journalist: "That story would send Casey Murrow through college, and if you think I'm going to give it to you, you're out of your mind." This article covers much more than this book, up to the present wars since 9/11, showing that "oil" plays an important role in each for Petro-Imperialism See article for much more.
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POPSThe current Republican party mantra 1. Phony War 2. Ignorance is King 3. Do whatever you want, I will protect you 4. The illusion of safety over the basic needs of a nation 5. Culture....who needs that!
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POPSGary Sinise Promotes ‘Brothers At War’ on The View and Gets Disrespected ~ MsUnderestimated But for me, the best reason to show this video is to highlight not only Gary Sinise’s patriotism, but also his never-ending support for our troops, and his backing of this fabulous documentary that I cannot wait to see. In fact, I’m trying to get it brought to the Atlanta area. Having said all that, regardless of your political stripe, please support and recognize Gary Sinise for what a tremendous human being this man is.
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POPSHaaretz: Zionist sense of victimization perpetuating the conflict with Palestinians. 
A pioneering research study dealing with Israeli Jews' memory of the conflict with the Arabs, from its inception to the present, came into the world together with the war in Gaza. The sweeping support for Operation Cast Lead confirmed the main diagnosis that arises from the study, conducted by Daniel Bar-Tal, one of the world's leading political psychologists, and Rafi Nets-Zehngut, a doctoral student. Scholars the world over distinguish between two types of collective memory: popular collective memory - that is, representations of the past that have been adopted by the general public; and official collective memory, or representations of the past that have been adopted by the country's official institutions in the form of publications, books or textbooks. The idea for researching the popular collective memory of Israeli Jews was raised by Nets-Zehngut, a Tel Aviv lawyer who decided to return to the academic world. At present he is completing his doctoral thesis in the Internati
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POPSInternal Perceptions / External Perceptions Within a particular cultural system, you always have to entertain second opinions from interested parties. It is not a contraversial statement that Stalin was evil, internationally. However! In Russia there are still many invested in Stalin and Nationalism who will try to rationalize it. Similarly, internationally, it is not a controversial statement that Bush was a monstrous, hostile, and unjust President. But in America there will people that will argue and try to justify torture and persecution that Bush perpetrated. An apologist is an apologist. If we cannot take responsibility for our own moral lapses, how can we possibly find our moral compass? People who refuse to look beyond their narrow world view discredit themselves.
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POPS Soldier's Days Finally, heartfelt thanks from citizen Jeff G. at Protein Wisdom, where reader Tim McNabb replies with the simple sincerity of a soldier: Your welcome Jeff. And to all you douchebags on the left who, in your mendacious fits of juvenile petulance lash and spit at the nation in which you are free to be a lashing, spitting, mendacious petulant, juvenile douchebag, you too are welcome.
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POPSAmerican Muslims grateful to Colin Powell Powell said he felt especially strongly about the because of a photo he saw in The New Yorker magazine of the mother of a Muslim soldier in Arlington Cemetery embracing her son's grave, which was marked with a Muslim crescent and star. The soldier, Kareem R. Khan of New Jersey, was 20 when he was killed in Iraq.
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POPSDemoncrats want you to be "patriotic" - Give us your money This liberals have a strange sense of patriotism. They can refuse to wear American flag pins. They can refuse to hold their hands over their hearts during the National Anthem. They can stab our troops in the back during war. They can undermine a sitting president during war time. But when it comes to separating you from your money, now it's patriotic. Folks, this isn't patriotism... this is Marxism.
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POPSDeepak Chopra: What is Sarah Palin's appeal? In psychological terms the shadow is that part of the psyche that hides out of sight, countering our aspirations, virtue, and vision with qualities we are ashamed to face: anger, fear, revenge, violence, selfishness, and suspicion of “the other.” For millions of Americans, Obama triggers those feelings, but they don’t want to express them. He is calling for us to reach for our higher selves, and frankly, that stirs up hidden reactions of an unsavory kind.
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