The Death of History

For the benefit of Mr. Kite
There will be a show tonight on trampoline

Messrs K. and H. assures the public
Their production will be second to none
And of course Henry the Horse dances the the waltz
--Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite,
The Beatles
_____________________

History used to be something that Ranger believed was, at minimum, a reflection of truth albeit told by the victors (or the losers), but that may not be the reality.

As we are witnessing unfolding daily, history is like pipe smoke, blown about by the winds of chance. There is history, revisionism, and outright lies posing as history. When the history of the Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©) is told, it will fall in the latter category.

Historians can detail the physical wars utilizing news stories, unit histories and OPLANS to discuss the realities, but what about the weight of issues that are cloaked in national security and classified secret? So much of the PWOT © falls in that realm: Secret budgets, prisons, black sites, black funds, torture and assassination -- programs cloaked in levels of secrecy/security, surrounded by lies, guarded by liars.

The history of the PWOT © will be a glorious lie that will never approach a modicum of truth. Like Al Franken wrote, it will be lies by the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.

That is a thing to consider.

Dancing with the Stars

--PlayBill, Mr. Fish


I'm sick of their timid, lying morality
--Col. Kurtz, Apocalypse Now

Never interrupt your enemy
while he is making a mistake
--Napoleon Bonaparte

Kiss his boots or you'll be through
Out of the night comes a soldier right
Line you up in his gunsight
His mind's exploded, ego's overloaded
--The Cult, Soldier Blue
_________________

Happy Day After Thanksgiving -- hope everyone enjoyed a nice holiday. I'm sure we all count our blessings. We are grateful for our many kind readers, without whom this project wouldn't fly. We began the blog as naifs, and feel fortunate to have established friendships with many fine and fascinating people along the way. For that, we are thankful.

p.s. -- and if you suffered a bit of familial stress over the holiday, today's graphic is in the spirit of offering a little larf (those screwy Republicans, always upping the outrageousness bar ... )

Today, Ranger presents a two-part ramble through history, a whirlwind tour with a goal; Ranger's history lollapalooza. As always, commentary is welcome.

Let's dance through U.S. and world history reflecting upon our choice of partners and tunes as we whirl around the dance floor to the tunes being played. Just for fun.

Up first: Spanish-American War. This put the U.S. firmly in the imperial club by adding former Spanish colonial possessions to the U.S. collection of colonial properties. This was seen as a good, forgetting that democracy and colonial domination are contradictory terms.

The Spanish-American War can be seen as the initial campaign of World War II since U.S. possessions and interests in the Philippine Isles led to direct imperial and colonial conflict with the Japanese. This Spanish war was fought with a large professional Navy and a small professional Army augmented with volunteer-type militia units.

The Spanish-American War got the U.S. into the business of insurgency. In the Cuban theatre the U.S. supported the anti-Spanish insurgents and in the Philippines we fought the anti-colonial forces of evil. Those fighting against U.S. forces failed to recognize the beauty of being colonial possessions. An older generation of McArthurn led troops in that Philippine Insurrection. Let us not forget that this and the colonial Boer Wars were the first modern historical British and American usage of large concentration/internment camps for civilians.

The U.S. then became involved in the Boxer Rebellion suppressing Chinese insurgents who erroneously believed that China should be ruled by the Chinese. Silly naive and ignorant Chinamen. The U.S. at the time was originating a counterinsurgency policy which boiled down to the basic tune: Do what we say, or you're going to meet the U.S. Marines. And we all know that is a fate worse than messing with Mother Nature herself.

Next up, World War I, offering to "Make the World Safe for Democracy." A joke, since the war was actually a European family squabble about which nation was to get the largest share of the colonial pie. U.S. allies called themselves democracies and they were, except for the fact that the sun never set on the British, U.S. French, Dutch and German colonies.

Democracy triumphed, and France and England got to appropriate former German colonies. The Middle East became a playground for British and French interests and Southeast Asia became a French plaything. So the Allied victory in WWI secured democracy, but it is difficult to find any beneficial recipients of this blessing.

WWI set the stage for WWII in the Pacific theatre, which in turn caused U.S. entry into the continuation of WWI in Europe, the continued squabble between old enemies and friends.

The inspection of the Pacific War boils down to the U.S., British and French desires and policies to deny Japan any Imperial colonial aspirations. The white men can do as they please, but the little yellow people were denied the same possibilities.

So the U.S. fought a two-front war to deny Hitler and Hirohito hegemony, replacing these enemies with a Stalinist Eastern Europe and a Communist China, not forgetting that the French are still playing around in SE Asia.

Next: Korea.

SSDD

The political class is incapable of solving
the problems they created
--Bill Moyers Journal

You've got to win a little, lose a little,
yes, and always have the blues a little.
That's the story of, that's the glory of love
--The Glory of Love, The Dells

Women! They let 'em vote, smoke and drive
-- even put 'em in pants! And what happens?
A Democrat for president!
--Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
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We are destroying ourselves without any help from al-Qaeda. The threat to America is elected rather than imported from foreign battlefields. This is a truth the American electorate finds too painful to even contemplate.

The American voters mandated change in both 2006 and 2008, yet things remain in stasis. America is at a critical juncture in the history of the Republic. The will of the people has no expression that is translated into policy. Democracy has no relevance if words have no meaning.

This is why the war in Afghanistan is being ramped up. It is a distraction to keep our eye off the ball and provide an external threat against which to hurl our discontent. It is being fought for non-taxpaying people with money that the U.S. doesn't have.

Why did Obama choose to amp up before his study group was even selected? The decision preceded the recommendations, which seems a continuation of business as usual -- emotion-laden versus rational choices. For those who voted against war and for change: what was the value of that vote? 30,000 more young Americans are about to descend upon the Afghan countryside.

While the cost of our wars is a major component of our current economic woes, our tanked economy cannot be blamed on George Bush alone. Elective wars did not commence with Mr. Bush; the U.S. has been playing Dungeons and Dragons since our early history. Wars and foreign intrigue are irresistible urges for impotent politicians.

Ranger's down-and-dirty historical tour: The first Korean venture in the 1870's, the Philippines, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Panama,Grenada and the Boxer Rebellion are old imperial programs dating back to the early 1900's. Panama was stolen from Columbia with U.S. contrivance.

The U.S. has always been an aggressive big brother. The early 19th century saw expansionist wars against Canada and Mexico. We have purchased, stolen and conquered with war a great peace-loving nation.

The current U.S. course was chartered by Truman's use of troops in a "police action" in Korea. U.S. policy inspired the 1950 United Nations reaction to the North Korean invasion of the South. The U.S. populace accepted a major war, undeclared by Congress. Containment was the word of the day. Today, Terrorism is the new Containment.

Presidential powers were expanding, and no one blinked an eye. In the late 1940's the U.S. fought a major insurgency in Greece while we were losing big-time in China. On March 12, 1947, President Truman established the Truman Doctrine to help Greece and Turkey resist Communism. Win a little, lose a lot. Drive on!

Eisenhower stuck U.S. fingers into Lebanon and the Suez crisis, fragmenting the U.S.-British-French alliance and becoming a part of the last vestiges of colonialism in the region. Prior to this, the U.S. played fast and loose in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran, with consequences reverberating today.

Kennedy had the Cuban problem and continued Eisenhower's policies which bloomed into full-scale war in Vietnam. Again, no declaration of war, and this was sold as an action to insure democracy in the Republic of Vietnam, a theme dusted off from WW I -- the War to End All Wars, as democracy was the theme. Never mind the reality.

Johnson and Nixon offered more of the same. SSDD. Presidents Ford and Carter were too befuddled to cause any major foreign wars. Ford had the Mayaguez incident and Carter had the Iranian issue, which has yet to be resolved, and which stretches back to 1921. Same with Cuba, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Reagan introduced Lebanon, Grenada, enhanced with illegal ventures in Panama, Nicaragua El Salvador, Guatemala and Iranscam.

George H.W. Bush was playing fast, loose and dirty as Central Intelligence Agency Director and Vice President. When Bush became president he cleaned up his back trail by invading Panama and jailing his drug-dealing little buddy, General Noriega.

This was a key event as the world and the U.S. accepted the kidnapping and jailing of a head of state wearing a general's uniform without the application of Geneva Conventions. The U.S. was transitioning into a regime change specialist.

Bill Clinton inherited the Somalia policy of Bush I, and we know how well that went. The Balkan adventure has the U.S. military still tied down in the region with no visible benefit to the American people or policies. It -- like so many other current military actions -- is ignored by the people and Congress as just another little sumpthin' we do.

Clinton was useless militarily except for establishing the policy of using missile strikes to help Americans feel good about being jacked around by goat herders and, more importantly, our government. Missiles are better than Prozac.

Americans should fear our presidents. We are no longer represented by them. We are patronized and unconstitutionally led, and we do not show any judicial, legislative or personal outrage at this fact. Both the Right and the Left should fear an executive branch that is out of balance with our constitutional framework.

A crankshaft out of balance in an engine will sabotage the forward movement of a vehicle. The vehicle cannot even access reverse if its engine is blown, and the U.S. executive engine has spun its bearings.

So what change awaits the expectant U.S. taxpayers and the world?