Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for October 05, 2008

LOL! Yay, we’d finally win in Viet Nam. My cousin wouldn’t have had to come back feeling so bitter.

Margueritem; One of my uncles was a POW. Never talked about it. Don’t know if he ever met McC. If there’s a MacDonalds in Hanoi, then I’d say we already won.

When will we ever learn …?

there are no winners in war - the broken bodies, riven minds and shattered ethics are a terrible loss for all involved, glossed over by the invocations of ‘glory’ by the old rat bastards who sent the young to do the dying - as Achilles said - ‘War is old men talking, and young men dying.’ War is the ultimate consumer, grinding everything, concrete, steel, bodies, to dust - and driving the economy to produce more implements of war - the ultimate vicious circle - it will likely take an evolutionary leap to ever get out of it.

you betcha, gosh bleeep it!

Ranma, I’m sorry to hear about your uncle. I agree about the McDonald’s in Hanoi, LOL!

Gweedo, if only…

Mud of various colours, added together, looks like shadowy death. Light of various colours, added together, looks like bright spiritual life. The kind of pre-emptive which works is pre-emptively doing good, so much good that a situation/ country/ area/ changes.

Every legally declared war the USA ever fought it, praise to God, won. First world war was a war. Second world war was a war. Korea Conflict was not a legally declared war. Viet Nam Conflict was not a legally declared war. Desert Storm we helped Kuwait under the auspicies of the U.N., so our direct relationship was to the U.N. The current invasions of other countries has been mislabeled a war on terror, but it is not a legal war, which would require congress voting to go to war. Period. So, currently, our nation does not have Gods blessing, because we havenot even been insisting on our proper laws being upheld. The law is definite that congress must either tell a president to back off, or they must take responsibility by declaring a war. Period. None of this murky mess. But I would be willing to bet that if congress ever went to the trouble to smile at God by obeying the laws; if congress either decided to say, ‘back off’, or to declare a war, God would start smiling back on us again. Of course, the only way God will even allow congress to declare a war on terror, is for congress to mandate that it be fought by spiritual strength. Doing good to all widows and orphans, as all the major religions demand. Older people are orphans when their parents are gone. Whoever doesn’t have anyone higher in the family structure, to help them, is an orphan. So, all the oldest members of a family qualify. So, we should be doing good to families overseas, and that will win.

Gweedo: Actually a good question. I have seen outright miracles, like two pieces of a broken leg instantly being healed and the old lady getting up and walking. Like the last stages of terminal cancer just gone, like that, and the child so out of pain and healthy that one week later she was running around great. And like some stuff that has happened to me. I would like to stop being a keeper of so many memories inside, and to write an autobiography, but I don’t have the money I would need to be alone long enough to write it right. I have found that my limitations are strong. I need to totally tune everything out, which would mean months of precious and delicious solitude under good conditions. And I am resigned to my limitations. I donot think that God wishes to take them away. I once went to Nashville and studied the music industry a little; and lots of the composers are as ridiculous as I seem to be. They are easy to get to know, and have a lot of friends, but when it is time to compose, they warn everyone that they will be at home with the door locked and the cell turned off, for months often. And that takes the kind of dough I wish I had. Oodles. Some stuff that might get others in hot water I wouldnot want to write about, but the kind of stuff that someone else might want to dig up about me, if I ever get well known enough to have some new- and- misguided- future- friends trying to be not so friendly, well, I would best have an expose already writ, but with the book pointing out that God made changes in my life; and also pointing out some techniques in prayer and faith that have worked well for me. I used to be an atheistic agnostic. And honest about it. I still donot like people who lie to others when they arenot lieing to themselves. Tho, I do believe we all fall short. So, an autobiography that is helpful. Also, I’d like to take the Nestle Greek New Testament found in Marshall’s Interlinear Greek English New Testament, and substitute the smaller vocabulary of international business english for the Marshall’s words underneath, and also leave plenty of space under that for arabic or chinese or whatever. And then have the first six books of the New Testament bound seperately, because people usually like small books on a new subject. Matthew is for atheist and agnostics; Mark is for depressed despisers of themselves; Luke is for understanding decision making in social situations; John is for taking heart and doing and getting results; Acts is the acts of The Holy Spirit through anyone, turning the person into looking like who they really needed to be all along. So, that is a project. And there are other projects backed up in my mind, running around if I let them. Usually my mind is like a simple room with view windows, lots of table space, and since no amount of tables are enough, batches of open wall files. Sigh. That is sort of me.

I have heard from people who said a lot of the soldiers come back with bare feet cus they gave their boots and socks away. Those soldiers are probably comparatively ok psychologicly. Maybe we need high schoolers forming informal clubs to investigate how to help in war torn countries if you just happen to find yourself there. American youth are amoung the most creative problem solvers on earth. It would be amazing to find out, after they started doing good where it is really needed, and without anyones permission, about the things they came up with. The way the clowns for afganistan came about was a young person went over to look at what did orphanages need. Orphans over there were having a real hard time smiling at all ever. So she came home, took a small clown course, and went back. The children drank it up. Started to be able to live again. So she came home again, and she and some others took a bigger clown course, and went around to a lot of orphanages. The effects of trauma like some of these children had been through.. Hey, though, clowns work. So what did the children want for presents? Shoes and big red noses. I can keep from crying in public most of the time, but I suppose I really downloaded a lot from the heart, Gweedo, and this has gotta close. Thanks for asking, BTW.

mcbush’s pathology in full (satirical) view - if only it was a joke

We’re All “Prisioneers” Now!