Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire.

Its not a great time in history for American presidents as the last two have been proposed for impeachment, based on the fact that they are Liar, Liars, although the "Pants on Fire" part is only applicable to Bill Clinton as far as we know. However, the difference in scope of the lies that these Liar, Liars have been accused of telling is huge, in the order of a multitude of football fields different to (mis)use the favourite analogy of US news services.

Bill Clinton took Bible in hand and claimed that, according to the definition of sexual relations therein, he didn't have them with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky. Whether or not he didn't understand that what was going on under the Oval Office desk was sexual in nature, he was trying only to save his marriage. (I wonder if Dubya uses the same Oval Office chair hmmm .... but I digress).

George W. Bush figuratively took his Bible in hand, although apparently open to Revelation rather than Exodus, and told us about nooquoolar weapons, various other "W.M.D's" and uranium from Africa, none of which existed of course. His intent was to take the most powerful nation in the world to war, the result of which has been the killing of tens, if not hundreds of thousands of (mostly innocent) Iraqis. There aren't enough football fields in all of America to lay end-to-end and explain that difference in scope.

Bill Clinton's efforts to save his marriage were understood by a majority of Americans who saw the Clinton family's problems as something to be dealt with by the Clinton family, which they were.

George W. Bush's actions have not only killed thousands of Iraqi women, children and other innocents, but also more Americans than the 9/11 attacks. They have destroyed any positive influence that America had in the world and put the most powerful and aggressive nation facing the majority of the rest of the world squarely across that ever-changing "line in the sand".

It seems the question for everyone outside the USA is "Why", why is George W. Bush still the president? Not only has he not been impeached or taken out of office by whatever means exist, he even won a second term, albeit on a platform of "Vote for me or you'll die". This must be the ultimate proof that, in a democracy, you get the government you deserve. No wonder the Neocons spend so much time, effort, money and (other people's) lives defending democracy.

Those Freakin' Freegans

I recently found the website of an underground culture whose adherents live in a way which I feel just might start to turn around the current helter skelter race to self-destruction which I see happening in the so-called developed world. These are 21st century, urban hippies, living as free as possible from all the trappings of consumerism, capitalism, economic growth, globalization and, some might say, society.

Dumpster divers, perennial protesters, often homeless, usually disheveled, the kind of humans who are looked down upon for living their lives and leaving the smallest possible footprint as they go along.

An excerpt from Freegan.info:

"After years of trying to boycott products from egregious corporations responsible for human rights violations, environmental destruction, and animal abuse, many of us found that no matter what we bought we ended up supporting something deplorable. We came to realize that the problem isn't just a few bad corporations but the entire system itself."

That sure strikes a chord with me. I try to use fairly traded products, foods that haven't used too much pesticide to grow or fossil fuel to travel and have been harvested and processed by people who are being paid a fair wage to do so and clothes that haven't been made in sweatshop conditions. However, I still end up feeling that I contribute far too much to others' miseries by the way I live.

If you care about what life is going to be like for our grandchildren or great grandchildren, take the time to read through the material on Freegan.info and try to visualize a world with double or triple the present population, where clean water and safe food are the stuff of legend and housing, health care, education, electrical energy and personal transportation are available only to the elite who live in fortified and guarded mansions.

If this post sounds like the product of a raving lunatic, hey, maybe it is. On the other hand, maybe it isn't. Only time will tell.