Gaza, Ukraine, Maine, Acapulco and Formula 1

Alan Alda once said, as his character Hawkeye in M*A*S*H:

Hawkeye: War isn't Hell. War is war, and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse.

Father Mulcahy: How do you figure, Hawkeye?

Hawkeye: Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to Hell?

Father Mulcahy: Sinners, I believe.

Hawkeye: Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in Hell. War is chock full of them - little kids, cripples, old ladies. In fact, except for some of the brass, almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander.

So I watch the videos of the destruction in Gaza, in Ukraine, in Maine, in Acapulco. ALL of those catastrophes, including the so-called "acts of God" like hurricanes, can be prevented by humans taking positive action. But we don't. We say, "They are killing us, so we have to kill them." We say, "Everyone, including psychopaths, has a right to own a gun designed to kill scores of people in a handful of seconds." We say, "Climate change is a hoax. Just more woke nonsense."

Maybe this is all God's will. If it is, then human beings have no right to continue.

Have you seen the videos of the destruction in Gaza? Bleeding kids? Dead kids? Have you heard the "Brass" in the Israeli military, the Minister of Defense? "We are fighting human animals." Even President Biden is refusing to urge Israel to obey the so-called "Laws of War". Specifically, to avoid causing civilian casualties. Yes, Hamas is evil, but Palestinian children, cripples, and old ladies are not. The UN passed a resolution to pause the bombing, but the US voted against it.

There's a Formula 1 race today. In Mexico City, a few hundred miles from where Hurricane Otis killed 27 people (maybe more now). It was a tropical storm and then 24 hours later it was a Category 5 hurricane hitting Acapulco. It could only become that strong that quickly because humans are heating the oceans with their carbon emissions. How can I sit and watch 20 rich guys burn fuel and dump carbon into the atmosphere while they race at 200 mph around in circles and go nowhere?

 

The Problem Is With The Human Heart

I tuned in the other day (has it been 2 or 3 days ago now?) to watch some political news and all I got on any channel was the mass shooting in the safest state in the country, Maine. For three days (or two? -- seems like weeks!) there's been nothing but rehashing of the same reporters at the same scenes, and interviews with survivors and loved ones. But the right wing is right: gun laws won't stop this shit. But the right wing is still responsible for it because they are the ones who've been mongering the hatred.

The new House Speaker is a radical evangelical christianist and his take on the problem is that it is in the human heart. But he's so loving and kind he would never condemn anyone. Unless of course they were gay, married to someone of their own sex, had an abortion, changed their sexual identity, or were an atheist or a Muslim or a Hindu or a pagan or a Black or a Jew. Those people, in his estimation, are equivalent to folks who have sex with their dogs.

It's a problem with the human heart, all right. It's the "I'm right, and you're wrong" syndrome and their answer is: believe my way or go to Hell.

We can vote those guys out, though. And if nobody gets out their guns to enforce a change in the electoral count, we'll have a Democratic House, Senate, and President next year. You think that problem with the human heart will accept a loss? They haven't yet accepted their last 3 losses: 2018, 2020, and 2022.

I'm reading Rachel Maddow's new book, Prequel. I'm learning a lot about the mood in this country during the run-up to World War II. The Germans had people here in the USA who were on Hitler's side and wanted us to stay out of Europe's war. "Europe for Europeans; America for Americans." There has been no change in the bigotry, racism, misogyny, antisemitism, homophobia, islamophobia, and xenophobia in the last 100 years. Hell, in the last million years. We, as humans, have always hated our neighbors. It's that "human heart" thing.

So, I will turn off the teevy and work on my "semi-autobiographical historical novel". My human heart will enjoy that a lot more.

No Control Of Guns

There is only one reason why Republicans refuse to support any kind of gun control. It's not because they are such supporters of the Constitution. They were willing, and attempted, to overthrow the Constitution on January 6, 2021. No, they want no restrictions on guns because they can't win a majority of the hearts and minds of the American people, and they will need those military-style guns to take control by force.