Pardon My Politics

Speculators at petroleum exchanges in New York City, London, and Singapore relentlessly drive up the price of a barrel of oil to ever higher levels. These speculators are nothing but underhanded imperialist thieves manipulating "demand" for oil within the context of the demand and supply fundamentals.

The US invaded Iraq on the grounds of weapons of mass destruction, claiming the Saddam Hussein regime was an imminent threat to world security and were sponsoring and supporting terrorism. Of course this turned out to be false, but at least there was the access to Iraqi oil reserves and ...

The Iraq war has cost us all a great deal. In terms of the taxes, we've paid heavily towards invading Iraq needlessly, and we continue to pay towards the ongoing war effort. In terms of the economy, we've paid the price thanks to NAFTA and service contract outsourcing. In terms of human lives, we've paid the price with our young adults. But from the wreckage of Iraq and the disaster of an invasion that took place initially, the advantages of war have been cast to foreign shores, diverting jobs from the struggling US employment market to the detriment of the economy. The jobs arising from Iraq and the rebuilding effort could have gone to American families. However, the North American Free Trade Agreement has meant that jobs have been diverted largely to Mexico and Canada, resulting in further damage to the US economy as a result of the campaign in Iraq.

After the thoughtless campaign in Iraq, the deaths of over 4,000 brave US troops, and countless Iraqi civilians and militants, there was some hope that the reconstruction effort might attract employment to the US economy. After all, we made the mess, so we should help clean up, right? A reconstruction effort is underway, but very few of those contracts to rebuild Iraq have fallen to US contractors, and very few have resulted in new employment opportunities for American citizens. At a time when the American economy is patchy at best, the fact that jobs continue to be outsourced by the American government as a cost saving device, rather than helping the US economy, is yet another tragedy for the millions of unemployed Americans feeling the pinch in the current economic climate. So who's to blame?

It is most appropriate that George W. Bush and John McCain are meeting behind closed doors because that's where the two Bush terms were won. But we must remember not to attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. The good news is, what these two lack in leadership and integrity is made up for in arrogance and pig-headedness.