The Quiet before the Storm

It is the quiet before the storm in August. We are feeling it. When everyone looks around at the calm quiet, yet the change of air pressure and that prickly feeling tells us a storm is coming. Since we are feeling it without having a specific target, we beating up on little things that irritate us, like a fly in the kitchen, or a small offense.

The current people in power have now started three wars, would they stop at another war? The current people in power gave away $9 billion dollars in government corruption, would they stop at any corruption? The current people in power have tortured innocent people for years even on to death, is there any offense they would not commit? So is anyone really expecting that the people in power will just allow an electorial change of power. Oops, I have said it. There is a storm coming, we just do not know how or when. So we have to be ready.  

There are many of us in this country, yet there are few of us who are politically aware. Political analysis for most people is the gas price at the pump or any promise of lower taxes. Most people respond like ping pong balls to fear-terror-tactics. Most people like having a villian as if this was just a movie. So we, who spend our time thinking about politics are really quite few and quite rare. So we have to be ready. We feel the storm coming.

1) Our leadership is not there. They act like someone has planted little bombs in all their loved ones, that will go off if they step even a little bit out of line.  Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, who flips parties at the drop of hat, is still true blue loyal. We know that certain politicans would normally flee a sinking ship, yet the law making total support is still there. Why are  politicans suspiciously quiet? Why are there still no pictures of wars in our media? What happened to media demands for documentaries and details for 9/11? Why aren't people angry about manditory life tours for our voluntary one tour military?

Our leadership is not there, we have to be the leadership if something happens.

2) So as our normal lifes continue, it is hard to believe realities that are far away. The experts are saying that one of those political realities have to hit our normal lives soon. So will people think "O silly me, I should not have been so stupid" or will they look for an instant villian? Would the current people in power have a few instant villians ready to serve up? So we have to be ready. Just in case a panic mob mentality starts to happen, we who are politically aware will have to speak calmly and reasonably.

We have to continue to be aware and to speak up.

3) Above all we have to stay true to our principles and beliefs. We have to use tactics of love, kindess, peace, generosity and justice. It now not just a single person like George Bush that is the problem, it is whole neocon way of thinking. We cannot stop fear-hate-villian tactics by using those same tactics ourselves. It is not really the "who" that matters as it is the "what" and "how", for we are loyal to principles. Instead of self-interest government, we believe in community-interest government. We believe in working for the common good.

So whatever happens, lets speak and act with compassion, let our tactics be the tactics of peace.

As there are young people who putting their lives on the line for this country, let us put our comfort on the line for the principles of this country.

Lets get ready in this quiet before the storm, we know how to prepare for storms.

•  Is it simply too hard to believe?

  About eight years ago my very left leaning sister told me that the US military uses depleted Uranium in their bullets.  I was trained as a chemist in college, and so as I listened to my sister I thought that this was such a ludicrous claim that I simply could not believe it.  I thought she must have her facts wrong, and that the story was so ridiculously evil that my government would not do such a thing.  I wrote this conversation off for years as simply too ridiculous of a claim, and not worthy to be believed or investigated.  As it turns out, my baby sister did in fact have her story straight.  

  My point is not about the depleted Uranium used in bullets by the US military (although it is a horrible story all by itself), rather it is about the extent of the evil that people will be able to believe. I worry that people are not willing to believe that our votes have been corrupted by an “evil force”.  I think that it is hard to believe that the extent of crimes that are currently being committed in my name as an American.  We have been taught since we were children, and throughout our lives that our government is run by our votes and that “We The People” are in charge.  But the level of corruption is so extensive, the media and its spin is so powerful, the people of the US are so lazy about their investigation of our representative government, the stories of the corruption is so out there, that many US citizens will simply write it off as the ranting of the crazed.

  KenLeft

  by KenLeft on Mon Aug 21, 2006 at 07:44:53 AM PDT

  •  We the few

    I don't know what impact a few people can have. It seems like we can have a great impact if we are ready.

    I had not heard of the depleted uranium before? How did you check it out? That is so petty mean. Why would someone do this? The villianization of the other must really strong.

    Gosh I would be carrying a box of ammo and a geiger counter(is that the right words) with me to meetings.

    by The Grace Kelly on Mon Aug 21, 2006 at 07:52:18 AM PDT

•  Quick Google search on DU and ordinance

  A seemingly abstract scientific (and, highly apologist) line:

  http://www.hps.org/...

  Because of its very high density—nearly twice that of lead—and certain other properties, depleted uranium is used in certain kinds of munitions because of its ability to penetrate heavily armored vehicles such as tanks and armored personnel carriers. . .

  . . . the risk from the radiation dose from uranium is far overshadowed by its potential chemical toxicity, and intakes of uranium of sufficient magnitude to produce chemotoxic effects are unlikely in and of themselves. Any such effects from ingestion or inhalation of uranium would likely manifest themselves first in the form of minor effects associated with the kidneys. That military personnel and others who may have had contact with depleted uranium from munitions are suffering from various illnesses is not in dispute. That their illnesses are attributable to their exposure to uranium is very, very unlikely. . .

  A bit more of reality:

  http://www.csmonitor.com/...

  . . .

  Fresh-from-the-factory DU tank shells are normally handled with gloves, to minimize the health risk, and shielded with a thin coating. The alpha particle radiation emitted by DU travels less than an inch and can be stopped by cloth or even tissue paper. But when the DUmaterial burns (usually on impact; or as a dust, it can spontaneously ignite) protective shields disappear, and dangerous radioactive oxides are created that can be inhaled or ingested.

  "[The risk] depends so very much on how you handle it," says Jan Olof Snihs, of Sweden's Radiation Protection Authority in Stockholm. In most cases dangers are low, he says, unless children eat toxic and radioactive soil, or get DU oxides on their hands.

  . . .

  Despite the troops' bulldozing of contaminated earth away from the burnt vehicles, black piles of pure DU ash and particles are still present at the site. The toxic residue, if inhaled or ingested, is considered by scientists to be the most dangerous form of DU.

  One pile of jet-black dust yielded a digital readout of 9,839 radioactive emissions in one minute, more than 300 times average background levels registered by the Geiger counter. Another pile of dust reached 11,585 emissions in a minute.
  . . .

  Western journalists who spent a night nearby on April 10, the day after Baghdad fell, were warned by US soldiers not to cross the road to this site, because bodies and unexploded ordnance remained, along with DU contamination. It was here that the Monitor found the "hot" DU tank round.

  This burned dart pushed the radiation meter to the far edge of the "red zone" limit.

  . . .

  As late as five days before the Iraq war began, Pentagon officials said that 90 of those troops most heavily exposed to DU during the 1991 Gulf War have shown no health problems whatsoever, and remain under close medical scrutiny.

  Released documents and past admissions from military officials, however, estimate that around 900 Americans were exposed to DU. Only a fraction have been watched, and among those has been one diagnosed case of lymphatic cancer, and one arm tumor. As reported in previous articles, the Monitor has spoken to American veterans who blame their DU exposure for serious health problems. . .

  by wader on Mon Aug 21, 2006 at 08:36:16 AM PDT

  •  Thanks

    Most enlightening and very sad!

    by The Grace Kelly on Mon Aug 21, 2006 at 04:55:49 PM PDT

•  Hm, I meant to reply upstream

  sorry

  by wader on Mon Aug 21, 2006 at 08:36:53 AM PDT

•  Stay Calm in the face of Evil

  I agree with your great points particularly:

  • Not enough of us are politically aware-
  • We need to stay calm and bring the damage that is being done to the reality of everyday effect on those not politically informed-
  • We need to stay true to our principles and beliefs-

  My point about the Uranium (which was further explained by wader and his search) was that we have to bring proof with our reasoned arguments, because they are doing things that are simply so evil, and so aweful, that they fly in the face of our perception of what our government should/would be.  

  The actions of the neocons are simply so unreasonable to most of us Americans, that we cannot believe that there are people that evil.  

  We who recognize the failings of the current administration, have to bring proof with our arguments.  It is the "hard work" (promised by Bush- but not done) that we on the left need to do.  Otherwise we are brushed aside by the uniformed as crazies.  This kind of hard work will help to win our government back for the people of my beloved country.  
  All the best... and thanks for your thoughts..
  KenLeft...

  by KenLeft on Mon Aug 21, 2006 at 09:29:26 AM PDT

  •  Ken, let me be among the first to welcome you....

    to dkos.  I was very impressed with your well thought out comments, so much so that I recommended both of them for tonight Top Comments.  You might want to wander over and see your name 'up in lights'  TC is done every evening and is a fun place to unwind and get to know some people around here.
    Here is a link to get you there.  http://www.dailykos.com/...
    Looking forward to reading what you write in the future.
    Cronesense

    by Cronesense on Mon Aug 21, 2006 at 09:53:54 PM PDT

•  Inspiration via The Grace Kelly

  How could you miss with a name like that!

  Thank you Cronesense as well for that recognition.
  How did you know that I was new to Daily Kos?  

  The Grace Kelly Diary inspired me to think and write.  She(?) hit the nail on the head in her diary:

  •  Focus on our goals,
  •  maintain our morals as leftist thinkers,
  •  coax and inform the uniformed to come along with us toward what (I think and hope) most Americans believe in their hearts,
  •  and bring proof to show others the way.

  by KenLeft on Tue Aug 22, 2006 at 10:35:52 AM PDT