“I think that it’s very important to view what happened yesterday with clarity of thought and a vision to the future. In all probability, the people behind the attack had many reasons for hating the U.S. But at its core, the major point to their grievances most probably is America’s continued support of Israeli injustice toward the Palestinians.”
Lawrence J. Maushard, September 12, 2001

“I say to you, Allah knows that it had never occurred to us to strike the towers. But after it became unbearable and we witnessed the oppression and tyranny of the American/Israeli coalition against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, it came to my mind.”
Osama bin Laden, November 1, 2004



August 3, 2006
The Israeli invasion of Lebanon with its repeated attacks on civilian targets is an appalling war crime. There is absolutely no justification for warplane air strikes on and artillery shelling of apartment buildings, homes, and other structures and population centers known to house innocent civilians. These damnable attacks are nothing but horrific examples of collective punishment, pure and simple.

That’s why it’s so heartening to see Hezbollah stand up to the IDF and give back a little mayhem in return. It’s been three weeks since the madness began, yet Hezbollah is fighting Israel toe-to-toe and so far holding its own. Hezbollah unquestionably is the world’s toughest guerrilla army in this sweltering summer of 2006, sure to become a lot hotter before the fall’s cooling Mediterranean breezes again course through the ruined cedars of Balbeek, Tyre, Beirut and the Bekaah Valley.

Ehud Olmert, Israeli’s newest war criminal, has made a terrific blunder. His attacks on Lebanon have strengthened Hezbollah both militarily and politically. Unless Israel decides to attempt an occupation of everything south of Beirut, it has already lost this fight. Tel Aviv has no support for its actions outside of its own population and the right wing here in Amerika. And polls already show that shameful support starting to falter. Olmert’s wild overreaction to those original border altercations should prove to be his government’s early unraveling.

Every day Hezbollah holds out, every day those pitiful rockets rain down on land Israel has occupied since 1948, every day the IDF remains tied down with no endgame in sight continues to expose a weakened state that cannot indefinitely support a protracted offensive action financially, militarily or politically.

Equally appalling is the clear and outright support George W. Bush has offered Israel in this criminal action. He and Secretary of State Condi Rice are especially flagrant in their open posturing designed to drive on Israel’s invasion and foolhardy efforts at destroying the military capabilities of Hezbollah. Israel’s continued violent oppression of Gaza and the democratically elected Hamas government of Palestine, the root of the current crisis, also qualifies as out and out war crimes.

For now, the Israeli invasion has overshadowed the hellish quagmire of the US occupation in Iraq. For this, Bush is undoubtedly grateful to Israel. Imagine that.

Regards, LJM

February 5, 2006
Shrub’s war criminal government will go nuclear in Iran before his term in office expires.
You heard it here first.

The problem is that Iran can absorb most any blow the West might make, short of a direct nuclear strike on Tehran. Even these neocon fascists probably won’t try that. So then what happens? Iran will pick the time and place to take its revenge, that’s what, all the while the entire Muslim and non-alligned world is freaking out. And of course the majority Shiites in Iraq would go completely unhinged and turn Iraq on its head.

I don’t believe the US could contain or control the mayhem that will result in the event Washington presses the button on Iran. But it really doesn’t matter. These people running our nation are not rational, and we will all be even worse off for it soon.

One more thing. The Amerikan public unfortunately will support this government in a nuclear strike on Iran. Bet on it.

Regards, LJM

Marching with 10s of thousands in the streets of Portland on May Day 2006 demanding workers’ rights, especially for recent immigrants.

April 1, 2005
Yes, the election was hijacked, but not to the extent many Blue State progressives assume. Sorry, but the true horror story from the last selection is most of the Amerikan electorate voted for Bush.

They voted for an illegal murderous war in Iraq.

The US electorate is the shame of the planet. The majority of the US, not the vast majority but something more than 50 percent of the voters, supported the invasion and the occupation when it mattered most.

The US is now rightfully reviled by the rest of the world. By everyone, that is, except for US-armed maniacs in occupied Palestine.

We deserve the scorn. We earned it. We suck.

Yes, you can say that too many people were duped, were intentionally deformed by GOP power-elite propaganda. But that’s a cop-out. There’s enough folks around who know better, can tell the difference, and they still made their choice to stand alongside the War Criminal White House.

The United States is a nation of killers and fanatics not caring about who is destroyed and how many innocent lives are wasted in order to take what we want from anywhere in the world.

As a result, our Killer Nation policies require the remaining decent people, firmly rooted in the minority, to fight back now more than ever.

So don’t get caught wearing the Left’s blame-the-conspiracy glasses that show the naive among us how things would be different if only the bad guys & girls didn't control everything, presidential elections included.

No, the people have truly spoken. And the people are trash.

Nothing but white-bread predatory TV trash.

Which means that anyone who doesn’t believe the hype needs to fight back harder, with no illusions about what they’re up against:

A nation of killers and fanatics.

Regards, LJM


November 3, 2004 (approx. 8am PST)
LJM: What was your experience at the polls? long lines, etc.…? Manizheh & I voted by mail. Oregon is different like that.

DC: My polling place here in NJ opened at 6:00; I was there at 6:30. It was me, the polling officials, and one little old lady; I was in and out of there in three minutes. Everything went reasonably in The Garbage State, and the right guy won. However, as of this hour, things are not looking so good. Apparently Ohio has fallen (fricken Buckeyes). Although the Dems have a cadre of lawyers there, that, given the size would make up the largest law firm in the world, it will be difficult to wrest that bi-polar state from the GOP’s grubby hands. Ugh!

LJM: Two words, actually 3: provisonal ballots & Diebold. We still have a chance in Ohio. Kerry & the Pirates should clearly say to his people, “Have patience until all the votes are counted.” That’s what Edwards said last night. He was right. And sorry, but I’m not conceding Florida. Someone has got to go in there and at least survey, as much as that’s possible, the entire FLA vote. I don’t believe the numbers outta the Sunshine State at all. If there were any voter machine shenanigans, it will come out.

DC: Kerry called Shrub at 11:05 (EST) and conceded. Check your AP wire.

April 14, 2004
The American political and communal silence is deafening.

Credible reports indicate that more than 600 Iraqis have been killed and more than a 1,000 wounded in Fallujah since US Marines attacked and laid siege to the city in the wake of the deaths of 4 American contract workers early this month. There is no possible justification for the carnage imposed on this Iraqi city, once populated at about 300,000 and now about 2/3 that size as streams of refugees have fled the fighting.

The largest percentage of these Iraqi casualties obviously are innocents: women, children, the elderly, no matter the loud protestations of US military officials who claim “tremendous precision” at targeting only insurgent fighters. Just ask the Fallujah hospital doctors and other medical personnel how precise the US attacks are. And now there are reports that more Iraqis are entering Fallujah to join the city’s defense than are people fleeing the carnage.

Our military high command has wildly overreacted to a minor, though horrific, incident of occupation. As a result, Fallujah will go down in the annals of US war crimes alongside its infamous roster of massacres including Vietnam’s My Lai, Korea’s No Gun Ri, WWII’s Tokyo firebombing and the atomic attacks, and Native America’s Wounded Knee, to name but a few.

There is an immediate need for an international investigation of this atrocity and the reassignment of all Marine and other military officials who ordered the siege of Fallujah, along with serious preparations for court martial proceedings. Incredibly, the worst aspect of the siege and massacre -- it’s not over.
Regards, LJM

April 9, 2003
Yes, Bush and his henchmen have taken Baghdad and most of the rest of Iraq. The neo-con chicken hawks are absolutely jubilant. Pass me a pork rind and gas up the Hummer! While a lot of the antiwar people are going silent for the time being, let me state that none of the major reasons against the US invasion are any less true now. The military victory doesn’t change that.

Hussein and his regime were murderous bastards who clearly ruled by fear and torture. However, was that reason enough for the US to invade and conquer this independent nation that posed no threat to America? Hardly. You’re going to tell me with a straight face that George W. Bush is a true humanitarian with a radical program for worldwide liberation of oppressed peoples? Get real. What about oil? Sure, it’s a big reason the Marines landed. Was Iraq a threat to Israel? Not in a military sense, but the aid and support Hussein provided to the occupied Palestinians was always a big thorn in the side of the fascist Zionists led by Sharon and the other Israeli war criminals. More than anything else, I think Bush wanted to display the might of the American military in vengeful strikes at real and imagined Middle East enemies in the wake of the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington. Facts and logic be damned. Not to mention the untold thousands of Iraqi dead and wounded and grievously damaged for life.

For now, our unelected White House resident is trying to ride this precision-guided blitzkrieg long and hard and straight into the ‘04 election cycle. As I’ve said before, the only way Bush gets another four years in Washington is riding in on the back of a major war. And this one is quickly playing itself out for the American audience. Short and sweet and get the boys and girls home in time for the Independence Day bar-b-q. Iraqi reconstruction? That’s a big laugh—or have we forgotten what a great job we’re doing in Afghanistan?!

But if he does nothing else, the war will be a distant TV memory for many people by November 2004. The economy? Forget it. Bush and his rich corporate hacks are simply in this thing for the express purpose of raiding the national till. Their economic plan is no plan at all. The rich get a No Tax Free Pass Gold Card while Joe Everyman and his kids end up in Lifelong Crushing Debtors Hell or better yet with long rap sheets and longer stretches in America’s 21st-Century Super Max Penal Colonies. 2 million poor losers and counting.

The Contract on America was only sidelined under Clinton. It’s now back like a murderous, relentless flash flood ripping the guts out of a dirt road Houston trailer park. The Bush quislings strive to turn the vast majority of America into a cringing and compliant White Trash Nation sated on NASCAR circus sports and government subsidized mind-control pharmaceuticals. The only thing working against these societal cannibals are the people’s short memories and incredible lack of affection or respect for the Pretender-in-Chief. So get ready for another major conflict closer to the spring and summer of 2004 just so we all remember our place and who’s running this Super Power Horror Show. We are truly One Fascist Nation Under God.
Regards, LJM

September 4, 2002
What’s increasingly clear is that Bush and his administration are taking this nation over a cliff. They cannot start a war with Iraq soon enough.

In February I predicted a war in Iraq instigated by Bush by early 2003. That’s looking more and more likely. Even if Bush had international and domestic support for this insanity, which he does not, it would take that long to assemble the necessary logistics. But this shameful excuse for a national leader is hell bent on his “regime change” plan, no matter what the consequences. Next summer at the latest.

Last month I proudly added my voice to those in the streets of Portland, Oregon who rallied forcefully against all the policies of Bush Inc. And we promptly got pepper-sprayed and shot with rubber bullets by riot police for our troubles. No matter. What started boisterously here in Oregon will only grow. At least I hope it does. It would be so much better to stop an unnecessary war before it happens.

Of course, all this war talk only takes us away from the real problems: education, affordable housing, health care, racism, living wages, job security, and a pay-for-results legal system, to name a few. And that’s just in this country.

It would be very heartening and helpful to see the nation’s campuses erupt in protest this fall. But that’s just foolhardy wishful thinking, I’m sure. Even so, before this mess is over (namely, the current administration) I foresee a new moniker for George W. Bush: the American Tojo.
Regards, LJM

February 8, 2002
This “war” on terrorism has turned out to be the GOP’s best shot at retaining Bush as president. With all the recent bluster and saber rattling, it seems only a matter of time—I’d say about a year from now—before the administration finally pulls the trigger and goes into Iraq. It’s a no-brainer “re-election” strategy that they hope will succeed no matter what the economy’s like in 2004.

With Enron fallout pushing further into the White House on a daily basis, and the Senate Democrats throwing legislative landmines here and there, Bush will not have an easy go of things on the domestic front. No, the “war” is his only chance to appear presidential and useful to the American public. That’s why this conflict that began on September 11, 2001 is the best thing that ever happened to Dubya.

In the meantime, conservative forces have already outlined plans to gut Social Security and Medicare, further reduce taxes on the wealthy, and go after Roe v. Wade. And that’s just for starters. Everything will be up to how the majority of Americans respond to these rollbacks and more, as they become obvious.

Very probably there will be no individual leadership to keep the nation on a centrist path as incredibly strong monied interests try to force a move even more in their direction. No, the only thing that will keep the country grounded is the unwieldy usually common sense collective will of most of the US population as it fitfully jerks itself forward.

As American public opinion goes so follows the rest of the world.
Regards, LJM


October 19, 2001
Please know that, yes, the vast majority of US public opinion supports its government’s military campaign in and around Afghanistan. However, a sizeable number of Americans remain firmly opposed to this aggression in SW Asia and feel its only purpose is to avenge the victims of Sept. 11 with no thought or caring for the innocents in harms way.

We understand that since the US mounted its attack on Afghanistan, the negative repercussions have included whole villages and neighborhoods destroyed, the Red Cross bombed, established humanitarian aid relief networks closed down, widespread rioting throughout Pakistan where most of the population opposes US bombing, desperate refugees, and a resumption of the Kashmir border conflict, to name but a few. That’s an unfortunately impressive amount of results in only two weeks.

Meanwhile, the US government is no closer to finding Osama Bin Laden or the people actually responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. I and tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of other Americans don’t support Bush’s war on “terrorism” and find it appalling that more like-minded citizens here aren’t standing up and saying so in public. War breeds fear in too many places. This whole sorry affair will only get uglier and bloodier the longer it drags on and we feel ashamed and saddened that it is being orchestrated through the halls of power in Washington.
Regards, LJM


September 19, 2001
Who overthrew the elected Iranian leader, installed the puppet Shah, and backed his repressive policies until they boiled over into the 1979 revolution and hostage takeover?

Who supports the one-party state in Egypt that has so utterly failed the majority of its people that it has to rule by 20-year-old martial law?

Who continues to prop up the Saudi monarchy, a despotic system so fearful of its own people that it survives only by the presence of US troops?

Who armed Saddam during his 1980’s war with Iran, a conflict Iraq started?

Who has backed Israel in its decades of Palestinian occupation and repression?

“The War Against Evil” better start with a hard look in the mirror by the American people. There’s a reason these people hate us, and it has a lot less to do with fear of the modern world than their revulsion toward US approved state-sponsored terrorism.
Regards, LJM


September 12, 2001
I think that it’s very important to view what happened yesterday with clarity of thought and a vision to the future. In all probability, the people behind the attack had many reasons for hating the U.S. But at its core, the major point to their grievances most probably is America’s continued support of Israeli injustice toward the Palestinians.

I believe that the events of September 11 are a direct result of a blind American pro-Israeli policy, specifically and particularly the policy of the Bush Administration. W’s program of providing a free hand to Ariel Sharon’s extremist government while it has hammered Palestine left its most extreme elements and supporters with no justification at restraint. At least President Clinton devoted much of his time and efforts at trying to craft some kind of agreement. With Bush, Palestinian supporters see absolutely no hope for any kind of even-handed treatment.

At this time, I am reminded of Malcolm X’s statements in the aftermath of Kennedy’s assassination when he said that America’s “chickens had come home to roost.” I’m afraid that this all too clear assessment of America’s unrestrained support of injustice domestically and abroad also applies here. America has been wholely suckered into the wrong side of a horrible conflict, as evidenced by the almost immediate response of our corps of conservative pundits who have chimed in with their “see, I told you so” columns which are almost gleeful in their anticipation of draining our diplomatic and military resources lock-stock-and-barrel into this unending maelstrom.

Of course, we must punish the people who have attacked America. Just as importantly, it’s equally vital to fairly deal with the underlying causes to the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Otherwise, our involvement in this bloody mess will never end.
Regards, LJM.

Top Photo by LJM.