A Heathen's Perspective

From politics to media, from music to spiritual matters, and from obscure issues to the latest hot button topics, comes the blabber from a true heathen, without regard to the breaking wind of socially-acceptable attitudes, yet with an almost sacred devotion to humor in the face of today's polarized, shout-down-your-opponents climate of fear and intimidation. Original content is copyright 2001-2006, The Heathen Monk. All rights reserved.

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Location: Austin, Texas, United States

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Monday, March 17, 2003

Original Anti-War Page, March 17, 2003

(posted at The Human Trust)

(editorial comment, owner, Jaded Bum Music. first uploaded at smpotato.com, March 17, 2003, final changes, March 27th)

For those of you visiting this Web site, in the tradition of previous Web protests, this site dimmed its content (from March 17th to the 23rd) in protest of the Bush Administration's decision to use military force in Iraq. I hope that many of you will realize that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle (Perle resigned today), William Kristol, and the rest of the "Zealots" (in my opinion), do NOT represent what the United States of America was founded upon, and, in fact, fly directly in the face of our original principles.

Hopefully, the people of the World will not judge the entire American people by (what I judge to be) the arrogant, ignorant, aggressive, jingoistic, and stupefying behavior of the very people who claim to represent us.

In 2002, the Democratic Party had an opportunity to present a real and vibrant opposing view to George W. Bush. They failed miserably. Millions of Independent Americans now have no immediate place to turn in which to present their views, and their deep opposition to this "war." The United States has been dealing with dictators and regional thugs since the dawn of the 20th century. We've even trained many of them, provided them with funds, arms, chemical compounds, intelligence, and every assistance our leaders felt was possible, above and below the radar screen. Among these beneficiaries has been Iraq itself.

Iraq is a country that has been divided into three parts for the last 12 years. It has invaded no one since Kuwait. I make no excuses for, nor do I seek to use this space to discuss Iraq's past aggressions, recent and ongoing atrocities. But, in my opinion, every drop of good will given the United States as the result of the tragedy of September 11th, 2001, has been squandered by an Administration of ideological zealots who are small-minded, mean-spirited, and unconcerned with the cultures, relationships, and real dangers within and between countries around the world. I, personally, AM ashamed to call myself an American. I AM ashamed of the person who calls himself my president. I AM ashamed of the spineless Democrats of 2002. I AM ashamed of the media, once called the 4th Estate, who now, for the most part, are acting in collusion with, or being managed by the "embedders," allowing themselves to be spoonfed whatever Ari Fleischer and the rest of the Bush administration trot out as "reality," while ignoring the vast power of communication on the Web, as well as the many thoughtful human beings who make up a large part of that "Community of the Web," many of whom have been calling for an honest debate since the 1990's (and a few souls since the 1980's).

Consider, if you will:

American citizens don't need an "intervention" from the Bush Administration.

The world doesn't need, and isn't asking for, lesson after lesson from America in a kind of "global tough love."

One culture, "SuperSized for Everyone," is an insult to any thoughtful human being, and ignores history altogether.

When the Consent of the Governed has been beaten down into a kind of "world-weary/duck and cover" Exhaustion of the Governed, when the breadth and depth of corruption runs so deep that it creates the worst "domestic fissure/meltdown of checks and balances" since prior to our own Civil War, and when Consent has been reversed to allow ANY Administration to then grant Limited Consent back to the Governed, it should surprise no one that a heartbroken Citizen might comment..."George W. Bush has created a New Imperial Presidency with the face of Ronald Reagan and the dark heart of Richard Nixon."*


May anyone's God have mercy on our souls...John C. Woodle, Austin, TX

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(links below supplied at The Human Trust

Text of Robin Cook's resignation speech, British House of Commons, March 17, 2003, from BBC

Editorial, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, February, 2003

Congressman Henry Waxman's scathing letter to the president, March 17, 2003, text version

Link to Frontline's "The War Behind Closed Doors"..an alternative examination of how we got where we are

(owner's note : includes relevant links not posted here)

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freedom: refer to its definition on page 491, Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, or simply use your favorite search engine to find definitions and the evolution of the word, along with the word liberty, page 688.

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(This page was originally uploaded on March 17th, 2003. Links and additions, corrections, and modifications to the body of the text above have been added since then, and the latest updates will be dated as shown above. Please consider these updates as a kind of "living/breathing" editing process, and check the Internet Archive for any related materials they may have captured as they document the history of the Web...JW) *underlined text first spoken on Washington Journal in early February, 2002 (my best guess), as part of my call in, and repeated here as best as I can remember...JW

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note: If you're short on time, here's the direct link to Frontline's "The War Behind Closed Doors." It's an excellent starting point for anyone curious as to how and why the United States decided to invade Iraq. The program includes footage of interviews with some of the main players going back to the first Gulf War. The Chronology page serves as a quick refresher of events from early 1991 to late 2002.

Copyright information for this entry available at www.thehumantrust.org/protest.html.

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