Dear Friends and Colleagues:

At times TruthOut is pretty alarmist and goes off half-cocked. But this story has some very good points that are very sobering. While I do not believe that an "apocalypse" is imminent, I do believe that we are heading in that direction and at a speed that exceeds the give-take, push-shove and glad-handing of the Cold War. The way that our Administration has postured itself and conducted (utterly failed to conduct) constructive diplomatic interventions has placed us, and much of the rest of the world, in highly precarious situation. Both the concept and the practice of "constructive engagement" and, for that matter, good clear communication, are alien to this Administration. John Dean's recent book "Conservatives without Conscience," might well have been titled "Conservatives without Competence nor Conscience."

Here is the article: Link

If we had conducted ourselves in this manner during the Cold War, I think the outcome would have been much different! This Administrations tactics and action has been and continues to be authoritarian, bullying and blatantly and disdainfully proud ("American is Pre-eminent!") in its swaggering use, almost exclusively, of threats and intimidation.

This is why I think we must give credence to the "whistle-blowers" at all levels. And we must address these issues, not merely the changing of personnel (elected and appointed). We must address the issues of big money controlling our elections and the conduct of our nation's government, develop and enforce new legislative initiatives that ensure better oversight and accountability in our private and public sectors.

Let us stop indulging in "Bush bashing" and focus on the underlying and controlling factors that have put this Administration in power and maintained it for the last six years.

Sincerely,

John Barbee