Ah, OK, that's more like it, makes sense now. You confused me with your bonobos for a second.

Ah, OK, that's more like it, makes sense now. You confused me with your bonobos for a second.

But you look nothing like a bonobo! How did this happen?

Anyone who can consider the peaceable nature of bonobo chimps is worth far more in my eyes than one who actually LOOKS LIKE A CHIMP.

I have long believed that no matter your character, you will be a destructive presence once in office. The OFFICE itself is destructive. States are in themselves amoral entities. Why shouldn't its offices be?

Jonathan,

Thanks for the very informative link to Machination regarding the 'arms race' whose sponsers include Halliburton's subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root. I'm glad I'm not in America anymore and have escaped to the Great White North where the Military Industrial Complex does not have control over the economy or government.

Wait a minute! KBR is a Canadian company! I guess you just can't escape from those nasty old Bushniks anywhere in the world! See you in the Gulag, much sooner than later for all of us, methinks. We'll all be locked up forever like captive bonobos glaring from our cages at civilized humans such as the pseudo-empathetic Clixxon.

Big Bad Billy-Jeff will cry about our civil rights being violated, but continue to do absolutely nothing about it, except maybe stand around and watch us throw feces at him. In the words of Elvis Costello, "My Aim Is True"!!!

I have long believed that no matter your character, you will be a destructive presence once in office. The OFFICE itself is destructive. States are in themselves amoral entities. Why shouldn't its offices be?

Yes, because Innocence and Power are mutually exclusive - power being the agency of Action. The minute you act, innocence is gone.

The American self-image has never come to terms with this paradox - hence the desperate desire to be both almighty superpower and innocent victim. The need to believe that war (a pretty overt exercise of power) can be waged innocently.

The only innocents in this world are the stones.

I saw the clip where Clinton had his little fracas with the Fox news talking head which I assume is what inspired the nice cartoon. I must admit watching our ex-prez defending his presidency by repeating adamantly that he tried to kill bin Laden took on a surreal aspect and as Abb1 points out the relation of this to the bonobos chimps is rather striking. No offense to Lewinsky.

I was reminded of what Noam Chomsky maintains which is that all governments are the vehicles for violence and that even liberals who speak out so vociferously against all forms of violence can catch the blood lust bug. I am not referring to Clinton as it is dubious that he is a liberal rather the libs who got caught up in the aspect of a major figure calling Fox out on their own lies.

I recall your post some time ago stating the motivations of bin Laden for killing 3,000 Americans on 9/11 were to gain power just as Bush uses his war on terrorism to do the same thing.

Life provides all of us with many opportunities to be hypocrites and no one is immune. Is it possible for humans to be faultless in the intellectual consistency department? If I am any example the answer is no but at least I try which is more than I can say for our mighty leaders.