Bill O'Reilly, STFU

Bill O'Reilly is still blathering the same question he's been beating for months now. "Do you want to win the war on terrorism?" There's more chance you'll see the Easter Bunny laying eggs in your yard. Why does anyone listen to this fear-mongering jerk?

Do I want us to win the "war on terror?"

Bill O'Reilly is still flogging this staggering, mangy equine over on, surprise, Faux Noise this morning.
http://www.foxnews.com/...

Mr. O'Reilly seems rather ingenuous to think that terrorism can be crushed. And that, to him, is the only win he'll accept.

We've seen how well "wars" on things like crime and drugs have worked, funneling huge amounts of public money down a political black hole for years with no result or indication of improvement. Our prisons are stuffed with marijuana smokers, and the hard drugs just keep flowing.

With the Mexican Pilot Program, truckers will be able to move freely between Mexican and Canadian borders with a fast pass. Yesterday, I heard of a huge cocaine bust involving one such "approved" truck at the Mexican border. And for every one caught, many more slip through. Is this the way we support the War on Drugs? Doesn't make much sense, does it?

Certainly, this War on Terror is not something that can be won, particularly if ineffective policies continue to be supported by incompetent leaders elected by a pop-culture saturated nation of ignoramuses.

Our current policies seem designed to create terrorists, or get us closer to Armegeddon, depending upon your belief system. Terrorism will always be with us; it's a covert, hit and run assault by loosely affiliated groups and cells more often than not. Al Qaeda isn't in the same category as the fictional T.H.R.U.S.H. of 'Man From U.N.C.L.E.' fame.

By today's perspective, the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity sounds more like the network of cronies, corporations, and criminals who make up our current administration. Under the twin banners of fundamental Christianity and the "War against terrorism," innocent Muslims are being persecuted, and our basic liberties are being dissolved in the name of National Security. One can literally get away with murder and worse by invoking national security.

The fact is, there is always going to be a threat of terrorism of some magnitude. There are many small groups, often with a charismatic leader, who will eventually resort to violence to get their message out, strike a blow at a perceived enemy, or just go postal for no apparent reason.

You don't fight these types of terrorists by attacking sovereign nations.

So, Bill O'Reilly's question is of no value. His implication, clearly, is "you're either fer us or agin us." If you don't agree with him that we must "win" a war on terror, you are an unpatriotic, liberal traitor. He makes that abundantly clear.

Given that total victory over terrorism is an unrealistic fantasy, Bill should pull his head out of his hyperbole and address the issue realistically, instead of resorting to bigotry, fear-mongering and black-and-white thinking. In his view, there can be no compromise, only total victory!

But, compromise it must be, in order to allow us to enjoy the rights set down by the founding fathers. We must accept that terrorism is less of a war and more a game of Whack-A-Mole. Certainly, we must continue to identify and apprehend threats to our safety. But allowing the National Security Agency to download entire days of internet traffic (thanks, AT&T!) is not an option. Lying to us that only foreign communication between persons of interest is not an option. Spreading war in the Middle East in the name of domestic security at home is obviously not a solution.

Bill O'Reilly has been making ratings on his stupid, unanswerable question for months. Somebody needs to put a ball gag in his fat mouth and sit him down to listen for a change.

Do I want us to win the War on Terror?
For one thing, I don't think that's possible. I think any "win" will involve bringing our troops home safe, and making sure they get any and all help they need to reintegrate into a happier, better informed, and more liberated society. A win would involve living with the knowledge that terrorist attacks can and will occur periodically. A win would involve a competent leadership more concerned with our citizens' well-being than making obscene profits from unnecessary wars. A win would involve a society that pays more than lip service to issues of health, education, and opportunity. A win would involve fewer bereaved widows and parents of sacrificed military youngsters, who wind up losing the GI Bill lottery along with their lives.

We're living in a society of lazy thinkers, where people equate gay marriage with a future of people marrying dogs. A society where fear-mongering assholes like O'Reilly paint a picture for uneducated, unquestioning dupes who believe that, if we don't "win" this war on terror, there will be weekly homicide bombings nationwide. A society willing to give up its freedoms, and overlook the breaches of security when they come.

A society where a terrorist attack from Saudi sponsored terrorists from Afghanistan is punished by attacking Iraq, whose leader despised Osama bin Laden, poised on the brink of launching another war against Iran.

A society where wiretapping and torture is redefined and defended.

Where is the man from the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement? Heck, at this point, I'd even welcome help from the guy with the shoe phone!

Somebody has got to do something to stop this insanity! I remember the sixties. I remember the protests against another war, and another wanna-be totalitarian dictator/president. Where have all the old hippies gone? You can't just say, "Hey, man, I did MY part," and fade away into a self indulgent old age haze. It's an ongoing struggle, right versus corruption and might. It never ends. IT NEVER ENDS!

Are today's American young adults so beguiled and distracted by the availability of nonstop popular entertainment on their little electronic companions that they simply don't give a rat's ass?

Or is it even worse; that people who see what is happening are so fragmented that they can't come together and force a change?

I look at the Republican and Democratic candidates for President. The good ones are getting very little media coverage. I look at the top runners and, like Boxer the draft horse in 'Animal Farm,' I can't tell the Republicans from the Democrats. Or the people from the pigs.