Jupiter has aligned with Mars

[Guest Joe S.]

Yep. It's the first line of the song "Aquarius" from the late-1960s

love-rock musical, "Hair." The song was made hugely popular sung in

combination with the musical's "Let the Sunshine In" by the singing group

The Fifth Dimension back in 1969. The Age of Aquarius refers to one of the

astronomical/astrological ages based upon the procession of the stars and

planets relative to the earth's solar year -- as defined by the ancient

Greek or Egyptian astronomers/astrologers. Supposedly, the Age of

Aquarius -- which astronomically/astrologically begins around, what,

2100? -- heralds a peaceful and loving world. Part of the song goes thus --

 

Harmony and understanding

Sympathy and trust abounding

No more falsehoods or derisions

Golden living dreams of visions

Mystic crystal revelation

And the mind's true liberation

Aquarius!

Aquarius!

 

The first line of the song "Aquarius" came to mind recently when -- just

like Jupiter aligning with Mars -- several items in the news mysteriously

aligned very well, almost like they were arranged by something or someone.

Unfortunately, none of them appeared to have anything to do with harmony and

understanding, sympathy and trust abounding with no more falsehoods or

derisions. In fact, they generally seemed much the opposite.

 

Here's some of what mysteriously aligned very well (not necessarily in this

particular order) --

 

(1) -- George Bush claimed that "The same folks (al-Qaeda) that are bombing

innocent people in Iraq, were the ones who attacked us in America on

September the 11th, and that's why what happens in Iraq matters to the

security here at home."

 

(2) -- Mainstream media -- and all the right-wing pundits -- aided and

abetted by White House and Pentagon briefings are more and more referring to

terrorists in Iraq as "al-Qaeda," not differentiating among the various

insurgent or terrorist groups -- even the sectarian groups.

 

(3) -- Information in a draft National Intelligence Estimate was leaked to

the press, with its conclusions that the Osama bin Laden-variety al-Qaeda

has gained strength over the past year and has become more of a threat to

the West and toward making the Mideast more unstable. (Unfortunately for the

Bush administration, this did not reflect well on its efforts -- or its lack

of efforts -- to prevent such strengthening.)

 

(4) -- Unre-elected Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum recently went on a

right-wing radio show and predicted that unless Bush's Iraq policies are

carried forward, there would likely be terrorists attacks on the U.S.

 

(5) -- Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told a major newspaper's

editorial board -- which, of course, was then reported widely -- that he had

a "gut feeling" about "a new period of increased risk" of terrorist attacks

on the U.S. this summer. There was also his vague sky-is-falling story about

an al-Qaeda cell.

 

Do you suppose that all the preceding lining up so well has anything to do

with Republican senators withdrawing their support for the Iraq war, truly

conservative newspapers editorially calling for withdrawal from Iraq, and a

president practically besieged by scandal (a botched war, the firing of

eight U.S. attorneys, a CIA leak case, warrantless wiretapping, operating

foreign prisons and torture camps, commutation of a political ally's prison

sentence, etc.)?

 

Do you suppose that it could it be that Bush and Santorum and Chertoff and

whoever leaked the NIE estimate and more are trying to scare the shit out of

Americans to rally support for the president and his Iraq thing and his

domestic spying activities?

 

Do you suppose that this is a repeat of the past behavior of the Bush

administration (such as scaring the country into going to war against Iraq

by telling us they had mobile bio-weapons labs and such as posting orange

terrorism warnings practically every week in the months leading up the 2004

presidential election -- with only about one warning following the election,

that in May, 2005)?

 

Do you suppose that this is a new dawning of the Age of Chicken Little?

 

These questions are not meant to dismiss the threats posed by disparate

radical Muslims to the safety of the West and to the stability of the

Mideast. After all, those are the crazies who are responsible for the horror

of 9/11 and scores of other atrocities around the world over the past

20-plus years. These questions are meant to call attention to the Bush

administration's fear-mongering that by all appearances is and has been as

much or more about maintaining political power for the rewards that such has

brought it and its friends as it is about the security of the United States.

Yep, folks -- a lot of Americans are ripe for plucking -- politically,

economically -- and when they think the sky is falling, they'll believe that

the plucker-in-chief is gonna save them.