Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind.

— E. B. White

But here steps in Satan, the eternal rebel, the first free-thinker and emancipator of worlds. He makes man ashamed of his bestial ignorance and obedience; he emancipates him, stamps upon his brow the seal of liberty and humanity, in urging him to disobey and eat of the fruit of knowledge.

— Bakunin

I support our troops, but the corrupt and evil leadership under which they serve is apparently causing our men and women in uniform to turn their backs on what it means to be an American.  From the latest allegations of intentional civilian deaths in Iraq:

The U.S. Army has ordered an investigation into the deaths of an Iraqi family of four at their home in Mahmoudiya, a town south of Baghdad, a U.S. military statement said Friday.

The investigation concerns allegations that at least two U.S. soldiers were involved in the rape of a woman and that one of them killed her, a child and two other adults, U.S. military sources said.

You read it right: it would seem our soldiers raped the woman 14-year-old girl first, then killed her and her family—including a child!—before burning down their house in an attempt to cover up the crime.  This is the fifth pending case of our troops inflicting wanton violence and murder on Iraqi civilians.

It is among a number of investigations into alleged killings of civilians by U.S. forces in Iraq. Four Army soldiers have been charged with murder in the deaths of three Iraqi detainees during an operation in Salaheddin province in May. Seven Marines and a sailor also have been charged with murder for the death of an Iraqi civilian in Hamdaniya in April.

In a case that has yielded no charges, the military is investigating allegations that up to eight Marines killed as many as 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in November.

I mean, come on!  What the fuck is going on over there?  What happened to suddenly make this kind of action worthy of contemplation, let alone actual execution (pun intended)?

Could it be that military leadership, including the president, has advocated and supported torture and human rights violations so prolifically and thoroughly that our troops now find themselves caught up in the apparent blood lust?  I suspect that’s the case.  Our government’s policy of dehumanizing everyone who disagrees with or questions them is undoubtedly the foundation of this new military mentality.

And does anyone think this environment of murder and mayhem is going to win the hearts and minds of the Arab world?  As long as we keep fueling the fire of radical hatred with this administration’s approach to world domination, terrorism will continue to grow against us.  And that while we continue to lose friends and allies over the same.

Take five minutes out of your day and watch this video.  It’s excellent.  Be sure to keep up with all the information presented so you get the point.  You’ll see it speaks for itself.

[via The Uncredible Hallq]

What is an Awakening Mind (enlightenment)?

Thus whatever actions I do from now on
Must be in accord with the family.
Never shall I disgrace or pollute
This noble and unsullied race.

Just like a blind man
Discovering a jewel in a heap of rubbish,
Likewise by some coincidence
An Awakening Mind has been born within me.

It is the supreme ambrosia
That overcomes the sovereignty of death,
It is the inexhaustible treasure
That eliminates all poverty in the world.

It is the supreme medicine
That quells the world’s disease,
It is the tree that shelters all beings
Wandering and tired on the path of conditioned existence.

It is the universal bridge
That leads to freedom from unhappy states of birth,
It is the dawning moon of the mind
That dispels the torment of disturbing conceptions.

It is the great sun that finally removes
The misty ignorance of the world,
It is the quintessential butter
From the churning of the milk of Dharma.

For all those guests traveling on the path of conditioned existence
Who wish to experience the bounties of happiness,
This will satisfy them with joy
And actually place them in supreme bliss.