The CornDancer Band
Contributes to the Discourse.

Monday, March 24, 2003

Unlock the Brace of Pistols.

Momentous
Issue of the Day.

War Is Hard at Hand and Raging.

SPECIAL to corndancer.com
from the Planet X Think Tank
at Bald Mountain near Rachel, Nevada

The last time CornDancer called upon its diverse and brilliant band of readers and writers to engage a momentous issue of the day, George Bush was battling Al Gore for possession of the Presidency of the USA. The outcome hung in the balance.

This time Mr. Bush again swirls at the centre of the vortex, battling Saddam Hussein for possession of Baghdad. Although the outcome seems clear enough — who can imagine the USA losing the war? — the way to the end of it all is uncertain to the extreme.

Once again we've asked our little family of readers to engage a momentous issue, hard at hand and raging. Once again the bold and the considerate, the thoughtful and the impassioned, the dutiful and the fiery rise to the occasion.

Blood, Venom, Spittle.

Now for the big however.... Unlike the first go 'round, when Webmaster Ebenezer Bowles in his Letters from Cricket Song moderated CornDancer's discussion of the Year 2000 electoral deadlock, we of Planet X are not asking our contributors to keep the peace. This is war! Time to spill blood, inject venom, and sling spittle upon the page — that is, if the spilling of metaphorical blood is the tone and tenor of choice. Time to take off the gloves, unlock the brace of pistols, and have at it.

"Don't speak to me about braces of pistols and sharpened swords," sings Le Ti Lam Ngoc, Planet X's resident expatriate and refugee dreamer. "Time to gather the doves of peace and release them with love into the blood-red skies."

Would we prefer a pacific, diplomatic discussion of the issues? Most likely, but diplomacy failed. Too, the venue has changed from Cricket Song to Planet X. Here in the harsh desert, we are not so keen to dwell on niceties and courtesies. Vis-à-vis war and peace, our collective of thinkers is riven with contentious positions, tempestuous emotions, and no small measure of dejection and dismay.

Expecting nothing, we observed on Thursday and Friday the early successes of the Coalition, the impotence of the defenders, and the gathering overconfidence of the brigade of USA reporters, commentators, and analysts. Grasping the straws of pale hope for a swift solution, I decided upon video witness of the first strike that USA's bombs and missiles had killed Saddam. The eight other principal thinkers of X disagreed.

In that early atmosphere of shock and awe, resignation and stunned amazement, the commentaries from CornDancer's sharers began to arrive via E-mail from Webmaster Bowles, who is ensconced without irony at his nerve centre in the Congo of the Bozarth. We present them uncensored and undiluted by snide derision or hear! hear! commentary.

The Most Costly of Sins.

Phillip Bailey,
able master of people management and languages, is a passionate amateur horticulturist and woodworker. A Francophile and student of the former French colonies in Africa, he is Chair of the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Central Arkansas. Dr. Bailey is a citizen of the USA.

Ambivalence characterizes how I feel. I'd like to see Saddam out of power and a more democratic government in power. However, I fear that some innocent people will be killed, and I'm also afraid that we may not be up to upholding our principles over the long term.

Hypocrisy is the most costly of sins in these situations. The West has a history of not standing up for freedom and democracy when it is too inconvenient.

The idealist in me wishes that the new world order would exclude my President shaking hands and dining with a bloody dictator like he's doing tonight (March 20) with Cameroun's Paul Biya. I am convinced that doing good in the world ultimately "costs" a lot less than doing the lesser of two evils. For me that means spending money on schools and not football stadiums in Afghanistan, on supporting a people's aspirations to govern themselves and not in simply playing geopolitics.

Of course nothing in the current situation is simple, so that's why I think we have to commit individually to work for the truth and hold those with forked tongues to account.

One Hundred Percent
Behind Our Troops.

Brenda Alexander,
sweet guiding spirit of the remote Mississippi River island of Brandywine, manages a hunting lodge in a private preserve of abundant flora and fauna. A registered nurse and former hospital administrator, she is an unabashed patriot. Mrs. Brenda is a citizen of the USA.

I hate war for everyone, but I am one hundred percent behind our troops and President Bush. I feel sorry for the people of Iraq. I know a lot of them hate us, but I am sure they are brainwashed and their news is limited. I feel like Saddam is a thug and needs to be removed.

My first cousin, Tyler, is still in Fort Hood, Texas. His present orders are to take his men into Iraq after the war for clean up.

A Continuation
of the War on Terrorism.

Wayne Matthews,
a provocative and often irreverent thinker, values a well-told joke almost as much as he values public service. Retired for eight years now, he was ten times elected Prosecuting Attorney in the Eleventh Judicial District of Arkansas. He served his nation as a soldier in the Viet Nam war. Mr. Matthews is a citizen of the USA.

I have had no mixed emotions about this war. Of course, we would all prefer to live in a world without war, but we know, now, that that is not possible right now.

I believe we wasted a lot of valuable time dicking around with the United Nations. That body has demonstrated time and again that it is largely un-American. About all it is in favor of is our paying the bills for it to operate.

Also, so much of the world hates us, that for us to base our conduct in fear of adverse opinion is ridiculous.

People seem to have forgotten that we have been in a war since September 11, 2001. In my opinion, the action in Iraq is merely a phase of that war. When we are dealing with terrorists, I say kill them, their friends, and anyone who tolerates them.

I know, too, that Iraq will not be the end.

I believe the following, spoken by Benjamin Disraeli: "A man who is not a liberal at sixteen, has no heart. A man who is not a conservative at sixty, has no head."

Sadness and Apprehension.

Freddie Bowles,
webmistress of Planet IEP and Planet Deutsch, gentle lady of the lowlands, once flew Iraqi Airlines from Baghdad to London. She said she thought the plane was so rickety it wouldn't be able to fly that far. Mrs. Freddie Liz is a citizen of the USA.

I'm still stunned that there has actually been an attack. So much talk for so long tends to inure one to the reality. Now that the reality is here, there is another kind of immunity — one of shocked disbelief.

I heard at a luncheon on Thursday that our troops had crossed the border, and that the voice of Hussein could be a tape recording. One doesn't know what to believe. I had hoped the leader was taken out last night, but it seems that the campaign continues.

One gentleman told me he was proud to be of French heritage, that the French had stood up for humanity against the aggression of the American political machine, a voice of reason. He thought we, as liberal arts faculty, should be the ones to lead the dissenters, to speak out for peace.

Anyway, overall I feel a deep sense of sadness, a bit of apprehension.

The World
Deserves Better from Us.

Dwight Langston,
eloquent translator and instructor of German, a subtle wit and wordmeister, is a professor in the Department of World Languages at the University of Central Arkansas. His soft-spoken demeanor belies an undercurrent of passion for history and political movements. Herr Doktor Langston is a citizen of the USA.

Here are my modest thoughts:

1. "W" had better be able to find and show incontestable proof that he made the right decision or he is political toast even here in good old gullible America.

2. People who accuse anti-war protesters of disloyalty are morons who don't know diddlysquat about the Bill of Rights and probably haven't read the Constitution any more than I've read the Quran.

3. I hope the more extreme anti-war protest elements do not commit the stupidities they did during the Vietnam era, especially not the shoddy treatment of returning soldiers (calling them criminals and murderers) which some of them committed.

4. It always saddens me, actually angers me, that those who make the most important life-and-death decisions on matters of war and peace are always the ones who have many means of shielding themselves from the most negative consequences of their decisions. Those who are most likely to suffer those negative consequences have no say at all in making the decisions (informed electorate, my ass!) and most often no way to shield themselves from those consequences short of seeking exile in Sweden or Canada, which (I can easily understand) is not an acceptable alternative for the vast majority of potential cannon fodder.

5. I will be one of the first to jump with joy if it ever turns out that Saddam Hussein is killed or captured or found by his own people and torn to shreds in the streets of Baghdad. Some people DO deserve the death penalty.

6. I'm sick at heart about all the casualties in this war (except for SH and his cronies) whether they result from accidents, hostile, or so-called "friendly" fire.

7. "W" should have let Tony Blair do all the talking for him. More people might have been swayed by that eloquent man's arguments and the unmistakable sincerity in his voice.

8. I hope Leo Strauss and his disciples are all slow-roasting in hell.

9. I hope the idea of our being the world's police force goes out of fashion very quickly.

10. I hope something happens someday to really convince Americans that they have to start expecting their children to learn something again about this nation and its history, the world and its history, and about the thoughts and aspirations of people different from us. Our present solipsistic arrogance about our place in the great scheme of things is a shameful attitude for a people living in the (alas!) most powerful and richest nation on earth. The rest of the world deserves better from us; we need to be able to offer the world something better than ourselves as we are at present.

I always try to limit myself to 10 points maximum, a phrase my students are too familiar with.

Go USA!

Herb Peach,
airplane pilot and dealer of gems, diamonds, and gold, paused from his trapshooting practice to send a quick reply. He is a citizen of the USA.

GO USA...............LET'S ROLL!!!!!

Strength and Determination.

Susie Smith,
a one-time wild child grown mellow and strong by the hard-knock acquisition of the bittersweet spoils of experience, dashed off a quick note, announcing her very recent new marriage with an exclamation of bliss and blessing. She deserves her joy. She forgot to tell us her new last name. She is a citizen of the USA.

My thoughts on the war.... It is necessary to protect us and other countries from the Iraq regime. Saddam Hussein's track record indicates he is an inhumane dictator who would use every measure available to overtake other governments. To use fellow countrymen, women and children as human shields is despicable.

After 9-11, it is clear that hate-filled terrorists don't value their own lives, much less the lives of others. Unlike the cowardly French, we must show strength and determination. I am a Democrat who supports President Bush's stand against Saddam and terrorism.

Hostile Take-Over
of Iraqi Resoures.

DeWayne Carroll Davis
is an adventurer, raconteur, and world traveler, who settled in the lonely desert town of Rachel, Nevada, a few years ago. His hacienda is not too far distant from the Planet X compound. A former United States Marine and U.S. Air Force navigator, Mr. Davis is a few moons shy of turning seventy. He is a citizen of the USA.

The logistical tails seem to be wagging the dogs of war again in the hostile take-over of Iraqi resources and the establishment of new management of British Petroleum and Zapata Oil in the latest — the last? — of the Babylon Wars, all for the grace of the Rothschild Banks.

Crusaders with HE and depleted uranium rounds, armed with starlite scopes, standing behind arimid fiber helmets and body armor, guided by robotic eyes-in-the-skies.... U.S. Marines under British command. U.S. Airborne under CIA command with shades of Bahia de los Cochinos in the desert sand.

To explain my business metaphor: Saddam Hussein is mismanaging the production and distribution of BP and Zapata assets. Via hostile takeover, a new management must be arranged by force of arms, similar to the way distribution of BP/Zapata natural gas had to be re-arranged under new management via Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, the by-product of that effort was the more equitable treatment of mothers, daughters and sisters. Osama Bin Laden was the bad-guy needing to be replaced in that effort; same demon, different name.

Iran is next. On whom will be placed the mantle of Evil there? Another new Hitler? Hirohito? Stalin (Shalikskashvilli)? Osama Bin Laden? Hussein? Ali Hassan? Same character, different name.

War? A means to an end for at least the last sixty-five years: new management of BP, under control of the Rothschild Banks via fiat money.

To paraphrase what Old Blood and Guts told his troops: The honor is not in dying for your country; rather, the honor is to make the enemy die for his.

Proud of the Troops
Fighting Evil.

Bennett Clubbs,
author of CornDancer's Darbo Brief, scours the newspapers and magazines of the planet to find news stories, features, and commentary to share with visitors to his universe of cyberlinks. He is a veteran of the United States Navy and a retired railroad man with the old Cotton Belt line. He is a citizen of the USA.

I am very proud of those troops fighting the Evil in Iraq. I pray this war will be over quickly with minimal casualties, military and civilian. I hope we can win the peace and not be bogged down in the region for years.

Now to the issue of sacrifice: The only Americans sacrificing during this war are the families of the troops. The families are left with incomes slashed. The rest of us have not had to change our lives in any way. No rationing. Nothing. We are just waiting for the promised tax cuts! Tax cuts in a war. Go figure.

I just hope there are not too many bad surprises awaiting our troops. Pray the Iraqi troops lay down as fast as they did in Gulf War 1 and that Saddam doesn't go completely ballistic.

You know what else the French do poorly? They can't make a movie anyone can sit through.

Politics, Vanity, Fear.

Todd Marshall,
an upstate New Yorker who voluntarily expatriated himself to the Deep South, speaks Russian, Spanish, French, and German to augment his native tongue. Webmaster of CornDancer's Planet Russkij, he is professor of Russian at the University of Central Arkansas. He is a citizen of the USA.

I haven't known what to think about this whole situation. It all seems to be a mixture of politics, vanity, and fear (founded and unfounded).

True, war is used so often in search of peace. The Bible talks about the vain cry of "Peace and Security," something I believe imperfect humans, despite lofty ideas, can never achieve. How can there be peace when color divides, when women are not safe in their own homes, when children are sold like animals, and when the world's role models are rap artists, sports figures, and plastic, soulless stars who, like Pavlov's dogs, jump from event to event just to please the public.

I find myself stunned at the whole scene of world affairs. The world is doomed to failure as long as there is one ruler who will not play by the rules, who runs his own show, or who won't work as a team player.

I don't take sides. I have spiritual Iraqi brothers. I know that most sane people would avoid a war at all costs. I also know that when evil rears its ugly head that someone must step up to knock it down. I am just not sure how it should be done within the framework of collapsed, self-aggrandized governments, seeking to carve their own notch in annals of history.

This War
Is Poor, Sad, Woeful.

Yamaguchi Shoichiro
is a young man who studied English at a university in the USA. He is pursuing his undergraduate degree in his hometown. He is a citizen of Japan.

Recently, all TV programs are about the war in Japan. When I turn on TV, I always find some news from Iraq. My opinion about the war is.... I think that the craziest person in the world right now is President Bush. Nobody in Japan likes him.

I don't know why President Bush doesn't attack North Korea if he really doesn't like nuclear weapons. North Korea also has lots of nuclear weapons; however, Mr. Bush just criticizes them. That's it! Why doesn't he attack North Korea?

I think Mr. Bush is Christian because he is an American. He doesn't like Islam, so he wants to erase Islam. North Korea doesn't have any religion. This is why he doesn't care about North Korea.

Anyway, I think this war is poor, sad, and woeful. It looks like adults fighting like children. What does this stupid war mean? After this war finishes, what is coming to the USA? In addition, lots of countries are following the USA. Following the strong country that has the right opinion is good, but America is not a center of the world!

Mr. Bush is thinking that this world is formed by America. I don't think so. When all countries help each other, we can be one. I don't want the USA to go alone.

Anyway, I am sorry for insufficient opinions. I haven't written in English for a long time, so it is little bit hard for me to recall writing English.

Dispatch the Enemy with Certainty.

Major Joseph Dempsey
is an art director, writer, photographer, and raconteur who joined the human race a few years before the outbreak of World War II. He is full of grace and humor, loyalty and honor. He is also a former paratrooper in the United States Army who sometimes refuses to mince words and doesn't mind employing the profane to drive home at point. He is a citizen of the USA.

Is the Saddam seen on TV the real Saddam, or is he a new resident of the wrong side of the Elysian Fields? Rumors say he has doubles.

I have been wrapped around the axle with mundane advertising projects today (March 20), so I am not completely up to speed. I have heard that some Marines have crossed into Iraq. I would not like to be an Iraqi soldier in their path.

With regard to the war, like many Americans, I have had mixed emotions. I do believe this, however ... just as the US is the arsenal for the alleged Free World, that asshole has weapons of mass destruction or not. Once his ass is bug dust, I will be sure. It is time for no more Mr. Nice Guy. Kill the motherfu**er and his minions. Graveyard dead. Better there than here. It's the law of the jungle. If you have the capability to remove your enemies or those who have the capability and desire to be your enemies, if you don't dispatch them with certainty, shame on you.

The US has never picked the fight before, but these are different times, and considering that life is not a rehearsal, that it is showtime every day ... kill the motherfu**ers. Graveyard dead. And then piss on 'em.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Some submissions were edited to conform to minor style rules established for the website by CornDancer's benign overseers and atavistic patrons. The edits in no way altered the tone, style, message, content, or spirit of the contributions.

We plan to publish another set of commentaries very soon -- that is, if the band of Corn Dancers continues to participate. Who knows?

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