Notes from a Radical Militant Insomniac

That's it, this war or occupation or whatever you call the ever-growing debacle/fiasco/quagmire that is Iraq is officially wrecking my life - (well, the war plus the fact that I'm 48 years old and staring down the ugly road of peri-menopause, looking ahead to the full-blown car wreck known as menopause). Thanks to both of these events, I haven't slept through the night in over two weeks and I am more than a little bit cranky. For one thing, every day there is another scandal breaking about how this goddamn administration has broken or simply ignored another law and yet they are still in power - what gives?

It is 4:30 in the morning here in Tulsa, Oklahoma, both of my doggies are sacked out (one on the futon beside me, the other back in the bedroom) sleeping the sleep of two innocent beings while their mom has been up since 3:30am. I've already sent several e-mails to Stephanie, one to Chris (a loverly version of the Armageddon Dildos singing their singular hit "Homicidal Maniac" - don't worry, readers - I'd resort to becoming a suicidal maniac before I'd ever contemplate hurting anybody else), and an e-mail to the lovely and talented Rebekah Baker (the Associate Producer of the SMS).

Here are a few simple questions that plague my sleep-deprived mind:

--Why can't the Bush administration just admit the attack and subsequent occupation of Iraq was a colossal mistake and just get the hell out of that country with the shred that is left of America's dignity?

--Why can't somebody follow the e-mail scandal trail where it so clearly leads and nail Karl Rove's ass?

--Why is Alberto Gonzalez still serving as the Attorney General, while the Department of Justice is in a complete meltdown under his corrupt and deceitful leadership?

--Why are we continuing to funnel huge amounts of money to Halliburton, Blackwater and KBR while every audit has shown that these corporations are ripping us (that's you and me, American taxpayers) to the tune of billions of dollars?

--Why hasn't every Democratic Representative and the few Republican Reps with any integrity signed on to Representative Kucinich's Resolution to impeach Dick Cheney?

--Why, in the wealthiest country in the world, are there people dying IN OUR ERs?

--Why has New Orleans now resorted to soliciting funds from foreign countries, because our own government has squandered so many of the donations that generous Americans gave in the aftermath of that tragedy?

--Why, in a country of laws, not men, is the question of possibly pardoning the convicted felon Scooter Libby even being discussed, while Genarlow Wilson continues to sit in prison for a crime that is now classified as a misdemeanor?

--Why, why, why??? I ask you, if any of you out there can answer these questions to my satisfaction, I would love to hear from you. Shit, it's 5:30 in the morning, guess I'll go ahead and put on a pot of coffee, and hope for better sleep tonight. I don't know if I can keep this up until November of 2008, but that may be the only solution to my problem - Regime change here in America!

Here's the only thing that has buoyed me lately, a wonderful video of the great Patti Smith singing the righteous anthem "People Have the Power." Would that it were true!

The power to dream / to rule
to wrestle the world from fools
it's decreed the people rule
it's decreed the people rule
LISTEN
I believe everything we dream
can come to pass through our union
we can turn the world around
we can turn the earth's revolution
we have the power
People have the power...

--Patti Smith, People Have the Power, from the album "Dream of Life"