Doug, and others:

While I found myself agreeing with some of the points of the Osoma Letter, I did not write it.

Actually, Osoma and John Ashcroft have a lot more in common than I do with Osoma. Both are right winged extremists. Make no bones about Osoma. If he were the President of the United States he would kill millions of people for their sins against Allah: prostitution, drug use, alcohol use, homesexuality, etc. I think Ashcroft, if left to his own devices, would severely punish folks for what he sees are the same sins.

No, this is a sobering letter and one that really makes one stop and think about how we are seen by those folks who really *are* our enemies and how, other than diverting our focus toward hot wars, can they be defeated.

One important step, I believe, would be the "Emergency Middle East Peace Summit" that I have offered as a step to derail the recruitment bonaza that our failed foriegtne policies have created for Osoma and Co..

A second step, the creation of a Department of Peace. See previous thread.

But, probably the most important step and the most difficult is for the *working class* to take back democracy and get the folks out of power who are nothing more than corporate employees. 9 out of 10 winners in the recent election were canidates who *spent to the most money*. (keep an eye on Luisiana Saturday and you'll see how it works...)

Unfortunately, there is little that the *working class* can do to stop Bush's plans to attack Iraq. Maybe the deaths of our kids and grandkids will jump start a movement large enough to leave a "No more Bush's" imprint on our collective value system.

Yeah, we're going to have to deal with these basic flaws some where down the road because until we do become a caring neigbor rather than the greedy one that we are now, the future will be paved with Osomas.

Bobert

P.S. Thanks, Nicole, for posting the link, though the reading wasn't too *fun*.