Dr. King Legacy of Equality, Diversity Strengthens Command

Commentary by Warren Ward
Air Force Global Strike Command Programming Division

1/21/2013 - BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 83rd birthday was Jan. 15. . . His courageous crusade for equality was first nationally recognized on Jan. 20, 1986, when President Reagan established the third Monday in January as an official federal government holiday.

Our country, our Air Force and Air Force Global Strike Command can learn much from Dr. King's drive for America to be a nation of equals. . . During his "I Have a Dream" speech given at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 28, 1963, King told a gathering of more than 200,000 Americans, "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the meaning of its creed, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.'"

Dr. King completed his moving presentation with an emphasis on the freedom that equality brings, "...from every mountainside, let freedom ring. . . And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men, white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty we are free at last!"

The Department of Defense is a leader in equal opportunity for all patriots seeking to serve this great nation. . . The vigilant warriors in AFGSC understand they are all equal and unified in purpose to provide a safe, secure and effective deterrent force for the United States. . .

Dr. King would be proud to see our Global Strike team - comprised of Airmen, civilians and contractors from every race, creed, background and religion - standing side-by-side ensuring the most powerful weapons in the U.S. arsenal remain the credible bedrock of our national defense. . . Our team must overlook our differences to ensure perfection as we maintain and operate our weapon systems. . . Maintaining our commitment to our Global Strike team, our families and our nation is a fitting tribute to Dr. King as we celebrate his legacy.

 

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This one is 100 percent authentic (right down to the photo graphic)!  Yes, it was really written by Warren Ward of the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command Programming Division.  Can you believe this guy?!?!?!  I guess this guy never listened to or read Dr. King's "Beyond Vietnam" speech.  Besides pulling a few quotes from the only speech quoted by the corporate press around Dr. King's birthday, he probably hasn't read anything else written by Dr. King.  Ward is either extremely ignorant or was attempting to twist Dr. King's dream to support the aspirations of a fading empire.

 

The author definitely wasn't listening when Dr. King said, "When scientific power outruns spiritual power, we end up with guided missiles and misguided men."

 

 Speaking of deams, I could not have dreamed this one up.  And if you still don't believe me, read it yourself at the Air Force Global Strike Command website: http://www.afgsc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123333051 

Rogue Seals takes over Trident sub

Silverdale, Washington  A rogue Seal team breached security at a Trident nuclear submarine base in Washington State.

In an unannounced exercise rogue Seals took over the USS Nevada SSBN 733, a Trident ballistic missile submarine, while tied up to the pier at the Bangor Trident submarine base at Silverdale, Washington in the early morning hours on January 22nd.

According to Navy officials the takeover was short lived. The Seals were quickly driven topside and off the ship by quick acting members of the ship's security detail.

Photo: Courtesy of U.S. Navy

In preparation for the exercise the Seals studied the 2009 incursion by the Disarm Now Plowshares, a group of elderly peace activists who breached multiple levels of security at the sub base and nuclear weapons storage depot before being captured by base security personnel.  The five members of the Plowshares action made it through the final security fence into the nuclear weapons storage bunker area of the Strategic Weapons Facility, Pacific (SWFPAC) before being detected.

The seals went undetected by the Marine Mammal Base Protection Detail that was patrolling Hood Canal at the time of the incursion.  Members of the detail were questioned about their whereabouts during the incursion, and all denied having been drinking on the job.  They were, however, observed feasting on shrimp earlier in the morning by fishermen working nearby.  They also denied any prior contact with the rogue seal team.  

Rogue Seal in custody (Navy file photo)

A Navy spokesperson said that although this was a serious breech of security, at no time were the nuclear weapons on board the submarine in any danger.  He also stated that they would undertake a full investigation to determine where security can be improved.  

The spokesperson denied that the Navy was considering consulting with any of the members of the Disarm Now Plowshares regarding security improvements on the base.

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Editor's Note:  Thanks to comic co-conspirator Shelley Douglass for giving me this idea AND for much of the content!  The Navy actually has a Swimmer Interdiction System staffed by ever capable marine mammals (dolphins and sea lions) to apprehend any pesky terrorists who might try to swim undetected to do some sort of mischief to our nation's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent. 

No room for Drones in this Dream

Dear Friends, 

I spent my day with approximately 7000 fellow resident's of the World House (in Seattle, Washington) celebrating the birth (and incredibly full life) of a great peacemaker and possibly the greatest prophetic voice of modern times.  I have hesitated to share this visual as I do not want to be disrespectful in any way.  That being said, the contrasts between these two people are staggering.  For President Obama to invoke Martin Luther King Jr. in any way after the past four years is unconscionable.  To earn that Nobel Peace Prize President Obama needs to start living out the words he speaks; otherwise it is merely empty rhetoric.

 

Happy Birthday Dr. King.  We will hold Obama's feet to the proverbial fire.  He will either live up to his promises (such as those in his famous Prague speech on nuclear weapons) or get burned.  We will uphold the rich legacy you left for us.  We are in it for the long haul.

 

There is certainly no room for drones in Dr. King's dreams!

 

In Peace and Toward a Just and Peaceful (Nuclear Free) World,

 

Leonard

Organic Plutonium: Get it while it's HOT!

If you've had problems sourcing organic Plutonium lately, have no fear.  There might still be some cans left on the shelves at The Black Hole, Los Alamos, New Mexico.  Granted, now that The Black Hole's proprietor, Ed Grothus, is no longer with us - rest in peace Ed - many of Ed's signature items are hard to come by.

The 8 ounce size Organic Plutonium was always a HOT item.  People from many countries, including Iran, North Korea, Myanmar, Israel and Brazil used to come asking for Ed's signature Organic Plutonium.

Organic Plutonium is fat free, wheat free, dairy free, GMO free, zero calories, vegan, no artificial colors or flavors, AND no sugar added.  Hmmmm Good!!!  And HOT!!!  What's more, it contains 14.0726918 nutritious Curies of radiation.  Yum!

 

Don't see a "use by" date on the can?  No worries!  The Plutonium 239, just like the stuff used in those thermonuclear warheads, has a half life of 24,000 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It will keep forever.  Now that's shelf life! 

Note to people with nut allergies: This product is made in facilities run by a bunch of nuts.

For Christmas, 1996, Ed sent a can marked ORGANIC PLUTONIUM to then-President Clinton. “In his letter to the President, Ed said ‘If you eat this, you’ll walk with a halo’,” says Ed. “‘If you feed some to Socks [Clinton's cat], the cat’ll walk with a halo.’” The Secret Service was not amused, and — as Ed commemorates in a newspaper clipping he proudly displayed near his front desk — they showed up to “see if there was any insanity in my family.”

Those of us who work in the nuclear weapons abolition business know where the real nuts are!!!

Wondering whether Organic Plutonium is safe for human consumption???  Don't worry!  The U.S. government began testing Plutonium on human subjects in 1945, and continued its testing into the 1970s.  From pregnant women to developmentally disabled children, the government tested Plutonium on a wide range of subjects.  That's our tax dollars hard at work!?!?!?

So stock up on some Organic Plutonium today.  There just might be a few cans left if the folks from the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program didn't get there first.

Be sure to check Groupon.com for a coupon good for 20 percent off your first can.

Office of Homeland Security Cancels Christmas

Ellis Island -   Three wise men were arrested today attempting to illegally enter the United States.
The Iraqi nationals were carrying massive amounts of flammable substances known as "frankincense" and "myrrh." While not explosives themselves, experts revealed that these two substances could be used as a fuse to detonate a larger bomb. The three alleged terrorists were also carrying gold, presumably to finance the rest of their mission.

Also implicated in the plot were two Palestinians named Joseph and Mary. An anonymous source close to the family overheard Mary bragging that her son would "bring down the mighty from their thrones and lift up the lowly." In what appears to be a call to anarchy, the couple claims their son will someday "help prisoners escape captivity."

"These people match our terrorist profile perfectly," an official source reported.

All of the suspects claimed they heard angels singing of a new era of hope for the afflicted and poor. As one Wall Street official put it, "These one-world wackos are talking about overturning the entire economic and political hierarchy that holds the civilized world together. I don't care what some angel sang; God wants the status quo - by definition."  

A somber White House Press Secretary Jay Carney announced that it might be prudent to cancel (or at least postpone) Christmas until others in the plot are rounded up. "I assure you that this measure is temporary. The president loves Christmas as much as anyone. People can still shop and give expensive gifts, but we're asking them not to think about world peace until after we have rid the world of all the evil people. For Americans to sing, 'Peace on earth, good will to all,' is just the wrong message to send to our enemies at this time."

The strongest opponents of the Christmas ban were the representatives of retail stores, movie chains and makers of porcelain Christmas figurines. "This is a tempest in a teapot," fumed one unnamed business owner. "No one thinks of the political meaning of Christmas any more. Christmas isn't about a savior who will bring hope to the outcasts of the world; it's about nativity scenes and beautiful lights. History has shown that mature people are perfectly capable of singing hymns about world peace while still supporting whatever war our leaders deem necessary. People long ago stopped tying religion to the real events in the world."

There has been no word on where the suspects are being kept, or when their trial might be held. Authorities are asking citizens who see other foreigners resembling nativity scene figures to contact the Office of Homeland Security.

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Editor's Note: Many thanks to the Rev. Jim Rigby for this wildly creative piece written for a previous Christmas (and of course we tell the Christmas Story year after year after year...).  Jim is pastor of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX, and a longtime activist in movements concerned with gender, racial, and economic justice. 

Click here for Jim's article in CommonDreams.org one year ago that provides the context for the literary piece used in this blog post.

You can read some of Jim's other writings at the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-rigby 

This Christmas: Your Adventure, Your Way!!!

Hey Moms and Dads!!!  Are you frantically looking for last minute gifts to stuff those stockings (with care)???  Well, look no further.

Here's a gift that's sure to please (everyone but the recipients of the Hellfire missiles on the real thing). This teeny weeny Predator Drone will fit nicely in any of today's Ultra stretch Super sized Christmas Stockings.

Get yours today; they're disappearing off store shelves fast!!! 

Your child (or children; heck, get one for everybody) will squeal with joy at the site of this small scale model killing machine. Yes - It's "Your Adventure, Your Way." Just as the U.S. gets its way just about everywhere in the world (and where it doesn't it institutes "regime change") your child can have his or her (girls can pilot drones too) way. One can never be too young to learn the important lessons of Empire.

 

After all; that's what Christmas is all about - that cool story about Herod (and the empire over which he ruled), who saw the baby Jesus as a threat and wanted to murder him.  And along the way he murdered his father-in-law, several of his ten wives and two of his sons.  And if that wasn't enough, after being outwitted by those three wise men Herod ordered the slaughter of all boys two years old and younger in Bethlehem and its environs.  Phew!!!  Is this a story of unbridled ambition, fear, hatred and more???  What a reality show this would have been!

 

Herod ignored the laws of God to suit himself and chose the favor of Rome over his own people (I know; this is sounding really familiar).  But hey - he was a skilled politician who knew how to get things done (to keep Rome at the top of the heap).  Wow, does this story sound familiar???

 

Oh yeah, please excuse the impromptu history lesson.  The point is that kids are never too young to be indoctrinated learn.  As for the warning on the package that the Predator Drone is suitable for "ages 3+", I'll leave that decision up to you parents.

 

Peace on Earth (at least our little part of it).

 

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Editor's Note: But really folks, isn't it time to ditch the drones???  Are there not alternatives to violence and killing (in the name of National Security, Homeland Security, War on Terror)???  Is there not another way, and didn't the very person who is central to the Christmas story show us that way???  Isn't nonviolence the only way for those who claim to be Christians???

 

Drones are but one (major) manifestation of the violence that is becoming so deeply rooted in our society.  We must begin to plant seeds of nonviolence and nurture them to build a nonviolent society (and world).  Now is the time to begin, and drones are a concrete issue that we must address.

 

Please look up Drones Watch, a national coalition campaign to monitor and regulate drone use.  There you can learn more about drones and take action for positive change.  It's all about the world in which we want to live - one at genuine peace with justice, or one of perpetual war.

It's Christmas At Ground Zero

Ahhhh the Holidays... Last night I enjoyed a wonderful Holiday music fest with good friends. Lots of Holiday cheer and a great selection of songs and carols; we even had a singalong.

Yet something was missing... What was it??? Of course!!! It was my all time favorite song of the nuclear Holiday season - Christmas At Ground Zero, written and performed by one of the great composers of our (nuclear) age, "Weird Al" Yankovic.

It's a song that conjures up images of glowing reindeer and walks in radioactive snow. This music video version, to the best of my very limited understanding, is the totally official Yankovic-produced version of this great song that is destined to become your family's favorite Holiday tune.

Move over Winter Wonderland - "it's time to duck and cover with your yuletide lover underneath the mistletoe..."