Augustine predicted Cheney, Putin, the Taliban, and too many others

“Thus it is that all men want peace in their own society, and they all want it on their own terms.  When they go to war, what they want is to make, if they can, their enemies their own, and to impose on them the victor’s will, and call it a peace.…Sinful man hates the equality of all men under God, and, as though he were God, loves to impose his own sovereignty upon his fellow men.”

Augustine as quoted by Elaine Pagels in “Adam, Eve, and the Serpent.

Some nuggets found while cleaning my desktop

"The Future Depends On What The Meaning of 'Was' Was", Dr. Naif A. Al-Mutawa, Huffington Post, 2011-05-17

Al-Matawa considers how Arabic culture has been held back because the Arabic of the Koran is used as the teaching language. This language is effectively a second language to many students who speak modern Arabic. He compares today situation to when Rome kept all the liturgy and detailed knowledge in Latin, which few people in Europe spoke.

"The 'Cheney Brigades': A Second Chance for War Advocates to Fight", Doug Bandow, Huffington post, 2011-06-04

Bandow said these brigades would be available for advocates of war, who like Cheney missed their chances to serve in other wars ("I would have obviously been happy to serve if I had been called.")

War hawks who aren't the first to volunteer are often the first to accuse others of being "slackers". Consider the tarring, feathering, and lynching of Olli Kinkonnen in Duluth, Minnesota in September, 1918. The "Knights of Liberty" took credit this. Shouldn't "Knights" be on the battlefield instead of in the safety of an anonymous mob?

Our Supreme Leader Ayatollah Dick Cheney has spoken

Dick Cheney is once again blasting the Obama administration for investigating torture practices; Cheney vehemently maintains that torturing prisoners has protected the nation. See
"Dick Cheney's Version".

Why are these people prisoners? Because they are terrorists? Who says they are terrorists? Dick Cheney.

This sounds spookily like Iran. Why are people in prison? Because they are acting as foreign agents? Who says they are foreign agents? The government of iran.

Even though the trials in Iran are show trials, at least the prisoners are getting a trial. In the land of freedom and justice we haven't even had show trials for the people the government calls terrorists. Why not? It will jeopardize national security? Who says so? Dick Cheney.

At least it's not yet a crime in the U.S. to question the wisdom of our self-appointed Supreme Leader.