With permission

Osama bin Laden’s American Legacy
It’s Time to Stop Celebrating and Go Back to Kansas
By Tom Engelhardt

Back in the 1960s, Senator George Aiken of Vermont offered two American presidents a plan for dealing with the Vietnam War: declare victory and go home. Roundly ignored at the time, it’s a plan worth considering again today for a war in Afghanistan and Pakistan now in its tenth year.

As everybody not blind, deaf, and dumb knows by now, Osama bin Laden has been eliminated.  Literally.  By Navy Seals.  Or as one of a crowd of revelers who appeared in front of the White House Sunday night put it on an impromptu sign riffing on The Wizard of Oz: “Ding, Dong, Bin Laden Is Dead.”

And wouldn’t it be easy if he had indeed been the Wicked Witch of the West and all we needed to do was click those ruby slippers three times, say “there’s no place like home,” and be back in Kansas.  Or if this were V-J day and a sailor’s kiss said it all.   

Unfortunately, in every way that matters for Americans, it’s an illusion that Osama bin Laden is dead.  In every way that matters, he will fight on, barring a major Obama administration policy shift in Afghanistan, and it’s we who will ensure that he remains on the battlefield that George W. Bush’s administration once so grandiosely labeled the Global War on Terror.   

Admittedly, the Arab world had largely left bin Laden in the dust even before he took that bullet to the head.  There, the focus was on the Arab Spring, the massive, ongoing, largely nonviolent protests that have shaken the region and its autocrats to their roots.  In that part of the world, his death is, as Tony Karon of Time Magazine has written, “little more than a historical footnote,” and his dreams are now essentially meaningless.

Consider it an insult to irony, but the world bin Laden really changed forever wasn’t in the Greater Middle East.  It was here.  Cheer his death, bury him at sea, don’t release any photos, and he’ll still carry on as a ghost as long as Washington continues to fight its deadly, disastrous wars in his old neighborhood.

Comments

[warren,]

I agree, Release the Photo( s ), Declare Victory and Come Home. At least from Afghanistan. Or Obama will become another President Johnson...Do We need to start shouting "Hey, Hey.." all over again? or Where HAVE all the War Protesters gone? You know, The "War for Oil"/ "End This War" Crowd.
Rocky?

[wood burner]

Berlin Reporter
PSNH will soon file revised Laidlaw Purchase Power Agreement

by Edith Tuckerwrite the authorMay 04, 2011
BERLIN — Public Service of New Hampshire is nearly ready to file a modified purchase power agreement (PPA) between Public Service of N.H. and Laidlaw Berlin BioPower-Berlin Station that is designed to meet the requirements that the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) imposed under its conditional approval of the one that PSNH originally proposed.

A Berlin native — Paul Ramsey — has led the effort to modify the agreement, according to John Halle of Cate Capital of Portsmouth who represents major investors in the Laidlaw project. A UNH graduate who earned a B.S. in Business and later an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University, Ramsey is Vice President of Energy Delivery for PSNH, a subsidiary of the Northeast Utilities System (NU).

The agreement as originally filed was not in the public interest, the PUC's order stated, pointing out that the PPA could cost as much at $2 billion over its 20-year life.

The PUC ruled that it "would, however, approve a modified PPA complying with certain conditions that (would) mitigate risk to PSNH's default service customers and reduce total payments to approximately $1.3 billion over the term of the PPA."

Halle said that Cate Capital has worked closely with Ramsey and other PSNH staff and is confident that the new filing will meet the PUC's conditions and that the project will be able to move forward.

Other modifications requested by Laidlaw are now pending before the state Site Evaluation Committee (SEC). A final hearing on Laidlaw's request to transfer and amend its permit is tentatively scheduled for either May 18 or 19.

[jon]

If the modifications match the PUC's approval then certainly that is a major step in the right direction. Both the PUC and the SEC continue to be very thorough and deserve credit whether this deal goes forward or not for making a very bad deal into a better deal (so far by 20%) with every day that passes. The next step, that of the NHSEC, needs to find that monopolization on the wood market must be controlled from happening. Otherwise NH is headed to a monopoly with both Schiller and Richard Carrier without major safeguards being discussed and realized at the May 18th beginning to the hearings on the new structure. Inevitably the NHSEC will issue a conditional approval, and the NHPUC will be witness to appeal unless the IPPS are made an offering that makes sense by PSNH. I think you'll find this easily goes into June before a decision is rendered.

[Antonio Andolini]

Gotta love "the Nuge"
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/5/kudos-for-the-bin-laden-kill/

[Rocky]

There's a certain level of insanity in the joy some people are expressing in the death of bin Laden. Yes he was a terrorist, I can even agree with his execution, but all of these events are a black mark on our humanity. Yes I might have to kill chickens and cows to keep from starving to death, but I don't gloat over the kills. There's just too much sadistic talk going on, I guess we haven't been out of our caves long enough to have shed those primitive emotions.

[Antonio Andolini]

No Sure Victory
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703849204576303890875184756.html?mod=WSJ_newsreel_opinion

[Antonio Andolini]

Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce on Northern Pass
http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/255502/northern-pass-debate-turns-to-the-pros?CSAuthResp=%3Asession%3ACSUserId|CSGroupId%3Aapproved%3AC2LrYMFgYeeUmDA11ajgwA%3D%3D&CSUserId=94&CSGroupId=1

[warren,]

http://www.briantilton.com/NorthernPass.html

Support for This Project is...Shall We Say...Limited?

[Wing Nut]

Nice letter by Mr. Ted Nugent. Thanks for the link AA. Ted Nugent rocks!

Take care,
WN

[warren,]

http://nonorthernpassnh.blogspot.com/p/guide-to-permits-needed-by-northern.html

More Info.

[Rocky]

I just came across an interesting statistic. Exxon Mobil netted $2.8M profit in less than 34 minutes during Q1 of 2011 I wonder why so many politicians are in favor of subsidies and tax exemptions for oil companies? Could it have something to do with campaign contributions? We have the best politicians that money can buy and few have more money than the oil people.

[Wing Nut]

Rocky,

If you are unhappy with oil and gas prices then you should be honest and point the finger directly at your hero and savior, BHO. He has done absolutely nothing about this issue over the last 2 years. In fact, initially he was hoping to pass "cap & trade" legislation which would have really caused energy prices to skyrocket (while also killing jobs in America). He may have killed America's enemy #1 (thankfully) but most if not all of his policies suck and fortunately most people in America now realize that (that is what the last election was all about).

Have a good weekend,
WN

[Rocky]

WN, you're beginning to sound like one of those......well one of those.....except you're smarter than just being a narrow minded simplistic and angry person. There's probably no point in discussing the issue of price gouging and speculation with you since your closed mind filters information and spits out BHO. Closed mindedness is not a positive trait any more than racism and bigotry, they're all close relatives.

[warren,]

FDR...JFK...LBJ.... Those ARE His Inititials ( BHO ), Right? What could possibly be wrong with using them? Its a LOT faster referance than saying Barack Obama. IS the Public use of Our Presidents middle name ( Hussein ) somehow Taboo? and Why?
Rocky, You sound a LOT like Rob Reiner! and maybe Gloria combined. Now, Carroll O'Connor's character, Archie in "All in the Family" had an appropriate Name for HIM!!
BTW, I strongly believe Thomas Sowell or Alan Keyes or EVEN Bill Cosby!!! would make a MUCH better President than Whats His Name.....After All, "The King ( BO ) has No Clothes"!

[Antonio Andolini]

Happy Mothers' Day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_rBidCkJxo

[Antonio Andolini]

According to ISO New England, 31 percent of the state's fuel mix is nuclear. The second-largest fuel source for New Hampshire (29 percent) is natural gas, which comes from the United States and Canada. The third-biggest source is coal (13 percent), which is mined in North America. The fourth-largest source (12 percent) is oil. Just behind oil (11 percent) is hydro power.
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20110509/OPINION01/705099995

[Antonio Andolini]

13th Annual Black Fly Breakfast highlights biomass crisis:
http://supportnhbiomass.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/black-fly-breakfast-recap/

[warren,]

"Hands Accross the Border" at Beecher Falls, May 7th 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC_hlk6NgYA

Opposition to Hydro Quebec's Northern Pass Project Officially goes International!

[Antonio Andolini]

Bin Laden's Death Changes Little (?)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703859304576306941215709576.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsForth

[Antonio Andolini]

Or is it time to leave Afghanistan?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703859304576306942627633336.html

[Wing Nut]

Rocky,
I'm not closed minded. In fact, my eyes are wide open. Do you know what I see? I'll tell you. I see a President with very poor policies that is sinking our country into a very serious debt crisis. Also, I see a President who has done nothing to stem the tide of high energy prices other than proposing a massive government program called "cap & trade" that would have made things far worse. Furthermore, he has severely limited our ability to produce oil here in the US which at the very least hurts job creation. Perhaps you cannot see these things because you tend to believe everything that the main stream media tells you (and they seem to have a particular love affair with BHO).

I'm not a racist but I am an independent thinker. And, my independent thought process tells me that BHO has to go. I’m pretty sure that as an American I still have the right to question the poor policies of the current administration.

Take care,
WN

[warren,]

Yes Antonio, It is time for Obama to fulfil another promise and wrap things up in Afghanistan. We can not afford all these Wars and Only a REAL Idiot would suggest We go into Syria!!... There! I threw You a Bone, haha! ( McCain et al? ) Forget about Libya as well! Libya is a Backwater, So What about Ghadafi? Let Italy worry about its Pax Romana! We have Energy Issues to Solve... and WN, You're wasting your time with Rocky' Political Views. Im sure He's a Great Guy otherwise, but you will not change what is Ingrained.
Berlin Biomass inches closer to Reality, and HQ's NP struggles with Increasing Opposition...Only "Dictatorial" Powers can make it happen, ie Govt's Forcing it down Our Throats against majority will....in which case Clausewitz' Theory on War/Politics comes into effect, IMO.

[Rocky]

WN, I wish to believe you when you say you're open minded, but I think most of us believe that, even those of us whose minds are made up about a lot of things. A couple of topics that we seem to close the door to options are politics and religion. I wonder if your opinions about our economy would be the same if the president was a republican? Now in reality Obama's policies on energy and the economy are real close to George W. Bush's, so close in fact that Obama has lost the support of the left wing of the democrats. Bush made us go in the tank economically and set the rate of decline/deficit which continues with Obama. Bush was never honest about his links to big oil, Daddy Bush and family made their fortunes in the oil business and so did Dick Chaney. (It worked great for them) Drilling is not the answer since there's only a minuscule (relatively speaking) of oil left to be extracted. The list is long of similarities between Bush/Obama and the truth of the matter is that neither of them put us on a path to sustainability financially or in matters of energy. If we're to point a finger at somebody we first must stand in front of a mirror, since there (collectively) you'll find the root cause. We don't want to hear the truth about what needs to be done and our politicians run through a popularity contest we call elections. Both parties tell us what we want to hear and nobody tells it as it is for fear of not being understood or elected. We went from Bush to Obama and if we next go to a Republican we won't skip a beat on the march to the dismantling of the working class, soon to be the working poor. When the earnings of the working class is stagnant for well over 10 years and the top earners goes up double digit every year during the same period, you're on a collision course with disaster. It's not Obama or Bush, it's us, our expectations, our values and our disconnect to the political system. I have a full length mirror in my bedroom.

[warren,]

Rocky, As a Proud Lefty where do You stand on "Religion"? Do You personally Believe in any particular one? If not ( and I think You are probably Agnostic if not Athiest ), why do You keep mentioning "Religion"?... as the Topic has bothered some at B & C in the past. Or do You think the Subject is Important for further Discussion?

[Wing Nut]

Rocky,

It is funny that you blame both parties for the problem (and I tend to agree) and yet you don't appreciate the Tea Party's approach which is to upset the apple cart in Washington D.C. in an attempt to hopefully bring the size of the Federal Government under control. I'm not a Tea Party member but I certainly do appreciate their desire to pull the country back from the brink of disaster, even if it means some hard choices for ALL Americans.

I wonder if you calling me close minded is the "pot calling the kettle black" so to speak.

Take care,
WN