Stump Lane
in the dirt since history began

Our exceedingly long-winded, but undeniably interesting guest author writes:

I am Anakin Skywalker. You may know me as Darth Vader. You probably think of me as the evilest motherfucker that ever lived. Please reserve that judgment until you have read what follows.

There has been a lot of material produced purporting to be my “history.” I find it ironic that an ongoing theme through most of this material is the Jedi teaching that “many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” I am also aware of the adage that “history belongs to the victor.” So if one looks at my “history” merely as this sort of superficial morality play, then I can see why Obi-Wan’s black and white self-aggrandizing version–and its good versus evil motif, in which my acceptance of the teachings of the Dark Side of the Force, and certain difficult decisions I made, especially during that emotionally charged and very stressful transitional period right at the end of the Clone Wars–might be appealing to one with a limited “point of view” like Obi-Wan’s. I contend that much of this recorded “history” is the result of Obi-Wan’s revisionism. So if you will allow me the luxury of some “revisionism” of my own, I will share my story–add my testimony to the record, if you will–and hopefully give some insight into my tragic saga.

Note before clicking: If you have not seen Revenge of the Sith yet, you will find spoilers. (To avoid spoilers, skip to page 3)
Otherwise, start here.

The argument against Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 implication that our Afghanistan strategy may have been compromised by a conflict of interest:
War, Lies, and Videotape: A Viewer’s Guide to Fahrenheit 9/11

In any case, these claims aren’t even true. The notion that the invasion of Afghanistan had anything to do with the Unocal pipeline idea is belied by the simple fact that efforts to create such a pipeline ended in 1998.. ..and have not been resumed.. ..In 2002, after the American overthrow of the Taliban, officials in the new Afghan government agreed with Turkmenistan and Pakistan to discuss a different pipeline.. ..but this agreement had nothing to do with Unocal, Halliburton, or any other American company—or with anything that was at all related to the earlier pipeline possibility that Moore is talking about. [Emphasis added]

News item from May 13th:
Afghan ‘pipe dream’ draws closer to reality

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Back in the days of the Taliban, Mir Sediq was an engineer for Unocal, working on a pipe dream: bringing natural gas from Turkmenistan down through Afghanistan to Pakistani ports on the Arabian Sea. [Emphasis added]

Today, Mr. Sediq is minister for Afghanistan’s energy, mining, and industrial sector, and he’s confident that the pipeline is coming close to reality.

I do not claim the Afghanistan War was waged solely in the interest of this pipeline. However, we know how politics works. We know what kind of influence corporations hold over politicians worldwide. We know how opportunistic these creatures are; and war provides opportunity. Moore may have sensationalized the pipeline connection in his argument, but the writing is on the wall.

Almost every political act is tainted by power-seekers under the influence of money in the service of opportunistic private institutions.
(Another aspect of the Great Machine – M.)

FBI asks Congress for power to seize documents

The FBI on Tuesday asked the U.S. Congress for sweeping new powers to seize business or private records, ranging from medical information to book purchases, to investigate terrorism without first securing approval from a judge.

As opposed to:
Constitution for the United States of America – Bill of Rights – Article the sixth [Amendment IV]

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The legislation is a new draft of the USA Patriot Act that, rather than letting provisions ‘sunset’ at the end of 2005, actually grants more powers for secret investigations. Maybe we should remind our folks on the U.S. Senate Committee on Intelligence that we haven’t forgotten about the Constitution and that they need to keep their grubby hands off our persons, houses, papers, and effects.