AUGUST 6TH

August 6, 1945 8:17 AM

August 6th. Hiroshima Day, a day to either feel guilty or in-your-face defensive. For as long as I can remember, I have been hawkish and contentious and even a little in-your-face a few times about the U.S. dropping the 'bomb' on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on that day in 1945.

Growing up in the 1950's and 60's I had heard all the stories of how brutal and fanatical and willing to fight to the death, the Japanese were and I could do simple arithmetic. My father was born in 1929 which meant he would have been 16 years old at that time and my maternal grandfather, who had fought and defeated the Germans in North Africa and Europe, would probably have been part of the dreaded invasion of Japan, too. So I have never felt one bit of remorse. In fact, I was always glad it happened.

Having lived 10 years in Los Angeles (79-89) there was always the option of going to the protest, or 'silent protest' down Wilshire Boulevard on 'Hiroshima Day'. Working only blocks away on Sepulveda Blvd for around 5 of those years I had the opportunity a few times to drive by and contribute my 'moment of silence' by honking my horn and flipping them off. I just never felt a need to apologize and I didn't feel like other people should apologize for me either.

I did a paper on stress once for a Psychology class and the most documented cases of stressed-out humans in recorded history were prisoners of the Japanese during WW II. The Japanese Imperial army was ruthless and determined to fight to the death. We had already wrapped things up in Europe by May 1945 but Japan refused to surrender unconditionally. An invasion of the Island of Japan would have undoubtedly cost a couple hundred thousand American lives. The bastards attacked us first at Pearl Harbor. My father would have been part of that invasion...

Nah, I don't feel any guilt or remorse about that morning in Hiroshima, 60 years ago today. None whatsoever.

August 6, 2001

Another significant August 6th happened just four years ago. Much less significant and in fact, many of those on the far right would tell you insignificant.

On one of his many 'working vacations' at his Crawford ranch, Bush and Condi Rice were briefed that day by some one from national security with the August 6, 2001 'presidential daily briefing', known as the 'PDB'. This particular PDB would later be part of some of the more interesting testimony before the 9/11 Commission-you know, the commission that Bush refused for nearly a year to allow Condi Rice to testify before and the one that he refused to testify before under oath and without Dick Cheney at his side?

Well, the following exchange between 9/11 Commission member Richard Ben-Veniste and Condi Rice about that 8/6/01 PDB happened, under oath, in April 2004 and I think it has some significance.

RICE: It did not warn of attacks inside the United States. It was historical information based on old reporting. There was no new threat information, and it did not, in fact, warn of any coming attacks inside the United States.

BEN-VENISTE: And I ask you whether you recall the title of that PDB?

RICE: I believe the title was, "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States."

Yeah, the 'most powerful woman in the world' - Condi Rice. I'm all for nominating her for the Republican nominee for president in 2008. Condi in 2008-Can't Wait!

Happy August 6th.