Jack's Spats

A clarification is needed regarding the title of my blog. Since "spat" has various meanings, without getting too pedantic, I offer this:
Spat here is used as a noun, not a verb, as the past of “spit”, though at times the blog’s subject may arouse such anger that I want to expectorate.
Moreover, as a noun, “spat” here does not refers to a shoe covering as in:
“A cloth or leather gaiter covering the shoe upper and the ankle and fastening under the shoe with a strap [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/spat - short for spatterdash - a legging. First Known Use: circa 1802]
though at times I’m tempted to use my shoed foot against the back side of those who hold forth so pompously in arguing for their own point of view, unwilling to listen to any opinion contrary to theirs.
Nor does “spat” here refer to a sea creature as in:
Spatagus purpurea – Heart Urchin, invertebrate, an oyster
since the views here reflect a stance with a good deal of back bone.
And be sure that the “spat” here is not related to “spate”
[a sudden or strong outburst : a spate of anger]
since there is no intention of outbursts, but rather of calm, measured and well-thought-out exposition of the finest logic.
Having written all that, I find now, having considered the title, I recognize that what I have in mind bears only a passing relation to the meaning of the word used in the blog's title:
Spat - [C] informal, a short argument, usually about something which is not important
Spat [spæt ] –noun 1. a petty quarrel. 2. a light blow; slap; smack.
–verb (used without object) 3. to engage in a petty quarrel or dispute. 4. to splash or spatter; rain spatting against the window.
–verb (used with object) 5. to strike lightly; slap.
Origin: 1795–1805, Americanism.
Synonyms 1. tiff, scrap, set-to [source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/spat]
Since I have no quarrel with those who disagree with me and the subjects treated in this blog are quite weighty [not at all petty], I have to concede that the main reason for choosing the title was its sounding like the name of the 16th century Mother Goose character whose wife could “eat no lean.” Neither fat nor lean here, the food for thought in the subjects presented may at times contain some gristle.

No matter the misapplication of "spat" in the title, my hope is that readers will enjoy and comment in civility and sanity on the morsels of thought presented here.

U.S. Foreign Policy in Latin America

"Plan Colombia" was originally worked out between the Clinton Administration and Colombia as as part of the "War on Drugs"--A military solution for an economic and human rights challenge.

Probably more than you want to know about recent developments can be found in the NACLA article from May 29 at: https://nacla.org/node/5861

The link below is to an article about what the Pentagon budget wants to fund in Colombia--"Obama's Plan Colombia" as I've referred to it:
New Military Base in Colombia Would Spread Pentagon Reach Throughout Latin America
http://www.soaw.org/presente/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=214&Itemid=74

I really shouldn't attribute it to President Obama since it's not his budget. Nor is it likely to be his preference. Since he received as a gift from Hugo Chavez a copy of Open Veins of Latin America: five centuries of the pillage of a continent by Eduardo Galeano early in May at t he Latin American Summit, I'm hoping he reads "Part 3: Seven Years After." A modern day "gun boat diplomacy" with a new U.S. Base in Colombia at the doorstep of Venezuela would not be the image of Change we voted for. No one wants Latin America to be the next front after the Middle East. You may be aware of the SOA Watch Campaign to pass HR 2567. For more: http://www.soaw.org/article.php?id=96

Readers are urged to get this information to anyone they know to help get this bill passed. You may have heard that a similar resolution passed the House vote last year. We want to get this through the Senate this year. It would be great to get this passed in the 25th Anniversary of SOAW, and make this year's Vigil and Solemn Procession a real celebration at the gates of Ft. Benning, Columbus, GA, on November 20-22, 2009!