Greetings once again to all.
I have a great history lesson I want to share with all today. This is a n article by Mr. Gabriel Kolko at the Counterpunch web site dated 14 May 2012. Here is the link;http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/05/14/why-america-is-doomed-to-one-disaster-after-another/. Mr. Kolko, a very good historian, shows how recent developments (like this past weekend) are going to have a possibly great negative effect for not just the US, but the rest of the world as well.
He points out the failure of the US military to actually "win" a war since 1945. Yes, we all know this to be true, Mr. kolko just restates the fact and adds some insight into the why. The US military planned for a war with the Soviets to be fought mainly in Europe. What we did instead was to fight in Asia,that is to say Korea, Vietnam, and now Afghanistan and Iraq. We have not fought a standing army since 1945 with the exception of the Chinese during the Korean war in the later stages of that war. We have been fighting the "home team" in our wars, as happened in Vietnam and now Iraq, Afghanistan and the other wars "we" are fighting today. The weapons and weapon systems the US military has are not designed for counter insurgency wars. Again, the US military has planned and bought weapons to fight large standing armies such as Russia and China.
Mr. Kolko also tells us what we know, that a war with China would be beyond stupid. In fact, it could mean the end of human civilization as the Chinese have nuclear weapons. A war with China might lead to the use of nuclear weapons if one side or the other thought it was not going to "win". Nuclear war would be the end of us all, as even the folks at the five sided puzzle palace know and have known for decades.
America cannot maintain its world wide empire. We are so deep in debt, yet what passes for our leadership continue to act as if the US were going to remain THE dominate force for the foreseeable future. How in hell can "we" pay for such stupidity? Where will the money come from? Even if the clowns in D.C. cut ALL social spending to the absolute bare bones, or even if they were to eliminate ALL social spending, we could not afford the empire. Who would "loan" us the money to fight a war with China? Wall Street cannot find that much money even with their derivatives scams and other "off the books" cooking. Again,it would be national suicide to go to war with China, as sooner or later, somebody would use the nukes and that would be the end.
The people are getting very restless, and not just here in the US. In Germany, Ms. Merkel's party lost the election recently in the largest (by population) state in Germany. Look at France, say "good night" Mr. Sarkozy. Greece is close to an all out revolt over the "austerity" measures that have been "prescribed" by the European Central Bank and the German financial masters. Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland are close to open revolt as well. Will this unrest spread to the US? Maybe if the Occupy movement gets rolling, who knows what the future will bring us.
In my opinion, this is way past time. I personally think that the working class and the poor have had to bear the brunt of all the tax increases and empire for far too long. I would hope that the working people in the US would finally get past the falls "differences" they think(?) they have. Actually, the working class should be in solidarity with each other as the supposed "differences" they have been taught that they have are totally artificial, manufactured to keep the working class divided. Yes sir, keep the rubes separated, all the better to rule over them. As Howard Zinn has stated, he even used this as the title of a book he wrote that I am currently reading, if the working class ever put aside their supposed "differences" we would have "A power that governments cannot suppress". There you have it folks, toss off the bull shit, made up from whole cloth "differences" and we CAN become a real power that government would have to pay attention to. We have it in our own power to be the force that we should be. Imagine, if we were to finally get rid of the false, manufactured "differences" we have been taught that we have, no government could ignore our needs and desires. As the song by John Lennon says; "Imagine". Yes, imagine how nice life could be. National health? No problem, ALL people would have access to decent, affordable health care. A good education and decent prospects for a decent wage job? Again, no problem. Add to the jobs deal, those jobs would be making products that would be useful to ALL people. We already have more than enough weapons to defend the country with, we do not need more and more "new" weapons and weapon systems.
Here is another "radical" idea. How about we eliminate our standing Army. Keep the Coast Guard, they do preform a vital need for ships and sailors on waterways that are vital for trade and recreation. Instead of standing armies, we would have a "well regulated militia", as in the National Guard. We could do like Switzerland, all men from age 18 to 65 would be issued a rifle and ammunition. Once a month, they would meet to practice their readiness to respond to emergencies and show their proficiency with their rifles.
America must give up the foolish idea of empire. We cannot afford it. The world is way too large for any country to rule over.
So many in this country claim that America is a Christian nation. Well, if so, then how about we act as one? How about as a nation we start to treat ALL as we wish to be treated? Any takers for that idea? How about it Christians? Does that sound like a good idea? Is it something the churches might get behind? If not, WHY not? After all, that is what your Christ told his disciples to do. The famous; "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Why can't we do that as a country? It should be quite easy in my opinion. Toss out the false bull crap of "American exceptionalism". It was and always will be, a total lie. NO country is "indispensable". Never was such a country, never will be one. It is just another lie we have been taught, just like those false "differences" we supposedly have. It is time, long past time actually, for all of us to throw that old garbage in the trash and start acting like decent adult human beings. Stop allowing the politicians and "celebrities" of the various media from keeping us divided. The next time some clown tells you that you or your group are "special" or "better than" another group, call them out for the bull shit they peddle. ENOUGH! Enough of the damn fool wars of choice. Enough of all the manufactured divisions that keep us so divided. Time to grow up folks, put aside the childish notions of our "differences" and act like adults.
semper fi
15 May 2012
13 May 2012
The poor and the working class get the shaft.........again
Greetings to all who stop by the old corner.
First off, I want to recommend an excellent source for reports that may be of interest. The web site, added to the list on this page, is Public Intelligence. They have many actual reports available for reading and/or download. Among the reports are many of those I have linked to in other posts here. Their web site is; http://publicintelligence.net/. Stop by this site, you might be surprised at the information available there.
Now for the rant. Warning, the language may get nasty. While I have let my postings get behind and my reading has also become overdue, I think this may make up some what for that. What set me off were two separate articles at Think Progress earlier this past week.
The first is; http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/05/08/478673/paul-ryan-food-stamps/. The second, ties in with the first and is; http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/05/08/480017/mccarthy-trimming-fat-poor/.
Yes, the elephant gang is once again attacking the poor and working class people who are already hard pressed to afford enough to eat. First off, Mr. Ryan says that; "You have to savings in some of these areas." Sure thing Paul, screw those who work and still cannot afford food to feed their families. Then along comes Mr. McCarthy, who thinks(?) that kicking some 300,000 children off school lunch programs to protect the over-bloated "defense" budget is "trimming the fat". Sure thing Mr. McCarthy. Here they go again, screw the poor and working class. Hell, this time they even want to punish the kids! All of these cuts are being proposed to ensure that the five sided puzzle palace (aka the Pentagon) does not have to "do without" as it were. As every reader of this blog and who has an interest in the US government and its military spending knows by now, the Pentagon has never passed any budget review and is still unable to even find a place to start such a review. The clowns who run the show at the Department of "Defense" could not care less who best screwed so they can continue to sate money with every single "tick" of the clock. The US military has got to be the most wasteful organization on the face of the planet. Add to this the fact that what passes as our(?) congress today has never failed to keep funding weapons and weapon systems even after the military has decided that a particular weapon or weapon system is not needed. Well, so the congress critters keep telling us, they keep funding the military so as to keep those jobs making weapons and weapon systems.
While I know full well that the US does need to defend itself, it is also true that we, the US, have more weapons than we actually need. The US still has more nuclear weapons than any other country and this after the supposed reductions in those vile weapons of mass destruction.
My reaction to all of this is; just what the bloody hell are these "representatives" thinking? Are they thinking at all even? Well, yes, they are, unfortunately. They are thinking of the campaign contributions they get and want to continue getting from the "defense" industries. Hey, there is BIG money in weapons. Also, when the TV snooze shows video of said weapons being used, why, it all looks so very "sexy" and all that. No doubt such video increases the ratings as well. Maybe we, as a nation, actually DO love war and destruction. In my opinion, the people who are the most FOR wars are those who have never been in a war, let alone, actually been a member of a military with the possibility of getting sent to a war. The term for these war lovers is chicken hawks, and I think it fits them to a "tee". Yes sir, a damn good it in my opinion.
The troops are not exactly "pro-war" either. That is because they know just who it is who will be doing the fighting and the dying when they go to war. The politicians who vote for the newest weapons and vote, when or IF the president asks them for a vote, never go to war. They do not do any fighting and they sure as hell do not do any of the dying either. They get to stay all safe and sound here in the old US of A. They risk nothing by voting for and supporting any of the damn fool wars of choice the US is now bogged down in. Bogged down is just what we are in all of our current wars of choice. If you don't think so, just ask any politician how soon "we" can leave a particular country where our troops and/or advisors are currently in. My bet is that you will be told, IF the politicians even danes to reply, that "we" must stay "until the job is done". Yeah, and just what that job is? Well, that is a "national secret". Why of course it is. And it MUSt be classified. IF the real war aims were to be made known to the people, the really true reason our troops are fighting, killing, and dying, well, that would surely piss off the people. My personal opinion, every damn fool war of choice, all of the current US wars ARE by choice, is to increase and maintain the obscene profits flowing to the "defense" industries and every other multinational corporation and of course the vile rat bastards, the Wall street banksters. Wars make for good profits. I would like for the shareholders of those corporations to choke on their "profits". It almost makes me wish that I believed in some god, just so I could ask that god to damn them all to hell and back. Not a single country or group that the US military is currently fighting with, and this includes every country where "we" are using drone aircraft, has the capability of attacking the US mainland. The US is blessed by geography. We have an ocean on either side of our country.To the North, there is Canada. Not a threat in any way. In some ways, Canada is almost like the 52nd state, we are that close to that country policy wise. To the SOuth, there is Mexico. True, that poor country is and bass been racked by outrageous drug gang warfare. The death toll from the Mexican drug war is staggering. Yes, that war is funded by old uncle Sam, just like the other wars raging around this poor, tired old planet. Poor Mexico cannot win. There is big money in wars, even relatively low intensity wars like the drug war in Mexico. There is also huge money to be made from the illegal drugs. Mexico is caught between the quest for profits by the "defense" industries and the drug gangs. Money for all who play the game, a bullet for those who oppose that war. Poor Mexico. And yes, poor Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Chechnya, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, the Palestinians, and other countries that I didn't name here. No country is safe from the war lovers and their bankster financiers. When there are profits to be made, nobody and no place is safe. Predatory capitalism at work, all living creatures run for your lives.
That the wars are being financed with borrowed money is almost too sick of a joke to be serious. That the members of our(?) congress want to cut social spending to keep the profits flowing to the war lovers is just obscene. Damn them all to hell. They are like leaches. Pests that suck the life out of all else, for their own personal enrichment. The people be damned, there are profits to reap. Yes, and there will be the dead to bury and the wounded to beg for medical help. The survivors may be jealous of those who are killed in these damn fool wars of choice. What sort of life will there be for those who survive these damn fool, idiotic wars of choice? I am sure of one thing, for the vast majority of the survivors, life will be at best a very poor imitation of a decent life. Wars destroy. They destroy people, homes, communities, entire economies. And the war lovers do not care at all about the destruction, they only see those vast profits, never the suffering. Why would they? They and their families do not actually go the the wars, they stay home safe and secure, counting their profits. It is only(!) the "little people" who do the actual fighting and dying. It is the poor and the working class who suffer the wounds of war, physical and psychological. The rich who profit from war never have "bad dreams" or flashbacks. Why would they? The war profiteers do not suffer the physical and psychological wounds as they do not go to war. No, they send others in their place. All future wars should be fought by those who favor war. How soon would war end if that were the law? And NO, they would not be able to buy their way out of going to war as many did during the War Between the States in the US 1860-65. OK, I admit, that is just a "pipe dream" of mine. And yet, I wonder, how many wars would there be if that were the case? At least then, the only ones who would be killed or wounded would be those who wanted the war.
Before I forget, the US House of Reprefentitives voted Thursday, 10 May, 2012, to cut food stamps so that the military would not have to suffer(?) any cuts in funding. America, what a country.
Thank you for your time. I wish you all the very best, but we all must do what we can to prepare for the worst. As a Marine, there were signs in boot camp that said' "Train for war, but pray for peace". So, prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.
semper fi.
First off, I want to recommend an excellent source for reports that may be of interest. The web site, added to the list on this page, is Public Intelligence. They have many actual reports available for reading and/or download. Among the reports are many of those I have linked to in other posts here. Their web site is; http://publicintelligence.net/. Stop by this site, you might be surprised at the information available there.
Now for the rant. Warning, the language may get nasty. While I have let my postings get behind and my reading has also become overdue, I think this may make up some what for that. What set me off were two separate articles at Think Progress earlier this past week.
The first is; http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/05/08/478673/paul-ryan-food-stamps/. The second, ties in with the first and is; http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/05/08/480017/mccarthy-trimming-fat-poor/.
Yes, the elephant gang is once again attacking the poor and working class people who are already hard pressed to afford enough to eat. First off, Mr. Ryan says that; "You have to savings in some of these areas." Sure thing Paul, screw those who work and still cannot afford food to feed their families. Then along comes Mr. McCarthy, who thinks(?) that kicking some 300,000 children off school lunch programs to protect the over-bloated "defense" budget is "trimming the fat". Sure thing Mr. McCarthy. Here they go again, screw the poor and working class. Hell, this time they even want to punish the kids! All of these cuts are being proposed to ensure that the five sided puzzle palace (aka the Pentagon) does not have to "do without" as it were. As every reader of this blog and who has an interest in the US government and its military spending knows by now, the Pentagon has never passed any budget review and is still unable to even find a place to start such a review. The clowns who run the show at the Department of "Defense" could not care less who best screwed so they can continue to sate money with every single "tick" of the clock. The US military has got to be the most wasteful organization on the face of the planet. Add to this the fact that what passes as our(?) congress today has never failed to keep funding weapons and weapon systems even after the military has decided that a particular weapon or weapon system is not needed. Well, so the congress critters keep telling us, they keep funding the military so as to keep those jobs making weapons and weapon systems.
While I know full well that the US does need to defend itself, it is also true that we, the US, have more weapons than we actually need. The US still has more nuclear weapons than any other country and this after the supposed reductions in those vile weapons of mass destruction.
My reaction to all of this is; just what the bloody hell are these "representatives" thinking? Are they thinking at all even? Well, yes, they are, unfortunately. They are thinking of the campaign contributions they get and want to continue getting from the "defense" industries. Hey, there is BIG money in weapons. Also, when the TV snooze shows video of said weapons being used, why, it all looks so very "sexy" and all that. No doubt such video increases the ratings as well. Maybe we, as a nation, actually DO love war and destruction. In my opinion, the people who are the most FOR wars are those who have never been in a war, let alone, actually been a member of a military with the possibility of getting sent to a war. The term for these war lovers is chicken hawks, and I think it fits them to a "tee". Yes sir, a damn good it in my opinion.
The troops are not exactly "pro-war" either. That is because they know just who it is who will be doing the fighting and the dying when they go to war. The politicians who vote for the newest weapons and vote, when or IF the president asks them for a vote, never go to war. They do not do any fighting and they sure as hell do not do any of the dying either. They get to stay all safe and sound here in the old US of A. They risk nothing by voting for and supporting any of the damn fool wars of choice the US is now bogged down in. Bogged down is just what we are in all of our current wars of choice. If you don't think so, just ask any politician how soon "we" can leave a particular country where our troops and/or advisors are currently in. My bet is that you will be told, IF the politicians even danes to reply, that "we" must stay "until the job is done". Yeah, and just what that job is? Well, that is a "national secret". Why of course it is. And it MUSt be classified. IF the real war aims were to be made known to the people, the really true reason our troops are fighting, killing, and dying, well, that would surely piss off the people. My personal opinion, every damn fool war of choice, all of the current US wars ARE by choice, is to increase and maintain the obscene profits flowing to the "defense" industries and every other multinational corporation and of course the vile rat bastards, the Wall street banksters. Wars make for good profits. I would like for the shareholders of those corporations to choke on their "profits". It almost makes me wish that I believed in some god, just so I could ask that god to damn them all to hell and back. Not a single country or group that the US military is currently fighting with, and this includes every country where "we" are using drone aircraft, has the capability of attacking the US mainland. The US is blessed by geography. We have an ocean on either side of our country.To the North, there is Canada. Not a threat in any way. In some ways, Canada is almost like the 52nd state, we are that close to that country policy wise. To the SOuth, there is Mexico. True, that poor country is and bass been racked by outrageous drug gang warfare. The death toll from the Mexican drug war is staggering. Yes, that war is funded by old uncle Sam, just like the other wars raging around this poor, tired old planet. Poor Mexico cannot win. There is big money in wars, even relatively low intensity wars like the drug war in Mexico. There is also huge money to be made from the illegal drugs. Mexico is caught between the quest for profits by the "defense" industries and the drug gangs. Money for all who play the game, a bullet for those who oppose that war. Poor Mexico. And yes, poor Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Chechnya, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, the Palestinians, and other countries that I didn't name here. No country is safe from the war lovers and their bankster financiers. When there are profits to be made, nobody and no place is safe. Predatory capitalism at work, all living creatures run for your lives.
That the wars are being financed with borrowed money is almost too sick of a joke to be serious. That the members of our(?) congress want to cut social spending to keep the profits flowing to the war lovers is just obscene. Damn them all to hell. They are like leaches. Pests that suck the life out of all else, for their own personal enrichment. The people be damned, there are profits to reap. Yes, and there will be the dead to bury and the wounded to beg for medical help. The survivors may be jealous of those who are killed in these damn fool wars of choice. What sort of life will there be for those who survive these damn fool, idiotic wars of choice? I am sure of one thing, for the vast majority of the survivors, life will be at best a very poor imitation of a decent life. Wars destroy. They destroy people, homes, communities, entire economies. And the war lovers do not care at all about the destruction, they only see those vast profits, never the suffering. Why would they? They and their families do not actually go the the wars, they stay home safe and secure, counting their profits. It is only(!) the "little people" who do the actual fighting and dying. It is the poor and the working class who suffer the wounds of war, physical and psychological. The rich who profit from war never have "bad dreams" or flashbacks. Why would they? The war profiteers do not suffer the physical and psychological wounds as they do not go to war. No, they send others in their place. All future wars should be fought by those who favor war. How soon would war end if that were the law? And NO, they would not be able to buy their way out of going to war as many did during the War Between the States in the US 1860-65. OK, I admit, that is just a "pipe dream" of mine. And yet, I wonder, how many wars would there be if that were the case? At least then, the only ones who would be killed or wounded would be those who wanted the war.
Before I forget, the US House of Reprefentitives voted Thursday, 10 May, 2012, to cut food stamps so that the military would not have to suffer(?) any cuts in funding. America, what a country.
Thank you for your time. I wish you all the very best, but we all must do what we can to prepare for the worst. As a Marine, there were signs in boot camp that said' "Train for war, but pray for peace". So, prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.
semper fi.