Since World War II, the United States has aggressively vied to expand its empire through covert CIA operations, support of ruthless dictators who support US interests, economic manipulation, and direct military intervention. While many readers who email me agree with my condemnations of US state terrorism (which has resulted in the murder of millions of innocent civilians), a surprising number of bellicose, mean-spirited individuals have indicated their strong support for such actions. The wealthy elite, who are the true power-brokers in our nation, thrive on the support of such spiritually shallow individuals who are blind to their own malevolence and hypocrisy. Rallying for the cause of "conservatism" in the face of the "weak", "whining" liberals, these blindly patriotic individuals readily accept the false dichotomies such as the "good American Christians" versus the "bad Islamofascists" perpetuated by government shills like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly. While these "patriots" wave the flag and rush to label those who dare to challenge the actions of the hallowed US government as traitors, Communists, or even terrorists, they unwittingly advance the cause of history's deadliest and most powerful terrorist, the federal government of the United States of America.
Forget "the majority rules": He who has the gold rules"
Ironically, many supporters of the current paradigm in the United States still believe they are a majority. On September 24 in Washington DC, I marched with over 300,000 others who support peace and social justice, and who oppose the Bush regime. The next day, about 400 Bush supporters "rallied". According to the Associate Press, a very recent AP-Ipsos poll shows that 28% of Americans believe the country is headed in the "right direction" while 66% believe our nation is "on the wrong track". The truth is that the enemies of peace and social justice are in power because they carefully constructed a powerful propaganda and campaign finance machine, not because they represent a majority of Americans' interests. The fraudulent presidential "victory" of 2000 represents their crowning achievement. Protecting corporate and aristocratic interests is their goal, and they are accomplishing it quite handily.
Despite the Machiavellian efforts of men like Karl Rove, the Tom Delay indictments, Delay's connections with the Blunts, and the ongoing investigation of Patrick Fitzgerald could spell significant trouble for Bush, his corrupt cronies, and his allies in Congress. Possibly there is enough integrity and power left in the US legal system to derail, or at least postpone, the obscene power grab by the wealthy in the United States. Sadly though, even if things end grievously for the current regime of aristocrats, the American people will need to work vigorously to prevent a new one from emerging.
Regardless of its legal difficulties, or perhaps because of them, the Bush regime continues to push the United States closer to the precipice of overt rule by an elite few. As many of their Religious Right supporters demand a literal interpretation of the Bible, the elite power brokers in the US government continue chanting their litany calling for a literal interpretation of the Constitution. Lambasting the actions of judges who "legislate from the bench", they continue their insistence on judicial nominees who will "strictly interpret the Constitution". Despite my disgust, I admire their strategic brilliance. Tyranny thrives on reducing the populace to "black and white" thinkers. Iron-fisted rulers crush dissent from those who attempt to introduce thorny complexities which threaten the simplistic propaganda with which they manipulate their subjects. Our leaders know that if the American public accepts the absurd notion that there is no room for subjective interpretation of the Constitution to adapt to the changes that come with the passage of time, they can utilize the Supreme Court as an accomplice in crushing the gains made by the social justice movement in the Twentieth Century. The white, wealthy patriarchy is salivating over the prospect of its return to unabated power.
How many guns do you need? There are hungry people here"
In the battle of guns versus butter in the United States, guns are winning by a crushing margin. As the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina clearly demonstrated, the militarization of America has severely weakened the capacity and the will of the federal government to provide for the general welfare of its citizens. Despite being the wealthiest nation in history, 13% of our citizens live below the poverty level and the US is the only industrialized nation which does not provide health care to 100% of its citizens. There is no excuse for the existence of poverty in a nation with such vast resources. The aristocrats build their fortunes on the backs of the poor and working class, and the incestuous relationship between the federal government and the corporate vehicles of the wealthy is one of their primary means of maintaining the gross disparity of wealth which exists in the United States. Former President Eisenhower warned us against allowing the military industrial complex to become too dominant, but as Andy Rooney recently opined on 60 Minutes, we ignored Ike's sage advice.
Among other things, Rooney said:
"We still have 139,000 soldiers in Iraq today.
Almost 2,000 Americans have died there. For what?
Now we have the hurricanes to pay for. One way our government pays for a lot of things is by borrowing from countries like China.
Another way the government is planning to pay for the war and the hurricane damage is by cutting spending for things like Medicare prescriptions, highway construction, farm payments, AMTRAK, National Public Radio and loans to graduate students. Do these sound like the things you'd like to cut back on to pay for Iraq?
I'll tell you where we ought to start saving: on our bloated military establishment.
We're paying for weapons we'll never use.
No other Country spends the kind of money we spend on our military. Last year Japan spent $42 billion. Italy spent $28 billion, Russia spent only $19 billion. The United States spent $455 billion."
One hand washes the other, brother
Forget "the majority rules": He who has the gold rules"
Ironically, many supporters of the current paradigm in the United States still believe they are a majority. On September 24 in Washington DC, I marched with over 300,000 others who support peace and social justice, and who oppose the Bush regime. The next day, about 400 Bush supporters "rallied". According to the Associate Press, a very recent AP-Ipsos poll shows that 28% of Americans believe the country is headed in the "right direction" while 66% believe our nation is "on the wrong track". The truth is that the enemies of peace and social justice are in power because they carefully constructed a powerful propaganda and campaign finance machine, not because they represent a majority of Americans' interests. The fraudulent presidential "victory" of 2000 represents their crowning achievement. Protecting corporate and aristocratic interests is their goal, and they are accomplishing it quite handily.
Despite the Machiavellian efforts of men like Karl Rove, the Tom Delay indictments, Delay's connections with the Blunts, and the ongoing investigation of Patrick Fitzgerald could spell significant trouble for Bush, his corrupt cronies, and his allies in Congress. Possibly there is enough integrity and power left in the US legal system to derail, or at least postpone, the obscene power grab by the wealthy in the United States. Sadly though, even if things end grievously for the current regime of aristocrats, the American people will need to work vigorously to prevent a new one from emerging.
How many guns do you need? There are hungry people here"
In the battle of guns versus butter in the United States, guns are winning by a crushing margin. As the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina clearly demonstrated, the militarization of America has severely weakened the capacity and the will of the federal government to provide for the general welfare of its citizens. Despite being the wealthiest nation in history, 13% of our citizens live below the poverty level and the US is the only industrialized nation which does not provide health care to 100% of its citizens. There is no excuse for the existence of poverty in a nation with such vast resources. The aristocrats build their fortunes on the backs of the poor and working class, and the incestuous relationship between the federal government and the corporate vehicles of the wealthy is one of their primary means of maintaining the gross disparity of wealth which exists in the United States. Former President Eisenhower warned us against allowing the military industrial complex to become too dominant, but as Andy Rooney recently opined on 60 Minutes, we ignored Ike's sage advice.
Among other things, Rooney said:
"We still have 139,000 soldiers in Iraq today.
Almost 2,000 Americans have died there. For what?
Now we have the hurricanes to pay for. One way our government pays for a lot of things is by borrowing from countries like China.
Another way the government is planning to pay for the war and the hurricane damage is by cutting spending for things like Medicare prescriptions, highway construction, farm payments, AMTRAK, National Public Radio and loans to graduate students. Do these sound like the things you'd like to cut back on to pay for Iraq?
I'll tell you where we ought to start saving: on our bloated military establishment.
We're paying for weapons we'll never use.
No other Country spends the kind of money we spend on our military. Last year Japan spent $42 billion. Italy spent $28 billion, Russia spent only $19 billion. The United States spent $455 billion."
One hand washes the other, brother
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