I really don't care anymore about breaking taboos. The "defense" budget is a crime against the American people, let alone humanity. 700 military bases in 80 countries? Damn near a trillion dollars in PEACETIME? It is a criminal conspiracy on the part of the military industrial complex Eisenhower warned us about, joined to the hip with De…
I really don't care anymore about breaking taboos. The "defense" budget is a crime against the American people, let alone humanity. 700 military bases in 80 countries? Damn near a trillion dollars in PEACETIME? It is a criminal conspiracy on the part of the military industrial complex Eisenhower warned us about, joined to the hip with Democrats and Republicans. In the midst of a true existential emergency that desperately needs our funding - alternative energy research to fight global warming - we are pissing our resources away to enrich god knows how many armchair corporate Daddy Warbucks.
Watching all the destruction in Gaza and Ukraine I wonder just how many stockpiled bombs there are in the world. If only those resources could be put into making lives and the environment better.
Cameron, "we" watched all the destruction in Iraq (where there were never any weapons of mass destruction and no ISIS either) with sanguine lack of interest and we also watched the destruction of Afghanistan although there were ZERO Afghan citizens on the planes that hit the world trade center.
"the U.S. post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, and Pakistan have taken a tremendous human toll on those countries. As of September 2021, an estimated 432,093 civilians in these countries have died violent deaths as a result of the wars"
......killing people for profit is normal. Yes indeed. For the military-industrial complex killing is their well-funded business. Just think about the trillions of dollars spent during the Call War, and all the subsequent wars, and what those dollars could have been spent on that could make millions of people's lives better, not to mention the environment. For all those who think that war is good for the economy, I am here to say war is ALWAYS bad for the economy.
True but repubs deployed their best propaganda spewers to fool the populace, some I know and love. Rupert made a fortune as did Dickie and others of that ilk. As I said, a fight for another day.
What are you talking about? There were thousands of us not just peeping! We were out in the streets marching when Bush first started his run up to war!
We were trying to be heard even when Cheney called us traitors!
We had great hopes that Obama would end the idiocy...
In the end both Iraq and Afghanistan ended even worse than we feared.
Our march against attacking Iraq in Seattle was huge. We all had buttons with the names of Iraqi children. Bush had to pass a special law to try to shut us up.
The protests continued and arrests were common.
Just because you weren't taking part doesn't mean there weren't any protests going on.
Mary Ellen, and partly, too, the media not covering the movement/protests in the manner they deserved to be more present on the TV in our homes. Now that I think on it, it might have had a different impact on our countrymen if the war/casualties had been covered like the images we saw (tho it took awhile as I recall) of OUR troops/allies/civilians in Vietnam—of course the draft was an added component that made it relevant to a wider swath of Americans….there was a groundswell then. I despair at all the conflicts & “man’s inhumanity to man” taking place worldwide….many places that get zero mention in the MSM. I subscribe to email updates from the Counter Extremism Project, which reports on global conflicts…I am always amazed at how many I am unaware of! https://www.counterextremism.com/
And both sides agree to an increase in our defense budget of 28 Billion, while seeking cuts in social programs that help people and cuts to the IRS, which would have allowed for more financial resources. Yeesh. We are lost.
“The lesson of Joe Biden’s depravity is not that it would be better to have Donald Trump in the White House, it’s that it doesn’t matter which one gets in, because only murderous monsters are allowed to play that role in the management of the US-centralized empire. The globe-spanning power structure which loosely revolves around Washington is held together by nonstop violence and abuse, and nobody who isn’t willing to inflict copious amounts of violence and abuse on human beings around the world will ever make it past the gatekeeping measures that have been placed between that office and the illusion of democracy that the American people have been deceived into believing is real.
The atrocities will continue for as long as that empire exists. Humanity won’t ever have a chance at a healthy and peaceful world until that world is freed from the tyranny of a planet-dominating power structure that is fueled by human blood.”
We cannot fix what ails us until we can honestly, with integrity, identify what the actual problems are, and also, use the best available evidence to craft legislation to provide solutions to problems. We have to acknowledge our real history, not our mythological one.
There are two connected threads post-WWII that we must untangle if we are to thrive. The first is the ideological thought that capitalism is better than socialism. The second comes out of the first, that we are ‘better’ than Russia/China, and have to prove it via global hegemony. Ideological rigidity can be every bit a hindrance to progress as it is a benefit.
I’m sad about this as well, and angry. We are so far off the rails now, we almost need a new constitutional convention to fix things, but the corporate control of the duopoly would guarantee only partisan loyalists could attend, and the outcome would be a joke.
Portugal completely turned around their drug policy, from our draconian criminal-based war on drugs mentality to one of a patient-based rehabilitation health care model. The key was not just forming a commission of experts to study the issue and make recommendations, but getting the buy-in from all of their political parties to adopt the recommendations coming out of the commission…. with no alterations or changes, before the experts panel was empowered.
We have lost trust/faith in so many of our institutions over the past decades, from government to religion to academia to science, much of it with good reason, as the influence of money coming out of neoliberal economic theory has captured all of the aforementioned entities in its cancerous embrace.
It’s going to be a hard slog coming out of this, if we ever do. We’ll see.
Tom, I agree. We are in denial of our past and present actions and policies. Until we, as a people, take the blinders off and recognize that ours is NOT a country that cares about the health, education, and safety of it's people. It's very disheartening. Money is the only currency that counts.
In ME, our local (tiny) school district provides breakfast and lunch for anyone that wants it. Republicans hate that concept because some children of well-to-do Democrats might get a free meal on their dime.
Nothing is worse for human development than malnourishment besides physical abuse.
As for Viagra -- perhaps the DOD could order the generic and save us some bucks. /S
The little blue pill is funded yet I pay out of pocket $113.00 dollars for a 30 day supply of heart medication. Something is wrong with this picture. OH...let’s not talk about not covering contraceptives but we will cover erectile dysfunction!!!
That's awesome. Governor Walz said yesterday, (when insurrection supporting Republicans said it was to expensive) kids don't need to stress out for being hungry. They learn more with full bellies. He was teacher.
Lisa, maybe we wouldn’t be so contentious as a society if they spent that money on non-gender based mood/relaxation enhancing drugs/supplements….just a thought! And a song to with it! Shiny Happy People by R.E.M.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsI2BdCmoCA
F'ing Men and their power, money, land, water, guns, oil, bombs, weaponized penises, and self-righteous opinions. They take no responsibility for their atrocities. Always pointing the finger while they turn around and do it again. It takes 2 to make an unwanted child. Who's the one whose life is risked or pays the price?
Ok. Not all men. Still, they are men who do these obnoxious things at the peril of the rest of us, not to mention the animals and the earth. I'm sick of it.
Amen to that! I've been married for 41 years and my husband never had to worry about me cheating because I sure as fuck wouldn't want another one. I did men's groups for years. Little boys that never go up project their bullshit insecurities on the rest of us. Too many have a sense of entitlement over women. Power and control are like a drug. They throw thousands of rape kits in the garbage and tell us to suck it it up. Men have killed, maimed and destroyed human beings for power. And they get away it damn day. Now we have a new generation of young men that want to follow in Andrew Tate's footsteps.
I know there are good men out there. We need them to speak up and hold each other accountable. I woman was recently attacked in a public setting. There were men standing and watching, but not one would help her. I'm not holding my breath. This is a war on women and children. All over the world.
I don't have issues with men getting treated for ED. I have problem with the fact it's free to them, but women pay. And yes, I was referring the GQP refusal to pay to feed kids in schools. That should be a no-brainer. I should have been more specific.
c'mon...that's only a billion and change per base; what are you complaining about? just make a stealth move and load up on defense contractors in your 401k. We're on a permanent war-time footing and that doesn't include money heading to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan or anywhere else in the world. Some "pay" for the hardware they receive, but we, the American taxpayers are subsidizing those sales to a substantial degree in our 1040's every year.
And that doesn't include the deaths of men and women who are sons, daughters, fathers, mothers....etc, It doesn't include the broken bodies and mental struggles brought on by being involved in the violence of war. The increase in homelessness and increase in drug use brought on through our lack of care ie the war is over....pick up the pieces and move on.
The out of control yelling and crudeness displayed by two of the female Republicans is an insult to our nation. This drama was an insult to each man and woman who has put their life to stand for "freedom and the right of everyone to be treated fairly before the law.
Some costs are frankly incalculable...the cost of a congressperson is far greater than their salary, it’s a shame we can’t rely on them to carry out their most important governmental housekeeping responsibilities and save the political theater for their own districts
The robber barons like Rupert, Charles Koch, the Mercer family, etc. want the government NOT to function for the overall welfare of the rest of us. Stirring up a sh*tshow with people like MTG and Lauren Boebert serve the robber barons just fine
JennSH YES, especially when that fight LOOKS like the extreme right's quest for fiscal responsibility by cutting funding for one of the clearest ways of raising government funds we have, funding for the IRS! REALLY!!
From the latrine wall in Da Nang: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, 'cause I am the baddest m---------er in the valley." The closest description of the United States I've ever seen. We do one thing supremely well: kill people. Hell, we even one-upped the Kalashnikov with the M-16 (AR-15), our national weapon of choice.
Thank you for expressing exactly how I feel. I am surprised that more folk in my generation (baby boomer) don’t express this sentiment. We spent so many years protesting the Viet Nam War, only to allow the military to gain traction year after year with bigger and bigger budgets, we have apparently lost our pacifist way. Then again the entire World seems to think the best way to avoid war is to build up military power. It’s like going on a diet and stocking the freezer with ice cream!
Yeah, I am pretty fed up with the over glorification of the military. Desk clerks far from danger get more respect than our teachers and nurses on the front lines of a very dangerous education and health care environment. Don’t get me wrong, I admire and respect men and women who serve, but the idol worship has gone too far, and it’s part of the brainwashing of the military industrial complex to overspend and destroy accountability. We need to restore the old American attitude towards our military. It’s been replaced by the Roman model. Look where that ended.
Nowhere have I suggested disarmament, let alone complete disarmament. I'm talking about applying the same standards to military spending that the GOP likes to apply to spending on peoples' health, education, and welfare.
I really don't care anymore about breaking taboos. The "defense" budget is a crime against the American people, let alone humanity. 700 military bases in 80 countries? Damn near a trillion dollars in PEACETIME? It is a criminal conspiracy on the part of the military industrial complex Eisenhower warned us about, joined to the hip with Democrats and Republicans. In the midst of a true existential emergency that desperately needs our funding - alternative energy research to fight global warming - we are pissing our resources away to enrich god knows how many armchair corporate Daddy Warbucks.
Watching all the destruction in Gaza and Ukraine I wonder just how many stockpiled bombs there are in the world. If only those resources could be put into making lives and the environment better.
Cameron, "we" watched all the destruction in Iraq (where there were never any weapons of mass destruction and no ISIS either) with sanguine lack of interest and we also watched the destruction of Afghanistan although there were ZERO Afghan citizens on the planes that hit the world trade center.
"the U.S. post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, and Pakistan have taken a tremendous human toll on those countries. As of September 2021, an estimated 432,093 civilians in these countries have died violent deaths as a result of the wars"
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human/civilians#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20post%2D9%2F11,a%20result%20of%20the%20wars.
You read that RIGHT. FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY TWO THOUSAND innocent dead human bodies sponsored by US (USA) and??
Not a peep of complaint from anyone in the USA. For the most part we all just went about our daily lives like killing people for profit is normal.
After all, "Survivor" is on at 8pm so "What? Me Worry"?
......killing people for profit is normal. Yes indeed. For the military-industrial complex killing is their well-funded business. Just think about the trillions of dollars spent during the Call War, and all the subsequent wars, and what those dollars could have been spent on that could make millions of people's lives better, not to mention the environment. For all those who think that war is good for the economy, I am here to say war is ALWAYS bad for the economy.
And let’s not forget the almost daily killings in the us because farmers need their ak’s to shoot prairie dogs.
But do remember tfg says HE could have negotiated the Civil War.
Also destruction to the environment.
True but repubs deployed their best propaganda spewers to fool the populace, some I know and love. Rupert made a fortune as did Dickie and others of that ilk. As I said, a fight for another day.
What are you talking about? There were thousands of us not just peeping! We were out in the streets marching when Bush first started his run up to war!
We were trying to be heard even when Cheney called us traitors!
We had great hopes that Obama would end the idiocy...
In the end both Iraq and Afghanistan ended even worse than we feared.
There were peeps of complaint.
Our march against attacking Iraq in Seattle was huge. We all had buttons with the names of Iraqi children. Bush had to pass a special law to try to shut us up.
The protests continued and arrests were common.
Just because you weren't taking part doesn't mean there weren't any protests going on.
Mary Ellen, and partly, too, the media not covering the movement/protests in the manner they deserved to be more present on the TV in our homes. Now that I think on it, it might have had a different impact on our countrymen if the war/casualties had been covered like the images we saw (tho it took awhile as I recall) of OUR troops/allies/civilians in Vietnam—of course the draft was an added component that made it relevant to a wider swath of Americans….there was a groundswell then. I despair at all the conflicts & “man’s inhumanity to man” taking place worldwide….many places that get zero mention in the MSM. I subscribe to email updates from the Counter Extremism Project, which reports on global conflicts…I am always amazed at how many I am unaware of! https://www.counterextremism.com/
Exactly.
And both sides agree to an increase in our defense budget of 28 Billion, while seeking cuts in social programs that help people and cuts to the IRS, which would have allowed for more financial resources. Yeesh. We are lost.
But, but, but, both parties aren’t the same!
When it comes to supporting endless war…. they are exactly the same, and worthy of the accompanying critique and derision for doing so.
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/biden-is-everything-people-feared
“The lesson of Joe Biden’s depravity is not that it would be better to have Donald Trump in the White House, it’s that it doesn’t matter which one gets in, because only murderous monsters are allowed to play that role in the management of the US-centralized empire. The globe-spanning power structure which loosely revolves around Washington is held together by nonstop violence and abuse, and nobody who isn’t willing to inflict copious amounts of violence and abuse on human beings around the world will ever make it past the gatekeeping measures that have been placed between that office and the illusion of democracy that the American people have been deceived into believing is real.
The atrocities will continue for as long as that empire exists. Humanity won’t ever have a chance at a healthy and peaceful world until that world is freed from the tyranny of a planet-dominating power structure that is fueled by human blood.”
Tom,
I am very sad to say that, today, I mostly agree with your post although it is very strongly worded.
But, I cannot deny accurate writing.
Mike,
We cannot fix what ails us until we can honestly, with integrity, identify what the actual problems are, and also, use the best available evidence to craft legislation to provide solutions to problems. We have to acknowledge our real history, not our mythological one.
There are two connected threads post-WWII that we must untangle if we are to thrive. The first is the ideological thought that capitalism is better than socialism. The second comes out of the first, that we are ‘better’ than Russia/China, and have to prove it via global hegemony. Ideological rigidity can be every bit a hindrance to progress as it is a benefit.
I’m sad about this as well, and angry. We are so far off the rails now, we almost need a new constitutional convention to fix things, but the corporate control of the duopoly would guarantee only partisan loyalists could attend, and the outcome would be a joke.
Portugal completely turned around their drug policy, from our draconian criminal-based war on drugs mentality to one of a patient-based rehabilitation health care model. The key was not just forming a commission of experts to study the issue and make recommendations, but getting the buy-in from all of their political parties to adopt the recommendations coming out of the commission…. with no alterations or changes, before the experts panel was empowered.
We have lost trust/faith in so many of our institutions over the past decades, from government to religion to academia to science, much of it with good reason, as the influence of money coming out of neoliberal economic theory has captured all of the aforementioned entities in its cancerous embrace.
It’s going to be a hard slog coming out of this, if we ever do. We’ll see.
Peace, t
Tom, I agree. We are in denial of our past and present actions and policies. Until we, as a people, take the blinders off and recognize that ours is NOT a country that cares about the health, education, and safety of it's people. It's very disheartening. Money is the only currency that counts.
"ours is NOT a country that cares about the health, education, and safety of it's people."
👆👆👆
Hear Hear🙌
I was surprised the Defense Department spends 87 million on Viagra a year. But, says no to free school lunches. Except in Minnesota.
In ME, our local (tiny) school district provides breakfast and lunch for anyone that wants it. Republicans hate that concept because some children of well-to-do Democrats might get a free meal on their dime.
Nothing is worse for human development than malnourishment besides physical abuse.
As for Viagra -- perhaps the DOD could order the generic and save us some bucks. /S
The little blue pill is funded yet I pay out of pocket $113.00 dollars for a 30 day supply of heart medication. Something is wrong with this picture. OH...let’s not talk about not covering contraceptives but we will cover erectile dysfunction!!!
That's awesome. Governor Walz said yesterday, (when insurrection supporting Republicans said it was to expensive) kids don't need to stress out for being hungry. They learn more with full bellies. He was teacher.
Malnourishment is physical abuse but it needs to be stated twice for its’ serious affects.
Lisa59,
What a shock!!!!(regarding Defense Dept. spending!!!)
Thank you Minnesota for helping families and children by providing school lunches for those who are in need.
Apparently the Defense Department needs their men to feel manly.
That's funny! They get free Viagra and women have to pay for their contraception meds. It's a misogynistic world out there.
Lisa, maybe we wouldn’t be so contentious as a society if they spent that money on non-gender based mood/relaxation enhancing drugs/supplements….just a thought! And a song to with it! Shiny Happy People by R.E.M.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsI2BdCmoCA
Mifepristone next -NOT! Viagra on the chopping block!
F'ing Men and their power, money, land, water, guns, oil, bombs, weaponized penises, and self-righteous opinions. They take no responsibility for their atrocities. Always pointing the finger while they turn around and do it again. It takes 2 to make an unwanted child. Who's the one whose life is risked or pays the price?
Ok. Not all men. Still, they are men who do these obnoxious things at the peril of the rest of us, not to mention the animals and the earth. I'm sick of it.
Amen to that! I've been married for 41 years and my husband never had to worry about me cheating because I sure as fuck wouldn't want another one. I did men's groups for years. Little boys that never go up project their bullshit insecurities on the rest of us. Too many have a sense of entitlement over women. Power and control are like a drug. They throw thousands of rape kits in the garbage and tell us to suck it it up. Men have killed, maimed and destroyed human beings for power. And they get away it damn day. Now we have a new generation of young men that want to follow in Andrew Tate's footsteps.
I know there are good men out there. We need them to speak up and hold each other accountable. I woman was recently attacked in a public setting. There were men standing and watching, but not one would help her. I'm not holding my breath. This is a war on women and children. All over the world.
Really?
I don't have issues with men getting treated for ED. I have problem with the fact it's free to them, but women pay. And yes, I was referring the GQP refusal to pay to feed kids in schools. That should be a no-brainer. I should have been more specific.
Spot on!! Someone has to pay for their reelection. Everything would be very different if money were taken out of politics. Problem = money.
c'mon...that's only a billion and change per base; what are you complaining about? just make a stealth move and load up on defense contractors in your 401k. We're on a permanent war-time footing and that doesn't include money heading to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan or anywhere else in the world. Some "pay" for the hardware they receive, but we, the American taxpayers are subsidizing those sales to a substantial degree in our 1040's every year.
Just sayin'
And that doesn't include the deaths of men and women who are sons, daughters, fathers, mothers....etc, It doesn't include the broken bodies and mental struggles brought on by being involved in the violence of war. The increase in homelessness and increase in drug use brought on through our lack of care ie the war is over....pick up the pieces and move on.
The out of control yelling and crudeness displayed by two of the female Republicans is an insult to our nation. This drama was an insult to each man and woman who has put their life to stand for "freedom and the right of everyone to be treated fairly before the law.
Some costs are frankly incalculable...the cost of a congressperson is far greater than their salary, it’s a shame we can’t rely on them to carry out their most important governmental housekeeping responsibilities and save the political theater for their own districts
The robber barons like Rupert, Charles Koch, the Mercer family, etc. want the government NOT to function for the overall welfare of the rest of us. Stirring up a sh*tshow with people like MTG and Lauren Boebert serve the robber barons just fine
JennSH YES, especially when that fight LOOKS like the extreme right's quest for fiscal responsibility by cutting funding for one of the clearest ways of raising government funds we have, funding for the IRS! REALLY!!
Bingo.
Tax the Rich! It's their game anyway. They are the ones who should PAY for it!
Change the f to l JS (footing to looting) ...Katy did an excellent show n tell on the actuality of funding ...they can NOT account for far. too. much.
Accountability Accountability. Accountability .
From the latrine wall in Da Nang: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, 'cause I am the baddest m---------er in the valley." The closest description of the United States I've ever seen. We do one thing supremely well: kill people. Hell, we even one-upped the Kalashnikov with the M-16 (AR-15), our national weapon of choice.
True but a fight for another day. If there is another day. Priorities, please
Yes, priorities. Fighting to retain a semblance of democracy is #1. Fighting to retain a livable biosphere is 1A.
Always a fight for another day; for those to whom the tribal wars supercede the actual ones.
Thank you for expressing exactly how I feel. I am surprised that more folk in my generation (baby boomer) don’t express this sentiment. We spent so many years protesting the Viet Nam War, only to allow the military to gain traction year after year with bigger and bigger budgets, we have apparently lost our pacifist way. Then again the entire World seems to think the best way to avoid war is to build up military power. It’s like going on a diet and stocking the freezer with ice cream!
Yeah, I am pretty fed up with the over glorification of the military. Desk clerks far from danger get more respect than our teachers and nurses on the front lines of a very dangerous education and health care environment. Don’t get me wrong, I admire and respect men and women who serve, but the idol worship has gone too far, and it’s part of the brainwashing of the military industrial complex to overspend and destroy accountability. We need to restore the old American attitude towards our military. It’s been replaced by the Roman model. Look where that ended.
🎯🎯🎯
Right on Kerry👏
Been saying this for years, though not as well as you!
Abso-f***ing-lutely, Kerry!!
Spot on.
Each shell in this destroyer's armory cost $800,000! This is the impunity of the military industrial complex. The Pentagon has NEVER been audited. Who the F knows where the money goes? And none of our elected officials seem to care. https://www.slashgear.com/1349354/why-us-cancelled-22-billion-dollar-stealth-ship/
Nowhere have I suggested disarmament, let alone complete disarmament. I'm talking about applying the same standards to military spending that the GOP likes to apply to spending on peoples' health, education, and welfare.