INSANITY – Part Two: A New Day a New Dawn?
Of all the people you know or meet how rare, if at all, is it, to encounter anyone who really wants empire and war and with all the insane amounts of money spent as such?
The question is who amongst us that we personally know if asked would say, yes, without any qualification, I want to have wars?
For now, then, and just for discussion, forgetting all else (including the “other” side) and starting therefore from square one and with the assumption (or fact) that we create our world, this question is asked – So why is it a country (Us) that is only about 4% of the world’s population has dropped more bombs than the 96% rest of the world combined?
If we really would prefer to not have wars and to use that nearly unfathomable amount of money so directed to be redirected to our having an even better quality of living and with all its added enjoyment, please know there is a way.
First a good question might be how did we get to this point where more than half of all the money we spend is spent on this now modern-day completely unnecessary and historically unfounded philosophy of perpetual war for so-called perpetual peace?
How is this philosophy allowed to be perpetuated and is there something that can be done, what about “there is a way, really” and is there hope presently either in fact or at least on the horizon?
Reflections on the GOP (Grand Old Party – the Republicans) presidential primaries indicates that there is hope, that we may be getting close to the end of this stated and described insanity.
One nominee, who is the first place winner so far, wants America’s military to be so powerful that no one will ever challenge us. Now as scary as that is and in particular as reminiscent of others in history, it is unambiguously insane as there is no such reality in that, as there is simply no such thing.
Any entity, for example a country, that wants, (as previously blogged) “to be the bully on the block,” would then by that very nature (and by human nature) always be under attack.
Meanwhile the thought here is that this man is absolutely and absolutely only, a very lost very rich man whose personal wealth ranks in only the .0012% of our population and is truly ignorant of a more true life. (Please let’s discuss).
Now, and back to the primaries, the second place winner so far,
supports what is largely exactly the opposite. He wants to draw down
America’s military from its currently having somewhere between five
hundred and eleven hundred bases in over one hundred and fifty
countries.
(Earlier blog stated the US has over 300 bases however more recent research shows the much larger numbers):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_deployments
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=5564
http://www.occasionalplanet.org/2011/01/24/military-mystery-how-many-bases-does-the-us-have-anyway/
The point here is not to suggest or say definitively that one man or one man’s views are necessarily worth your vote as being better than the other’s. We can each decide on our own and certainly there are other candidates.
But the point is that now with such diverse views in the political discussion and therefore the elephant in the room is being noticed and other even better founded views can now more readily enter the discussion, we are then it seems here anyhow, perhaps getting closer to that better quality of life (worldwide) and its enjoyment..?
What do you think?
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Let’s Finally Support Israel For Real
The United States is certainly considered as an ally of Israel. However a most profound question is, are we really?
After more than a half century of financial aid to Israel, year after year after year and to what present day is an all things considered estimate of well over eight million dollars a day (day after day after day and without end) from the US to Israel, Israel still remains as a military state and is still unsecured.
The United States, in its support of Israel, has stood out in the United Nations from nearly always supporting Israel even when many others haven’t, all the way to not voting yes on the recent UN vote granting Palestine its recognition as a country (state) and nearly everything in between.
Yet Israel still remains an unsecured military state.
We even work with Israel on not only promoting “Democracy” at Israel’s location in the Middle East but also work with Israel on a Joint Defense Program.
This joint defense program also comes with the US support at over a billion dollars (well over another more than a half million dollars a day, day after day) over the last four years.
Yet Israel is still a military state and still unsecured.
So again, with insanity being defined as doing the same thing over and over (yes and over and over and over again) and expecting a different result, is it then more accurate to say that we are in reality not so much an ally to Israel but a co-dependent participant in insanity?
Not only does Israel not, or no longer, need such (significant amounts of) money from the US and not only does what appears to be no less than a growing plurality of Israelis no longer want such financial support from the US, but the US, we ourselves, can no longer afford to give it.
With what amounts to, based on an equivalency of a dollar every second being over 475,000 years in debt regarding the United States and with well-formed arguments that the US and Israel would both be better off without the continued failed policy presently of such financial giving and lending, why does it then continue?
Is it the minority of citizens here that are Congressman and Senators, who instead of leading (and on Israel’s side as well) in what is best for Israel and the United States, they behold themselves to the counter-productive two hundred and thirty political action committees lobbying for this money (to Israel) in seeking only what they believe is the path of least resistance to being reelected?
Is there something/anything we, individually or perhaps collectively, can do perhaps like petitioning our Congressmen, or do we really in the end, simply just ourselves take a path of least resistance and simply not care?
What do you think?
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The Cost of War
In the tenth year of operations since the 9/11 attacks while troops are being withdrawn in Iraq and increased in Afghanistan, the cost of war continues to be a major issue including the total amount appropriated, the amount for each operation, average monthly spending rates, and the scope and duration of future costs.
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