Thank you for the inquiry, Village Elder.  I did read John Dean’s “Conservatives Without Conscience,” and for the most part found it to be an enlightening academic work, but there were several areas in which I felt Dean’s analysis fell short, starting with the cumbersome phrase “conservative without conscience” to describe a “fascist.” Dean notes that in “The Authoritarian Specter” social psychologist Bob Altemeyer posed what Dean regarded as a “very troubling question,” “Can there really be fascist people in a democracy?” Where Dean found the question “troubling,” I found it rather trite, even silly.  Anyone with even a vague knowledge of Hitler’s rise to power would immediately answer the question in the affirmative.  There were Nazi and Communist deputies occupying seats in the Reichstag throughout much of the ill-fated Weimar Republic, followed up by Hitler’s ascension to Reich Chancellor.  Germany held elections even after the death of President Paul von Hindenburg.  A better question would be to ask how long a democracy can survive when those committed to its destruction have secured positions of power throughout the executive, legislative and judicial branches.

The problem we face was aptly described by Paul Krugman in “The Great Unraveling” when he cited Henry Kissinger’s 1957 doctoral thesis “A World Restored,” which dealt with the problems a previously stable democracy faces when confronted by “a ‘revolutionary power’--a power that does not accept the legitimacy.” Writing in 2004, Krugman used “revolutionary power” to describe America’s hard-right movement which at that point had control of the executive and legislative branches as well as a major slice of the judiciary.

Krugman quotes Kissinger:  “The defenders of the status quo...begin by treating the revolutionary power as if its protestations were merely tactical; as if it really accepted the existing legitimacy but overstated its case for bargaining purposes; as if it were motivated by specific grievances to be assuaged by limited concessions.  Those who warn against the danger in time are considered alarmists; those who counsel adaptation to circumstance are considered balanced and sane....But it is the essence of a revolutionary power that it possesses the courage of its convictions, that it is willing, indeed eager, to push its principles to their ultimate conclusion.”

Krugman said “this passage sent chills down [his] spine, because it explains so well the otherwise baffling process by which administration has been able to push radical policies through, with remarkably little scrutiny or effective opposition.”

If we apply this, we see Dennis Kucinich marginalized by corporate media as an alarmist in calling for Cheney’s impeachment even as the regime moves toward invading Iran and executive orders are in place that would permit Bush to declare a national emergency in the event of a new terrorist incident on U.S. soil, while the so-called Democratic “leadership” time and again gives the administration what it wants.

Part 1 of 2

There are so many excellent comments here on this thread, as well as the one that misses the point entirely, and is in part the reason why we have reached this decline. But, I won’t go there at this point, since most of us seem to ‘get’ that things are to the point where they are NOT reversible, and in short, we will cease to be an Empire, (because we already have)

My own thought is that this could be a good thing, if we –as a country- utilize it properly. I say that in the same vein as what both France and Britain have acknowledged at points in their own histories, (Rome too). They recognized that they had been forced to ‘choices’, and that if they were to put themselves back together, after their great falls, it would need to be NOT as an Empire, but rather as republics of democracy.

The same comes to mind (ironically enough) when I think of an address delivered back in the late 80’s by the then CEO of the company where I was employed at the time. Being an ultra capitalist himself, he noted that there were two choices for the company’s continued ‘survival’ He claimed that ‘we’ (I use the term very reluctantly – he meant the corporation of course but it was manufactured to present as one big happy family of slave working employees) could either grow LARGER – much LARGER, in the corporate operational scheme, or we could SHRINK the size of the company, and it’s operational reach. The one thing we could NOT do, (according to the capitalist agenda) was to STAY THE SAME. (many of us non-imperialists of course saw no reason why the company couldn’t stay the same, since it seemed to be working just fine, for the consumers as well as the stock holders, and the workers that made it all happen).

At the time of his address, he had of course already decided that the company was to grow larger, to become an empire, and so the part about shrinking the company was probably more rhetoric (and maybe a threat thrown in as well, since he was addressing only employees, and the attendance at this address was mandatory). And indeed, it has since become an empire, though in the end, it too has failed, at least in the quality of services that it provides to the consumer, and to the employees that ultimately can make or break any venture, regardless of whether or not the language somehow changes to define ‘success’ as failure, or up as down, or black as white. In other words, we can ‘CALL’ anything a ‘success’ in the new rewording of the day. We can slap a label or number on anything, -“we’re #1” - but it’s still all relevant to the rest, and it doesn’t change anything more than putting lipstick on a pig changes it from being a pig. The pig does in fact have value, but passing it off with lipstick doesn’t change anything. It’s still a pig. If it is to produce any value, it has to be in recognizing that it is in fact a pig.

TBC

Part 2 of 2

And so it is. The America we’ve known as an empire has already been in decline for a long time, but we’re now at the final collapse. And, as far as the future goes, we can never reclaim this Empire status. My opinion is that it’s a GOOD thing, since it’s what brought about this fall to begin with, taking not only the “Empire” down, but all that was good about our republic with it.

That said, if there really is anything left to salvage, or if there really is a point at which it’s ‘not too late’, that too becomes relative to what we want to salvage, or what we choose to be. Since the empire is already doomed, and cannot be ‘resurrected’ (and good riddance to it) the only thing left to decide is whether or not we’re willing to forego the consumerism, the escapes into the unreality of fantasy and non-stop entertainment, and the deviations of escape religiosity, and maybe…just maybe, consider returning to the rule of law. We can’t keep up the façade of re-wording and reinterpreting everything (language, concepts, etc) as we go along, and we can’t exist on phony currencies. We’ve also learned that we can’t exist by the use of force either. Killing everything we think we don’t like, or killing off all of the ‘competition’ doesn’t help, because at some point, it throws the whole thing totally off balance. We can’t selectively kill off what we’ve decided is a threat, without killing off ourselves as well, in the same venture. It’s already happened.

So, when we talk about saving what might be left, or when we hope that it’s ‘not too late’ to save some of it, or when we talk about wanting our country back, we have to understand that it can never be the same as what we’ve had before, so we should probably first define what we want, before we can go about rescuing it, or salvaging it.

Some of the fallen Empires of the West made the decision to be republics rather than Empires. It was their only ‘salvation’. Maybe this is worth a consideration here as well.

Meantime, for those of you familiar with William Rivers Pitt, the piece below is in the same flavor that Chris Hedges brings us. A different style, basically the same message.

Bad, Worse, Worst and Beyond
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Columnist

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112607J.shtml

Empire Now, Empire Forever! What is so wrong with having an Empire?! It is relative to the fact that, guns don’t kill people, people with guns kill people. It is how the weapon is used that determines if it is good or evil. Unfortunately, some would say the American Empire is currently being used for evil. If you look closely at the issue you would understand that the American Empire was inevitable and the first American to the last benefited from its rise to preeminence. Ex. Cheap gas, Abundance of material goods,the Internet, electricity, absence of constant fear of being attacked by rogue nations, and having the industrial and military might to win WWII so that you would not have the sad opportunity to learn German or Japanese by force. So just stop the BULLSH$%!!

Yes, we are in decline and that decline is the result of every last American. You and only You are to blame for our fate, every last one of you. From the neocons , to the ultra liberals. My wish that we can reverse our decline before it is too late!

Empire Now!!, Empire Forever!!
http://www.TheAmericanEmpireco.com <-Doing my part! ‘Cause it is the capitalistic thing to do!>
p.s. Our products are not Made In China!, the New Superpower/Hegemon/Empire.

Addendum:
I am certain I was on the watch list during Nam and I guess “we” are on the list as this is typed.  We live in “interesting times”, unfortunately, that is a Chinese curse.

#116743 by Logician on 11/28 at 10:51 pm
(81 comments total)

Yes, you are correct, but it is easier to project our apathy onto something else, so we don’t have to own it.  Excellent post!

#116747 by Ernest Canning on 11/28 at 11:04 pm
(1224 comments total)

Yes, I watch her (Amy Goodman) every day.  What Wolf has written (and said)is really nothing new...but the sleeper sleeps and must awaken.  I just hope that this message, spoken often enough (like the neo-con propaganda), will finally strike home.  My real fear is we will once again repreat history as we may be doomed to do.  How does one awaken the one who sleeps wide awake?

#116747 by Ernest Canning

Ernest, Thanks ever so much for sharing the with Amy and Naomi Wolf, as well as your own excellent summary of it. I’m going to pass this along, hopefully to include in a curriculum. (Maybe her book would be good to use. I think I’ll suggest it).

It’s VERY helpful.

Under Naomi Wolf’s analysis in “The End of America” we lose our democracy long before the Empire can come to an end.  Her 11/28/07 remarkable interview by Amy Goodman can be seen at:

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/28/159221

Wolf, based on studies of other totalitarian states, came up with a ten step outline of how democratic societies are shut down.

First, “all would-be dictators invoke a terrifying internal and external threat.  And often it’s a real threat which they will hype or manipulate....Stalin spoke about sleeper cells, which is one of those phrases that are being recirculated...by the Bush White House.  And this was an invention....Pinochet talked about a real threat: armed insurgents...but he hyped it using fake documents.  We saw fake documents used by the White House...to claim that Iraq was trying to secure yellowcake uranium.”

Second we see a change in language.  “‘Homeland Security’...became popularized by the National Socialists.  Goebbels developed the practice of embedding journalists.”

Third is the establishment of secret prisons where torture can take place.  It was Lenin who pioneered the military tribunal system.  The “state starts to torture people on the margins...brown people on...Guantanamo with Muslim names...in Germany in ‘31, ‘32: anarchists, communists, Gypsies, Jews, whatever....And once the state legalizes torture of people at the margins, inevitably it will begin to direct state abuse at people at the heart of civil society...journalists...opposition leaders, outspoke clergy and labor leaders.  And when that starts to happen, society can close down in a heart beat.”

Four and Five entail the development of a paramilitary force (e.g., Blackwater) and surveillance of ordinary citizens.

Other steps include restricting the press, treating dissent as treason and subverting the rule of law.

Wolf says the first task of a patriot is to “wake up.” “You don’t make it easier for the President to declare martial law, as we just did with the 2007 Defense Authorization Act.  You don’t make it easier for the President to lock up political opponents in a cell or strip people of habeas corpus.”

Through americanfreedomcampaign.org Wolf is advocating a new movement which calls for “lawyers and citizens to call for hearings, special prosecutors, identify the crimes, impeach and prosecute, and save the country.

What is the cause of all this? 
“It all amounts to a tacit complicity on the part of a passive population.”
It is not Bush, it is not Cheney, it is not Ashcroft, it is NONE of them.

It is us.

It is the mouth breather who really CARES about what illiterate, drugged-out gangsters dressed up in football uniforms do.  It is the moron who bitches without end over TAXES and then cries like a bitch when the bridge collapses due to LACK OF FUNDING.  It is the new ager rubbing her crystal while she IMAGINES (cue Lennon) a new age of peace while REFUSING to participate in the ‘so passe’ act of voting.

Yes, when America drops into the shit bucket, it will NOT be Bush’s fault, citizens, it is OUR fault, and ours ALONE.  We had a democracy and we pissed it away.  I cannot and will not blame those cunning enough to take what they can from sheeple too fricking lazy and stupid to hang onto their privileges. 

Freedom is NOT a right, it is a PRIVILEGE that must be fought for CONSTANTLY, not during half-times, commercials on Survivor, or after worshipping the little cult-objects formally known as children.

Too bad, so sad, sucks to be us, eh?

Phillips’ “ American Theocracy” and Dean’s “Conservatives Without a Conscience” provide well reasoned and written insights into the crew currently commanding this ship of fools.  Their belief is that they as individuals and as a class are entitled to privileges and a life different than the rest of us.  That they should have power and money is a “natural” right to their way of thinking. 

These folks have gone to the same schools, or type of school, belonged to the same clubs and socialized with the same groups of people.  There is no conspiracy.  This enculturation occurs because of the mileau in which they live.  That which is right for their class surrounds them throughout their lives.  These beliefs are deeply ingrained and a part of their habitual thinking. 

There is no need for secret meetings, messages or societies.  The image of conspirators meeting in secret chambers is laughable.  These are the people who own ....  Since they own it they think they have the right to run it.  The owners have bought into the neo/theocon nonsense to cover their actions.  The attempt to create a North America unified free trade zone (SPP).

These people are vastly different from us.

Corporate money is going into the dems at a far greater rate than the repugs.  In backing the present motley crew they have damaged the home of their empire.  Changing brands will give the illusion that there has been a change in policy.  Watch health care, the corporate state is beginning to see what the rest of the world has seen for years regarding corporate profits.

#116534 by VillageElder

VillageElder,

I did read Dean’s book, “Conservatives Without a Conscience”. It was a year or so ago, when I was still desperately trying to get some sort of a handle on what the hell was going on. Because anyone who’s been around for a while knows that what we’ve been seeing from this gang of thugs in DC, has NO connection to the Conservative Republican party of old.

Now that’s me speaking as a life long democrat, so we’re not talking about any drastic stuff from that party. No, my curiosity was in trying to figure out the thinking of this new group of thugs, because they are nothing like the old repubs, (even though I’ve never particularly liked them either, they still were never representative of the criminals that we’ve been watching and suffering under for the past 7 years).

That said, you’re right. Dean’s book is very helpful and insightful in trying to break down the radical changes that have come to the ideology of that party.

And, it has been their undoing. That is one of the biggest of the ironies. For such a ‘party loyal’ group, they’ve managed to destroy not only the rest of us, but their own party as well.

Ernest, I was able to get the paperback. Every penny of savings helps, though I don’t know for how much longer, since they have less and less value now anyway.

NABNYC makes some good points about the Democrats being as corrupt as the Democrats, but I believe that the jury is still out. We have had almost a decade of a Republican majority in Congress and for most part their corrupt ways, their sellout to rich is complete. The Democrats have the tradition of an ideology more friendly to the people but big money seems to be orienting them toward corporate America. The Democrats are much more likely to be receptive to the people than the Republicans, for there is a modicum of attention to the people. Before with the neocons, our needs were totally ignored.

The Democrats are just as corrupt as the Republicans.  Not each and every one, but most of them.  The recent articles celebrating the fact that the corporations are giving more money to Democrats and less to Republicans only show that both parties are corporate lackeys, and they live only for the purpose of soliciting bribes.

We have the two Democratic candidates unfortunately being DLC-affiliated, both closely aligned with Rahm Emanuel who is a DLC/pro-Israel poster boy.  Witness our people being out of work, losing their homes, injured and sick veterans becoming part of the permanent homeless underclass lacking food and shelter, too many Americans with no medical care.  Our Democrats refusing to do anything to stop this war in Iraq. And at the same time, Congress is busy doing what?  Voting to give another $2.6 billion to Israel, with an additional $40 million for “refugees.” Excuse me?  What refugees?  I guess they mean the messianic cult-followers from Brooklyn who decide to move to Israel.  Exactly why are working people in the U.S., who are already broke, being forced to give thousands of dollars to every person who moves to Israel? 

The two parties do not represent us.  We can protest, write letters, have meetings, organize groups around single issues, but this is not an issues problem.  It is an everything problem.  Everything in our government is corrupt.  How do we change that?

I think the only way is to write up our own platform, circulate it in the public, get enough people to sign on, give it to Congress and tell them to do it.  Anyone who doesn’t do it, we throw them out of office.  The first demand would be a law prohibiting anyone from giving or offering anything of value to any candidate or politician.  If we do not cut off the money, we do not have a chance.  The second demand would be to order immediate divestment of media control—Murdoch needs to be stopped.

Anyway, Chris Hedges, as always, provides a scary but honest view of our country and its depressing future.

Ernest.....The inspired and challenging “Universal Soldier” was written in the early ‘60s by Buffy St.Marie, and was brought to prominence for a while by the wonderful Donovan...Thought you’d like to know....
BTW..Try singing Dylan’s “With God On Our Side”, OR, Buffy’s “Universal Soldier” a capella by yourself somewhere y’all...by the time you’re done, you will probably be crying...that’s the good part...a little Soul-washing is a powerful refresher......

This essay is So very valuable and articulate....add on, as many have, the “Unholy War” elements, and there you have it.....The decline and fall of…

Feed the hungry, comfort the suffering.....Practice the Golden Rule, please...on All levels.....Practice Practice Practice......

......Strive On, Friends, Strive On Earnestly And Warmly........

#116428 by cyrena on 11/27 at 6:58 pm
#116474 by Ernest Canning on 11/27 at 10:41 pm

Cyrena and Ernest, if you haven’t read Conservatives Without Conscience , by John Dean try it.  Dean’s analysis of the neocon movement is dead on.  Truth is a shape shifting willow wisp for these folks.

David Michael Green has a humorous take on conservative truthfulness.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18775.htm

Empires…what makes these arrogant fools think they can build a lasting empire based on greed, corruption, skewed religious morality, and fascist ideology?  History is strewn with rot such as this.  Even the world’s most powerful military can not stand against a willful society demanding change and justice.  Never has and never will! 

Yikes! I see there is another expat here, small e.

It is triking how almost everyone here ‘gets it’.

None of this has to be.  It might sound nuts but I think one way of stopping the rot right there would be a coalition between Gore and Paul.  What they have in common is way more important (humanity and integrity) than what divides them.  A coalition is needed anyhow.  If something like this were to come about then the nightmare would end and America would be loved again surprisingly quickly--I mean all those horrid Pew poles would bounce.

Cyrena, “American Theocracy” is Phillips latest.  It was published in 2006.  “Wealth & Democracy” was published in 2002.  In between, there was “American Dynasty” which deals with four generations of the family Bush.  That was published in 2004.  All three are solid academic works.

Hope you at least saved a few bucks by getting the paperback.

#116395 by VillageElder

• One of the items which this article did not explore is: at the end of the empire there is always a great rise in the professed religiosity of the people.  The notion that “we are god’s chosen” for some mission or the other becomes a political truism.  This is a sure sign the empire has decayed from within and the fall is near.

Village Elder,

Thanks for bringing this up. It is crucial. It speaks to yet another piece of the whole package of decline and decay. I routinely receive formatted and packaged email that conveys EXACTLY this message. It reinforces a certain brand of brainwashing cultism, that is intended to convince it’s members that they are indeed ‘chosen’ and special receivers of god’s special favors, THAT NOT ALL OTHERS WILL BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE. In short, the message is that as long as they adhere to and abide by this faux spiritual connection to God Almighty, and place their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their ‘savior’ and redemptor, all will be well, and the blessings will flow. The message is that though times may be difficult, THEY will flourish, as long as they ‘keep the faith’, and adhere to the rules of the club.

It would also appear that there are special and extra ‘points’ for spreading these words and promises as ‘blessings’ to all others, so that they TOO, can join the special crowd of those who will receive these extra blessings.

So, I’ve noticed this, for so very long now. However, I had not made the connection (as you have) to this decay and decline from within. It’s yet another stark element to consider in respect to this piece from Chris Hedges.

#116407 by Ernest Canning

Ernest, Thanks for the tip on Kevin Phillips’ lastest. (I presume it is) I’ve read his “American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century” and found it quite enlightening. (scary as hell, but “need to know stuff”)

So, I’ve just ordered the Wealth & Democracy at your suggestion. (Amazon.com… I almost feel guilty, but how else am I gonna get it?)

Meantime, the other that I mentioned, ‘American Theocracy’ speaks to the earlier question that Village Elder noted on the increased religiosity of the general population. I don’t believe that most of these ‘increasingly religious” folks are even the slightest bit aware of the roots of it, or how it’s even managed to take over their individual mentalities, but…it has.

#116397 by Non Credo
• I don’t care if our “empire” is twilit. I just hope or democracy, or republic, can be salvaged. Fuck the “empire”.

Non Credo,
I’m with you. Never did give a flip about an ‘empire’. It has been our undoing for far too long, and the outcome was inevitable. I don’t know if the republic (as we’ve known it) can be saved in a form of democracy. If so, I would suggest that it must first undergo a drastic reconfiguration, with the ‘empire’ part (the infection) cut away and discarded forever. Not as easy as reformatting ones hard drive, but it can be done.

Those interested in a more extended analysis of this topic should read Kevin Phillips, “Wealth & Democracy.” Phillips notes that between 1979 and 1989 the portion of the nation’s wealth held by the top 1% nearly doubled from 22% to 39%.  Yet, over the past half century corporate contributions to res publica have dropped off dramatically.  “Whereas...in 1950...corporations had paid 26.5%...of the total U.S. federal tax burden, that dropped to 9.1% in 1990.  In virtually any year, a considerable number of corporations weren’t paying any federal income tax....The Cato Foundation...estimated that at the turn of the century the federal government provided business with some $75 billion a year in subsidies.”

“As wealth concentration grows...so has upper-bracket control of politics....The cost to ordinary Americans has been substantial--in reduced median family income, in stagnant wages, in a diminished sense of community and commonweal, in fewer private and government services, and sometimes in poorer physical and mental health”

As noted by Samuel Huntington, “money becomes evil not when it is used to buy goods but when it is used to buy power....[E]conomic inequalities become evil with they are translated into political inequalities...” which in turn lead to greater levels of economic inequality.

Focusing on empires past--Spanish, Dutch & British--Phillips sees in the internationalist stage, an Achilles heel in an increasing dependency on finance capitalism at the expense of the more mundane production, a tendency to acquire a build-up of debt and increasing transnational loyalties.  This is followed by by an aging of the nation’s early-stage technology and susceptibility to technology transfer, foreign innovation and migration of key industries.  Phillips states the “US embrace of a controversial model--a commitment to globalization, especially in services, that accepts corollaries of diminished manufacturing, accelerating wealth stratification, higher than acknowledged levels of joblessness, contained wages, and high levels of imports” track the end stages of earlier empires, Britain (1910) and Holland (1748) when “national elites preoccupied themselves with success in finance and services, generally unconcerned with the old fabric of well-paid skilled workers.”

I don’t care if our “empire” is twilit. I just hope or democracy, or republic, can be salvaged. Fuck the “empire”.

Mr. Hedges has put forward a concise and compelling analysis of the fate of the US Empire.  He is not the first to bring these facts to light, nor is he the first to discern the direction our republic has taken.

Throughout the comments I saw references to stone age mythology attempting to “prove” that Bush is the foreseen invader.  Other commentators liken him to the great beast - 666 and all that.  One of the items which this article did not explore is: at the end of the empire there is always a great rise in the professed religiosity of the people.  The notion that “we are god’s chosen” for some mission or the other becomes a political truism.  This is a sure sign the empire has decayed from within and the fall is near.

The idea that this is “American Communism” indicates a great lack of understanding of the tenets put forth by Marx and Engels.  This charge is straight out of faux noise.  The oligarchs who run things are interested in their own survival and wealth.  The plight of the working class doesn’t enter their consciousness.  Remember Mother (Barbara) Bush’s comments during the Katrina episode.

Those in power be they be repugs or dems belong to the same club(s).  They represent the same people – not us – attend the same retreats and vote to confirm nominees from the same master list which includes both house brands.

The empire is broken!  It’s decline is underway. Die ejecta est.  The faces of the disaster are Bush and Cheney.  These are but fools playing on the stage distracting us from undercurrents which began decades ago and have now risen to the surface as a raging torrent.  Once the social contract which held us together was abandoned for the politics of greed (see Ayn Rand and Mr. Greenspan) the course was set.  Welded with authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism the new dogma has reduced debate to bumper sticker slogans and name calling.  If you don’t agree with them you are probably under satanic influence.

#116266 by jackpine savage
• We do still have a choice, not in what happens but how it happens.  No empire lasts forever, nor even a nation-state.  When this empire crumbles we Americans will be forced to decentralize our way of life.  The only way to mitigate the horrors of extreme socio-political upheaval is to proactively implement the solutions that will be forced upon us, before they are forced upon us.

Jackpine savage,
Thanks for this excellent post. I’ve only taken the above portion to reference, but the concept is one that has come across this board before. TAO Walker (among others) has provided such insight for us, and I’ve pretty much alluded to the same thing myself, while trying to ‘prepare’ others the best way that I can. In some cases I think the message is finally getting across, and so the necessary changes are being slowly embraced. (though still not be enough people). So, every reminder helps, and it needs to be conveyed in various forms, for enough folks to actually understand it.

So, to repeat what you’ve said, if we don’t start adapting ourselves NOW, these changes will be forced upon us in ways that will not allow for the adaptations that we need to make. Since they will happen one way or the other, it’s crucial for us to be in a position to call as many of the shots ourselves, while we still can. (I’m not speaking of ‘shots’ in reference to armed resurrection, because I don’t see that as a practical way of surviving this.)

Thanks again. I will share this.

Not a bad piece, Hammered, but I still think the lyrics of anti-war songs in the 60s and early 70s were the best, be it Bob Dylan’s “Universal Soldier” & “With God on Our Side,” Credence’s “Fortunate Son” or Country Joe McDonald’s little piece:

And it’s one, two, three
What are we fightin’ for
Don’t ask me I don’t give a damn
Next stop is Viet Nam

And it’s five, six seven
Open up the Pearly Gates
Ain’t no time to wonder why,
Whoopie!  We’re all gonna die.

This catches it exactly.  Has anyone noticed how dark the writings of our greatest investigative reporters have been getting, especially those that know the M. E. well and are no strangers to the hell of war, the likes of Hedges, Fisk, Ritter and Hersh.

One great article, Chris.  Thank you.  Born in ‘32, I’ve ‘lived’ in and through many different Americas. We’ve had our ups and downs, good times and bad, but what family doesn’t. Not so the for the last seven years. It may have taken four hundred years for Rome to finally die whereas it’s only taken us seven.

Some have suggested that we Americans have had it too easy for too long.  When comfort becomes a way of life, giving that comfort up may become equated with literally giving up one’s life.  Risk averse, we are holding on to what is fast becoming nothing but a mere chimera.

“At least I know I’m not the only one feeling the outrage.  Let’s hope enough of us can still force our reps back on the road towards restoring our Democracy.  I am so ashamed we allowed so much destruction”

Mary I love your spirit of outrage but it is nothing as long as the outrage is political

When it need to be spiritual because the time is at hand

Do a Google search of the May 15th Prophecy
and you will see for yourself

What an eloquent summary of the situation.

From my little microcosm its Yuppies Gone Wild:  Their spiritual essence evaporating while visions of 3500 sq-ft houses and all toys good dance in their heads.  Americans let their consciousness become a series of appetites.  The people are now morally rancid, oblivious to their Constitutional Bill of Rights having been legislated out from underneath them.  With original thinking blunted to an ignoble level, the masses unknowingly wait in the chute for the culling process to begin.  They never fathomed that strip malls couldn’t cover the Earth.

The International New World Order Elite see exponentially expanding consumption and population growth as futile.  They also loathe coexisting with multitudes of spoiled semi-rich brats scurrying about in self-congratulation.  They have embarked upon dismantling the middle class en route to melding the United States into a centrally controlled syndicate, a necessary prerequisite to world serfdom.  They’ve nurtured the technology needed to organize an Orwell-like control grid.  Will the New World Order Elite ultimately delight in the subjugation and torment of the grab-ass-tic Pavlovian worm-like masses?  Will there ever be another charter proclaiming human dignity, as did the US Constitution?  We’re on the threshold of a brave new world – a hellish one.

Boy it’s hard to see the truth in bold black and white.  The following comments give me hope.  It’s clear a lot of Americans are indeed paying attention.  I hear how this preidential election is possibly the most important ever in our history.  Actually, the 2000 election was that, eventhough this mess gained speed of destruction with Ronnie and his act, destroy the Unions and make sure the wealthy grow their power.  How dare the middle class live with comfort and security!  And of course the Democratic Party has been part of this mess too.  When GWB refused to concede the election to Gore when Florida was declared to first be a Gore win, Americans should have asked hard questions.  The media did not get it wrong, thousands of voters thought their votes would count, GWB knew they would not.  And where were the journalists and the outrage. The next eight years would continue to see this moron get away with the unthinkable.  Now here we are, probably at the brink of losing our Democracy, our way of life. I still don’t see many journalists fight for the truth.  It’s good to read these comments.  At least I know I’m not the only one feeling the outrage.  Let’s hope enough of us can still force our reps back on the road towards restoring our Democracy.  I am so ashamed we allowed so much destruction.......