The other thing I'd like to see in college is more study of propaganda. Jacques Ellul's book of the same name really changed my way of looking at the way information is presented and I would recommend it as a primary textbook. Although propaganda is so ubiquitous in our society I can see why those in charge don't want to study it. It would blow their cover, so to speak.
As I understand it they didn't actually "purchase" that property in the usual sense. What they did was obtain the property in exchange for an $11.75 million contribution to the owner's favorite charity. I don't know what the charity was or if the Obamas took a tax deduction for it. Nice move if you can get it.
Some people think that to study something is to approve of it and people don't like to think of themselves as approving of war. Although, and recent experience supports this, people disapprove of war in general but end up approving of war in particular. As in, "I disapprove of war but we need to stop Putin." War approval it seems to me always ends up with that formula. I disapprove of war but we need to stop (Hitler, Putin, Tojo, Hirohito, Sadam Hussein, Communism, Gaddafi, etc.). Once you get an evil person into the picture critical thinking about war stops as our tribal fight or flight takes over.
Included in the required reading of a course of study enabling Americans to Study War A WHOLE HELL OF A LOT MORE and begin to come to understand it would be:
1. Joseph Heller’s CATCH-22, [Which, incidentally, i first read in month nine of my first of two years in Vietnam.]
“The age-old call to glory held no charm for German pacifist Ernst Friedrich (1894–1967). In 1924, he founded the National Anti-War Museum in Berlin, where a radical new method of protest was born. To illustrate a need for universal peace, FRIEDRICH QUICKLY DISPLAYED HUNDREDS OF DISTURBING PHOTOGRAPHS WHICH FULLY REVEALED THE HIDDEN HORRORS OF WORLD WAR ONE. FOR THOSE WHO COULD NOT PERSONALLY ATTEND HIS GRUESOME GALLERY, FRIEDRICH PUBLISHED A BOOK CALLED WAR AGAINST WAR, WHICH FEATURED ANTI-MILITARY SENTIMENTS JUXTAPOSED WITH SOME OF HIS MOST GRAPHIC IMAGES. In 1933, with thousands of copies in circulation, Friedrich encountered the wrath of the aggressive and newly formed National Socialist party. Soon, the war museum was destroyed, and its curator was forced to flee to Belgium.” ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_against_war [EMPHASIS added.]
5. Thich Nhat Hahn’s LOTUS IN A SEA OF FIRE [Which i wish i had read when it was first published in Vietnam in 1967, also during my first year there.]
6. Chris Hedges’ just-published THE GREATEST EVIL IS WAR; his follow-up to WAR IS A FORCE THAT GIVES US MEANING mentioned by Bill.
I agree: violence and voter intimidation are wrong.
But the theme of "standing up for democracy": If only we had a democracy. There's more to democracy than casting a vote for bought-and-paid-for politicians.
i was particularly struck by almost the exact same thought, Bill, when Biden declared:
“Democracy means the rule of the people — not the rule of monarchs or the monied, but the rule of the people.
“Autocracy is the opposite of democracy. It means the rule of one: one person, one interest, one ideology, one party.
“To state the obvious, the lives of billions of people, from antiquity until now, have been shaped by the battle between these competing forces: between the aspirations of the many and the greed and power of the few, between the people’s right for self-determination and the self-seeking autocrat, between the dreams of a democracy and the appetites of an autocracy.”
What is particularly interesting about this assertion is that Biden ~ for 50 years ~ has been and is an integral cog in the machinery and machinations of America’s Ruling Political Class, the oligarchic, patriarchal, plutocratic autocracy that owns, operates, commands, and controls this nation’s systems of government and governance, and the elected politicians, entrenched bureaucrats, and anointed political appointees who run them.
It's going to be an interesting couple of days leading up to Tuesday, November 8. And an equally interesting couple of months between now and January 3, 2023, when the next, 118th Congress is scheduled to be seated.
And anybody who thinks that Trump and his Spawn of "MAGA Republicans" ~ as Biden dismissed them ~ are not just as equally and totally owned, operated, commanded, and controlled by that same Ruling Political Class as Biden and his Gang are....; anybody who thinks that has simply not been paying attention to what has happened in this nation since the Dawn of The Age of The Donald, aka POTUS Maxximmuss XLV.
Thank You, Bill, for another nominee for inclusion in THE BEST OF BV. Lots and Lots to chew on, think about, and reflect upon there.
The first thing is whether or not the American People would, as You concluded, “all do well to study and understand [War] better.”
i would propose that the American People need to not Study War merely “Some More” so as to understand it merely “better.”
Rather, they need to study it and come to understand its historical, present, and future Realities a WHOLE HELL OF A LOT MORE if they, their Children, and their Grandchildren are going to have anything to celebrate on “USA-CCL,” July 4, 2026.
In Other News besides the latest from the Old Testament…; Or, So what does this have to say about the direction in which this country is headed?... :
'DROWNING OUR DEMOCRACY': US BILLIONAIRES HAVE PUMPED NEARLY $900,000,000 INTO MIDTERMS
"Billionaires represent 0.000002% of the American population, but they're responsible for 7.4% of all political donations so far this cycle," according to Americans for Tax Fairness.
“US Boots On The Ground” was initially cited and discussed [including Petraeus] here at BV back on Nov 2 under the last article: “Thinking About the Russia-Ukraine War”:
And another piece is added to The Chessboard… :
Pentagon Confirms US Boots Are On The Ground In Ukraine by Tyler Durden
Two bombshell reports by the Associated Press and Washington Post Monday and Tuesday have confirmed that the United States has boots on the ground in the Ukraine conflict. Crucially, these troops are performing tasks separate from mere embassy security.
Too bad Karl didn't come along sooner. Austria-Hungary was first out of the box with a declaration of war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. The rest of Europe followed, according to their treaties. According to Wikipedia the Austrian populace couldn't care less about the assassination of Austria's Archduke Ferdinand, generally though of as the first shot in the war, although Austria "had little choice but to credibly threaten war and force Serbian submission if it wished to remain a Great Power." Ah, the responsibilities of a great power. In the event, of course, WW I resulted in the destruction of the Austro-Hungarian empire, so that ended up being a bad call (hey, everybody makes mistakes). Leaders - you can't live with 'em and you can't live without 'em.
Before every Young American can ask that question, their Parents and Grand Parents, their Teachers, Mentors, Leaders, and Heroes need to ask and answer that Question, as well.
It is not the Youngs' responsibility to fix this Goat Fuck. That's what they have "Adults" for.
Dennis: All "young" kids who have joined the Army did so voluntarily as their full-time job (I know that's simplified - but you get my drift)
Me: No Dennis, what IS Your drift?
D: The likelihood that a majority of these "young" kids telling the miliary to take a hike if a war in the Ukraine was announced is probably zero!
M: So? What’s Your point? And it wouldn’t take a “majority” of these “young kids” to screw things up. It would only take a Critical Mass of troops who followed their Commissioned and Noncommissioned Officers who had told the military to take a hike.
D: In the late 30's the US Army had around 200,000 officers and men. Actually 187,893 active-duty Army soldiers as of June 30, 1939, ballooning to nearly 8.3 million active-duty soldiers by the end of May 1945 in WW2. (By the conclusion of the United States's involvement, over 3.1 million Americans had been stationed in Vietnam.)
M: Source?
D: What's the chance that in 2022, that 3.0-million Americans would sign up to be cannon fodder in a WW3 GoatFuck - don't you think there would be zero chance of that?
The point I am trying to make, poorly…
M: Yeah; very poorly.
D: … is that if this WW3 GoatFuck did start, with the history of Vietnam in its rear-view mirrors, the US Army would have an icebergs chance in hell of getting Americans to sign up like they did in WW2. And a Vietnam draft would also be a non-starter.
So the chance of the US being able to match Russian troop manpower levels is extremely unlikely. And the military knows that!
M: What makes You think that “available troop manpower” will be THE ~ let alone even A ~ deciding factor in WW III? Ever hear about drones, ship-to-shore naval gunfire and missiles, close tactical and long-range strategic air support, chemical/biological warfare, and so forth?
That Old Testament God was a jealous, wrathful and vengeful god. Much like the Greeks with their Olympian gods.
Miracle of miracles, the New Testament introduced a god of peace and love. No matter. His followers today still pretty much prefer the Old Testament version.
When the Israelites wanted to take over the land and occupy it it's no surprise that God was on their side. I understand that during the American Civil War both sides thought that God was on their side. I guess only one side was correct.
How did my article on the importance of critical military history morph into a discussion about religious faith? God truly works in mysterious ways.
Thank You!!! i was about to ask the same question.
The other thing I'd like to see in college is more study of propaganda. Jacques Ellul's book of the same name really changed my way of looking at the way information is presented and I would recommend it as a primary textbook. Although propaganda is so ubiquitous in our society I can see why those in charge don't want to study it. It would blow their cover, so to speak.
As I understand it they didn't actually "purchase" that property in the usual sense. What they did was obtain the property in exchange for an $11.75 million contribution to the owner's favorite charity. I don't know what the charity was or if the Obamas took a tax deduction for it. Nice move if you can get it.
Some people think that to study something is to approve of it and people don't like to think of themselves as approving of war. Although, and recent experience supports this, people disapprove of war in general but end up approving of war in particular. As in, "I disapprove of war but we need to stop Putin." War approval it seems to me always ends up with that formula. I disapprove of war but we need to stop (Hitler, Putin, Tojo, Hirohito, Sadam Hussein, Communism, Gaddafi, etc.). Once you get an evil person into the picture critical thinking about war stops as our tribal fight or flight takes over.
On the subject of Studying War Some More...
Included in the required reading of a course of study enabling Americans to Study War A WHOLE HELL OF A LOT MORE and begin to come to understand it would be:
1. Joseph Heller’s CATCH-22, [Which, incidentally, i first read in month nine of my first of two years in Vietnam.]
2. Mark Twain’s THE WAR PRAYER [ https://www.americanyawp.com/reader/19-american-empire/mark-twain-the-war-prayer-ca-1904-5/ ]
3. Retired US Marine Corps Brigadier General Smedley Butler’s WAR IS A RACKET
[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Is_a_Racket ]
4. Ernst Friedrich’s WAR AGAINST WAR!
“The age-old call to glory held no charm for German pacifist Ernst Friedrich (1894–1967). In 1924, he founded the National Anti-War Museum in Berlin, where a radical new method of protest was born. To illustrate a need for universal peace, FRIEDRICH QUICKLY DISPLAYED HUNDREDS OF DISTURBING PHOTOGRAPHS WHICH FULLY REVEALED THE HIDDEN HORRORS OF WORLD WAR ONE. FOR THOSE WHO COULD NOT PERSONALLY ATTEND HIS GRUESOME GALLERY, FRIEDRICH PUBLISHED A BOOK CALLED WAR AGAINST WAR, WHICH FEATURED ANTI-MILITARY SENTIMENTS JUXTAPOSED WITH SOME OF HIS MOST GRAPHIC IMAGES. In 1933, with thousands of copies in circulation, Friedrich encountered the wrath of the aggressive and newly formed National Socialist party. Soon, the war museum was destroyed, and its curator was forced to flee to Belgium.” ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_against_war [EMPHASIS added.]
5. Thich Nhat Hahn’s LOTUS IN A SEA OF FIRE [Which i wish i had read when it was first published in Vietnam in 1967, also during my first year there.]
6. Chris Hedges’ just-published THE GREATEST EVIL IS WAR; his follow-up to WAR IS A FORCE THAT GIVES US MEANING mentioned by Bill.
7. Dalton Trumbo’s 1939 novel JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Got_His_Gun ].
Bill and BV folks: Does anybody have any thoughts on President Biden's address to the nation on Election2022?
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/11/03/remarks-by-president-biden-on-standing-up-for-democracy/
I agree: violence and voter intimidation are wrong.
But the theme of "standing up for democracy": If only we had a democracy. There's more to democracy than casting a vote for bought-and-paid-for politicians.
Biden is so flat and uninspiring. So tired.
“If only we had a democracy… .”
i was particularly struck by almost the exact same thought, Bill, when Biden declared:
“Democracy means the rule of the people — not the rule of monarchs or the monied, but the rule of the people.
“Autocracy is the opposite of democracy. It means the rule of one: one person, one interest, one ideology, one party.
“To state the obvious, the lives of billions of people, from antiquity until now, have been shaped by the battle between these competing forces: between the aspirations of the many and the greed and power of the few, between the people’s right for self-determination and the self-seeking autocrat, between the dreams of a democracy and the appetites of an autocracy.”
What is particularly interesting about this assertion is that Biden ~ for 50 years ~ has been and is an integral cog in the machinery and machinations of America’s Ruling Political Class, the oligarchic, patriarchal, plutocratic autocracy that owns, operates, commands, and controls this nation’s systems of government and governance, and the elected politicians, entrenched bureaucrats, and anointed political appointees who run them.
It's going to be an interesting couple of days leading up to Tuesday, November 8. And an equally interesting couple of months between now and January 3, 2023, when the next, 118th Congress is scheduled to be seated.
And anybody who thinks that Trump and his Spawn of "MAGA Republicans" ~ as Biden dismissed them ~ are not just as equally and totally owned, operated, commanded, and controlled by that same Ruling Political Class as Biden and his Gang are....; anybody who thinks that has simply not been paying attention to what has happened in this nation since the Dawn of The Age of The Donald, aka POTUS Maxximmuss XLV.
Are You quoting somebody on all that, Dennis? Or do You just know all that off the top of Your head?
President Biden plans to give his "Stand up for World War III" speech later this weekend. (sarc)
Thank You, Bill, for another nominee for inclusion in THE BEST OF BV. Lots and Lots to chew on, think about, and reflect upon there.
The first thing is whether or not the American People would, as You concluded, “all do well to study and understand [War] better.”
i would propose that the American People need to not Study War merely “Some More” so as to understand it merely “better.”
Rather, they need to study it and come to understand its historical, present, and future Realities a WHOLE HELL OF A LOT MORE if they, their Children, and their Grandchildren are going to have anything to celebrate on “USA-CCL,” July 4, 2026.
In Other News besides the latest from the Old Testament…; Or, So what does this have to say about the direction in which this country is headed?... :
'DROWNING OUR DEMOCRACY': US BILLIONAIRES HAVE PUMPED NEARLY $900,000,000 INTO MIDTERMS
"Billionaires represent 0.000002% of the American population, but they're responsible for 7.4% of all political donations so far this cycle," according to Americans for Tax Fairness.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/11/03/drowning-our-democracy-us-billionaires-have-pumped-nearly-900000000-midterms
We'll see how it goes, Ray.
This would truly be calamitous.
Which means it's high on the list.
Everybody sing:
Over there, over there,
Send the word, send the word over there
That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming
The drums rum-tumming everywhere.
So prepare, say a prayer
Nothing to worry about! Americans never escalate! Wars never expand!
Bottoms up!
“US Boots On The Ground” was initially cited and discussed [including Petraeus] here at BV back on Nov 2 under the last article: “Thinking About the Russia-Ukraine War”:
And another piece is added to The Chessboard… :
Pentagon Confirms US Boots Are On The Ground In Ukraine by Tyler Durden
Two bombshell reports by the Associated Press and Washington Post Monday and Tuesday have confirmed that the United States has boots on the ground in the Ukraine conflict. Crucially, these troops are performing tasks separate from mere embassy security.
Mission creep? Never! Who ever heard of such a thing happening?
I need a drink ...
Yes to all questions. "History repeats itself. First as tragedy, second as farce." I don't often quote Marx but there it is.
Yes of course to all questions. "History repeats itself. First as tragedy, second as farce." Not sure where we are now. Somewhere in between for sure.
Too bad Karl didn't come along sooner. Austria-Hungary was first out of the box with a declaration of war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. The rest of Europe followed, according to their treaties. According to Wikipedia the Austrian populace couldn't care less about the assassination of Austria's Archduke Ferdinand, generally though of as the first shot in the war, although Austria "had little choice but to credibly threaten war and force Serbian submission if it wished to remain a Great Power." Ah, the responsibilities of a great power. In the event, of course, WW I resulted in the destruction of the Austro-Hungarian empire, so that ended up being a bad call (hey, everybody makes mistakes). Leaders - you can't live with 'em and you can't live without 'em.
Before every Young American can ask that question, their Parents and Grand Parents, their Teachers, Mentors, Leaders, and Heroes need to ask and answer that Question, as well.
It is not the Youngs' responsibility to fix this Goat Fuck. That's what they have "Adults" for.
Dennis: All "young" kids who have joined the Army did so voluntarily as their full-time job (I know that's simplified - but you get my drift)
Me: No Dennis, what IS Your drift?
D: The likelihood that a majority of these "young" kids telling the miliary to take a hike if a war in the Ukraine was announced is probably zero!
M: So? What’s Your point? And it wouldn’t take a “majority” of these “young kids” to screw things up. It would only take a Critical Mass of troops who followed their Commissioned and Noncommissioned Officers who had told the military to take a hike.
D: In the late 30's the US Army had around 200,000 officers and men. Actually 187,893 active-duty Army soldiers as of June 30, 1939, ballooning to nearly 8.3 million active-duty soldiers by the end of May 1945 in WW2. (By the conclusion of the United States's involvement, over 3.1 million Americans had been stationed in Vietnam.)
M: Source?
D: What's the chance that in 2022, that 3.0-million Americans would sign up to be cannon fodder in a WW3 GoatFuck - don't you think there would be zero chance of that?
The point I am trying to make, poorly…
M: Yeah; very poorly.
D: … is that if this WW3 GoatFuck did start, with the history of Vietnam in its rear-view mirrors, the US Army would have an icebergs chance in hell of getting Americans to sign up like they did in WW2. And a Vietnam draft would also be a non-starter.
So the chance of the US being able to match Russian troop manpower levels is extremely unlikely. And the military knows that!
M: What makes You think that “available troop manpower” will be THE ~ let alone even A ~ deciding factor in WW III? Ever hear about drones, ship-to-shore naval gunfire and missiles, close tactical and long-range strategic air support, chemical/biological warfare, and so forth?
D: Help me if I have this all screwed up please.
M: You tell me, Dennis: Have I helped You?
Glad that helped.
Ask Yourself who's paying for all that writing that You're reading about Russia and China "edging ahead" in that realm.
Think they might have any ties to America's weapons of war technology industry?
That Old Testament God was a jealous, wrathful and vengeful god. Much like the Greeks with their Olympian gods.
Miracle of miracles, the New Testament introduced a god of peace and love. No matter. His followers today still pretty much prefer the Old Testament version.
When the Israelites wanted to take over the land and occupy it it's no surprise that God was on their side. I understand that during the American Civil War both sides thought that God was on their side. I guess only one side was correct.
And the Israelis and Palestinian Arabs are both sure God is on their side as well. It helps to have God on your side.