When I first heard of this idiocy, my first thought was that it was sold to Trump with the notion that it would be ready in 2-3 years and that his name would be attached to it for all time - something sure to play to his narcissism.
That it would never work is beyond doubt - but there will be fortunes made in the interim. The only thing certain is that the intent to build it further takes the world - and humanity's survival - away from future arms control talks and treaties with both China and Russia. We have no leaders - only madmen and grifters.
Hello TomR... The "Golden Dome" part of the name seems to give the jig up... Was this concocted by Netanyahu in a meeting with DJT?.... Further Draining the USA of Resources helps Putin... A change in Technological Warfare is happening in Ukraine NOW... Witness the recent "Spider Web" Strategic Attack... Seems that the Traitor-In-Chief wants to Immortalize Himself in every way Possible...
All true. The money to be spent will be on the integrated detection, tracking, and fire control systems - and somewhere in there is the next big Palantir contract.
"A 'shield' against nuclear attack makes nuclear war more likely"
Maybe that's the plan. After all, the lunatics in some of our military think tanks are now claiming we can win a nuclear war. We'll only lose 20 million people. Nobody will miss them, except a few emotionally unstable crybabies, right?
General "Buck" Turgidson: Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops ...
Saying it sounds like a broken record, but it is just depressing that they can get money for this and the nuclear upgrade, but not for universal health coverage, not for free state college, not for affordable housing. But for weapon systems that can never be used? Taxpayer's money is there for the taking.
A couple of decades for "completion," eh?? Gee, you don't suppose this would give a putative "enemy state" incentive to attack the continental US ("CONUS" for us military veterans) sooner rather than later?? [Sorry if someone beat me to this observation, I don't have time to read all the preceding posts here.] We can be certain about any number of things concerning Emperor Trump, despite his own very bad case of "monkey mind" (a Buddhist description of a mind that keeps flitting from thought to thought and can't settle down). For instance: 1.) in all his vastness of IGNORANCE, about his weakest area of understanding is ECONOMICS. Even if he does not get his way with this particular insane proposal, the escalation of the NATIONAL DEBT via Military Madness (not something Trump originated, to be fair), more tax cuts for the undeserving, etc. etc., will result in only one thing: we ordinary taxpayers will be presented the bill, and accelerating loss of purchasing power of the US Dollar will send consumer prices far thru the roof; and 2.) Donald J. Trump could not care less about that impact on ordinary folks.
Canadian Prime Minister Carney is being bullied by Trump into helping with the costs of the Dome Idiocy. Western leaders have a notion of "defense" security that ensures insecurity massive risk and massive waste which just speeds up the collapse of an endless material growth model/ might makes right model on a finite planet.
At this stage of The Game, the American Peoples have an infinitely far more immediate and pressing problem to be concerned about than the latest Trumpian Brain Fart of a “Gold Dome”... :
And that Problem is the undeniable Fact that this Nation is as close to a fully operational and functional authoritarian, autocratic, plutocratic, oligarchic, patriarchal, totalitarian Dictatorship as it has ever been in its 248+ year history; including the Great Depression/New Deal/World War II era of the last century, and the Civil War the century before.
The latest manifestation of this Reality is Trump’s deployment of first, the California National Guard, and now the United States Marines, to deal with anti-ICE and Immigration Policy and Action protests in Los Angeles. All done Without the necessary request from ~ and over the serious objections ~ of the Governor of California [who just happens to be a Democrat, if that means anything].
As stated before several times here on BV:
These past 150 days of POTUS Maxximmuss XLVII and Team have been a masterfully planned and executed Psychological Warfare Operation to determine just exactly how able and willing the American Peoples are to accept ~ and just get on with the rest of their lives in ~ a Dictatorship.
All of which leads me to ask myself ~ and to ask other Americans still capable of thinking for themselves to ask themselves ~ the following Questions:
1. Do You agree that the United States is on the edge of a precipice, and that a full blown, bottom line, bullet-hits-the bone Dictatorship is very possible in America’s near future?
2. If You don’t agree with that assessment: Can You explain Why?
3. If, on the other hand, You Do agree with the assessment: What ~ if anything ~ can be done to prevent that Dictatorship from happening? Or is it already too late to stop it?
4. If it cannot be stopped and in fact happens, what would be the most appropriate and effective reaction and response of those who oppose the Dictatorship?
5. If that Dictatorship CAN be confronted, combatted, conquered, and eliminated, what system of National Government and Governance would replace it? The same one America has now, that enabled TRUMP 2.0 to happen in the first place? Or something different?
6. Do You agree that a significant number of Americans ~ and a number of people who are socially, economically, and/or politically “significant” ~ would very probably welcome a Dictatorship; as long as it was her or his guy or gal who was the Dictator?
7. Will the United States survive to celebrate its 250th Birthday on July 4, 2026, 389 days from today, June 10, 2025? And if it does, will the American Peoples be in any condition or mood to celebrate anything?
The Reality-TV Soap Opera Extravaganza unfolding in Washington, DC promises to premiere a very Long, Hot Summer and Fall ahead.
Bill: You concluded, “In short, Golden Dome is a massive, dangerous, and futile vanity project, cloaked in patriotism but driven by profit, politics, and illusion.”
That is exactly what America’s Proxy War with Russia in Ukraine is; precisely what its Proxy War with Iran in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria is; and ultimately, what its projected, planned, and programmed War with China over Taiwan will be.
As was its so-called “Global” so-called “War On” so-called “Terrorism,” its “Forever War” in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, etc.
As was Vietnam before that.
All of them "... a vanity project cloaked in patriotism but driven by profit, politics, and illusion.”
Thank you Bill, well said. I would add one further point - the purpose of a defence shield is to allow a "first strike" capability, something USA has always dreamed of. At one point in the cold war, both Russia and China were targeted to be hit at once.
In the Past, the Washington Post deleted my comments, banning me for various lengths of Time from from commenting and challenging America 1st WAR Propaganda as "violating THEIR Community Standards' in the beginning of the US WAR with Russia using Ukraine as the US Proxy. I couldn't even "LIKE" other comment.
In recent discussions, the Washington Post doesn't ban me. They just delete my comment so no one sees it.
Despite that PAST, as a Canadian having that experience with the Washington Post, I commend them for the time posting this article, and having the Journalistic Integrity seeing the NEED to inform Americans what AT STAKE in OUR GENERATIONS or lack thereof!
A Canadian, I was stuck in the huge compressed crowd of delirious Republicans looking up to the Secret Service restricted mezzanine. expecting the President to be at the Presidential podium any minute.
Spotting me in the crowd, I was called out for questioning by the Secret Service. Going past all the security check points, to my surprise and wonder, the Secret Service Agent led me to the President's podium, and standing Face to Face, questioned me in view of the 1000s below, eventually asking me if I was Jesus Christ? Having no illusions of that then and now, in a nanosecond emphatically answered, NO! The next question was, "who are you then? a Prophet. having only 18 months since I was born again February 1, 1975, I couldn't answer that question as definitively as the last one!
Having shoulder length hair & beard, wearing my #13 jersey with a big stick, it was a Revolutionary Image for anyone standing at the President's podium.
A year later I was in CanaDa's Capital speaking to a lunchtime crowd on the Sparks Mall backing up to the next block. Local newspapers record the crowd demanded the police let me speak.
I was arrested for "shouting, causing a disturbance" locked up in maximum security, solitary confinement for 5 days before appearing in front of a Judge. I got the signal!
I went back the next weekend and continued the speech to growing lunchtime crowds. Again the Police came to stop the speech.
Eventually I had some 12 charges of "shouting, causing a disturbance."
I was found guilty and placed on Probation for 1 year.
The words are EXPLICIT. Not one of the many standard conditions of Probation was checked off. Before the internet, typed in at the bottom of the form, were these EXPLICIT words:
"not to attend on the sparks street mall or and other street in in Ottawa for the purpose of SPEAKING or shouting." I was sent to jail at 31 for the 1st time in my Life for breach of that Probation!
From that experience I know how fragile Democracy is! What is happening in this world is not over Democracy, but for Global US hegemony and maintaining the supremacy of the US Dollar now being challenged like never before.
OPINION | THE NEXT NUCLEAR AGE
'Why we should worry about nuclear weapons again'
The Cold War prospect of global annihilation has faded from consciousness, but the warheads remain.
It's a 15 minute read, but if you have any doubt about the perilous time THIS MATERIAL World IS AT TODAY, when anything could happen, it's worth the read. This link lets you read it for free:
The protype for Golden collinder is ground based missile defense (GMD) so vital, so urgent that U.S. deployed 40 odd 3stage rocket missile that need a working kill vehicle.
Golden collinder segments will be deployed untested bc it is so vital and MIC needs the dividends
You may have seen this already because your article mentions most of the repurcussions, but if not, I highly recommend an interview of Theodore Postal by Glenn Diesen. I've listened to it twice and will probably give it a 3rd go, because I still don't entirely understand the biggest problem (according to Postal) with space-based defense. What I *think* Postal says is that the space based missile defense's most dangerous issue is that it will immediately threaten all of the great powers' low orbit GPS and communications satellites. And for some reason, there is likely to occur an incident that causes vasts amounts of "trash" in that area. So can you imagine if the US actually managed to get a missile up in orbit and then accidentally broke China's telecommunications satellites? How would China know it's an accident, and even if it was, ... kinda a big deal... Certainly not worth the risk. Here's the link:
US-NATO is praising Ukraine's attack on Russia's strategic bombers, sitting on the ground exposed in Siberia, so far from the front lines, the night before Russia-Ukraine was scheduled to hold PEACE talks in Istanbul. Talk about Idiocy!
'The last arms control treaty under nuclear threat'
START-3 Treaty
While some media sources praise Ukraine's successful operation, there are also criticisms about why such valuable Russian strategic bombers are not kept in closed hangars. Addressing these criticisms, Top War, an online military review published in Russia, points out the provisions of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-3) between Russia and the United States. It emphasizes that one of the key elements of the treaty is transparency, which mandates that strategic bombers must be parked in open areas so that their numbers and status can be verified through satellite reconnaissance or inspections. This rule aims to reduce insecurity risks and prevent unexpected escalations. Article X of the treaty stipulates that, "Each party undertakes ... not to use concealment measures that impede verification, by national technical means of verification, of compliance with the provisions of this Treaty."....................................................................
Given the present existential dangers in Russia-U.S. relations, an historic 1985 citizen’s summit that was televised in Leningrad and Seattle, will be replicated on June 18 in St. Petersburg, Russia and Kingston, New York.
You know you're getting older when you see the same techno bullshit come around again.
This is true
When I first heard of this idiocy, my first thought was that it was sold to Trump with the notion that it would be ready in 2-3 years and that his name would be attached to it for all time - something sure to play to his narcissism.
That it would never work is beyond doubt - but there will be fortunes made in the interim. The only thing certain is that the intent to build it further takes the world - and humanity's survival - away from future arms control talks and treaties with both China and Russia. We have no leaders - only madmen and grifters.
Hello TomR... The "Golden Dome" part of the name seems to give the jig up... Was this concocted by Netanyahu in a meeting with DJT?.... Further Draining the USA of Resources helps Putin... A change in Technological Warfare is happening in Ukraine NOW... Witness the recent "Spider Web" Strategic Attack... Seems that the Traitor-In-Chief wants to Immortalize Himself in every way Possible...
Russia gets through Patriots around Kiev at will.
Golden collinder near/point system will be Patriot. Outer ring will be layered THAAD and Aegis Ashore. Long will be GMD.
All are leaky, hard to maintain, and profitable.
All true. The money to be spent will be on the integrated detection, tracking, and fire control systems - and somewhere in there is the next big Palantir contract.
Hello TomR... Don't forget SpaceX.... Wait until all those StarLink Satellites start falling out the Sky...
Thx Bill for the good solidarity
"A 'shield' against nuclear attack makes nuclear war more likely"
Maybe that's the plan. After all, the lunatics in some of our military think tanks are now claiming we can win a nuclear war. We'll only lose 20 million people. Nobody will miss them, except a few emotionally unstable crybabies, right?
General "Buck" Turgidson: Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops ...
One of the best movies EVER!
Saying it sounds like a broken record, but it is just depressing that they can get money for this and the nuclear upgrade, but not for universal health coverage, not for free state college, not for affordable housing. But for weapon systems that can never be used? Taxpayer's money is there for the taking.
A couple of decades for "completion," eh?? Gee, you don't suppose this would give a putative "enemy state" incentive to attack the continental US ("CONUS" for us military veterans) sooner rather than later?? [Sorry if someone beat me to this observation, I don't have time to read all the preceding posts here.] We can be certain about any number of things concerning Emperor Trump, despite his own very bad case of "monkey mind" (a Buddhist description of a mind that keeps flitting from thought to thought and can't settle down). For instance: 1.) in all his vastness of IGNORANCE, about his weakest area of understanding is ECONOMICS. Even if he does not get his way with this particular insane proposal, the escalation of the NATIONAL DEBT via Military Madness (not something Trump originated, to be fair), more tax cuts for the undeserving, etc. etc., will result in only one thing: we ordinary taxpayers will be presented the bill, and accelerating loss of purchasing power of the US Dollar will send consumer prices far thru the roof; and 2.) Donald J. Trump could not care less about that impact on ordinary folks.
The Orange Orangutan is not a monkey, Greg, but a Great Ape!! :/ :o)
:-) :-) Hmm. "Make America Great Ape Again," eh?? But let's not insult a remarkable critter, and a highly endangered one, OK?!?
Canadian Prime Minister Carney is being bullied by Trump into helping with the costs of the Dome Idiocy. Western leaders have a notion of "defense" security that ensures insecurity massive risk and massive waste which just speeds up the collapse of an endless material growth model/ might makes right model on a finite planet.
Everyone knows it's absurd but the cancerous growth of the war machine empire must grow and grow til like cancer it kills its host.
At this stage of The Game, the American Peoples have an infinitely far more immediate and pressing problem to be concerned about than the latest Trumpian Brain Fart of a “Gold Dome”... :
And that Problem is the undeniable Fact that this Nation is as close to a fully operational and functional authoritarian, autocratic, plutocratic, oligarchic, patriarchal, totalitarian Dictatorship as it has ever been in its 248+ year history; including the Great Depression/New Deal/World War II era of the last century, and the Civil War the century before.
The latest manifestation of this Reality is Trump’s deployment of first, the California National Guard, and now the United States Marines, to deal with anti-ICE and Immigration Policy and Action protests in Los Angeles. All done Without the necessary request from ~ and over the serious objections ~ of the Governor of California [who just happens to be a Democrat, if that means anything].
As stated before several times here on BV:
These past 150 days of POTUS Maxximmuss XLVII and Team have been a masterfully planned and executed Psychological Warfare Operation to determine just exactly how able and willing the American Peoples are to accept ~ and just get on with the rest of their lives in ~ a Dictatorship.
All of which leads me to ask myself ~ and to ask other Americans still capable of thinking for themselves to ask themselves ~ the following Questions:
1. Do You agree that the United States is on the edge of a precipice, and that a full blown, bottom line, bullet-hits-the bone Dictatorship is very possible in America’s near future?
2. If You don’t agree with that assessment: Can You explain Why?
3. If, on the other hand, You Do agree with the assessment: What ~ if anything ~ can be done to prevent that Dictatorship from happening? Or is it already too late to stop it?
4. If it cannot be stopped and in fact happens, what would be the most appropriate and effective reaction and response of those who oppose the Dictatorship?
5. If that Dictatorship CAN be confronted, combatted, conquered, and eliminated, what system of National Government and Governance would replace it? The same one America has now, that enabled TRUMP 2.0 to happen in the first place? Or something different?
6. Do You agree that a significant number of Americans ~ and a number of people who are socially, economically, and/or politically “significant” ~ would very probably welcome a Dictatorship; as long as it was her or his guy or gal who was the Dictator?
7. Will the United States survive to celebrate its 250th Birthday on July 4, 2026, 389 days from today, June 10, 2025? And if it does, will the American Peoples be in any condition or mood to celebrate anything?
The Reality-TV Soap Opera Extravaganza unfolding in Washington, DC promises to premiere a very Long, Hot Summer and Fall ahead.
For a consideration of the legality of Trump's mobilization of the California National Guard, see https://www.reuters.com/world/us/does-us-law-allow-trump-send-troops-quell-protests-2025-06-08/ .
Bill: You concluded, “In short, Golden Dome is a massive, dangerous, and futile vanity project, cloaked in patriotism but driven by profit, politics, and illusion.”
That is exactly what America’s Proxy War with Russia in Ukraine is; precisely what its Proxy War with Iran in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria is; and ultimately, what its projected, planned, and programmed War with China over Taiwan will be.
As was its so-called “Global” so-called “War On” so-called “Terrorism,” its “Forever War” in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, etc.
As was Vietnam before that.
All of them "... a vanity project cloaked in patriotism but driven by profit, politics, and illusion.”
Thank you Bill, well said. I would add one further point - the purpose of a defence shield is to allow a "first strike" capability, something USA has always dreamed of. At one point in the cold war, both Russia and China were targeted to be hit at once.
Agree completely. Linking today @https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/
Eric S. Margolis had an interesting article on this the other day as well "THE ‘GOLDEN DOME’ IS PURE FANTASY" - https://ericmargolis.com/2025/06/the-golden-dome-is-pure-fantasy/
In the Past, the Washington Post deleted my comments, banning me for various lengths of Time from from commenting and challenging America 1st WAR Propaganda as "violating THEIR Community Standards' in the beginning of the US WAR with Russia using Ukraine as the US Proxy. I couldn't even "LIKE" other comment.
In recent discussions, the Washington Post doesn't ban me. They just delete my comment so no one sees it.
Despite that PAST, as a Canadian having that experience with the Washington Post, I commend them for the time posting this article, and having the Journalistic Integrity seeing the NEED to inform Americans what AT STAKE in OUR GENERATIONS or lack thereof!
A Canadian, I was stuck in the huge compressed crowd of delirious Republicans looking up to the Secret Service restricted mezzanine. expecting the President to be at the Presidential podium any minute.
Spotting me in the crowd, I was called out for questioning by the Secret Service. Going past all the security check points, to my surprise and wonder, the Secret Service Agent led me to the President's podium, and standing Face to Face, questioned me in view of the 1000s below, eventually asking me if I was Jesus Christ? Having no illusions of that then and now, in a nanosecond emphatically answered, NO! The next question was, "who are you then? a Prophet. having only 18 months since I was born again February 1, 1975, I couldn't answer that question as definitively as the last one!
Having shoulder length hair & beard, wearing my #13 jersey with a big stick, it was a Revolutionary Image for anyone standing at the President's podium.
A year later I was in CanaDa's Capital speaking to a lunchtime crowd on the Sparks Mall backing up to the next block. Local newspapers record the crowd demanded the police let me speak.
I was arrested for "shouting, causing a disturbance" locked up in maximum security, solitary confinement for 5 days before appearing in front of a Judge. I got the signal!
I went back the next weekend and continued the speech to growing lunchtime crowds. Again the Police came to stop the speech.
Eventually I had some 12 charges of "shouting, causing a disturbance."
I was found guilty and placed on Probation for 1 year.
The words are EXPLICIT. Not one of the many standard conditions of Probation was checked off. Before the internet, typed in at the bottom of the form, were these EXPLICIT words:
"not to attend on the sparks street mall or and other street in in Ottawa for the purpose of SPEAKING or shouting." I was sent to jail at 31 for the 1st time in my Life for breach of that Probation!
From that experience I know how fragile Democracy is! What is happening in this world is not over Democracy, but for Global US hegemony and maintaining the supremacy of the US Dollar now being challenged like never before.
OPINION | THE NEXT NUCLEAR AGE
'Why we should worry about nuclear weapons again'
The Cold War prospect of global annihilation has faded from consciousness, but the warheads remain.
It's a 15 minute read, but if you have any doubt about the perilous time THIS MATERIAL World IS AT TODAY, when anything could happen, it's worth the read. This link lets you read it for free:
https://wapo.st/3SHtHGY
The protype for Golden collinder is ground based missile defense (GMD) so vital, so urgent that U.S. deployed 40 odd 3stage rocket missile that need a working kill vehicle.
Golden collinder segments will be deployed untested bc it is so vital and MIC needs the dividends
You may have seen this already because your article mentions most of the repurcussions, but if not, I highly recommend an interview of Theodore Postal by Glenn Diesen. I've listened to it twice and will probably give it a 3rd go, because I still don't entirely understand the biggest problem (according to Postal) with space-based defense. What I *think* Postal says is that the space based missile defense's most dangerous issue is that it will immediately threaten all of the great powers' low orbit GPS and communications satellites. And for some reason, there is likely to occur an incident that causes vasts amounts of "trash" in that area. So can you imagine if the US actually managed to get a missile up in orbit and then accidentally broke China's telecommunications satellites? How would China know it's an accident, and even if it was, ... kinda a big deal... Certainly not worth the risk. Here's the link:
https://youtu.be/D9Wzlqh7bIs?si=QKvoi0eaEtk_fOHy
US-NATO is praising Ukraine's attack on Russia's strategic bombers, sitting on the ground exposed in Siberia, so far from the front lines, the night before Russia-Ukraine was scheduled to hold PEACE talks in Istanbul. Talk about Idiocy!
'The last arms control treaty under nuclear threat'
START-3 Treaty
While some media sources praise Ukraine's successful operation, there are also criticisms about why such valuable Russian strategic bombers are not kept in closed hangars. Addressing these criticisms, Top War, an online military review published in Russia, points out the provisions of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-3) between Russia and the United States. It emphasizes that one of the key elements of the treaty is transparency, which mandates that strategic bombers must be parked in open areas so that their numbers and status can be verified through satellite reconnaissance or inspections. This rule aims to reduce insecurity risks and prevent unexpected escalations. Article X of the treaty stipulates that, "Each party undertakes ... not to use concealment measures that impede verification, by national technical means of verification, of compliance with the provisions of this Treaty."....................................................................
https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/the-last-arms-control-treaty-under-nuclear-threat
Scott Ritter: A US-Russia Citizen’s Summit
Given the present existential dangers in Russia-U.S. relations, an historic 1985 citizen’s summit that was televised in Leningrad and Seattle, will be replicated on June 18 in St. Petersburg, Russia and Kingston, New York.
https://consortiumnews.com/2025/06/09/scott-ritter-a-us-russia-citizens-summit