it would be helpful if the civilians in congress could find the courage and wisdom to stand up to the military. But it it's not an encouraging sign when senators like Elizabeth Warren make the trip to the Ukraine with Lindsey Graham, of all people.
It would be even more helpful if the American People would pull their individual and collective heads out of their collective and individual asses ~ and got up off their individual and collective asses ~ and declared "¡¡¡YA BASTA!!!," and actually DID something about and against all the Bullshit perpetrated and perpetuated by their Ruling Political Class.
i agree. And it can ~ and will be ~ only the unfolding of real events in the Real World that will determine whether it is the Pessimist or the Realist who is correct in their estimate of the situation.
At this point in The Game, my money is on the Realist.
As i have said several times here on BV, Dennis: "The Decline" of The American Empire ~ and with it, the nation-state of the United States of America ~ is over, and "The Fall" has begun in ways that can no longer be reasonably, rationally, or realistically denied.
That there is a significant number of Americans who actually, sincerely believe that things will get "better" if either Trump and his True Believers are put back in charge ~or if Biden and His are kept in charge ~ tells me that Your glass is not only completely empty, but about to fall off the table and be smashed into shards and splinters on the floor of 21st century Reality.
If what you are doing is morally and ethically wrong, as all of the offensive actions of the US overseas are, you have to lie and cover-up what you are doing. The mission is morally wrong from the outset, because we are using our military for offensive actions against countries that did not attack us. So everyone in uniform knows that they are not "defending the US". The people in the military are attacking other countries. Our soldiers are the invaders, and our armed forces are attacking the citizens of those foreign countries who are defending themselves as best they can. Under such circumstances, lying and obfuscating are standard operation procedure.
"Everyone in uniform knows" -- I wish that were true.
Having worn that uniform for 20 years, I can say that many don't know. They may feel uneasy. But there's always a narrative to quiet the mind. The Domino Theory and defeating communism in Vietnam, the WMD in Iraq with Saddam as Hitler, Afghanistan as revenge for 9/11, and so on. We don the uniform and agree to follow orders, which is made mentally easier by not questioning official narratives in any deep way.
As far as i know, the last time a significant number of people in uniform fighting a War actually Knew and Understood that they were in fact "NOT defending the US," and then DID something about it, was back in Vietnam where units refused to fight and commanders got fragged.
If that has happened any time in any of America's Wars since, i must have missed it.
But it is that unease that I think is important. Even with all the pep talks and talking points about the evil other, all troops know they are on foreign soil, attacking the locals. At some point in time, most of them must realize that people in mud huts in Afghanistan can't possibly pose a threat to the US. Instead, most people in uniform want to make the local area safe for themselves, so that is what they tell themselves they are doing. But in the end, that is just the invader having concerns that the locals really don't want them there.
Yes. A good example of a troop who came to know this was Marine Captain Matt Hoh, a friend of mine. He talks about this exact thing. So too does Army Major Danny Sjursen. But most officers keep their doubts (if they have them) quiet. Only a few speak out publicly about them since it's often career-ending.
Danny saw combat; I didn't. And Danny spoke out while he still was in uniform, whereas I waited until retirement. So all credit to Danny for being so courageous.
John: You wrote “Most people in uniform want to make the local area safe for themselves, so that is what they tell themselves they are doing.”
And that is exactly what every soldier on a mission in a combat zone ~ where at any time contact with an Enemy who is trying to kill, or even better, to maim You [thus requiring a Medevac, and medical care] is imminent, probable, or even possible ~ that is what every individual troop in a combat zone does and is doing.
Because that is what they MUST do: To make the area they are in as safe as possible for themself and their mission mates.
And under those circumstances, especially if enemy contact is imminent or probable, those soldiers on that mission will NOT realize that those folks in those mud huts are definitely NOT a threat to the United States, for the simple reason that they have more important things to deal with. Because those soldiers are aware that those same folks in those same huts COULD be a very Real and Definite Threat to them, as a unit and as individuals.
The time for that “unease” is not out there in the field on the mission. It is back in base camp recovering from that mission and waiting for or preparing for the next one.
And occasionally, that “unease” survives several missions over time, and then becomes actual, real Doubt. And that’s when the idea of “invader” can first start to creep into one’s thought processes; and things can start to get really interesting [as portrayed in the linked article that Bill wrote with Danny Sjursen].
Note: i base all that on my personal experience as a Private First Class Infantryman in the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam for nine months in 1966-67.
It should be a criminal offense to send young people to another country to engage the locals in firefights. It takes a lot of brainwashing and hate-mongering to get people to do that. It is why there is so much Russia and China bashing on TV, to make sure people are whipped into a hateful frenzy against people they haven't met and don't know. Once the hate is in place, you can get people to do things they would never normally do.
It IS a criminal offense, John. The problem is that nobody anyplace is acting on and enforcing that criminal offense.
Especially the Citizens of those nations doing all that sending of young people to firefight, carpet bomb, napalm, and enforce sanctions on those locals.
What is this fixation we have into sticking our guns and soldiers around the world trying to right wrongs (in our minds eye) and ending up making things more wrong than right. Plus killing lots of folks and causing more hardship and misery. Yet here at home we got folks living on the streets and families trying yo make it; not. A trillion on drfense uvking things up abroad and few services to deal with domestic problems. Neoliberalism trickle up extraction of labor wealth to those not in need. What a system.
"Chung Yu asked how to serve a prince. 'Don't deceive him! Resist him rather." <The Sayings of Confucius>, James R. Ware Translation, A Mentor Book, 1955.
I bought this paperback, now yellowed and with more loose pages than bound, as an 18 year-old officer cadet in the Canadian Army, and it has remained my guide throughout long military service and life. Pity we don't teach such wisdom and insist on its application in modern Armed Forces. We certainly continue to experienced the results of this failure.
Listening to all the Republican Presidential aspirants in the debate, most of them wearing their religion on their sleeve, especially Pence, we're in for more WAR!
Yes, he always ends his speeches with that. There will be more WAR with Biden too!
Biden presided over the 2014 US orchestrated Coup/Regime change of the Democratically Elected Russian friendly government, installing an un-elected anti-Russian government, setting the stage for this mass killing in Ukraine to "weaken" Russia. American money and weapons sacrificing Ukraine Lives to act out the US fantasy.
The “integrity” USAF refers to has nothing to do with honor, truth, or justice!
USAF “integrity” is rooted in the late Roman Empire legion, where the legionary pounded their chests and shouted “integer” unquestioning unity with the legate.
And when was that? Since the end of World War II and the beginning of Cold War I 78 years ago after Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Or was it before we launched the first Phase of the American Empire and brought the Monroe Doctrine to life 125 years ago against what remained of the Spanish Empire?
Or was it before what will end up being merely the First American Civil War 160+ years ago?
Or was it when we liberated "our" West from Mexico 175 years ago?
Or when we threw the last remnants of the British Empire out of the United States 210 years ago?
Again: When has the United States ever had a truly functioning "republic" as envisioned by the Founders, and articulated in the Declaration of Independence, then the Articles of Confederation, and then the Constitution?
i’m not sure how an accurate recounting of American history constitutes “hating America,” Bill.
But in any event, i definitely DO hate what America has become, particularly since 9/11: Ie, US POST-9/11 WARS CAUSED 4.5 MILLION DEATHS, DISPLACED 38-60 MILLION PEOPLE, STUDY SHOWS ~ “Wars the US waged in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan following September 11, 2001 caused at least 4.5 million deaths and displaced 38 to 60 million people, with 7.6 million children starving today, according to studies by Brown University.” [ https://www.informationclearinghouse.info/57769.htm ]
And, as a retired Centurion of The American Empire, i hate the role that i personally played ~ as but a cog in The Machine ~ in the chaos and carnage that that Empire caused and inflicted on the Peoples, Lands, Countries, and Nations of Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq before 9/11, all the way back to the end of World War II.
There was that period of time when Roosevelt was elected in 1932. Sadly, that bright spot in history ended when the 1944 Democratic convention dumped vice president Henry Wallace in favor of Harry Truman, followed by the death of Roosevelt, just six months into his fourth term, April 12 1945.
Here, Bill, is a very interesting and, to me, very pleasantly surprising follow-up to Your 14 August piece “The Rich Have No Sympathy or Use for the Poor”…:
“RICH MEN NORTH OF RICHMOND” SINGER CONDEMNS REPUBLICANS AFTER SONG USED IN DEBATE: Oliver Anthony Responds After Politicians Discuss His No 1 Hit On Stage: ‘I Wrote That Song About Those People’
Oliver Anthony, the writer and singer of the mega-hit “Rich Men North of Richmond,” hit out at Republican candidates for president who discussed his song in the debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
“It was funny seeing my song at that presidential debate. Because I wrote that song about those people, you know, so for them to have to sit there and listen to that, that cracks me up. It was funny kind of seeing the response to it,” the Virginian said in a statement on Friday.
A stark lament over the plight of the working class, “Rich Men North of Richmond” is top of the Billboard Hot 100, the first song by an artist with no chart history to make No 1.
The song has been championed by many on the political right as a populist anti-big-government hymn and criticized by some on the left for its attacks on welfare recipients.
In Wisconsin on Wednesday, an excerpt was played at the start of the Republican debate. One Fox News host, Martha MacCallum, said Anthony’s “lyrics speak of alienation, of deep frustration with the state of government and of this country. Washington DC is about 100 miles north of Richmond.”
On stage stood seven Republican current or former governors and congressmen and one venture capitalist.
McCallum said: “Governor DeSantis, why is this song striking such a nerve in this country right now?”
Ron DeSantis, the hard-right Florida governor running a distant second to Donald Trump, said: “Our country is in decline. This decline is not inevitable. It’s a choice. We need to send Joe Biden back to his basement and reverse American decline.”
However, on Friday, Anthony released a 10-minute video, shot in the cab of a truck as heavy rain fell, in which he rejected that answer and denied that he was a conservative figure.
“The one thing that has bothered me is seeing people wrap politics up in this. I’m disappointed to see it. Like, it’s aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with me, like I’m one of them.”
He added: “that song has nothing to do with Joe Biden. You know, it’s a lot bigger than Joe Biden. That song’s written about the people on that stage and a lot more, not just them.”
It was hard, Anthony said, to “get a message out about your political ideology or your belief about the world in three minutes and some change. But I do hate to see that song being weaponized, like I see. I see the right trying to characterize me as one of their own. And I see the left trying to discredit me, I guess in retaliation. That’s got to stop.”
He said the response to his song had crossed party lines and that he welcomed a diverse audience.
“If you watch the response videos on Youtube, it’s not conservative people responding to the song. It’s not even necessarily Americans responding to the song. I don’t know that I’ve seen anything get such positive response from such a diverse group of people. And i think that terrifies the people that i sing about in that song. And they’ve done everything they can in the last two weeks to make me look like a fool. To spin my words. To try to stick me in a political bucket.”
Anthony also answered criticism from leftwing sources about lyrics which refer to welfare recipients and depicts some as obese with poor diets.
“i do need to address the left as well,” he said, “because they’re sending a message out that … “Rich Men North of Richmond” is an attack against the poor.”
“i do understand there may be some people who misunderstood my words in “Rich Men North Of Richmond.” But I’ve got to be clear that my message … references the inefficiencies of the government because of the politicians within it that are engulfed in bribes and extortion.
“The words say that there’s, ‘people on the street with nothing to eat and the obese milking welfare.’ that references a news article I read earlier this summer, that adolescent kids in Richmond [Virginia] are missing meals … because their parents can’t afford to feed them and they’re not in school.
“And meanwhile, I think like 30% or 40% of the food bought with welfare EBT money is … like, snack food and soda. I think 10% spent on soda. And I want to say like 20% or 30% spent on junk food.
“And that’s not the fault of those people. Welfare only makes up a small percentage of our budget. You know, we can fuel a proxy war in a foreign land” – seemingly a reference to aid to Ukraine – “but we can’t take care of our own. That’s all the song’s trying to say. It’s just saying that the government takes people who are needy and dependent and makes them needy and dependent.”
i agree. Until i read that, i wasn't really sure where he was coming from. But in that article, he certainly made that clear. i look forward to all the reactions and responses that it will generate from all sides of the Circus Big Top.
i wonder if anybody else was asked the same question that he was. i would particularly like to hear what Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy had to say if they were asked.
I read Hersh's article about General Taguba this morning before I read your essay. I'm so happy to see you underline what Hersh and Taguba have to say. The Abugrabe story is horrifying and it is good to be reminded of it, especially to be reminded of the distinctly unsavory and smarmy cowardice of Rumsfeld and others of his group along with generals in that appalling war of lies. That story is so disgustingly ugly that the citizens of this country need to be reminded of it so that they understand the slimy cowardice of the people who now run the Pentagon.
A year ago on Sept. 29 you wrote an article that strongly underlines what we have become and you gave us a link to it today from Tomgram, but I'm hoping you will republish it out in the open on Bracing Views so that all your readers can more easily read your strong and accurate words about the state of our military. Though I thank you for this article today, I think we need the Sept 29th one to more clearly grasp the severity of the problem that has only grown worse in the past eleven months. The constant lies about Ukraine and Russia and also China are coming fast and furiously as the Pentagon ramps up for nuclear war. We need more people to speak out - maybe your friends Danny Djursen (sp?) and Andrew Bacevich and others can write about this. If we could get enough people to speak out on line (since the MSM is not going to let them be visible) we could start to get the citizens aware of the extreme danger. Can you publish some of the tales from their book?
I wrote this to another author who's trying to educate the American people:
"I wish our words made more impact. They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but there's more profit to be made from making swords, and swinging them, than from making pens and scribbling with them."
We just have to keep at it, using all the tools and skills at our disposal, Rachel.
Those of us who are seekers, or agents, of change; those who stand and speak in dissent to an ever-more dystopian society and its systems, are often confronted by the magnitude of the obstacles in the way of meaningful change. Some are crushed by the enormity of it, will become so discouraged as to give in to utter despair, cynicism and then, withdrawal.
But you, and others clearly have the 'stuff' to avoid those dead-end traps, so that you retain your power to continue to tell / share the truth.
One thing, I think, is especially required, though. While we should consider how best to communicate and with the most success, we can't let ourselves be paralyzed by such questions. And to some extent, we have to content ourselves with the knowledge that doing the right thing is always right; that saying what needs to be said is its own reward, and we have, at some point, to detach a bit from expectations about goals and outcomes. Change is not necessarily a linear quantum. One new voice, and perhaps a few new lights turned on in a few others, may represent a new tipping point - towards the much needed changes.
“we the people” can do lots of things, Rachel; all of which are very simple; but none of which are or will be at all easy.
We, The People can prepare ourselves, our Families and Loved Ones, our Friends and Neighbors, and our economic, social, and cultural Cohorts, Colleagues, and Compeers for the SHIT STORM that is looming, and, with each day, grows more imminently inevitable. A SHIT STORM consisting of:
~ 1. Another Pandemic, with its “Lockdown Nation Version 2.0,” and its mandates on masks, social distancing, vaccinations, and the closure of all “non-essentials” like small businesses, schools, churches, recreation and leisure hubs, and so forth.
~ 2. A heating up and expansion of Cold War II in Europe and Asia ~ and no doubt in Africa and the Middle East, as well ~ so as to keep America’s MICC even more suitably profitable than it is now.
~ 3. A financial and economic “¢risi$” that will make 2008 and the first Pandemic’s look like something out of a Barbie movie; except, of course, for those individuals, organizations, and institutions deemed ~ once again ~ as “too big to let fail.”
This will be driven by: a] a Default by the US government on its national, sovereign Debt; and/or 2] a global de-Dollariztion and the end of the Dollar as the global Reserve Currency, courtesy of those new kids on the block, BRICS and the rest of the Global South.
~ 4. A resurrection of the Black Lives Matter movement, but this time termed “Trumpatistas Lives Matter.” And this time, unlike the so-called "insurrection" of January 6, these folks will be carrying things far beyond just flags, signs, selfie-sticks, and smartfones.
~ 5. Further disruption, dysfunction, and collapse of America’s energy, food, transportation, and communications infrastructures because of climate- and weather-related disasters, cyber-attacks, supply line choke points and resulting critical shortages, social unrest, and sabotage.
That’s what “We the People” can do for starters; not so much to change things, but to be able to confront and deal with that SHIT STORM when it makes landfall.
Heh. Well here’s one way to get the MICC-dependent and -codependent crowd’s vote, eh? …:
DESANTIS PLEDGES TO SEND MILITARY INTO MEXICO TO FIGHT CARTELS ON ‘DAY ONE’ by Dave DeCamp / antiwar.com 082423
Florida Governor Ron Desantis said on Wednesday night that he would send the military into Mexico to fight drug cartels on “day one” of his presidency if he wins the 2024 presidential election.
At the Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee, DeSantis was asked if he would support sending in US special forces to take out fentanyl labs and other drug cartel operations. “Yes, and I will do it on day one,” he replied.
“We have to reestablish the rule of law and we have to defend our people. The president of the United States has got to use all available powers as commander in chief to protect our country,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis claimed cartels are “killing tens of thousands of our fellow citizens” and said he would treat them as “foreign terrorist organizations.”
“Yes, I would send U.S. Special Forces to take out the Mexican drug cartels. They are killing tens of thousands of our fellow citizens. How many more are we going to let die? As Commander in Chief, I will use all available powers to protect our country and our people.” — Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 24, 2023
it would be helpful if the civilians in congress could find the courage and wisdom to stand up to the military. But it it's not an encouraging sign when senators like Elizabeth Warren make the trip to the Ukraine with Lindsey Graham, of all people.
It would be even more helpful if the American People would pull their individual and collective heads out of their collective and individual asses ~ and got up off their individual and collective asses ~ and declared "¡¡¡YA BASTA!!!," and actually DID something about and against all the Bullshit perpetrated and perpetuated by their Ruling Political Class.
[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C2%A1Ya_basta!].
But that ain't gonna happen.
I agree we must say "No more" and act, Jeff. I hope we can make it happen, though I understand your pessimism.
It's not "pessimism," Bill. It's nothing more or less than simple Realism.
I submit, Jeff, that one man's pessimism is another man's realism, and vice-versa.
i agree. And it can ~ and will be ~ only the unfolding of real events in the Real World that will determine whether it is the Pessimist or the Realist who is correct in their estimate of the situation.
At this point in The Game, my money is on the Realist.
Jeff, yes it may be Realism, but if you don't think things can be changed for the better - then things never will never be made better.
The difference between a glass half full and a glass half empty folk eh.
The blind men and an elephant.
As i have said several times here on BV, Dennis: "The Decline" of The American Empire ~ and with it, the nation-state of the United States of America ~ is over, and "The Fall" has begun in ways that can no longer be reasonably, rationally, or realistically denied.
That there is a significant number of Americans who actually, sincerely believe that things will get "better" if either Trump and his True Believers are put back in charge ~or if Biden and His are kept in charge ~ tells me that Your glass is not only completely empty, but about to fall off the table and be smashed into shards and splinters on the floor of 21st century Reality.
If what you are doing is morally and ethically wrong, as all of the offensive actions of the US overseas are, you have to lie and cover-up what you are doing. The mission is morally wrong from the outset, because we are using our military for offensive actions against countries that did not attack us. So everyone in uniform knows that they are not "defending the US". The people in the military are attacking other countries. Our soldiers are the invaders, and our armed forces are attacking the citizens of those foreign countries who are defending themselves as best they can. Under such circumstances, lying and obfuscating are standard operation procedure.
"Everyone in uniform knows" -- I wish that were true.
Having worn that uniform for 20 years, I can say that many don't know. They may feel uneasy. But there's always a narrative to quiet the mind. The Domino Theory and defeating communism in Vietnam, the WMD in Iraq with Saddam as Hitler, Afghanistan as revenge for 9/11, and so on. We don the uniform and agree to follow orders, which is made mentally easier by not questioning official narratives in any deep way.
You nailed it, Colonel.
As far as i know, the last time a significant number of people in uniform fighting a War actually Knew and Understood that they were in fact "NOT defending the US," and then DID something about it, was back in Vietnam where units refused to fight and commanders got fragged.
If that has happened any time in any of America's Wars since, i must have missed it.
But it is that unease that I think is important. Even with all the pep talks and talking points about the evil other, all troops know they are on foreign soil, attacking the locals. At some point in time, most of them must realize that people in mud huts in Afghanistan can't possibly pose a threat to the US. Instead, most people in uniform want to make the local area safe for themselves, so that is what they tell themselves they are doing. But in the end, that is just the invader having concerns that the locals really don't want them there.
Yes. A good example of a troop who came to know this was Marine Captain Matt Hoh, a friend of mine. He talks about this exact thing. So too does Army Major Danny Sjursen. But most officers keep their doubts (if they have them) quiet. Only a few speak out publicly about them since it's often career-ending.
In 2020, Danny Sjursen and I wrote about our doubts here for TomDispatch:
https://tomdispatch.com/spilling-ink-and-spilling-blood/
Danny saw combat; I didn't. And Danny spoke out while he still was in uniform, whereas I waited until retirement. So all credit to Danny for being so courageous.
Outstanding article, Bill.
John: You wrote “Most people in uniform want to make the local area safe for themselves, so that is what they tell themselves they are doing.”
And that is exactly what every soldier on a mission in a combat zone ~ where at any time contact with an Enemy who is trying to kill, or even better, to maim You [thus requiring a Medevac, and medical care] is imminent, probable, or even possible ~ that is what every individual troop in a combat zone does and is doing.
Because that is what they MUST do: To make the area they are in as safe as possible for themself and their mission mates.
And under those circumstances, especially if enemy contact is imminent or probable, those soldiers on that mission will NOT realize that those folks in those mud huts are definitely NOT a threat to the United States, for the simple reason that they have more important things to deal with. Because those soldiers are aware that those same folks in those same huts COULD be a very Real and Definite Threat to them, as a unit and as individuals.
The time for that “unease” is not out there in the field on the mission. It is back in base camp recovering from that mission and waiting for or preparing for the next one.
And occasionally, that “unease” survives several missions over time, and then becomes actual, real Doubt. And that’s when the idea of “invader” can first start to creep into one’s thought processes; and things can start to get really interesting [as portrayed in the linked article that Bill wrote with Danny Sjursen].
Note: i base all that on my personal experience as a Private First Class Infantryman in the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam for nine months in 1966-67.
It should be a criminal offense to send young people to another country to engage the locals in firefights. It takes a lot of brainwashing and hate-mongering to get people to do that. It is why there is so much Russia and China bashing on TV, to make sure people are whipped into a hateful frenzy against people they haven't met and don't know. Once the hate is in place, you can get people to do things they would never normally do.
It IS a criminal offense, John. The problem is that nobody anyplace is acting on and enforcing that criminal offense.
Especially the Citizens of those nations doing all that sending of young people to firefight, carpet bomb, napalm, and enforce sanctions on those locals.
I'm pretty sure three stars are the minimum requirement for protection and absolution in today's military.
What is this fixation we have into sticking our guns and soldiers around the world trying to right wrongs (in our minds eye) and ending up making things more wrong than right. Plus killing lots of folks and causing more hardship and misery. Yet here at home we got folks living on the streets and families trying yo make it; not. A trillion on drfense uvking things up abroad and few services to deal with domestic problems. Neoliberalism trickle up extraction of labor wealth to those not in need. What a system.
"Chung Yu asked how to serve a prince. 'Don't deceive him! Resist him rather." <The Sayings of Confucius>, James R. Ware Translation, A Mentor Book, 1955.
I bought this paperback, now yellowed and with more loose pages than bound, as an 18 year-old officer cadet in the Canadian Army, and it has remained my guide throughout long military service and life. Pity we don't teach such wisdom and insist on its application in modern Armed Forces. We certainly continue to experienced the results of this failure.
I'm sorry I did not cite the exact source of this quotation: Sayings, Chap. XIV, #22. (P.93 in the Ware edition.)
Listening to all the Republican Presidential aspirants in the debate, most of them wearing their religion on their sleeve, especially Pence, we're in for more WAR!
Yes, and didn't Biden end his state of the union speech by emphatically saying God bless our troops?
Yes, he always ends his speeches with that. There will be more WAR with Biden too!
Biden presided over the 2014 US orchestrated Coup/Regime change of the Democratically Elected Russian friendly government, installing an un-elected anti-Russian government, setting the stage for this mass killing in Ukraine to "weaken" Russia. American money and weapons sacrificing Ukraine Lives to act out the US fantasy.
The “integrity” USAF refers to has nothing to do with honor, truth, or justice!
USAF “integrity” is rooted in the late Roman Empire legion, where the legionary pounded their chests and shouted “integer” unquestioning unity with the legate.
Not the code for the republic.
How interesting. I wish we still had an American republic.
When was the last time that America actually, really was ~ and really, actually had ~ a functioning "republic," Bill?
A long, long, time ago, Jeff. Before we had a military-industrial-congressional complex.
And when was that? Since the end of World War II and the beginning of Cold War I 78 years ago after Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Or was it before we launched the first Phase of the American Empire and brought the Monroe Doctrine to life 125 years ago against what remained of the Spanish Empire?
Or was it before what will end up being merely the First American Civil War 160+ years ago?
Or was it when we liberated "our" West from Mexico 175 years ago?
Or when we threw the last remnants of the British Empire out of the United States 210 years ago?
Again: When has the United States ever had a truly functioning "republic" as envisioned by the Founders, and articulated in the Declaration of Independence, then the Articles of Confederation, and then the Constitution?
I'm beginning to think you hate America, Jeff. :-)
Just beginning Bill? LOL :-)
i’m not sure how an accurate recounting of American history constitutes “hating America,” Bill.
But in any event, i definitely DO hate what America has become, particularly since 9/11: Ie, US POST-9/11 WARS CAUSED 4.5 MILLION DEATHS, DISPLACED 38-60 MILLION PEOPLE, STUDY SHOWS ~ “Wars the US waged in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan following September 11, 2001 caused at least 4.5 million deaths and displaced 38 to 60 million people, with 7.6 million children starving today, according to studies by Brown University.” [ https://www.informationclearinghouse.info/57769.htm ]
And, as a retired Centurion of The American Empire, i hate the role that i personally played ~ as but a cog in The Machine ~ in the chaos and carnage that that Empire caused and inflicted on the Peoples, Lands, Countries, and Nations of Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq before 9/11, all the way back to the end of World War II.
There was that period of time when Roosevelt was elected in 1932. Sadly, that bright spot in history ended when the 1944 Democratic convention dumped vice president Henry Wallace in favor of Harry Truman, followed by the death of Roosevelt, just six months into his fourth term, April 12 1945.
Here, Bill, is a very interesting and, to me, very pleasantly surprising follow-up to Your 14 August piece “The Rich Have No Sympathy or Use for the Poor”…:
“RICH MEN NORTH OF RICHMOND” SINGER CONDEMNS REPUBLICANS AFTER SONG USED IN DEBATE: Oliver Anthony Responds After Politicians Discuss His No 1 Hit On Stage: ‘I Wrote That Song About Those People’
Oliver Anthony, the writer and singer of the mega-hit “Rich Men North of Richmond,” hit out at Republican candidates for president who discussed his song in the debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
“It was funny seeing my song at that presidential debate. Because I wrote that song about those people, you know, so for them to have to sit there and listen to that, that cracks me up. It was funny kind of seeing the response to it,” the Virginian said in a statement on Friday.
A stark lament over the plight of the working class, “Rich Men North of Richmond” is top of the Billboard Hot 100, the first song by an artist with no chart history to make No 1.
The song has been championed by many on the political right as a populist anti-big-government hymn and criticized by some on the left for its attacks on welfare recipients.
In Wisconsin on Wednesday, an excerpt was played at the start of the Republican debate. One Fox News host, Martha MacCallum, said Anthony’s “lyrics speak of alienation, of deep frustration with the state of government and of this country. Washington DC is about 100 miles north of Richmond.”
On stage stood seven Republican current or former governors and congressmen and one venture capitalist.
McCallum said: “Governor DeSantis, why is this song striking such a nerve in this country right now?”
Ron DeSantis, the hard-right Florida governor running a distant second to Donald Trump, said: “Our country is in decline. This decline is not inevitable. It’s a choice. We need to send Joe Biden back to his basement and reverse American decline.”
However, on Friday, Anthony released a 10-minute video, shot in the cab of a truck as heavy rain fell, in which he rejected that answer and denied that he was a conservative figure.
“The one thing that has bothered me is seeing people wrap politics up in this. I’m disappointed to see it. Like, it’s aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with me, like I’m one of them.”
He added: “that song has nothing to do with Joe Biden. You know, it’s a lot bigger than Joe Biden. That song’s written about the people on that stage and a lot more, not just them.”
It was hard, Anthony said, to “get a message out about your political ideology or your belief about the world in three minutes and some change. But I do hate to see that song being weaponized, like I see. I see the right trying to characterize me as one of their own. And I see the left trying to discredit me, I guess in retaliation. That’s got to stop.”
He said the response to his song had crossed party lines and that he welcomed a diverse audience.
“If you watch the response videos on Youtube, it’s not conservative people responding to the song. It’s not even necessarily Americans responding to the song. I don’t know that I’ve seen anything get such positive response from such a diverse group of people. And i think that terrifies the people that i sing about in that song. And they’ve done everything they can in the last two weeks to make me look like a fool. To spin my words. To try to stick me in a political bucket.”
Anthony also answered criticism from leftwing sources about lyrics which refer to welfare recipients and depicts some as obese with poor diets.
“i do need to address the left as well,” he said, “because they’re sending a message out that … “Rich Men North of Richmond” is an attack against the poor.”
“i do understand there may be some people who misunderstood my words in “Rich Men North Of Richmond.” But I’ve got to be clear that my message … references the inefficiencies of the government because of the politicians within it that are engulfed in bribes and extortion.
“The words say that there’s, ‘people on the street with nothing to eat and the obese milking welfare.’ that references a news article I read earlier this summer, that adolescent kids in Richmond [Virginia] are missing meals … because their parents can’t afford to feed them and they’re not in school.
“And meanwhile, I think like 30% or 40% of the food bought with welfare EBT money is … like, snack food and soda. I think 10% spent on soda. And I want to say like 20% or 30% spent on junk food.
“And that’s not the fault of those people. Welfare only makes up a small percentage of our budget. You know, we can fuel a proxy war in a foreign land” – seemingly a reference to aid to Ukraine – “but we can’t take care of our own. That’s all the song’s trying to say. It’s just saying that the government takes people who are needy and dependent and makes them needy and dependent.”
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/25/rich-men-north-of-richmond-oliver-anthony-republicans
Thanks, Jeff. Yes, I posted that same link as a follow up comment to my piece on Anthony.
Anthony is for real. He gets it. DeSantis's response just shows how clueless and uncaring those "rich men" are.
i agree. Until i read that, i wasn't really sure where he was coming from. But in that article, he certainly made that clear. i look forward to all the reactions and responses that it will generate from all sides of the Circus Big Top.
Well it certainly shows how clueless Desantis is.
i wonder if anybody else was asked the same question that he was. i would particularly like to hear what Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy had to say if they were asked.
Gonzo last paragraph, Bill!
And good on you for pointing out General Taguba's service and his fate.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SPARE FLUID FOR OUR LEAKING MORAL COMPASS?
I read Hersh's article about General Taguba this morning before I read your essay. I'm so happy to see you underline what Hersh and Taguba have to say. The Abugrabe story is horrifying and it is good to be reminded of it, especially to be reminded of the distinctly unsavory and smarmy cowardice of Rumsfeld and others of his group along with generals in that appalling war of lies. That story is so disgustingly ugly that the citizens of this country need to be reminded of it so that they understand the slimy cowardice of the people who now run the Pentagon.
A year ago on Sept. 29 you wrote an article that strongly underlines what we have become and you gave us a link to it today from Tomgram, but I'm hoping you will republish it out in the open on Bracing Views so that all your readers can more easily read your strong and accurate words about the state of our military. Though I thank you for this article today, I think we need the Sept 29th one to more clearly grasp the severity of the problem that has only grown worse in the past eleven months. The constant lies about Ukraine and Russia and also China are coming fast and furiously as the Pentagon ramps up for nuclear war. We need more people to speak out - maybe your friends Danny Djursen (sp?) and Andrew Bacevich and others can write about this. If we could get enough people to speak out on line (since the MSM is not going to let them be visible) we could start to get the citizens aware of the extreme danger. Can you publish some of the tales from their book?
Can "we the people" do anything?
I've tried educating friends on Ukraine. They either form their opinions based on party affiliation, or they don't care.
Many people don't even pay attention to mainstream news anymore!
Any ideas on what we can do to make change?
I wrote this to another author who's trying to educate the American people:
"I wish our words made more impact. They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but there's more profit to be made from making swords, and swinging them, than from making pens and scribbling with them."
We just have to keep at it, using all the tools and skills at our disposal, Rachel.
If you want to try to change another person's mind, think how difficult it is to change your own mind. - Dale Carnegie
Those of us who are seekers, or agents, of change; those who stand and speak in dissent to an ever-more dystopian society and its systems, are often confronted by the magnitude of the obstacles in the way of meaningful change. Some are crushed by the enormity of it, will become so discouraged as to give in to utter despair, cynicism and then, withdrawal.
But you, and others clearly have the 'stuff' to avoid those dead-end traps, so that you retain your power to continue to tell / share the truth.
One thing, I think, is especially required, though. While we should consider how best to communicate and with the most success, we can't let ourselves be paralyzed by such questions. And to some extent, we have to content ourselves with the knowledge that doing the right thing is always right; that saying what needs to be said is its own reward, and we have, at some point, to detach a bit from expectations about goals and outcomes. Change is not necessarily a linear quantum. One new voice, and perhaps a few new lights turned on in a few others, may represent a new tipping point - towards the much needed changes.
Beautiful reply. Spot on.
I'll add my kudos to Rachel's, Roger. Great response!
“we the people” can do lots of things, Rachel; all of which are very simple; but none of which are or will be at all easy.
We, The People can prepare ourselves, our Families and Loved Ones, our Friends and Neighbors, and our economic, social, and cultural Cohorts, Colleagues, and Compeers for the SHIT STORM that is looming, and, with each day, grows more imminently inevitable. A SHIT STORM consisting of:
~ 1. Another Pandemic, with its “Lockdown Nation Version 2.0,” and its mandates on masks, social distancing, vaccinations, and the closure of all “non-essentials” like small businesses, schools, churches, recreation and leisure hubs, and so forth.
~ 2. A heating up and expansion of Cold War II in Europe and Asia ~ and no doubt in Africa and the Middle East, as well ~ so as to keep America’s MICC even more suitably profitable than it is now.
~ 3. A financial and economic “¢risi$” that will make 2008 and the first Pandemic’s look like something out of a Barbie movie; except, of course, for those individuals, organizations, and institutions deemed ~ once again ~ as “too big to let fail.”
This will be driven by: a] a Default by the US government on its national, sovereign Debt; and/or 2] a global de-Dollariztion and the end of the Dollar as the global Reserve Currency, courtesy of those new kids on the block, BRICS and the rest of the Global South.
~ 4. A resurrection of the Black Lives Matter movement, but this time termed “Trumpatistas Lives Matter.” And this time, unlike the so-called "insurrection" of January 6, these folks will be carrying things far beyond just flags, signs, selfie-sticks, and smartfones.
~ 5. Further disruption, dysfunction, and collapse of America’s energy, food, transportation, and communications infrastructures because of climate- and weather-related disasters, cyber-attacks, supply line choke points and resulting critical shortages, social unrest, and sabotage.
That’s what “We the People” can do for starters; not so much to change things, but to be able to confront and deal with that SHIT STORM when it makes landfall.
Like i said: Simple but definitely not Easy.
Heh. Well here’s one way to get the MICC-dependent and -codependent crowd’s vote, eh? …:
DESANTIS PLEDGES TO SEND MILITARY INTO MEXICO TO FIGHT CARTELS ON ‘DAY ONE’ by Dave DeCamp / antiwar.com 082423
Florida Governor Ron Desantis said on Wednesday night that he would send the military into Mexico to fight drug cartels on “day one” of his presidency if he wins the 2024 presidential election.
At the Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee, DeSantis was asked if he would support sending in US special forces to take out fentanyl labs and other drug cartel operations. “Yes, and I will do it on day one,” he replied.
“We have to reestablish the rule of law and we have to defend our people. The president of the United States has got to use all available powers as commander in chief to protect our country,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis claimed cartels are “killing tens of thousands of our fellow citizens” and said he would treat them as “foreign terrorist organizations.”
“Yes, I would send U.S. Special Forces to take out the Mexican drug cartels. They are killing tens of thousands of our fellow citizens. How many more are we going to let die? As Commander in Chief, I will use all available powers to protect our country and our people.” — Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 24, 2023
Continued at https://news.antiwar.com/2023/08/24/desantis-pledges-to-send-military-into-mexico-to-fight-cartels-on-day-one/ .
Remember the Alamo--again!
When pigs fly, unfortunately.