Well, in theory it shouldn't be too much to ask. But given the hermetically sealed control that the
MICIMATT complex has over the US National Security State, in practice it is. Sixty years ago in June 1963 President Kennedy gave his famous speech calling for a radically different foreign policy focused on promoting peace and nuclear disarmament and based on upholding international law. Five months later he was assassinated. It's not rocket science to figure out why.
Bingo, Charlie! And of course, JFK's assassination came some six weeks after he upped the ante on his earlier statements, by calling for a complete withdrawal from Vietnam.
"Camelot" A brief shining moment with JFK as King Arthur Jackie wanted that Legacy for him because late at nite. he listened to the Broadway Play at the time with Julie Andrews and Richard Burton, and like the King Arthurian Legend JFK was a Peace loving King who saw the potential of humans being above their- primal instincts. Until both of their untimely tragedies came to be...!
Couldn't agree more, but how do you get past the information gate-keepers in the Corporate Owned News (CON)? Most of the public only hears their siren song, and never gets even a glimpse of what is going on in the world. The most important thing that can be done right now is to convince everyone to stop tuning in to the CON. Go to Substack and YouTube news casters that don't have multi-million dollar salaries that make them lie to the public. As long as many Americans turn to the CON to get their news, we will be living in a divided country where the Red and Blue Team voters can't even talk to each other anymore. They just hurl insults at each other and somehow think that is how debates are conducted.
No Bill, that is not too much to ask. And here is an answer:
To elect a President who does those things, You are first going to have to be able to vote for him or her.
And second ~ and more critically ~ You are going to have to elect [and thus also be able to vote for] a Congress that will enable him or her to be able to do all that.
It is my bet that future historians will refer to this period [since Election2016] as the end of the Decline, and the beginning of the Fall of the American Empire. And thus of the American Nation-State. And thus the end of The “American” Experiment.
Yes. Arguably the decline began in 1947 with the National Security Act that spurred the MICC, followed by wars of choice like Korea and Vietnam.
Ike saw the problem, warned us about it, but didn't (or couldn't) do enough to stop and reverse it.
That was six decades ago. Three decades ago, we had a fleeting chance with the fall of the USSR to change course, but the MICC grabbed even more power.
And of course I'm leaving out powerful enablers and controllers like the Fed.
We are not citizens, we are subjects, hence the American "experiment" is already over. It worked (sort of) until it didn't. And of course for many Americans (Blacks, indigenous peoples) the "experiment" was always deeply flawed.
Let's not forget that women only recently from a historical perspective got the vote (1920) and are in many states increasingly losing control over their bodies in the name of "life." So, again, the "experiment" was enjoyed very unevenly.
Equally arguable, Bill, is that the NSA of 1947 did not begin the Decline of the American Empire. That it was a [if not The] primary implementing document at what i would argue is the beginning of the RISE of the American Empire, two years after its official start at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
World War II greatly facilitated that rise, as the United States was able to destroy massive amounts of land and property all over Europe and Asia without suffering any physical damage whatsoever here in The Homeland.
The physical, actual, boots-on-the-ground Seeds of The American Empire were planted at the end of the 19th century in Hawai’i, the Philippines, and the Caribbean Basin. And that, i would argue, is also the beginning of the DECLINE of The American Nation-State.
The National Security Act of 1947 was a major contributor to that Decline of the Nation-State. As was the implementation of the New Deal and seizure of privately-owned Gold in 1933. As was ~ as You noted Bill ~ the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.
And then came what i believe to be the actual beginning of the DEMISE of America, the Nation State: the Spanish-American War of 1898, referred to above as the carrier of the Seeds of The American Empire.
And we had already changed course by the time the USSR fell three decades ago, Bill. Remember OPERATION DESERT STORM, and establishing a fulltime, combat-ready presence in the Gulf Region? Which, of course, laid the groundwork for, ultimately, 9/11 and “The Forever War” it birthed. The Cold War was over and won; it was time to begin the next phase of Empire.
So i would argue that the beginning of the DECLINE of The American Empire was when we “liberated” Kuwait from our boy Saddam, and set up shop on Islam’s Holiest Land. And then a decade later came 9/11.
And finally, if we are “subjects” rather than “citizens,” Bill, that is only because a critical mass of Americans have chosen to be and do so; and that the rest are too busy trying to live their own lives to do anything about being a subject but to go passively along. And that probably means that Yes, The American Experiment is indeed “over.” But i am prepared to argue: Not necessarily. Not just yet.
And YES: The American Experiment was “flawed” from the beginning. In significant ways other than those You raised, Bill; but that is a separate rant.
However, if Slavery hadn’t been included in the Constitution, the Experiment would have never been launched out of Philadelphia in the first place. And if the Indigenous Peoples hadn’t been exterminated or enslaved, the Experiment would have never even been able to be attempted. At least beyond the Atlantic Coast.
And where and when throughout the 10,000-year course of Human History have Women EVER been treated as anything but tools, toys, property, and/or playthings? And it is only until very, very, Very recently that that has begun to change. At all. And that is just for some Women in some places around the world.
In that regard, the whole Experiment about, with, and on Human Beings as a Species has been deeply flawed from Its very beginning.
You concluded with: “the ‘experiment’ was enjoyed very unevenly.”
So who do You think enjoyed it more? The Experimenters, or the living Subjects of the Experiment? And then the next question becomes: How do You distinguish between the two, eh?
In any event and like i said in my original comment: These times will be regarded by Future Historians as the end of the Decline, and the beginning of the Fall of the American Empire.
As I've said before, though, Bill, Ike went along with the MICC, until he had one foot out the door. As we know, the Bay of Pigs was planned on his watch. Perhaps if he'd voiced his warnings at the beginning of his first term, they might have been more effective. Or perhaps then he wouldn't have survived his first term....
If you count the number of nations that have have the death penalty for LGTBQ people and then look to see how many of those get weapons and military assistance from the US you’ll find that number to be 7 of 11.
Just because you kill gay people doesn't mean we won't sell you weapons. We don't discriminate: we sell weapons to everyone! (Except the Russians, for now.)
Actually, I was not remembering this correctly. I went and looked at it, and the number is 9 of 12, not 7 of 11.
If not for the Taliban victory in 2021, the US would still be providing military assistance to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and so, again, if not for the Taliban, it would be 11 of 12 nations.
In Oliver Stone's Putin interviews (2107) Putin said it didn't much matter who was the US President as the decisions were made by a behind-the-scenes group (i.e. the Blob) whose goals remain constant. Curiously we never read about that in the MSM.
As a former SAC Sky-Cop the SAC-isms that would apply here are "A suck for SAC is a blow for Peace", "To err is human to forgive is not SAC Policy", "Offutt A.F.B. Neb. SAC Supreme Hdqtrs. the only higher Authority- Heaven A.F.B." & my all time great fav. Official Motto whilst Patrolling the BUFF Flightlines & MIRV Missile Fields of SAC in the Seventies "Peace is our Profession"
The only two things that have changed since James Monroe issued his "Monroe Doctrine" are that his doctrine is no longer limited to the western hemisphere and that our weapons are far more lethal.
The bottom-line, bullet-hits-the-bone difficulty of Ever electing a President and Congress that is not owned and operated by the MICC is explained very simply:
~ 1] Too many Americans benefit directly or indirectly from the MICC, its business, and the individual, family, community, corporate, and institutional Wealth that it generates and distributes; and,
~ 2] Not enough Americans have been required to pay for the Costs of doing that business; either in terms of Treasure [as in increased taxes] or in Blood [as in the killing/maiming of their Children, or their Parents, or their Spouses, or their Colleagues, Cohorts, or Compeers.]
~ 1] is exactly Why the magic of Deficit Spending and National Debt Ceiling deals exist. And exactly Why America is a Debtor State approaching bankruptcy. And ~ 2] is exactly Why there is no Draft.
When the People have neither Blood nor Treasure at stake in a War, the Ruling Political Class can do exactly whatever it wants to do in that realm. And in many other realms, as well.
Those seven phenomena You cited, Bill, are far, far more than merely “factors” at play in the American People’s ready acquiesce to and passive acceptance of what the MICC ~ and its Kimosabe-in-Crime, the Secrecy-Security-Surveillance Panopticon, or SSSP ~ has perpetrated and perpetuated all over the Planet and in this Nation for a long, Long time.
They are, in fact, examples of the primary means, mechanism, and methods by which the MICC/SSSP has been able to explain, justify, and sell what it has done and gotten away with without any resistance whatsoever from the American People since at least OPERATION DESERT STORM, if not before.
And a bit of examination, analysis, and reflection will uncover similar Falsehoods, Fictions, and Fantasies at work in explaining the success of all the other elements of America’s Ruling Political Class and its “Deep State”: the banking-finance-printing press Web, the petro/energy-food-pharmo-medico-insurance-legal Cartels, and the guns-n-drugs Cabals.
All very ably aided and abetted, of course, by the techno-infotainment Matrix.
That education “system” You cited as Number 6 does an equally effective job of not merely distracting, but actively discouraging any serious examination and analysis of, and reflection on any of those elements; not just the MICC/SSSP. Let alone critique.
3) The threat to our security has been greatly exaggerated to instill fear in the American public and that fear justifies continued expansion of our military and intelligence forces.
4) Money interests controlling the media have erected barriers to the truth regarding a) the real threat to American security and b) the motives of those who rule.
Even those few who have a blood stake in war are led to believe that there is a serious threat to our national security while, in reality, no such threat exists. Too many people conflate the threat to our national security with the threat to our national interests. They are not the same. Our national security applies to us all: our national interests apply only to those who stand to profit.
No, Mr. Astore, it's not too much to ask. But is there any acceptable answer in prospect? I'm afraid that RFK Jr. is a chimera, as the ever-perspicuous Margaret Kimberley thinks, https://www.informationclearinghouse.info/57601.htm, unless he runs as a third-party candidate. The same is true of Donald Trump to whom many—not I, certainly; but let's not forget that Trump won in 2016 because a very wide and diverse spectrum of voters wanted an alternative to the same old—are attaching their hopes. It would also need believable congressional candidates. Otherwise, it's a dead end.
So true. The diversity the war parties will not tolerate is diversity of thought.
Well, in theory it shouldn't be too much to ask. But given the hermetically sealed control that the
MICIMATT complex has over the US National Security State, in practice it is. Sixty years ago in June 1963 President Kennedy gave his famous speech calling for a radically different foreign policy focused on promoting peace and nuclear disarmament and based on upholding international law. Five months later he was assassinated. It's not rocket science to figure out why.
Bingo, Charlie! And of course, JFK's assassination came some six weeks after he upped the ante on his earlier statements, by calling for a complete withdrawal from Vietnam.
"Camelot" A brief shining moment with JFK as King Arthur Jackie wanted that Legacy for him because late at nite. he listened to the Broadway Play at the time with Julie Andrews and Richard Burton, and like the King Arthurian Legend JFK was a Peace loving King who saw the potential of humans being above their- primal instincts. Until both of their untimely tragedies came to be...!
Couldn't agree more, but how do you get past the information gate-keepers in the Corporate Owned News (CON)? Most of the public only hears their siren song, and never gets even a glimpse of what is going on in the world. The most important thing that can be done right now is to convince everyone to stop tuning in to the CON. Go to Substack and YouTube news casters that don't have multi-million dollar salaries that make them lie to the public. As long as many Americans turn to the CON to get their news, we will be living in a divided country where the Red and Blue Team voters can't even talk to each other anymore. They just hurl insults at each other and somehow think that is how debates are conducted.
Rest In Peace, Daniel Ellsburg.
This nation and planet could use about a dozen or so more Warriors For Truth like You. If not hundreds, If not thousands. If not tens of thousands.
Thank You for Your Service and Inspiration.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pentagon-papers-whistleblower-daniel-ellsberg-dead-after-terminal-cancer-2023-06-16/
A truly great man.
If not, tens or even hundreds of millions.
No Bill, that is not too much to ask. And here is an answer:
To elect a President who does those things, You are first going to have to be able to vote for him or her.
And second ~ and more critically ~ You are going to have to elect [and thus also be able to vote for] a Congress that will enable him or her to be able to do all that.
It is my bet that future historians will refer to this period [since Election2016] as the end of the Decline, and the beginning of the Fall of the American Empire. And thus of the American Nation-State. And thus the end of The “American” Experiment.
Yes. Arguably the decline began in 1947 with the National Security Act that spurred the MICC, followed by wars of choice like Korea and Vietnam.
Ike saw the problem, warned us about it, but didn't (or couldn't) do enough to stop and reverse it.
That was six decades ago. Three decades ago, we had a fleeting chance with the fall of the USSR to change course, but the MICC grabbed even more power.
And of course I'm leaving out powerful enablers and controllers like the Fed.
We are not citizens, we are subjects, hence the American "experiment" is already over. It worked (sort of) until it didn't. And of course for many Americans (Blacks, indigenous peoples) the "experiment" was always deeply flawed.
Let's not forget that women only recently from a historical perspective got the vote (1920) and are in many states increasingly losing control over their bodies in the name of "life." So, again, the "experiment" was enjoyed very unevenly.
Equally arguable, Bill, is that the NSA of 1947 did not begin the Decline of the American Empire. That it was a [if not The] primary implementing document at what i would argue is the beginning of the RISE of the American Empire, two years after its official start at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
World War II greatly facilitated that rise, as the United States was able to destroy massive amounts of land and property all over Europe and Asia without suffering any physical damage whatsoever here in The Homeland.
The physical, actual, boots-on-the-ground Seeds of The American Empire were planted at the end of the 19th century in Hawai’i, the Philippines, and the Caribbean Basin. And that, i would argue, is also the beginning of the DECLINE of The American Nation-State.
The National Security Act of 1947 was a major contributor to that Decline of the Nation-State. As was the implementation of the New Deal and seizure of privately-owned Gold in 1933. As was ~ as You noted Bill ~ the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.
And then came what i believe to be the actual beginning of the DEMISE of America, the Nation State: the Spanish-American War of 1898, referred to above as the carrier of the Seeds of The American Empire.
And we had already changed course by the time the USSR fell three decades ago, Bill. Remember OPERATION DESERT STORM, and establishing a fulltime, combat-ready presence in the Gulf Region? Which, of course, laid the groundwork for, ultimately, 9/11 and “The Forever War” it birthed. The Cold War was over and won; it was time to begin the next phase of Empire.
So i would argue that the beginning of the DECLINE of The American Empire was when we “liberated” Kuwait from our boy Saddam, and set up shop on Islam’s Holiest Land. And then a decade later came 9/11.
And finally, if we are “subjects” rather than “citizens,” Bill, that is only because a critical mass of Americans have chosen to be and do so; and that the rest are too busy trying to live their own lives to do anything about being a subject but to go passively along. And that probably means that Yes, The American Experiment is indeed “over.” But i am prepared to argue: Not necessarily. Not just yet.
And YES: The American Experiment was “flawed” from the beginning. In significant ways other than those You raised, Bill; but that is a separate rant.
However, if Slavery hadn’t been included in the Constitution, the Experiment would have never been launched out of Philadelphia in the first place. And if the Indigenous Peoples hadn’t been exterminated or enslaved, the Experiment would have never even been able to be attempted. At least beyond the Atlantic Coast.
And where and when throughout the 10,000-year course of Human History have Women EVER been treated as anything but tools, toys, property, and/or playthings? And it is only until very, very, Very recently that that has begun to change. At all. And that is just for some Women in some places around the world.
In that regard, the whole Experiment about, with, and on Human Beings as a Species has been deeply flawed from Its very beginning.
You concluded with: “the ‘experiment’ was enjoyed very unevenly.”
So who do You think enjoyed it more? The Experimenters, or the living Subjects of the Experiment? And then the next question becomes: How do You distinguish between the two, eh?
In any event and like i said in my original comment: These times will be regarded by Future Historians as the end of the Decline, and the beginning of the Fall of the American Empire.
As I've said before, though, Bill, Ike went along with the MICC, until he had one foot out the door. As we know, the Bay of Pigs was planned on his watch. Perhaps if he'd voiced his warnings at the beginning of his first term, they might have been more effective. Or perhaps then he wouldn't have survived his first term....
Lets face facts. Out chief export and most important product is... (drum roll please) ... DEATH!
Unfortunately, I don't see that changing.
If you count the number of nations that have have the death penalty for LGTBQ people and then look to see how many of those get weapons and military assistance from the US you’ll find that number to be 7 of 11.
Just because you kill gay people doesn't mean we won't sell you weapons. We don't discriminate: we sell weapons to everyone! (Except the Russians, for now.)
Ha!
No "irony," Dennis. That's called good business.
Our hypocrisy knows no bounds; our leaders no repentance!
Actually, I was not remembering this correctly. I went and looked at it, and the number is 9 of 12, not 7 of 11.
If not for the Taliban victory in 2021, the US would still be providing military assistance to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and so, again, if not for the Taliban, it would be 11 of 12 nations.
In Oliver Stone's Putin interviews (2107) Putin said it didn't much matter who was the US President as the decisions were made by a behind-the-scenes group (i.e. the Blob) whose goals remain constant. Curiously we never read about that in the MSM.
When there is nobody left to drop bombs on, those murderous bastards in the bunkers will weep.
And.., to think MacArthur until Fired by Truman wanted to use Atomic Bombs to win that War "Nuke- em till they Glow"
I always liked what Writer P.J. O'Rourke called/ said of the North Koreans "The Irish of Asia" That they love to Fight...!
Those are frightening and appalling statistics, Dennis.
So many of us "COULDN'T AGREE MORE "
So why the hell are we , yet again, in a forever war that potentially could lead us into the jaws of Hell.
Cheers
As a former SAC Sky-Cop the SAC-isms that would apply here are "A suck for SAC is a blow for Peace", "To err is human to forgive is not SAC Policy", "Offutt A.F.B. Neb. SAC Supreme Hdqtrs. the only higher Authority- Heaven A.F.B." & my all time great fav. Official Motto whilst Patrolling the BUFF Flightlines & MIRV Missile Fields of SAC in the Seventies "Peace is our Profession"
"War is our hobby."
"War "IS" our Profession-- Peace is our Product" :o)
The only two things that have changed since James Monroe issued his "Monroe Doctrine" are that his doctrine is no longer limited to the western hemisphere and that our weapons are far more lethal.
The bottom-line, bullet-hits-the-bone difficulty of Ever electing a President and Congress that is not owned and operated by the MICC is explained very simply:
~ 1] Too many Americans benefit directly or indirectly from the MICC, its business, and the individual, family, community, corporate, and institutional Wealth that it generates and distributes; and,
~ 2] Not enough Americans have been required to pay for the Costs of doing that business; either in terms of Treasure [as in increased taxes] or in Blood [as in the killing/maiming of their Children, or their Parents, or their Spouses, or their Colleagues, Cohorts, or Compeers.]
~ 1] is exactly Why the magic of Deficit Spending and National Debt Ceiling deals exist. And exactly Why America is a Debtor State approaching bankruptcy. And ~ 2] is exactly Why there is no Draft.
When the People have neither Blood nor Treasure at stake in a War, the Ruling Political Class can do exactly whatever it wants to do in that realm. And in many other realms, as well.
True, Jeff. And there are other factors as well.
1. The idea that, to be safe, America must be dominant everywhere, and that dominance is enhanced by massive military spending.
2. That all troops are heroes, from the lowliest private to the most senior general.
3. Threat inflation, e.g. Russia and China.
4. A widespread cultural belief in the efficacy of violence.
5. The cooption of powerful forces, e.g. religion and sports, as consistent with and complementary to militarism.
6. An educational system that actively distracts from critiques of the MICC.
7. A national celebration of America's uniquely benevolent nature, i.e. exceptionalism.
I could go on, but none of this is news to you.
Those seven phenomena You cited, Bill, are far, far more than merely “factors” at play in the American People’s ready acquiesce to and passive acceptance of what the MICC ~ and its Kimosabe-in-Crime, the Secrecy-Security-Surveillance Panopticon, or SSSP ~ has perpetrated and perpetuated all over the Planet and in this Nation for a long, Long time.
They are, in fact, examples of the primary means, mechanism, and methods by which the MICC/SSSP has been able to explain, justify, and sell what it has done and gotten away with without any resistance whatsoever from the American People since at least OPERATION DESERT STORM, if not before.
And a bit of examination, analysis, and reflection will uncover similar Falsehoods, Fictions, and Fantasies at work in explaining the success of all the other elements of America’s Ruling Political Class and its “Deep State”: the banking-finance-printing press Web, the petro/energy-food-pharmo-medico-insurance-legal Cartels, and the guns-n-drugs Cabals.
All very ably aided and abetted, of course, by the techno-infotainment Matrix.
That education “system” You cited as Number 6 does an equally effective job of not merely distracting, but actively discouraging any serious examination and analysis of, and reflection on any of those elements; not just the MICC/SSSP. Let alone critique.
Very true, but one must add
3) The threat to our security has been greatly exaggerated to instill fear in the American public and that fear justifies continued expansion of our military and intelligence forces.
4) Money interests controlling the media have erected barriers to the truth regarding a) the real threat to American security and b) the motives of those who rule.
Even those few who have a blood stake in war are led to believe that there is a serious threat to our national security while, in reality, no such threat exists. Too many people conflate the threat to our national security with the threat to our national interests. They are not the same. Our national security applies to us all: our national interests apply only to those who stand to profit.
No, Mr. Astore, it's not too much to ask. But is there any acceptable answer in prospect? I'm afraid that RFK Jr. is a chimera, as the ever-perspicuous Margaret Kimberley thinks, https://www.informationclearinghouse.info/57601.htm, unless he runs as a third-party candidate. The same is true of Donald Trump to whom many—not I, certainly; but let's not forget that Trump won in 2016 because a very wide and diverse spectrum of voters wanted an alternative to the same old—are attaching their hopes. It would also need believable congressional candidates. Otherwise, it's a dead end.
You're right, Bill: one graphic is a spot-on summary.
Good one, Bill. Agree 100%. Sharing today @https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/