I remember way back in the 60s when we all took to the streets to protest the war in Viet Nam and Big Business. We eventually made some headway on Viet Nam; Nixon resigned, the war ended. Our people came home. But i don't think we made any headway on what I like to call "the destruction of America's economy by the military-industrial complex and big oil", to name names.
These two may seem like unlikely bed partners, but between them, they have managed to damage our economy and in turn make the common people poorer than at any other time besides the depression: To whit:
1. We spend more money on military defense than all the other nations in the world combined. This inanity is perpetuated by fear tactics. The military leaders of this country would have you believe that there are governments in the world who are more dangerous to us than the USSR was in the 60s. Bin Ladin has been elevated to the same level as Kruschev! Are you kidding me? I dare Bin Laden to show his face and pound his shoe on the table at the UN and state that he would bury us. Ain't gonna happen. He lives in a cave for god's sake, people!
Ok ok, he is a terrorist for sure. And terrorism is now ballyhooed on the same level as nuclear destruction was in the past. Terrorism sucks for sure, but it is a type of "warfare" that is stopped more effectively by attacking the financial, technological and infrastructure of the groups rather than by invasion with guns.. Covert operations rather than overt operations
. To American soldiers, its hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys over there. Bombs strapped to women and children? Terrible, for sure. But hard to fight by traditional means. Something happened recently that proves my point: the computer generated WMD breakdown in Iran. Nerds did that, not guns! YEAH Nerds! Can't set those bombs off without a computer program to do it, can ya huh huh huh??? We need more of them involved to solve these problems. They actually have amazing weapons they carry right in their heads called BRAINS!!
2. Big oil still has us by what my Uncle Peter used to call "the short hairs." Have you noticed how gasoline prices are creeping up again? Have you noticed that there are almost no answers to WHY this is happenning? Could it be that the CEOS and their minions want another windfall year on the backs of the American people? Why yes! It could!
Do you remember way back when we were in school we learned about some fat cats called "The Robber Barons". People with names like Carnegie and Rockefeller, Vanderbilt? . Are those names still around today? YES, because even those so called robber barons knew that they should give back to the hands that feed them. So now we have Carnegie Hall and Rockefeller Center and Vanderbilt the railroad. We have the Carnegie Institute. In other words, we have places that were built for the common good by these big wigs.
What have the oil barons of today given us? The only thing that I have noticed are oil spills. They are so selfish with their money that they can't even maintain their own equipment! And on top of that......Who needs 20 billion dollars a year? For what? Some of them have bigger budgets than small countries! Power and greed, power and greed. I guess they think all that money is gonna somehow make them live forever. What a bunch of misanthropes huh?
3. I am just getting started on the topic of GREED in America! More to come!
