Pages

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Conversation With Marine Friend Twice Medivaced From Vietnam Battlefields

Image result for pax on both houses, plutocracy
"Plutocracy Triumphant"
Cartoon Compendium

Compendium Of Best Pax Posts: Plutocracy, Economic Inequality & Collapse Of Conservatism

"Politics And Economics: The 101 Courses You Wish You Had"

Pope Francis: Quotations On Finance, Economics, Capitalism And Inequality

Teddy Roosevelt: "Malefactors Of Great Wealth... Are Curses To The Country"

"Of The 1%, By The 1%, For The 1%,"
Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz

Dear T,

Thanks for your reply. It is completely sensible - Israel "buys" its U.S. lobbying power "on the open market."

However, Israel only ranks 35th in gross national product, a fact that makes me doubt their financial clout. (Notably, Israel receives twice as much foreign aid as "second place" Egypt although currently, Afghanistan's unique circumstances make it #1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_foreign_aid)

On the other hand, our neighbor Hal Crowther once wrote -- and I paraphrase: "The most notable trait of American politicians is how cheaply they sell themselves - chump change does the trick." (I think Hal is brilliant and hope IndyWeek archives his articles permanently. http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/ArticleArchives?category=1179077)

Although Israelis are staunch conservatives ever eager for American protection (preferably fascist or neo-fascist although they will settle for any strong arm that validates their single-minded focus on retaliation), here in the United States where (according to many appraisals) there are more Jews than in Israel, only 19% identify themselves as conservative. http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/262159/why-israeli-jews-are-conservative-and-american-daniel-greenfield (Here is another engaging article about Jewish Zionism and its sustaining demographics. http://rense.com/general68/releig.htm)

I do not remember if I mentioned that my retired general friend is also puzzled by Israel's de facto status as America's 51st State.

A musing...

It is painfully evident that Putin worked for Trump's election, in part to advance the legitimization of world-wide authoritarian clamp-down. (Birds of a feather...)

Now I wonder if Netanyahu (who loathes Obama) would not have seen similar advantages accruing from Trump's election rather than Hillary's perpetuation of Obama's agenda. And given the genius of Israel's intel-spy apparatus -- is it not at least plausible that Netanyahu would have meddled "behind the scenes."

Which begs this question... 

If Israeli meddling did take place, would the CIA and FBI even tell Americans about "friendly" Israel's intervention as they told us about designated enemy Vladimir Putin's meddling?

And if Netanyahu did meddle, might Bibi (and his fellows) be clever enough to foist responsibility onto Putin by creating an "ether trail" decoy? 

I realize that this kind of Byzantine speculation finally leads nowhere but, even so, such musing bolsters the already crystalline argument against The Military-Industrial Complex and how capitalist profiteers (Trump "chief" among them) determine the actual thrust of plutocracy while those of us who like "the idea of democracy" are increasingly aware that American anti-intellectualism insures an uninformed electorate that will, at every turn, do the bidding of overlords like The Plutopath Himself. 

"Plutocracy Triumphant"
Cartoon Compendium

Compendium Of Best Pax Posts: Plutocracy, Economic Inequality & Collapse Of Conservatism


The 1% Smart Enough To Know You're Stupid Enough To Applaud Your Own Oppression | made w/ Imgflip meme maker

Alan: The irony of this quotation is that conservatives see it as justification for authoritarian clampdown - the very definition of "suicide" by a "nation of free men."

"The operation was successful. Unfortunately, the patient died."
Pax

Alan 
On Fri, Jan 6, 2017 at 8:51 AM, TM wrote:
I do believe Israel wields undue influence in US government.  I can only presume how or why; large well run, well-funded lobbyists, and disciplined pro-Israel voting blocks.
    T 
_________________



On Fri, Jan 6, 2017 at 1:01 AM, Alan Archibald <alanarchibaldo@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear T,

Thanks for your email.

I like your straightforward dichotomy: "A liberal is hopeful, a conservative is fearful." 

You call to mind a brilliant essay by George McGovern.

"The Case For Liberalism, A Defense Of The Future Against The Past"

Your discussion of the intersection of black and Jewish interests recalls my perplexity over the so-called "Jewish Lobby." 

A couple of inter-related questions: 1.) Do you agree that modern Israel exercises hugely disproportionate influence on the U.S. federal government? 2.) If so, why?

And finally...

If I knew about the Tilden-Hayes affair, it dropped off radar. Fascinating.

Pax



Alan
On Thu, Jan 5, 2017 at 5:38 PM, TM wrote:
Trump should scare everyone but I don't thinkl his immediate proximity to the launch codes should be a concern; the launch is a heavily ritualized process with all sorts of checks and redundancies.  These can be done away with in an existential moment but to launch first would be a near impossible task.

Still, I hate the idea of that vile creature in any position of authority and cannot image the harm his role-modeling is going to visit on our future.

Elsewhere, over the holidays I published a piece or two on the reasons trump won, one of which that if the US had done to the Confederacy as it did to the Japanese and Germans we wouldn't have a problem with racism and the culture of the gun.  The  Peculiar Institution done done us in.

T
_________________
On Thu, Jan 5, 2017 at 11:10 AM, Alan Archibald <alanarchibaldo@gmail.com> wrote:
Inline image 1
Dear A,

I hope your New Year is off to a good start.

In recent days, I've exchanged several emails with Arthur Jr. concerning his work in Calgary and it has been a fruitful conversation.

I am writing you today to pose a question that has been on my mind since the plutopath "won" - a question that came to a head earlier today when The New Yorker published the following article.

What If A President Loses Control?
The New Yorker

Donald Trump Asked An Adviser 3 Times Why U.S. Can’t Use Its Nukes, Says Joe Scarborough

"60 Minutes": The New Cold War. Who Has The Temperament To Be Next Commander-In-Chief?


As someone who knows the U.S. military (and the CIA) from the top-down and the inside out, what would happen if Trump -- charming sociopath that he can be -- takes "calm counsel" from military brass, U.S. intel agencies and the whole range of functionaries at State and DOD... and then orders a nuclear bombardment that is evidently ill-advised?

Image result for asimov cult of ignorance
Isaac Asimov Explains Trump's Victory

Elsewhere...

I'm overburdened through the weekend of Friday the 13th but would like to lunch with you in the weeks following.

What does your schedule look like?

Paz contigo



Alan



Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)