The Boll Weevil Bluegrass Band Performs “War Is Making Us Poor”

The Boll Weevil Bluegrass Band Performs “War Is Making Us Poor” | John Rachel

‘Meggie’ Taylor Performs “War Is Making Us Poo

Rapper “Meggie” Megaton Taylor recorded my new anti-war song.

He’s a big guy with a big voice!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcsmULNyt7E

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]

‘Meggie’ Taylor Performs “War Is Making Us Poor” | John Rachel

Book Review: “The Plot To Scapegoat Russia: How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Putin”

It takes enormous courage to write a book like this, which goes completely against the narrative promoted by America’s foreign policy and military establishments.  Courage because now any defense of Putin and Russia as actors on the world stage will not be met with reasonable, polite rebuttal and rational well-supported refutation, but personal vilification, marginalization, attacks on character and integrity, aspersions about disloyalty and lack of patriotic commitment, allegations of treachery and even sedition.  Lacking anything — e.g. facts — with which to rebut and refute the message, opponents of a balanced, objective, truthful analysis of Russian-American relations must resort to attacking the messenger.

Early in the book, Mr. Kovalik describes the process which radicalized him, what personal events opened his eyes to the barbarity and hypocrisy which has been centerpieces of America’s history from its earliest days.  His transformation occurred during a visit to Nicaragua during his college years.  He learned then to question and always be highly skeptical of the “official rationale” inflicted on the general public in the U.S., because it was often driven by the covert intent of obtaining — often manufacturing out of thin air — consent for America’s diplomatic bullying, manipulations, wanton aggressions, destructive interference, regime changes, and outright subjugation of countries across the planet.

History is the best teacher for understanding the present.  Our history, as is thoroughly explored and documented in this short but incisive volume, is riddled with false flags, misrepresentations, distortions, propaganda and outright lies, all carefully calculated to serve the real agenda of our government.  This is to provide unambiguous support for U.S. corporate interests; ruthlessly undermining any nation which dares to consider even the most diluted iteration of socialism; and punishing — all too frequently destroying — any country, often even murdering its leaders, for independently adopting policies which don’t disproportionately benefit the U.S. and honor the authority of the U.S. as world hegemon.

What has Russia under Putin done?  It put Russia’s interests first, it openly criticized the U.S. for its wanton aggression and disregard for international law, called out the U.S. for its consistent meddling in the affairs of other nations, including all too often violently overthrowing governments it doesn’t approve of, and moreover had the audacity to deploy national defense mechanisms which frees it of being blackmailed by U.S. military might.  For the U.S., which regards itself as the “exceptional” nation selected by destiny to control the world, these constitute an inexcusable affront which must be answered, a challenge which must be eradicated, even if this requires a world war which might go nuclear.

So it’s Russia bad, Putin badder.  Every imaginable and imagined accusation, typically presented as fact, is spewed out and flung at Putin and Russia.  And thus what we get as “news” these days is a childish white hats vs. black hats depiction of the momentous battle of Great Good America vs. Scary Evil Russia, a facile scenario now dubbed as the Second Cold War.

The extremes our government spokespersons and the obsequious media has gone to in order to strike fear in all of us about Russia and to incite a personal hatred for Vladimir Putin, should by themselves raise suspicions and reasonable doubts about what’s going on. But when the media is controlled by six major corporations with unshakeable deference to official government propaganda and those who fabricate it, and political leaders from both major parties who are owned by Wall Street, the big banks, the corporations, the ruling elite who obscenely profit from perpetual war, all everyday people get 24/7 is yarns about the Russian threat, Putin’s bloodthirsty desire to return to the glory days of Russia as a great power, Russian aggression, Russian invasions, Russian meddling in our otherwise perfect democracy, Russian targeted assassinations, Russian plots to subvert and destroy freedom-loving countries, Russian blame for everything from STDs to plugged toilets and family squabbles. It’s a premeditated program of brainwashing inflicted on a gullible and generally hapless American public.

The only possible pre-revolutionary antidote is thorough, unbiased investigative journalism, potent research, historical knowledge and perspective, personal insights shared with candor and clarity, all of the foregoing assembled by an author of the high caliber of Dan Kovalik, into an immensely readable and superbly informative book like The Plot To Scapegoat Russia: How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Putin.

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]


Book Review: “The Plot To Scapegoat Russia: How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Putin”

Book Review: “The Russian Peace Threat: Pentagon on Alert” by Ron Ridenour

Ron Ridenour’s masterfully-written indictment of U.S. militarism and its take-all-prisoners imperial project is of such breathtaking scope and astonishing depth, it would be hard to exaggerate its value and timeliness, as the foreign policy of the Empire of Chaos now as never before in recorded history, steers the world toward apocalyptic confrontation and puts the survival of the entire human race at risk.

Those readers still in the embrace of the most toxic pile of propaganda ever assembled by a world power, that America is a force of good, spreading democracy, defending human rights, standing with the oppressed and marginalized, should have medics in the room with them to apply emergency procedures as the truth pours off the pages of this book.  Ridenour pulls no punches and with meticulous research and documentation, leaves little doubt that his narrative offers nothing less than the explicit and savage truth of over a century of exploits and exploitation.  We see brutal, barbaric, merciless application of military and economic power, with the clear and unambiguous goal of world domination — the U.S. as the ultimate empire blessed by God and history and the Fates, exempt from the rules of international law and judgment by anyone who would challenge it.  While the focus is Russia, this book covers a lot more ground, offering glimpses into many theaters of confrontation and conflict: China, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, of course the Middle East, as well as many countries in its more immediate sphere of influence, Central and South America.  With its 800+ bases currently sprawling across the planet, we’re hard-pressed to find anywhere where the heavy foot of American power does not exercise its self-serving prerogative.

Those readers who already are familiar with the scope of U.S. hypocrisy, who understand that behind the smiley face of official beneficence and goodness lies an agenda that serves a ruling elite at the expense of the vast number of everyday citizens, both inside the U.S. and out, will still benefit enormously from this book.  Much of it might constitute a refresher course, but I suspect many, myself included, will be pleasantly — or unpleasantly — rewarded with both disturbing factual knowledge and Ridenour’s fresh insights and analysis.  It may be for such readers “preaching to the choir” but I’ve never heard a choir that didn’t need to be tuned up from time to time.

Ridenour quotes “The Naked Human”, a poem written by Gustav Munch-Petersen.

I am only a human
but I shall one day
raise earth’s mountains
and let them shake
in the ears of those who sleep

I am only a human
but I shall one day
take the sun down from heaven
and light up all the dark holes
with merciless white light

I am only a human
but I shall one day
steal the gods lightning
and sweep the earth clean of dust

If I may do some metaphorical borrowing, I’d say that with The Russian Peace Threat: Pentagon on Alert Ron Ridenour has raised some mountains, taken the sun down from heaven, and stolen lightning from the gods.  Let’s hope his exceptional scholarship and writing wakes up some people, lights up the dark holes, and sweeps away the dust.
Our survival as a species depends on it.


[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]



Book Review: “The Russian Peace Threat: Pentagon on Alert” by Ron Ridenour

Making AMERICANS Great Again!

 

"Make America Great Again!"

Pretty catchy, eh?

But let me be blunt . . . it doesn't quite cut it.

In fact, lacking just two letters it is entirely wrong!

A wealthy America doesn't come from a strong dollar, skyrocketing stock market, or how many billionaires it has.

A strong America doesn't come from how many nuclear-tipped missiles or military bases it has across the globe.

A great America doesn't magically emerge by stomping from one continent to another as a belligerent bully making every other country cower and kowtow.

As appealing as this facile notion of "American greatness" is, how about some perspective?

Here's the way I think the meme should go . . .

"Make Americans Great Again!"

Mind you, the idea that every American can be great doesn't mean every person will be famous, a billionaire, or become president. It does mean that every individual is supported and encouraged to realize their individual greatness.  You can be a great mother or father or sister or brother.  You can be a great teacher or bank clerk or mail deliverer.  You can be a great baseball coach or a great neighbor.  You can be a great friend.

Let's be honest.  Maybe Americans were never really great.  Certainly, it has had its share of oppressed citizens, victims of racism, exploited underclasses, even desperately poor.  These folks never had a chance to be great on any terms.  The persecuted, disadvantaged and marginalized are forever scrambling, living on the edge of desperation.

But at least at one time most of us shared a belief that there was a potential for greatness in each of us, and we not only promoted that ideal but often actively encouraged it in our places of worship, neighborhoods, communities, schools, and among family and friends.

Values have shifted.  America is now perpetually at war and divided as never before by wealth inequality and class apartheid.

This is both sinister and entirely by design.  Thus . . .

We must rise above the 24/7 deluge of propaganda and manipulative and destructive narratives . . . and reconnect with where our personal strength and power comes from.

This is something we can do individually and personally.  This is how we free ourselves from the mind-numbing and dis-empowering nonsense, the resulting dysfunction and paralysis which has become the new normal.

When I say "mind-numbing and dis-empowering nonsense", I put slogans like 'Make America Great 

Again' right at the top of the list.

Recognize . . .

It is faith in oneself and those significant others which we directly impact in our personal lives, not faith in the destructive power of America's nuclear arsenal which is empowering.

It is confidence by each and every person in what they do -- confidence in themselves -- and that what they do will make a difference, that gives clarity and vigor to our individual and collective lives, not some misplaced confidence in leaders who clearly have their own agenda which rarely aligns with that of everyday citizens.


It is the belief held by each individual that he or she is significant and an indispensable member of our society -- a belief in oneself -- not a knee jerk belief that America is the indispensable nation just because it has declared itself so, which generates aspirations, and the energy and courage to move forward.

National pride is not about flags and military parades.  National pride grows out of the collective sense of self-worth of American citizens, each able to feel that their contribution to their families and communities embraces the personal ideals of a decent and moral life.  Patriotism is the natural result of each and every individual giving their all to each and every other citizen, starting with their family, friends, and community.

These are the true and enduring sources of American greatness.

America will become great again when Americans are great again.

And crucially . . .

Americans will be great again when the impediments to individual potential are removed, when each person has the opportunity and resources available to them to participate and contribute as full and active citizens in an open, receptive, and appreciative society.

The impediments are certainly obvious:  It's class division, wealth inequality, racism, and political paralysis, fostered by the ruling elites to maintain their privilege and undermine independence and individual potential. 

The mechanisms are also quite obvious:  The ruling elite uses their pay-for-play puppets in high echelons of government to keep us begging.  This is a proven, time-honored strategy that stretches back to the beginning of recorded history.  And we are again falling for it.

Thus "making America great again" is doomed to failure at the outset.  And any blather about making America great without making Americans great is just more hollow and manipulative sloganeering.

Have we had enough of the jingoism and self-congratulatory hype yet?

Isn't it time to take our country back?

I think we owe it to ourselves and future generations.

There is no guess work here.  You either have power or you take it.

"Power concedes nothing without a demand."  -  Frederick Douglas

Let the difficult but infinitely rewarding work begin.

Make AMERICANS great again!

---

Make no mistake about it.  We have an enormous struggle ahead of us.  But every journey begins with a few single steps.  Every action and all activism begins with ideas.  Here are my ideas for how we begin.


 

Fighting for the Democracy We Deserve was published in September 2015 and also is available both in every popular ebook format and as a deluxe paperback . . .

Amazon (Kindle) . . . amzn.to/1VMf2Ft
Amazon (Print) . . . amzn.to/1L9SdIC
Apple (iTunes) . . . apple.co/1JD1YAg
Barnes & Noble . . . bit.ly/1ZUJUpn
Kobo (Indigo) . . . bit.ly/1IX6rO4
Smashwords . . . bit.ly/22PXWLf
Direct from printer . . . bit.ly/1i7ISFM

 

The Peace Dividend: The Most Controversial Proposal in the History of the World is now available both as an ebook and deluxe paperback at many of the usual outlets . . .

Amazon (Kindle) / US . . . amzn.to/2cpIRfQ
Amazon (Print) / US . . . amzn.to/2cEhnCb
Amazon (Kindle) / UK . . . amzn.to/2cKXFsV
Amazon (Kindle) / Canada . . . amzn.to/2ciZKdl
Amazon (Kindle) / Japan . . . amzn.to/2cbf3TO
Barnes & Noble . . . bit.ly/2cWxvzd
Kobo (Indigo) . . . bit.ly/2cI8cB6
Apple iTunes . . . apple.co/2cqw7an
Smashwords . . . bit.ly/2cb6Cse
Direct from printer . . . bit.ly/2c3mJsl


[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]



Making AMERICANS Great Again!

Why Donald Trump is not as horrible as Hillary Clinton . . . and why you should vote for Jill Stein.

I could have named this article "Damage Control" -- because it essentially is about that, related to the lobotomizing dilemma of "lesser evil voting".

But let me be clear at the outset.  I have already voted for Jill Stein.  I had no other choice.  I am firm in my conviction that to vote for sociopathic, narcissistic, self-serving, ruthless, guileful corporatists is an unconscionable act and a major crime against my country, irrespective of the convoluted rationalization which might attempt to justify it.

Now let me offer reasoning that goes beyond my "morally pure" posturing.

The accepted wisdom is that a vote for Jill Stein is a vote for Donald Trump.  This analysis purports that anyone voting for Stein would likely be a former Clinton supporter, and such a vote would subtract from Clinton's total.

Even though Hillary's elitist, warmongering, anti-democratic, demonstrably criminal world view is diametrically the opposite of Jill Stein's, and I can't imagine anyone who's moved by the Green Party's agenda for the briefest moment being fooled by Clinton's phony populism, for argument's sake I'll accept this proposition.

While I consider both Trump and Clinton to be equally unfit for office, I do not for a moment believe they would be equally ineffective.

Hillary has for good reason become the choice of the oligarchs, the MIC, the bankers, the media, the people who actually run the country.  She will serve them well.  She knows her way around the system -- she's been gaming it most of her adult life -- and has all the right connections.  Which is why even many prominent Republicans have joined the feeding frenzy and flocked to her like vultures over fresh kill.

Hillary will continue her faux-populist bloviating to keep the stinky masses in line, while her closest allies, the rich and powerful, continue to loot the Treasury, hollow out what's left of the U.S. economy, and bankrupt the middle and lower classes.

Much to the delight of the neocon-infested Department of State, Department of Defense, security agencies, MIC, and media, Hillary will "get tough" with Russia and China, press the war on Syria and the rest of the Middle East, promote and spread more chaos, death, and destruction across the globe in pursuit of military conquest, ultimately world empire.  It'll be good for business and pumping up the already inflated egos of the exceptionalists.

On the other hand, Trump will fall flat on his face.  His trademark bull-in-a-china-shop approach to making deals has no chance of success in Washington DC.  He has no support -- his own party has all but disowned him -- no connections, at least not the political ones necessary for promoting his agenda.  Yes, the politicos drank his champagne and ate the food at his extravagant bashes.  Who wouldn't?  But they don't owe him anything.  Nada! Trump's much heralded talents for making great deals would confront hostile Democrats, contemptuous Republicans -- a perhaps long-overdue bipartisanship -- closing ranks to isolate and defeat the outrageous and vulgar outsider who thought he could buy and muscle his way into political power.

 

He'll try to build his wall.  When Congress gets done with it, it'll be a 200-foot white picket fence in Calexico.  He'll attempt rapprochement with Russia.  That will be sabotaged with a false flag attack, maybe dressing some disgruntled maquiladora workers as Russian infantry men and mounting an invasion on the U.S. -- probably in Calexico -- or by John McCain threatening to fall on a grenade or blow his brains out in the Senate chambers if America doesn't immediately nuke Moscow.

Despite his self-proclaimed success in the business world, Trump simply does not know the rules of the game in Washington DC.  Unless he "fires" everyone -- declaring martial law and sending all members of the legislature to a FEMA labor camp in Montana -- he will either be the most ineffective president in history or be impeached.  Maybe both!

In a phrase, Donald Trump as president will do 'less damage'.

Anyone who has read my blogs knows that my greatest concern about a Hillary Clinton presidency is her truculent foreign policy.  A decade ago, I might have believed that she was misguided.  Now I realize -- as quite a number of others do -- that she is completely insane.  She's become drunk on power, poisoned by surrounding herself with neocons and warmongering humanitarians, possessed by visions of herself as the Warrior Queen. 

Or as many other writers have been saying . . .

A vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for World War III.

So . . .

Vote for Jill Stein!

We'll have our first female president, a great president at that! 

One we can all be truly proud of.  The world will breathe a sigh of relief!
At the same time, if voting for Jill Stein ends up electing Donald Trump . . .

So be it.

At least we'll come out of it alive.  And . . .

We'll have four more years to figure out how America got so screwed up.

Hillary can go back to taking bribes and looting impoverished countries.

Hard choices . . . so many helpless victims, so little time.




[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]


Why Donald Trump is not as horrible as Hillary Clinton . . . and why you should vote for Jill Stein.

It’s Not Hillary’s Physical Health That’s The Issue . . . It’s Her Mental Health!

 

Muhammad Ali hardly spoke publicly during the last decade of his life because of his Parkinson's Disease.  What a tragic loss for the world.  Ali was funny, insightful, inspiring, brilliant!

There is much talk that Hillary Clinton's aberrant behavior -- bouts of coughing, physical weakness, public freezes, and the constant attendance by a mysterious "doctor" at all media events -- signals that she too is suffering from this incapacitating affliction.

If Hillary Clinton is elected and does indeed have Parkinson's Disease, we can only hope that this horrible, debilitating disease quickly progresses, ravages her nervous system, that she is immobilized and silenced by it, rendered completely mute.  Because too often what comes out of her mouth consists of self-serving lies, treacherous distortions and fabricated narratives, threats to other world leaders and nations, destructive fantasies unhinged from any moral anchor or basic decency, these being so extreme and strident they've become an existential threat to the human race and evidence she is totally detached from reality itself.

On the other hand, this Parkinson's business -- although very convincing evidence and analysis has come to light -- at this point is all speculation.  I'm not a doctor and I have no way of knowing the state of her physical health.  She's certainly not telling.

What is not a matter of speculation is the state of her mental health.

Much has been made of the video of her laughing about Gaddafi's anal rape with a knife, mutilation, and death at the hands of monstrous terrorists.  "Oh look, how jaded she is, how she celebrates such brutality."  Indeed, even the most tactless diplomats in the past would have sugar-coated this barbaric incident with some well-crafted language:

"It is, of course, unfortunate when any national leader's life is ended this way.  Mr. Gaddafi may in our view have been less than acceptable but he worked hard for the people of Libya.  Such savagery cannot be condoned under any circumstances."

Ms. Clinton apparently sees no need to embrace such standards.  Then again, neither do other hardened criminals and psychopaths who, unburdened by considerations of shared humanity or unaware even of the "optics" of such insensitivity, take joy in the suffering of perceived enemies, thus view the taking of human life as a sport, or an occasion for a joke.

Hillary Clinton is the textbook definition of a sociopath.

What are the key symptoms of sociopathy which I believe apply?

• Glibness and Superficial Charm
• Manipulative and Conning
  They never recognize the rights of others and see their self-serving behaviors as permissible. They appear to be charming, yet are covertly hostile and domineering, seeing their victim as merely an instrument to be used. They may dominate and humiliate their victims.
• Grandiose Sense of Self
  Feels entitled to certain things as "their right."
• Pathological Lying
  Has no problem lying coolly and easily and it is almost impossible for them to be truthful on a consistent basis. Can create, and get caught up in, a complex belief about their own powers and abilities. Extremely convincing and even able to pass lie detector tests.
• Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt
  A deep seated rage, which is split off and repressed, is at their core. Does not see others around them as people, but only as targets and opportunities. Instead of friends, they have victims and accomplices who end up as victims. The end always justifies the means and they let nothing stand in their way.
• Shallow Emotions
  When they show what seems to be warmth, joy, love and compassion it is more feigned than experienced and serves an ulterior motive. Outraged by insignificant matters, yet remaining unmoved and cold by what would upset a normal person. Since they are not genuine, neither are their promises.
• Incapacity for Love
• Callousness/Lack of Empathy
  Unable to empathize with the pain of their victims, having only contempt for others' feelings of distress and readily taking advantage of them.
• Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature
  Rage and abuse, alternating with small expressions of love and approval produce an addictive cycle for abuser and abused, as well as creating hopelessness in the victim. Believe they are all-powerful, all-knowing, entitled to every wish, no sense of personal boundaries, no concern for their impact on others.
• Irresponsibility/Unreliability
  Not concerned about wrecking others' lives and dreams. Oblivious or indifferent to the devastation they cause. Does not accept blame themselves, but blames others, even for acts they obviously committed.

Hillary Clinton sees herself as some grand chess master, shaping the world -- in particular the Middle East -- to her liking and that of Israel.  Her muscular world view and truculent foreign policies are parallel to and probably inspired by the geopolitical ramblings -- by the way, since recanted -- of Zbigniew Brzezinski, author of the seminal neocon manual for world conquest and global empire, The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives.  Hillary Clinton's evident ambition is to sit in the history books next to Margaret Thatcher, Disraeli, Alexander the Great . . . perhaps even more fittingly, Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan.

This selfish woman will do anything and everything to promote and deify herself.  No cost is too great, no amount of human suffering will be spared, everyone in her path will either genuflect or be destroyed.  She will do whatever it takes -- even if it requires nuclear war -- to achieve the ascendant place in the history books she believes she deserves.  A warped sense of destiny fueled by narcissism and lust for power demands it.

This is the real sickness of Hillary Clinton.  Two aspirins and a glass of orange juice won't help what ails this demented creature of pomp and entitlement. Nor will pumping her full of Levodopa.  It's temporary and cosmetic.  Hillary's pathology is enduring and systemic.

Electing this monster -- as opposed to the monster served up by the Republican Party -- to the presidency would be like injecting leukemia cells into the body politic of America.  The country is already being hollowed out from the inside by the greed of those she identifies and associates herself with.  It's both appalling and frightening to see the MSM regularly cast this ruthless, self-serving, social climbing lapdog of the .01% as a "progressive" and the candidate of the common people.  Are we really that stupid?  That gullible?

This election is sure one for the books.

It's as if America keeps searching for that one final nail for the coffin of its misguided and increasingly floundering empire.

Hillary Clinton might just be that nail.


[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

It’s Not Hillary’s Physical Health That’s The Issue . . . It’s Her Mental Health!

Dealing With A Shark Attack

 

How do you deal with a shark attack in a swimming pool?

You drain the water and watch the shark suffocate.

The Peace Dividend strategy does exactly that.

It drains the pool of funds which our insane neocon-infested military establishment -- which includes the DOD, NSA, CIA, DHS, Congress, and the White House -- abuses with its never-ending wars and delusional monomaniacal pursuit of world empire.

We take back all of the money they've defrauded us out of for the past 24 years -- we could go back further but two-and-a-half decades is a good start -- then watch them desperately gasp and struggle as they try to persist in their aggressive bullying of the world. 

No money.  No more unnecessary wars. 

No money.  No more boondoggles like the F-35.

No money.  No more senseless waste like the trillion dollar upgrade of our nuclear arsenal.

No money.  America will start waging peace instead of waging war.

Peace is something we can actually afford.

The Peace Dividend, the pool of money totaling $4.82 trillion which was paid in taxes -- by you and I -- under false pretenses, collected on the basis of lies told us by our government  in support of wasteful D.O.D. extravagance and military aggression on no less than eight foreign countries since 1992, is money which will be distributed as a refund to each and every single American citizen.  It is our money, tax dollars paid in good faith by decent hard-working folks who trusted their government to put it to correct and proper use. 

We were fooled.

We were lied to.

We were conned. 

We were defrauded! 

We were callously ripped off!



The Peace Dividend refund comes to $14,952 for each and every living U.S. citizen, paid out over three years.

That comes to almost $60,000 for a family of four.

This is money which should have been ours to spend, and recovering it -- as is completely within our rights in a government of the people, by the people, for the people -- unlike the military madmen, we'll put it to good use.  We can buy some news clothes for the kids, pay down our credit cards, replace that car that's falling apart, take a long overdue vacation.

Am I crazy?

No . . . we are crazy if we don't stick up for ourselves.

We are crazy if we don't stop the abuse of power and hold our government accountable.

We are crazy if we don't reject and reverse this gross misappropriation of our tax dollars.

As victims of the worst crime in history -- the biggest tax rip-off ever -- we deserve full and immediate compensation.

Let's get started.

By the way, if anyone is tempted to ask me how a shark got into the swimming pool, I have a question for you . . .

How did so many homicidal, warmongering sociopaths get into the centers of power in Washington DC?

The Peace Dividend strategy is a direct attack on America’s systemic addiction to war by appealing to the self-interest of its citizens, literally INCENTIVIZING people to redirect their thinking and start WORKING FOR PEACE!

 

The Peace Dividend: The Most Controversial Proposal in the History of the World is now available both as an ebook and deluxe paperback at all of the usual outlets . . .

Amazon (Kindle) / US . . . amzn.to/2cpIRfQ
Amazon (Print) / US . . . amzn.to/2cEhnCb
Amazon (Kindle) / UK . . . amzn.to/2cKXFsV
Amazon (Kindle) / Canada . . . amzn.to/2ciZKdl
Amazon (Kindle) / Japan . . . amzn.to/2cbf3TO
Barnes & Noble . . . bit.ly/2cWxvzd
Kobo (Indigo) . . . bit.ly/2cI8cB6
Apple iTunes . . . apple.co/2cqw7an
Smashwords . . . bit.ly/2cb6Cse
Direct from printer . . . bit.ly/2c3mJsl

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]


Dealing With A Shark Attack

It’s not easy being infallible . . .

 

In case you didn't hear President Obama's historic speech at the Hiroshima Peace Park this past May 27th, let me sum it up for you.  Paraphrasing . . .

"It's very sad.  War is nasty.  Shit happens."

There is broad consensus among reputable historians -- who don't filter everything through the brainwashing lens of American exceptionalism -- that dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was entirely unnecessary.

There is concrete evidence -- I've seen the U.S. government documents on display at the Hiroshima Peace Museum myself -- that dropping the bombs was an experiment.  These two Japanese cities, both of relatively marginal importance in terms of the war effort, were the petri dishes, the Japanese were the bacteria.  The nuclear scientists who had developed a deployable nuclear weapon wanted to see how people and dwellings would hold up in the 10,830º fireball.  You think I'm exaggerating about any of this?  The bombs didn't target factories or military installations.  The epicenter of the Hiroshima explosion was directly over a medical clinic, for chrissakes!

With those two heinous war crimes, of course, America was just getting warmed up.

Next came Korea, or more specifically North Korea.  In what was considered a savage and one-sided genocidal attack, over 20% of the population -- by some estimates close to 1.4 million people -- mostly civilians were killed by the U.S. campaign.  North Korea was reduced to rubble.  At the end of the carpet bombing, planes were returning with all of their bombs, with the pilots complaining there was nothing left to bomb.  Why did North Korea deserve such genocide?  They were demanding that as promised at the end of World War II, when they were finally liberated from the oppressive rule of the Japanese, that the country be unified and free democratic elections be held.  You think I'm making this up?  If you can go beyond the facile fairy tales of our high school history texts and do some reading, you'll find this right in the historical record.


 

After taking a little breather, the U.S. moved on to Vietnam.  What was the problem there?  These misguided gooks might go communist and we couldn't let that happen!  Of course, Vietnam is now a communist country.  I've been there.  It's a pretty decent place.  No one tried to shoot me.  I practically never saw any police.  The food is spicy.  Amazingly, I was treated with courtesy and kindness.  Why was I amazed?  Because we slaughtered between 1.3 and 3.9 million Vietnamese in that war, again mostly civilians.  We sprayed them and their farmland with lethal chemicals that are still causing horrible birth defects.  In fact, America dropped twice as many bombs on this tiny country as was dropped by all sides in every theater of World War II! 

Try to wrap your head around that.

Of course, just because we were at war with Vietnam didn't mean we would confine our destruction and carnage to that country, in losing the war.  We also mercilessly bombed Cambodia and Laos.  In Cambodia -- a country we weren't at war with -- America dropped a half million tons of bombs killing 100,000 innocent people. 

But that was child's play compared to Laos, again a country which was neutral not in any way participating in the Vietnam conflict.  Laos has the chilling distinction of being per capita the most bombed country in the history of the world!  Yes, we really cut loose on this tiny, impoverished nation by dropping 2,000,000 TONS OF EXPLOSIVES on them!

And how bad does America feel about the death and destruction it inflicted on tiny Laos?  Never one to let an opportunity for cynical irony go ignored, Obama in his public relations swing through Southeast Asia stopped by to do some glad-handing.  While when it comes to countries we've abused Obama prefers to leave the past behind, to look ahead toward a bright, harmonious future -- in particular one controlled by the corporate totalitarian regime of TPP -- he did give a nod to a little problem that 2,000,000 tons of explosives had left scattered across the landscape of Laos: that of unexploded ordnance.  He was in such a generous mood that he committed $90 million to help clean up the mess before more children lost their arms and legs.  $90 million for 2 million tons of explosives only four-and-a-half decades late.  What a guy!

I could go on but we'd be looking at a book.  A very depressing one at that.

The point is the bombing and the wars just keep on going and in parallel we are treated to a never-ending barrage of self-righteous deceptions and exceptionalist demagoguery.

The only difference now is that the rhetoric is more vitriolic and audaciously deceitful.

Since hopefully many of you like myself may not be amused by Obama's infinite capacity for expectorating America-first drivel, let me spare you from listening to this narcissistic ideologue and sum up his recent speech before the United Nations.  I read between the lines a bit, and here's the gist of this remarkable gust of self-congratulatory hot air:

"We know if you repeat a lie often enough, it will stick.  We are also firmly committed to never admitting a mistake, and no matter how implausible, always finding someone else to blame for what goes wrong.  Finally, the United States of America never apologizes."

For the final UN speech of his celebrated 8 years as president, I think Obama has done an excellent job of clarifying exactly where the U.S. stands, and sealing his place in the history books after the U.S. inevitably implodes, as one of the most myopic of our chief executives.

Having said that, I'm still for offering a balanced view.  Though we often get caught up in quibbling about the details, let's look at the big picture and give credit where credit is due.

Do you think keeping track of the torrent of destructive but spellbinding lies dumped on the American public and the rest of the world is easy?

Can you fathom how thoroughly exhausting it must be to relentlessly embrace and nurture such intemperate arrogance, such malignant hubris, such shameless moral insensitivity, how draining it is to keep feeding the rhetorical river of buttery self-congratulations and slimy bombast?

What about having to unrelentingly deny facts, obfuscate and hide the truth?  What about the colossal task of constructing an alternative and patently false reality to keep American citizens from waking up to the horror their leaders are visiting on the rest of the world?  You're going to tell me this is not incredibly grueling work?

In a nutshell . . .

Do you think it's easy being infallible?

Maybe we should ask President Obama at his next news conference.


[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]



It’s not easy being infallible . . .

The Peace Dividend Concept . . . Now A Book

 

We each do what we can do.  That's all we can do.

As anyone who is familiar with my writings knows, for the past four years I've expressed my alarm at the systematic disempowerment of everyday citizens -- the 99% -- and the destruction of our democracy.  I'm never content to merely identify a problem without trying to identify a solution.  Thus my books Candidate Contracts: Taking Back Our Democracy (June 2015) and Fighting for the Democracy We Deserve (September 2015) focused on ways to address these critical challenges, even given the shredding of our personal liberties and the sabotaging of normal mechanisms for implementing reform.

In developing the ideas for these books, at some point I realized that the militarization of our domestic police forces, our communities, our media, our foreign policy, in fact, just about every aspect of our lives and everything America now collectively does, was central to the control the oligarchy now has over the country and its citizens.  This militarization finds its most obvious expression in the constant wars and the insertion of U.S. troops all over the world, the open-ended and ubiquitous War on Terror, and the pursuit of world domination by any means necessary, all of which are steadily driving the country to its own cataclysmic unraveling.

But it also occurred to me that not only was this militarization the main mechanism for reshaping America into an imperial autocracy, it offered at the same time a phenomenal opportunity for its citizens to reclaim their country.  I believe that the war machine is its own Achilles heel -- at least until voting has been outlawed and we're all locked away in work slave camps -- in that its abuse of power is so ham-fisted, at core so contrary to the best social and political traditions of our nation, once the majority of citizens understand what is going on, the whole destructive regime of the warmongers can be taken down and replaced with one that serves the greater interests of all Americans.  Of course, the major challenge is finding a way to communicate it in a way that makes sense and guarantees a significant number of people will pay attention to it. 

This unfolds as my Peace Dividend concept, a historical and political analysis of endemic institutional corruption and abuse in the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the NSA and other national security agencies, Congress and the White House, offering a strategy for challenging and ending the egregious violations of public trust.

The Peace Dividend concept originally appeared and is explored in summary form in both of the two books mentioned above.  With the publication of my new book, it now has its own dedicated volume with full explication, justification, and documentation . . . 

The Peace Dividend: The Most Controversial Proposal in the History of the World.

Here's the premise:  With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992, American citizens were promised a "peace dividend", i.e. less money for war, more for peace and a good life for all. The U.S. military under misguided leadership has attacked eight countries since then. The defense budget has exploded, buying a lot of junk that doesn't work and military hardware we don't need.

American citizens have been grossly deceived about the real purpose and agenda of our military exploits throughout the world.  As I incontrovertibly establish, we have had over $4.82 trillion of our hard-earned tax dollars taken under false pretenses and wasted with cavalier abandon on unnecessary wars and unneeded weapons.  This transparent fraud on the American people has been perpetrated for two-and-a-half decades.

It's time to change all of that.  It's time for a fresh new narrative, and a vibrant national conversation.  It's time to start thinking and talking about peace again.  This book explains why and exactly how we begin.

The Peace Dividend strategy is a direct attack on America’s systemic addiction to war by appealing to the self-interest of its citizens, literally INCENTIVIZING citizens to redirect their thinking and start WORKING FOR PEACE!

The Peace Dividend: The Most Controversial Proposal in the History of the World is now available both as an ebook and deluxe paperback at many of the usual outlets . . .

Amazon (Kindle) / US . . . amzn.to/2cpIRfQ
Amazon (Print) / US . . . amzn.to/2cEhnCb
Amazon (Kindle) / UK . . . amzn.to/2cKXFsV
Amazon (Kindle) / Canada . . . amzn.to/2ciZKdl
Amazon (Kindle) / Japan . . . amzn.to/2cbf3TO
Barnes & Noble . . . bit.ly/2cWxvzd
Kobo (Indigo) . . . bit.ly/2cI8cB6
Apple iTunes . . . apple.co/2cqw7an
Smashwords . . . bit.ly/2cb6Cse
Direct from printer . . . bit.ly/2c3mJsl


[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]



The Peace Dividend Concept . . . Now A Book

In a land of pigs . . . bacon is a sacrament!

 

It's easy to talk of American exceptionalism.

But what do we have to show for it?

An economy that's on the verge of collapse.

A military that can't win wars.

A democracy which is no longer a democracy.

A citizenry more divided than united about almost everything.

Except maybe . . . how exceptional we are!

 

The U.S. is now considered the greatest threat to world peace on the planet.

I guess that puts us in a class by ourselves.

But . . . exceptional?

Disturbing yes.  Probably embarrassing.  Unprecedented perhaps.  Maybe shameful.

But exceptional?  To whom?  By what measure?

Aah . . . by our own exceptional standards!

In a land of pigs, bacon is a sacrament.

Oink oink!




[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]


In a land of pigs . . . bacon is a sacrament!

Let’s just shake hands and smile for the camera!

 

Corporate greed over sensible policy again was brazenly flaunted as the operating principle of our "forward-looking" leaders in Washington DC, as John Kerry just announced that the U.S. would not be party to a binding agreement fighting climate change, issuing from the upcoming UN climate conference next month in Paris.

President Obama, a man who is certainly never shy about aggrandizing himself and using any and all slippery language to give a flattering portrayal of his presidency for the history books, has at times crowned himself as the "environmental president".

But there is little doubt where his loyalties lie and what his priorities are. The man has become the "drill, baby, drill" standard bearer of Sarah Palin's ignorant, short-sighted vision for an America awash in oil and an Earth shrouded in a steamy blanket of CO2.

The oil and gas industry loves these guys, despite occasionally public grumbling.

Mr. Kerry's announcement was not only baffling, it was fiercely obnoxious, again showing what it means to deal with the biggest baddest bully on the block.  The stated purpose, the recognized agenda, the very raison d'être of this critical meeting of the world community is unambiguous: The EU, for example, made its position very clear in September, stating that the bloc “is pressing for a global, fair, ambitious and legally binding international treaty that will prevent global warming from reaching dangerous levels.” (My italics.)

But America is an exceptionalist nation, deemed by historical destiny to somehow float above all others. Things like international agreements, existential threats, the laws of physics and nature itself, apply to everyone except the United States of America.

We make our own rules and create our own reality.

Thus, those other non-entities which comprise the other 195 nations in the world hosting the 96% of the world's population who are not blessed to be Americans, should be honored that Mr. Kerry, as the personal ambassador of our environmental president, even takes the time out of his busy schedule to show up for some nice photo ops and to shake hands with the rest of the irrelevant world leaders who are attempting to do something constructive about a rapidly worsening crisis.

"Yes, Mr. Kerry and Ms. Merkel.  That's looks great.  How about if you shake hands and smile?  Perfect!  This will be right on the front page of our news website tomorrow!"



[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]


Let’s just shake hands and smile for the camera!