COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Where is US Foreign Policy Today? Why are We Doing this? A Pernicious Congruous Influence of the Military Corporate State and our Incompetent Political Masters

There is now more capital in the World than there is income. The concentration of this capital, control and influence is in the hands of fewer and fewer people. Wilkerson in 25 minutes explains where we are today:

53 comments:

  1. I totally share Wilkerson's doubts and skepticism of our intelligence agencies and the disastrous decision to go to a mercenary military force and detach the military from the reality enforced upon them by irreverent but patriotic citizen soldiers.


    Nothing disgusts me more than hearing the leaden phrase "Thank you for your service."

    Meant well, but laced with ignorance of what our modern military is and does.

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  2. Today, Trump had his eyes opened wide on the utter incompetence of the Republican Party only overshadowed by the corruption of the Democrats. Trump was reminded of his fight and rise to power despite the best efforts of the GOP.

    Who will ever take this clown jalopy seriously again?


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  3. They had one last best chance to lead and they blew it. With all the purism of the Taliban, they ceded credibility to all the above with the exception of them.

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  4. The so-called conservatives woke yesterday morning, suited up with their political suicide belt and guaranteed their bona fides of being the party of stupid.

    OOrah assholes. Go get em!

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  5. Off topic but of perennial interest to all thinkers here -

    "I've reached the point where.... I don't even have to think....it's what's called 'muscle memory'...."

    QuirkSat Mar 25, 01:30:00 AM EDT (slightly redacted)

    So we see Quirk admits to, basically, having no brain, and why should he, having no need to think, and when he is flush with uncontrollable thoughtless anger and calling names he is just flapping his Palatopharyngeus muscle.

    heh heh heh - he'll have to look up 'Palatopharyngeus'....

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    1. .

      QuirkSat Mar 25, 01:30:00 AM EDT (slightly redacted)

      Once again, the faux farmer adopts the methods of the rat, cut and paste, strip comments of their context, dissemble, lie.

      Bob and rat, two sides of the same coin.

      .

      Furious anger?

      Naw, it's what's called 'muscle memory'. I've reached the point where after calling you a "dolt" so many times, it is now automatic, don't even have to think about it, the words just flow.

      Note: Those are Trump quote marks around dolt.

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  6. I don't really buy entirely into the general idea expressed in the thread.

    We've made some mistakes but, I'd argue, we've been more a force for good in the world than the opposite.

    I give you Japan, Germany, standing up to the Rooskies with the final result of a free eastern Europe, South Korea as compared to North..we helped establish some real human freedom and decency in all these places and others too....we have spread a good deal of democracy about, and when thinking of our mistakes we should remember that too.

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    1. Was it a mistake for Kennedy not to invade Cuba ?

      It's been a prison island now for over 50 years. And world class racist in addition.

      We need Quirk to get out his trusty human suffering calculating machine and give us the figures.

      Would the sum of human suffering have been reduced had we done so ?

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    2. It was not our business to attack a sovereign state that rebelled against the brutal Batista regime, a regime that itself was in power as a result of a military coup. The "Island Prison" was well established under Batista as he revoked political parties and political liberties, tortured and murdered thousands and turned the island over to the US mafia and US sugar plantation owners.

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    3. Our foreign military adventures since the end of WWII have been a disaster with the lasting consequence of a $20 trillion debt and the deaths of millions.

      The fool JFK almost got us all killed over Cuba for who? We deployed nuclear weapons to Turkey in 1959 with the Jupiter missile system as well as tactical nuclear bombs. Ironically, we still have nuclear weapons in Turkey. Good luck getting those back.

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    4. It was logical for the Russians to ally themselves with local powers hostile to the US as it was a mirror image of US policy towards Russia. Their introduction of missiles into Cuba was quid pro quo for first actions by the US in Turkey.

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    5. The question is: why wasn't it our business ?

      If one is walking down the road and sees another being robbed, being raped, being imprisoned....does one intervene, or does one walk on by ?

      And, the place was better off under Batista and the mafia.....the litany of liberal talking points notwithstanding....like Iran was better off under the Shah.....one could, at least, come and go, and not only by inner tube, but it was long ago, and far away, as they say, so I'll walk on by....no one can win an argument like this....but there is a real argument here.

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    6. .

      ....but there is a real argument here.


      But only to the nostalgic.

      You can't live in the past.

      .

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  7. That was then. This is now:

    For the past seven years, Republicans vowed that if voters handed them the levers of power in Washington, they would quickly gut ObamaCare.

    But when the moment of truth came Friday, Republicans choked. It wasted political capital that at best has a limited shelf life. The "Freedom Caucus" may as well rebrand themselves, The Saint Jude Caucus, because they have rendered the Republican Party and The Trump presidency as a lost cause. They did it with impeccable timing for the benefit of the Left and the Democrats.

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  8. The Freedom to be Stupid Caucus could not have been more helpful to the Left. It could not have done worse sinking Trump than had they been led by George Custer. In politics, you can recover from most anything if you don't look stupid. The Freedom to be Stupid Caucus had a do or die moment and decided to have a Jim Jones Koolaid party.

    Genius I tell you, outfucking standing by any measure.

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  9. Before Republicans captured Washington, the unyielding conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus were a nuisance. Now, with the GOP in control of the House, Senate, and White House, they’re a roadblock to success.

    There's a simple reason for this: They insist on what cannot be achieved. Anything short of that, such as the bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, triggers fierce opposition by the group's thirty or so members. And if they stick together, they can prevent Republican legislation from passing, as they did at least initially in the case of killing Obamacare.

    That's not all. The Freedom Caucus specializes in making things difficult for House speaker Paul Ryan. Its members treat this as a duty. They regard him as a member in good standing of the political establishment who's been Washingtonized and is no longer a legitimate conservative.

    It would hardly displease the caucus if some distance emerged between Ryan and President Trump, the wider the gap, the better. The Ryan-Trump relationship, nonexistent during last year's campaign, improved once they began working together on a daily basis to promote the agenda they share. But it's still brittle.

    Which brings us to the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the measure to repeal and replace Obamacare that was drafted by Ryan and congressional leaders. The fact that it would eliminate most but not all of Obamacare is the source of the clash between Ryan and the Freedom Caucus.

    The AHCA is designed to circumvent a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. That means it can sweep away only the parts of Obamacare dealing with spending and taxes. The broad framework of Obamacare would remain. By invoking a procedure known as "reconciliation," the measure can pass by a simple majority—51 votes—with no filibuster allowed.

    It's a tedious and unexciting process that requires careful attention to something called the Byrd Rule, which is too arcane to explain. However, it has one advantage: It provides a path to Senate passage and the end of Obamacare. Indeed, it's the only path.


    The Freedom to be Stupid Caucus is incapable of facing reality and that renders them incapable of governing. They did for the Democrats what the Democrats could not do for themselves.

    Well done, assholes.

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  10. LOL. The GOP was in a state of civil war throughout Trump's campaign and now you Republicans have your panties in a twist because you thought his 'art' of deal making would prevail. However Trump's consists merely of bluster. His only chance at success would be through peeling off centrist Democrats to pair with moderate Republicans to advance an agenda. Unfortunately Trump’s not smart enough and his only agenda is for him to enjoy the perks of power.

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    1. Donald "who thought Healthcare could be so complicated?" Trump is now thoroughly exposed as the blustering paper tiger he's always been.

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    2. You would better spend your time fighting for freedom of speech in Canada, Smirk.

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    3. I underestimated the propensity for stupidity by the Republicans. I'll try not to do that again.

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    4. I think you have underestimated Trump's stupidity. The makeup of Republicans in Congress have been on display for years now. I guess Trump slept through the tea party.

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  11. I guess now that Congress won't confirm SCOTUS appointments in the last year of a presidency Gorsuch is toast.

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    1. The Republicans may as well change the rules of the Senate to a majority vote and enjoy it. The Democrats surely will if it benefits them. The Republicans were wrong to not give Merrick Garland a hearing.

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    2. .

      Another good one, Ash.

      You must have had your Wheaties this morning.

      .

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  12. This is not the first time nor will it be the last where the leaders of the GOP have had a great opportunity to truly lead, and have failed..... miserably. Trump learned a huge lesson this week.

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    1. It's POTUS 101 to round up votes.

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    2. No, it the house leadership and whips responsibility with the President assisting using carrots or sticks.

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    3. And what did Trump do? - he annouced an ultimatum....





      ...SPLAT. epic fail. Loser.

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  13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgTmlCzjPWg

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    1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJWNoJnML-8

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    2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONOiNjd7aQk

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  14. The Republicans did not get the job done.

    But note - too many were walking to their own drummer, and not marching robotically along to the single drummer of the leadership, as the Democrats have been praised for doing.

    :) heh

    What was it....wasn't there something in our nation's early literature about walking to the sounds of one's own drummer....and not to that of another ?

    Their failure perhaps conceals a hidden virtue.

    At any rate, Smirk should be fighting for freedom of speech in his own country, Canada, and not spending - wasting - his time criticizing a political party in a foreign land on the grounds that said party spent too much time arguing freely with one another.

    I'll take the Republicans - in MY country - who at least showed the courage of their own individual convictions - over the Democrats who always sound like parrots singing from the same old page.

    Look Homeward, Angel Smirk.

    You get busy and fix things up there in the Great White, Smirk, where these days one can't criticize the moooslims who hold that women are only 1/2 of a human being, and jihad is such a wonderful thing....

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    1. Also note, SMIRK'n'QUIRK, that The Donald has proven himself to be one damned poor failure of a fascist.

      :o)

      He can't even control the cadre of his own movement.

      They don't seem to give a shit what he says, but go ahead and vote their own individual lights regardless....

      The Memeless might call this noble.

      Ciao !

      Busy and hopefully productive day ahead here....

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    2. .

      I'll take the Republicans - in MY country - who at least showed the courage of their own individual convictions - over the Democrats who always sound like parrots singing from the same old page.


      Right, that and $5 will buy you a latte at Starbucks. Enjoy.

      .

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  15. For English Major Farmer Bob:

    "I use the singular THEY THEIR THEM pronouns."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f97aLkl_kWc

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    1. "Sex is between our legs, and Identity is between our ears."

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    2. Did I fuck up again ?

      Gotta run.

      Keep SMIRK'n'QUIRK under control as best you can....

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  16. The basic problem is once the state institutes a massive new welfare program, it becomes near impossible to undo. That was always part of Obama's plan. When manufacturing was the business of America, employers provided healthcare, mostly free to the employee.
    Those that could not afford healthcare insurance went to public hospitals and after they were closed down, they used emergency rooms.

    Globalization made it possible for employers to shift production to countries where they had no healthcare or it was paid for by the state. The gap created by government actions was filled by the government taking money away from people and transferring benefits to others who have come to rely on the support. If you rob from Peter to pay Paul, you will always get Paul's vote.

    The conservatives are assholes who stand on principle at the cost of defeat. They will never win. They belong to the school of cutting their nose to spite their face. They may as well drop the elephant and adopt the mastodon.

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    1. .

      The conservatives are assholes who stand on principle at the cost of defeat.

      Bull, IMHO.

      The AHCA merely switches deck chairs on the Titanic. The phony savings that are projected comes from shifting dollars from the FED to the states and the taxpayers.

      If you want to actually cut healthcare costs, there are simple ways to do it but just like Obamacare the AHCA fails to do it.

      The ACA wrote into law that the government, the biggest consumer of drugs in the world, could not negotiate with the drug companies on price. On the medical providers, the ACA at least put some controls in order to keep costs down, the AHCA pulls those controls. The GOP says that by giving the consumer the ability to go out and investigate prices they will be able to cut their insurance and health care costs. Bullshit, their is nothing in the AHCA that would legislate price discovery.

      The AHCA is a scam. It's designed to cut cost at the federal level and dump it on the states and the public, money that can then be spent to grant further tax breaks to the rich and more bullets for the military.

      .

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  17. .

    Trump has been playing the American people for fools from the beginning. He will tell the American people whatever they want to hear. He will say it in small simple words and he will repeat them often. Then like the EB he'll show...

    “This site is dedicated to preying on people’s vanity, ignorance, or loneliness, gaining their trust and betraying them without remorse.”

    The man is a carny barker. The AHCA is not what he promised America. His new proposed budget is not what he promised America. His cabinet does not reflect the promises he made about draining the swamp, putting a collar on Wall Street and the Banks, keeping us out of further foreign entanglements. His diplomatic skills are zip. He goes out of his way to insult allies. He waste half his time putting up ridiculous, unnecessary tweets that are vanity driven.

    The Dems are trying to pin the Trumpcare label on the AHCA. That's silly. It's Ryancare all the way. Though Trump promised during the campaign that he had a secret healthcare plan that he would bring in starting on day one that would replace the ACA, he had zip. Like all Trump's other promises that one was also bullshit. Trump had no plan. He hasn't got a clue about healthcare just as he hasn't got a clue about most other issues. So he took the Ryan plan and ran with it.

    We've seen where Trump will take us and it sure as hell isn't where he promised to take us, well, most of us. The people who put Trump in office did it because of his promises on the economy and jobs and changing the calculus in D.C. to one that favors them rather than the rich and influential. What they got is more of the same except with a Muslim ban. Admittedly, that's enough for some of his supporters.

    Count on four more years of this. Trump won't change from his self-centered, destructive approach. And he is insuring his isolation even more by shrinking the bureaucracy and depending upon a small inner core of advisors, family members, and yes men.

    Four more years of the hollow phrase, 'Make America Great Again'. And the peanut gallery blames any shortcomings on parts of the GOP, Ryan, the Dems, the intelligence agencies, the media, NATO, you name it. Trump? Not so much.

    .

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  18. "The man is a carny barker."

    I thought he was a Fascist.

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  19. For Bob:

    Offspring of California’s Shasta wolf pack spotted in Nevada

    On their way to Idaho.

    http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article140709163.html

    Cute video of pups playing.

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    1. Farmer Bob Assaulted by Pigs.

      Police said in a statement on the Bellagio burglary on Saturday that a preliminary investigation suggests that at least three people entered the store and one of them fired gunshots. No one was injured and a suspect was taken into custody.

      Reports said the burglars wore pig masks.

      http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article140768963.html#storylink=cpy

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  20. Violence erupts at pro-Trump rally in Huntington Beach

    A counter-protester pepper sprayed the organizer of the event. A group of flag-waving Trump supporters immediately tackled the man, who wore a black mask, and punched and kicked him, witnesses said.

    http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-trump-rally-20170325-story.html#nt=oft02a-1la1

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  21. U.S.-led coalition says it may be responsible for airstrike that killed more than 200 Iraqi civilians

    http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iraq-mosul-airstrike-20170325-story.html#nt=oft02a-1li3

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    1. .

      The US admitted after an investigation that on March 17 they bombed the area in Idlib around a mosque where nearly 100 other civilians were killed.

      Shit happens when you are dropping bombs. And we don't have that many of them. (Ref: Video above.)

      .

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  22. This comment has been removed by the author.

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