The 2008 Presidential campaign is a perfect illustration of the societal decline we’re gunning down in our Hummer, foot to the floor, toward a thick redwood of national oblivion. Instead of focusing on the war, the deficit, education, healthcare and energy independence, both major parties are stuffing our ignorant faces with a fast-food orgy of bridges to nowhere, Muslim smears, lipstick on pigs on private jets on eBay, and the endless adventures of Reverend Wright. And a sad majority of voters are eating it up like stumbling, drunk teenagers on a midnight run to Taco Bell.

This election is going to be decided on “issues” suited for “Access Hollywood” and supermarket tabloids, not “Meet the Press” and “The New York Times.” I’m really concerned about the country my children and grandchildren are inheriting from their elders. I wonder how they’ll pay a national debt that’s nearly ten trillion dollars, and I worry about them paying for healthcare in a system spending billions marketing boners while driving margin by denying care.

We have been a “guns and butter” economy for a very long time. World War II got us out of the great depression by putting everyone who could work to work either dying or building weapons to perpetuate it. Since Ike’s warning about the perils of the “military-industrial” complex, it has grown into a near indestructible monster, protected by thousands of defense contractor lobbyists. Like any business, growth is key. Beginning seven years ago tomorrow, the neocon Bush administration scared the **** out of us and lied us into war. Should we expect world peace anytime soon? Not as long as profits depend on killing and countries are lined up to buy F-16’s and Patriot missile systems. As of ten seconds ago, the cost of the war in Iraq is $552,996,911,265 and most of it's been borrowed from China, Russia and others. Some estimates calculate the tab will hit $1Trillion dollars before it’s over. Many American corporations are reaping huge profits on this death and destruction. I wonder how much they pay in taxes…

There are voices of reason like former candidate Ron Paul, but instead of reporting the sober reality he speaks, the mainstream media dismisses him as “eccentric” and instead satiates us with “Celebrity Fit Club” chased with a bag of Doritos and a 2-liter Mountain Dew. With more and more of our population uninterested in the civics of our republic, what is the incentive for change?

I’d like to be more optimistic, and echo the flowery lies of candidates telling us about how wonderful we, the American people are, but the reality is they ignore the real issues for salacious sensationalism and half truths and we lick it up along with the cheese from our Doritos. One of these days when we pull our collective heads out of the shiny packaging, we’ll see our country that was once great, is no more.

Where is the kudo's button..
Nice post

Ditto

great post

You checked out Ron Paul's speech right? The one where he suggests voting for a third party that debates the "real" issues?

Good post BTW, i like the rant

Ron Paul is the shizzle (Passes out drunk...)

Ike got us into Vietnam. were it not for that, military assets would not have become scrap metal for recycling in the far east, we would have 50,000 more men voting for their country most likely as conservatives judging by their willingness to serve their country good, bad or ugly and ineptitude of LBJ would not have created such a violent and tumultuous counterculture which has actually embraced the party of the problem precipitating the war in Vietnam.

It was the Democrats that got us neck deep in death and destruction in Vietnam.

It was Nixon and the republicans that got us out of that mess.

Proof that the abused become the abuser.

The same establishment that was being attacked by the baby boomers in their youth is now the very establishment that wants to embrace the communistic and socialist evil that the democrats tried to quench , thanks to IKE!!!!!!

That brought on the weak and apologetic foolishness of Carter and Clinton and their inept handling of foreign affairs.

That brought on their contempt for any criticism of their heritage as war mongering imperialists.

the very people that hated that propensity infiltrated that party and became that party and actually have come to believe that they have transferred that delusion by projection onto the republicans.

Now the Democrats consider themselves the doves embracing the philosophy of America's ememies attempting to project appeasement and coddling onto socialism as the cure for the depravationsof IKE and his cronies, so long ago.

And the republicans watch this delusional parody unfold it's ill will every day and take up the mantle of keeping our nation's enemies at bay because the democrats are incapable of cleaning up their own messes.

If there is a giveaway of free lunches, it is in the excuses of incompetence that the left continues to whine are the work of the evil republicans while the left continues to lie and distort the truth and steal the thunder of upright and thoughtful men and women who hold the fort for them while they bust holes in every bulwark of sovereignty that this nation enjoys.


The left is insane.

the left is the very enemy that the left hates.

fear and self loathing.

pathetic.



nobama 2008

so Left blames the Right, and the Right blames the Left...well thats great..just keep finger-pointing, blaming and name calling while the Titanic keeps sinking...the rest of us will just stop and watch from the shoreline...I can hear Kruschev laughing from the grave....

The humorous thing about them blaming eachother is the fact that both sides have evolved into more or less the same party...

So the right does no wrong and the left is responsible for all our problems. OK, I got it. Thanks.

Oh, while you were ripping him, you forgot to mention Ike was a Republican.

OP is a great post, enjoyed it!!!!

Sadly, driven is also more correct than I would find comfortable. When I posted the difference of the two candidates on the issues yesterday, it was amazing how similar they are are some.

I have the problem that I want my vote to count. I know that the amount of voters going for third parties can send the opposition into office.

So I will keep with the parties who can win and right now it is Dem and Rep. Out of the two the better man for the job is Obama. Hillary would have been my best choice but Obama is still better than more of the same McCain.

Excellent post!

i'll be holding my nose when i vote this year!

pewwwwww-eeeee

read ike's "Eisenhower's Farewell Address to the Nation
January 17, 1961"

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/ike.htm

our economy is certainly affected by the war
in many ways but it is bigger than that much
bigger than that.

yup.

IKE:

A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction


nothing has changed.

the world is still a dangerous place.

God bless America.

The Bush Doctrine changed a reasonable "National Defense" to an offensive force. I supported our proactive efforts in Afghanistan because elements of Al Qaeda were there. Our offensive into Iraq imo was unwarranted and wasteful on many levels.

since the British left the middle east to itself after WW1, the borders have been for the most part intact.

Despite the unrest between sunnis and shia, Iran and Iraq are more certainly to remain as they are, and internal squables will not affect the neighborhood if the Sunnis in Iraq and the Shia in Iran can behave themselves.

WHich leavs Afghanistan to settle down and find the means of self determination which is inclusive of the diversity within that nation, which will be challenging.

Afghanistan is mostly small tribal networks keeping to themselves and aren't adept at recognizing a national central government that can withstand defending itself against feudal warlords from within or without seizing the country by force.

hence, the harbinger of mercenaries that itt is prone to be.

The task at hand is to occupy that land and educate the population in self determination and centralizing the country's sovereignty with a federal system of government that can speak for the various ethnic groups with one voice respecting the needs of all.

The international community has assumed that oversight for all borders of all nations and the concept is that no borders change from those recognized since the inception of the UN.

It may be a weak and impractical assumption, but it is still the baseline for world peace.

Rogue and mercenary factions parasitically attaching themselves to weak and uncentralized nations has become the trend among terrorist anarchists with militant agendas.

This is not a criminal matter for law enforcement to guard against, but an international matter for governments to guard against militarily for the benefit of the peace and prosperity and liberty of all peoples.

Sometimes it is extremely costly to police the world's problems, but wordds alone will never stop a determined aggressor from seizing control of the desire of their efforts.

Let no place be found for such mercenary combatants and diplomacy will civilize the differences.

There is still much to grow through.

Nothing is perfect, for man is not perfect.

But history proves that noble endeavors seeking to free all peoples to exercise rights of self determination require tough love and the threat of annihilation to those that would seize upon forcing their own ill will on their neighbors.

America looks like it is doing this, but America is not the oppresive aggressor.

America is the top cop in the world.

We do that well, despite the growing pains.

Everywhere America intervenes is better for the intervention, in the end.

If we do not believe this, we will never find our own unity of spirit in this nation.

But we do sufficiently believe this to be true, and for the most part, our leaders understand this and know this.

Wisdom prevails.

as tough as it is, wisdom prevails.

we can never lose sight of that fact because we are so strong and unconquerable.

We must be humble but ready to battle spontaneously should the need arise.

The best defence is a strong offence.

America does best when controlling the situation without controlling the people.

Iraq and Afghanistan are our present obligations to prove our worth.

We have begun to do it, we must see it through.

we will.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but America can't take care of America right now. Now the Bush Co. crew are pulling a page right out of Stalins playbook as they begin to socialize the banking industry.


Pretty soon, we'll be spelling it Amerika and if you get it wrong, some guy in his darth vader outfit with a night stick, some pepper spray and a Taser will utilize their favorite tactic, Pain compliance, until you get with the program.


I especially wanted to address the line about mercenaries, what exactly is Blackwater?

Considering that the middle east will be what it was before we went there when we leave, there is no point in staying there. Saddam was not a threat to us at any level. What we are doing in Afghanistan is absolutely nothing for the betterment of the situation there.

We are the outsiders who have stuck our nose in where it doesn't belong on these fronts and we remain the outsiders meddling to this day.

It would be different had these countries asked for our help to begin with. Help is not forced. Forced help is tyranny.

They only way i would be cool with withdrawing from iraq and/or Afganistan is if there was some sort of policy change that came with it. Unfortunately the only ones actually talkingabout change in policies are the third party members. I say we all vote third party this year...

Save the Republic, Vote 3rd party.