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Originally posted by indierockalien
They WANT us angry. They want us violent. They want us to point fingers. They WANT a witchunt, an upheaval, a riot, a backlash, a civil war.
Originally posted by kindred
I don't particularly think that those in power give a damn, that you know about their crimes and treachery, simply because there's probably nothing you can do about it.
Maxmars
I've been suffering from this depressing thought for a while, that all these 'revelations' about the shady and dark nature of our 'elected heroes' are part of an 'in your face' dance followed by the triple-snap of disrespect. They have 'sanctified' a new caste in our society, and if you are not blind to it, you're damned to suffer the insult.
The charismatic liar has a remarkable way of looking you square in the eyes and lying through their perfect teeth.
They are the sultans of smarm and the sweet-talking dames of deceit. By greasing their lies with dollops of charisma and flattery, these charming liars disarm their victims and their lies seem perfectly believable.
Eisenhower, a renowned World War II general, declared, “Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense. We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions.
“In the councils of government,” he warned, “we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
“We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes,” he declared. “We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”
The Times’ report on the military analysts is a tale of propaganda, hidden loyalties and financial interests. It reveals a vulnerability that reaches all the way to the survival of the United States as a country governed by the informed opinion of its people.
The newspaper’s investigation shows that in case after case, the military analysts take their cues and their information from specially prepared Pentagon briefings and trips.
A number wear more than one hat. In addition to offering their “analysis” on television, they work for pay for defense-related industries. Employers range from military equipment manufacturers and contractors to lobbyists and consulting firms on the hunt for defense-related business.
The report is important for the glimpse it provides into how powerful forces help keep us enmeshed in Iraq.
I’m all for a Congressional investigation into the Pentagon’s Iraq propaganda operation — which included an active-duty general exhorting ex-military-turned-paid-pundits that “the strategic target remains our population.”
But I’m also for keeping the focus and onus on CNN, FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS, even NPR — who were partners in the Pentagon’s mission of “information dominance.” And for us to see that American TV news remains so corrupt today that it has hardly mentioned the Times story on the Pentagon’s pundits, which was based on 8,000 pages of internal Pentagon documents acquired by a successful Times lawsuit.