I'm not precisely sure of the metrics, but I assume I've extended my life by at least one week for every one day I spend abstaining from "news" coverage. Partly this abstention has been driven by my desire to maintain my illusions about Barack Obama for at least 6 months. And partly this abstention has been driven by the realization that I, and everyone else I know, am considerably more honest and intelligent than most of the people we rely upon to stay informed.
I made the mistake of watching the "news" one night recently during which I was informed that President Obama is "slashing" the defense budget. After researching this claim on my own for approximately 20 seconds, I learned that the President is "slashing" the defense budget by a negative amount, which is to say that the President is increasing the defense budget.
Perhaps I shouldn't be shocked that facts and "news" are now officially in precise contradiction with one another, that a mirror-image synergy has been reached. Thusly, if the fact is that Obama increases the defense budget, the "news", naturally, is that Obama has "slashed" that budget.
The military industrial complex is perhaps the one segment of American society where rationality is least welcome. The American military industrial complex attained a level of armament 35 years ago that would allow it to kill every human being on earth. Did we stop there? Of course not.
The military industrial complex has nothing to do with defense. "Defense" is the appellation chose for "permanent and total global military domination" because the former sounds considerable more rational and necessary than the latter. In fact, the United States has truly needed "defense" just one time since 1812.
And in September of 2001, how did our trillions in investment pay off? How did our "Deparment of Defense" function? As I recall, our Department of Defense couldn't even defend itself.
No, the "defense" budget has nothing to do with defense. It has to do with building as many weapons as possible, and nothing more. Therefore, any cuts in any weapons production is seen as a suicidal "slashing of defense."
Let's think about fighter jets. We still spend billions of dollars per year on fighter jets. Fighter jets are intended only to fight other fighter jets. If we were rational people, we'd ask, "when was the last time we fought a country with fighter jets?" Well, Germany and Japan had a few jets.
American soldiers in the last 65 years have fought primarily with rifles, ironically enough. Given that, we might expect that our investments went to rifles and body armor. Instead, we build weapons that could only be useful if World War II started over again tomorrow.
So when we hear that Obama "slashed" our "defense", what actually happened was this: Obama increased defense spending. Within that spending, however, certain programs were cut back while the overall total increased.
So, if I went from spending 100 dollars per week on food to spending 120 dollars per week on food, but cut pork rinds and soda out of my diet, what sort of person would accuse me of "slashing food spending"? How does that happen?
It happens because the military-industrial complex has insidiously woven its amoral tentacles into every single congressional district in this country. So if Obama wants to cut back on plans for flying invisible tanks, the rationality of the decision doesn't matter. What matters is that individual pieces of the flying invisible tanks are made in every single congressional district.
Therefore, nobody will vote to cut this program, even if none of them can defend it. Even if the weapon does not and will never work. That doesn't matter. What matters is that the system has been designed to promote and protect irrationality. Only the government could protect waste so thoroughly and self-righteously.
It's akin to the cigarette tax. Cigarettes are now over 8 dollars per pack in my state. Cigarette smokers being perpetual targets of do-gooders, there are few shedding tears over this. But our enlightened leaders have set up a system whereby cigarette taxes pay for state-provided health care.
In other words, my state is dependent upon people smoking cigarettes. If nobody smoked cigarettes, our health care system would collapse. It takes a special kind of genius to dream this shit up. So, long story short, if you want to promote the health and safety of your fellow citizens, either start smoking or start a war.
I made the mistake of watching the "news" one night recently during which I was informed that President Obama is "slashing" the defense budget. After researching this claim on my own for approximately 20 seconds, I learned that the President is "slashing" the defense budget by a negative amount, which is to say that the President is increasing the defense budget.
Perhaps I shouldn't be shocked that facts and "news" are now officially in precise contradiction with one another, that a mirror-image synergy has been reached. Thusly, if the fact is that Obama increases the defense budget, the "news", naturally, is that Obama has "slashed" that budget.
The military industrial complex is perhaps the one segment of American society where rationality is least welcome. The American military industrial complex attained a level of armament 35 years ago that would allow it to kill every human being on earth. Did we stop there? Of course not.
The military industrial complex has nothing to do with defense. "Defense" is the appellation chose for "permanent and total global military domination" because the former sounds considerable more rational and necessary than the latter. In fact, the United States has truly needed "defense" just one time since 1812.
And in September of 2001, how did our trillions in investment pay off? How did our "Deparment of Defense" function? As I recall, our Department of Defense couldn't even defend itself.
No, the "defense" budget has nothing to do with defense. It has to do with building as many weapons as possible, and nothing more. Therefore, any cuts in any weapons production is seen as a suicidal "slashing of defense."
Let's think about fighter jets. We still spend billions of dollars per year on fighter jets. Fighter jets are intended only to fight other fighter jets. If we were rational people, we'd ask, "when was the last time we fought a country with fighter jets?" Well, Germany and Japan had a few jets.
American soldiers in the last 65 years have fought primarily with rifles, ironically enough. Given that, we might expect that our investments went to rifles and body armor. Instead, we build weapons that could only be useful if World War II started over again tomorrow.
So when we hear that Obama "slashed" our "defense", what actually happened was this: Obama increased defense spending. Within that spending, however, certain programs were cut back while the overall total increased.
So, if I went from spending 100 dollars per week on food to spending 120 dollars per week on food, but cut pork rinds and soda out of my diet, what sort of person would accuse me of "slashing food spending"? How does that happen?
It happens because the military-industrial complex has insidiously woven its amoral tentacles into every single congressional district in this country. So if Obama wants to cut back on plans for flying invisible tanks, the rationality of the decision doesn't matter. What matters is that individual pieces of the flying invisible tanks are made in every single congressional district.
Therefore, nobody will vote to cut this program, even if none of them can defend it. Even if the weapon does not and will never work. That doesn't matter. What matters is that the system has been designed to promote and protect irrationality. Only the government could protect waste so thoroughly and self-righteously.
It's akin to the cigarette tax. Cigarettes are now over 8 dollars per pack in my state. Cigarette smokers being perpetual targets of do-gooders, there are few shedding tears over this. But our enlightened leaders have set up a system whereby cigarette taxes pay for state-provided health care.
In other words, my state is dependent upon people smoking cigarettes. If nobody smoked cigarettes, our health care system would collapse. It takes a special kind of genius to dream this shit up. So, long story short, if you want to promote the health and safety of your fellow citizens, either start smoking or start a war.
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