In early 1776 an unknown writer published a pamphlet called Common Sense that went on to become the most widely read document in American history. It made a stirring cry for independence for America from Great Britain.
At the depths of the American Revolution in late 1776 the now-known Thomas Paine began a series of pamphlets called The Crisis. Some of the most moving words in US history began the first.
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.
Perhaps the time is due for a revision to Paine's work to bring it up to date for the 21st Century to call for a movement to break the chains of slavery ensnaring Americans today caught between the rocks of Scylla and Charybdis.
On the one hand we have a military machine determined to spend the treasury dry competing with the banking and financial industry intent on stealing all the money from the treasury first. Let there be no question. The American people have been put into the chains of slavery by the actions of the military and of the banking system to bankrupt the country.
This is not some idle threat that the country might go bankrupt at some point in the future. The country is bankrupt today. Americans will pay a steep and long lasting price for their stupidity and lack of oversight.
Some Americans will remember back to the Farewell Address of President Eisenhower in 1961 where he warned about undue influence by the Military Industrial Cartel. He said, "In the councils of government, 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."
But Eisenhower wasn't the only famous American general who realized the real threat to the United States. General Douglas MacArthur made a speech on May 15, 1951, where he was quoted, "Our country is now geared to an arms economy which was bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and nurtured upon an incessant propaganda of fear."
Since the time of the Spanish American War up until today, the United States has transitioned from a relatively peaceful good neighbor into a war monger out of control fighting one country after another who have done nothing to threaten the US.
This movement to an MIC went into overdrive during the 2nd World War eventually resulting in constant wars for the last twenty years. Now it is not unknown throughout history for a country to be warlike. In fact it is relatively common. But every great empire eventually bankrupted itself when it began to embark on military adventurism.
If you believe that I am wrong, try remembering what it was that justified our attack, invasion and subjugation of Iraq. When it came to invading Syria we no longer even felt it was worth lying about. The United States invaded a sovereign nation on the basis of saving that nation from terrorists who just happened to be recruited, paid and supplied by the US. That's a bit cheeky.
Governments will never admit it but there are absolute limits to power. It behooves citizens to automatically resist the siren call to arms for a practical purpose, not just because you worry about your young Johnny being shipped home to you in a body bag. Johnny is going to die sometime anyway; all stupid wars do is accelerate the process on a regular basis. But from a highly practical reason we should endeavor to oppose war.
We can't afford them.
By supporting war you are putting your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and neighbors in perpetual slavery. Wars are expensive. The toys the military insist on not only cost a lot of money, by the time you near end of empire, they often fail to work at all.
The Navy began a program to build a new class of destroyers that could fire 155 mm projectiles up to 60 miles. Plans called for a thirty-two-ship class. They ran into a few problems. The shells believed to be available for $50,000 apiece rose slightly in price to $800,000 each. But not to worry, advances in radar by those who might be our targets doomed the ship's mission before the first vessel splashed into the water. The thirty-two boats became a total of three. For a rock bottom price of $23 billion. That's billion with a capital B.
How does that compare with our latest and greatest aircraft carrier costing $13 billion? That's billion with a capital B.
It seems the super-duper highly advanced toilet system intended to copy that of airliners doesn't quite work right. Actually it works ok but requires a $400,000 acid flush on a regular basis. The Navy doesn't want to define the term "regular basis" because they didn't budget anything for the $400,000 flush.
Combined with a catapult system that didn't work as designed and an elevator system for bringing weapons to the flight deck that simply doesn't function at all, a clogged up toilet system doesn't look all that important in the scheme of things.
The all time poster child for weapons procurement programs gone astray has to belong to the worst fighter aircraft ever designed, the F-35. Lockheed put at least one contractor in the districts of over 370 Congressmen. Consider it a bribe that works well indeed.
Congress keeps voting more money for the already most expensive military program in world history at $1.5 trillion. That's trillion with a capital T. And it could be the most expensive program in the history of the universe for an aircraft that by every measure is an utter failure.
It has short legs that would require any aircraft carrier using it to be closer to the enemy than is perhaps wise. It can be seen and tracked on radar. Other US aircraft since retired can outfly it. I've talked to combat experienced fighter pilots and to a man they agree it is the biggest piece of crap ever flown.
If we had a single Admiral or General that cared about their country and having weapons that work that the country can afford, he or she would demand the program be killed at once. Of course it won't be. What would end of empire be like without expensive and useless weapons of war that fail to function?
Why do our "leaders" not vote against programs that obviously don't work and cost too much money? The answer came in early 2020. The former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Commandant of the Marine Corps Joseph Dunford has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Lockheed Martin, who spawned the abortion we call the F-35. That's his thirty pieces of silver in payment for years of valuable service to his country.
Does any American actually think about where all these wars came from that require these expensive toys for the military? After all, to justify a constant supply of weapons of war, you need a steady supply of new and different wars. But where did they come from?
General Wesley Clark spoke of what he learned a few days after 911 in a speech shown on YouTube. He was told the Pentagon formulated plans to attack seven different countries in five years. The countries included Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and finishing with Iran.
What idiot or group of idiots came up with that particular plan? None of those countries posed any threat to the United States. None had anything to do with the attack on 911. What made them the enemy of the United States?
The answer lies in a diabolical and sick relationship between Israel and its subservient state, the United States. It was put in writing in 1982 in a document by a minor government official in Israel.
"Israel should aim to bring about the fragmentation of the Arab world into a mosaic of ethnic and confessional groupings. Every kind of inter-Arab confrontation would prove to be advantageous to Israel in the short term."
Continue Reading. Go to Part II of this article.
Common Sense 2.0 Part II available here.
Common Sense 2.0 Part III available here.
Common Sense 2.0 Part IV available here.
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