There was an interesting flamewar in the comments on a post by Captain Capitalism. The question was “Does a disabled military veteran drawing a disability check count as a productive member of society?” One rule is “The amount of hostility an idea receives is directly proportional to the importance of the subject.” If lots of people get offended by a subject, that means it points towards a forbidden truth.
I’m offended that Captain Capitalism censored one of my comments. That puts him in the “blogs I don’t comment on” category. I have zero tolerance for censorship. Why should I spend time contributing to someone’s website or forum, when they’re censoring me? There are lots of people who crack their pro-State brainwashing in one area, but fail in others. Captain Capitalism still falls for the lie “Support the troops no matter what.”
The standard argument is “I risked my life protecting your freedom! I deserve this disability check!”
Unfortunately, most wars are not about protecting freedom. They are about protecting profits for US corporations and for the military-industrial complex.
For example, Gaddafi and Libya decided to nationalize US-corporate-owned oil wells, just before the US-backed revolt. Is that a coincidence? Blackwater and Bechtel make a ton of money off war. Halliburton received no-bid contracts to manage oil wells in Iraq.
A pro-State troll says “Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden were evil people! We had to get them!” Both of them were formerly on the US government payroll. These “evil dictators” run 3rd world countries precisely because they were puppets chosen by the US government.
The politicians also hide behind fake complexity. “We’re smarter than you! We know things you don’t! Murdering these Arabs is important because we said so!” If I question the usefulness of war, the Statists claim that soldiers are the only ones preventing my murder. I should have the freedom of buying protection from anyone, not just the State military monopoly.
A politician says “We have to occupy their country because they’re terrorists!” The terrorists say “We have to do this, because they’re occupying our country.” All the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq accomplished is that they’re recruiting and motivating the next generation of terrorists.
If you were wounded sincerely protecting my freedom, you deserve your disability check.
If you were wounded so that US corporations could make more money, you don’t deserve your disability check.
A pro-State troll says “A soldier is just following orders! It’s not my fault that I was ordered to commit crimes!”
The soldier did have a choice. He could have refused to enlist in the first place. You don’t abdicate all moral responsibility, just by joining the military. (That was not true back when there was a draft. However, there were plenty of loopholes for serious draft dodgers. In part, the draft ended because it was too embarrassing the way that insiders exploited loopholes. Also, people who didn’t want to die in stupid wars were organizing anti-war protests.)
My parents were careful to tell me “Joining the military is a bad idea.” If your parents were too stupid to properly educate you, then it’s natural selection at work when you get disabled as a soldier.
A pro-State troll says “Blame the leaders and not the individual soldiers.” That is false. The evil leaders would have no power, if not for the people who obey orders without thinking for themselves.
War is one big scam. War is the health of the State. If you’re opposed to war, you also should oppose the soldiers who fight that war.
I am sympathetic to people who were tricked into enlisting. I am sympathetic to people who enlisted due to economic conscription. (“Economic conscription” occurs when people are so poor that their best career option is joining the military.) However, you’re still responsible for your own decisions.
I sometimes see veterans on the subway, doped up on psychiatric drugs. I feel bad about that. (I can sometimes tell they’re veterans based on their T-Shirt.) It is offensive that they stupidly enlisted, and then had their life ruined. (The stress of war causes some soldiers to start cracking their pro-State brainwashing. Then, psychiatric drugs are used to cover up the symptoms.)
However, everyone is responsible for what they do. If you’re dumb enough to enlist and get disabled, that’s your problem. You should have done your due diligence before joining a criminal organization.
The economic system is collapsing. Once that happens, payments to disabled veterans will be worth $0.
I got robbed via taxes to pay for the war. I get robbed again via taxes to support payments to disabled veterans. I pay more than half my income in taxes (direct and indirect). More than half the government’s budget is military spending. In effect, 1/4 of my labor and my life goes to supporting the US military. Soldiers and police are only “protecting” me so that I can be milked as a tax slave.
It is very hard to criticize the military or veterans. The mainstream media gives them an aura of invulnerability. There are lots of hidden advertisements for war. Like Captain Capitalism, most people react with reflexive hostility when you criticize soldiers.
“Oppose war but support the soldiers” makes no sense. If you’re opposed to war, then the soldiers who fight that war are criminals.
War is one big crime. If you’re stupid enough to enlist as a soldier, then you deserve all the bad things that happen to you. Everyone is individually responsible for what they do. If you got disabled serving in the military, tough luck. You weren’t defending my freedom. You risked your life for nothing. You got disabled or killed for a lie. You just were protecting US corporate profits.
Some people are more responsible than others.
If you were blind, you would have no sin. As you see, your sin remains.
I could not agree with you more. When I see parents with buttons an stickers that reference their children’s military service, I only hope that they never get injured. Who has the heart to tell them if they did get hurt or killed, that was for absolutely no good reason at all. It’s offensive that sports events have te obligatory military parade, staff seargent whomever and his family.
You are a freaking moron. People join the military to serve no matter what the mission. Some missions are more just than others. The point is we joined to defend your sorry asses no matter what. If I am injured in the line of duty I absolutely deserve a disability check. I am not whole because of the job I chose to do. I bet if your no good sorry ass fell on your job and bumped your elbow you would be drawing a workman compensation check the next day.
The heart to tell them their loved one was in jured for no reason at all? Do you realize where you live? You have better than anyone else in the world. Why hasn’t this country been overrun by people like Hitler, Stalin, Hussein, Acmoudinajad (whatever the fuck way his name is spelled)? Because of men and women who put their lives on the line for YOU. Even when we are not at awar we are a deterrent, and it is a hard life. Noone goes into the military to get rich asshole, or to get hurt and disabled 1005 for the rest of their life for a measily 3k a month.
You are a freaking moron and a tool. People join the military because they buy into the propaganda about freedom or other such bullshit, or they are hostile belligerent dumb fucks looking to kill. Some of them join because it is a cultural thing in the sense that their dad and grandpa were warriors. Most really don’t think about it as thinking isn’t a skill highly valued in a warrior; following orders is.
You don’t defend my ass you dumb fuck. You are cannon fodder for U.S. military industrial corporate profit. Read Smedley Butler’s essay about what a fool he was. You don’t deserve a disability check you deadweight piece of shit. You deserve to be hanged for your crime.
The country has been overrun by people like Hitler, or Stalin. If you recall uncle Joe was our ally and Hitler had much support among our conservatives and our business community. Our war criminals in charge are no different than Hitler or Stalin except that they run a much more costly more well armed military machine.
As for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, why do you lump him in with Hitler or Stalin? Who has Iran ever attacked? The only reason our war criminals in charge don’t want Iran to have a nuke is because that is the only effective deterrent against a U.S. attack.
Some people do go to war to get rich. They are often called General or Admiral. Most that go to war to get rich are among our wealthiest corporations. Arms dealers and other war profiteers make billions because dumb fucks like you go kill for them.
Until people like you wake up and realize that you are part of the problem the world will never have peace. While some of us are busy creating new things and fixing old things and making the world more peaceful and beautiful, all you create is death, destruction, chaos, pain and hatred. You are truly an unevolved piece of shit. I hope you die a slow painful death.
I prefer “no swearing”, although I agree with the other points you make.
You sir are a undeserving wanna be american peice of shit. you stand on the front line oh wait you dont have the balls to do so. Tell all that bullshit to the victims and family members from 09/11 or maybe more current events like the Boston bombings. You and people like you should of been the ones in harms way then maybe you would be singing a different tune towards brave men and women , or maybe your just a scared little bitch with no pride for your country. Next time you find yourself talking shit about my military dont hide behind your key board you butt baby terrorist. If you dont like it leave but if you ever do, and find yourself in a fucked up situation in a third world country I wouldn’t piss on fire to put you out. you make me sick you disrespectful peice of shit I hope someone some day shuts your cock sucker up. Your no better than obama destroying this country with your poison. say that shit to someone like me to my face ill take care of the problem, and the problem being you. I truely hate people like you I hope get everything thats comming to you. I wish I could meet your father and take care of business because obviously he never taught your respect nor honor in your country and the ones defending all of the freedoms you enjoy everyday. I hope you get tortured in front of your family so they can see the level to which you have failed. Pussy you could not make it in the military your to weak and I hope some day you learn that the hard way.
Brainwashed automoton.
People such as yourself reinforce in my mind that most of my fellow Americans are not worth risking and losing lives for. Those graves I walked past in the VA cemetery south of Ft. Hood cost somebody big-time, and people such as yourself are pathetic, pampered jerkwads.
I do agree with FSK’s sentiments.
But consider. When a politician supports the war, it is a fair bet he/she will not be serving and neither will be his sons and daughters or any of the family.
When an ordinary person signs up, he at least will be risking his own life and limb. For all the other failings at least courage is shown.
Politicians are cowardly scum that send other peoples’ sons off to get killed and maimed, but are at no risk themselves. These people have the greater share of the sin.
If nobody followed the orders of the sick clowns, then no evil would be done.
One last thing.
If a sick government clown orders you to kill, his order is no more valid than that of manager of a hamburger restaurant.
The only correct response when a government thug asks you to kill is:
“I will not kill. You cannot make me do a thing. You can have my dead body, but that is all you will get.”
It isn’t always wrong to kill. It’s acceptable to use violence to stop real crime.
Unfortunately, most things police do isn’t about stopping real crime. It’s about enforcing rules that a bunch of politicians and bureaucrats invented.
The standard argument is “I risked my life protecting your freedom! I deserve this disability check!”
Please PROVE your statement…..yet I believe it to be rant from a coward. It lemmings, such as yourself, that didn’t have the courage to serve. So is your site of rant a way of “getting back” at those bullies in grade school? Vets don’t fuck with people who don’t deserve it, so lay off asshole.
I already gave the reasoning. Most of the things the military does is a waste or harmful. If you risk your life for a lie and get injured, you don’t deserve any sympathy.
It isn’t heroic to blindly obey orders and do bad things.
Some policemen do helpful things, like catching murderers or robbers. Most of the things that police do is a waste.
You do indeed sound like a disgruntled coward. Your words are full of anger and vindictiveness, as though some vet actually came to your home and kicked you in the nuts. Maybe we should have sat on the sidelines and waited for cowards like you or your brothers, sisters, friends to be drafted instead. We go so that no one else is forced to. Your ungrateful and I bet your borderline sociopathic
Do I deserve a check for my disability? I answer to that is no. I served my country with honor and much pride. I have and would always fight the the people of the U.S. even all you people speaking of me and all my fellow soldiers in a ill manner. I served because that was my job and for my buddies I served with. I’m not brain washed and think that I’m am owed for what I did. I am grateful for the check and I wish I could be the same person I used to be but that is here nor there. I don’t deserve shit but I sure am grateful.
Bravo, FSK. One of your best blog posts in a long while.
Captain Capitalism is a fairly bright guy. Unfortunately, his analysis is too often half-baked. This is typically the case with people who are only partially awake or labor under the delusion that we live under a legitimate system that has only recently gone bad when the real truth is that we have always lived under an illegitimate system (U.S. CONstitution) that was always bad.
I have no idea which posts will be great, and which are failures. It’s only loosely correlated to my expectations. I can only judge by comments, links, and # of pageviews. Sometimes, I think a post will be awesome, and nobody is interested. Sometimes, I think I’m restating something obvious, and a lot of people like it.
If you think a post is really good, link to it elsewhere!
I am very offended that Captain Capitalism censored my comments. He still falls for the lie “All soldiers are heroes, even when their bosses are evil.”
A government that respected the Constitution would be better than the one we have now. The correct answer is “The Constitution is not a valid contract. I don’t consent to the Constitution. I don’t agree that I’m the property of politicians and insiders, based solely on where I was born.” Either the Constitution authorizes the current disaster, or it was powerless to prevent it. Either way, the Constitution is a proven failure. The correct answer is “market anarchism”.
Insiders and banksters were profiting from the Constitution, before the ink was dry. Alexander Hamilton and his bankster friends bought up revolutionary war bonds at pennies on the dollar. The new Federal government assumed the obligation to repay these bonds, and had the taxation power to do it. The original purpose of the Constitution was for bankers and insiders to steal. It contained a lot of checks and balances, as a concession to the Anti-Federalists. They knew that once a government monopoly is in place, its power only grows over time.
I have a request for a topic I’d like you to cover:
Property taxes
In one of your old blog posts, probably on the Guide to Reality, you referred to any kind of property tax as a sort of “transferable lease”, if I am not mistaken. That if a person has to pay a tax to use or possess his own property, then he doesn’t really own it. At that point he is only renting it. You referenced this concept more than once in a few of your other posts as well.
When you get a chance, would you expand on this concept a little more? I think it might prove useful in getting people to think more critically about the system they live under and what it implies.
I already discussed this topic recently. North Dakota voters considered repealing property tax, but the law didn’t pass.
> If you’re stupid enough to enlist as a soldier, then you deserve all the bad things
> that happen to you.
The Army likes young people to join. I do have some sympathy. When you are in your twenties you are a bit clueless. When you reach your thirties, forties and fifties you are a lot more clued up.
If you are stupid, then you don’t deserve bad things. If you are evil, like hurting people or do it for fun, then I have less sympathy.
Where do you draw the line between stupid and evil on purpose?
An evil person will try to make you believe that he’s stupid and incompetent, rather than doing it on purpose.
It makes no difference if you hurt someone on purpose, or because you’re so stupid you don’t know any better. Either way, the results are the same.
I did say that I’m somewhat sympathetic to soldiers and police who were tricked. However, everyone is individually responsible for what they do.
you have no clue about the military. a lot of soldiers are in there 30s, 40s, and 50s. the military does not brainwash anyone. they train you to do a job and make you a better person.
I did some business with a clown many years ago. He used to work for a very infamous organization that is known across the world for using trickery to make great profits.
Throughout the time I knew this clown, I could never work out whether he was stupid or incompetent. I thought he was stupid as I couldn’t believe anyone could be evil.
Your blog has helped me confirm it is their plan to make you think they are stupid, when they are really tricking you.
I actually thought at the time I should make allowances for their ignorance, but they were all the time just trying to screw money out of me.
You keep telling it like it is, FSK. I’m glad someone finally had the guts to say what many of us have been thinking about the troops. All pro state trolls, including capitain communist or whatever his name is, can go to hell!
I was expecting quite a few hostile comments on this post.
It’s disturbing when all the comments agree with me. I’m surprised there were no comments like on the node.js post, where people call me an idiot for questioning the hype.
This post doesn’t rank in Google, so the only people who read it are my regular readers. Maybe that’s the reason for no hostile comments.
Hire your own private military? Well that will cost you, matter of fact, the security corporations are the ones tax payers have had to pay big time. Not the soldiers, they are paid very little when deployed, most will make less than 30k while deployed. FOR MONEY? How about adventure? Or experience, or about being a part of something bigger than yourself? Look at Ernest Hemmingway, Oliver Stone, or if you ever read up, most the countries greatest leaders were Veterans. Who the hell do you think brought about our INTERSTATE HIGHWAY??? President IKE!!! How do you think we protect our free trade system or how do you think our country manages to have good deals on produce and oil and everything you can think of. It took hundreds of years of sacrifice by the military. With little reward, only since 2009 have Veterans been awarded the benefits they deserve properly. Do you think if we had a weak ass military who did not follow orders we would have the influence in trade that we do? Or the same opportunities in the world?? Do you? No doubt the modern day wars have been filled with multiple agendas and corruption, that has been since the beginning of civilization. Soldiers would never follow orders to hurt their own people I can tell you that much, it goes against the OATH. And it is not about following orders. As the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, I sure as hell hope your not stupid enough to think that we can all privately pay for a military, now that is ignorant. Doesn’t matter whether a war is right or wrong, there always has to be someone there to do a job that most people cannot handle or won’t subject themselves to, because they are too proud and smug to do so and think everyone in the military is stupid and they are too smart and special for the service.
As I stated, it does not matter whether a war is right or wrong, you voted, you have more freedom of speech than any soldier, you elect politicians and they make the call, the same blood is on your hands when you go to walmart, or you pump the gas that goes into your car. If your an American then the American military is your team, your defender, whether your cause is just or not is not up to them. They are people who joined a very tough machine who represent their country. No it’s not perfect, and don’t expect anyone in any organization to be perfect, but it is ours and so that is why with honor as a country we take care of our Veterans!!! Even if a war is wrong at least most of these assholes are scum anyway, they destroyed their cultures and societies even before we arrived. And in any war civilians get hurt. You all sound like you need to read up, cause if anything none of you can even come close to the knowledge of this combat vet. I have the humility to understand that I don’t know everything and I cannot ever assume anything. As far as war goes, some of the greatest men ever alive have been in war. It brings out the very best in humanity and the very worst at the same time, it has to be the one thing that causes people to dig deep inside themselves so much so that they find the beautiful and yet ugly truth of the world. An empty stomach has no ears, but a soldiers empty stomach has no choice but to have his ears in the face of battle, they learn to be more human than the average panicking person in the midst of chaos. The least this country can do is provide them healthcare and pay for their school no matter what you may think it is a sacrifice for America, have some respect. Get your heads out of your asses!!!
Now I feel better, that someone made a stupid pro-State trolling hostile response. Wall of text is never convincing.
If you are an ex-soldier, you risked your life for nothing. I never asked you to do it.
Even if a soldier does have skill and ability, it’s wasted. If you have ability, and use it for evil purposes, that does not deserve respect.
I question that soldiers are the “best and brightest”. They might actually be the “stupidest and poorest”. Is a soldier a hero? Is a soldier someone who will murder you, urinate on your corpse, and keep one of your fingers as a souvenir?
Also, I don’t need a military base in every foreign country. I’m only willing to pay for defense, and not occupying other countries.
Most military spending is pork and waste and corporate welfare.
The evil leaders would have no power, if not for fools who blindly obey orders while thinking they’re heroes. Soldiers don’t deserve respect. “I was just following orders!” is not an excuse when you commit a crime.
You’re a worthless piece of garbage. It’s not a crime to kill people who are shooting at you. You present not a single fact or historical example, just a bunch of “generalizations”. And as far as defense goes, your sorry ass kind of thinking would destroy the entire country.
I am not talking about occupying other countries. Always there will be someone there to follow orders. That goes in any military in the history of the world. It is a service in which you give up your civil liberties in many ways. All you do is sit there and cry, war is bad, crimes, and piss and moan. No facts, no logic, nothing of significance.
All soldiers are poor and stupid? Ha who raised you? Your parents must really suck at life. Are you even from America, you don’t sound like it…”The evil leaders”. I agree that they suck. But listen well you ignorant child, no American soldier is going to kill you and piss on you. If you want to get facts straight most countries in the middle east will do that, and they won’t just kill you and then piss on you, they will saw your head off slowly on camera and let your family see it on the internet. Just sitting there and bad mouthing your own military period in most countries will get you killed, pissed on, or deported. Think there was not a military in 1776? Or in WW2? And most people did volunteer.
Take a good look at the ones you call victims, I don’t think anyone will miss scum bags who treat prisoners like this. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e10_1327978572 Just sit and watch that link. And if you think that kind of evil can’t touch America without the armed forces then you must not even be from here. We have assholes just at our border just like that, go see how great your bullshit flies there. You clearly have not an ounce of humility do you? You must be some kind of Pakistani Exchange student or something, sucking off a the American tit and talking out the side of your mouth.
Why are other people shooting at US soldiers? Is it because they’re evil and stupid? From their point of view, the US soldiers are the evil ones, occupying their homes.
Actually, if I refuse to pay tribute/taxes to my owners, people with guns will come to kidnap/kill me. The soldiers are there to enslave me, more than to protect me.
The country is being ruined, but not by people like me. It’s being ruined by people like you, or more precisely, the leaders you obey without questioning them.
In most countries, I’d wind up in a prison camp for writing a blog like this. That does not excuse the abuses that occur in the USA. “We abuse you less than other people!” does not excuse the abuses that occur.
You are the one arguing with emotion, while I am arguing with logic.
The reason you are upset is because I’m pointing out a truth that contradicts your brainwashing.
Occupations can be self-fueling. The natives don’t like them, so resist. The occupiers don’t like resistance and so defend themselves. A lot of positive feedback and, if not careful, will go on for years.
Check out John T Reeds thinking of wounded warriors http://www.johntreed.com/woundedwarriors.html
The all-volunteer military is a fraud. Grown-ups know that insecure young men are vulnerable to the Hollywood hype and that hundreds of thousands will volunteer for the adventure and chance to impress their friends and make their enemies envious with medals and combat mystique and all that. Grown-ups know the kids who volunteer have no idea what they are getting themselves into. Yet they sin by silence by letting it happen, and by opposing the draft.
“Support our troops” magnets are popular. I got a better idea. Support them by talking them out of being a troop. I told my sons to have nothing to do with the military unless there is a draft and general mobilization of the population for a war. If all parents did the same, there would be a draft U.S. military that fought fewer wars and took far better care to avoid wounded and KIAs.
http://www.johntreed.com/military.html
As an Operation Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn vet I’m glad someone is manning up to take on the sentimentality of the government BS such as this man John T Reed also an Army Vet of the Vietnam War. Keep it up!!
One phrase you should keep in mind is “economic conscription”. Some people are so poor that their best career option may be joining the military. Even then, it’s a bad idea.
The mainstream media repeats “Support the troops!” over and over again. They have to do it, because it’s a lie. Similarly, the mainstream media says “Gold investors are idiots!” over and over again. If something is true, it doesn’t need to be repeated as often as possible.
If anyone in the mainstream media suggests that “Support the troops!” is false, then they are fired and their career is ruined.
http://www.johntreed.com/separation.html
1. Military retirement benefits have long been way too generous. It has long been possible to retire from the U.S. military at age 37 with half pay indexed to inflation and with health care for the retiree and his dependents for life at a cost of one tenth the average cost civilians pay. They should be radically reduced across the board to approximately match civilian benefits. Ideally, the military would end pensions completely and let military personnel prepare for their own retirement the way civilians do with IRAs and home ownership and so on.
Military pilots have no monopoly on risking their lives. Military vets have no monopoly on risking their lives. Uniformed services including military, police, and fire have no monopoly on risking their lives. I read somewhere that the occupation that is the riskiest of all including the military is highway worker. Truth is there is a line of guys wanting into life-risking ocupations like military pilot, police, and firefighter. One of the attractions is that you can brag about risking your life merely by stating your occupation or parading around the civilian world in your uniform. That is a form of compensation itself. Americans must get over their fear of criticizing or even saying no to uniformed employees seeking extra compensation because they risked their lives. Vallejo, CA went bankrupt because of their inability to say no to police and fire demanding more and more pay and benefits. Citizens there joke that P.D. stands for “pay or die” referring to the many police warnings that the citizens will not be as safe if they reject police financial demands.
Regarding to your link, that’s a common trick. If you need to work 20 years to get a pension, then there’s an incentive to fire someone after 18-19 years.
In a startup, if you get options with “4 year vesting, 1 year cliff”, there’s an incentive to fire someone after 11 months. With Zygna and Facebook, early employees had very valuable unvested options, giving dishonest executives an incentive to fire them and weasel out of paying.
It also gives them an incentive to be a risk-averse beauracrat, and a failure to problem solve freely hence the brainwashed “military man” who can’t think outside the box. Like most federal workers just counting the days until they get their fat pensions trying not to screw up. I feel this is a big reason we are losing this war and haven’t won a war since WWII.
The purpose of war is not the “official” public reason.
The true purpose of war is so that insiders and the military-industrial complex can make a lot of money. How much did Blackwater and Halliburton make off the wars? What about all the other military contractors? In some cases, the contractors get paid more than soldiers!
Blackwater and Halliburton existed before the war in Iraq they provide services that the military doesn’t provide or provide at too high a cost. They exist because of war, war doesn’t exist because of them. The war began because of hubris not money, multiculturalism, fear, paranoia, a worship of democracy, a lack of belief in biological determinism, your blaming of the military- industrial complex comes off a little strangely for a free marketer.
Really? How much money do Halliburton and Blackwater spend on lobbying? There also are indirect kickbacks, where former generals are hired as overpaid executives.
As long as the State exists, insiders will abuse it to line their pockets.
The military-industrial complex is completely the opposite of a free market. If you make weapons and sell them to the government, that is not a true free market business.
Im relieved to see that this blog is mainly just the same ass holes going back and forth sucking each other off about there isolated ideals, thanks for confirming that there are a few ungrateful cowards like you out there
Definitely there is alot of corruption going on up there but keep in mind that there have been real cuts in both weapon systems and personnel that have to do with tactical and strategic positioning that have cut back on spending such as the crusader artillery piece and the F-14 Tomcat Fighter-Bomber that were cut because they were better suited for the cold-war than the war on terror. If corruption was the only reason for war then they would still be purchasing them. There IS corruption such as congress forcing the Army to buy tanks when they lack helicopters but saying that this war was due to insider corruption definitely.
The war on terror WAS a real war, the cold war WAS a real war but to say the existed comes off Chomskyish trying to explain every ineptitude, screw up, or falsehood as corporate cronyism by big business. Sometimes we have a false idol or a bad philosophy we can’t shield ourselves from the greater culture.
Do you notice your rambling thoughts and incoherent writing? I’m challenging your pro-State brainwashing.
Also, the military uses twisted logic. A smaller than expected budget increase counts as a budget “cut”.
War is 99% or more about corruption, and only a tiny bit about protecting freedom. It’s mostly waste. Do military bases in foreign countries really protect my freedom? Were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan beneficial, or one big boondoggle?
I spend more than half my income on taxes, and more than half the Federal government’s budget is military. Is the military worth 3 months of my life every year?
The “War on Terror” is a real war? Let me know when the President of Terror surrenders so we can declare victory.
Do you really believe the TSA makes people safer? There are some people who do bad things. That isn’t an excuse to take away everyone else’s freedom and spy on everyone.
Wow!! So WWII, WWI, Indian wars and revolutionary wars all corruption? I fail to see the logic. I was pointing out military corruption by showing how they purchase weapons they don’t need or use in a time of war or for wars they know they won’t fight such as the cold war. I don’t believe a war needs to get hot for things to becime strained. The Soviet Union faught wars even when they wouldn’t profit, Vietnam and China fought, etc. Is there a standard for good wars with you other than self defense such as independence or lack of resources?
Most wars in the past 50 years have been more about corruption than about protecting freedom.
Only self defense or independence is appropriate. That’s the Non-Aggression Principle.
Murdering Native Americans also counts as corruption. You should read about how the US government made and broke treaties with the Native Americans, and then murdered most of them.
IraqII – Iraqi Freedom : Hubris, Multiculturalism
Afghanistan – Enduring Freedom : REVENGE, Hubris, Multiculturalism
Somalia : Multiculturalism, Prop-up corruption in UN
Iraq I – Desert Storm : Petro Dollar (Gold Standard Fallout),$5 million payment to Bush Sr. from the Kuwaitis, several million on the back end I’m sure, Saudis as well,
Saudis offered $16,000 to every serviceman who deployed but Bush wouldn’t let them take it but he got his.
Panama : Blackmail of several US congressmen, money laundering evidence disapearing
Grenada : Show of strength against commies, over-kill on Cuban Army Engineers
Vietnam : Corrupt draft board, military, etc.
Korea : UN prop
I understand but I was showing that even when they fight a war they can’t help but show how corrupt they are by purchasing weapons they don’t need for their war. All of these wars were supported by the public some were even popular by majorities so corruption is something the public has put up with more than we would like to think. The public IS corrupt so we shouldn’t be surprised these wars are created by the same senators and congressmen who brag about taking back more in public money than they pay, getting something for nothing then everyone gets hurt.
That’s my point about the “military-industrial complex”. One big “benefit” of war is the lucrative military contracts. It’s an excuse to spread pork around.
The average worker doesn’t realize how bad the corruption is. Even if they do, they’re powerless to do anything about it. It’s wrong to blame the average slave for the crimes of their leaders.
If the mainstream media did their job, it wouldn’t be so bad. The mainstream media is just a propaganda arm for the criminals.
School is about training people to be obedient slaves, rather than real education.
However, I managed to discover the truth. The Internet is a big help, if you know where to look. However, as just one person, there isn’t much I can do.
If I had to analyze the population, there’s 1% criminally insane people, the Bernard Madoffs. There’s a couple percent that have evil tendencies, but aren’t that skilled. These are typically the middle managers. There’s 1% highly skilled workers, and a couple percent who try to work productively. The middle will follow the example set by others. In our society, evil is held as the role model, and that’s what everyone aspires to be.
Right now, due to a corrupt job market and corrupt economy, the skilled workers aren’t able to match up with jobs that use their skills. That exacerbates the economic problems.
Loved this post. The most stupid excuse that I have every heard was “I was just following orders” or “…just doing my job”. People who follow orders are responsible to the same degree as those who issue them – no question about it.
I also may have made an error. It might be true that “The only veterans who are genuiunely ?disabled are the honest ones.”
While i don’t agree with how the US military is used, the disabled veterans should get a disability check. If you’re going to argue that they shouldn’t, then you should say that they shouldn’t be paid a salary in the first place. If you become disabled in the line of any work, and part of the deal is that you get disability pay, then it’s a no brainer, you should get it. It’s the responsibility of the employer.
The real issue is whether taxpayer dollars should pay for basically what amounts to the private army of an unaccountable, imperalist corporate bloc, shielding their real motives behind fake reasons like “national security” and “the war on terror” and “freedom” and “democracy”, using the media machine to scare the sheeple into believing the bs and joining and supporting the military in the first place.
It’s immoral to receive a paycheck in exchange for committing crimes. Each individual soldier has limited options once he enlisted. It was a mistake to enlist. I have some sympathy for someone who was tricked.
A disability check isn’t compensation for serious injury.
My main point is that a soldier is more of a professional criminal, than a hero.
A decently accurate definition of a state is an entity which has a monopoly on armed force. If this entity and its soldier has agreed that a check should be given in the case of disability, then that should be honored for that reason only.
I realize this validates the soldier’s disability check in the narrowest possible terms. If we widen the issue even just a little, i find that i agree with everything you say.
The “state” which monopolizes this armed force purports to use it for the good of the people and pays its soldiers with the people’s money, however the people (including the vast majority of the soldiers) are intentionally utterly misinformed about the motives for using the military.
I wholly agree that people should be accountable and more responsible for their knowledge generally about the “state” than what its mainstream media tells them, especially in this “age of information”, and more specifically about what our military is used for if they are thinking about joining it or blindly waving the flag supporting it.
If people realized it was used mainly for corporate imperialism and all the official reasons for its use were lies and propaganda, they probably wouldn’t want to join it or have any of their money used for it for any reason.
Even if there was widespread awareness of the evil of the State violence monopoly, there always will be a couple % of people who will eagerly commit crimes in exchange for a paycheck. However, it would be hard for the scam to continue if more people were aware.
Ask a soldier, in the frontline, fighting for his country, what he would give to be back home with his family…ask a disabled war-veteran- wouldn’t he have preferred to not be disabled? I am sure we all know what they would say. Its understandable why many of us would be against wars. Wars truly are evil and no one can ever truly justify the reasons behind a war. But ask yourselves, is it really right to blame a soldier, a war-veteran for the war? Is it not like blaming a gun rather than the killer for a murder? The soldier was the tool, the weapon, but do you incriminate a weapon?
Of course not. Its the murderer who is to be blamed. And in this case the true murderers are the politicians. The politicians make wars happen, and since we are the ones who have elected them, we are partly to be blamed too. We must not let the horrors of war cloud our judgement.
The politicians would have no power, if not for the soldiers and police who blindly obey orders.
There is a big difference between a gun and a soldier. A gun is a tool and an inanimate object. A soldier is a person who’s supposed to think for himself.
Just because you enlist as a soldier, doesn’t mean you lose all moral responsibility for your actions.
I disagree with you friend. It isn’t the soldier that gives the politicians their power, it is the people of this country who should be held accountable for that. We pay taxes, watch the news, vote, conduct our own research into the validity of politicians decisions (or more likely, not), and it is we the people who “stupidly” turn a blind eye to the corporate political agenda of the politicians we elect. Being a soldier does not inherently make a man stupid or a criminal. It makes most of them young. Young people make mistakes. Unfortunately the information these young people have about war, the military and the government comes from the people around them, and the attitudes and messages that their friends and families convey. You are obviously interested enough in the topics you talk about to do the research necessary to adequately express your opinions in an educated way. But the political efficacy of the people, coupled with the ambivalent approach to the politics of their own country, is where this “stupidity” you write of comes from.
If the young people of this country, relying on the words, feelings and [uneducated] opinions of the PEOPLE of this country (and not just the politicians), join because they believe it is good, just, that it will make their families proud, that it will help them pay for college later, that it’s an interesting career — if those young people are irreparably hurt as they undergo the often crippling path to maturity that the military offers — do they not deserve to be compensated by the people who have mislead them? The politicians and CEO’s (often simultaneously) are the manipulative center of a complex web that includes the people themselves. The PEOPLE are responsible in their complacency.
Now. Are there men and women who do criminal things while they serve? Of course, as in any job. But is it fair to label them as criminals simply because they fell headfirst into the rhetoric? Do you think that all people join the military with a complex understanding of economics, political-science, international laws, logic of action vs. logic of consequence theory, corporate to rent-seeking, legislative analysis and Geneva protocols??? Etc. etc. etc.
Would you label every citizen in this country who hasn’t had the opportunity to go to college, or go to college yet, as stupid? These are complex subjects that must be taught; they are not inherent — and I hate to break it to you, but a general public U.S. out-of-high-school education isn’t that good, and many of our young service members only hold GED’s.
Finally, until society steps up to the plate, not by military action but through collectively INFORMED action, we share the responsibility for any harms our service-members have incurred. Some may not deserve it, and others may actually have committed criminal acts while they served, but they are the minority not the majority — and certainly not enough to blanket all soldiers as “criminals”. Should we therefore cut them all off from help? Help that we are partially responsible for?
The answer is unequivocally NO.
Well written article regardless, and I don’t disagree with everything you said.
I know that the government we have today is much closer to a criminal conspiracy than a group of people protecting my freedom. What can I do about it? Voting is a fake choice. It’s ridiculous to say that I’m partially responsible for the crimes of politicians. Whenever I work and pay taxes, I’m supporting their crimes. The only strategy I can think of that would work is agorism, but that also has many problems.
I agree with you that voting is an ineffectual contribution from the individual citizen, at least in presidential elections. But higher turnout in state, county and municipal elections can make a real difference.
We are all responsible. My point is that the majority of the population is complacently uninformed, and that undermines the very evolution of humanity you speak of in your article. One of the greatest things that separates us from the rest of nature is the ability to share knowledge and opinions and better, not only ourselves, but each other. Society would not exist without that human quality.
Radical individualism undermines the concept of evolution, it does not promote it. Radical anything, for that matter, should be taken with a grain of salt. You are indeed right that agorism, that radical branch of libertarian ideology, has many many problems.
In answer to your question, however; what can you do about it? Exactly what you are doing, actually. And I sincerely applaud you for it. If more people had the will and motivation to promote that which they believe in, backed up by research and fact-checking in addition to their personal experiences (such experience can, unfortunately, blind those who believe that experience always equals wisdom), and more people applied a rational and logical analysis of that which they see and hear both from other people and the media, society as a whole will change for the better. We may not see the fruition of those changes we start — I doubt if any of the women who began the women’s rights movements in the early 1800′s lived to see women’s suffrage achieved 100 years later. It was the same with slavery, civil rights and every other noble social cause that was at first resisted by a complacent “majority”.
I may not agree with everything you write, but I appreciate your honesty and encourage you to express yourself however you believe. I write this merely as a gesture of mutual respect, not as an attack.
— Adam
The difficulty with agorism is the difficulty of finding trustworthy trading partners and starting an underground economy. The difficulty is getting started, and not that market anarchism is inherently flawed. It also is difficult, given that most people are brainwashed to be obedient slaves. The State spends a lot of resources tracking down and stopping people who want more freedom.
One example of a functioning underground economy is the market for “illegal immigrants”. Right now, most underground economy jobs are low-wage. I can make a better salary in the State economy, so I stick there for now. As long as I work on-the-books, I’m going to reluctantly pay the tax; I’m not using any of the silly “tax protester” arguments.
It would be nice to see more (L)libertarian politicians and libertarian laws. Unfortunately, the trend is towards more State control. That accelerates the collapse.
One benefit of agorism is that it recognizes that a collapse may be coming. It’s a way to prepare. Right now, I can’t practice agorism for two reasons. First, I don’t know any trustworthy trading partners. Second, my personal circumstances are restricted.
You are a stupid person and that is okay. I was injured severely defending your right to free speech. What you people don’t realize is that we fight on other countries soil so that the wars stay their and do not come to our soil. As a person that has been all over the world and in countries that do nto have free speech, you should thank a soldier every day that we were their to stand up and fight. Without men and women like us we would be a British State, or speaking Japanese. Without us you guys would have nothing.
I went in knowing the risks and now am medically retired. If you have an issue with that tough shit. I believe in free speech and know with certainty that without us there would be none.
Tough luck I guess, or karma knows you good. Fighting in Nicaragua doesn’t count I agree our servicemen deserve more respect, but it is a job with dangers in it, you knew what you were signing up for. I deliver goods to America and I could argue that if our trucks stop America stops. I risk my life on a daily basis bringing you what you take for granted. Ahh a different thought of mind. When it comes time and I believe it will, I will have no problem picking up a weapon and defending my rights as an American. My grandfather fought for my freedom, Not commando teams fighting for US corporations freedoms in lands we should not be. This country is going downhill fast and maybe it is time you start seeing what it is really about. You were fooled into thinking it was for the people of this United States.
“Radical individualism undermines the concept of evolution, it does not promote it.”
When you are at least bright enough to realize why this statement is, in fact completely wrong, then we will talk.
I can tell that the author never served a day in uniform. As for being brainwashed, I hang out with a lot of veterans on my campus daily, and they are smarter and more independent minded than most people I meet, as well as having a lot of valuable skills.
As for intelligence, I am about to complete my Chemistry degree, so as for being a “mindless idiot soldier”, good luck with that.
This guy has absolutely no idea what he is talking about, at least as far as the military and soldiering is concerned.
I’ve heard similar liberal shitspewing before about the military, so it is nothing new.