The problem lies with some of the big corporate interests, hegemony and destructive control, far beyond what Ike may have imagined.
It's very difficult to not work with big evil these days. CSC, L-3, Lockheed, these guys are a cancer that is nearly intractable. Assume that for each big contractor there is a Department within our Government that is under their total control. Department of Labor/BAE systems. FEMA/General Dynamics, TN State/EDS.
To the average American the question could be, "These guys are making things efficient and saving taxpayers money". This is a total lie, they are making sure that they get paid, they are running the Government and destroying Democracy. They say when to go to war, the war that they wage daily against you and me, and big ones, like the profitable adventure in Iraq.
You simply are not going to change the behavior of a huge profitable organization like CSC without serious upheaval. It's a great gig for the chosen few.
If you saw Biden's "Support the Troops" rant last Sunday he was hard at work for this industry. The big "D" is meaningless, he's been hard at work making sure these gangsters draw blood and paychecks, crushing and outright denying basic quality of life to so many Americans.

I'm sure most bloggers would agree with your comments. But your preaching to the choir. Strategy. We need a strategy. Stating the obvious over and over accomplishes nothing.I think we have defined the problem adequately.

The democriters are NOT going to impeach ANYONE! They like the idea of a unitary executive because they will be in the oval office one day. The Democriters have voted against the American people time after time. Tort reform: No liability for large corporations, the bankruptcy law, FISA, Clean air, you name it the Dems are for it if it benefits big business and screws the people. Add the tax cuts in and you see what I mean. There is no hope of ending the abuses of this gang of thugs in the White House because the Dems want the same ability to abuse power for themselves and their cronies. A revolution is what's needed. A bloody one! But, Amerikins are not that smart or brave. They will eat all the shit served to them until there's no shit, or anything else left to eat. Then they will start to scream and, Maybe take action. But, of course it will be too late by then. And I'm an optimist.

War is a private enterprise

The owners of America's monopoly media, and Rupert Murdoch in particular have brainwashed, betrayed and corrupted the people to the point that many can no longer distinguish between good and evil. Wrapping themselves in the flag and religion, Republicans have bombed and invaded two Arab countries rich in natural resources. Opium, heroin and oil are extremely lucrative cash crops. The war profiteers plan to invade Iran and Syria not to protect our oil supplies, but to allow corporate fascists to steal it. Everyone knows that, and yet many Americans are indifferent to the death and destruction our leaders (representatives) in both parties have unleashed on the world.

As long as war remains the most profitable private enterprise know to man, peace loving people will have their backs to the wall. The warmongers and profiteers sheep-dip our people in fear, lies and hate, 24/7. No one likes to admit they are brainwashed, but surely enough of us now recognize that this is the case. That boob-tube in your living room is a dispenser of lies, fear, hate and evil. And newspapers are no better.

Contrary to what millions of Americans think, war is no longer about national defense, it's become a private enterprise owned and operated by obscenely rich plutocrats. We never meet these people because they live behind walls of government corrupting wealth and power. They hold the power of life and death for millions of people in their hands, while we stand shocked and awed.

Can we also no longer distinguish between truth and lies?

Why do we submit to this insanity and evil?

.

I appreciate Phil Nash's informative article. It makes things clearer regarding why Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, support war. The U.S. engaging in war is no longer about defense as no country would dare attack the world's superpower. The dropping of two atomic bombs on Japanese civilians decades ago discouraged any aggression against the U.S.

It's all about evil, greedy people with no conscience, pretending to be religious Christians, making money off of war and killing millions of people while doing so. It's puzzling why Americans are so passive about these evil leaders using their tax money in such a manner.

There's a saying among businessmen that sums up what we're up against when we talk about the military-industrial complex: "money talks, and bullshit walks."

It means that money trumps all, and those without money have zero power and therefore everything they say is just meaningless "bullshit!" even if they're honorable, talented, or right. It's the Capitalist way!

I am with dougrambo. I much appreciate the articles and discussions. The articles foster many great discussions. However, instead of pointing out the obvious problems we face through a variety of articles, how about an article on strategy to change them, i.e. if a legal scholar could outline the ways we can legally abolish our government as infuriated citizens who no longer approve of it. How about strategies to inform those who do not read the articles on CD, stoke the fire in them to protest, and inform them how to take back their country? Since the political process has failed, and many voters to an extent are responsible for putting these incompetent assholes in power, we must now devise a strategy to change it. Suggestions??

There is no time for strategy; the time to protest is now; only by massive public protest will politicians change policy.

Currently, there are only a few individuals and a few students who protest again, and again, and again. Meanwhile, all the rest stay home for one reason or another.

Will you be going to the September 15th protest in DC? How many friends will you inform of this protest? Or, can you shut down 'main street' in your town on Sept. 15th?

Change will not come easily and some of the process can be ugly.

Bush & Cheney, and most of the others are just lackeys for the ruling elite. JFK tried to go against their sadistic will (with Vietnam) and they had him killed. The problem in the USA is far deeper rooted than most people imagine.

98% of our congress/senate is corrupt. They are not supporters of peace, justice, & human rights as they'd like everyone to believe. They are shallow, pathetic little egos who want to protect the quite sinister American way (status quo).

EMP Wall Street.

Blockade the roads leading to defence contractors.

Arrest ALL members of Blackwater.

Block sewer lines with sponges. Cut phone and power lines. Sabotage cars and trucks. Damage and disrupt rail transport. Scuttle ships in harbour. Burn government offices. Destroy oil refineries. Rob banks.

These are all actions open to a popular resistance. All of these actions were approved of by YOUR govenment for use on other countries. Sauce for the goose and all.

The majority of these actions were used successfully during the partisan resistance in France, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Germany durin WWII. Maybe it's time to start using them again...

Good article, rehashing what's already known and obvious to almost all of us here on the CD. However, the author is writing from a fantasy world where the rules of the law and the Constitution prevail, where Congress members are elected by the people and are responsive to the will of their constituents, and where citizenry is knowledgeable and alert.

The present reality is that the U.S. government is now run by corporate Mafia. This corporate Mafia elects and installs its political front men into office by using dubious voting machines in rigged elections. Under such conditions it really makes no difference whether you have a Democratic or a Republican president, and which of the two has the majority in the Congress. If the citizenry hasn't yet wised up to this fact, then they richly deserve what they got. Unfortunately, however, this affects the rest of the world, like a lousy quarterback messing up the entire team.

It's now obvious that people can no longer change this government constitutionally by legal maneuvering peacefully. Yet again, the Constitution has provided citizenry's last resort: A well armed militia to annihilate this undemocratic government. Good luck, and let's see if you are as free and brave as your schoolbooks claim.

"Stating the obvious over and over accomplishes nothing.I think we have defined the problem adequately."

BINGO!

THE PROBLEM: Getting a vast majority of citizens to actually JOIN TOGETHER to make something happen. There is not only safety in numbers, there is also GREAT POWER in numbers.

THE OVERRIDING PROBLEM: The above can't be done. It was tried with "No Pump Day"--a failure. It is being proposed (AGAIN) to not pay taxes. Well, sadly, most workers have a direct theft from their paychecks BEFORE the fact. And those that don't are afraid of the big, bad wrath of the IRS.

THE SOLUTION: Given the above--NONE! Writing to the choir is merely release. Writing to elected officials is writing to the walls. "We The People" are merely pawns in a much biger fgame to which we are forbidden entry.

'Strategy. We need a strategy.'

Too late.

3...

The strategy is to demand that we share the world's resources more equitably to end poverty, starvation, and war as well as the distrust and hopelessness that acts as a breeding ground for terrorists.

Demand Justice. Justice through Sharing. Keep up the hope and energy, everyone! Positive developments are indeed happening amid all the madness, though they may not be obvious.

celebrity,

Patience is a great virtue. The opportunity to make a great change will likely come in the not too distant future. The empire is too overextended to maintain itself for long. The biggest secret the predatory corporations and their government stooges like to keep from the common rubes is that our world is of unbounded complexity and impossible to totally predict or control (religion can be useful in maintaining the illusion that it is predictable). It may all go terribly badly (totalitarian fascist government, implanted computer chips, decimation or enslavement of the great majority, etc...) without any reasonable opportunity for progressives or other responsible citizens to affect the outcome, but that seems unlikely. All empires have vulnerabilities and all, eventually, succumb, and it appears that time is fast approaching for the US empire.

So...Real...How about some substantive links???

As a foreigner looking in, it baffles me that even on such progressive blogs as this nobody is calling for inquiries into the clear reality that 6 years ago the US was attacked by...AMERICANS! The current administration has not only the blood of the last 5 years and 364 days on its hands, but also the blood of september 11th, the evidence is LIMITLESS! The only strong voice in the States that is getting the message out on this one is a racist populist from Texas (Alex Jones), where are the real progressives on this one??? Professors, students, bloggers, etc... need to generate the momentum on this one that will eventually lead to the critical mass of dissent which we are all waiting so patiently for. THIS IS THE BIG ONE! THIS HAS TO BE YOUR STRATEGY! Of the innumerable ills which we can pin on this administration and its allies, they can all be 'justified' in the eyes of most americans (it appears), with a simple reference to the convenient 9/11 myth which most people have swallowed every morning for the past six years like a vitamin. Once this myth is destroyed and the truth comes out...that it was a false flag operation...then you will have the consensus and will necessary for the overthrow we (the world) all NEED. The 9/11 truth shall set us free.

Real Eyes etc...ICH has has some informative and heated blogs on the 9/11 fiasco. Check them out..some are archived. I totally agree that the truth of 9/11 will set us free and I, for one, will not stop spreading the truth. Here's a petition you may sign...........http://www.PetitionOnline.com/unsan01/petition.html
............No diminishing of Common Dreams..they are doing a great job!

It's really the military industrial congressional TAXPAYER complex, and it's up to us to cut off that last crucial link that holds it together.

The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee is launching a 2008 War Tax Boycott (http://wartaxboycott.org/).

1,500 American anti-war activists were surveyed recently, and they were asked, among other things: "Would you consider participating in a one-year commitment to refuse a portion of your federal income taxes and redirect your taxes to a humanitarian cause if thousands joined you publicly?"

Of those who had never done any war tax resistance before, fully two-thirds said yes. (Of those who had done war tax resistance in the past but were not currently resisting, more than three-quarters said yes.)

So over the last several months, members of NWTRCC have organized just such a campaign. Early endorsers of the campaign include Voices for Creative Nonviolence, the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, and the Nonviolent Direct Action Working Group of United for Peace and Justice.

What You Can Do:

If you're already a war tax resister, we need you to sign up so we can add you to our roster. If you're comfortable including your name and home town in promotional material related to the tax strike, check the box on the registration form to allow this. The more people register, the bigger the campaign becomes, and the more persuasive our numbers are to people who are hesitating, just waiting for the bandwagon to get crowded enough.

If you're not yet a war tax resister, now's the time to start. Sign up for the campaign on-line (if you're not sure whether you're ready to resist or not yet, just check the box beside "I need more information before I can commit to resisting this year.") Then read the brief "Getting Started in War Tax Resistance" guide (available on the site) to learn what steps you need to take now so that you can join us in resisting some or all of your federal income tax next April, and to learn all about how the government is likely to react to your resistance.

Register, Resist, then Redirect

Once you've registered with the campaign and decided how and how much you are going to resist, NWTRCC encourages you to take that money you're refusing to give to the war funders in Congress, and redirect it instead to a more worthy cause. (If you're resisting taxes by lowering your income below the tax line, you may not have anything to redirect, but that's okay too!)

The 2008 War Tax Boycott campaign is recommending two charities: The Common Ground Health Clinic in New Orleans, and Electronic Iraq's Direct Aid Initiative for Iraqi refugees. You can also join with others to redirect your taxes through a war tax resisters' redirection fund, such as the People's Life Fund run by Northern California War Tax Resistance. Or, of course, you can always just write a check to your favorite cause.

Whatever you choose, please let NWTRCC know about it so we can keep a running tally of how much money resisters have diverted away from the war and toward worthwhile projects. (If you donate to Common Ground or the Direct Aid Initiative, let them know that you're donating redirected taxes and they'll do the tallying for us.)

Spread the Word!

Once you've signed up, don't be shy about it! Let people know you've taken a stand. And the next time somebody complains to you about the War or about the government, ask them if they've stopped paying for it yet and direct them to http://wartaxboycott.org/.

kivals September 11th, 2007 3:43 pm
Patience is a great virtue. The opportunity to make a great change will likely come in the not too distant future. The empire is too overextended to maintain itself for long.

Exactly! Unto everything there is a season...I believe the reason that the efforts of the many to STOP THE MADNESS has been futile, is because, it is not yet time. As horrific as it is, this thing has to play itself out. At some point, and at the rate we are self-destructing it is probably not too far off, the PTB will over-extend themselves to the breaking point. That is the moment we must be prepared to act decisively. Until then...every dog must have its day and that includes rabid/feral dogs.

By the way, Kivals, I would just like to take this opportunity to say how much I have enjoyed your posts over the past couple of years. You seem to be a very insightful person.

Here is one solution to ending the M/I/C complex taken from a former thread:

Incorporate We the People into a private, for profit corporation to give us a level playing field against the warmongering financial institutions and corporations of the oligarchy?

We could charge broadcasters a realistic fee for the use of our public airwaves, charge the oil companies for the use of our public lands and a fair percentage from the oil extracted (like Chavez does), charge the mining industry for a percentage of our minerals extracted, and on and on.

If we had equal, non-transferable shares in our trillions of dollars worth of the public's resources, then these would truly belong to the public. The dividends each of us received from their leases would lift many Americans out of poverty.

As a for profit corporation, We the People could have an administration that works for us, not for other corporations. And we could vote to hire and fire them at stockholders meetings according to their performance. We the People incorporated would make decisions, not the oligarchy's politicians.

As a corporation, We the People could decide to do business only with ethical corporations that will not pollute our air, water and land. That would not sacrifice our young for war profiteering and give us world peace. That would carry out the democratic will of We the People, not of the corporations and financial institutions of the oligarchy.

We could pay our corporate administrators fair salaries from the dividends we accrue and decide how much we want to spend on defense. We could buy out many industries to the point that We the People would be the largest corporation, working for our collective benefit.

We mostly dislike or even hate corporations for good reason, yet we continue to buy their cars, gas, shop at their mega-stores, watch their tv programs, etc.. Corporations as faceless machines that produce money often work against We the People. Their efficiency and economies of scale guarantee that they will stay on their mindless money-making paths until they destroy the planet.

We can complain loudly and constantly, but as individuals, we are fairly powerless against corporations. That is unless we turn things on their head and organize by incorporating ourselves.

By becoming a corporation, We the People will be the largest, richest and most powerful corporation, against which all others will be forced to compete.

ezflyer:

I read that on the other thread and think it's a great idea, along with the tax resister thing.

I think we should try both.

If we both incorporate and use our redirected tax $$$, we could out-fund Bill Gates!! Even if every redirector contributed five bucks, given that millions of us actually do this.

I say starve the bastards and overwhelm them somehow.

Democrats are as imperialist as republicans, and are paid by the same elites and corporations. They are fully in favour of the Bush wars, and are totally beholden to the israeli temple of evil. Don't expect them to even consider impeaching Bush and Cheney. They like these criminals because the elites' interests are well served by them. Welcome to one-party fascist Amerika, soon to be a third world country in a devastating depression, but with the elites in both parties well insulated from its ravages.

I spent 20 years living with my family outside the ordinary capitalist experiment, in a sustainable farming community , ....the true revolution is simply finding a job which allows one to work in various part-time arrangements and avoid paying taxes to the bureaucrats. Also: cease to use quanitities of petroleum, not a difficult thing really, if you just sit down to think it out. Also, eat simply. also: learn to cooperate with your friends and co-house, co-travel, co-exist. Hey us hippies were right, what can i say...Too bad about the advanced state of disrepair our old nation has reached. Looks like its too late. I advise moving to any self-sustainable food-growing area in the world, and learning to cooperate. LIfe is still good, but the guarantees are off now.

Why don't we let these guys put their logos on their products sold to the government and charge them accordingly - why they could sponsor tanks, rifles, bullets, bombs, whatever. Let that be the money to finance a war so we can keep our tax dollars for health, education, SSA, Food inspections, etc.

2...

More corporation is a great idea. The public has been unruly lately, getting a bit mouthy. Nothing cures that better than a good authoritarian corporation, where the right to make noise rises exactly in lockstep with one's status in the corporation.

The antiquated idea of decentralized power in the hands of the individual is a hopeless concept of Democracy. While Fascism is making so much progress, let's help it along with another swollen corporation bent on imposing its will on an objectified pool of laborers.

The posts are getting better than the actual articles these days.

Come on CD give us some better stuff or start referring some of your posters to the progressive journalism outlets.

Some asked for suggestions. Here is one:

http://socialismmarxdeleonforarealunion.org/index.html

As I wrote on another thread, the US government is illegitimate and NO taxes should be paid to it. This is the essence of the Doctrine of Nullification and the basis for secession. Godzilla is the US federal government, and its blood is tax dollars; stop feeding the beast, and it will die. Yes, it will convulse and thrash about, but it will die. As the Japanese filmaker well knew, it is the primary threat to all life on earth. The only thing that's changed since Godzilla's Japanese language original is that the monster has grown even more terrible.

I agree with Nader "Big Business and Government are one in the same now." But to put things in Bushmonkey religious terms that even a NeoCon can understand the U.S. Government is really:

Behold the Beast of Revelations! It wants to control your ever move and monitor every thought you make. And tally every penny you make.

So I recommend full noncooperation. Don't file returns. Barter. Use cash only. Destroy your corporate "loyalty" cards that they track your habits with. I take corporate surveys all the time, and skew the data up on them. Answer every question fictitiously so their marketing is dicked up. I do everything I can to make "data mining" and wiretapping unreliable pursuits. Use the "B" word on the phone all the time just to wasted their time. They want to snoop, I'm going to be so long-winded and animated, that those gov turds will want to hang themselves by their headsets.

I have only but begun to fight the terrorists in the White House/Boardrooms.

pacplyer