There is so much going on in the world as of late therefore I couldn't really pick ONE topic only for this space. I am going to ramble on incessantly about various issues. OK I can read those thoughts and they are beyond impure. Wow, I am really shocked over that behavior and will not tolerate it.
Moving along to something, I suppose I should begin by saying once again that I don't believe anything anymore. I should clarify that statement and will do so at this time. What I mean is that I refuse to believe anything emanating from what some call the main stream media. (As a reminder, I generally call it the corporate media or the CIA backed fake media or the corporate propaganda machine. For the purposes of this column I shall call it the CM for corporate media.)
I must remind some that there are 6 corporations that are “in charge” of about 90% of the things that we “know.” That brings me to this, we don't KNOW anything. We only know or think we know something about other countries via the lens of the CM. When I say CM I mean newspapers, television, text books, etc. Just to be clear, this kind of thing has permeated basically all aspects of our institutions.
(I am amused and amazed by the people who claim to KNOW certain things about foreign leaders. Clearly if those people used to live in another country or had some sort of diplomatic job then I get that. I'm talking about the armchair generals and military leaders who think that they know X, Y or Z about Putin and others in leadership. Please admit that you know as much as I about this jazz which would be NOTHING at all! I have an IDEA about some of the truth of the matter but that is only because I take in foreign media and NON corporate media as well.)
I think that last part might have been a digression so I'm heading back to the ownership of the media blather at this point. Those same media dynasties are owned at the very top by those who benefit from war, which would be your defense contractors for one example.
Do you recall when MSDNC (MSNBC) fired Phil Donahue because he was anti-war? I've mentioned this before but feel the need to remind folk as I think some are forgetful these days, which is becoming more clear with each passing day. More about that in a bit.
We had all sorts of former generals sitting around tables analyzing this and that as it related to Iraq. Little did the “news” outlets mention whilst interviewing these people that most had left the military and were employed by those very defense contractors that also owned said media. Allow me to give you an example of this in today's world, like you have a choice.
Every time the Washington Post is mentioned on television or in other media there should be a disclaimer explaining to the consumer that it is linked directly to the CIA. You see, my darling and very sweet readers, the same person who owns Amazon also owns the Washington Post. He received a 600 million dollar contract from the CIA for cloud storage via the Amazon portion of the dynasty or monopoly or whatever you call it when one person owns so darned much.
Is this confusing to you? It seems so to me and I'm the one trying to impart information in a way that is fairly easy to digest. I'm trying so please give me an A for effort. Thank you for your consideration on this issue and others.
Moving along, the North Korea talking points being spoon-fed to us these days are suspect, to say the least. Might I remind people about how all of the outlets back in the day led us directly into a war? In other words, “we” invaded a sovereign country without any provocation. Yet right now I see the same kinds of scare tactics taking place on television and through print media with people totally believing it. Do citizens really have memories like that of a gnat? I thought my mother was the only one—wait, that was attention span of a gnat, not a memory like one but, I digress.
For the love of all things loving, please don't believe the garbage being fed to us by CM as it is directly connected with the military industrial complex. There are foreign outlets and also American outlets that are non corporate and provide a more truthful analysis. One that I highly recommend is called “The Real News Network” and is based in Baltimore. You can find it with ease via You Tube on the internet. I know that cable companies don't carry this or I doubt it very strongly since they are all corporate overlords as well.
I'm done with the North Korea portion of this delightful and very uplifting piece and shall swiftly segue into another gripe.
First of all, or second of all, an idea or a talking point does not become a law via “tweet.” A few weeks ago the president tweeted (that is something I never thought I'd type but here I am doing so) about not allowing transgender individuals to serve in the military.
I consider this whole thing to be a wedge issue simply bantered about to cause people to fight and take their eyes off of things going on in Congress but what the heck do I know? STOP again with those thoughts. I'm crushed.
A certain segment of society which is fond of declaring that people should “pull themselves up by bootstraps” and how 'merica was founded on “rugged individualism” were the first to comment on this. In doing so, they ALL used the same bumper sticker sentiment. This never ceases to amaze me. Those who claim to be so very individualistic and all that happy horse *&%$ all have the EXACT same talking points consistently.
If I heard or read this once, I read or heard it a thousand times: “The military is NOT a social experiement.” Well, I have some news that might rock your world “majorly” so hold on. Indeed the military IS a social experiment and always has been.
Where else are you pretty much stripped of many rights upon taking the job? Where else is sleep deprivation a part of everyday life? Where else are you taught to totally obey orders even if said orders rub you the wrong way? There are many other aspects that lead me to my conclusion but space does not permit my unpacking of the story any further. Please refrain from those sighs of relief. I must remind you that Todd the Cat is very light and becomes airborne each time you carry out such activities.
Just one more thing before I exit stage left: The military is the most socialistic organization in the US of A. Wait!! Did I just say something about socialism? Just ponder on it for a bit but here are some clues as to why this is true. Those who enter receive health care, housing and education to name three things only. Not only but their families receive the same. I'm not indicating that it's a bad thing either I just wish that we could extend that to the whole population. Our military budget has really reached levels of absolute absurdity at this point. Can we maybe attempt to audit the Pentagon and soon?
I know, I know, I am simply full of (stop that thought) silly ideas these days. On that note, I must dash. I don't even have a catchy cute way to casually end this piece so I shall simply take my leave. STOP it! I have to run over to Atlantic and fetch Todd all due to your enthusiasm.
THE END (Interstate Crosscheck and AIPAC)