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I consider this a Radical Gumbo, with many varied ingredients making more than the sum of its parts. We are no-holds barred, passionate and not overly PC here. Yes, Liberals can have Fangs. Jump in and be part of the cutting edge!
The holiday is over. Hopefully, you were able to kick back on a pontoon boat in the middle of a lake and suck down some beer, watch fireworks and gain some well needed respite.
This morning I want to talk about hard truths and realities.
9 billion for war in a country that has no tanks, air force, or navy. It's estimated there are less than 100 al-Qaeda in Afghanistan but we lost that many service members last month.
The sucking sound you hear is our government working behind the scenes to cut what little safety net exists while funneling billions to an already failed military adventure. The Senate republicans and a select few dems are foolishly obstructing extending unemployment benefits to the long term jobless.
In 1983, the National Film Board of Canada produced a 57-minute film, "Anybody's Son Will Do". Arguably the best anti-war film ever made, and tailored for public television, it scared the hell out of the U.S. military machine, which has done its best to "disappear" it. For years it has been nearly impossible to find a copy, but some kind soul has posted it on YouTube where it can be seen in six segments.
The film shows the process by which young men become psychologically engineered to kill or die on command. While the model used is the U.S. Marine Corps, it's made clear that the modern techniques for creating soldiers are refined, dehumanizing and universal.
Military forces will take boys as young as the law allows, as witness African militias that, unrestrained by regulation, recruit children as young as ten. People into their twenties, having begun to think for themselves to too great a degree, tend not to be sufficiently malleable. In the U.S., recruitment below age 17 is not legal. However, as war has become ever more computerized, need is growing for tech-savvy recruits who can kill coolly and indiscriminately from great distances, as if playing video games. The military has become very good at video games.
