Does EVERY Democratic leader serve the repuke Military Industrial Complex?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

Is anyone watching the Senate Hearings.

Watch the machine live and in action every day on C-SPAN! Report here on comments by rep and dem leader to create a running DU discussion and record. If ANY top politician failed to serve the military machine could he even come close to raising the funds needed to win high office?

Even congresspeople who truly desire to serve their districts must cater to the complex to win defense factories and other job related interests in their states.

Allowing the Machine to operate in the Mid-East only serves the ultra rich, while it creates new terrorism in epidemic proportions. As a direct result of Iraq war reports on AL-J TV Muslims are now protesting world-wide as a unified force.

Here's a neat solution:

http://www.truemajority.org/oreos/

Right now, Gen Peter Shoomaker is smirking and lying much better than the average chimp!

[RufusEarl]

1. Quick answer, Yes!

[Jeffersons Ghost]

3. Nice to meet you rufus

post your opinions on the hearings here in a running thread later if you like rufus... thanks for the early kick... how about a vote?

[RufusEarl]

9. Right back at'cha!

What vote Ghost? just waking up.......

[Jeffersons Ghost]

11. doesn't that star by your name mean you get to vote on threads

At DU rufus? I'm kinda new here and it's what I think I read somewhere..

[RufusEarl]

13. I better go back and read the by laws again. I really enjoying voting!

[Jeffersons Ghost]

17. rummy lies like a persian rug

now he's saying what a great job the fed did with Katrina!

[Greeby]

2. Maybe we should make this guy the leader

:patriot:

[Jeffersons Ghost]

4. who's that?

Greeby?

[Greeby]

5. Dennis Kucinich

You don't know of Dennis? Oh dear :(

Look at his issues page, whats not to like?

http://www.kucinich.us/issues/

[Jeffersons Ghost]

14. i didn't ave to skim far to see what you mean greeby

I like the sound of UNIVERSAL healthcare... If we want to truly unimpower and deminish (never "defeat") terrorism we will feed ALL the children of the world and furnish them healthcare.

If they named the program JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN, I bet mosts ateists on the planet wouldn't even complain.

I'll read more on your guy later and get bak to you but Russ (my guy), I like his approach to USA anti-Patriot Act.

[MrBenchley]

6. LOL!

Hapless Dennis couldn't get even ten percent of the voters as Ohio's favorite son in the Buckeye state's primary in 2004....he's just the boyo, all righty!

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MrBenchley]

10. Guess all you got is freeper slurs and personal attacks

[Jeffersons Ghost]

18. with my flame bait headlines, im DUs No 1 read writer by freepers

They lash out at me becuse I put them in touch with Christian values that make them deeply analyze their actions, Benchley.

[MrBenchley]

20. I bet they feel right at home....

[Jeffersons Ghost]

21. i hope so mr benchley

My threads are a great chance for them to see the truth... what did you think of the link i furnished? I hope EVERY reader has the guts to comment on that link! Do you have the guts to post your opinion on the grass roots movement it describes?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

29. what???????????????????????

No reply mt benchley??????? Like my readers, I wonder why you attacked someone elses Dem hero and then had no guts to reply to me.

[mdmc]

31. your still here?

congrats!

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. A better question

Are there any federal politicians of any stripe who do not serve the military-industrial complex?

[Angry Girl]

12. No, it's a prereq to being an Amerikan politician

And I really like your avatar, TechBear - it always makes me grin!

[Jeffersons Ghost]

19. that's right Techbear, thanks for refocussing the thread

I think we might have curbed the monster a bit back when Ike first warned us of the impending doom but it's too late now, unless we get real solid on a grass-roots level and I MEAN CURB THESE DEVISIVE ISSUES OF RACE, POLITICS AND RELIGION AND SEND ALL THE LEADERS A MESSAGE... Just like ben did in the link. did you open it?

[TechBear_Seattle]

22. The Eisenhower quote you mentioned:

From Eisenhower's farewell address, January 17, 1961:

Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual – is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

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. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

The full speech, which is fairly short, can be found at: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/ike.htm

And I haven't opened the link yet; we've got a pretty tight reign on internet useage where I work. As an admin, I can get some leeway, but I try really hard not to be obvious about it :dilemma: Movies and other graphics wait until I can get home.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

23. thanks techbear

thanks for the ike speech... you'll love the link i think!

[winston61]

15. they all serve the MIC-

The mic has been very clever in spreading themselves into nearly every congressional district in the country.They insulate themselves from harm this way. They simply contract out work that they could very easily do under one roof to hundreds of local contractors and then they get a lock on a congressman's short and curlies from the time they enter office. The goal that gets the hard sell to congress is to increase defense spending by 4% per cent every year. Except for this year when it's what, 7%? It works, the repubs run on the fear ticket and the pussy Dems won't stand up and say no. If someone does say no, then Lockheed threatens to cancel the work in the Dem's district. Works ever time.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

24. you're right on it there, winston

I say if we feed and educate world-wide we will use very little of the defense budget and make friends and trading partners world-wide while breaking down terrorism at it's roots.

[NCarolinawoman]

16. Wes Clark calls it "Make-want". He agrees with Eisenhower:

"Beware the Military Industrial Complex."

I do wonder how far someone could get in their political career. During the primaries, Wes Clark said he would like to "break up the monopoly of the mainstream media" and also go after the Pentagon because he "knows where all the skeletons are buried". He didn't like the fact that "Republicans cared more about weapons systems than soldiers". I suppose this could apply to some Democrats if the weapons are made in their district.

Now General Clark did "okay" for a neophyte politician, but I do think his honest statements may have harmed his chances in some way.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

25. that's been an ongoing complaint in these hearings

It's like spending billions on developing more deadly planet annihilating weapons, as if we really need anymore, while ignoring the needs of the US service person... I heard one senator say they "charged a wounded GI over $700" because they burned his body armour as a bio-hazard.

they discharged him and sent him a bill... he wasn't considered permanently disabled and had to ask friends to help pay the bill.

[holdyourbreath]

26. evidently, not everyone here realizes that Kerry falls into that category

at least, for all intents and purposes.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

28. which contender for high office doesn't holdyour?

It's the real evil and the more we feed it the hungrier it gets... Ultimatly it devours the whole budget.

Kerry would back out of the Mid-East though and stop some of the economic bleeding.

[radio4progressives]

27. I'm convinced that's what the Alito vote was about... all else flows from

there.

[mdmc]

30. sad..yes...

[Jeffersons Ghost]

32. mdmc

did you open the link and see the solution? It's sad but not hopeless.

[mdmc]

33. I did not...but then I did...I am already a member...

peace and low stress. a :kick: for hope.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

34. I'm now a member too...

Another true blue posted this link on one of my threads the other day and it was so good I felt it needed more attention... I even got some others i know personally to join the org... This type of approach is all that can save amerika now... The top 3% loves divisive issues like, race, religion ans politics because if not for those issues people will start focusing on the REAL problem in Amerika, which is THEM!

[mdmc]

35. peace

:kick: hope!

[Jeffersons Ghost]

36. I just got two more republicans to join this grass roots

thanks ben!

They even agreed that if a couple of cookies might balance social security it wouldn't be a bad allocation of taxes.

I think if ben had made a social security stack of cookies it would become a democratic approach instead of non-partisan but the SS stack would be about half the size of defense.

[mdmc]

37. glad some gop are listening

peace

[JudyM]

38. We desperately need new standards for conflicts of interest in Washington.