In this series Dredd Blog has taken up the project to conduct an objective look at the nature of the U.S. government (The Government of MOMCOM: Wartocracy).
In so doing we have cast off the shackles of the names the government gives itself --the names the government thinks it should use to describe itself (see Why Does MOMCOM Hate America? which notes the name change from Department of War to Department of Defense).
In the final analysis, since the time that it became addicted to the oil that was under the lands of foreign nations in the Middle East, Wartocracy has been the form of government that most aptly describes the heart and soul of the entirety of the U.S. government as well as its allies in Western Civilization (The Universal Smedley - 2).
It is a government whose vast military has an internal spy empire (Homeland Security Happy Daze - 2) which incessantly, "24/7", spies on the communications, political discourse, and business activity of its citizens (On The Origin of Security - 2).
So, when we look at the secular belief system of the founders (The Greatest Source Of Power Toxins?), it becomes fair to wonder (along with some generals) and it becomes fair to analyze all the dynamics involved, in order to discern the time or era when the coup took place (A Tale of Coup Cities - 4).
It is a long way from a Constitutional Republic (containing a democratic design for electing people who are to officially manage the cares of the electorate) to a military ideology gone so crazy that it morphs those traditional government dynamics into a Wartocracy.
It is also a long way from believing that war is an unfortunate social disease to believing that war is a form of art (Is War An Art or Is War A Disease?).
For example, "The U.S. military now has more people in its marching bands than the State Department has in its foreign service" (The Big Taboo, NY Times).
The previous post in this series is here. Subterranean Homesick Blues, Dylan; lyrics here.
"A way" captured in the notion of "Highway 61", a way which requires analysis and decision.
Another name for it is The W Direction, but whatever name you choose, it is the wrong way to go.
It leads to a net loss, and it never reaches the proper place that all government actions should aim for, and should therefore also always end up, which is a place called the public good (The Common Good - 2).
All government actions should end up increasing the public good, but motoring down Highway 61 in the W direction is guaranteed to end up doing the public bad.
Even presidents of noble stature cannot bring themselves to give up their slaves, even though they know and say they should (Dark Side of Thomas Jefferson).
Science mysteriously gets messed up in a struggle with philosophy (Science v philosophy), then its own moorings begin to drift concerning even the notion of time and natural law (Think about Nature).
Like Alice, after she fell down the rabbit hole, nothing seems to fit into the traditional reality that existed when the trip began (Obama Administration Rides Into The W Sunset).
Let's talk about the religion of Oil-Qaeda, which has tenets that have now become government policy.
The religious tenet, which they try to pass off as science, is epitomized in the Bible's old testament book of Kings:
So Elijah went to Zarephath, and as he came to the town gate, he saw a widow gathering firewood. “Please bring me a drink of water,” he said to her. And as she was going to get it, he called out, “And please bring me some bread, too.” She answered, “By the living LORD your God I swear that I don’t have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour in a bowl and a bit of live oil in a jar. I came here to gather some firewood to take back home an d prepare what little I have for my son and me. That will be our last meal, and then we will starve to death.” “Don’t worry, “Elijah said to her. “Go on and prepare your meal. But first make a small loaf from what you have and bring it to me, and then prepare the rest for you and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says; ‘The bowl will not run out of flour or the jar run out of oil before the day that I, the LORD, send rain.’” The widow went and did as Elijah had told her, and all of them had enough food for many days. As the LORD had promised through Elijah, the bowl did not run out of flour nor did the jar run out of oil.
(1 King 17:10-16, emphasis added). Now let's hear what the International Energy Agency wants us to believe, as well as some opposing scientists, so we can compare the conflicting stories:
So, what is peak oil? In short, peak oil will occur when the extraction rate of this resource ceases to rise. Typically, this point is reached when half or less of a natural commodity has been removed. It is the peak of the bell curve; the point at which the tail is longer than the rise to the top.
Last month, Time reported that peak oil had been certified dead by the International Energy Agency (IEA). It seems that unconventional energy sources in North America have delayed the onset of peak oil. To proclaim that peak oil is dead, however, is a little misleading. It would be more accurate to say that peak oil is dormant, or at least, that the rate at which oil is extracted is likely to continue on a bumpy plateau for longer than anticipated.
Of course, it is possible to argue over the exact point at which global peak oil will arrive, but at some time in the not too distant future, we are going to have deal with this problem. Oil is a finite resource and as such, it cannot sustain indefinite extraction.
(Preparing for Extinction of Petroleum Man, emphasis added). The oil barons want us to believe they can do the same oil miracle that the prophet Elijah did for the widow.
Is it good government policy to believe that petroleum is not a finite resource which will become more and more scarce as it is used up?
Is such magical cornucopia thinking the proper basis for sound public policy?
Then there is the other magical thinking which is a belief that using oil as fuel, which increases carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere, has no damaging impact on The Global Climate System (Terrarists).
The previous post in this series is here.
"Stuck inside a Mobile with the Memphis ...", Dylan: lyrics here.
When is the military not subject to civilian government?
When it comes to your private data is one answer in at least one case.
I have, in the past few days, had disputes with fellow bloggers in the vast blogosphere concerning the nature of the NSA ... the one that is recently gobbling up all of your private data as fast as it can (A Tale of Coup Cities - 4) cheered on by the royals of Stalingrad (The Queens of Stalingrad, The Queens of Stalingrad - 2).
My contention is that the NSA is a military operation as pointed out by two lawsuits against the military for violating the civil rights of hundreds of millions of American citizens (ACLU vs. Clapper, Alexander, Hagel, Holder, and Mueller).
Our old friend reality seems to back up my contention:
In accordance with Department of Defense Directive 5100.20, dated December 23, 1971, the Director of the NSA must always be a commissioned officer of the military services. Because the assignment is currently part of a tri-hatted position, the Director of the NSA is appointed to the grade of a four-star general or admiral during the period of his incumbency. The Deputy Director is always a technically experienced civilian.
The current director is General Keith B. Alexander, USA.
(Wikipedia, NSA, emphasis added). The military decides this, not the congress not the president, and not the courts.
That directive is interesting:
A. Subject to the provisions of NSCID No. 6, and the National Security Act of 1947, as amended, and pursuant to the authorities vested in the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Agency is a separately organized agency within the Department of Defense under the direction, supervision, funding, maintenance and operation of the Secretary of Defense.
...
F. The Director and Deputy Director of the National Security Agency shall be designated by the Secretary of Defense, subject to the approval of the President. The Director shall be a commissioned officer of the military Services, on active or reactivated status, and shall enjoy not less than three star rank during the period of his incumbency.
G. The Director, National Security Agency/ Chief, Central Security Service shall report to the Secretary of Defense.
(DODD 5100.20, emphasis added). Thus, it is clear that hundreds of millions of Americans did not and perhaps still do not understand that the military is spying on them every day of their lives.
It seems clear that Dredd Blog was not being extreme by asking:
Especially in light of their declaration that they may have to take military action within the United States if the people don't like the economic austerity:
A new report by the U.S. Army War College talks about the possibility of Pentagon resources and troops being used should the economic crisis lead to civil unrest, such as protests against businesses and government or runs on beleaguered banks.
“Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security,” said the War College report.
The study says economic collapse, terrorism and loss of legal order are among possible domestic shocks that might require military action within the U.S.
The military can use it against us like Hoover did, as if we were enemies of our own freedoms, when in fact it is they who are the grave danger to freedoms:
Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied: and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and in the degeneracy of manners and of morals, engendered by both. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. Those truths are well established.
The National
Security Agency has acknowledged in a new classified briefing that it
does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls.
Rep.
Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed this week that during a
secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of
a phone call could be accessed “simply based on an analyst deciding
that.”
If the NSA wants “to listen to the phone,” an
analyst’s decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization
required, Nadler said he learned. “I was rather startled,” said Nadler,
an attorney and congressman who serves on the House Judiciary committee.
(CNET). This is in accord with Echelon and other public statements.
The previous post in this series is here. Ode to NSA (video below lyrics):
Hello NSA
I just called you to say
I love you
because you really listen
now when I'm on the phone
will I never feel alone
cause you're out there
with your headphones
and you really listen.
I know you'll take my call
cause you care enough
to take them all.
And you're fighting freedom here at home
so we don't have to fight it over there
now my own sweet Marie never listens to me
I can't even get through to my momma
but you listen so well
to the secrets I tell
guest that's how Obama
caught Osama
NSA listen please
while I order extra cheese
I love you
cause you're out there
here's how I know
not a stain on a dress
but a leak non-the-less
