Truth from a Founding Father

"Of all the enemies of true 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 manner and of morals, engendered in both.  No nation can preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare....War is in fact the true nurse of executive aggrandizement.  In war, a physical force is to be created;  and it is the executive will, which is to direct it.  In war, the public treasuries are to be unlocked;  and it is the executive hand which is to dispense them.  In war, the honors and emoluments of office are to be multiplied;  and it is the executive brow they are to encircle.  The strongest passions and most dangerous weaknesses of the human breast; ambition, avarice, vanity, the honorable or venal love of fame, are all in conspiracy against the desire and duty of peace."

By James Madison, from "Political Observations," April 20, 1795.

Many of the Founders wrote in opposition to America having a 'standing army.'  This is one of my favorites.  I bet this isn't taught in our schools any more.
Madison sounds like a prophet.  He has described the United States of today.
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It takes more than remembrance

A movement has been started to design and build another wall for Vietnam veterans.  Not for those who died during the war.  No, this memorial would be for those who killed themselves after the war. 
Even the Government agrees that at least 20,000 Vietnam vets have committed suicide since the end of the War.  We know that every statistic the Government gave us over the years the War was active was a  lie, so I suspect this number is too low. 
Most of the organizations looking at this problem deal in higher numbers, figures that range from 50,000 to 200,000 suicides. 
I can accept the Government figures.  20,000 suicides is enough for me to recognize that the American people and the American government have not, do not and will not treat the veterans with the care and respect they deserve.
Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are killing themselves at disturbingly high rates and still there is no truly serious and comprehensive program to serve these vets.  Oh, there are concerns, there is talk, but only a smidgen of commitment.
Now, we have this report:
"America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate...A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are seeking compensation for injuries they say are service related.  That is more than double the estimated 21 per cent who filed such claims after the Gulf War in the early 1990s, top government officials said.
"These new veterans are claiming eight or nine ailments on average, and the most recent over the last year are claiming 11 to 14....
"These new veterans are seeking a level of help the government did not anticipate, and for which there is no special fund available."
Imagine that!
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Lest We Forget

"Let no man ever, from henceforth say one word in any way countenancing war.  It is dangerous even to speak of how here and there the individual may gain some hardship of soul by it.  For war is hell, and those who institute it are criminals.  Were there even anything to say for it, it should not be said;  for its spiritual disasters far outweigh any of its advantages."

Siegfried Sassoon
English poet and war hero
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The Hurt Locker - A Review

Last night we saw the movie "The Hurt Locker", a film that has been nominated for some honors.
The story follows the activities of American soldiers in Iraq whose job is the defusing of roadside bombs, IED's, and other explosives problems.
Let me get right to the review.  The directing is competent but ordinary, and time transitions are badly handled.
The acting is above average but the characters are either stereotypes or caricatures so acting doesn't save the movie.
But what bothered me most was that the action was not plausible.  The sergeant in charge of the three man team is emotionally supercharged and behaves in such a way as to endanger the team as well as himself.  His conduct is never reviewed by a superior officer.  Indeed, the team seems to live and work in a bubble of their own making and do not have to answer to any higher authority.  There is no oversight, and apparently there are no other teams working in the same area.
In the first part of the movie we are shown a robot which is used to help reduce danger for the men who do this dangerous work.  After the first incident, we never see the robot used again..
No reason given for that, but we can see that the new team leader is a hot dog who not only approaches live bomb sites without the robot but also without a helmet, and once even without his heavy armor.  
This can make for an exciting movie if you are not a veteran or if you have a limited amount of life experience.  Otherwise one recognizes the action as faked and forced and is required to condemn the film as defective anti-war propaganda. 
That's really too bad because this is a war to be condemned and what is happening to our soldiers in the real world is a travesty of sanity and justice.

Carnes Lord on Weakness In American Policy

Carnes Lord, Professor of military and Naval Strategy at the U. S. Naval War College, and author of The Modern Prince, has written the following:


"A characteristic weakness of the American approach to war and force has been the tendency to draw a sharp distinction between wartime and peacetime."


I wonder, does he think that explains these guys?
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