Stephan: The level of American corruption is breath-taking. Whether it is Donald Trump's self-funded Presidential campaign — hey, everyone should have a hobby they can afford — or the Koch brothers, or Sheldon Adelson, or the meat industry, everybody who needs something from the government knows that for a price it can be bought. And the really depressing thing about it is how cheaply the purchase can be made.
And for a large number of the corrupters the real jackpot to get from the government is a war. War is so profitable for the U.S. corporate state that it is irresistible. A single Tomahawk missile, for instance, costs $575,000 and the beauty of them from the profit point of view is that you can only use these things once. Guaranteed.
An MRAP vehicle, of which ISIS has captured over 2,000, depending on how it is configured, costs between $500,000 and a million. War is just unbelievably profitable for corporations. For ordinary people who get shot and blown up not so much. But then who cares about them anyway? They're just your son or daughter. Certainly not Dick Cheney who managed to dodge the Viet Nam era draft, but who has made tens of millions from war, and has never met a war he didn't like.
MRAP vehicle. ISIS has captured over 2,000 of these things, each costing U.S. taxpayers $500,000 to a million dollars.
Credit: www.leidos.com
MINNEAPOLIS — As of April, the oil and gas industry had already spent over $34 million to influence American politics this year. Fossil fuel companies are one of the top sources of funding for Washington lobbying firms, and their deep pockets allow them to far outspend those who seek to protect the environment and the earth’s resources from exploitation.
The figures come from the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization working “to create a more educated voter, an involved citizenry and a more transparent and responsive government.” According to their data, lobbying from the energy sector topped $141 million last year. The top single corporate spender was Koch Industries, Inc., which spent $13.8 million in lobbying, followed by Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum, one of the country’s […]
This is total insanity. If they want war so much, then they need to lead the charge for them and their buddies…
You are absolutely correct Anne. Those who want a ware should be right out IN FRONT leading. I bet that would change their minds about going to war. I had a close friend, who died in Viet Nam, who sent me horrific pictures of the dead bodies and the destruction of the country’s biosphere after we Napalmed their country. Those pictures would make anyone think more carefully about the idea of war being a solution to anything. As the song goes: “War, what is it good for: absolutely nothing”.
So… You call Donald Trump corrupt for funding his own campaign. Gibberish Then you talk about how ISIS to stole MRAP vehicles, and don’t talk about why they are around. The destabilization of Libya, Egypt, Syria were not done by Trump. I like how you failed to mention that these were Obama policies that caused more war. Can you please try to cut the gibberish out of your articles and add some facts?
Well, O.K. let’s start with the some facts. The entire collapse of the Middle East traces to the lies and fraud of the Neocons of the Bush the younger Administration, and the invasion of Iraq. And particularly the abject failure of the Bush-Cheney Administration to handle what followed that collapse. As anyone who reads SR regularly knows I am no fan of the Obama Administration’s Middle East policies, but I have enough integrity to acknowledge how it all began.
Second, I call Donald Trump corrupt because he has had 3,500 laws suits, because he stiffs working class people routinely for the work they have done — consider the little girls who sang at one of his events. I call him corrupt because he regularly is involved with people who are considered criminal (see the Newsweek cover article). I call him corrupt because he uses the money other people have given his foundation to pay his personal legal bills. Should I go on, I certainly could… And that is just sticking to the facts.
Now finally, I want to tell you that although I am allowing your comment to post, because I wanted to reply to it, I will not do so again unless you include your name. I do not allow anonymous posts, nor gratuitous ad hominem comments.