Getting Tough

I feel like puking when I hear people go on and on about being “tough on terrorism” and so on. They are just being manipulated by crooks who are robbing us blind in the name of defense and the war on terrorism. Paying thousands of dollars for wrenches and hundreds of dollars for toilet seats doesn’t create a strong defense. Paying contractors to do soldiers’ laundry at $100 a bag or paying Halliburton/KBR to build oil rigs in Iraq with tax payer money instead of allowing the petroleum companies to pay for it themselves does nothing to protect us from terrorism. A major military deployment in Iraq makes a lot of contractors really rich, but does nothing to secure us from the real threats to our security.

People need to pull their heads out of their… the sand… and face reality. The administration has knowingly and willingly lied again and again about the war in Iraq. The defense establishment is corrupted. Private contractors have taken over military functions without accountability. When will people see that our government has become a puppet show for those who are blinded by greed?

An effective defense requires non-corrupted and intelligent leadership. However, it is hard for non-corrupted individuals to break into the inner circles of government, and it is hard for intelligent individuals to win elections.

Any solutions will have to start with us. We need to become more awake and aware. We need to put down the alcohol and turn off the TV’s. We need to exercise our intellects. We need to learn to discriminate between information and garbage. We need to become responsible for the so-called leaders we elect. Ignorance is getting harder and harder to excuse.

Let’s get tough on corruption. Let’s get tough on lies and deceit and deception. Let’s get tough on the lobbyists and special interests. Let’s get tough on ignorance. Let’s get tough on ourselves. Then we can be in a better position to deal with the very real threats to our security.

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