Why We Fight - a movie about the military-industrial complex

We watched this documentary tonight that made me want to cry. It talks about war and the complex reasons why we are at war--complex reasons that have nothing to do with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for individual citizens. The movie takes off on a statement in Eisenhower's last presidental speech/address that warns us of the military-industrial complex. (his speech: http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/indust.html). The movie was depressing and although shocking wasn't really beyond what I already believed was going on between corporations and the government. What really struck me was going online to the text of Eisenhower's speech and seeing that he spoke of balance:
Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our defense; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research -- these and many other possibilities, each possibly promising in itself, may be suggested as the only way to the road we wish to travel.
But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs -- balance between the private and the public economy, balance between cost and hoped for advantage -- balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable; balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual; balance between actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration.
Then he identified two things that could have devastating effects for us: 1. was the military industrial complex and 2. was time--with this he indicated that we should avoid living only for our own convenience and thus plundering our children's future for our immediate needs.

Amazingly both of these terrible things have come to fruition. What we need to consider now, is can we reverse this or will the United States simply fail? This is not what John Lennon imagined when he said "living for today."

I place my hopes in President Obama, but I fear those of the military industrial complex and all those others who only live for what they can get and don't see the point in seeking a better tomorrow.

the bailout

The election is over--what a relief! George Bush is on his way out and maybe now something will change for the better. Maybe corporations will cease to be in charge of Americans and Americans can gain back their power to decide what happens in this country. It amazes me that in most other democratic countries, the citizens and government make decisions about what is best and the corporations have to modify their business to support those decisions. Not here....making money is more important that poisoning or killing our citizens.
I still am not sure how Americans can reconcile a failing economy--that is based on consumers buying and consuming crap, dumping it, and then buying and consuming more crap--with our needs for improving our environment and educating our children. A better world is not to be had by fixing an economy that is so broken it's not worth fixing. We need to base our means of generating income on something other than consumer crap--it's a losing proposition. But as long as Walmart and General Motors are running the country, corporations will continue to push products to consumers like drugs. Don't we all feel so much better after spending all our income on shitty stuff and filling our houses so full that we can't move?
The 700 billion dollar bailout really pisses me off. We should have just said enough already of this and let it all fail...then we could rebuild something better. Instead the money will be gifted to corporations who already don't have the people's best interests in mind. Why would the government think the corporations and banks would do anything but serve their own interests--it's what they've always done.
We're not bailing out our economy or the American people...the only ones being bailed out are corporations and maybe a few rich owners. Do they really deserve it? Do people that have lived beyond their means, showed off, thought themselves better than the average citizen really deserve to be bailed out?
The old boys network is lining its own pockets once again.
Hopefully gentleman, the cash will be confiscated soon.

Prop 2 and Prop 8

Apparently human's kindness toward the animals they plan to eat is not the same sort of kindness that extends to their fellow humans who want to be left in peace to marry whomever they choose.