Bush & Cheney have gotten away with lying us into two wars & wildly enriching their friends; meanwhile, more people are dead & the media won't even ask the right questions. Will we ever learn?
Hi Thom, Thanks for the history on how American Imperialism got us into this mess. I think it comes down to war is profitable for the oligarchs. Since the oligarchs also own the media, the truth will remain hidden. It's just like hidding the truths about our racist history and our worker abuse history. Those who abuse others though bondage, wage theft and war are also wealthy enough to hide their abuse from view.
I feel that Trump insiders in the Pentagon botched a lot of this pullout from Afghanistan. Bagram Air Force base was a highly secure base to perform the withdrawel and evacuation It was abandoned overnight:
"As part of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, after nearly 20 years of continuous US presence at the site, the Bagram Air Base was handed back to the Afghan government on 1 July 2021.[32][33][34][35] The last remaining U.S. troops left the base by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the Afghan Armed Forces.[36][37] The base was looted by local civilians soon after US forces left the area. The Afghan National Army later took control of the area and arrested some looters.[38]
On 15 August 2021, Afghan troops stationed there gave up their positions to the Taliban, losing control of the airfield.[39]"
It was secure, had barracks, fuel tanks etc. Everything that you would need. Why was it shut down in such a rush.
Thom, I respectfully submit you are mistaken about the cause of 9/11and the consequential Afghanistan war. There is abundant empirical facts that prove the destruction of towers 1, 2 and building 7 were the result of controlled demolition. The U. of Alaska Report concusively demonstrates that the collapse of building 7was caused by controlled demolition.
Stateless terrorism had been a fact of life for some time, and we knew that. It was the issue that the Taliban would not hand him over specifically to us. However, Bush went to Afghanistan with the blessing of Congress and the UN. He failed, and worse than that he grew bored with the search for Bin Laden and Afghanistan. He's despicable. It was up to Congress and the UN to hold him responsible, but instead they let him and Cheney lie us into Iraq. Now there is a REAL war crime. It broke my American heart.
The US media played a big part in all the flag waving back then, pushing the narrative that what we were doing had to be done. This gave rise to people saying you can support the troops and not the policy. We don't always buy what the media are selling. I agree they are asking the wrong question. The question now that is much more interesting is what will the youth and tribes of Afghanistan do with the Taliban, tolerate or resist.
We can pick-off a stateless terrorist or group of them ANYWHERE. We've been doing it for years, and no one knows that better than the media.
The exclusively "forward-looking" culture we find ourselves in cares little for how or why. It is ironic in this context as the shadow so clearly before us is ignored - even more so as it is cast from the ash heap of our past "forward-looking" endeavors.
Some will attempt to conflate the redaction of history with the wonders of pragmatism, but this "whatever it takes" mentality is fit for war-zones and disasters alone - not functioning societies. It is a short-term gain, long-term instability incubation paradigm. And it is here where we find ourselves asking the question of why the correct questions are not being asked. Thom's questions are THE questions in demand of answers - and to the people of this world, for whom those answers are so deeply owed.
I do not expect the press corp of Goebbels International Inc to repay their defaulted debt-of-truth anytime soon.
The powers of Corporate personhood in the hands of the morbidly wealthy (and psychopathic) and countless millions of poorly educated citizens are why our media religiously avoid Thom’s important questions. And Thom provides real life examples of this behavior every day. Once the “precedent” was set when Ford pardoned Nixon, (and, as it turns out, absolved him of an impressive, even Trump-like, array of crimes) the subsequent psychopathic deciders in the White House assumed they were pre-approved to do whatever they wanted and they took full advantage in some pretty ghastly ways that we know about (we can only imagine how bad things were that got covered up). I guess that when you label our culture as “forward-looking” it sounds much better than “ignoring the past,” but it’s a great strategy to distract from the antics of America’s public sector uber criminals.
The oligarchs will control public opinion until we take away their ability to control our government, so it is quite unlikely that a reasonably accurate history of our country will be widely distributed and taught any time soon. I used to think that the Bush 43 Administration was the criminally stupidest set of decision-makers in American history. From Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld to their evil consigliere (Addington, Bybee, and Yoo), it was a top notch assortment of war criminals and fraudsters, and I believed them to be even eviler than Reagan’s or Nixon’s teams. And then came Trump. A pattern seems to be emerging…
I always appreciate your perspective, Old Dave. You have an incredible knack for cutting to the heart of a matter, presenting facts, and delivering assessments garnished with a dusting of humor. You are a unique and refreshing voice.
Yes, "forward-looking", as I intended it to be read, is a mockery or perhaps an indictment of the oligarchic mediaverse and its unquestioning consumers.
I chose the term "forward-looking" since it has been the misnomer of choice used to deflect any attention from the notion of prosecuting former leaders for their crimes against humanity.
People love the expressions "let bygones be bygones" and "let sleeping dogs lie". These are the mantras of laziness, fear, and as Thom wrote the other day, "salvationist thinking". These are but a few of our weaknesses exploited by the virtual monomediapoly that exist today, IMO.
That’s very kind of you and I greatly appreciate your ideas as well, especially when you share your metaphors that help open up our knowledge sphincters to full duplex. Although Thom makes the issues that confront us understandable, we also need enough people to understand an accurate history of our nation and unite around a common purpose (for e.g., abolish oligarchs and promote the general welfare using best practice-based solutions). If 3.5% of our citizens read all of the Hartmann Hidden History Series (including the one coming out 9/7), we will have 12 million pissed off and motivated people who could compel our elected officials to meet their purpose before the 2022 election.
Several years ago, Thom had a guest on his show named Chris Mooney, who wrote “The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science- and Reality”. He ended his book with this quote that reminded me of you, “I believe that I am right, but I know that I could be wrong. Truth is something that I am driven to search for. Nuance is something I can handle. And uncertainty is something I know I’ll never fully dispel.” That’s a hard truth for too many of us to accept.
That quote is on the mark as regards the current Cartesian coordinates of my mindset. Dynamic I hope my thinking remains; permissive of ever changing frequencies and unforeseen planes as they emerge. I do not wish to remain static in thought, yet we do require some footing to build upon - lest we be lured to the abyss of "any and all things are possible" - and find ourselves mumbling vacant-eyed as we are put to pasture. I do not know the specific boundaries of our intellectual capabilities, but I do believe there are many unknown unknowns. There most certainly are things we will never be able to understand, or even have awareness of - at least in terms of logic alone.
Thank you for your insights. I will read Chris Mooney.
In her book titled "The Dark Side," Jane Mayer analyzes how Cheney pulled the Iraq War off. One of his moves was to dispense with the rules of warfare of the Geneva Conventions after concocting a "legal" team that agreed with Cheney's objectives. U.S. anti-torture law didn't matter either to Cheney. Based on Cheney's Iraq War objective, tortured & highly questionable confessions, & other fabricated "intel," the Cheney-Bush Admin presented their "evidence" to implicate Iraq in the 9-11 attack.
Thom, Your expert from Beyond Nuclear exaggerates some facts and misses others. The spent fuel canisters at San Onofre are safe as is. These canisters are used at virtually every nuclear plant in the USA and many overseas. The problems are 1. They have a 40 year license (which the NRC will probably extend) 2. They are there for the unknown future, there is no place to go and they have to be managed and secured (up to 10000 years) for that unknown future. 3. Transporting them will be very difficult. 4. The biggest problem is we have been working on a long term solution for 50+ years with no answer. If Yucca Mountain opened tomorrow you would have 10000 trucks heading that way. Converging on 1 spot. All transports would be extremely complicated. We had the cart in front of the horse on this one. Meanwhile each plant is filling several of these canisters each year. We keep handing it off to the next generation and they did not benefit from it and do not want it.
Hi Thom, Thanks for the history on how American Imperialism got us into this mess. I think it comes down to war is profitable for the oligarchs. Since the oligarchs also own the media, the truth will remain hidden. It's just like hidding the truths about our racist history and our worker abuse history. Those who abuse others though bondage, wage theft and war are also wealthy enough to hide their abuse from view.
I feel that Trump insiders in the Pentagon botched a lot of this pullout from Afghanistan. Bagram Air Force base was a highly secure base to perform the withdrawel and evacuation It was abandoned overnight:
"As part of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, after nearly 20 years of continuous US presence at the site, the Bagram Air Base was handed back to the Afghan government on 1 July 2021.[32][33][34][35] The last remaining U.S. troops left the base by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the Afghan Armed Forces.[36][37] The base was looted by local civilians soon after US forces left the area. The Afghan National Army later took control of the area and arrested some looters.[38]
On 15 August 2021, Afghan troops stationed there gave up their positions to the Taliban, losing control of the airfield.[39]"
It was secure, had barracks, fuel tanks etc. Everything that you would need. Why was it shut down in such a rush.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagram_Airfield
Thom, I respectfully submit you are mistaken about the cause of 9/11and the consequential Afghanistan war. There is abundant empirical facts that prove the destruction of towers 1, 2 and building 7 were the result of controlled demolition. The U. of Alaska Report concusively demonstrates that the collapse of building 7was caused by controlled demolition.
Stateless terrorism had been a fact of life for some time, and we knew that. It was the issue that the Taliban would not hand him over specifically to us. However, Bush went to Afghanistan with the blessing of Congress and the UN. He failed, and worse than that he grew bored with the search for Bin Laden and Afghanistan. He's despicable. It was up to Congress and the UN to hold him responsible, but instead they let him and Cheney lie us into Iraq. Now there is a REAL war crime. It broke my American heart.
The US media played a big part in all the flag waving back then, pushing the narrative that what we were doing had to be done. This gave rise to people saying you can support the troops and not the policy. We don't always buy what the media are selling. I agree they are asking the wrong question. The question now that is much more interesting is what will the youth and tribes of Afghanistan do with the Taliban, tolerate or resist.
We can pick-off a stateless terrorist or group of them ANYWHERE. We've been doing it for years, and no one knows that better than the media.
The exclusively "forward-looking" culture we find ourselves in cares little for how or why. It is ironic in this context as the shadow so clearly before us is ignored - even more so as it is cast from the ash heap of our past "forward-looking" endeavors.
Some will attempt to conflate the redaction of history with the wonders of pragmatism, but this "whatever it takes" mentality is fit for war-zones and disasters alone - not functioning societies. It is a short-term gain, long-term instability incubation paradigm. And it is here where we find ourselves asking the question of why the correct questions are not being asked. Thom's questions are THE questions in demand of answers - and to the people of this world, for whom those answers are so deeply owed.
I do not expect the press corp of Goebbels International Inc to repay their defaulted debt-of-truth anytime soon.
The powers of Corporate personhood in the hands of the morbidly wealthy (and psychopathic) and countless millions of poorly educated citizens are why our media religiously avoid Thom’s important questions. And Thom provides real life examples of this behavior every day. Once the “precedent” was set when Ford pardoned Nixon, (and, as it turns out, absolved him of an impressive, even Trump-like, array of crimes) the subsequent psychopathic deciders in the White House assumed they were pre-approved to do whatever they wanted and they took full advantage in some pretty ghastly ways that we know about (we can only imagine how bad things were that got covered up). I guess that when you label our culture as “forward-looking” it sounds much better than “ignoring the past,” but it’s a great strategy to distract from the antics of America’s public sector uber criminals.
The oligarchs will control public opinion until we take away their ability to control our government, so it is quite unlikely that a reasonably accurate history of our country will be widely distributed and taught any time soon. I used to think that the Bush 43 Administration was the criminally stupidest set of decision-makers in American history. From Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld to their evil consigliere (Addington, Bybee, and Yoo), it was a top notch assortment of war criminals and fraudsters, and I believed them to be even eviler than Reagan’s or Nixon’s teams. And then came Trump. A pattern seems to be emerging…
I always appreciate your perspective, Old Dave. You have an incredible knack for cutting to the heart of a matter, presenting facts, and delivering assessments garnished with a dusting of humor. You are a unique and refreshing voice.
Yes, "forward-looking", as I intended it to be read, is a mockery or perhaps an indictment of the oligarchic mediaverse and its unquestioning consumers.
I chose the term "forward-looking" since it has been the misnomer of choice used to deflect any attention from the notion of prosecuting former leaders for their crimes against humanity.
People love the expressions "let bygones be bygones" and "let sleeping dogs lie". These are the mantras of laziness, fear, and as Thom wrote the other day, "salvationist thinking". These are but a few of our weaknesses exploited by the virtual monomediapoly that exist today, IMO.
That’s very kind of you and I greatly appreciate your ideas as well, especially when you share your metaphors that help open up our knowledge sphincters to full duplex. Although Thom makes the issues that confront us understandable, we also need enough people to understand an accurate history of our nation and unite around a common purpose (for e.g., abolish oligarchs and promote the general welfare using best practice-based solutions). If 3.5% of our citizens read all of the Hartmann Hidden History Series (including the one coming out 9/7), we will have 12 million pissed off and motivated people who could compel our elected officials to meet their purpose before the 2022 election.
Several years ago, Thom had a guest on his show named Chris Mooney, who wrote “The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science- and Reality”. He ended his book with this quote that reminded me of you, “I believe that I am right, but I know that I could be wrong. Truth is something that I am driven to search for. Nuance is something I can handle. And uncertainty is something I know I’ll never fully dispel.” That’s a hard truth for too many of us to accept.
That quote is on the mark as regards the current Cartesian coordinates of my mindset. Dynamic I hope my thinking remains; permissive of ever changing frequencies and unforeseen planes as they emerge. I do not wish to remain static in thought, yet we do require some footing to build upon - lest we be lured to the abyss of "any and all things are possible" - and find ourselves mumbling vacant-eyed as we are put to pasture. I do not know the specific boundaries of our intellectual capabilities, but I do believe there are many unknown unknowns. There most certainly are things we will never be able to understand, or even have awareness of - at least in terms of logic alone.
Thank you for your insights. I will read Chris Mooney.
In her book titled "The Dark Side," Jane Mayer analyzes how Cheney pulled the Iraq War off. One of his moves was to dispense with the rules of warfare of the Geneva Conventions after concocting a "legal" team that agreed with Cheney's objectives. U.S. anti-torture law didn't matter either to Cheney. Based on Cheney's Iraq War objective, tortured & highly questionable confessions, & other fabricated "intel," the Cheney-Bush Admin presented their "evidence" to implicate Iraq in the 9-11 attack.
Thom, Your expert from Beyond Nuclear exaggerates some facts and misses others. The spent fuel canisters at San Onofre are safe as is. These canisters are used at virtually every nuclear plant in the USA and many overseas. The problems are 1. They have a 40 year license (which the NRC will probably extend) 2. They are there for the unknown future, there is no place to go and they have to be managed and secured (up to 10000 years) for that unknown future. 3. Transporting them will be very difficult. 4. The biggest problem is we have been working on a long term solution for 50+ years with no answer. If Yucca Mountain opened tomorrow you would have 10000 trucks heading that way. Converging on 1 spot. All transports would be extremely complicated. We had the cart in front of the horse on this one. Meanwhile each plant is filling several of these canisters each year. We keep handing it off to the next generation and they did not benefit from it and do not want it.