Ministry of Truth

The United States must be the only industrialized western country in which religion plays a major role in government. A large number of simple-minded and unquestioning folk, who live in an area referred to politically as the Bible Belt are electing representatives who have more in common with the clergy than with their fellow senators and congressmen. Fanatic minorities as these are not as minor as their name suggests. They are spread across the country like paprika. A recent poll done by Newsweek reveals that 79% of Americans believe that the story of Christmas, as written in the Bible, is historically accurate. Another 55% say that the Bible is historically accurate to the word. The only other places in the world that have the potential to boast results such as these are the Vatican or a retirement home in Sicily.

The problem with the population extends right up to the President himself. Bush II has increased defense spending, alienated the US from the rest of the world, ignored the UN, attacked a defenseless country, and crushed civil liberties. The Government has even taken stands on social issues like gay marriage, arguing that it is immoral, because the almighty condemns gays. While men like Bush II apply the teachings of God to government, and Pope Benedict kindly points out the violent nature of Islam, Noam Chomsky gives insight to the true nature of the Bible itself:

The God of the Bible - not only did He order His chosen people to carry out literal genocide - I mean, wipe out every Amalekite to the last man, woman, child, and, you know, donkey and so on, because hundreds of years ago they got in your way when you were trying to cross the desert - not only did He do things like that, but, after all, the God of the Bible was ready to destroy every living creature on earth because some humans irritated Him. That’s the story of Noah. I mean, that’s beyond genocide - you don’t know how to describe this creature. Somebody offended Him, and He was going to destroy every living being on earth? And then He was talked into allowing two of each species to stay alive - that’s supposed to be gentle and wonderful.” - Noam Chomsky

Even if we ignore the contents of the Bible, and famous misprints such as “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” (Exodus 20:13), this old book is still too abstract and too devoid of proof to play a role in the government of any country. Religious governments have never thrived for long. Iran for countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran are full of Koran schools, resulting in a generation of ignorance. It is not coincidence that 61% (Washington Post) of suicide bombers in the middle east come from Saudi Arabia. That figure reflects the beliefs of the people there. The United States doe not (yet) have as severe an ignorance epidemic as the Saudis do. Nevertheless, the US is a country in which people are tought to believe rather than to think, and that results in incompetent, God-fearing leadership.

www.biblegateway.com

The economic policy of Ronald Reagan is strikingly similar to the one we live under today. For starters, both Presidents believed in supply-side economics, and therefore supported big businesses. Both also Presidents increased military spending (Reagan by 40%) to pay for increased defense of the most secure country in history. Reagan created the missle-defense system in an attempt to ward off possible nuclear assault, and to help pay for it, he cut taxes to encourage spending, just as Bush II did. In a startling inconsistency, Reagan also supported the Federal Reserve Board’s tight money policy, which discouraged spending. To my knowledge, Bush II did not destroy his credibility in this fashion. However, his tax cuts only affected the rich. To no surprise then is the fact that the poor and those suffering in poverty suffered under Reagan and Bush II. Though welfare must be abolished, the poor must not be the only ones being taxed. Tax cuts that benefit only the rich contradict the american dream, because the poor are unable to work their way up the ladder of success if they are weighed down by taxes. Bush continues Reagan’s tradition of granting the missle defense system $9,500,000,000 annually (Pentagon). According to the American Society of Physicists, the missle defense program would not work from a physic standpoint; “Now that is just one example of a clinically insane allocation of your tax dollars…that’s what Bush is: a taxer of grandchildren.” -(Ralph Nader). In short, both Presidents believed in subsidizing large corporations (supply-side economics), and cutting taxes, while drastically increasing defense spending for unnecessary wars in countries like Iraq, Grenada, and Nicaragua, which are not a threat to anyone in the United States, just as they were not a threat to their neighbors.

http://borgenproject.org/Defense_Spending.html

Democracy in the United States is in need of an update. The electoral college is a roadblock preventing the creation of a system that will be able to reflect the Americna voice. Hopefully, American minds are not yet so simplified that a two-party system will suffice to represent all of the people. The electoral college prevents smaller parties from gaining the popular support that one would expect them to have. Of course, there are several small third parties such as the Greens, Libertarians, Constitutionals, and the American Independent Party, but these play no significant role in elections. In fact, third parties are treated as second or third class citizens by mainstreaqm voters and by the two major parties. Ralph Nader, who ran in 2004 as an independent candidate with Winona LaDuke was accused of handing the election to George Bush, because his voters may have voted for John Kerry, the democrat. This sent a clear message to every third party in the US: “How dare you give our voters choice!” Ralph Nader responded to critiscism himself: “You would never see this kind of thing in western democracies in Europe…The issues of the Green Party and the issues of the Libertarian Party are majoritarian issues.” And yet they are not brought to the table. The United States is split almost 50/50 by two parties whos minor differences are made superfluous by their towering similarities. Change is needed, and if the Electoral College is abolished, then the true and undistorted sound of American voices can be heard.

http://www.lp.org/

http://www.nader.org/ 

http://blog.zmag.org/ttt -A blog by Noam Chomsky himself. Offers a very informative Q and A.

http://www.lp.org/yourturn/ -The official Libertarian Party Blog.

http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/ -Andrew Sullivan’s blog.

With the Baker Commission report released, and the “grave and deteriorating” tactical situation on the ground in Iraq now in writing, we find ourselves at a good vantage point from which to survey important events; both past and recent.

Before discussing the dire situation that is unfolding before us, it is necessary to look back at the origin of current events. What lead to the current situation? Why Iraq? That is a difficult question to answer. Many say “oil”. Others say ”democracy and moral responsibility”. The former is without question a factor, but probably not the prime reason. The latter is ridiculous- naive and contradictory. Iraq was most likely attacked because it is a defensless country, convenliently rich in natural recources, and a great way to preserve the war on terror as an excuse to discipline the population at home. The United States was the only country in the world that feared Saddam Hussein. Even his neighbors realized that he was harmless after desert storm, and the genocidal sanctions placed on the iraqi population after the first Gulf War. Saddam posed no threat, and the only thing that could be suspected was his possible possession of weapons of mass destruction. If possible possession of WMD is the pretext for war against Saddam, why not attack a country who’s possession of WMD is beyond doubt? Why not attack North Korea? Kim Jong Il is known to have several nuclear weapons, whereas Saddam is merely a suspect of such a “crime”. It seems that the reason North Korea wasn’t attacked is precisely that: they have dangerous weapons, and upwards of 1,000,000 men at the DMZ. As Noam Chomsky points out, the message is clear: Arm up, or the United States Government will crush you! It seems that the ultimate outcome in Iraq will either by total chaos, or a dictatorship elected by radical islamists, who’s ranks are swelling due to US action as we speak. In the latter case, the US Government will have replaced one dictator with another. One can only hope that the benefits of oil and global warmongering outweigh the cost of such destruction.