illumined horizon

i think a great number of americans do not understand that the wars the U.S. military engages in are not to defend the american people... they are to defend the international trading structure, a trading structure that is devised without the vast majority of the american people bargaining at the table... this trading structure has reduced the amount of unionization in america (which was around 30% in the 1960s) to below 8% today... it has opened up vast new regions of the world to exploitation by large corporations... it has made organized labor a weaker foe for elite politicians and planners... it has allowed large corporations to dictate to working people of the 'developing' countries low wages and limited regulation to multinational corporate activity... it is unclear what the exact prescription is to remedy this situation, but the current course is a castrophe for the great mass of americans and indeed most people of the planet...

war also serves the purpose of keeping domestic spending at bay because the extortionary military budget almost all the time makes programs and initiatives that would expand the middle class only possible if the government chooses to further in debt its citizens... the idea that the troops are keeping americans safe is ahistorical and illogical... the troops are making commerce safe for the richest people in the world...

this: http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=13617 is a very important article that needs to reach a wide audience, i think... it makes me wonder what parallels can be drawn to U.S. politics...

here's a link: http://educate-yourself.org/cn/peakoilindex.shtml to some intriguing information about the peak oil debate... i must say that i'm not completely sold on this idea, but this information should be made known to a wider audience so an informed debate can occur...

i was reading this story: http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=18697 earlier today, and it makes me think that religion is so entrenched in american politics that we may never again see it not used at least in part as a political football... i must admit i do not know U.S. history well enough to say this has never happened before in america, but i certainly have not seen it before in my lifetime... i do know enough about U.S. history to say there exists a secular tradition in U.S. history and it seems the founding fathers, particularly Jefferson, were well aware of the virtues of a secular public square... it is a complete denial of these virtues that the right wing is pinning its political hopes on... the best hope for some changes in this regard would seem to be a backlash against this in the near future... the old adage be careful what you wish for, may yet come back to haunt the right wing...

a journalist has had a column on the 2004 U.S. election blocked from being printed in the Chicago Tribune: http://www.rense.com/general65/susb.htm... this is just the latest challenge to alternative media, and those sections of the blogosphere that are seeking the truth... this is so because it is simply one more area that if it does not break into mainstream coverage will be only found in alternative media and the blogosphere... the challenge to these groups will be to enlighten as many uninformed people as possible on this issue as is already the case for so many other issues...

the U.S. presidential election is often compared to a horserace, but a horserace is a poor metaphor for a presidential election... a horserace is a poor metaphor because of the great power that the executive branch of the U.S. excercises... does anyone think we would be talking about privatizing social security with a president Kerry or Gore?

a horserace differs from an election in that you know you've lost that race and your money's gone or you know you have won and you collect your winnings... you can race again seconds or minutes later and the loss or gain of money at the previous moment is the only consequence... at the end of an election, however, the direction of one's country either goes in a benevolent or malevolent direction for the term of a given politician (particularly the most powerful one)... the next racing opportunity is quite far in the future... this is what the mainstream media either misapprehends or understands but is to close and compromised by the throne of power to do anything about... the stolen election of 2004 and the media blackout of it is a high crime of the most serious degree...

i am always looking for new progressive radio shows... if folks know of good shows please fill me in... i also like the show coast to coast am if you know of programs similar to this please tell me too...

hello and warm feelings,
if you folks have any international media stories that you think or know are being blacked out in the U.S. press please let me know... i think the best media site in the U.S. is www.rense.com, i also frequent www.commondreams.org and sometimes go to www.buzzflash.com... i used to go to many other sites, but i have settled on these as the best on the world wide web...

the minutemen are a group of american patriots who have been patrolling the Arizona border so that folks who are entering the U.S. illegally will be stopped and turned over to the border patrol... although liberals are correct that the vast majority of these people (the immigrants) are simply looking for work and do not want to do any harm to America or its citizens, the fact is that there are a finite number of jobs in America to go around and make America and its citizens as a whole prosperous... we should all work toward the vision of a world without borders and racism, however, i do not think the economic realities of the present day will allow America to simply open our border to all Mexicans, Central and Latin Americans... lastly, i must point out that i have not followed every move and action of the minutemen, but from what i have read and observed these patriots are not rascist or xenophobic, but rather these folks are economic populists and american nationalists who wish to live in a first world and not a third world country....