Ike, Bill and Dubya

Reality sure does take the fun out of making up fake news stories; I'll stick to the facts on this one:

It reads like a tally of terrorist targets that a child might have written: Old MacDonald’s Petting Zoo, the Amish Country Popcorn factory, the Mule Day Parade, the Sweetwater Flea Market and an unspecified “Beach at End of a Street.”

The National Asset Database, as it is known, is so flawed, the inspector general found, that as of January, Indiana, with 8,591 potential terrorist targets, had 50 percent more listed sites than New York (5,687) and more than twice as many as California (3,212), ranking the state the most target-rich place in the nation.

You mean that all that DHS payola is being handed out as political favors that have nothing at all to do with Homeland Security?
Well, no kidding!
The Dept. of Homeland Security is part of what Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us about- in 1961.

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

Perhaps I'm an uncharitable soul, but I have a difficult time imagining the U.S. citizenry-in general- as "alert and knowledgeable" about anything, except perhaps celebrity gossip and professional sports.

Ike was right about a lot of things. Ike was a regular Nostradamus:

"Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow."

Too late. We've let that horse out of that barn- and now the barn's been torched. I suspect that Ike was keenly aware that the Cold War was enormously profitable , and should that War end, the Military-Industrial Complex would be forced to create a new one.
He said:

"Down the long lane of the history yet to be written America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.

Such a confederation must be one of equals. The weakest must come to the conference table with the same confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral, economic, and military strength. That table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield.

Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative. Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose. Because this need is so sharp and apparent I confess that I lay down my official responsibilities in this field with a definite sense of disappointment. As one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of war -- as one who knows that another war could utterly destroy this civilization which has been so slowly and painfully built over thousands of years -- I wish I could say tonight that a lasting peace is in sight."

Of course we went from the Cold War to the first Gulf War , which wasn't quite popular enough to keep the Republicans in power. Clinton was bad for the war-profiteers-they tried very , very hard to remove him; as you recall, I'm sure.
Of course we had terrorists then- the first attack on the WTC- the one in 1993- and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing being good examples...but Clinton had a much different approach to fighting terrorism than BuschCo has.

You see, Clinton's people hunted down, captured, prosecuted and punished the terrorists responsible for those acts. Not much money in that, but there was justice. It was carried out without invading and occupying Iraq.
For awhile, America didn't have a "National Boogeyman" to fear.
Who were you afraid of in 1998? Did you even know who Osama bin Laden was in 1998?

Bill Clinton did- when he launched cruise missiles at one of Osama's bases, the GOP accused him of attempting to divert national attention away from really important issues like oral sex.

BushCo uses the war on terrorism and the DHS as reason and means to launder our tax dollars into the coffers of good corporate citizens like Halliburton, Bechtel and Exxon/Mobile.

It's not as if they've been subtle about it. The current rulers are accountable to no one- as long as they stay in power.
And they will do anything to remain in control.
Anything.

I don't think Ike left office with a " definite feeling of disappointmentent" as he stated. I am afraid that Eisenhower left office with a truly terrifying clarity of vision at the precise nature of the threat presented by the rise of the War Merchants.

Remember- Eisenhower was a conservative Republican and had no small experience in military affairs, and his philosophy is much , much different than that of the current GOP. Ike wasn't the most eloquent Prez, but if you read his farewell speech, you get the feeling that the man had humility and a conscience; he really did love his country , not for it's excesses, but for it's ideals.

I think Eisenhower would absolutely fucking hate George W. Bush.