Two recent postings from peace activist Bruce Gagnon's blog:
At 10:30 a.m. this morning I had a phone call from the base commander at Kirtland A.F.B. in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And it's a Sunday.
In my blog yesterday I quoted Col. Robert Suminsby, Jr. about his belief that we need to get our priorities straight here in the U.S. when it comes to funding things like Social Security and Medicare instead of "aircraft and satellites."
"How could you know what I mean when I talk about our nations priorities?" the Colonel asked me in very unfriendly tones.
I tried explaining to him that I have a lifetime of experience listening to people in the military say that we should ramp up Pentagon spending. He was not in a mood to listen.
Instead the Colonel's voice escalated, similar to his desire to see the military budget take ascendancy over social progress in America. "I can see that you are not one who should be involved in deciding on our nation's priorities," he yelled at me. Then he hung up.
Wow. A call from the base commander one day after my blog quoting him appears. I don't get that kind of service very often.
Some background is in order here to help understand why the Colonel is hot under the collar.
A couple of months ago Colonel Suminsby made a speech to a group of community leaders in Albuquerque calling for a hard look at "entitlement programs" funding. His base paper reported on the event and that was supposed to be that. But Bob Anderson, Vietnam veteran and local organizer with Stop the War Machine, picked up the paper and was quick to notice the significance of the speech. Stop the War Machine went to the Albuquerque City Council and asked them to pass a resolution condemning the Colonel's statement. Then on June 15 the local newspaper ran a story on the Colonel's ideas called Kirtland Commander Fears for Air Force's Future.
I believe that the Colonel's statement is not just - how would the Air Force put it? - out of the blue. It is part of this recent larger public relations campaign the Air Force is calling - Air Force Above All.
You might have seen the TV commercials. High-tech space weapons images....you know USA über alles - that sort of thing. Watch this Air Force video to see for yourself.
The Air Force sees the writing on the wall. We can't have social spending and pay for Star Wars and new generations of massively expensive war planes. So they are programming the minds of the American people.
I guess the best thing about his call is that once again it has been confirmed that Pentagon brass are reading my blog. And they are not happy about it.
The Colonel likely does not know that I too was in the Air Force - from 1971 to 1974. What he does not understand clearly enough is that I no longer have to take orders from officers. You see I am a free man now.
So thanks for the call Colonel but I don't have to jump when you say jump. It's what they call freedom of speech and democracy.
Hope you like this blog entry as well. It's for you.
By the way, Colonel Suminsby is a native of Northeast Harbor, Maine.
It's all about two things - power and money. Star Wars technology will give the U.S. "control and domination" of space and the Earth below as the Space Command planning document Vision for 2020 has outlined. On the second point the aerospace industry acknowledges that Star Wars will be the largest industrial project in the history of the planet Earth - necessitating near total control of the federal budget by the Pentagon.
Recently Col. Robert Suminsby Jr., commander of Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico told community leaders that social spending is problematic because it is impacting the Air Force's ability to buy new high-tech weapons systems.
"As a military officer, my big concern is fixing Social Security and Medicare," Suminsby said. "If we don't fix [defund] those things, there won't be anything left for a defense budget."
"There needs to be a national debate over what our priorities are," Suminsby said.
On that last point Suminsby is correct - there needs to be a national debate. Except his vision of a national debate is different from ours. His vision is one where the military makes an order and the public and Congress snap to it and hand over the federal treasury to the Pentagon.
Our vision of a national debate is one that involves the grassroots citizens who talk about what real security means. Housing, food, education, energy, retirement, clean environment - these are the things that bring real security to the people. It's like two trains heading for a collision course. One train is called Star Wars and the other is called social progress. Which do you pick?
The global day of fasting to Stop Star Wars on June 22 is one important way for the public to become involved in this debate. All over the world the U.S. is dragging the "allies" into Star Wars and active resistance to the insanity of an arms race in space is growing. But we must do more - and it must be done over and over again.
Please don't think for a minute that after June 22 we can pack up our protest signs and go home. This issue of space warfare will be the defining issue of our time. Will there be money for social progress all over the world or will our corporate dominated governments move our taxes into the hands of the global war machine?
We must call for the conversion of the military industrial complex. This campaign to keep space for peace also must become a campaign to end the madness of war - either on Earth or in the heavens.
June 22 Fast List - Not including the hundreds named at http://www.nenasili.cz/en/701_homepage
THANKS FOR THE CALL COLONEL - WELL MAYBE NOT
At 10:30 a.m. this morning I had a phone call from the base commander at Kirtland A.F.B. in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And it's a Sunday.In my blog yesterday I quoted Col. Robert Suminsby, Jr. about his belief that we need to get our priorities straight here in the U.S. when it comes to funding things like Social Security and Medicare instead of "aircraft and satellites."
"How could you know what I mean when I talk about our nations priorities?" the Colonel asked me in very unfriendly tones.
I tried explaining to him that I have a lifetime of experience listening to people in the military say that we should ramp up Pentagon spending. He was not in a mood to listen.
Instead the Colonel's voice escalated, similar to his desire to see the military budget take ascendancy over social progress in America. "I can see that you are not one who should be involved in deciding on our nation's priorities," he yelled at me. Then he hung up.
Wow. A call from the base commander one day after my blog quoting him appears. I don't get that kind of service very often.
Some background is in order here to help understand why the Colonel is hot under the collar.
A couple of months ago Colonel Suminsby made a speech to a group of community leaders in Albuquerque calling for a hard look at "entitlement programs" funding. His base paper reported on the event and that was supposed to be that. But Bob Anderson, Vietnam veteran and local organizer with Stop the War Machine, picked up the paper and was quick to notice the significance of the speech. Stop the War Machine went to the Albuquerque City Council and asked them to pass a resolution condemning the Colonel's statement. Then on June 15 the local newspaper ran a story on the Colonel's ideas called Kirtland Commander Fears for Air Force's Future.
I believe that the Colonel's statement is not just - how would the Air Force put it? - out of the blue. It is part of this recent larger public relations campaign the Air Force is calling - Air Force Above All.
You might have seen the TV commercials. High-tech space weapons images....you know USA über alles - that sort of thing. Watch this Air Force video to see for yourself.
The Air Force sees the writing on the wall. We can't have social spending and pay for Star Wars and new generations of massively expensive war planes. So they are programming the minds of the American people.
I guess the best thing about his call is that once again it has been confirmed that Pentagon brass are reading my blog. And they are not happy about it.
The Colonel likely does not know that I too was in the Air Force - from 1971 to 1974. What he does not understand clearly enough is that I no longer have to take orders from officers. You see I am a free man now.
So thanks for the call Colonel but I don't have to jump when you say jump. It's what they call freedom of speech and democracy.
Hope you like this blog entry as well. It's for you.
By the way, Colonel Suminsby is a native of Northeast Harbor, Maine.
STAR WARS OR SOCIAL PROGRESS - YOU DECIDE
It's all about two things - power and money. Star Wars technology will give the U.S. "control and domination" of space and the Earth below as the Space Command planning document Vision for 2020 has outlined. On the second point the aerospace industry acknowledges that Star Wars will be the largest industrial project in the history of the planet Earth - necessitating near total control of the federal budget by the Pentagon.
Recently Col. Robert Suminsby Jr., commander of Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico told community leaders that social spending is problematic because it is impacting the Air Force's ability to buy new high-tech weapons systems.
"As a military officer, my big concern is fixing Social Security and Medicare," Suminsby said. "If we don't fix [defund] those things, there won't be anything left for a defense budget."
"There needs to be a national debate over what our priorities are," Suminsby said.
On that last point Suminsby is correct - there needs to be a national debate. Except his vision of a national debate is different from ours. His vision is one where the military makes an order and the public and Congress snap to it and hand over the federal treasury to the Pentagon.
Our vision of a national debate is one that involves the grassroots citizens who talk about what real security means. Housing, food, education, energy, retirement, clean environment - these are the things that bring real security to the people. It's like two trains heading for a collision course. One train is called Star Wars and the other is called social progress. Which do you pick?
The global day of fasting to Stop Star Wars on June 22 is one important way for the public to become involved in this debate. All over the world the U.S. is dragging the "allies" into Star Wars and active resistance to the insanity of an arms race in space is growing. But we must do more - and it must be done over and over again.
Please don't think for a minute that after June 22 we can pack up our protest signs and go home. This issue of space warfare will be the defining issue of our time. Will there be money for social progress all over the world or will our corporate dominated governments move our taxes into the hands of the global war machine?
We must call for the conversion of the military industrial complex. This campaign to keep space for peace also must become a campaign to end the madness of war - either on Earth or in the heavens.
June 22 Fast List - Not including the hundreds named at http://www.nenasili.cz/en/701_homepage
Etiquetas: Bruce Gagnon, Militarism
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