Heritage, a conservative think-tank, was instrumental in the drum-up to war in Iraq. Now they have a new war.
However, it's not Iraq that's going to put, as Condi et al had claimed, "a mushroom cloud over an American city", now it's everybody and anybody who can loft a ballistic missile into the heavens, holding America "hostage".
Listen to the dark, foreboding score, with the requistite plaintive arabic female vox, stoking, of course, xenophobic cultural fears: a necessary component in selling the public on any gagillian dollar defense fleecing.
Talk about one-trick pony. Heritage is a big hammer and sees a world full o' nails. I know they probably do some valuable research somewhere, but this film, replete with scary film score, is just plain ol' fear-mongering; just like they did in the rush to deploy in Iraq.
None of the bigger issues are examined by these folks, like, with the US possessing over 1000 military bases littered around the landscape of the planet, spending ourselves silly to maintain this permanent war footing, protecting international trade routes for multi-national conglomerates first -- our "way of life" second -- isn't it obvious that we as Americans are already being held hostage? Hijacked onto a corporatist runaway train; handcuffed, unable to self-correct due to the momentum of an overreaching, top-heavy Empire?
Increasingly, this profiteering enterprise directs its foot soldiers to attack our political system here at home. With cold hard cash directed at our representatives transforming DC into an influence-peddling brothel, the people's needs are being left behind, social contract MIA.
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday,
The sector (health care) gave nearly $170 million to federal lawmakers in 2007 and 2008, with 54 percent going to Democrats, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in politics.
I am outraged at the inability for the Democratic leadership to step up to the plate in our supposed health care reform debate. They seem to be twiddling their thumbs while the profiteers succeed at framing the discussion, and consequently, are winning the argument.
Meanwhile single-payer isn't even on the table, and the special interests continue to dissemble attempting to run out the clock. HALF of those with health care insurance today are on some form of single-payer! How could it be such a non-starter? One obvious approach, that doesn't introduce any new rhetorical straw man for Republicans to knock down, would be to just simply expand coverage for the programs in place: Medicare and SCHIP. Bring universal care without alarming the special interests with scalding proposals; use a slow boil to succumb the proverbial lobster. But I digress.
Regarding the economic over-extended nature of this American Empire, our obsession with defense and war, well, I've seen this movie before; and the ending is something we should all work to avoid. Being guided by and following the fear-mongering of groups like the Heritage Foundation will, I hesitate to say, just get us all in a lot of hot water.