[Dialogue] (no subject)

[Jim Rippey]

Thank you, Dick Kroeger,   (I see Addi was faster than I am.  I applaud her
thoughts.)

 

It has been obvious to a lot of people that this is going on.  But these few
sentences expose the process in a wonderfully succinct, easy to grasp way.
This does "crystallize" the situation, as you put it so well.  

 

However, I am intrigued by your use of "neo conservatives" in this manner.
Without really examining the term rationally, I have presumed it to be a
new, sophisticated manifestation of fiscal and political conservatism.  But
as Lakoff presents his "What they hope to accomplish" list, it seems more of
an unlikely collection of what we called "allies" during World War II.
There were huge philosophical differences among us:  the "Never Again"
Europeans and British who were appalled by World War I and were lulled by
Neville Chamberlain's appeasement, then the courageous, embattled Britains
inspired by Churchill, the reluctant "America Firsters" dragged in by Pearl
Harbor, the prima donna generals like Patton, Montgomery and the Free
French's deGaulle, and all of them/us allied with Stalin's brutal communism.
No wonder we had a Cold War afterwards.

 

My thought is simply that in order to be effective in fighting what's
happening and increase our chances of creating a better future, it seems to
me we need to identify our various opponents carefully and be prepared to
deal with their disparate goals with specifically tailored methods.  What
they share is a willingness to manipulate public opinion so they can impose
their goals on the rest of us.  For the moment, they are "allied" with an
administration that is most definitely seeking  "domestic war powers and
much greater political control in the United States for the president and
the administration."

 

One important component is the extremely powerful AIPAC lobby comprised of
and supported by powerful people who support the idea of "Greater Israel"
vs. the Arabs in the Middle East.  They were architects of our preemptive
strike in Iraq and are now promoting war with Iran.  They have a powerful
grip on Congress and on Presidential candidates.  Anyone who challenges them
will be smeared as anti-Semitic.  However they are opposed by many
thoughtful Jews and some rabbis including Tikkun's Rabbi Michael Lerner.
There is more open opposition to the "Greater Israel" idea in Israel's press
than there is in this country.

 

The oil conglomerates and the military-industrial complex President
Eisenhower warned us against are powerful supporters of the Bush
administration at present.  Their goals are profits, lower tax rates, less
government regulation of business, cheap labor, no restrictive (costly)
environmental controls.  Exxon-Mobile is offering $10,000 bonuses to
established scientists who are willing to write learned papers debunking
global warming.

 

And then there are the well funded religious groups who are determined to
impose their opposition to abortion, gay rights, and separation of church
and state on anyone whose beliefs differ.  These issues are for them, more
important than poverty or expanded health care or free speech.  Among them
are "rapture Christians" who support "Greater Israel" because they think it
will bring on Armageddon and the second coming of Christ.  Fortunately there
are religious people with a much broader focus.  Jim Wallis and Bishop Spong
are among my personal favorites. 

 

Available to all these groups is a remarkable pool of very talented,
skillful opinion manipulators, who for a price, can create a convincing case
that black is white.  And despite the religious idea that we are created in
God's image, history shows us we are  by and large much too gullible, too
vulnerable to manipulation.  Public opinion supported Hitler and Mussolini,
also Chamberlain's appeasement.  Lindbergh was a powerful voice among the
America Firsters.  Then there was Joe McCarthy's long popularity, our
support of the Vietnam War's rationale, and the fact that many Americans
still believe that Saddam Hussein was behind the 9-11 attack.  Personally,
my guess is that within the year, we will be at war with Iran, the Middle
East will really be in flames and it won't matter at all who is president or
who controls Congress because all money and energy will go into "supporting
our troops."

 

Our only hope is for those of us who care to find and fund honest, skillful
opinion molders who can somehow counteract the distortions and truth
twisting of those hired by Lakoff's list of culprits.  



Jim Rippey Sr in rainy Bellevue, NE

 

 

  _____  

From: dialogue-bounces at wedgeblade.net
[mailto:dialogue-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf Of KroegerD at aol.com
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 10:40 AM
To: nspmn at googlegroups.com
Cc: dfl-faith at yahoogroups.com; Dialogue at wedgeblade.net
Subject: [Dialogue] (no subject)

 

September 10, 2007

 

It has now crystallized for me!  It has now been made clear the underlying
device used by the neo conservatives to successfully advance their agenda.

 

In his latest book, Thinking Points,  author George Lakoff gives us an
example of "what they say" as popular cover for "what they hope to
accomplish"

 

What they say:
 Find and destroy weapons of mass destruction.*
 Oust* Saddam Hussein and free the Iraqi people to establish their own
democracy.
* Allow Iraqi Businessmen to establish a free market.
 Use the profits from* Iraqi oil to build infrastructure for the people of
Iraq.
 Allow Iraq to* become a shining example of liberty, free markets, and
democracy in the Middle East.

 

What they hope to accomplish:
 Show that global order can be reshaped* to our advantage by military means,
and show enough force to intimidate other countries in the Middle East.
 Use the war-linked to the "war on terror"-as* a way to establish domestic
war powers and much greater political control in the United States for the
president and the administration.
 Shift domestic* spending from social programs to the military, and shift
domestic wealth to defense contractors and the oil industry.
 Establish a controllable "client* state" government in Iraq.
 Gain access to the world's second largest oil* reserve.
 Establish permanent military bases in the heart of the Middle East* to gain
a strategic position, particularly with regard to Iran.
 Use the war* as a rallying call for electoral advantage in America.
 Allow American* corporations to take control of a significant portion of
Iraq's economy.
* Privatize military functions in order to (a) maximize the effect of
fighting forces, (b) increase profits for military contractors, and (c)
remove accountability for such actions as torture and bribery.
 Establish the* dominance and independence of the United States in world
affairs by ignoring the will of many of our NATO allies and the UN.

 

Author Lakoff suggests that progressive values will not prevail until we
systematically expose such devices.

 

How gullible are we?

 

Dick Kroeger
Orono, MN
952-476-6126





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