The Winds of Change

My super smart collegiate sis wrote an amazing blog post yesterday, and I thought I should share it since I personally think she's brilliant.. and right. Love you Heeeeed!

Heather said,

'The first of the Democratic debates are on today... and it is a very exciting thing.

The next election, I believe, will be an important one - our country seems like it is thirsting for a new order, there are candidates whose kind we've never seen before (a woman and a black man), and major changes could be on the horizon.

Yes, its obvious that things like the Military Industrial Complex and corporations really having a say in things, like foreign policy, are just things we have to accept as inevitable, but at least the 8 years of Dick & Bush will be over.

The Military Industrial Complex (M.I.C), simply explained, is generally defined as a "coalition consisting of the military and industrialists who profit by manufacturing arms and selling them to the government." Halliburton, Boeing, Lockheed-Martin keep making bigger and better military equipment, which the Pentagon believes we NEED.And everything is scattered throughout the country, in all 50 states. For example, a fighter jet -- every state is responsible for producing one part of it. So Congressmen, trying to keep their jobs, can't just knock the M.I.C out because it would take jobs away from their citizens.

There is money at both ends (front and back) of this operation, but there is just a little more at the back end, where all the politicians and their friends are.

Think about it: the U.S. has always been at war, ever since World War I. When they saw what a boost to the economy it was, foreign policy became designed around attaining what the country needs. They always slap a generic slogan on it - "Striking down the evildoers" and "Protecting our freedom" - but its really all about following the money and personal gain.

Think about the "war" in Iraq... it all started with removing Mosadek (the leader at the time) from power so that oil in the Middle East was more accessible. The US put Saddam Hussein in power, and were friends until a few shady dealings happened and suddenly Saddam was demonized to the American people - he was an evildoer.

It seems to slip everyone's mind that Dick Cheney, the current Vice President, was formerly the Secretary of Defense when the US decided to REALLY become a military heavyweight... THEN he became the CEO of Halliburton, a company that not only builds military equipment, but oil refinery equipment... The present-day Vice President is an industrial contractor.

(Can't help but put Eisenhower's quote right here:)
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

Basically, someone who has no previous ties and no hidden agenda would have to take office... but that'd be nearly impossible, because "its not what you know, its who you know" and the government is no different.

So, while there is hope on the horizon for change, its hard not to expect some fishy dealings... because there's 3/4 of a trillion dollars budgeted for the military, and when there's that much money, its hard to not get a little wide-eyed.

But, its exciting for me, a government buff, to see that someone of color is making this far into peoples' consciousness. And its even more exciting that Hillary Clinton threw her hat in the ring...

Hillary gets a bad rap, I think, because she's such an Ice Queen. But, she's smarter than anything! Bill Clinton had the highest IQ of all the Presidents... BUT HILLARY'S IS EVEN HIGHER!!

And Congress has started writing up plans to bring the troops home from the Middle East within the year. Too bad Bush has vowed to strike down anything they send his way. Issues like that also make it exciting to see how things change in the country and with the policies that affect everyone.

Did you feel that? ...those are the winds of change'