In 1933, Major General Smedley Butler, at the time a famous Marine general gave a speech looking back on his military service. He made observations that are, if anything, more apposite today than they were then.
Smedley Butler on Interventionism
Major General Smedley Butler, USMC – Federation of American Scientists – Military Analysis Network
President Dwight Eisenhower amongst all Americans in history commanded a war that encompassed the Earth and, then, served as a civilian President in the world that war created. Looking back across those experiences he saw with a uniquely expert eye the true threat to American democracy.
Military-Industrial Complex Speech, Dwight D. Eisenhower
President Dwight D. Eisenhower – Public Papers of the Presidents – Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1960 pp. 1035-1040
The other thought that has stayed with me over this Christmas holiday is the rise of America's surveillance police state. It's development no less bogus than the endless war that birthed it. And that made me remember President Harry Truman's famous Op-ed piece, “Limit CIA Role to Intelligence.” His observations are of particular importance including the irony that it was Truman who created th! e CIA.
The Only Thing We Have to Fear…Is the CIA
RAY MCGOVERN – Reader Supported News
I know that some feel Edward Snowden is a traitor. I think of him as a whistle blower willing to sacrifice his life to get our attention about the out-of-control surveillance state that has arisen like a toxic black mold threatening the structure of our democracy.
Edward Snowden, After Months of NSA Revelations, Says His Mission’s Accomplished
BARTON GELLMAN – The Washington Post
Wrong actions have consequences. I think this is just the beginning of the fall-out.
A New Twist in International Relations: The Corporate Keep-My-Data-Out-of-the-U.S. Clause
JORDAN ROBERTSON – Bloomberg Technology
