I have heard for a long time that the CIA is deeply involved in drug dealing, and often finance many of their covert operations that way. Do I believe it? Yes, I'm inclined to believe it. Indeed, there is a lot of stuff that our beloved GUEST keeps posting that I think contains an occasional element of truth. At least to a degree.

Do I think the United States government is corrupt? The government, per se, no. Do I think a lot of high level politicians and government officials are corrupt? You betcha!!   

I've been saying for a long time that this country is one helluva lot closer to fascism than a lot of Americans are willing to believe. The intimate relationship between the government and the major corporations is one of the primary characteristics of fascism. I have often quoted Benito Mussolini's definition of fascism in these threads. I won't this time. I leave it as an exercise to those who might be interested to do some googling and read it for themselves.

Do I think this whole Iraq war is about oil? In a sense, yes, but not just to commandeer oil so that American oil companies to reap huge profits by selling it to American consumers. I think the point is to gain control of enough of the world's oil resources to be able to "influence" ("blackmail" is such an ugly word) other countries who are, as far as we know, short of such resources, into "being nice." But if, say, China were to discover a vast oil field in the Yellow Sea, just offshore from Qingdoa all the way down to Shanghai, for example, the whole game would change and the real purpose of the Iraq war would truly have been in vain. We couldn't shut their oil off because they'd have their own.

Do I think there are wealthy and powerful families who are trying to dominate international finance and trade? Damned straight it do. 'Twas ever thus. This is not news!! If these families ever decided to join forces, we might have a problem, but they're too busy jockeying with each other to be "King of the Hill" (to scramble a metaphore) to constitute a serious danger to the rest of the world. This, also, is old stuff.

Prison labor? Yeah, there's some of that going on. Where were your car's license plates made? Traditionally, by prison labor in some states. Comprenez-vous "chain gang?" You know:   lining track, breaking rocks, road repair, Leadbelly, "Take This Hammer," lotsa other good songs. . . .    Some states do have prisoners work to help pay for their keep, but then a prison sentence is not supposed to be a luxury vacation. I see nothing outrageous about this. But slave labor? Freakin' ridiculous! And concentration camps? During World War II, Japanese-Americans got a bloody rotten deal and the government's been apologizing for it ever since. Concentration camps now? The paranoid delusions of fear-mongers and trolls.

Do I think the country is in deep doo-doo? Yes, I do do. And I think we have to get active politically and change things. VERY active politically. But do I think we're DOOMED as GUEST troll keeps telling us with grim and vengeful delight? No. What makes GUEST troll, shall we say, "counter-productive," is that his elaborate fictions cloud the real issues and, if we allow them to, distract our attention from things that are really going on. And he tries to create the impression that there is nothing that we can do about them. Note the consistent lack of response when I ask "what do you think we should do?" This is obviously a person with a problem. He wants all his dire warnings to be true. He wants all those who don't take him seriously to "get theirs." He wants a bloody revolution. Very juvenile. Kinda sick, really.

By the way, the Kerry Commission investigated some of the dealings of the CIA in relation to drugs and they turned up quite a bit. The investigation, as far as I know, is still going on.

And, yes, it's that Kerry.

Take a nap. Go for a walk. Get real. Then, go to work. Politically. On your local level, where you as an individual can actually have an effect.

Don Firth