Musicians, Artists and Politics - The Day the Music Dies

“And you tell me over and over and over again my friend, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.” – Barry McGuire

I think this needs to be said (not that what I think really matters) but I am so disappointed by so many of today’s musicians and artists who come out and publicly support this politician or that.

I have been noticing this trend amongst musicians and artists growing over these last 20 years or so. It astounds me that today’s artists are so fooled by the mass media that they will come out in support of certain political candidates. This is foolish as well as lacking in dignity and I will show you why.

I expect that Joe-Blow Average Guy – who watches too much TV – to suck it all in and be lead around by the ring in their nose like cattle to support a candidate. But I didn’t expect musicians and artists to be as daft as average Joe-Blow and openly promote criminal candidate A over criminal candidate B. (Yes. Yes. I know most artists and musicians are not rocket scientists but I still expect them to have a little more insight to life and how things work than the average 6-hour-a-day TV watcher.)

I get disgusted when I see artists posting some nonsense supporting some politician (or attacking that criminal – which is de facto supporting this criminal.) It especially astounds me when I see foreigners supporting some American politician. Guess what? No one in America gives a toss what you think. What would you guys from, say the UK, think if the bassist of Hootie and the Blowfish came out and said he supports the Conservative or Labor candidate in England?

You’d think he were an imbecile, wouldn’t you?

I don’t mean artists have to be apolitical, but I mean you need to publicly support principles, not individual candidates. Past history is proof enough that all politicians are liars and crooks. You should understand and know by now that we are ruled by an evil cabal. It doesn’t matter if Candidate A or Candidate B wins; nothing changes.

Or haven’t you been paying attention the last 50 years?

At this time, we don’t know if Candidate A or Candidate B is going to win the election. All we do know is that no matter who wins, the current direction and decline of the country will continue.

Here is what artists are supposed to be in support of End of the wars, end of poverty, end the bombings, end the war on drugs, more freedom for the people.

The fact of the matter is that all politicians are deceitful liars. They have to be. That’s part of the job. To think candidate A is going to change things is delusional. I explained that here inThe US Presidency is a Donut Shop.

What is going on now; the vote rigging; Bernie’s disgraceful and total and complete capitulation; and what occurred with all our US presidents in these last 50 years should have been a wake-up call: The system is corrupt. It’s always been corrupt. It was built that way. It isn’t going to change. There is basically no difference in our ruling aristocracy and the ruling aristocracy of other corrupt nations.

The USA, Japan, and the EU haven’t a leg to stand on when we criticize North Korea or her president.

Besides the above, here is really why you should stop the political posts and support for any politician: when you do support one or the other, it makes you lose your ability to view the world as an observer. When you publicly support a certain candidate you lose your objectivity and are unable to keep your bias level at a minimum. It destroys your art and loses members of your fanbase. It is amateurish and completely unprofessional.

Still not convinced?

Remember when John Lennon was protesting the Vietnam War? Did he ever come out and say he supported this politician or that? No. He understood that our problems are not because of this politician or that. He fully understood that and said that the system is corrupt.

Can you imagine for a second someone like Lennon or David Bowie coming out and saying he supports a particular politician like Cameron or Corbin or Hillary or Trump?

Nope. Neither can I.

Do not support politicians. Support universal human rights and principles.

Of course, it really doesn’t matter what I think. But I think you do yourself a disservice by getting into politics. Musicians and artists are supposed to help us escape – even for a few minutes – the hell we live in.

Don’t pull us deeper into the cesspool.

Eat Whale, It's Delicious!

I received a mail from my friend Andrew who lives in cold Northern Japan. Andrew is also a columnist for Lew Rockwell so we are sort of "Brothers in Arms." We are always on "the same page" so to speak (though, often on different paragraphs!)

Here is Andrew's latest on Lew Rockwell (LRC): Yasukuni Shrine Whines Justified? (www.lewrockwell.com/2014/01/andy-sirkis/a-shrine-to-war-and-militarism/)

Andrew sometimes sends me very interesting insights and comments. Here is his latest email:

Hey Mike san,

Here's a fun little story you might want to post on your blog, I don't think its the kind of thing LRC would publish:

My family was in Yamagata City this past weekend.  If you know Yamagata City, you would know its a nice city in the central valley of northern Japan, at the base of some large mountains.  I wouldn't want to disparage Yamagata City, but it's fair to say that its seen better days and isn't one of Japan's most economically dynamic cities.

Even so, near the main train station they have a couple of nice department stores.  One of those stores has a basement area where you can buy a wide assortment of the most delicious foods imaginable.  Literally, I walk around the vast expanse of food stalls drooling all over myself.  After I stop leering at the gorgeous Japanese girls, I look at the food and continue drooling.  Its that good, just looking at the cookies, and cakes, and bread, and snacks, and fried foods, and meat dishes, and sushi, and salads, its endless!

In America, I have never seen such a delicious choice of food to go all in one place,all in a convenient and attractive setting.  In large cities like Tokyo, these basement food markets in department stores are taken for granted.  Even in the smaller cities, you can easily find a department store with this set up.

When at the market in the store in Yamagata City, we bought fresh, raw, minke whale meat.   The minke whale is not endangered and our fine Japanese whalers, engaging in research of course  (nudge nudge wink wink say no more), catch a good number of these delicious cetaceans.  The meat, eaten raw and with a bit of chopped ginger is fresh, and tender, and nutty tasting like the best cut of beef you ever had.

Sorry to all you Americans who live in "the freest country in the history of the world" because it is illegal to buy whale meat in America under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.  Those Green Peace control freaks who love whales and have their own TV show simply HATE Japanese whalers.  They spend millions racing around the world to assualt Japanese whalers, but did they protest at all when Obama and his gang annihilated a group of Afghans on their way to a wedding a few weeks ago?  Some priorities.

Eat whale, it's delicious!

I responded, "Thanks Andrew. But! But! What about Flipper?" (by the way, I have eaten whale! It is delicious!)

Remember, whales are mammals... Some slices of the 

whale bacon even looks like pork bacon 

I Must Be Bitcoin's Bad Luck Charm!

I guess I must be bad luck for Bitcoin and MtGox, Bitcoin's biggest dealer...

Anytime I have anything to do with Bitcoin, the next day, they get bad luck.

I wrote an article for Lew Rockwell on April 9th (that was posted on April 11th at 9pm Pacific Time) entitled The Bashful Bitcoin Numismatist and guess what?  Bitcoin crashed late that next day on April 12th, falling about 70%! Please refer to: So, Bitcoin Crashed. Now What?

Well, the other day, I was offered another US TV news interview and asked to discuss Bitcoin and gold. Of course, being a media-hog, I said, "Yes! I wanna be on TV!" and jumped on the chance.

My Bitcoin

So, being a diligent reporter, I figured that I'd get the scoop on Bitcoin; and since MtGox is only 25 minutes or so from my house, door-to-door, I thought I'd mosey on over there and have a chat. So, I sent them an email. 

Here is what my email said:

From: Mike in Tokyo Rogers, May 06 14:38 (Japan Standard Time): (This is May 5th, Sunday in the USA - Mike)

Hi Folks, 
My name is Mike (I go by Mike in Tokyo Rogers) and I have been a regular columnist for Lew Rockwell since 2004. I also sometimes do TV interviews with stations all over the world and on this Thursday at 4 am Japan time, I will be interviewed for WHDT TV with Gary Franchi host (Watch this station for free online here: http://usmediavault.com/stream.php). We would like to discuss Bitcoin and gold. I'd like to come by your offices for a 30 minute chat if you have time. Maybe take some photos. 

Be forewarned I am a sort of skeptic (but Lew Rockwell is not, as you know)... Trust I don't come there to grill you guys, I am a humorist at heart and would just like to report more or less about what the commotion is all about. I do not want to damage, nor promote your business. 

I am hoping that you guys can convince me to convince the viewers how great of a thing Bitcoin can be. Anyway, to be fair, I did write a humorous article about Bitcoin that Lew ran a few weeks ago: http://lewrockwell.com/rogers/rogers259.html After that, Lew ran a blog post that was very supportive of Bitcoin. That was a good influence on me. 

I'm not sold, but I'm not against. Anything that gets people off the state grid is fine by me. As a true Anarchist (and humorist) I am happy to have people use whatever medium of exchange they wish. Far be it from me to decide what people should or should not do. 

Whaddya say? Give me 30 minutes and show me around your business? I hope so. I have time tomorrow (Tues) or Wed. I live in Futakotamagawa. - Best! Mike

To this, the good folks at MtGox wrote back to me:

From: Marcus, May 06 14:57 (JST): Hi,  Thank you for your email. We have forwarded this to PR team for consideration and our PR team will contact you.  Thanks,  MtGox.com Team

Well, that was yesterday... And, like I said, I must be bad luck for these folks. For one, they haven't bothered to call me. You'd think that if they truly were believers in their Bitcoin, they'd be happy to promote and tell the world about it on TV and on Lew Rockwell, but I guess not. 

Or maybe they have their hands full with a ship that could be sinking... Why do I say this? Well, this morning I saw this news and I'm sure this is terrible for MtGox:

CoinLab Files $75 Million Lawsuit Against MtGox

Last week, CoinLab, a US based startup that got attention last month for being the first venture funded Bitcoin firm, announced that they were suing MtGox for $75 million due to breach of contact. The lawsuit stems back to a partnership that was agreed between the two firms in February. Under the terms of the deal, MtGox, the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, which accounts for over 70% of total daily volumes being conducted through its trading venue, had granted CoinLab as its exclusive partner in the US and Canada. In its case against MtGox, CoinLab is claiming that the exchange failed to provide data in regards to existing clients. Additionally, they accuse MtGox of continuing to market in the US and Canada, and failing to abide by their revenue share agreement; thereby breaching the partnership agreement between the two firms. According to CoinLab CEO, Peter Vessenes in his statement to clients, “what tipped us into filing the lawsuit was our complete inability to get MtGox to deliver on the few simple things left that were needed for customers to move over en-masse; we were often left just apologizing to our alpha customers while their own businesses suffered. I’m just not willing to put any of our customers in that position – if we can’t do a good job for you, I won’t promise that we can.”

See? If I even think about Bitcoin, something bad happens to them the next day! I guess the sh*t is hitting the fan right now at MtGox and if they (allegedly) can't even keep their promises to their strategic partners, I guess calling back Mike Rogers is asking a lot. Especially since, as I mentioned, I am a skeptic and an interview with me might be risky business and just asking to be railed on.... In a humorous way, of course.

Andrew Sirkis Quoted on Lew Rockwell!

Wow! Andrew Sirkis was quoted on Lew Rockwell!

See:

Amazing! You know when someone with the stature of a Lew Rockwell quotes you, you've made a great statement...You maybe wondering just "who is this Andrew character?" Well, he is a friend of mine who has been quoted at length in this very blog describing how much of a safer place Japan is to live in than the United States!

Please refer to: "Japan is a Much Freer and Better Place to Live Than the United States."

Dear Mike,

Went to the beach with my 9 year old and 2 of her friends this Sunday afternoon.  It was a warm day and the beach wasn't crowded.  No cops anywhere in sight;  the lifeguard was there, but hidden from view and totally unobtrusive.

I drank a can of ice cold beer that I bought at the corner liquor store a block from the beach.  Just one can.  No one said a word about it.

The children went in the ocean and I kept an eye on them.  Everyone was well behaved on the entire beach.  No loud radios, drunks, bums, or slobs.  No trash. No one allowing their dog to run around unleashed and harass people.

An 8-ish year old girl shows up with a 2-ish year old looking child, probably siblings.  The 8-year-old wraps the child up in towels just like a Japanese mother would do, to keep the sun off the child's skin.  I looked closely to see, yet no parents are in sight.  The older child places the younger child in an inner tube and they spend several hours floating around and enjoying themselves.  Another Dad and I take turns keeping an eye on the nearby children, but they never need to be admonished, playing respectfully together and laughing.  When I go in the water I leave my valuables in a waist pouch on the beach, with no fear at all that anyone would steal anything.

We all wash off at the public beach shower and walk home.  Stopping for ice cream along the way.   At 5PM, a friend of my 9-year-old rides her bike home, about a 15 minute ride to the other side of town.

If you read between the lines, you may understand how this vignette represents a very particular way of life in many respects.  It would be easy to contrast this to my experiences in America, many of which were good as I lived in San Francisco, a most beautiful part of the world.

Well done, Andy!

I Knew PSY Before He Was Famous!

I'm proud to be a Lew Rockwell (LRC) contributor. I've been doing it now for nearly ten years.

I remember when I first started, I was so proud to have my articles published (I was rejected by other sites dozens of times!)

LRC taught me about politics and the economy. It was so great to meet and read like minded people. They have all taught me a lot.

For that, I thank them all.

I also remember, back in the days when small government and Libertarianism (anti-government, anti-war, pro-free market) was considered a freakish notion by Joe Blow Average. When I told people that I wrote for LRC, if they had heard of it, they'd roll their eyes or say something along the lines of, "Oh? That explains why you are the lunatic fringe".. But after these last ten years of war and bailing out big banks, as well as a crashing and destruction of the Middle Class, people no longer think that way...

If being against foreign wars, bombing and killing innocent children; against bailing out Wall Street and Big banks, against high taxation and intentional destruction of our currency and being for freedom and the rights of man is the lunatic fringe, then I am it.

And damned proud of it!

Writing for LRC allows me to reach millions of people that I could never reach with my blog...

What's the reason for this particular blog post? Well, I wrote an interesting story that mentions Korean Rapper PSY on LRC on Oct 2, 2012 called, "Why Korea Beats Japan" - long before he was even heard of by the western press or the average person... At that time, his video had 90,000,000 views. That is three times the population of South Korea. Now, he nears 1 billion views on Youtube...

That's the most views in Youtube history...

The interesting part is Youtube is an also-ran in Japan, Korea and China.

Oh, the wonderful things you can learn from blogging and LRC.

(Oh and that title; "I Knew PSY Before He Was Famous!"is kind of true. My company did an event that he appeared at in Japan in January of this year (2012).... Like and idiot, I didn't go (lazy!) I didn't meet him but the most famous "talent" at our company, George Williams did. Said PSY was a nice guy too! (I knew I should have gone to that show!!!!!)

Sunday Morning Thoughts: Birthdays and Why Vote?

Yesterday was my son's ninth birthday. My birthday, on the other hand, was a few days ago. Because of this closeness of dates, we always celebrate the birthdays together. So my two oldest daughters (his two half-sisters) came over for a later lunch. 

It was a fun affair and his two older sisters came over and we enjoyed a delicious meal of New Zealand lamb chops, New Zealand Green Mussells, Scallop Sashimi, Butter friend scallops, crackers and cheese and a delicious salad.

It was a fun time. I can remember when my son was just born. It seems like yesterday. Now he is very tall and is a voracious reader...

Me? I am getting old. I stopped drinking and went back to the raw food diet again because I feel that I need the energy of a 25-year-old again (raw food will do it, I've experienced it!)...

My birthday also gave me a sort of melancholy feeling that I had posted with that cartoon about Life in Japan the other day. If you missed it, let me ask that you watch it here. It is only three minutes long and is guaranteed to make a tear come to your eye.

Anyway, today, give your kids a hug, or, if you can't, call them up (and your parents too) and tell them that you love them! Do it now!

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This morning I awoke early, as usual, and attended to my chores of reading and writing. Usually, towards the end of this ritual, I make breakfast for my wife and son of raw vegetables, fruits and homemade juices. We eat extremely healthy (you should too! I wrote about that in "The Super Healthy Breakfast! - Raw Food! Live Longer, Younger and Look and Feel Great!")

After I finish breakfast, I usually take a look at Facebook and have been cutting down time on it as it is really a bummer and a waste of time.

What I saw today, really surprised me. It was a Facebook post from a "rocker" guy who is the front for a Ramones type of band and he had mentioned that he was at a Mitt Romney event and wrote "Mitt and Ann 100 ft. in front of me." After that, as expected, he was attacked by some people who like Obama or others who claim that Romney hates gays, etc.

The back and forth went on.

Finally, the rocker wrote, "This is not a political discussion. Vote for whoever you want to vote for!"

I was astounded. What a simplistic response. He implies by saying "Vote for whoever you want." That, by voting, things will change. 

Doesn't he know that the entire system is corrupt and cannot be reformed? Is he so clueless about US history that he doesn't know the truth? 

Maybe, after all, in many cases, musicians aren't the sharpest tools in the shed and they often never read books....

Sad...

I added this comment to his post:

Before Obama, we had a Republican presidency that had Ben Bernanke in charge of the Federal Reserve. Interestingly, Obama upon election, kept Bernanke and continued with the very same policies that Bush put in place of bailing out Wall Street and the big banks on the backs of the taxpayers - excepting that Obama actually expanded them! Timothy Geithner was Fed reserve chairman (and former Goldman Sachs) under Bush; Obama put him in charge of the Treasury!..

Also, Bush bombed 4 Muslim countries and now Obama bombs 6... ... 

The US presidency is like the manager of a donut shop. We see him but we never see the real owners of the donut shop. While the managers (like Obama, Bush, Clinton, etc...) will come in and say, "You need to change! We need to eat healthy! We need to be positive!" The reality is that, when they become donut shop manager, they still need to sell the 48 box of glazed donuts or they'll be out of a job.... Oh sure, they give lip-service to change and eating healthy but to think that these charlatans represent true change to the Leviathan that is the US Imperialist government is to deny 150 years of history... Why in the world don't people wake up to the fact that there isn't any difference between a Democrat and a Republican? 

With one party the welfare state is first to the pigs trough to feed and the warfare state is second. With the other party in power, the warfare state is first and the welfare state is second.... Losers? You and me (the taxpayers).

With that I linked to my favorite article that spawned this brilliant and simple analysis by Lew Rockwell: "The Humanitarian Face of the State With Fangs."

Used by the State, Even in Death

My father died last year. One of the last wishes of this retired career marine father was to have a burial at sea in the tradition of the military.

He told me upon his death bed, "The only important things in my life were the US marines, your mother and you kids."

I wasn’t pleased at all with this decision for a military burial as I do not believe that the US military really "takes care of its own" at all. One need just look at all the military veterans who are homeless or had their bodies and ashes dumped in landfills for evidence of this. But it was my father’s life and death and, since I no longer live in the USA, it was difficult for me to try to convince my father and remaining family that we should have a quiet family-only ceremony like we did for my mother.

I was hoping for a small and respectful burial at the same place my family sent my mom’s ashes back to the sea at the peaceful and oh so serene Japanese temple that was surrounded by blue skies, mountains and nature on the coast of Kyushu, Japan. That was a ceremony whose hallowed silence was punctuated only by the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks and the birds overhead; the only other sounds were the sobs and cries (along with hugs) amongst the four of us remaining relatives in attendance.

That ceremony, to me, represented reverence and respect for the dead; a tranquil and close family affair just for us. Not one surrounded by strangers, with a military band blasting out marching tunes with no immediate family present.

Nevertheless, my father believed that he wanted to be thanked for his service to his country. In spite of my voiced hesitation, he had the full support of my militarist cheerleading state-worshipping brother. I was out-voted and a military-style burial at sea was decided.

Interestingly enough though, and as is par for the course for Leviathan, it took six months for the funeral proceedings to take place. Even though my father died in September of 2011, his burial was in March of 2012. In an curious twist of fate and timing, I received a DVD video of my father’s burial at sea over the Memorial Day holiday.

Unfortunately, the video was painful to watch. The fact of the matter is that, in my opinion, the video wasn’t so much a ceremony and tribute to my father who "fought for his country;" it was, in fact, a video of a ceremony that celebrated the American military machine; it was an orgy for the glorification of the State and US militarism.

Even though I shed a tear for my father, I’m sorry to say that the video of the ceremony nearly disgusted me.

In the background of the video, dubbed in music played the national anthem, the Marine Hymn and, even more in line with bargain-basement "celebration" quality of the proceedings, a country song was overdubbed that included the singing refrain, "I’m glad to be an American. Where I can be free."

I wondered, "Is this really reverence for a dead soldier and his family?"

Before you folks who are family of the military dead are too quick to judge my criticism, listen to this: I also received the US flag that was supposedly used in the video for my dad’s ceremony. Unfortunately, and pardon my politically incorrect language, but even a blind man can see that the flag I received isn’t the one used in the video of the burial ceremony. The one I have in my possession is twice the size of the one that was used in the video. Am I supposed to have some sort of emotional tie to this flag? What does this flag have to do with the one used in my father’s ceremony besides both probably being manufactured in China?

Sorry, folks. These are different flags.

Or is the purpose of this flag that I was sent a continuation of the state-sponsored propaganda and use of the dead to influence the thinking of the living? Is this another token that is supposed to make the owner of the flag "proud to be an American" too?

It doesn’t make me proud at all.

I’m sorry. Dad, I love you and I am proud of you, but you didn’t go to war in Korea to protect our freedoms; you went to war over there to further US economic interests and the US empire. That you never figured that out in your lifetime is sad. But, I hope that you are in a better place and have had the chance to speak directly with a former US marine general by now.

That my still very much alive university educated brother is too dim to see it today in all American militarism is a testament to the power of the American propaganda machine and brainwashing by the mass media. That I write this is merely a warning to American people to wake up.

In Japan, the old order before World War Two told people that they went to war in China and Asia to bring peace and to fight for the emperor. In the USA, the old – and current – order tell people that they go to war to be free and to protect American freedoms.

These things are all lies.

In this regards, the Japanese are decades ahead of the average American; they figured out long ago that the propaganda was a lie. The average American still buys this trash hook, line and sinker.

My father was duped this way in life and now in death. My living relatives also believe this. It is sad that, in life and in death, my father is still used as a tool of the state...

Of course, from this short missive, I will expect to get the usual hail of criticism and hate mail claiming that I disrespect the military or their service. That I, a person with no experience in battle, are using the sacrifices that these men and women made "protecting my freedoms" so that I may make these claims.

To that I say, "Poppycock!"

In response to the anticipated storm of hate mail, I’d like to borrow the words of another famous American statesman and true patriot whose experience in battle rivals my own: "Bring it on!"

Copyright © 2012 by LewRockwell.com. Reprinted by permission.

"Used by the State, Even in Death" New Article at Lew Rockwell

I have a new article on Lew Rockwell that was an extremely difficult article to write. It is about my father's military burial at sea and the glorification of the US military and American exceptionalism...

While it is not readily apparent, this is a fraud. Read the article to see why.

I think it might be very disturbing to many people.

Used by the State, Even in Death

http://lewrockwell.com/rogers/rogers250.html

"In Japan, the old order before World War Two told people that they went to war in China and Asia to bring peace and to fight for the emperor. In the USA, the old – and current – order tell people that they go to war to be free and to protect American freedoms.

These things are all lies.


In this regards, the Japanese are decades ahead of the average American; they figured out long ago that the propaganda was a lie. The average American still buys this trash hook, line and sinker."

Read more here.

Here's some excellent letters from ex-military readers that I received:

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Appreciated your article. As an Army trumpeter who has performed Taps for over 1,000 funerals, I can agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments. While the service itself, when done properly, is very reverent and moving, I have seen the deaths of young men and women exploited by the government in shameless self-promotion time and time again. Ironically, I intend to state in my will that I do not want Taps, or any kind of military burial when it is my time to go, for the exact reasons you so eloquently stated...

James

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Mike (in Tokyo) Rogers,

Thank you for your recent posting on LewRockwell.com [Used by the State, Even in Death]. I am a veteran who served in both the Army and the Navy. It took me a long time to get passed the propaganda and revisionist history before I could see the world for what it is. I’m making up for lost time by reading Lew Rockwell everyday. I’m sure you’ll get some hate mail, but not from me.

Thanks,

Dave  

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Mike,

As a multi-military brat, I have an idea of the pride with which your father

wore his uniform.  I would not have wanted my USAF father or my Army aunt to have understood - in their old age - that they were put in harm's way in

WWII (and Viet-Nam) by a group of international bankers for profit and

control.  The shock would have been too depressing. But I hope they know and

understand, now, somewhere.  I hope hundreds of millions of soldiers from

all times and places (but especially the modern era) understand how badly

they have been used by their supposed 'leaders'.

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Mike,

I, too, came to this same conclusion many years ago... The hype and the yard of bull crap about the sacrifices necessary to protect us from communism had me fooled for a long time ... To see the broken bodies of the current warriors is sad... And the politicians make sure to stand beside these poor souls in their quest to gain reelection...

I support the efforts of the misguided  military people... They in fact do a good job...but to what end..

I still do not believe or understand how the national guard became our fighting force in foreign countries...Did I miss the memo changing them from home guard in the states to what they are now?... Old guys with families dying or maimed in combat...

While the bureaucrats stand firm about this constant battle to protect us (we) citizens from harm from the invisible terrorists with our own form of terrorist called the TSA..

As the saying goes freedom isn't free. And we are losing it fast...How easy to fool the masses of sheeple...Wave the flag and play the national anthem...gets them every time...

P T Barnum had it right...a sucker born every minute...or was that a fool and his money will soon be parted ...either way we lose in the eyes of the rest of the world...we are tolerated not loved by them...and they want to come here to get on the gravy train not because its the last best place...

Charlie  Schumer's bill will disallow leaving with your money... so we are trapped inside this monster...the politicos want your money and will legislate it into the coffers of the govment...if all is not lost where in hell is it hiding...

Sorry for the loss of your father and also sorry it was not a proper ceremony with respect to his service...

I  believe political war (and most are) is wrong...except for the revolutionary war...and I now think that outcome (constitution) is slowly being stolen from us... With that in mind... Keep the faith

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You`re not at all insane when criticizing the abuse of even an individual`s death by the criminal state and its military. Plain abuse of every individual not belonging to the ruling elites by the state is the truth and you should never be ashamed or afraid of the truth even if it concerns matters of family and heart. The sacrifices of soldiers were never made for protecting the freedoms of their loved ones back home but always for the interests of the ruling elites. If you are a moral and honest person and use your brain the only choice you have in life is to detest the military and say so explicitly. It doesn`t matter at all if you will be criticized for your article by people without a functioning intellect. The only thing of importance is that you always remain sincere vis-a-vis yourself!

Best regards 

Ferdinand

--------------

My condolences twice. Once for your loss of your father and then for the
thoughts that you must hold under the circumstances.

Having said that, this old Vietnam veteran jar head laughed out loud
(really) at your last line.

Peace,
Dave 

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To read that last line Dave is talking about, click here.