Try Other Options Against Iran

There are many who are calling for military confrontation and even attacks on Iran
The lessons of Vietnam and Iraq have been forgotten. Military attacks only lead to loss of lives, resources, and self-respect.
Why don’t we use the new, modern methods of dealing with an opponent?
We should engage in economic and cyber-warfare. International trade and travel should be banned; electronic and electrical power systems would be disrupted; funds that have been deposited in other countries should be seized; and communication systems should be degraded.
Military attacks will unite the people of Iran around the present regime. Disruption and crisis by confusion will undermine the regime.

gens Americius

gens Americius: the clan-family-race-tribe of the American people.

An invented or created ethnicity, the Americii share the same goals and values though differ as to how to maintain, protect, or project those goals and values.

The same can be said of their having a common leadership – whether they support or oppose someone in a leadership position, they agree on the legitimacy of the office itself.

In religious matters, the prevailing beliefs and values, though not always the practices, of the Abrahamic religions predominate.

Most Americii reside within the United States of America, some being descendants of the same patrilineal line (the Founding Fathers), others being adopted into the gens.


gens Americius by Jack Cormode is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at jackcormode@gmail.com.

Who is Serving?

The situation in Iraq is deteriorating as is that in Afghanistan. Iran is also a problem area. Many, especially politicians, are calling for a more active role for the U.S. military to “fix” these cases.
When I read or hear of anyone calling for greater military activity in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Iran, I will contact that person and ask: “Who in your family is serving over there?”
Too many people are willing to risk the lives and wellbeing of others, as long as it does not involve them.

China is Corporatist Not Communist

Many writers still refer to China’s 'Communist political system.' Actually, China has a Corporatist system. It is not classless socialism, instead using corporate business as its method for ruling their country.
The corporate state (Fascism) is totalitarian, not only telling its people what not to do (authoritarianism) but also what to think, do and say.
China is having difficulty maintaining total control over all aspects of society, trying to stay ahead of global changes in information technology. It is a deteriorating totalitarian state, yet still formidable.

If any ruling class is capable of adapting to challenges and maintaining control, it is the Chinese. They have proven themselves to be a particularly pragmatic people that have survived and even grown through the millennia.

The 'Haves' should Serve

In World War II, everyone in America was involved – rich and poor; the racial majority and the minorities; men, women and children. There was rationing, the draft and high taxes, and everyone shared the burdens of war.
The Korean War had much less involvement and less sacrifice for the average American.
The Vietnam War was mainly fought by those from the bottom half of our economy – the ‘have-nots’.
Now with the Volunteer Army, we no longer pretend that the ‘haves’ are serving. Those that have the least to defend are protecting those who have everything and are not serving the country. Who cares if the ‘little people’ get hurt in a military adventure?
We will be much more reluctant to go to war when the ‘children of privilege’ are on the front lines.
Maybe we should bring back the draft.

The 'have-nots' either do not have college degrees or else have them from affordable schools. They do not have large family wealth with expectations of comfortable inheritances. They do not have enough money or the connections to have access to the power structure, in other words, they cannot buy their way into the system and they cannot afford to buy a politician.
We veterans are proud of our service just like those presently serving, but it is time for all of America to put it on the line and take the risk.

Rick Perry for President of Forgetfulness

Those who are against nuclear war should try really hard to get
Rick Perry elected President - in a moment of military crisis,
he won't remember the launch code numbers.

Freedom is Hard Work

Most political commentators are noting that our modern world, especially with its globalization and high tech, is full of opportunities to improve people’s lives.
With so much available to us, we should be able to make our lives the freest ever.
But even with so many tools of knowledge at our command, nothing will be better if we don’t work at it.
Everyone must quit accepting labels and sound bites. We all must educate ourselves and engage in critical thinking. Rather than accepting glib statements from political pundits who cater to our prejudices, we must examine their statements and find their lack of logic and facts.
When we hear something that is not what we want to hear, stop and listen, find something worthwhile about it.
Most of all, spend more time informing yourself. Our nation needs an educated public.
All of this is necessary if we are to be a free people.
Freedom is Hard Work.

Republic or Democracy?

“This is a republic, not a democracy” – a seeming truism, but actually a false definitional difference. “Republic” and “Democracy” are not antithetical terms.
A Republic is a structure of governance. A Democracy is a system of governance.
Consider the American government as analogous to a desktop PC. The organizational form is the Republic brand of personal computer. Within that, it runs on the Democracy operating system. Neither works without the other.

The deficit reduction committee sounds much like the Base Closure Committee system that we used many years ago.
Under the BRC, California took most of the hits in job losses, while many of the red states weren’t hit to any significant degree.
Check out the numbers that show how many dollars each state sends to Washington and how many dollars they get back. California loses heavily in the transfer of wealth. Again, the red states usually come out ahead. The deficit reduction plan should take into account this anomaly.

Inheritances and Service to America

The debt ceiling crisis has been averted for now, but it leaves the rich still luxuriating in their lifestyle without any responsibility to the rest of us.
We should have a limit on how much in total any one person can inherit (e.g., $450,000) in their lifetime UNLESS the serve two or three years in the U.S. Armed Services.
That way the children of privilege can do something for the country that has treated them so well, instead of becoming inheritance drones.

Funding and the Balanced Budget Amendment

Any State or Congressional district whose U.S. Senator or Representative or State Legislature votes for the Balanced Budget Amendment is to be placed on a ‘no-funds’ list. The State or District in question should not ask for or receive any federal funds for natural disasters and they should not request or accept any pork-barrel funding.
To do so otherwise would be hypocrisy, and we wouldn’t want them to make hypocrites of themselves, would we?

Voter ID and Challenges

Voter ID at the polling place will be subject to many court challenges.
There is another problem that crops up in certain areas – where self-appointed (usually right-wing) political bluenoses challenge certain voters on their right to vote. This challenge is usually against minorities and is used as a technique to intimidate them and drive them from the polls.
Has anyone ever challenged a voter challenger? If someone is going to question another person’s eligibility to vote, shouldn’t that person have to prove that they have citizenship standing to make the challenge?
The original challenger should have to produce a photo ID with their name and address on it and such information should be duly noted by the person challenged.
After that, let the chips fall where they may.

Arab Uprising and the Russian Revolution

The regime changes and instability in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and elsewhere in the Arab world may have been foreshadowed by the Russian Revolution.
When the Tsar was overthrown, there was no significant opposition group to replace his autocratic regime. In the ensuing chaos, a small but organized band of zealots, the Bolsheviks, was able to seize power and impose their ideology (Communism).
The only organized bands of ‘true believers’ in the Middle East at this time are the Islamic militants.
We cannot do much about this. The U.S. has no credibility or influence in the Middle East because of our support for rightwing autocrats. Our long term interest would have been to help and protect the people of these countries.

Written: January 30, 2011