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Empire in Extremis
by Stephen Fleischman

“…they stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can’t kill the beast…”
– the Eagles
Hotel California

How many Americans know the actual number of US military bases their tax dollars support around the world?
What would be your guess?
Would you believe 737, spread over 130 countries, according to the Defense Department’s annual “Base Structure Report”—and that’s not counting another 6000 bases in the United States and its territories?
Chalmers Johnson, in his latest book, “Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic” cites the “worldwide total of U.S. military personnel in 2005, including those based domestically, to be 1,840,062 supported by an additional 473,306 Defense Department civil service employees and 203,328 local hires.”

Overseas bases, according to the Pentagon, contained 32,327 barracks, hangars, hospitals, and other buildings, which it owns, and 16,527 more that it leases; and more than 29,819,492 acres of land worldwide, making the Pentagon one of the world’s largest landlords.

The Roman Empire at its height in the year 117 AD had only 37 bases to police its realm from All Gaul (which was divided into three parts) to Egypt.

Ike Eisenhower’s parting shot, when he left the presidency of the United States in 1961, was his warning about the military-industrial complex.

It was too little, too late. We had been a nation born in genocide, destroying the Native American tribes and taking possession of their land. We developed a major part of our economy through slavery, a plantation system and a three way slave trade broken only by the industrial revolution and the development of capitalism. The Civil War brought us into the modern imperialist era. The Monroe Doctrine. Manifest Destiny.

We allowed ourselves to become a militarized nation, a militarized economy. We needed to set an example for the world. Any defiance of our hegemony meant war. There was the Mexican War. The Spanish-American War. We took Cuba and the Philippines. It went on from there.

So now we have a war-like beast that cannot be restrained. Slick propaganda got us into World War I and Pearl Harbor into World War II (conveniently arranged, some say). The Korean War and the Vietnam War were set-ups. Dominoes just don’t fall that way. But we’ve managed to leave military bases in the lands of most of the vanquished, in South Korea and in Germany, to name a few, still there after fifty and sixty years.

US elder statesman of finance, Alan Greenspan, former head of the Federal Reserve, has finally admitted, in his recently published memoir, that the Iraq War was primarily about oil (something the Bush administration has vehemently denied).

So our simple democracy has spawned a global empire.

What does this portend?

Must we start another war to keep the economy going? Bush would like to get someone to bomb Iran before he leaves office. Maybe he can get Israel to do it? They’ve been champing at the bit, just waiting for the nod from Bush. But even the Israelis must be struck by what a world-wide catastrophe the bombing of Iran would cause.

So what is a nation to do?

This nation must militate! Like Mussolini did in Italy. A little Fascism might be a helpful thing. Make the planes fly on time. It could also keep activists in their place. Inactive. They didn’t build Guantanamo for nothing. America’s first concentration camp? No, it’s second. There were the Japanese relocation centers during World War II.

And extraordinary rendition might also be a useful tool to keep the lid on. A little kidnapping. A little torture by proxy, off-shore.

Does it fit the Project for the Old American Century criterion for fascism, comparing the regimes of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Suharto, and Pinochet and the 14 characteristics common to those fascist regimes? Well, maybe not all—but enough.

You must glorify war in order to get the public to accept the fact that they’re going to send their sons and daughters to die. And don’t forget to wear your lapel flag pin.

There was a little juice in the anti-war movement before the onslaught on Iraq in 2003. But then it went blah. What happened?

In the mid-term election of 2006, the Democrats took both houses of Congress. Polls showed that a majority of Americans, some as high as 73%, wanted an end to the Iraq war and they counted on the Democrats to get it for them.

What they got was a continuation of the war with enough Democrats joining the Bush War Party to vote for funding. Among them were Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama who, in the midst of their primary squabble over who was the most anti-war, both voted to fund the war. That’s the kind of steely knives they used!

We now have two presidential candidates representing different wings of the ruling oligarchy. You’re trapped in our two party-one party system.

“…you can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!”

I’ve had this laying around for a while. I don’t remember where I picked it up, but I really love these little gems.

I don’t think I’ve listened to this version of this song since high school.

Is where I am right now.

There are two things that have been in my head today.

First I’ve been thinking about what we can expect from the other side after the election is over. Digby had in interesting post up yesterday and it’s been rattling around in my head since I read it. Will this be the tactic which we must fight? From Digby:

Rove was talking to the Republican lawyers association, many members of which specialize in “voter fraud,” and may very well be preparing to challenge every close race and file spurious complaints to Alberto Gonzales’ Justice Department.

And even if they didn’t, be prepared to hear all of our complaints about election stealing yelled back at us if they lose. They are not afraid to take somebody elses talking point and use it to their advantage. It’s one of the things they do best and because a lot of people don’t pay close attention it will sound perfectly reasonable to them that the Democrats stole the election.
Just something to think about as we look to the morning after election day.

The second thing had to do with this from FDL:

The new narrative being pushed into every media outlet who will take it — and there is no shortage — is that the new Blue Dog Democrats will overtake congress, shift the balance of power to the right and purge the influence of the unelectable, scary left.

New Democratic Coalition Co-Chair Ellen Tauscher made this comment to the New York Times:

“I think there’s tremendous agreement and awareness that getting the majority and running over the left cliff is what our Republican opponents would dearly love,” Ms. Tauscher said, adding that this was something “we’ve got to fight.”

Aside from the superb timing — throwing down the gauntlet right before the election and starting an inter-party war at the abject most inappropriate time (in classic Joe Lieberman style) — why are these people trying to party like it’s 1995? Because running against your own base worked so very well then for the Democrats. Alienating the folks who put the boots on the ground, drive GOTV efforts, give money, give a shit is just SO VERY not smart one week before a critical election.

It’s just never going to end, is it.

I just figured I might try and put something up here, just for my own sake, if for no other reason.

This mess in Mexico is pretty scary, as is this stealthy power-grab which our liberal media has neglected to report on.

I’m DVR’ing all the talking heads today.

Here’s the Google Bomb from over at MyDD..

Just trying to do my part:

Google Bomb The Elections: Source Code
by Chris Bowers, Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 12:17:56 PM EST

–AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl
–AZ-01: Rick Renzi
–AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth
–CA-04: John Doolittle
–CA-11: Richard Pombo
–CA-50: Brian Bilbray
–CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave
–CO-05: Doug Lamborn
–CO-07: Rick O’Donnell
–CT-04: Christopher Shays
–FL-13: Vernon Buchanan
–FL-16: Joe Negron
–FL-22: Clay Shaw
–ID-01: Bill Sali
–IL-06: Peter Roskam
–IL-10: Mark Kirk
–IL-14: Dennis Hastert
–IN-02: Chris Chocola
–IN-08: John Hostettler
–IA-01: Mike Whalen
–KS-02: Jim Ryun
–KY-03: Anne Northup
–KY-04: Geoff Davis
–MD-Sen: Michael Steele
–MN-01: Gil Gutknecht
–MN-06: Michele Bachmann
–MO-Sen: Jim Talent
–MT-Sen: Conrad Burns
–NV-03: Jon Porter
–NH-02: Charlie Bass
–NJ-07: Mike Ferguson
–NM-01: Heather Wilson
–NY-03: Peter King
–NY-20: John Sweeney
–NY-26: Tom Reynolds
–NY-29: Randy Kuhl
–NC-08: Robin Hayes
–NC-11: Charles Taylor
–OH-01: Steve Chabot
–OH-02: Jean Schmidt
–OH-15: Deborah Pryce
–OH-18: Joy Padgett
–PA-04: Melissa Hart
–PA-07: Curt Weldon
–PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick
–PA-10: Don Sherwood
–RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee
–TN-Sen: Bob Corker
–VA-Sen: George Allen
–VA-10: Frank Wolf
–WA-Sen: Mike McGavick
–WA-08: Dave Reichert

This video was put together by a supporter of Coleen Rowley, using the Had Enough? song that Tommy Yum co-wrote (with fellow SNZ alum and all-around sweetie Ken Mosher) and played on, with the lovely Rickie Lee Jones doing lead vocals. Some days, you just walk around with a grin from ear to ear.

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