This is one of the best things I've read in a long time...

[Matariki]

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/25/what-in-the-world-the-militarys-secret-plan-to-shrink/

An article written under the pseudonym Mr. Y. grabbed my attention this week. The article has a bold thesis, even more surprising given who the mysterious Mr. Y turns out to be.

It argues that the United States has embraced an entirely wrong set of priorities, particularly with regard to its federal budget. We have overreacted to Islamic extremism. We have pursued military solutions instead of political ones.

Y says we are underinvesting in the real sources of national power - our youth, our infrastructure and our economy. The United States sees the world through the lens of threats, while failing to understand that influence, competitiveness and innovation are the key to advancing American interests in the modern world. Y says that above all we must invest in our children. Only by educating them properly will we ensure our ability to compete in the future.

...

Mr. Y is actually two people, both top-ranking members of Admiral Mike Mullen's team, the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They are Captain Wayne Porter of the U.S. Navy and Colonel Mark Mykleby of the Marine Corps. It's likely that the essay had some official sanction, which means that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or perhaps even Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had seen it and did not stop its publication.

more

[WheelWalker]

1. Going to read it now. Thank you.

Blessings.

[demwing]

2. You KNOW something is wrong

when our Joint Chiefs are urging the US to step back from our militaristic stance, and invest more in educating our youths.

Its a crazy fucking world right now. How's it going to end?

[Newest Reality]

7. It looks like a long, slow

collapse to me.

We can either continue to go along with the official narration of the Status Quo and what it does to create an illusion that preserves the honored and lusted for ideas and values that will no longer serve us and our needs, or we can breakdown our own delusions and break free of it while we are still able to do so.

That will take courage and determination. It will call us to bring forth the essential aspects of our intrinsic adaptability. It will mean change as a bridge to more and more change until we can finally settle into something that is sustainable, rather than a never-ending, Madison Avenue-style inducement to move on to a new form of artificially-induced consumption modes that only serve to chain us all tightly to the corporate teat which, in retrospect, is nothing more than a certain path towards techno-slavery with lots of doo-dads and that offers nothing in the form of true choice, critical thought or a semblance of freedom.

In other words, we are, (most of us) now in the belly of the Beast. Its stomach is grumbling and it suffers from an endless hunger for profit, war and exploitation. My vision of Humanity is that we will collectively begin to see what this system has brought us and, recoil in terror at what it has yet to offer.

Then, it is only a matter of recognition and many, many new choices to move into a more realistic, humanistic and viable way of life that sustains ourselves which, in the endgame, we will all have to admit, (as the ads blare the media creates need) is about sustains our species into the future in a way that means we can continue in harmony with nature and with more balance than we have ever had before.

[RKP5637]

3. Exactly!!!

"Washington needs to make sure that the United States does not fall into the imperial trap of every other superpower in history, spending greater and greater time and money and energy stabilizing disorderly parts of the world on the periphery, while at the core its own industrial and economic might is waning."

[Matariki]

5. When I think about the current attacks on public education, this cheers me up a bit.

"we must invest in our children. Only by educating them properly will we ensure our ability to compete in the future."

[RKP5637]

4. Being covered on Ed right now! n/t

[Matariki]

6. Excellent!

[Hissyspit]

8. kick nt

[tekisui]

9. Great to see. We've been witnessing the fall of the empire for years.

It is necessary. We are no longer in that position, we should quit acting like it. The thing is we have a choice. We can be proactive and manage our transition or be forced into an uncomfortable place.

I really hope Obama pays attention to this. The imperial wars need to end, 2 years ago. They are literally killing this country. Strangling us.

[Matariki]

10. I keep trying to figure out if the attack on education...

...is simply a total lack of foresight or much more insidious.

Maybe the Chinese are secretly funding the Teabag Republicans or something :shrug:

[Snoutport]

11. the uneducated vote less, are more religious, don't question authority

pretty simple if you look at how the red states keep cutting education.

[Matariki]

14. Could be. That would be a combination of both short-sightedness

AND insidious intent.

[Beth in MN]

12. Fantastic!! Thank you for Sharing nt

[crickets]

13. I'd seen this earlier, but not presented this way and

without the background included at your link. This was a great intro-good find! There's also an interesting poll that, for a refreshing change, wasn't screwed up by my ad blocker or security settings. I know that online polls aren't really all that useful statistically, but this one really got to me.

Poll: Should the U.S. substantially reduce its spending on the military?
Yes 96.13% (15,119 votes)
No 3.87% (609 votes)

WOW.

[Poboy]

15. R'd

[louslobbs]

16. K&R

Lou