Philip A Farruggio

All three of the aforementioned men were and are creatures of the American Military Industrial Empire. They were nurtured, influenced, subsidized and controlled by this machine. Bin Laden was one of many rich, educated Muslims who became brainwashed by what I call the Islam or bust mindset. Much like the orthodox Zionists who rule Israel and the right wing zealots here at home who preach their phony Christianity, any such belief system plays directly into the hands of the empire. Go and watch Lorraine Levy’s fine film The Other Son (2012) and see why this empire so fears harmony amongst different cultural groups. Tis better to ‘divide and conquer ‘then to deal with mass movements of ‘people before profits ‘.

I await the time that more of my fellow Americans come to the realization that Obama and Bush Jr. are really born of the same dastardly parents: The Empire. Regardless of the fact, as William Blum explains in his new book of essays Americas Deadliest Export: Democracy, that Obama is bright and articulate …. He still then serves the same interests as his predecessor! Many of my dear friends and one time fellow activists who worked so diligently to get this man elected are now slowly having ‘ buyer’s remorse ‘ . During the height of the healthcare reform (oxymoron) debate a few short years ago, we who knew better told everyone that the so called public option AKA Medicare for all who want it would never be proposed by Obama and his party. Why? Well, look at the numbers: In the 2008 presidential campaign, McCain received over $ 7 million in donations from the health care industry (including insurance companies). Barack Obama received … over $ 21 million! What is now referred to as Obamacare is a gold ribbon for the private insurers.

Bush Jr. kept asking “Why do they hate us? “after the terrible events on 9/11. If one studies this American Empire by reading The Untold History of the United States by Kuznick & Stone and Rogue State by William Blum, one would understand all that was done covertly by our government throughout the entire planet to seed that hatred. After many hours of research on 9/11, this writer knows, inherently, that things were not what they seemed. This empire always needs a bogeyman out there in the darkness to both frighten and control us. Bush Jr. and his gang got just that with 9/11… in spades! If you read all the accounts that have come out since then, you would know that they were planning, way before September 11th, 2001, to invade and occupy Afghanistan and then Iraq. Barack Obama knew that the empire committed an illegal and immoral pre-emptive attack and occupation of Iraq. When he became president, and the calls came out for hearings and possible indictments for the war criminal Bush and his gang, he said it was time to ‘Look forward and not back.’ He did just that too. He ‘ looked forward ‘ and increased, by ten times, the use of drone missile attacks in Libya, Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan that killed 10 times more innocent civilians than it did terror suspects.

All our American empire has done concerning the Middle East is exacerbate the rise of fanatical Islam, not curb it. Back here at home, our ‘Wave the flag’ mentality seeps into our everyday life. The boob tube is full of tributes to the young pawns in uniform that are sent to places they should never have been sent to. One cannot watch any major sporting event without the customary salutes to our ‘Brave warriors ‘. Tell me this: When was the last time our Congress actually declared War on any of the countries we have attacked or now occupy? Yet, the costs go up and up, in lives of our own and those we invade and occupy… and destroy with our smart bombs and missiles. The costs here at home in not only the mangled bodies of our young soldiers, but in our soon to be bankrupt economy. When over half of our taxes goes for this empire’s overkill and overspend military mindset… our towns and cities are crumbling before our eyes. All the basic services and safety nets are fading away… and it matters not at all whether we elect a Republican or Democrat to those who run the puppet show. Perhaps the millions of license plates that now promote Army, Marines or Navy should be substituted by the car owners to state Pull back the Empire! Now, that would be patriotic.

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Philip A Farruggio is son and grandson of Brooklyn, NYC longshoremen. He is a free lance columnist (found on Information Clearing house, The Sleuth Journal, Doomstead Diner, Op Ed News, Dandelion Salad, Activist Post, Dissident Voice and many other sites worldwide). Philip works as an environmental products sales rep and has been an activist leader since 2000. In 2010 he became a local spokesperson for the 25% Solution Movement to Save Our Cities by cutting military spending 25%. Philip can be reached at paf1222@bellsouth.net.