Memorial Day

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denjohn
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Memorial Day

Post by denjohn » Mon May 25, 2015 7:00 am

Memorial Day commemorates soldiers killed in war. We are told that the war dead died for us and our freedom. US Marine General Smedley Butler challenged this view. He said that our soldiers died for the profits of the bankers, Wall Street, Standard Oil, and the United Fruit Company. Here is an excerpt from a speech that he gave in 1933:

"War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.



I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we’ll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.



I wouldn’t go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.



There isn’t a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its “finger men” to point out enemies, its “muscle men” to destroy enemies, its “brain men” to plan war preparations, and a “Big Boss” Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.



It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country’s most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.



I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.



I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.



During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.



Most American soldiers died fighting foes who posed no threat to the United States. Our soldiers died for secret agendas of which they knew nothing. Capitalists hid their self-interests behind the flag, and our boys died for the One Percent’s bottom line."
Jade Helm, an exercise that pits the US military against the US public, is scheduled to run July 15 through September 15. What is the secret agenda behind Jade Helm?
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asiab3
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Re: Memorial Day

Post by asiab3 » Mon May 25, 2015 4:34 pm

denjohn wrote:Jade Helm, an exercise that pits the US military against the US public, is scheduled to run July 15 through September 15. What is the secret agenda behind Jade Helm?
How about:

"Jade Helm, a large-scale military training exercise is pitting a few members of the US public against the US military that they previously supported without question."

or:

"Jade Helm, a large-scale military training exercise is pitting a few members of the US public against the US military purely because they either disagree with decisions made by commanders, or despise the commanders themselves."


Our country has contingency plans for every possible scenario of national defense. We have a master plan to call into action if we are invaded by Canada. Do we dare practice military response for home soil protection? Major-General Butler was a fan of coastline and home-front defense and nothing more. Now it seems we're preparing for just that.

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Amskeptic
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Re: Memorial Day

Post by Amskeptic » Tue May 26, 2015 11:50 am

asiab3 wrote:Do we dare practice military response for home soil protection?
Robbie
When are we going to call out the conspiracy theorists and make them lay out factual arguments?
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Re: Memorial Day

Post by pj » Tue May 26, 2015 7:56 pm

God almighty. Why can't we just take the day for what it is? I lost a good friend in Iraq, and I'll be Goddamn if I am going to listen to some guy from 80 years ago or for that matter some guy from Monday run down the one day we set aside to remember those that gave all for the defense of the country. He was a good man, family man and Soldier, he and a multitude of others deserve more than some people in this country implying he died for something else than the good of the nation. Sickening.

http://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com/oif ... dalls.html

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asiab3
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Re: Memorial Day

Post by asiab3 » Tue May 26, 2015 9:39 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
asiab3 wrote:Do we dare practice military response for home soil protection?
Robbie
When are we going to call out the conspiracy theorists and make them lay out factual arguments?
Colin
I call them out at work every day. Why, now one of my supervisors says "FEMA Camps" every damn time he sees me.
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Amskeptic
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Re: Memorial Day

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Jun 01, 2015 5:01 am

pj wrote:God almighty. Why can't we just take the day for what it is? I lost a good friend in Iraq, and I'll be Goddamn if I am going to listen to some guy from 80 years ago or for that matter some guy from Monday run down the one day we set aside to remember those that gave all for the defense of the country. He was a good man, family man and Soldier, he and a multitude of others deserve more than some people in this country implying he died for something else than the good of the nation. Sickening.

http://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com/oif ... dalls.html
Sickening is when we do not maintain a very critical eye to the whys behind the sacrifices of our young citizens called into battle. There is no "implication" whatsoever in the fact that many of soldiers have died as a result of something other than the defense of the nation. Memorial Day is a perfect time to reflect on the horrible costs of stupid wars.

God Almighty listens to those of us who rage at the waste and feel acutely the loss of life just as He listens to those who yap tired platitudes and wave flags and intone idiotic tropes of fascistic patriotism at the local picnic photo-op.

Hey pj, do you ever take a moment on Memorial Day or any other day, to remember the innocent victims of war?
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BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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