it's time we stopped thinking about terms like "empire" as things "lefties" say ... most of you are familiar with PNAC and have read some of their documents ... PNAC believes the US can use its military might to "puppetize" (my word not theirs) foreign governments and make them "friendly" to the US ... they are NOT doing it for noble reasons like "spreading democracy" ... they are doing it to control foreign markets ...
and we're all very familiar with all the republican hype about the sanctity of the "free market" ... what they mean by "free market" is to shut down government's oversight function and let mega-corporations run amuck ... free markets often do an effective job setting the price level but they are totally incompetent when it comes to setting policy ... as global warming grew nearer and nearer and US dependence on foreign sources of oil entangled our country in the Middle East, what did the "free market" do? it sold us SUV's !!!!! go figure ... the "free market" mentality has to be destroyed by the Democratic Party ... make the republicans own it and shove it down their throats ...
so, there you have it ... two, of many, very solid platform planks ... let's get our representatives to take the bold steps and start taking these real issues into battle ... the American people are desperate for these kinds of changes ... if we tell them the truth, they will reward us in spades ...
the following is one of the best articles I've read all year ... i hope you read it ...
source:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_bob_burn_060810_the_death_of_america.htmThe failure of the occupation of Iraq, coupled with the Bush Administration's unleashing of Israel, makes one thing clear: conservative foreign policy has failed. Conservatism hasn't strengthened America's position in the world, produced the Pax Americana that conservatives expected. It's done the exact opposite; weakened the United States across the board. As a result, we're witnessing the death of the conservative dream of American empire.
Conservative foreign policy rests upon two beliefs: The first is that military might is sufficient to ensure supremacy of American interests. The second belief is that when it is unencumbered by government interference, the marketplace will solve the world's problems whatever they are: WMDs, poverty, or global warming.
Conservatives rely solely upon the military to solve America's foreign policy disputes. Their stance is based upon a logical contradiction: conservatism insists on drastic reduction of the Federal government and simultaneously demands that the Department of Defense grow larger. The US military budget is roughly equal to the amount that the rest of the world spends on defense, yet for conservatives this is never enough. Each year brings demands for increased expenditures on foolish projects, the anti-missile defense system being only one. <skip>
In the domestic arena the shortcomings of conservatism's childlike beliefs are obvious: the market won't take care of problems such as building levees to protect citizens from floods or inoculating children from Polio. The market cares only about profit: it has no conception of the common good or public morality.
Conservatives' naïve belief that the marketplace will resolve global issues is equally problematic. International organizations deal with three classes of problems: military, economic, and social. It's obvious that neither the market nor American military force can solve all international disputes. DOD hasn't succeeded with the occupations of Afghanistan or Iraq; privatization of the "reconstruction" failed either to provide necessary services or to enable civil society. There are military predicaments that clearly require international cooperation, such as cutting off the flow of nuclear weapons. As for social problems, there is no indication that the market is able to deal with issues such as bird flu and AIDS. A huge international economic issue is what to do about damage resulting from unpredictable weather, such as hurricanes. The global marketplace ignores such events and calls upon governments to be the ultimate insurer. More generally, the market is unwilling to address the problem of global climate change; it would rather pretend that global warming is not happening and continue to treat the environment as an infinite, free resource. Similarly, the global marketplace shows no indication that it will resolve the issue of poverty. <skip>
The critical question is: what do liberals propose as an alternative foreign policy?
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