I've sometimes heard the cliche "Quiet as a mouse," but we've had a couple mice in our house lately, and they aren't very quiet. Lots of scratching and gnawing. If you have mice, you often know it with your ears. I would suggest changing the phrase to "Quiet as a quiet mouse."
The ACLU yesterday filed a lawsuit against various agencies of the Obama administration — the Justice and Defense Departments and the CIA — over their refusal to disclose any information about the assassination of American citizens. In October, the ACLU filed a FOIA request demanding disclosure of the most basic information about the CIA’s killing of 3 American citizens in Yemen: Anwar Awlaki and Samir Khan, killed by missiles fired by a U.S. drone in September, and Awlaki’s 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman, killed by another drone attack two weeks later. The ACLU’s FOIA request sought merely to learn the legal and factual basis for these killings — meaning: tell us what legal theories you’ve adopted to secretly target U.S. citizens for execution, and what factual basis did you have to launch these specific strikes? The DOJ and CIA responded not only by refusing to provide any of this information, but refused even to confirm if any of the requested documents exist; in other words, as the ACLU put it yesterday, “these agencies are saying the targeted killing program is so secret that they can’t even acknowledge that it exists.” That refusal is what prompted yesterday’s lawsuit (in December, the New York Times also sued the Obama administration after it failed to produce DOJ legal memoranda “justifying” the assassination program in response to a FOIA request from reporters Charlie Savage and Scott Shane, but the ACLU’s lawsuit seeks disclosure of both the legal and factual bases for these executions).
Given that those of us who oppose America's wars can't stop these wars no matter who we vote for, it's time to privatize these wars. It's time to use the good old free market approach touted by so many American warmongerers. I propose that we pass a law requiring that all American wars must be completely paid for--no more wars on the American credit card. Here's a second new proposed rule: Only those citizens who are in favor of starting any new war (or continuing any existing war) will be forced to pay for it/them. Let's see how this new system would work in the case of the War in Afghanistan, which is costing the U.S. $2B/week (= $100B/year). Let's assume that there are 250,000,000 adults in the U.S and that 1/3 of those American adults (about 83 million) want to continue with this absurd military action in Afghanistan. Since I can't stop that war regardless of how I vote, I should at least not be made to pay for it. Those seeking to continue that war would be forced to pay all expenses related to that war. $100 billion divided by83 million = $1,204 per year for each hawkish American adult. That's $100 per month for each of you warmongers, and you will be made to pay in advance in this fantasy approach to funding America's wars. [More . . .]
The phrase "Bread and Circuses" describes one of my biggest concerns:
"Bread and Circuses" (or bread and games) (from Latin: panem et circenses) is a metaphor for a superficial means of appeasement. It was the basic Roman formula for the well-being of the population, and hence a political strategy unto itself. In the case of politics, the phrase is used to describe the creation of public approval, not through exemplary or excellent public service or public policy, but through diversion, distraction, and/or the mere satisfaction of the immediate, shallow requirements of a populace. The phrase also implies the erosion or ignorance of civic duty amongst the concerns of the common man (l'homme moyen sensuel). In modern usage, the phrase has also become an adjective to describe a populace that no longer values civic virtues and the public life.What are some of today's superficial means of appeasement? Mostly our wars. Our needless military adventures. Our "war on drugs." Our wars against each other --scapegoating. Our wars against (our ridicule of) intellectual excellence. Our war against meaningful citizen participation in government "of the People" (i.e., the Citizens United problem). Our wars against most things that are not "American." I'm sure I'm forgetting some of our other wars . . .