In most dramatic thrillers they love to use the term of ‘ The 11th hour’ for whatever suspenseful endeavor is reaching its deadline. Detectives or surgeons are running ragged to stop the oncoming negative conclusion from happening. Well, so it is for this American Military Industrial Empire… the end is near. This may not mean the end of human existence, just an end to the current status quo. Like the Dutch boy sticking his finger in the dike, the masters of this empire have done their best to maintain the flood waters from reaching them. Oh yes, for probably generations, those super rich controllers of empire have always sacrificed us working stiffs and indigent Americans to the fires of living hell. Too low wages, too high rents, lousy health and dental coverage, substandard infrastructure where we must live, NO reliable safety net… and on and on. Increased military spending and a myriad of phony wars and occupations feeding the beast of corporate fiendish donors, while they send our young men ( and women too) to deal with the anger their actions have caused abroad.
Tuned into the opening night of NFL football yesterday. Had to fast forward past the giant USA flag covering the entire playing field, the honor guard and the National Anthem. Does anyone realize who wrote the anthem? Here it is in a nutshell: Francis Scott Keyes was a slave owner and anti abolitionist lawyer who defended masters of runaway slaves. Great guy! Who cares about such non essential facts when the couch potatoes and degenerate bettors get to see a bunch of millionaire players performing ? No need to take a knee during the anthem anymore because Money Talks. Of course, the fact that the mega millionaire/billionaire owners pay these cats ( 70& who are Afro -American) so much shows just how obscene professional sports has become. The corporate media subsidizes this circus along with the foolish fans who pay through the nose for all that licensed attire… and of course our outrageous cable television bills. Disgraceful!
Monday the 11th of September marks the 21st anniversary of Part A of this the 11th hour of empire. Part B is reserved for the upcoming March 19th 20th anniversary of the illegal and immoral pre-emptive attack and occupation of Iraq. Everyone seems to remember where they were when those two planes flew into the Twin Towers. It would take this writer an entire book to list all the ways we were misled concerning 9/11. How many of those aforementioned football fans realize that September 11th, 2001 was the day that NORAD ( North American Air Defense Command) and the FAA ( Federal Aviation Administration) implemented Operation Vigilant Guardian. This was an exercise simulating Fake hijackings of passenger jets. This was highly secretive, so how in the hell did Bin Laden and his associates know of this in advance? What better day to do real hijackings than September 11th? When the authorities realized that two of the hijacked jets were heading towards NYC, why were fighter jets from Otis AFB in Massachusetts released, and NOT from McGuire AFB minutes from Manhattan? Why did NYC veteran firefighters, watching the first tower go down like a pancake in , duh, like 9 or 10 seconds, say to each other ” Did you see that, Boom Boom Boom… controlled demolition?” Why was Junior Bush allowed to sit in the Sarasota classroom reading to the kids SEVEN MINUTES AFTER HE RECEIVED NEWS OF THE 2ND TOWER BEING HIT? He even stayed a bit longer to converse with the children before they hurried him out. Come on! Everyone knew he was scheduled to be at that school that morning- public record and all that. We’ve all seen the movies when the president is in public and there may be any sort of threat, he is literally RUSHED the hell out of there by the Secret Service. Methinks they all knew he was NOT in any sort of danger that morning in September.
My late dear friend Ed Dunphy, a dedicated peace activist, made a great sign in 2010: Bush= Obama= Bush. Ed knew how the game is played by this empire. Peeling away the onion, when push comes to shove the Two Parties serve the same masters. Yes, a Donald Trump and his backers have pushed the envelope too far to the right but… look at who in Congress votes for more and more increased military spending ( over $ 40+ billion just for Neo Nazi run Ukraine lately). Look who wants to create a new Cold War with Russia and China… both parties. The Military Industrial Empire laughs all the way to the bank… with OUR tax money! Pretty soon the **** will hit the fan and the streets will be filled with millions of despondent citizens. This could very well usher in a Fascism that would only be equaled by 1933 Germany.
Philip A Farruggio is regular columnist on It’s the Empire… stupid website. He is also frequently posted on Nation of Change, Countercurrents., Smirking Chimp and Independent Australia sites. He is the son and grandson of Brooklyn NYC longshoremen and a graduate of Brooklyn College, class of 1974. Since the 2000 election debacle Philip has written over 400 columns on the Military Industrial Empire and other facets of life in an upside down America. He is also host of the ‘ It’s the Empire… Stupid ‘ radio show, co produced by Chuck Gregory. Philip can be reached at [email protected].
