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Body Bags Filled with GI Joe and Jane: No Homecoming Trumpets for the Fallen?

A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
by Vincent L. Guarisco

"Americans have been taught that their nation is civilized and humane. But, too often, U.S. actions have been uncivilized and inhumane."~~Howard Zinn, historian and author

Did Uncle Sam always have such a cold, black heart? Or did Sammy's heartstrings lose their chromatic charm and warmth when the Bush cartel dipped it into an oozing barrel of Texas Tea imported from the Middle East?

I know many of you are still wrapped in the flag, but can you at least pull it down past your eyes and ears for minute? The mouth area on down can remain star-spangled and entwined. I appreciate your cooperation. I need your quiet, patriotic attention.

Notice anything missing in the news media since all this war business started? Where is all the media attention for the more than 300 fallen military servicemen who have been killed in Iraq and shipped back home? I ask again -- has anyone heard the trumpets blaring or seen cameras clicking in patriotic fever as the body bags arrive and unload from military cargo planes? While I'm on the subject -- has anyone seen any televised funerals or heard any interviews with relatives of the deceased who are not happy campers? Hardly anything? Hmmmm, go figure.

I apologize for asking such disturbing questions, but duty calls in the wake of duplicity, and simply waving the flag is not enough, in fact it's not even close. If we want to call ourselves true American patriots, it's our duty to "ask questions," and lots of them. When considering all the brave souls who have given their lives for country and cartel, perhaps asking questions and demanding honest answers will be the true battle cry of our times.

Listen up:

For the record -- It's not my intention or desire to disrespect or dishonor our soldiers by calling the Bush administration a "cartel." Let me make one thing perfectly clear; our soldiers are our nation's bravest treasure -- unlike the cheap flyboy who stole his way to power and the expensive administrative white-collar "suits" who needlessly send our brothers and sisters into harm's way over an oil-well of cultivated lies.

Our society is purposely shielded from such upsetting details of homebound fatalities because the Makers of War want us to have a more pleasant, picturesque impression of war without the imagery of loss and death. It's a full-blown media blackout which acts as a nerve-block for the masses. Like they say -- out of sight, out of mind.

There are several layers of skin to this war business -- more than most Americans will ever imagine: The Project for a New American Century (PNAC) did not blink an eye when fabricating terrorist scarecrows for our peaceful garden for the sole purpose of germinating a conflict, another Pearl Harbor event was complementary to their goal and of public record. Most of us who dissent already understand the matrix. For those of you who are now beginning to awaken -- welcome to the PNAC Era of Bloody Oz. We welcome you with open arms for your involvement in helping us restore order to our traumatized nation.

The Bush regime proved it can successfully market high-tech wars to those watching on the sidelines -- TV clips of successful flight missions with bombers lighting off missiles on the horizon...Old Glory flying on tanks and Bradley vehicles rolling over distant sand dunes. Sprinkle a little homegrown-footage showing clear-channel pro-war attendees chanting and performing body waves and -- voila! -- it goes down the gullet like mother's milk. For those of you who attended these rallies, we hold no grudge. We are happy to have you on our side of the aisle marching now for peace instead of war.

The following will help our mission for peace: Televising dead or mutilated sons, daughters, uncles, aunts, friends and those not mentioned arriving home in gift-wrapped body bags has a reverse effect -- it quickly diminishes the flavor of the anticipated selling points of war and hostile occupation. Don't be fooled by the terminology -- war, hostile occupation, covert action, nation-building or whatever name you choose to give it is a deadly commodity manufactured, packaged and sold to the American consumer by elites who stand to gain immensely.

Make no mistake, such slaughter is engineered and carried into play from a safe distance (at no risk) to those who desire acquiring all the worlds natural resources on the planet. Unlike the rest of us poor souls who are forced to engage in battle, it's cut and dried; we're all considered expendable. I'm sure those who died would not mind being exploited for peace -- after all, it was a falsely propagated war that killed them in the first place.

It takes a shrewd, sickened mind coupled with a hardened soul to plan such bloody pilferage, but this is the reality we all must face. These 21st century power brokers have no remorse and will sacrifice innocent lives for their selfish gain. Our loss is very real, and so it seems -- becoming a casualty of war is not the last sacrifice. A final paragraph is written for the fallen in disappearing ink, a final insult before closing the last cryptic page -- a dead handshake, a zipper bag and a silent homecoming so as not to scare away future recruiting efforts and replacements. If there is a God, I'm sure He has a special place for those who do these horrible things.

The Bush cartel leaves no stone unturned, aside from the dead they have the living to manipulate. They fully understand that virtually every soldier who serves in Iraq is being exposed to high amounts of radiation from the massive amounts of depleted-uranium munitions that were exploded and handled during the war including many other deadly toxins and carcinogens (this includes munitions dropped in 1991).

I suspect, not long ago a baby vulture must have landed on Bush's shoulder and whispered into his ear that the VA Risk Management boys projected several hundred thousand medical illnesses will quickly arise, thus creating several hundred thousand medical claims to come flying through the VA system in the aftermath of all this. I'm sure that evil birdie also informed him of the astronomical genetic birth effects that will surely affect their children for generations to come. Yep, the good 'ol boys really know how to prioritize risk management.

Being a man of action Bush rose for the occasion and immediately slashed VA benefits and healthcare. Be advised -- he made these cuts while soldiers were engaged in combat. Back home we have a name for that -- a street whore calls it getting screwed without payment or getting all dressed up and having no one to blow, but in our nation's capital they call it "Damage Control." I apologize for the cheap comparison, but it does have its sobering similarity.

Bottom line -- America deserves better! This is the overpowering inspirational cry that transmits commentary such as this onto your computer screen, a beckoning desire for a kinder, caring establishment that reflects our best interest and good will. Like a majority of Americans, I did not vote for the idiot son of a defense contractor who's making a killing at our expense.

We don't have to be governed by fear and deception! A wise leader is a musical sharpshooter who orchestrates a poetic song for our peaceful prosperity, a gentle administrator who establishes a rhythmic expression that harmonizes a dance for everyone's joyful theatrical score. A true leader is a visionary who will aim softly, pull graciously, and deliver compassionately our target of transitory dreams. A leadership so marveled that it births an envious fellowship that is mimicked by the neighboring spectators around us.

For that dream and for the memory of those who fell to keep the American dream alive I demand we make them all accountable for their actions.

I admit I hold very little respect for today's politicians; even for the ones within my own Democratic Party, for most have forgotten whom they serve. But if I could ask for one small concession -- one little request -- it would be that every official who voted in favor of going to war be required to unzip each body bag that returns home and view the contents inside. After doing so, they must attend each funeral within their home states, and then look into the eyes of each family member whose life was destroyed and confess if they made the right decision in authorizing such wanton destruction.

I would also ask that each American who takes a pro-war position also take a pilgrimage to Arlington Cemetery in Virginia -- and, while they're at it -- visit the Vietnam Memorial in DC.

If anyone can do all that and still wrap himself in the American flag while shouting for war, then perhaps we really do have a valid enemy who threatens our safety. But as it stands right now, our own worst enemy is within.

A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY

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Vincent L Guarisco is a freelance writer from Bullhead City, Arizona, a contributing editor for Axis of Logic and a lifetime member of the Alliance of Atomic Veterans.

Originally published here

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Lift the Media Blackout

January 5, 2004
By Vincent L. Guarisco

So, another traumatic year has come to pass. Since 2004 was a Leap Year, we were hit with 366 nauseating days of unnecessary suffering, death, and destruction ceaselessly searing the hearts and minds of millions with the war in Iraq. Like many others, I am too listless and war-weary to even attempt to imagine what new destruction this administration is cooking up for 2005.

Who could ever forget Christmas 2004? Earthquakes and tsunamis aside, last year, for many, Uncle Sam morphed into a millitary-uniformed Kris Kringle. He became a new kind of special delivery, a War Santa of cheap tin thrills; one who gave folded flags to replace lost loved ones.

Can you imagine? Hearing a rap on the door, answering it, and being handed a colorful piece of cloth to replace a vibrant, treasured life? Nothing like having your heart ripped out for eternity over an oil well and out-of-control greed.

Disaster comes in many forms, be it natural or unnatural. And media sensationalism (in the battle for market shares) can sure keep you reeling. It's amazing how the media outlets decided to show the graphic loss of life from the killer tsunami waves - the bodies washed ashore, many bloated as they piled up in numbers that far outdistanced the ability of loved ones to identify and bury them. Yet televising dead American service-members arriving home at Dover Air Force Base in the dead of night, in neat flag-draped coffins, is still not allowed.

Who makes these decisions? Certainly not anyone with any shred of honor. But there it was in all its undaunted glory, in big screen, plasma screen and wide screen - media executives giving the thumbs-up to show bloated bodies, decomposing bodies, floating bodies and even bodies hanging in trees - on television, dumped squarely into my living room. Strange, isn't it, that they still refuse to televise one single American funeral at home honoring our heros who have died in the line of duty, while bravely serving their country in a time of war. What the hell is wrong with this picture?

I suspect there is an underlying explanation for this. Is it bad for the selling points of war to show such images? Is our society purposely being shielded from such upsetting details of homebound fatalities because the Makers of War want us to have a more pleasant, picturesque impression of war without the imagery of loss and death? Is it a full-blown media blackout, acting as a nerve block for the masses? Is that why they say, "out of sight, out of mind?"

If so, we better consider the price - because our loss is very real. Otherwise, becoming a casualty of war is not the final sacrifice; it is merely an insult before closing the last cryptic page - a dead handshake, a zipper bag and a silent homecoming so as not to scare away future recruiting efforts and replacements.

Suffering is Widespread

American soldiers are not the only ones suffering and dying out there without the public noticing. The New Year began just like the Old Year ended - with Iraq's landscape continuing to be smeared with glossy red puddles of spilled blood oozing from the many scattered dead. An Iraqi civilian population worn thin, battle fatigued, being relentlessly extinguished while reeling in agony with the putrid scent of death floating all around them, fouling the very air they breathe. And don't forget about that U-235 depleted uranium dust they are forced to inhale and ingest in their lungs along with that foul stench. Can you imagine it? Try it sometime - it's a poisonous sobering experience of life in a hellhole.

However, through it all, the Iraqi people unceasingly continue to pray for God's help. Yep, enemy and civilians alike, regardless of who is fighting or not fighting, they are all God's people too. They pray to their prophet daily for spiritual salvation, for redemption in the wake of wanton destruction. They pray to God to save them from the so-called "liberators" who have invaded their home.

Some may call it religious sectarianism, but don't be fooled by the terminology. If there is an Allah, he must be listening, because he seems to have given the insurgents (acronym for freedom fighters), a Mount-Zion sized amount of tenacity to resist. They certainly are in a motivated Jihad mode for who and what they hate - American occupation, American-style democracy, American-run elections and any form of American puppet government we may feebly attempt to instill. To them, we are godless infidels who have come thousands of miles to steal their natural resources and to destroy their sacred way of life. Still think we can win? In Las Vegas we call that long-shot a "sucker bet."

Does God answer some prayers and not others? Bush has publicly stated that God whispers in his ear (his approval) on whom Bush decides to attack in war. However, if you remember, that pithy wisdom didn't jive very well with the Pope in Rome. In fact, just before we invaded, the Pope warned the United States, "If you go to war in Iraq, you go without God."

Okay, I'm a little confused on this. Who are we supposed to believe? Who is God's agent - Bush or the Pope? Hmmm, let me see. It's either the guy who resides in Washington D.C. on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue - the same guy who blundered into a war-profiteering crusade, and likes to brag he's a "war president," - or it's the guy from the Vatican in Rome who unwaveringly promotes world peace. Gee, I'm so undecided.

The Questions Keep Coming

Here at home, with a much more peaceful landscape at our disposal, many of us continue to worry about how long our soldiers will remain in foreign battlefields fighting this unsanctioned, illegal and quite possibly Godless war. In fact, just the other day, surprisingly, a Bush-supporting co-worker sarcastically asked me how much longer I thought we would be in Iraq.

I paused for a brief moment before responding, "Hey ace, that's simple! Your man GW has an exit plan! You betcha - we're gonna stop pillaging and dying over there and will bring the troops home just as soon as each and every one of those oil wells starts pumping seawater!" I knew it would only confuse him to mention the real reasons - profiteering spoils of war, no bid open-ended contracts for nation building, the construction of military bases, privatized troop support, the arms race, just to name a few.

Perhaps I shouldn't have said it, but the look on his face was truly a Kodak moment. Pro-war supporters love to boast that the colors of true patriotism - red white and blue - are the colors that never run. On the contrary, watch what happens to a mother's make-up after being told that her son or daughter has died in war. Or perhaps a wife receiving the same news about a husband, or a child about a parent. Yeah, watch the colors run then; they literally bleed with sorrow and, sometimes, with rage so strong that it creates a river of mournful tears.

Am I being cynical? Perhaps. But that's what happens when one gets continually fogged with media-induced bullshit and bombarded with official lies without end. After getting traumatized and betrayed so often, you become a little more cynical with each dying day. Five killed here, 12 lost there... every day more body bags pile up; more innocents lie unattended in the streets, mutilated by foraging packs of dogs... After a while it chips away at your very soul. I call cynicism my own personal safety feature. It's better that I am cynically safe than stark raving mad.

It's Time for the Killing to Stop

Bottom line - I refuse to be hypnotized; desensitized by the state to prevent me from putting a human face on what is happening all around me. It's the media's duty to report it. I demand to know everything. It's within my right to harness that energy, to use that same energy to prevent any further bloodshed.

In September of 2003, I wrote an article published on the Veterans for Peace website titled: "Body bags filled with GI Joe and Jane." This essay was written in the early stages of the Iraq war. At the time it was published, approximately 300 soldiers had been slaughtered. Currently, a thousand more (and counting) have died since then. I said it then and I'll say it again:

On the surface, it may seem cruel to advocate this, but for the love of life, we must immediately start televising dead and mutilated sons, daughters, uncles, aunts, husbands, wives and friends arriving home in gift-wrapped body bags. Only then will the appeal of the selling points of war and hostile occupation diminish. The injured and dead must appear on television. The media must televise the reality of what this war is about: the flag draped caskets, the funerals, the grieving, the pain, the crying, and the destruction. It must be shown immediately. It must.

As long as Bush's mandated media blackout is allowed to remain in place, his self-serving wars will continue non-stop. Without media attention, there will be no cause and effect, no sense of loss, and therefore no public backlash for accountability.

Remember this: During the Vietnam War, when the Mothers of America marched in the streets in Washington D.C., the media coverage afforded that event was crucial, even instrumental, in ending the war. Bush lied and our soldiers have died and continue to die, every hour, every day. I do not believe for one minute that they will mind being exploited in the name of peace. After all, it was a falsely propagated war that killed them in the first place. Other lives are depending on us - not the media, not the administration - so, for the love of God, please demand that the funerals and flag-draped coffins be put before the American public. Let us demand an end to the killing.

Vincent L Guarisco is a freelance writer from Bullhead City, Arizona, a contributing writer for many web sites, and a lifetime founding member of the Alliance of Atomic Veterans. Replies welcomed at: vincespainting1@hotmail.com

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The Truth About Depleted Uranium Weaponry

"The enormous gap between what US leaders do in the world and what Americans think their leaders are doing is one of the great propaganda accomplishments of the dominant political mythology. "~~Michael Parenti, political scientist and author 

By Vincent L. Guarisco 

05/04/04 "ICH" Ever notice how crafty the inventors of modern weaponry working for the Pentagon are -- giving their weapons misleading names that deliberately give the opposite impression of the actual intended use? None is more Orwellian, nor more ghoulish, than "Depleted Uranium," or its even less intrusive acronym -- "DU." 

Since the early 80's, the all-too-aware world has sounded the alarm about depleted uranium, from a full-blown international outcry to United Nations warnings transmitted through blood-stained pages of the Geneva and Nuremberg conventions to the echos of wooden mallets feverishly slamming down in the world court at the Hague. 

The message is very clear -- the radiation level in depleted uranium is NOT depleted, in fact, it WON'T be depleted to any safe degree for about two billion years. In retrospect, that's a long time to beg for forgiveness, not only for what we have done, but for what we continue to do on multiple battlefields. 

Fact---only approximately 14 percent of Americans at best understand the full matrix surrounding depleted uranium. 

Listen up -- depleted uranium is a deadly weapon of mass destruction that has been banned by virtually every nation on the planet. Its illegal use by the United States breaks all existing international treaties, conventions, protocols, and articles of war. It was first introduced into our arsenal around 1983 under the leadership directives of then President George H. W. Bush, and used in the first Gulf War in Iraq to the tune of 350 tons of exploded poison. 

The main difference between father Bush and his son is that junior unleashed his radioactive arsenal mainly in Iraqi urban centers and civilian neighborhoods, rather than in desert battlefields. Untold thousands of Iraqi people, U.S. soldiers, and coalition troops will pay the price for generations in chronic illness, widespread cancers, long-term disabilities and genetic birth defects. 

Last year, the Christian Science Monitor sent reporters into Iraq to investigate long-term effects of depleted uranium. In his May 15, 2003 report, http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0515/p01s02-woiq.html staff writer Scott Peterson tells of seeing children playing on top of a damaged tank near a vegetable stand on the outskirts of Baghdad -- a tank that had been destroyed by armor-piercing shells coated with depleted uranium. Wearing his mask and protective clothing, Peterson pointed his Geiger counter toward the tank. It registered 1,000 times the normal background radiation. 

The families who survived the tragic decade of sanctions, and the recent shock-and-awe bombing campaign of Baghdad may not survive the radiated aftermath of this continued military sacrilege. The highly toxic "Highway of Death" in 1991 after Desert Storm was only a warm-up session compared to what is happening in Iraq during Enduring Freedom under George W. Bush. 

DU was introduced into our arsenal under the pretension that by incorporating this radioactive concoction into our munitions, it somehow makes them more armor piercing. Even if this is true, what they (the marketing department) forget to mention is that DU is perhaps the most lethal time-released agent ever to be unleashed on mankind except for maybe one exception -- its kin -- the Atom Bomb. 

Its poisonous effectiveness continues to take life long after the tanks, fighter jets, helicopters, Bradley vehicles, unmanned drones and troops have long gone, put simply, DU is a prolonged latent kiss of death that genetically keeps on embracing for generations to come. 

It's a fact that other nations will forever hold us responsible for what our government has done in our name, they fully understand that we are willing participants who supply the needed funds that build these weapons; ignorance is not an acceptable excuse for war crimes committed against humanity! This will not soon be forgotten or forgiven. 

Because I'm the offspring of an Atomic Veteran, and have witnessed what can happen to loved ones exposed to radiation, I hereby claim my right to rename DU --"Death Unlimited." May this horrible name always serve as a subliminal reminder whenever you hear others fraudulently attempting to reference it otherwise. 

The documented track record associated with DU is a hideous reality, a carcinogenic killer causing birth defects, lung disease, kidney disease, leukemia, breast cancer, lymphoma, bone cancer, and neurological disabilities, etc. 

When DU munitions explode, it becomes an atomized dust devil that fills the air with a blanket of radioactive poison, which travels in the wind and is easily inhaled and ingested. Then it enters the soil polluting ground water and infecting the food chain. Eventually, the uranium extends past its immediate epicenter impacting the surrounding environment. This stuff is nothing to play with. 

What is most astonishing is that most Americans have never even heard of DU, and few (14%) fully understand what it is, where its being used, and who is being targeted by its usage. DU is one of the Pentagon's best-kept secrets, its most widely-used genocidal weapon for wiping out entire populations quietly and covertly. 

Sara Flanders, co-director of the International Action Center and coordinator of the DU Education Project, writes http://www.coastalpost.com/03/09/11.htm that the Pentagon "continues to assert that there are no 'known' health problems associated with DU. But Army training manuals require anyone who comes within 75 feet of any DU-contaminated equipment or terrain to wear respiratory and skin protection." 

Although the Bush Pentagon denies publicly that DU weapons can cause sickness, it's own internal reports warn that the radiation and heavy metal of DU weapons could cause kidney, lung and liver damage and increased rates of cancer. Flanders says the Pentagon continues to deny health problems associated with DU. But Army training manuals require anyone who comes within 75 feet of any DU-contaminated equipment or terrain to wear respiratory and skin protection. 

Who comes up with this crazy stuff? Was DU conceived somewhere deep some murky hushed corridor of the Project for a New American century (PNAC)? Or perhaps it came from some other think tank that funded a secret scientific lab deep in the belly of the Atomic energy weapons program? 

What was the dialogue? Did they say---gee, let's invent a quiet nuclear weapon that can surreptitiously be deployed inside conventional weaponry to progressively eliminate our enemies (and their families) long after we are gone to help reduce future risks of blowback, retribution and revenge? 

They had to entertain the idea that every plan has a degree of downside -- surely they knew that by using these weapons in battle our own troops would be exposed too, in fact, even more so because they store, transport, handle and load these DU munitions into the very guns that fire them. 

So why do they continue with this knowing full well the danger to our own troops? Do they purposely shorten the lifespan of our soldiers to shave several costly years off healthcare and pension plans? What are we to think about all this? Are they premeditated murderers? 

According to Dr. Doug Rokke, U.S. Army health physicist who led the first clean-up of depleted uranium after the Gulf War, "Depleted uranium is a crime against God and humanity." (Listen to Rokke's interview on the subject at http://traprockpeace.org/RokkePressConf23July03.html ) 

Rokke's own crew -- 100 employees -- was devastated by exposure to the fine dust. "When we went to the Gulf, we were all really healthy," Rokke said. However, after performing clean-up operations in the desert (mistakenly without protective gear), 30 staff members died, and most others -- including Rokke himself --developed serious health problems. Rokke now has reactive airway disease, neurological damage, cataracts, and kidney problems. 

"We warned the Department of Defense in 1991 after the Gulf War. Their arrogance is beyond comprehension," Rokke said. 

Unbelievable? Think again. Or better yet---ask the more than 150,000 Gulf War Vets who have filed claims after previously serving in Iraq's toxic wastelands during the first Gulf War. After doing so, they were shamelessly denied their benefits by the risk management boys who said that Gulf War Syndrome was a figment of their imagination. Heck, the masters treat their dogs better then them! 

Is it any wonder that Uncle Sam took away their M-16's before they returned home? With arms in hand, I would love to know which way those same gun barrels would point after receiving such crap in the VA after serving so valiantly. Conspiracy theory? 

Everyone can't be wrong, so answer me this---why in Sam-Hell does the Pentagon continue to use these weapons even though there is an overwhelming abundance of scientific data from around the globe to back these claims? 

George W. Bush justifies his continued carnage with a convenient "Saddam Hussein was a horrible dictator who gassed his own people and threatened his neighbors..." 

But Admiral Gene LaRocque, who fought the Cold War as a commander of a nuclear-armed carrier task force in Europe and served as a war planner in the Pentagon, says war has become a "spectator sport" for most Americans. LaRocque said: 

"I had been in thirteen battle engagements, had sunk a submarine, and was the first man ashore in the landing at Roi. In that four years, I thought, What a hell of a waste of a man's life. I lost a lot of friends. I had the task of telling my roommate's parents about our last days together. You lose limbs, sight, part of your life-for what? Old men send young men to war. Flag, banners, and patriotic sayings... 

"We've institutionalized militarism. This came out of World War Two... It gave us the National Security Council. It gave us the CIA, that is able to spy on you and me this very moment. For the first time in the history of man, a country has divided up the world into military districts.... You could argue World War Two had to be fought. Hitler had to be stopped. Unfortunately, we translate it unchanged to the situation today... 

"I hate it when they say, "He gave his life for his country." Nobody gives their life for anything. We steal the lives of these kids. We take it away from them. They don't die for the honor and glory of their country. We kill them." 

Are George Bush and his Pentagon guilty of war crimes against the people of Iraq? By unleashing this most deadly of weapons of mass destruction, are they demonstrating reckless disregard for the health and safety of American troops? 

You be the judge. 

*Vincent L Guarisco is a freelance writer from Bullhead City AZ., a contributing writer for many web sites, and a lifetime member of the Alliance of Atomic Veterans. Reprint permission is given as long as article content is not altered or changed and credit is given to the author. Replies welcomed at: vincespainting1@hotmail.com

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The Long Road Ahead Will Be
Hard Earned

By Vincent L. Guarisco

12 June, 2008
Countercurrents.org

'The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’
One brush stroke stands for danger, the other for opportunity.
In a crisis be aware of danger – but recognize the opportunity.'
~John F Kennedy (1917 – 1963), Speech in Indianapolis, April 12, 1959

Many years ago in the dead of winter in 1982, I met-up with my father in Washington DC. I traveled there in November from Arizona to attend the historic unveiling of the new Vietnam Memorial Wall -- a national tribute given to a weeping nation trying to heal from the madness of war. At that time, the Iran Contra affair was ragging-on and there was much talk of re-registering our youth (once again) for the possibility of a new draft. In spite of everything happening around us, tens of thousands gathered for this monumental moment in history.

For me, it was one of the most significant, impressionable experiences of my life. Many family members and friends of the fallen were there in large droves searching the Wall for their lost loved ones. They came from every major city across America. For the most part, it was calm, silent and surreal -- a solace kind of atmosphere as we eerily scanned its newly polished surface inch by inch. This would continue for what was a 246-foot long eternity until suddenly, when we least expected it, frantic cries and loud wailing would sporadically pierce the air and echo over the 10-foot-high panels when someone found a loved one's name etched on the black granite marker.

This repeated itself time and again as we all moved sideways slithering in awe with the crowd, blown away by this seemingly endless Wall and the sadness it represented. The emotion was very thick indeed. So thick in fact, even with the sharpest blade forged by man, you could not even scratch the surface to escape the sorrow. Many people with tired and shaking hands rubbed etchings over the names, while others took pictures to mark their long painful pilgrimage. And some could not move at all. They were the ones who just stood there looking ahead with that familiar thousand-yard stare. And then there were others who were so completely overwhelmed with grief, they had to back away from the dark polished abyss -- often falling to the ground with faces held in hands wiping the tears -- unable to continue their search; regardless of the distance they had traveled to get there.

In total, there is a staggering 58,268 names etched in that wall, which is a tribute engraved in stone to forever honor our fallen brave who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Each moment was haunting. As we slowly drifted sideways seeing our own reflections blending with the dead, it was as if the lost were reaching out to us, their silent cries engulfing us -- sending shivers in waves across our skin. We soon realized we were not alone in this place, and never will be. Even now, 26 years later, it still gives me goose bumps to recall the experience. I walked away knowing I would never be the same again -- that the ghosts of that war will forever be chained to my ankle...

After the crowd settled down a bit, my father and I had a moment’s pause to sit by the reflecting pool to catch our breath and talk. The conversation we had is one I shall never forget as well...

This memorial site has special meaning to my father because he is a WWII, Korea Navy combat veteran who served his country with honor. He had walked through the ashes of Hiroshima after the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, and afterwards was inadvertently used as a guinea pig in Atomic Weapons Testing at Operation Crossroads in the Marshal Islands. This was a man who had seen and done a lot in his lifetime.

We sat there for while and talked about life, death, war and many other important topics affecting our nation and society. And then I popped a question to him that had weighed heavy on my mind all day. I wanted to know his opinion of what he thought was the worst thing that had happened to our country that took us down the wrong path -- what he thought was the defining moment that sealed our fate as a nation gone wrong.

The answer I got was not what I expected. As an Atomic Veteran, I expected him to say the invention of the Atomic Bomb was the strongest nail in our coffin or something else down that splitting-of-the-atom line. Instead, he told me that allowing the 'Bank of England' into our midst was the worst mistake our leaders ever made. Then, he said another big mistake was taking us off the gold standard and he explained how Congress giving 'corporations' the same constitutional rights as American citizens became our eulogy. After that, he said it all went downhill. War became a profitable 'spectator sport' for those holding our nation prisoner with one cold, callus hand on the trigger pointed at us, with the other holding the throttle full-steam-ahead at the fiat printing press.

At the time, I really didn’t understand the full gravity of what he was talking about. But now, as an adult who is a little older and wiser I know what he meant.

Fast-forwarding to today, we now find ourselves consumed in endless wars, gas at four and five dollars a gallon, skyrocketing food costs, hyper-inflation and record-breaking home foreclosures, etc., Dad’s old eulogy talk is ringing in my ears. It’s true, all our citizens are alarmed and scared of what the future might bring. The level of gloom and doom during this election-year cycle is at a level not felt since the great depression. Virtually everyone is feeling pessimistic, gripped with tension and anxiety, and hopelessly trapped in a dreadful cauldron of malaise. At age 48, it’s a terrible atmosphere I have not felt in my lifetime. My America, the country in which I was born and love more than life itself is unrecognizable in terms of leading the world in industrialization, economics, technology, science, export and global trade in a rapidly changing marketplace.

The times are a changing and the global economic pie is no longer contained in a familiar American tin. Look around, our rise to the most envied nation in the world is now a lost memory -- a corporate package with liability stamped on it. A foreclosure sign now hangs around the necks of brokerage firms on Wall Street with its money crazed minions quickly scurrying to the back of the international line with busted heads as we fall from grace. Three words snap to mind how the world now perceives us in monetary terms -- brassy, intolerant and indebted.

These days, it seems the newcomers of the world have left us coughing in their dust as they successfully stride ahead with wise investments, robust modernization, accessible education, manufacturing jobs galore, and a much friendlier foreign policy agenda without the costly burden of prolonged war under their heels. Indeed, America's chickens have come home to roost. And, although we did encourage them to develop, we forgot the most important rule, to help ourselves along the way.

These were the seeds we planted and thus bitterly sowed. In depth and breadth, our failure has given great rise to other nations. We no longer have the most prominent ranking in investor confidence. Not only do we no longer keep pace in ideas, culture, goods and services, but we are not even close in many sectors. Our riches are increasingly lost, and we now dwell in financial crisis. We are indebted to Asian central banks; teetering on the brink of an economic meltdown.

What happened? We were always led to believe we are so enriched -- so far ahead of the learning curve of success. Or were we? I think the time has come that multi-national natives (our pupils) are self-Pax determined to thrust themselves into new financial dimensions for a new modern day power shift. However, the fact remains, it does not come without an element of risk for them as well. Bottom line, to keep this new wealth and power, they must first master and control our capitalism better than we did. They will have to successfully navigate the turbulent waters filled with staunch IMF rule-makers roaring to globalize the planet for their New World Order. Yes, It’s the irony of all ironies, we encouraged them, we trained them and we twisted their arms to join the advanced world to reap the spoils of 'free trade,' and now it seems -- rainbows no longer end on America’s doorstep. Indeed, we are up a creek without a paddle.

Maybe this grand bungling of the national wallet will live in infamy as the great 'Fools Paper Rush' of our time ending American parochialism? Hmm...we can only hope. Or maybe, if we all catch our breath and take pause, we may actually learn a thing or two? Maybe we can finally come to terms with the fact that unfettered capitalism without 'restraint' is not as free and prosperous as we were led to believe? Indeed. Our indebted woe is not too hard to figure out. If we had stayed on the gold standard and not invited international bankers into our midst, we would not be having this discussion today. Thus, It would not take a wheelbarrow full of worthless paper dollars (or a sea of digital transactions) to maintain our living standards. Until then, the Fed will continue to manipulate our economy at will, and we will never recover.

It truly is the biggest rip-off scam ever contrived in this modern era. Simply ask any hard-working American who has lost his or her life’s savings from on-demand inflation, or fallen victim to their monopolizing credit tactics, etc... From 1913 on through Alan Greenspan’s tenor, to the current meltdown on Ben Bernanke’s watch, we have been usurped. Also, most wars in our nation’s history have been financed by them as well.

Take a bow Mr. FED, we are now broke-down, busted-up, beaten-sideways and still borrowing over seven trillion (and counting) on a busy monetary expressway -- with hood in air -- as the world speeds by with unimpeded ability and ease. And here’s the kicker, the so-called money we cherish, the same ink paper we hoard in our pockets and wallets, is worthless. Just little notes of green colored paper worth one or two cents at best. How can this be you say? Well, it’s simple Einstein logic, any currency must have real tangible resources (of equal value) to back it’s worth, such as gold or silver. Or it’s properly deemed 'Fiat' money (worthless). Now you understand why the world is dumping Federal Reserve 'Notes' for other currencies, because it’s not worth the paper it’s printed on.

Sadly, most Americans foolishly believe the Federal Reserve is part of the U.S. Government. Nothing is further from the truth. Members of the Federal Reserve are 'foreign' investors cashing-in at our expense. Even our 'voluntary' IRS payments (another illegal scam) are directly deposited into Federal Reserve bank accounts -- not in the US treasury. Why do we allow this? Our Constitution explicitly forbids its existence.

Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution clearly states that only Congress shall have the power to create money and regulate the value thereof. Not a bunch of international bankers cleverly filling their pockets as we fall into the sinkhole of poverty.

And Article 1, Section 10, states: 'No State shall make any thing but Gold and Silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.' Take note, for the first 72 years from our country's birth, we used only gold and silver coins as Tender. Not toilet paper promissory notes.

Even 45 years later, God rest his soul, I’m sure John F. Kennedy is rolling in his grave like a fiat printing press in high gear. Bottom line, JFK dearly tried to dissolve the Federal Reserve system (along with the CIA), because he recognized the real danger for us to continue doing business in this manner. He wanted to put an end to the madness before our nation’s wealth was completely squandered. He wanted to return our nation back to its people (us). And for his brave and honorable effort, he was riddled with bullets. And what did we do about it? Nothing. We pissed-in our pants and let the shooters get away.

I often wonder what it takes to inspire others for real change. Is it rage? Ponder this, I wonder if a certain young field agent named George Herbert Walker Bush, then working for the CIA, was donning a Hobo suit on that fateful day when John was gunned down like a dog in the street? When questioned by the Warren Commission, Bush senior refused to divulge his whereabouts at the time of the assassination. Yeah, I guess it will always remain a mystery, and we will continue to look at the grassy knoll and scratch our heads as the years roll by.

Yes, we truly lost a great moral and ethical compass that day. Perhaps one of the last. As an American, is your blood boiling? As an American, it better be. How does it make us feel now, 45 tears later, to know that our great heroes have died in vain? I have one more question that will help us restore honor -- where are those God Damn modern magic bullets when you really need them?!? Chew on that, Federal Reserve cronies, Tri-Lateral commissionaires, Foreign Banksters and Neo-con Chicken Hawks and all other energy/oil/arms manufacturing tycoon types who continue to subvert the American way of life. Screw you! And the White House horse you rode in on. Rage is powerful mojo. Harness it well and make it work for a change...

And the beat goes on. The horrible awe continues to confuse most for what is yet to come. These days, all I see is evil men pulling the levers of power. All are given a free pass around 'Go' in the 'corp-media' backdrop regardless of our instability. Most are elevated to rock star status -- saints doing us a favor. Well, at least I have the satisfaction of knowing I’m not fooled by the grand canard. I see the cruelty, the greed, the torturing, the spying, the killing and endless war for what it is. A hardship handed out like poison suckers in a innocent schoolyard. We are so easily manipulated. It’s almost too painful to watch, much less experience.

Even today, as our economy plummets into the abyss, I do not hear a single word, or see any debate whatsoever about the 'Federal Reserve.' Why not? Can’t we change our wicked ways? Is everyone too afraid to fight the current power brokers because they fear they’ll end-up dead like JFK? At the risk of being snatched-up as an enemy combatant and quickly black-bagged to Guantanamo, or conveniently suicided by shooting myself in the head (three times), I say we must end this madness now. We must.

Many influential people have warned us about the Feds. Presidents Lincoln, Jackson and Kennedy all tried to stop them. Even Rep. Ron Paul is on record for stating, 'Federal Reserve notes are illegal.'

For me, I try to find the lesson in everything past or present, good or bad. By nature, I’m a realist at heart and try to avoid being paranoid and do not usually place much trust in conspiracy theories. Yet, if time and magic bullets and official lies about September 11, 2001 have taught us anything, it’s all-too-obvious we now know that many conspiracy theories -- a synonym for real crimes committed with the culprits running amuck.

Understand this well, the Federal Reserve scam is no foolish conspiracy theory. It’s real. It exists. It’s illegal. And it’s still currently conducting business today on American soil. And its owners are getting rich beyond belief. Rest assured, this will continue unabated unless we unite against them to take back what is ours -- our country, our lives and our sacred financial freedom -- all of which will lie in limbo until we do.

For decades, Fed owners have been very illusive, a well-kept secret, but thanks to the Internet, the last bastion of free-flowing information, they could not elude us forever. Its ownership can be traced to a few wealthy simpletons with big pocketbooks. Memorize this list well. Become aware, tell everyone, these are the architects or our demise:

1) Rothschild Bank of England.
2) Warburg Bank of Hamburg.
3) Rothschild Bank of Berlin.
4) Lehman Brothers of New York.
5) Lazard Brothers of Paris.
6) Kuhn Loeb Bank of New York.
7) Israel Moses Seif Banks of Italy.
8) Goldman, Sachs of New York.
9) Walburg Bank of Amsterdam.
10) Chase Manhattan Bank of New York

There is a promising future awaiting us. We can change our stars. Hope is not lost unless we choose to give up. For me, I awoke from this nightmare long ago while standing at the Vietnam Memorial with my father in the Winter of 82. But each moment can redefine who we really are, so get busy. Perhaps, after reading this, we will all become the heroes we always knew we could be. A great start is to...

Move away from the sidelines and inform all Americans and collect signatures for a petition.

Demand that Congress and the media support the rights of 'We the People' to uphold the Constitution and abolish the illegal Federal Reserve.

Write to your local newspaper, ask them to keep freedom of the press alive, support the Constitution and abolish the Fed. Freedom of the press should not be limited to those who own it.

Ask your State/County Representatives to use their Constitutional powers to enforce your rights under the Constitution to have the Fed abolished.

Call in on TV and radio talk shows and discuss why the Fed should be abolished.

Support businesses who distribute your petitions, and if they don't, please ask them to.

Ask candidates if they plan to introduce legislation to abolish the Fed and uphold the Constitution which they are obligated to defend. Make candidates take a stand! Have every politician sign a contract with 'We the People' enacting legislation to abolish the Fed by a certain date or that politician must resign from office. The Democratic Congress and President promised the people 'no Fed' before the election. Thirteen months later, they passed the Fed.

Create and/or post bumper stickers on your car to show support and inform people to abolish the Fed.

If 5,000 people distribute two or three brochures daily, we can inform half a million Americans a month. Roughly 10% of this number will make copies and inform others. Our goal should be to inform 70-million adult Americans. Public opinion will soon be on our side. Once 10% of the population know, the other 90% will follow.

And finally...if you would, pray and ask God to return us to 'One nation under God.'

Vincent L Guarisco is a freelance writer from Bullhead City AZ., a contributing writer for many web sites, and a lifetime founding member of the Alliance of Atomic Veterans. Reprint permission is given as long as article content is not altered or changed and credit is given to the author. The 21st century, once so full of shining promise, now threatens to force countless millions of us at home and abroad into a dark abyss of languishing poverty and silent servitude; a lowly prodigy of painful struggle and suffering that could stream for generations to come. I’m wishing for a miracle, before it is too late, the masses will figure it out and will stand as one and roar. So, pass the word — it’s past time to take back what is ours — the American Dream where the pursuit of happiness, the ability to live in a free and peaceful nation is a reality. We bought it, and we paid for it. It’s time to take it back. For replies, contact: vincespainting1@hotmail.com

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