In his 2004 book
The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy and the End of the Republic,Chalmers Johnson warned that the military, CIA and the rest of the national security apparatus were bankrupting the country and stripping away Americans' civil rights, and making us new enemies all over the world. He could have been writing about David Petreaus when he described generals with huge retinues acting like proconsuls and potentates, thinking they are entitled to live like Roman emperors. I feel a little foolish that I believed the hype about Petreaus being a great soldier/scholar and presidential material. Alas, the emperor has no clothes. See, for example,
The Petraeus Saga: Epitaph for a Four Star by Col. DOUGLAS MACGREGOR, Ret.
His dingbat girlfriend may have let the cat out of the bag that the CIA was running a detention center in Benghazi. The press and the power elite that runs this country created Petreaus as a sort of Wizard of Oz, and when he wouldn't fall on his sword for Obama, they threw him under the bus.
If a screen writer wanted to write a farce on the fiasco that is our national security state, how could she do anything that competed with reality?
David Petraeus: A US war hero?
After a scandalous affair brought him down, we ask how successful the retired general's military strategies have been.
William Ward, Four Star General, Demoted For Lavish Spending, Ordered To Repay $82,000
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has demoted the former head of U.S. Africa Command who was accused of spending thousands of dollars on lavish travel and other unauthorized expenses, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.
Panetta stripped Gen. William "Kip" Ward of a star, which means that he will now retire as a three-star lieutenant general despite arguments from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff against the demotion. Ward also has been ordered to repay the government $82,000. . . . .The spokesman, Chris Garrett, added that, "While General Ward is not perfect he has always been
guided by his faith in God and the belief that there is no greater honor as a patriot than to lead those who choose to serve our nation in the armed forces."
Retiring as a three-star will cost Ward about $30,000 a year in retirement pay – giving him close to $208,802 a year rather than the $236,650 he would get as a four-star.
Jill Kelley, Woman Who Sparked Petraeus Scandal, Ran Questionable Charity
WASHINGTON -- Tampa, Fla., socialite and military hostess Jill Kelley, one of the women at the center of the ever-expanding scandal that brought down former CIA Director David Petraeus, founded a questionable charity for cancer patients with her surgeon husband, Scott Kelley.
Based out of the couple's mansion, the Doctor Kelley Cancer Foundation claimed on its tax forms that it "shall be operated exclusively to conduct cancer research and to grant wishes to terminally ill adult cancer patients."
From the records, it appears that the charity fell far short of its mission. While the origins of the seed money used to start the charity in 2007 are unclear, financial records reviewed by The Huffington Post reveal that the group spent all of its money not on research, but on parties, entertainment, travel and attorney fees. . . .
Chicago 'Code Of Silence' Trial Verdict: Court Rules Against City
CHICAGO — Chicago police adhere to a code of silence protecting fellow officers, a federal jury ruled Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by a female bartender whose videotaped beating by a drunken off-duty officer went viral online.
Jurors awarded $850,000 in damages to the bartender, Karolina Obrycka, who was beaten in February 2007 after she refused to keep serving Anthony Abbate, who was off-duty and admittedly drunk at the time. Surveillance video of the hulking Abbate pushing Obrycka to the ground behind the bar at Jesse's Shortstop Inn, then repeatedly punching and kicking her.
Lackland Air Force Base Sex Scandal Report Cites 'Abuse Of Power' Amid Petraeus, Allen Probe
A U.S. military shaken by the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus and the investigation of its top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, announced Wednesday that one of the largest sex scandals in its history has widened, enveloping at least eight commanders and nearly 50 possible victims.
The Air Force released its report on the scandal at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, where members of the Air Force go through basic training. Investigations of at least 25 military training instructors have led to charges against 11, and have resulted in five convictions, from rape to inappropriate relationships with recruits. Two commanding officers have been removed, and Air Force Gen. Edward A. Rice Jr., commander of Air Education and Training Command, said at a press conference Wednesday that six more have received "disciplinary action."
Fox 19 anchor back on the air after suspension for calling Rachel Maddow an 'angry young man' on Facebook
Tricia Macke, an Ohio news anchor for Fox 19, was suspended over disparaging comments she made about the MSNBC host on her personal Facebook page. "I am sorry," Macke wrote to one such fan. "I should have said antagonistic."
Former ICE Chief Who Fought Child Porn Gets 70 Mos. For Having It
WEST PALM BEACH (CBSMiami) – The former chief of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami was sentenced Friday afternoon after he pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges.
Anthony Mangione, 52, was sentenced to 70 months – just under six years – in prison by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Mara in West Palm Beach.
The political right in America LOVED their Iraq warrior boy Patraeus, until it was revealed that...OMG...he was having SEX!! OH NO! Not THAT! Of course SEX trumps everything. I remember the moveon.org piece a few years back which labeled him General Betrayus. The Right wing went on full attack mode, with flared nostrils. Your mentor, Rush, went on and on about how great the General is...a true American..blah blah. Obama kept him around and then there was SEX so now this guy is unfit and has always been a louse. How quick they forget. This is a page straight out of Orwell. Doublethink is the correct term, I believe.
ReplyDeleteKerrville is leading the war on sex, and Richard, you are proud sex warrior. Go get'em big guy!!
You are misreading the post. The point is that Obama and his cronies used the affair to blackmail Petreaus when he wouldn't lie for them on the Benghazi debacle. The other point is that there seem to be a lot of generals in the US military that think they are entitled to do whatever they want, and the rot filters down, e.g., to the sexual harassment and abuse by low level trainers in the USAF. You seem to get agitated when I don't toe the complete leftist line. As for you last statement, I thought what the right wingers did to Clinton over Monica Lewinski was despicable. Lighten up.
ReplyDeletePoint taken. The thesis of my post was that Kerrville culture is over the top on sex punishment. They love to hate sex,and are constantly looking for new ways to make it a crime. I have submitted several stories on point which you did not published and I understand why. It is true that "surge boy" Patreaus was conservative hero before the sex thing. Now they claim to hate him from the jump. I listen to Rush everyday just to know what my clients mad about that day. They hear it and immediately incorporate it into their belief system. Fear is a beautiful thing, the feed stock of exploitation. I do like the term "war of sex"...could you copyright that for me?
ReplyDeleteI have written several posts here criticizing Kerr County Culture, but have never really offered a solution or alternative culture. Our recent national elections have put America on notice there is a culture change upon us, and I believe there is a chance this new culture will save us from decline. I am talking about marijuana culture and sex for pleasure, both of which are social taboos for discussion in Kerr County. I am sure we all have an idea what sex for pleasure is, but many of your readers may not have the foggiest idea what marijuana culture is. Let me explain. The recent legalization in Washington State and Colorado has legitimized a long standing subculture around marijuana, which emphasizes peace, sex, relaxation and concern for the planet. These elements are the polar opposite of the underpinnings of war on drugs, which is ultra-violent cartel culture, and ultra-punitive police state / American prison culture.
ReplyDeleteWhat great day to light up, and get naked. A real reason to be thankful in the aftermath of Thanksgiving.
Now that some shock commentary has been made regarding Kerrville culture and sex, I thought it appropriate to offer some additional, restrained commentary on the subject, and link the commentary to the subject of the blog.
ReplyDeleteOne hundred percent (100%) of the public information from Kerrville institutions either links sex with crime or excludes it from discussion as follows:
• The KDT prints endless stories regarding sex crimes. Much of this reporting is good, and needs to be reported, however it is done to the exclusion of any commentary or reporting which tends to project sex as natural, healthy and part of the human condition.
• There seems to be a story every day about a sex crime or the adjudication of sex crime. The KDT will not print any editorials that put the adjudication of these crimes into question, and under report false arrests and/or dropped cases after person’s names dragged through the mud.
• The local Art Community is fixated upon excluding sexuality as part of the natural human condition. All of the stage productions exclude sexuality as a healthy part of humanity, and deliver a steady stream of light, bland productions, which tend to reinforce the puritanical culture. The same holds true for the visual arts, which seem totally dedicated to projecting a faux image of the American West, replete with images of proud, healthy American Indians, rugged cowboys, and of course, the obligatory quail and barbed wire.
• Public School administrators are focused on the same mission. Kerrrville schools minimize sex education, and try to inject religion into the curriculum as often as possible. In one bizarre incident, a former Texas Ranger actually took guns into the classroom in Ingram. While this was acceptable to the administrators, they reject using condoms into the classroom for educational purposes.
Is there any wonder there is so much fear and guilt in Kerrville regarding sex?
The prosecutors are savvy, and use the evil twins of fear and guilt time after time to promote themselves by grandstanding, using sex cases as a vehicle, exploiting the fears of the community.
Where are the leaders? Where are the artists? Where are the journalists?