Cast iron has a porous surface. The seasoning process serves to fill and smooth the surface of the pan. It’s true that the more you use and season a cast iron skillet, the more nonstick the surface becomes.

Here is how you season a new or used cast iron utensil:

If the pan is new, be sure any adhesive label is completely removed.

• Wash with very hot water, rinse and dry the utensil.
• Grease the inside surface with Crisco or other solid shortening. A medium-light coating, as you would grease a cake pan, is sufficient.
• Put your greased utensil in a preheated 300°F oven for 1 hour.
• Remove, cool and store the pan.

A skillet or other utensil can be seasoned as often as necessary to maintain a good surface.

For example, after making tortillas and, after all that heat, the surface of your skillet looks dry, just season it again before you put it away.

You should wait until the pan is very well seasoned, either by many uses or repeated seasonings, do not attempt to cook foods with a high acid content (tomatoes, for instance). The corrosive nature of high-acid foods will not react well to unseasoned cast iron.

Once a pan is well-seasoned, however, you can use it for just about anything.

Refrain from using soap or detergent in the cleaning process. Seasoned cast iron utensils may be cleaned very nicely with boiling water and a stiff-bristled brush. A short-handled brush with stiff nylon bristles used only for cleaning cast iron skillets is a good idea. And often, say after making cornbread, brush the skillet vigorously, wipe it with a damp sponge, and dry it with a paper towel. It is important to dry cast iron utensils well after use; they will rust unless thoroughly dried. Cast iron utensils will darken with use, turning from a steely gray, when new, to dark gray or black.

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While it’s still the age group with the lowest concentration of social network users, the senior citizen crowd is starting to realize how fun Facebook is.

Teenage sons and grandchildren be wary because you may start getting friend requests from people you’d rather not share your wall posts with. Yes, almost one out of every two people over the age of 50 now has a social network account.

That’s up from 22% just one year ago, according to the latest study from the Pew Internet research group.

As more and more people from the older side of the spectrum start signing up, it seems to be creating a whirlwind effect. Older users are finally starting to see the value in being able to connect with friends. For them, it’s even more valuable as a way to get back in touch with long-lost buddies and colleagues.

61% of those between the age of 30 and 49 now have a social network account, and a blistering 86% of 18- to 29-year-olds are connected to Facebook or Twitter, or some other social network site – they do exist.

Regardless of how much value so many people see in Facebook, there surely is bound to be a constituency of people who will share the feelings of Betty White during her virally-viewed Saturday Night Live monologue: Before, “I didn’t even know what Facebook was. Now that I do, I think it’s a huge waste of time.”

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1. Campaigns Face New Social Networking Disclosure Rules Next Month
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The South Korean government, in an effort to raise money for its military, wants to sell nearly a million antique M1 rifles that were used by U.S. soldiers in the Korean War to gun collectors in America.

The Obama administration approved the sale of the American-made rifles last year. But it reversed course and banned the sale in March – a decision that went largely unnoticed at the time but that is now sparking opposition from gun rights advocates.

A State Department spokesman said the administration’s decision was based on concerns that the guns could fall into the wrong hands.

“The transfer of such a large number of weapons — 87,310 M1 Garands and 770,160 M1 Carbines — could potentially be exploited by individuals seeking firearms for illicit purposes,” the spokesman told FoxNews.com.

“We are working closely with our Korean allies and the U.S. Army in exploring alternative options to dispose of these firearms.”

Asked why the M1s pose a threat, the State Department spokesman referred questions to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF representatives said they would look into the question Monday afternoon, but on Wednesday they referred questions to the Justice Department. DOJ spokesman Dean Boyd referred questions back to the State Department.

“M1s are used for target practice. For history buffs, they’re highly collectible. We’re going to continue to make sure that this backdoor effort that infringes not only on lawful commerce but on the Second Amendment is rectified.”

The Brady Campaign spokesman disagreed.

“They clearly were used as military guns, and the fact that they likely can take high-capacity magazines makes them a special safety concern,” he said.

The White House referred questions on the issue to the Pentagon, which referred questions to the U.S. Embassy in South Korea, which deferred back to the State Department.

Hayden’s Note:

Let’s understand a few things before getting into my opinion about the underlying theme of this move.

Many Historians, Veterans, ”patriots” or “survivalists”, “Constitutionalists” or “militia-type” people understand and appreciate the fine craftsmenship, power and accuracy of the M1 Garand.  If someone is flying a Gadsden Flag outside their home, more than likely they own an M1 Garand or have at some point.  This is a fine American weapon.  Sure, there are better, more efficient, more accurate rifles available, but the fact these rifles were used in the Korean War is an added historical bonus!

Almost 1 million historical American-made rifles could have been transferred into private collections, where many would be cared for and well taken care of, essentially preserving yet another piece of our fine American ingenuity.

But the Obama / Gun Control White House does NOT want 1 million MORE weapons in the hands of private citizens.  Ohhh, no.  Especially not a rifle that fires a .308 projectile and is loved by patriots, historians and survivalists the world over.  The EXCUSE that these weapons could be used for “illicit purposes” makes me laugh out loud.

If you are not familiar with the M1 Garand, allow me to explain.  The common street thug has a few hundred dollars to spend on a firearm.  Typically, the want the most bang for their buck and ease of operation so they buy items such as Glock pistols, AK-47 variants, old .38 revolvers for easy concealment and other similar guns that can fire more rapidly and hold higher numbers of rounds than the M1 Garand.

I was a police officer for 5 years and worked in some pretty gruesome, gritty areas of one of the most violent cities in America.  Never once in my 5 years did I ever…..ever encounter a street thug sporting an M1 Garand.  Nor do I think most people could even operate it as it had a unique “clip” for the ammunition.  These guns would never be used for illicit reasons.  However, one day….maybe just one day…. the American People have to defend the Constitution by force and the M1 Garand would be the weapon of choice for many, many veterans, historians, gun-buffs, farmers and more.  Is the White House scared of the People revolting?  Are they worried about some Iraqi Vet with PTSD going AWOL from society and using an M1 in a bell tower?

It sounds as if the Obama Administration plans to simply pay South Korea for the weapons and have them destroyed or sold to another country.  Imagine that - one million pieces of American history and craftsmenship sold to the highest bidder instead of American Citizens.

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Iowa State University researchers have found a way to produce high-value chemicals such as ethylene glycol and propylene glycol from biomass rather than petroleum sources.

Walter Trahanovsky, an Iowa State professor of chemistry who likes to write out the chemical structures of compounds when he talks about his science, was looking to produce sugar derivatives from cellulose and other forms of biomass using high-temperature chemistry. And so he and members of his research group studied the reactions of cellulosic materials in alcohols at high temperatures and pressures.

They analyzed the products of the reactions using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Early experiments produced the expected sugar derivatives. Additional work, however, clearly revealed significant yields of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol.

“It was a real surprise,” Trahanovsky said. “These products were unexpected, so we never looked for them. But they were always there.”

Uses for ethylene glycol include auto antifreeze, polyester fabrics and plastic bottles. Propylene glycol has many uses, including as a food additive, a solvent in pharmaceuticals, a moisturizer in cosmetics and as a coolant in liquid cooling systems.

Conversion of biomass to fuels and other chemicals can require strong acids or other harsh and expensive compounds. These processes also generate chemical wastes that have to be collected for safe disposal.

The Iowa State researchers say they have found a technology that is simpler yet effective and also better for the environment.

“There is potential here,” said Trahanovsky. “It’s not a wild dream to think this could be developed into a practical process.”

The biomass conversion process is based on the chemistry of supercritical fluids, fluids that are heated under pressure until their liquid and gas phases merge. In this case, Trahanovsky said the key results are significant yields of ethylene glycol, propylene glycol and other chemicals with low molecular weights. He said the process also produces alkyl glucosides and levoglucosan that can be converted into glucose for ethanol production or other uses.

All this happens without the use of any expensive reagents such as acids, enzymes, catalysts or hydrogen gas, Trahanovsky said. The process even works when there are impurities in the biomass.

The Iowa State University Research Foundation Inc. has filed for a patent of the technology.

The research has been supported by grants from the Iowa Energy Center. Other Iowa State researchers who have contributed to the project include Ronald Holtan, a postdoctoral research associate in chemistry; Norm Olson, the project manager of the Iowa Energy Center’s BECON facility near Nevada; Joseph Marshall, a former graduate student; and Alyse Hurd and Kyle Quasdorf, former undergraduate students.

Trahanovsky said the research team is still working to develop and improve the conversion technology.

And he does think the technology could be useful to industry.

“The starting materials for this are cheap,” Trahanovsky said. “And the products are reasonably high-value chemicals.”

No related posts.

via Info Wars

It’s the eugenicist in the Discovery Channel building multiplied by a million. Not simply a lone eco-terrorist saying “parasitic human infants” must die, but one of the largest international financial institutions demanding it. To make the contrast even more remarkable, James J. Lee scared the living daylights out of some Discovery Channel employees and threatened them with a pistol.  The IMF & World Bank take entire nations hostage and threaten their very existence with militaries, financial policies and food control.

In its 1984 World Development Report, the World Bank threatens nations who are slow in implementing the Bank’s “population policies” with “drastic steps, less compatible with individual choice and freedom.”

The report, literally saturated with dehumanizing proposals, is devoted entirely to the World Bank’s long-term strategies in regards to population control:

“(…) economic policy and performance in the next decade will matter for population growth in the developing countries for several decades beyond; population policy and change in the rest of this century will set the terms for the whole of development strategy in the next.”

To illustrate how serious the World Bank is in achieving the overall strategy objectives on population control, the report does not shy away from outright threats:

“Population policy has a long lead time; other development policies must adapt in the meantime. Inaction today forecloses options tomorrow, in overall development strategy and in future population policy. Worst of all, inaction today could mean that more drastic steps, less compatible with individual choice and freedom, will seem necessary tomorrow to slow population growth.”

In the Foreword, then President of the World Bank and 1985 Bilderberg attendee, A.W. Clausen stated:

“(…) although the direct costs of The World Bank programs to reduce population growth are not large, a greater commitment by the international community is sorely needed to assist developing countries in the great challenge of slowing population growth.”

“(…) governments can use incentives and disincentives to signal their policy on family size”, the report continues. “Through incentives, society as a whole compensates those couples willing to forgo the private benefits of an additional child, helping to close the gap between private and social gains to high fertility.”

To give an adequate illustration of the World Bank’s preference for all-out government control over the people, and their intent on meddling in people’s personal decisions, the following quote will suffice (page 107):

“By taxing and spending in ways that provide couples with specific incentives and disincentives to limit their fertility, government policy can also affect fertility in the short run. Government can offer “rewards” for women who defer pregnancy; it can compensate people who undergo sterilization for loss of work and travel costs; and it can provide insurance and old-age security schemes for parents who restrict the size of their families. Each of these public policies works through signals which influence individual and family decisions- when to marry, whether to use contraception, how long to send children to school, and life expectancy, and whether and how much family members work.”

Under the header “Incentives and disincentives” (page 121), the World Bank proposes several more examples of government interference in the affairs of free humanity:

“To complement family planning services and social programs that help to reduce fertility, governments may want to consider financial and other incentives and disincentives as additional ways of encouraging parents to have fewer children. Incentives may be defined as payments given to an individual, couple, or group to delay or limit child-bearing or to use contraceptives. (…). Disincentives are the withholding of social benefits from those whose family size exceeds a desired norm.”

The report uses the example of China to make clear such measures can be highly successful if governments would only be willing to implement them:

“With the possible exception of China, efforts to raise the age at marriage by persuasion and edict have not been particularly successful.”

“In China the birth rate at the end of 1982 was estimated to be nineteen per 1,000 people, down from forty in the 1960s. The current figure, based on birth registrations rather than on a census, may slightly understate the actual birth rate; but it would still be well below current rates in South Asia, Africa, and most of Latin America.”

On page 124, the World Bank report further marvels at the Chinese government’s accomplishments:

Fresh food that lasts from eFoods Direct (Ad)

“China has the most comprehensive set of incentives and disincentives, designed (most recently) to promote the one-child family. Since the early 1970s women undergoing various types of fertility-related operations have been entitled to paid leave: in urban areas fourteen days for induced abortion; ten days for tubal ligation; two to three days for insertion or removal of an IUD; and in the case of postnatal sterilization, seven extra days over the normal fifty-six of paid maternity leave.”

Bizarrely, the report even goes so far as to suggest introducing “sterilization vans” and “camps”:

“Male and female sterilization and IUDs can be made more readily available through mobile facilities (such as sterilization vans in Thailand) or periodic “camps” (such as vasectomy and tubectomy-camps in India and IUD “safaris” in Indonesia).”

Making clear that the overall World Bank population reduction strategy must be implemented in a country-specific manner, the report states:

“The specific policy agenda for each country depends on its political culture, on the nature of the problem it faces, and on what it has already accomplished.”

What does have to be global, according to the World Bank, is continuing urbanization: people nicely locked up in massive townships. The report explains:

“Living in small towns does less to reduce fertility than does living in larger cities. That many of these changes take time to have an effect only underlines the need to begin them now. At the same time, other measures that complement and speed socioeconomic change can hasten a decline in fertility.”

This report is completely in step with the strategies outlined by the UN, the Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, World Health Organization and IMF as they move to depopulate the earth in a consorted global effort. The pretexts for fertility reduction given throughout the report are “sustainable development” and “poverty reduction”. The truth is, so states the World Bank itself, to introduce and further develop “policy measures to increase people’s welfare as well as (and as a means) to reduce fertility.”

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2. James Jay Lee’s Manifesto: The Demands to the Discovery Channel
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Hayden’s Note:

First, they take our Corn.  Then our Soy.  Now our Wheat.  Please read the articles linked at the bottom for more information on the dangers of consuming GMO foods.  There has been hard data showing sterility, genetic disruption, genetic mutation in offspring, liver damage, neurological problems, etc.  Monsanto can very well be described as one of the most dangerous threats we face right now.  Information and education about the dangers of genetically modified foods is the only answer.  Consumer demand and action!

West Australian cereal breeder InterGrain Pty Ltd has partnered with global grains developer Monsanto to develop tougher, higher-yielding types of wheat.

Under the collaboration, Monsanto has taken a 19.9 per cent stake in InterGrain for an undisclosed sum.

If the collaboration is a success, it could lift that stake to 26 per cent over the next five years.

InterGrain chief executive Bryan Whan said Intergrain and Monsanto would exchange wheat germplasm – material used for breeding wheat before it is recognised as a commercial variety.

“We’re always on the lookout for new germplasm internationally so we can bring in new disease resistances and be ahead of the game,” Mr Whan said.

“All of this is ultimately about giving benefits to Australian grain growers through better varieties.”

InterGrain said that in the short term it would gain access to Monsanto’s breeding technology tools and services for genotyping (the process of determining the genes) and marker development, which was expected to result in higher-yielding wheat.

In the longer term, InterGrain would gain access to Monsanto’s genetically modified wheats.

“Monsanto is a world leader in the identification and development of those traits that can be introduced into those wheats such as better yield genes, tolerance to drought, better disease resistances, better use of nutrients like fertilisers,” Mr Whan said.

“They’re the biotechnologies needed to be able to make improvement in addition to the traditional conventional approaches.”

InterGrain was established in 2007 by the West Australian government and the Grains Research and Development Corporation.

TressCox Lawyers partner Andrew Chalet, who advised InterGrain, said it was encouraging to see some private sector funding going into agricultural biotech research in Australia.

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Update -

Police shoot and kill James Jay Lee.

Source: Various News

A man known for protesting the Discovery Channel stormed the network’s Maryland headquarters carrying a handgun on Wednesday, taking a “small number” of hostages while appearing to have a bomb strapped to his chest, police said.

Discovery Communications told Fox News that the gunman is James Jay Lee of San Diego, Calif., a man well-known to Discovery employees with a history of protesting the network. Maryland police, however, have not yet confirmed the suspect’s identity. 

Montgomery County Police told reporters Wednesday that a male suspect entered the building and waved a handgun at approximately 1 p.m.  “We have no reports of injuries at this point,” Manger said. “At this point, we’re still negotiating with him.” 

James Jay Lee’s Manifesto

Below is the “manifesto” by James Jay Lee which appeared on his website.  It has since been redirected or taken down, but Google has it archived.

I’m curious if he attended Virginia Tech (for you intel guys out there, you already know what I’m referring to).  I suppose we’ll wait and see what information comes out about it as this progresses.

Also, if you’re familiar with the White House Science Czar John Holdren, you’ll find this manifesto oddly familiar.  As crazy as this rant of James Lee’s sounds, it mirrors the demands of the White House Science chief in one of his books.

Via Cryptogon.com – It looks like he should have applied for a job at the White House: John Holdren, Obama’s Science Czar, Says: Forced Abortions and Mass Sterilization Needed to Save the Planet.

Source: SaveThePlanetProtest

(Already redirected and taken down – check Google Archives)

The Discovery Channel MUST broadcast to the world their commitment to save the planet and to do the following IMMEDIATELY:

1. The Discovery Channel and it’s affiliate channels MUST have daily television programs at prime time slots based on Daniel Quinn’s “My Ishmael” pages 207-212 where solutions to save the planet would be done in the same way as the Industrial Revolution was done, by people building on each other’s inventive ideas. Focus must be given on how people can live WITHOUT giving birth to more filthy human children since those new additions continue pollution and are pollution. A game show format contest would be in order. Perhaps also forums of leading scientists who understand and agree with the Malthus-Darwin science and the problem of human overpopulation. Do both. Do all until something WORKS and the natural world starts improving and human civilization building STOPS and is reversed! MAKE IT INTERESTING SO PEOPLE WATCH AND APPLY SOLUTIONS!!!!

2. All programs on Discovery Health-TLC must stop encouraging the birth of any more parasitic human infants and the false heroics behind those actions. In those programs’ places, programs encouraging human sterilization and infertility must be pushed. All former pro-birth programs must now push in the direction of stopping human birth, not encouraging it.

3. All programs promoting War and the technology behind those must cease. There is no sense in advertising weapons of mass-destruction anymore. Instead, talk about ways to disassemble civilization and concentrate the message in finding SOLUTIONS to solving global military mechanized conflict. Again, solutions solutions instead of just repeating the same old wars with newer weapons. Also, keep out the fraudulent peace movements. They are liars and fakes and had no real intention of ending the wars. ALL OF THEM ARE FAKE! On one hand, they claim they want the wars to end, on the other, they are demanding the human population increase. World War II had 2 Billion humans and after that war, the people decided that tripling the population would assure peace. WTF??? STUPIDITY! MORE HUMANS EQUALS MORE WAR!

4. Civilization must be exposed for the filth it is. That, and all its disgusting religious-cultural roots and greed. Broadcast this message until the pollution in the planet is reversed and the human population goes down! This is your obligation. If you think it isn’t, then get hell off the planet! Breathe Oil! It is the moral obligation of everyone living otherwise what good are they??

5. Immigration: Programs must be developed to find solutions to stopping ALL immigration pollution and the anchor baby filth that follows that. Find solutions to stopping it. Call for people in the world to develop solutions to stop it completely and permanently. Find solutions FOR these countries so they stop sending their breeding populations to the US and the world to seek jobs and therefore breed more unwanted pollution babies. FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THEM TO STOP THEIR HUMAN GROWTH AND THE EXPORTATION OF THAT DISGUSTING FILTH! (The first world is feeding the population growth of the Third World and those human families are going to where the food is! They must stop procreating new humans looking for nonexistant jobs!)

6. Find solutions for Global Warming, Automotive pollution, International Trade, factory pollution, and the whole blasted human economy. Find ways so that people don’t build more housing pollution which destroys the environment to make way for more human filth! Find solutions so that people stop breeding as well as stopping using Oil in order to REVERSE Global warming and the destruction of the planet!

7. Develop shows that mention the Malthusian sciences about how food production leads to the overpopulation of the Human race. Talk about Evolution. Talk about Malthus and Darwin until it sinks into the stupid people’s brains until they get it!!

8. Saving the Planet means saving what’s left of the non-human Wildlife by decreasing the Human population. That means stopping the human race from breeding any more disgusting human babies! You’re the media, you can reach enough people. It’s your resposibility because you reach so many minds!!!

9. Develop shows that will correct and dismantle the dangerous US world economy. Find solutions for their disasterous Ponzi-Casino economy before they take the world to another nuclear war.  (Hayden’s Note: Well….he’s got a decent point here.)

10. Stop all shows glorifying human birthing on all your channels and on TLC. Stop Future Weapons shows or replace the dialogue condemning the people behind these developments so that the shows become exposes rather than advertisements of Arms sales and development!

11. You’re also going to find solutions for unemployment and housing. All these unemployed people makes me think the US is headed toward more war.

Humans are the most destructive, filthy, pollutive creatures around and are wrecking what’s left of the planet with their false morals and breeding culture.

For every human born, ACRES of wildlife forests must be turned into farmland in order to feed that new addition over the course of 60 to 100 YEARS of that new human’s lifespan! THIS IS AT THE EXPENSE OF THE FOREST CREATURES!!!! All human procreation and farming must cease!

It is the responsiblity of everyone to preserve the planet they live on by not breeding any more children who will continue their filthy practices. Children represent FUTURE catastrophic pollution whereas their parents are current pollution. NO MORE BABIES! Population growth is a real crisis. Even one child born in the US will use 30 to a thousand times more resources than a Third World child. It’s like a couple are having 30 babies even though it’s just one! If the US goes in this direction maybe other countries will too!

Also, war must be halted. Not because it’s morally wrong, but because of the catastrophic environmental damage modern weapons cause to other creatures. FIND SOLUTIONS JUST LIKE THE BOOK SAYS! Humans are supposed to be inventive. INVENT, DAMN YOU!!

The world needs TV shows that DEVELOP solutions to the problems that humans are causing, not stupify the people into destroying the world. Not encouraging them to breed more environmentally harmful humans.

Saving the environment and the remaning species diversity of the planet is now your mindset. Nothing is more important than saving them. The Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Elephants, Froggies, Turtles, Apes, Raccoons, Beetles, Ants, Sharks, Bears, and, of course, the Squirrels.

The humans? The planet does not need humans.

You MUST KNOW the human population is behind all the pollution and problems in the world, and YET you encourage the exact opposite instead of discouraging human growth and procreation. Surely you MUST ALREADY KNOW this!

I want Discovery Communications to broadcast on their channels to the world their new program lineup and I want proof they are doing so. I want the new shows started by asking the public for inventive solution ideas to save the planet and the remaining wildlife on it.

These are the demands and sayings of Lee.

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by Karen Kwiatkowski, Ph.D., Retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel

Legend has it that one evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee replied, “The one you feed.”

As guidance for individual lives, it works. In philosophy or religion, this story has a sure place. But when it is applied to government, there may be a completely different lesson to be learned. And Americans are going to learn it soon, ready or not.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mullen rightly understands that the national debt is the biggest single risk to the enterprise to which he has devoted his entire adult life, the military industrial complex. Well, his actual words were, “The most significant threat to our national security is our debt.” He went on to explain that the debt “limits” the government’s ability to “resource” the military.

The “resourcing” Mullen is worried about includes all the junk in our collective military trunk, all the people currently in uniform, in civil service and contractor suits and khakis, and the millions of retirees (of which I am one), all of the facilities in 177 countries around the world, the spy/eavesdropping/technical surveillance infrastructure and people, and the costs of war/occupation/endless training and puppet–prop-uppery in Iraq, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Pakistan, Colombia, South Korea, etc. All of this equals, to Mullen, “national security.”

But of course, the overblown national security enterprise is less about real American security than the security of the ruling classes, and international and central banks interested in fiat currency “stability” and global commodity “predictability.” At a basic American citizen and community level, it is also, sadly, about income security.

The Washingtonsblog.com elaborates on Mullen’s concern, and explains (quoting the great Robert Higgs among others) how the government spending has impacted productivity, jobs, recession and recovery in the 20^th century. One of the charts is especially eloquent, and reveals much about Mullen’s very real concern that someone soon may stop feeding him.

This chart, covering durable goods shipments over the past decade, is useful in seeing how our military industrial sector has grown – long after the end of the Cold War! Forget for a moment that this spending, as Higgs and others explain, saps the strength and energy of the private sector, and is itself tax and debt funded, equal or greater than its fellow tax-feeding bureaucracies in Washington, Medicare, Social Security, and state and federal civil servant and military pensions. We hear that Social Security (already in the red) and Medicare (in trouble from the beginning) programs are publicly working to address fiscal realities. Civil retirees at state and federal level are already on notice, and federal retirement programs are changing. But the military, and its extended security complex, has done little but creatively account for its needs, and ask for more each year. In lieu of making real and serious cuts, and reducing America’s inappropriate and costly empire, Mullen and Gates fear-monger global security, and promote false patriotism.
We may be leaving Iraq, but we leave it (or fail to) under the US Forces Korea model, with 50,000 combat-hardened and ready troops and a host of large facilities ready to deal with the communists at any moment, or jihadists, or maybe just a formidable troop of fantastical camel spiders. Incidentally, in early 2004 I wrote an article for the now defunct website militaryweek.com explaining the bureaucratic, command and strategic parallels between the post-armistice occupation of South Korea and the similar plans for Iraq. Of course, I didn’t have any more insight than anyone else – the statement had been made by a Pentagon spokesperson of some kind. They didn’t continue to talk in these terms. But the joke was real, and it was on the Iraqis and the US taxpayer.

Today we read, without surprise, that billions of dollars of American wealth (present and future) have been wasted, squandered and lost in various unfinished, subsequently destroyed or simply paid-for-never-started projects in Iraq. Many of these projects were on the to-do list – the schools, hospitals, water purification systems, prisons, roads, bridges or electrical power plants – because we destroyed them in 2003 and 2004, or ruined them years earlier with our endless bombing during the UN sanctions period. Those closest to the missing money – US military and state department implementers and contractors, US allied governments and contractors, and Iraqi puppet class contractors know where it went. And, while they certainly share our concern, they’d also like to say, “Thank you very much!”

The old Cherokee with his two wolves was wise. The wolf that grows strong is the wolf we feed, and we can choose. However, when this parable is applied to the wolf of state, the massive military industrial sector of our otherwise ailing economy, withholding sustenance may no longer be an option.

Just over 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson wrote a friend that, “The spirit of this country is totally adverse to a large military force.” Only when we again adopt this spirit will we be able to end the empire. Meanwhile, the wolf we have been feeding so generously is now powerful, arrogant and angry at its first real hunger pang.

August 31, 2010

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