As usual, the U.S. is prepared to fight the last war. IMO, the military needs to get smaller, cheaper including closing any bases that are not serving any real post-cold war purpose.

ok, cut the military. but first, can we invade switzerland and blow up some minarets? :D

by the way, i heard there's a connection between glen beck and, yes, ...minarets. film at 11

I guess I just assumed that you voted for Obama by your seemingly liberal opinions. I stand corrected (or do I?). As for the rest of your response- I agree 100%.

http://unreasonablysafe.files.wordpr...pg?w=239&h=187

It is possible to hold a set of opinions that does not fall neatly into the category of liberal or conservative. One can be a fiscal conservative while holding "liberal" views on social issues (or the opposite). IMO, the current political parties and the media are both performing a disservice by trying to lump everyone into two predefined categories. I suspect that the majority of Americans are niether liberal nor conservative as defined by the media. Just sayin'

so it's possible to believe that islam is a cult, but not believe in the war on terror, or the banning of minarets in switzerland?

that's just crazy.

Christianity can be considered just as insane as Islam. Fortunately we don't take our religious texts very seriously. There are however people who push the book a little too far.

Sure, it's possible. You can believe whatever you like. ;)

Change blindness:

Research and history show Americans are as blind to US fascism as Nazi-era Germans


December 12, 4:25 PMhttp://image.examiner.com/img/greydot.gifLA County Nonpartisan Examinerhttp://image.examiner.com/img/greydot.gifCarl Herman

Psychological research demonstrates that large-scale dramatic change can escape attention when the change is unsuspected, unannounced, and agents causing the change act as if nothing is different.

Two areas of this cognitive study are “change blindness” and “inattentional blindness.”

When we include consideration of “cognitive dissonance,” the rejection of facts when they conflict with important beliefs, we can approach an explanation of how educated citizens could accept fascism when it was unsuspected, unannounced, and the responsible agents fraudulently represented the new government as no different from the old.

Cognitive dissonance would deter many people to accept the new reality, even when the facts were clear.

The definition of “fascism” has some academic variance, but is essentially collusion among corporatocracy, authoritarian government, and controlled media and education.

This “leadership” is only possible with a nationalistic public accepting policies of war, empire, and limited civil and political rights.

Yes, I am making the argument that the US is no longer a constitutinal republic, but a fascist regime that Americans are struggling with cognitive dissonance, change blindness, and inattentional blindness to recognize.

Let’s look to history before we consider the US of the present and if we are afflicted with a kind of cognitive blindness to American fascism.

Read more here:

http://www.examiner.com/x-18425-LA-County-Nonpartisan-Examiner~y2009m12d12-Change-blindness-research-and-history-how-Americans-are-as-blind-to-US-fascism-as-Naziera-Germans

Very good observation!
Ever since the downfall of the Third Reich, Hitler's primary usefulness is that of a deterrent.
Go figure!