I am surprised how many Americans who care deeply about politics and current events don't seem to have considered the forces that act on and influence government. During a recent conversation with a highly educated business leader, I responded to his enthusiasm over President Trump with my concerns about the obvious nurturing of the very swamp he claimed he would drain. "He's surrounding himself with critters from the swamp, the big industrial and banking forces of the military-industrial complex, and now he's planning to increase their already incredibly bloated budget. More spending, more debt, more military involvement where we have no right to be. It's a heyday for military-industrial complex, but this will mean further loss and sorrow for Americans and many others." There was a puzzled reaction. "The military-industrial complex? What's that?"

He was a keen student of current events and was well read in a number of areas. But he, like perhaps millions of Americans, had never even heard of a key issue in American and global politics. Americans have been trained to instantly drop any discussion of "dark powers" such as the Establishment, the Deep State, the military-industrial complex, etc., into a mental black hole called "lunatic conspiracy theories."

What? You mean that there might be people with a VESTED INTEREST in the spending of hundreds of billions of dollars? Are you trying to say that someone profits from trillions of dollars of American debt and would actually want to keep that cash cow flowing?? Are you saying that when government spends truckloads of money, it goes somewhere, and some people profit, and try to keep that profit coming?? Stuff my ears with wax, this is America, and you are an evil man to say such things about this great country! The military-industrial complex thanks you for your cooperation.

That hated and ignored term did not originate from kooks living in a cave. It was introduced by one of America's most famous generals who learned firsthand how powerful that complex was during his tenure as President of the United States. That was Dwight Eisenhower in his troubling farewell speech, where he gave a muted word of warning to America about the future dangers of the growing complex. This was back when the military-industrial complex was in its infancy, just a little but dangerous toddler compared to the Godzilla-sized bully that will sucks over 500 billion dollars a year out of productive sectors of the economy to feed the swamp and enable ongoing blood and horror on this earth. To see that there are big corporations that benefit from big spending is not a conspiracy theory, folks. It's Business 101. To see that companies with a vested interest in government largess spend big bucks to keep bigger bucks flowing their way is again not a conspiracy theory, though there are surely many hidden deals and actions that would shock us if we knew of them and would fall into the realm of conspiracy, but the basic forces and flows and influences are easy to understand, just Business 101. Or Business as Usual 101 under Trump.

Trump is fully committed to the goals of the Complex. I guess he has to be. He was in trouble politically, but now that he dropped some bombs on Syria, absent any act of war from them against our borders, absent any declaration of war from Congress, absent genuine evidence of a need to invade this country on the other side of the world, suddenly he's found acceptance. Slaps on the back, praise, applause. The Complex is pleased. America is back. Great again. Here we go.

The Book of Mormon has a few things to say about this era and about the workings of megalomaniacs (sometimes on the throne, sometimes behind, sometimes part of a broad network of aligned interests) in an insane quest for power. This would be a good time to study its words and to understand how the sometimes not-so-secret combinations work. It's not all that complex, actually. Much of it is Business 101, though the details may be shrouded in mystery. The results, though, are easy to see: blood and horror on this earth, and big bucks for the Big Boys. The Complex thanks you for your donations and for the ongoing sacrifice of the value of your dollar. And for the sons and daughters you send into unnecessary war zones all over the world to keep the swamp secure.
Continue reading at the original source →