The motto of the United States of Consumption is “In More We Trust.”

The contribution of American culture to humanity is consumption obsession. Our epidemic of obesity, our land gluttonous suburban sprawl, our monster-size environmental footprint, our ravenous automobile addiction, and our heartless greed are symptoms of a deep-seated, sick mental state that keeps the economy humming. And it keeps increasing economic inequality and apartheid.

Mass consumption is also a distraction from the self-inflicted defeat facing working- and middle-class Americans in the class war they are losing.

Americans are enslaving themselves with their spending and delusional prosperity. The rich and super-rich in their McMansions, luxury cars, yachts, swank spas and private jets surely are laughing at how easy it is to manipulate the 80 percent of the population that keeps enriching them.   more »

The official mantra is that we fight in Iraq because it is the "central front in the War on Terror." The exact opposite is the case.

We are trapped in fighting an unwinnable - even nonsensical - "war on terror" because its invention was required in order to fight in Iraq.

After years of slaughter in Iraq, the neoconservative fantasy of a series of cheap, fast, neo-imperial victories is dead. But the war on terror lives on, stronger than ever.

How did the war on terror take on a life of its own and trap the entire political class, and most Americans, into public beliefs about the need to fight a global war on terror as our first priority, even when there's little or no evidence of an enemy present in the United States?   more »

War makes the world understandable, a black-and-white tableau of them and us.

It suspends thought, especially self-critical thought. All bow before the supreme effort. We are one. Most of us willingly accept war as long as we can fold it into a belief system that paints the ensuing suffering as necessary for a higher good.

Human beings seek not only happiness but also meaning. And tragically, war is sometimes the most powerful way in human society to achieve meaning.

The enduring attraction of war is this: Even with its destruction and carnage it gives us what we all long for in life.   more »

The first day of Eid Al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, will be taking a new meaning. It will be remembered as a "holy" day, a "happy" occasion, the sacrifice, the fall and the rise to eternity of one of our greatest heroes.

Unlike the great majority of Arab and Muslim leaders, Saddam Hussein defied U.S. attempts to rob his country’s resources and prevent Iraq from acquiring modern industry, science and technology.

He freed women. Iraqis of all nationalities, religions and sects lived in harmony. Health and education services on all levels were free. Electricity and clean water were available without interruption, 24 hours a day.

Corruption in the public as well as the private sectors was virtually eliminated. Even under the 13 year long economic sanctions, the basic requirements of life were guaranteed to every Iraqi citizen.

His biggest achievement on Arab national level, he was the only Arab leader who successfully challenged Israel’s military superiority, and shattered the claim of Israel’s invincibility.   more »

ince the release of the Iraq Study Group report, have you noticed how President George W. Bush, is displaying more often those wild, piercing eyes? Can you see the fear?

He’s like a character in Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel “Crime and Punishment,” who has claimed special privileges for himself--like a license to commit crimes--but has been found out! What might be spooking Bush?

Could it be his coming impeachment trial by the U.S. Congress? Impeachment is a train without any brakes that has long since left the station. And, with the revelation of every massive lie of the Bush-Cheney Gang, the train picks up even more speed.   more »

Marketing militarism and war to society at large is no different than selling potato chips laced with trans-fats or carcinogenic chemicals, without regard to public health and its attendant social costs.

It is all about managing public perception and providing widening profit margins to the corporations that are running the government.

To hell with the public welfare and moral pronouncements, the plantation owner demands blood sacrifices as a show of loyalty and gratitude.

Thus it is not surprising that military sacrament is couched in the language of service to country, patriotism, and other noble causes that are as divorced from reality as the President is removed from sanity.   more »