Editing and commentary by
Carolyn Bennett
Carolyn Bennett
Status quo
Don’t invest in Bernie Sanders in bed with weapons industry Lockheed Martin
● or Hillary Clinton with hands on, direct and indirect, killing and taking her (foundation-laundered) cut.
Endless war can be expected from these candidates—evening gowned or tuxedoed. An associate or friend of the legislator in interview today
on KPFA spoke of “Bernie” in military terms: “Bernie’s ‘insurgency’”, he called the Senator's run for the White House, “with nothing to lose.”
Aside from the continuing culture and ethos of belligerence, militarism,
imperialism, nuclear armament, global arms sales and violent aggression (together
with gross neglect of domestic issues such as immigration, education, human rights
and relations, general health and welfare)—serious times call for serious candidates.
With U.S. “leadership” recklessly waging scores of wars and other aggression in
Middle East, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa—no thoughtful person in the twenty-first century would
consider someone addressed down as “Hillary” or “Bernie” (“Bill” or “Billy”).
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| Same Coin |
We know where Hillary was but where was Bernie when bribes were being handed
out? Politician Bernard Sanders had been ensconced in the legislature of the
United States for just short of a quarter century and when he is through the
quarter century mark will have passed (his tenure in U.S. House of Representatives
January 3, 1991-January 3, 2007, in U.S. Senate 2007-2015 current term ending in
2019).
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| Lockheed F-35 |
In his long tenure, what benefit has Sanders brought to the American
people as a whole?
What has he done for the general welfare of this country?
What has he done to end U.S. wars and occupation abroad?
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| US DOD missile launch |
Partnered with Military Industry Leader
Lockheed Martin
The Center for Responsive Politics’ Open Secrets file calls them Heavy
Hitters ● one of the heaviest Lockheed Martin: the
United States’ “top defense contractor, the brains behind high-tech military
hardware such as the F-16 jet fighter and a variety of land and sea missiles.
Lockheed
in 2001 “landed the biggest defense contract in history when it was named the
main contractor for the Joint Strike Fighter.”
Lockheed 2014 “LOBBYING: $14,581,800” ● REVOLVING
DOOR: “73 out of 109 Lockheed Martin lobbyists in 2013-2014 have previously
held government jobs” ● Lockheed Martin PACs’ [Political Action Committees’] total
contributions to U.S. candidates for public office “is 7 times larger than
contributions from individuals…: Contributions to candidates $3,001,933, Contributions
to Leadership PACs $865,875, Contributions to parties $223,216, Contributions
to 527 committees $5,812, Contributions to outside spending groups $10,373”
Nuclear-Lockheed “Bernie”
Greg Guma writes this week under headline “Between the Lines—Will
Sanders’ Run for the White House Help Build a National Progressive”?
A fair question considering another faker
The “progressive” military-industrial-complex-supporting Bernard
Sanders, Guma reports, is a flip-flopper on a seriously dangerous domestic and
global issue.
“Despite his (Sanders’) past criticisms of the corporation’s
serial misconduct and excess,” by 2011 Sanders was “supporting the Pentagon’s
proposal to base Lockheed-built F-35 fight jets at the Burlington (Vermont) International
Airport…. Sanders “joined with Vermont’s most enthusiastic booster, U.S. Senator
Patrick Leahy, signing on to a joint statement of support.”
Concerning the Vermont partnership with the energy company Sandia,
“managed by Lockheed Martin for the Department of Defense”, the state’s
governor reportedly described Sen. Sanders as being “like a dog with a bone” in
his enthusiasm.
Judge for
yourselves
I think America needs—and has for a long time needed—“freshness”. New
people and new ideas, human sensibility, true independence of thought and
action, principled leadership; people who don’t engage in getting by and
fooling, hoodwinking, the American people, but who enable Americans—by supporting substantively
good public education (not “race to a top or bottom”) for all—to think for
themselves; not to succumb to propaganda, yield to manipulation; but to
regularly ponder and act on the notion that we Americans must end the inherently
regressive status quo, end legacy and dynasty, and put the “lifers” and the “old
guard” out to pasture.
On its website “Presidency 2016”, Politics1 points out that “a
large crowd of candidates will likely compete for the Democratic and Republican
nominations—plus LOTS of likely third
party and independent P2016 hopefuls.” And “if a person is running or thinking
of running—regardless of party, ballot
status, or chances of winning (incumbent party, main opposition party, third
party candidates, independent and write-in hopefuls)” —Politics1 will list all of the
candidates at its site.
Why not check it out?
 I |
magine beyond elephants and donkeys. Anybody can be an “arse” or “heavy-footed”,
even a great orator, a convincing propagandist.
However, not anyone should be
trusted with the leadership of a (potentially)
great country. There is a whole world of truly progressive thinkers and doers, competent
and principled people, not propagandists or counterfeit, waiting for a turn at
the helm. Waiting for a chance to progressively
help right this ship of state.
Sources and notes
“Upfront” May 29, 2015 episode, KPFA, https://kpfa.org/episode/upfront-may-29-2015/
Center for Responsive Politics Open Secrets, http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000104
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00000528#ind
Bernard Sanders bio, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000033
Sanders, Lockheed,
Nuclear armament: TRUST ME
Wednesday, May 27, 2015: Greg Guma: “Between The Lines - Will Sanders’
Run for the White House Help Build a National Progressive … Lockheed in
Vermont: Sanders’ Corporate Conundrum Progressive Eclipse – Chapter Ten; Sandia,
Citizens United and Smart Meters: December 2011, http://gregguma.blogspot.com/2015/05/lockheed-in-vermont-sanders-corporate.html
“The growing
influence of corporations made the emerging relationship between Sandia
Laboratories and Bernie Sanders somewhat perplexing. Sandia was managed by
Lockheed Martin for the Department of Defense, had roots in the Manhattan
Project and a history of turning nuclear research into weapons. Most of its
revenue still came from maintaining and developing defense systems. … [Sanders’]
position hadn’t changed that much. Sandia’s nuclear associations were never a
major obstacle: Sanders had once been pro-nuclear power and his criticisms were
restrained. His stalwart alliance with labor had always outweighed his
skepticism about military spending and his corporate criticism, which focused
on fairness and inequality, rarely prevented him from making an alliance that
furthered ‘bold’ initiatives or burnished his record of leadership. … By 2011,
Sanders was … supporting the Pentagon’s proposal to base Lockheed-built F-35
fight jets at the Burlington International Airport. Despite his past criticisms
of the corporation’s serial misconduct and excess, he joined with Vermont’s
most enthusiastic booster, Senator Patrick Leahy, signing on to a joint
statement of support.”
“Lockheed Martin in Vermont: Senator Bernie Sanders’ Corporate
Conundrum” by Greg Guma
Global Research, May 28, 2015, Theme: Environment, Global Economy, Oil
and Energy, Politics and Religion, http://www.globalresearch.ca/lockheed-martin-in-vermont-senator-bernie-sanders-corporate-conundrum/5452106
Presidency 2016
Politics1
A large crowd of candidates will likely compete for the Democratic and
Republican nominations plus there LOTS of likely third party and independent
P2016 hopefuls.
If a person is running or thinking of running—regardless of party,
ballot status, or chances of winning (incumbent party, main opposition party, third
party candidates, independent and write-in hopefuls) —Politics 1 lists all of the
candidates at its site. http://www.politics1.com/p2016.htm
_____________________________________
A lifelong American writer and writer/activist (former academic and staffer with the U.S. government in Washington), Dr. Carolyn LaDelle Bennett is credentialed in education and print journalism and public affairs (PhD, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan; MA, The American University, Washington, DC). Her work concerns itself with news and current affairs, historical contexts, and ideas particularly related to acts and consequences of U.S. foreign relations, geopolitics, human rights, war and peace, and violence and nonviolence. Dr. Bennett is an internationalist and nonpartisan progressive personally concerned with society and the common good. An educator at heart, her career began with the U.S. Peace Corps, teaching in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Since then, she has authored several books and numerous current-affairs articles; her latest book: UNCONSCIONABLE: How The World Sees Us: World News, Alternative Views, Commentary on U.S. Foreign Relations; most thoughts, articles, edited work are posted at Bennett’s Study: http://todaysinsightnews.blogspot.com/ and on her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/08UNCONSCIONABLE/prweb12131656.htm http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-000757788/UNCONSCIONABLE.aspx Her books are also available at independent bookstores in New York State: Lift Bridge in Brockport; Sundance in Geneseo; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center in Buffalo; Burlingham Books in Perry; The Bookworm in East Aurora
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