IMPERIAL REPORT

It is obvious that since the U.S. war on Afghanistan began in 2001 opium production has steadily risen.  Many maintain that the long known CIA-mafia-drug-weapons-trade-business is one reason  that the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan continues today.   Other key factors include controlling Caspian Sea oil/natural gas pipeline routes in the region and helping to establish military bases near China's border.

U.S. foreign and military policy has been privatized into the hands of corporations (overt and covert) who see this region of the world as key to long-term plans for global control.

There is a reason that "democracy" has broken down and the wishes of the public are now largely ignored by the political class.  They don't give a damn want the taxpayers want.  They don't care that 70% of the American people want us out of Afghanistan.

So when it comes to solutions - what are the people to do?  How can we impact a system that is dead to the moral, ethical, constitutional, and budgetary appeals made by the public?

A full page advert in the New York Times (while maybe helpful in some cases) isn't going to be the "silver bullet" we need.  Many people who share our analysis and concerns are not ready to take the next big step into non-violent resistance action.  They are still "banking" on the increasingly slim possibility of hope and change coming from Washington.

Here in Maine we now have an interesting U.S. Senate race.  The Republican and Democratic party candidates are both weak.  Independent (and former governor) Angus King has a massive lead in the polls.  He was once a Democrat and is a corporate man.  You might call him a centrist.

On 9-11 the Maine Democratic party Senate candidate Cynthia Dill sent around an email on the subject of freedom and terrorism and concluded with these words:    “Still, it is important to remember what has not changed: Our freedoms and liberties, our democratic way of life, which were so brutally attacked on 9/11, continue to shine – brighter than ever - as a beacon of hope for the rest of the world."

Local peace activist Morgana Warner Evans (now a college freshman) wrote to Dill saying, "I find it confusing that you do not mention unwarranted wiretapping, the suspension of habeas corpus, or any of the other threats to our liberty that have been put in place in the name of security when you acknowledge that 'our freedoms and liberties...continue to shine brighter than ever.' After seeing your definite misconception of this issue, I wonder if I can still vote for you."

Dill replied to Morgana:   "There is plenty of work to do in our quest for a more perfect union."

I couldn't resist getting into this one so I wrote:   "I was actually considering voting for you Cynthia until I saw this 9-11 bit. It then came clear to me that there is no one in the Democratic party willing to tell the truth about the corporate oligarchy that has taken over our country. I'll have to sit out the Maine Senate race because none of the candidates are free to speak the truth....very sad indeed. Corporate feudalism takes over and the Dems are still chanting USA, USA at the convention."

I thank Morgana for initiating this discussion on Dill's Facebook page.  It makes me proud to see this young person take the lead on calling out the so-called "progressive" Senate candidate and getting many people around the state to engage in this important discussion.

The Democrats are nearly a dead party in Maine.  They've lost their way as they cave into corporate imperial machinations. 

The only voices left to speak for us?  

Our own.