I was two years old when President Eisenhower gave a stunningly precise prediction of our fate for the next 50 years. He said that for the first time in human history, America had created a permanent military-industrial complex that employed millions and spent billions. "More than the net income of all United States corporations," he noted.
Now, the military-industrial complex dictates our foreign policy. Wall Street dictates our economic policy. Big Oil dictates our energy policy.
Eisenhower told us that the domination of this military-industrial complex would have "grave implications" for the "very structure of our society." He warned against "the disastrous rise of misplaced power." But he hoped that an "alert and knowledgeable citizenry" would protect us.
If only. As if. You wish.
For the past half century, the military-industrial complex has perpetuated one war after another, at enormous cost in both blood and money. In its lust for oil, it has broken country after country, and now the sea floor. 9/11 cost Osama bin Laden $500,000, while U.S. military action afterward cost us well over $500,000,000,000.
Now, it's nine years later. And the war goes on. My five children cannot remember a time in their lives when America was at peace.
And no one in power seems to be able to deliver on the things that matter to us -- deliver on jobs, on health, on education, on clean water and air, on better roads. On peace. On meeting human needs.
I've done my best in Congress to show the way. Now I need your help. On June 28, we're going to hold an online 'Peace Party' event, where thousands of us come together to support this campaign. We need to raise $200,000 or more by that day, to show BP and other corporate behemoths that the "small people" (as BP put it) still matter.
We need a peace dividend. We need new priorities. We need people in government who will tell the military-industrial complex, and Wall Street, and Big Oil, to go to hell. And I'm one of them.
Can you pitch in $25, $50 or more to our Peace Party? Please do it now, at the "new and improved" www.CongressmanWithGuts.com.