Why we fight

When I created this blog and put politics in the description, I thought that it was so obvious that it would be about Québec politics and the sovereignist movement that there was no reason even to state it. Yet, it seems like the political posts on this blog are almost exclusively about the United States these days--surely not because they are the most interesting subject but perhaps because they are the most frustrating.

A few days ago I watched the film Why We Fight and the film Syrianna. Syrianna is a fictional account of the way the oil industry works and the CIA's involvement in it, while Why We Fight is a documentary about what Eisenhower called the "military-industrial-(congressional)-complex", i.e., the arms industry whch is supported partly by Congress. I was shocked to learn that at least 1 piece of every B-52 fighter plane is manufactured in every single one of the 50 states, so when it comes time for congressmen to support military spending, they have to because it means jobs in their home state, which translates into votes which they either keep or lose. The film is filled with facts like this on miltary spending, how Congress is complicit with the miltary industry, and how all the major decisions are being made by think tanks... among many other topics. It's really interesting and scary stuff, but the film is well worth seeing. Seeing both films together is even more of an eye-opener.