The U.S. spends $32 million per HOUR on war. That's the best calculation of the financial impact of our policy of projecting force since 2001, conducted by the brainy folks at Brown University's Costs of War project.
What else could $32 million per hour buy that politicians are fond of telling hand-to-mouth Americans we can't afford?
- Free public education K-16 and even through medical school, as other affluent nations provide.
- Free healthcare including dental care for all, regardless of their income, as other affluent nations provide.
- Public transportation that is affordable and widely available, as other affluent nations provide.
- Sustainable energy solutions that do not accelerate climate change, historic flooding and extreme temperatures, as other affluent nations provide.
Instead, U.S. taxpayers fund the stock buybacks of already mega wealthy weapons manufacturers like General Dynamics. Why? Because their lobbyists own your representatives in Congress.
We here in Maine have said "ENOUGH!" to this polluting, undemocratic scheme for years now. Specifically, we have called for the conversion of GD's Bath Iron Works shipyard to building sustainable energy solutions to address the biggest threat to everyone's security on the planet.
Our bought and paid for reps and senators will cry, "But what about the jobs!"
They know full well that building sophisticated weapon systems like Zumwalt destroyers is an inefficient jobs program, and that investing the same amount in anything from my list above would actually produce far more jobs. Even just giving ordinary taxpayers a rebate would generate more jobs.
But defense contractors are big contributors to their campaign funds.
Below are excerpt's from peaceworker Bruce Gagnon's report back on planning to oppose the "christening" of yet another war ship in Maine on April 27. This one is named after Lyndon B. Johnson, the president who presided over the escalation of the Vietnam war after JFK was assassinated. I'm old enough to remember college students at the time chanting, "LBJ, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" in reference to large scale bombing of civilians. Naming a war ship after LBJ is an attempt to revise history and U.S. attitudes toward the Vietnam war.
Those interested in reading about past civil disobedience at General Dynamics/BIW in Bath can check out my archived blog posts here (Aegis 9) and here (Zumwalt 12).
Report from BIW 'LBJ christening' meeting
by Bruce Gagnon
Eleven people from around Maine met today in Brunswick to do more planning for the upcoming Bath Iron Works ‘LBJ christening’ of the 3rd Zumwalt destroyer at the shipyard on Saturday, April 27.
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We discussed several scenarios for our legal non-violent protest on April 27 and decided to line up along the Washington St sidewalk just across from the post office on the north end of the shipyard at 8:30 am with signs, banners and literature. Gates for those ‘invited’ to the christening will open at 9:00 am.
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Our new leaflet entitled ‘Why Bath Iron Works Must Convert: Climate Crisis Demands Conversion!’ has been printed and was handed out in bulk today for statewide distribution. If you’d like some to hand out before and/or after the April 27 BIW event please let Bruce Gagnon globalnet@mindspring.com know how many you want and he will mail them to you.
We also want to encourage everyone to write a Letter to the Editor in your local newspaper (daily and/or weekly) about your concerns regarding the LBJ.
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We urge those bringing signs or banners on April 27th to please consider making the theme around the conversion of the shipyard to build commuter rail, wind turbines, tidal power systems and other sustainable technologies to help us deal with our real problem – climate change.
Thank you all. The meeting ended with a strong sense of community and commitment. The people must act non-violently and boldly in order to create the kind of ‘social tension’ needed to open the way for real change as MLK often said.
Peace.
3 comments:
You do understand that by converting BIW it would hurt our nation as a whole, as well as our state. BIW provides our nation with some of its military power which in turn is used against others that would seek to do us harm. I'm a military vet (USMC), I've been to war (2003-2011), and have seen first hand what it is we are still up against. I honestly do hope that we will see an end to this bloodshed, but cutting back our military power is not going to help us, but rather it will help the people who seek to do YOU and I harm for just being what we are... U.S. citizens. As for our state... you're talking about putting hundreds of working men and women out of jobs. Sure there will be other jobs, but there is a far greater problem then the not as sever as you would have us think problem of climate change.
Would you care to elaborate how what this gentleman/veteran said is full of misconceptions? Peace would be wonderful, but laying down our arms is not going to accomplish this. This is typical Californian thinking, look how well that has worked out for them. I find what you have said to be very offensive Lisa, you should open your eyes and your heart to the very possibility that there are other opinions out there that not only matter, but quite possibly better or more accurate than your own.
"Lisa Savage: If anyone feels like leaving a supportive comment on this blog post, it would counter the one comment I received that was from an ex-Marine full of misconceptions."
Dear Anonymous, I'm not sure why you think I don't consider the ideas of other people, including those who disagree with me. I've always been an avid reader, and I grew up during the Cold War when we were taught (wrongly, I believe) that if you want to live in peace you've got to be strong. That was a song from the propaganda cartoon Hercules made in the 1960's for American kids. I've continued studying since majoring in history at Bowdoin College. More recently, I earned National Board certification in teaching history to adolescents. Disagreements about how to understand history and current events are productive of deeper understanding. So, thanks for reading my blog!
The misconceptions in the post from an ex-Marine include his belief that the problem of climate change is not severe. For decades climate scientists have been warning of what would happen if carbon loading in the atmosphere continues at a galloping pace. Everything they predicted has come to pass: melting of the polar ice caps, disappearing glaciers, rising sea levels, catastrophic flooding, and extreme storms.
Another misconception is his belief that building warships is a good jobs program. It is not. You can read a study over several years at UMass Amherst explaining that: https://www.peri.umass.edu/publication/item/449-the-u-s-employment-effects-of-military-and-domestic-spending-priorities-2011-update. The fact that Maine's elected officials say that building weapons is a good jobs program is can be explained by the fact that all of them receive campaign contributions from General Dynamics (owner of BIW) and other Pentagon contractors.
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