@Jim White

But, after all, this is the "Massive Ordnance Penetrator", it's "huge, huge" and it's now "in our quiver". The only possible concern is that it is to be delivered prematurely ("two years earlier than planned").

Hahaha! Well played sir. I bow to your insight.

— lsantana

Great (last) comment!!

You tell 'em, Glenn!! I too think that they all have some of the biggest fear of the OTHER and manipulate it in others at the pols. level, but fear is the driver, and fear is inherently weak, while it puffs up in chauvinistic anachronistic nationalistic puffery.

Nix on Celebrity Skin page. It cheapens the blog considerably; it comes off as a tabloid rag and cheapens the brand.

The "tea partiers" manipulated by GBeck, RLimbaugh, DArmey &plenty of Republicans are at a level of identity/c­onsciousne­ss which is chauvinistic, nationalistic, ethnocentric and, in typical right-wing fashion, paranoid about our being attacked by all the not-like-us other groups. It's a low level of consciousness, and until they grow out of it, we'll have a block of reactionaries yelling and screaming and blocking change.

They also are afraid of big government (except in its defense functions), because they are confusing the pre-individual collective oppression we had under communism and fascism with the trans-individual conscious collective "we" that is democratic government that represents us, serves the large conscious "us," and is Constitutionally prohibited against transgressing our own civil rights. These unfortunate people who haven't even grown to full individuality to think for themselves are oblivious to the fact that we live in a corporate plutocracy, and the threat from that to our democracy and well-being on all fronts is much greater than their delusional "big government" fears.

The further down the chain of consciousness one lives at, the more OTHERS one fears (rendered through hatred -same thing- aversion) others unlike oneself. Islamic fundamentalists are prime examples, of course. Tea-partiers aren't many levels above that.

Politicians, including loathsome Lieberman, may have some right-wing ethnocentric, nationalistic, paranoid beliefs, but are more likely influenced by living large via contributions and other ways they benefit, funneling in filthy lucre from big healthcare, energy, and military-industrial corporations.

Is there a single corporation around anywhere with higher vision and integrity? I used to hope so, but hope fades fast. The whole corporate system seems geare to greed and exploitation, unless there are people who have developed higher values than short-term profit, ethnocentrism and narcissistic egomania. And they are usuaslly the ones exposing the rot, like this guy.

Too bad; his brother James is a very good progressive leaning economist and professor, whose latest book, ironically enough is entitled The Predator State. I've read excerpts and it's a great book with smart, sane, corruption-free prescriptions for our nation and economy.

Keep shining the light on the greed and sleaze that is an everyday occurrence in our plutocratic corporatocracy.

Entirely predictable, given the level that the country has been at since the British artificially stitched it together long ago. I don't think they've ever had a democracy with civil rights. Of course Cheney knew this (Bush probably believed it) - the war was for imperial hegemony and oil and pipeline routes hegemony. Spreading democracy was a pretext, and, as you correctly say, you can't transform upwards a culture and society that's not ready for it overnight.

A dangerous state of affairs, well described. A very good piece!

You wrote:

It's so striking how identical is the mentality of America's "hard-line" right-wing extremists and those in Iran.

It's striking, because it's no coincidence. Both groups are operating at the same level (holon) of conscious awareness.

It's the same level, different interior surface decorations.

Ironically, with some notable, earlier-in-his career, live action comedies, Carrey is better in serious, dramatic works, where he is restrained, like "The Truman Show" and "Eternal Sunshine...."

WaPo is another house organ for the corporate plutocracy (or plutocratic corporatocracy) - take your pick of terms, along with the WSJ, and others.

Keep it up Glenn G., because the MSM is self-censored against criticism of Israel.

As to Hillary's insistence that drone bombing of civilians in Pakistan is not terrorism, consider that Obama recently affirmed that he believes in American exceptionalism (!)

You wrote:

But Greenwald’s real argument is that the ends don’t justify the means; therefore, whether these powers are being used to noble or ignoble ends is an irrelevancy – and to argue otherwise is to embrace the opposing argument’s rationale.

Yes, that's what I believe that Glenn is saying: that as a matter of moral truth, the ends don't justify the means, and I maintain that this is a pillar of integrity and morality, and I'm happy to practice it and to apply it to all policy.

It's a slippery slope to depart (fall) from, especially when you're talking about Constitutional rights and liberties, and breaking the law.

While it's true that one should start with oneself in healing and development and on the road to enlightenment, the highest tenents of Buddhism maintain that even a fully enlightened being has a duty to work for the liberation of all beings, and that includes outer liberation from oppression and tyranny as well as the internal shackles of darkness and ignorance (maya). There comes a time when one realizes that one is not separate from the planet, and failure to act on some level is immoral.

Disengaging, giving up, being resigned to living in a corporatist "empire" -- retreating to an ivory tower -- is not a good choice.

I think you may have hit upon one important psychological reason Obam is in lockstep with the neoliberal establishment (and worse, given the topic of today's Glenn G. post.)