Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Everybody remembers the 'military-industrial complex' warning

from Eisenhower; pass this along on the other warning he made:

“…the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.

The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.”

(Emphasis mine – BW)

And please read his response to Phillip. I'll throw in a bit of my own to this part of Phillip's comment:
Note the F-22 that Obama cut out of the budget. It was a plane for a war long since over, of little use against terrorism, and severely overbudget and over-inflating the pockets of private interest. Yet the businesses that made the plane or it’s parts, and the Congressmembers who received donations or had parts of the plane made in their districts, fought to keep it. This is the influence that Eisenhower is warning us of.
Well, Phil, it must be really nice to know the future like you do. I mean, to know for certain there'll never be any problems in the future with a government that has high-tech shit to throw at us. To KNOW that we'll never face terrorists who've been given up-to-date anti-aircraft stuff that the F22 just might be real handy in dealing with. Or have to deal with a terrorism-supporting nation like Syria that the Russians have been selling all kinds of stuff to.

You moron.

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