brad brace contemporary culture scrapbook

“If I were the president, I could stop terrorist
attacks against the United States in a few days.
Permanently. I would first apologize to all the widows
and orphans, the tortured and impoverished, and all the
many millions of other victims of American imperialism.
Then I would announce, in all sincerity, to every
corner of the world, that America’s global
interventions have come to an end, and inform Israel
that it is no longer the 51st state of the USA but now
— oddly enough — a foreign country. I would then
reduce the military budget by at least 90% and use the
savings to pay reparations to the victims. There would
be more than enough money. One year’s military budget
of 330 billion dollars is equal to more than $18,000 an
hour for every hour since Jesus Christ was born.
That’s what I’d do on my first three days in the White
House. On the fourth day, I’d be assassinated.”
–William Blum, author of “Killing Hope: U.S. Military
and CIA Interventions Since World War II,” and “Rogue
State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower.”