Remember the "war on terror"? Give that link a view/listen.
A couple more tools:
War is Sell(link fixed 1.27.03) An informative link from PR watch; you might remember them as the folks who authored "Trust Us We're the Experts" (book flyleaf art by Tom Tomarrow) This website is an invaluable aid to gaining an understanding of 'spin'.
An interesting activity, looking at the money trail. The Center for Responsive Politics has a motherlode of information.
This is just the the charting of the present administration, Cabinet and Advisors. I'll leave to you to look at them indepth, at your leisure. Now when you hear a vote on an issue, you have a new tool to explore some possible 'hows and whys'.
A good resource to bookmark.
I initially was looking up some background on Tom Ridge, knowing of him only for the draconian measures he employed at the 2000 GOP convention. He is not listed at Open Secrets, due to, I suppose, the fact that he as just sworn in today in his new Homeland Defense post.. News reports paint him as a decorated veteran of the Viet Nam conflict... judge for yourself.
Who makes money from war? The folks that make cruise missiles sure will. You know, their board members, execs, investors. And so will the people taking money from them to fill out their political campaigns' "war chest", many of the same the folks just spoiling to launch them. Chicken Hawks feathering their nests. Wasn't there a TV commercial that went something like "use all ya want, we'll make more..."
