The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

Here is an unbelievable story about how we tried to reshape Afghanistan in our image 50 years ago. This story has a sad ending that we need to bear in mind as we now try to do the same thing all over again.

If you look beyond the soldiers, and into the distance, what you are really seeing are the ruins of one of the biggest technological projects the United States has ever undertaken. Its aim was to use science to try and change the course of history and produce a modern utopia in Afghanistan. The city of Lashkar Gah was built by the Americans as a model planned city, and the hundreds of miles of canals that the Taliban now hide in were constructed by the same company that built the San Francisco Bay Bridge and Cape Canaveral.

But almost immediately things started to go wrong......

My Letter Makes The Paper

I hate to agree with myself, but I do seem to make good sense!

Circle of stupidity

Much was explained by a few articles in your Oct. 23 paper. On one page was a story about our government’s scientists expressing alarm over the manner in which global warming is impacting the arctic. Among other things, they are particularly shocked by the rapid loss of older ice that had been undisturbed for thousands of years.

Then, on another page, you report that the number of Americans believing in global warming has dropped 20 points in three years, even in the face of mounting scientific evidence.

Perhaps our willingness to turn a blind eye to legitimate science, to our own detriment, explains the third article about the huge market of suckers willing to buy bogus, often contaminated products to protect themselves from the flu.

The circle would have been complete if only you had included a story on the many fools who swallowed Glenn Beck’s swill that the flu shot is part of an Obama conspiracy of some sort. We have met the enemy and it is indeed us.

Jeffrey W. Eisinger