50th Anniversary of Eisenhower's Farewell Address

Eisenhower recognized the necessity of a permanent defense industry had emerged, but warned of its "grave implications" and the need to guard against the undue influence of the military industrial complex.  This is an echo of warning that the Founding Fathers gave which did not quite make it into the U.S. Constitution (but it did make it into the constitutions of many states including Ohio's).  That warning is that standing armies are dangerous to a free people.  Today we have politicians from both the Republican and Democratic parties who would not be office if it were not for campaign contributions from GE, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Rolls Royce, Haliburton, and big oil.  We have not been vigilant.  As a result, we are in the longest wars in history with no end in sight.