Politicizing and Weaponizing the Military to suppress its citizens makes it ineffective for more important stuff like… Defending the Nation, projecting power into deadly places where our enemies live, you know… More serious things than making our armed forces Woke.
Stuart has a fantastic work, here. I received mine last night and immediately started reading. Today, I’ve gotten so pissed that I had to start smoking a cigar as I read.
In too many historical ways, the catastrophe Stuart details for our nation goes back to ancient Babylon. Belshazzar was having an orgy in his throne room, bringing in the captured golden vessels of Jerusalem Temple worship, when a hand wrote on the wall, “Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin.” The Bible says that Belshazzar’s “knees knocked together.” That was the ancient euphemism for crapping your pants.
The prophet Daniel interpreted.
The ‘Mene Mene Tekel’ part stated that the King was weighed and found wanting. That was a direct reference to the cheapening of Babylon’s currency such that there was a lot more bronze than gold in the coinage. This in turn was hyperinflation and stealing of the wages of the people. It also pointed at Babylon’s Army having devolved into little more than riot police to suppress the civil turmoil that comes with hyperinflation. In essence, Babylon lost its ability to defend itself.
Meanwhile, the Persian Army besieged Babylon. The Euphrates was diverted away from flowing under Babylon’s walls, and a division of Persian infantry marched under the wall that night in knee deep water, capturing Babylon without fighting a battle. Babylon winked out of powerful Empire in a single night.
Bad currency, a weakening military, civil insurrection because of worthless currency, the very destruction of the fighting hearts of a powerful people… It should sound very familiar to all of us.
Good job, Stuart! Except that now I want to crap my pants.
Jay Inman
US Army Retired LTC