How far will the establishment go to prop up support for its many wars and make average Americans believe we are overseas fighting for ‘freedom’?
Apparently, flag waving, crowd saluting, veteran tributes and declarations of support for the troops and other nods to the military/guard that take place at the average professional sports game during half time – while crowds eat stadium dogs and drink down beers and look on gloatingly – weren’t spontaneous displays of patriotism.
Instead, they were staged managed military PR events that came with a price tag for taxpayers. Expenditures by the Pentagon and National Guard to buy sponsorship and promotional deals with numerous NFL teams, NASCAR and other sporting arenas have come under scrutiny with some members of Congress:
The Pentagon would have to justify the military necessity of spending millions on sports sponsorships under a measure approved Thursday by the Senate.
[…]
The Pentagon has given millions to professional sports leagues in recent years in exchange for “patriotic tributes.”
[…]
From 2011 to 2013, the cost of the Guard’s NASCAR sponsorships totaled $88 million. Its sponsorship of NASCAR was aimed at building “brand awareness” for the service, according to the Guard. The Guard announced last summer that it was ending its relationship with NASCAR.
[…]
USA TODAY reported last year that the Guard had spent $26.5 million to sponsor NASCAR in 2012 but failed to sign up a single new recruit.
The Guard received about 25,000 recruiting prospects from the program in 2012, with prospects indicating the NASCAR affiliation made them seek more information. But of that group of 25,000, only 20 met the Guard’s qualifications for entry into the service. Not one of them joined.
So the justification is recruitment and awareness, but the deeper effort is the public image of the military itself as an organization.
Besides being wasteful spending, it basically amounts to sleazy, pay-for-play patriotism, giving major sports franchises lucrative incentives to embed military tributes and ceremonies into the game and create a picture in the minds of viewers that of an unwavering force for good.
“The intent of these advertising partnerships is to promote the (National Guard) brand within the thousands of communities in which we serve that results in increased awareness of opportunities the (National Guard) has to offer,” said Brown. (source)
Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), for one, was kind of let down by the ruse of self-promotion:
[…] Flake wrote, “giving taxpayer funds to professional sports teams for activities that are portrayed to the public as paying homage to U.S. military personnel would seem inappropriate.
“Such promotions conjure up feelings of patriotism and pride for most sports fans, and the revelation that these are in fact paid arrangements is disappointing.”
In some cases, sports fans were misled on the source of the recognition. New Yorkers attending MetLife Stadium, for instance, were not made aware that a “hometown heroes segment” was anything but homegrown, and had instead been arranged and paid for by military campaigners.
During the 2012 and 2013 NFL seasons, for example, the New Jersey Army National Guard paid the franchise between $97,000 and $115,000 for a wide range of advertising and promotion, including a video board feature recognizing hometown heroes and 500,000 digital banner impressions inside MetLife Stadium.
A team official who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue said the agreement with the New Jersey National Guard had expired but said the club would continue to honor members of the military. The person also said the team should have been clear that the hometown heroes segment was a paid advertisement for the New Jersey National Guard.
Here’s the war state in full effect – the repetitive calls to salute flag and “honor veterans” – all part of a larger effort to hide decades of war and foreign policy blunders behind uncritical calls to “support the troops” – no matter what.
This topic has gained scrutiny only through the pressure of budgetary constraints, but the real offense comes from the subtle fascism displayed between mega-corporations, high profile sporting events and the military-industrial complex. Under the guise of recruitment, the Department of Defense and the National Guard paid millions of dollars for professional and college sporting teams to become part of the propaganda. The celebrity athletes beloved by crowd could lend credence to the endeavors of the military.
Meshed into this arrangement are taxpayer funds for new sports stadiums, tax breaks and exemptions for the NFL, NASCAR and other major sporting arenas and a routine housing for propaganda of all kinds. The population has been conditioned to feast at this bread and circuses, and bred to become indifferent and ignorant, and ultimately compliant with the war machine and complex larger military-entertainment empire.
And that’s just the way they’d like to keep it.
That’s pretty Fascist.. Reminds me of all the propaganda the Soviets, Red Chinese and of course the Nazis were producing while I was growing up and our government pointed out to us was nothing more than people being forced to comply with. When I was a kid in the 60’s we tried to promote this sort of thing during our Baseball games and were quickly shut down because this sort of action was considered anti American because even a single person who may not have agreed would have been required to comply or face peer pressure from his friends.
People will do anything for a buck.
It’s the American way, bowing down
to the altar of government scrip.
JOE- agreed!!!
Is anyone really that surprised by this? It’s really no different than spending big bucks for recruiting commercials to make joining the military look fun and cool. I mean how else are you gonna convince underprivileged boys and girls to invade other countries and murder and pillage for the benefit of the corporate elites. Like they say you gotta spend money to make money.
I am a combat veteran and it makes me feel agitated and upset to be thanked all the time. I went in the military in 2000 thinking it would be a career and had my eyes opened in Iraq in 2003. I got out soon after and don’t like recognizing that time in my life. I don’t use the discounts or anything and just want to be left alone. I have veteran friends that tell me the same thing, so when you thank a vet a lot of the time you make them very uncomfortable.
I see it as a symptom of the sickness that now pervades our nation, as typified by your post^^^. That our young people have been so overwhelmed by the anti-Americanism they are fed day in and day out, even here on SHTFPlan, that the military has to resort to paid advertising.
My father and his generation fought WW2 as volunteers. But twenty years later my generation had already been so brainwashed (including me) by the Stalinist residue in our schools that they had to be drafted to go to Vietnam, whereupon they smoked dope and fragged officers for entertainment.
I’m also disgusted to see that the NFL demanded (and got) money for this, when it should have been done gratis pro Deo.
Lizards.
Joe, when I saw the picture, I too was reminded of the black-and-white newsreels of the Nazi and Fascist party rallies with Hitler and Mussolini. Braveheart will never put out propaganda for anyone regardless of who it is or how much money is offered to him. Braveheart is no Judas.
Yeah Joe I remember all that propaganda those Nazis was putting out back in the 60 just before Hitler was murdered, but they’re still a lot of them on this sight. But they will be alright as long as they don’t mess with my Cuz, he aint no Jew, but he hates Nazis.
The American legacy; Everyone has their price.
William Shakespeare said, “All the world is a stage”. He had no idea how true that statement is.
Actually, he knew it very well.
Kevin2, spot on. BTW, my ancestors first came to this land from Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-On-Avon in west central England.
Cuz how in the hell can you claim to be English and disgrace the name Braveheart. Oh that must have been on your mothers side. Maybe what you’ve been saying is right, maybe you aint my Cuz, cause we’re Scottish and we hate them Limeys. Clan Wallace.
Go to any of these events, and whether the government is there or not, you will see Budweiser, Coca-Cola, insurance companies, oil companies, etc, etc… As sponsors, who pay the event host for stadium naming rights, TV commercials, billboards and signage, free cup holders, logos on the drink cups, etc, etc…
Whether you think government should be paying to do this is debatable, but from the event host’s perspective, it’s just another check from a sponsor.
That said – I am happy and proud when I see military members and/or their families being recognized at events that I attend, and the crowds generally seem sincere in their applause.
Can they include the WallStreet pigs as well to be saluted during such events since this is their army anyway?
Stolz, good to see you back and yes, the army is Wall St.’s.
Terrorists could bring down U.S. grid with radio waves
“Terrorists armed with inexpensive radio frequency weapons that can emit powerful electromagnetic microwave energy could cause blackouts that would offer operational advantages over assault rifles and bombs, according to an EMP expert cited in Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.
Peter Pry, executive director of the congressional advisory Task Force on National and Homeland Security, told G2 that radio frequency weapons, or RFWs, are a non-nuclear EMP weapon capable of emitting a pulse similar to an E1 EMP from a nuclear weapon, except with less energy and a much shorter radius, out to a distance of less than a mile, Pry said.”
“Thanks to RF Weapons,” Pry said, “we have arrived at a place where the technological pillars of civilization for a major metropolitan area could be toppled by a single individual.”
“He gave an example of how terrorists armed with RF weapons could use unclassified computer models, duplicating a recent U.S. study by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, to coordinate attacks on each of the nation’s three separate electrical grid systems to collapse the entire power network.”
“In duplicating computer models of the system from open source FERC data, Pry said, terrorists could identify nine crucial transformer substations which, if attacked, would black out the entire national grid for weeks or months.”
http://www.wnd.com/2015/05/terrorists-could-bring-down-u-s-grid-with-radio-waves/
I read radio waves could takedown the grid. Now, I learn one man could hack into an airplanes control and commandeer it.
Feds Say Banned Researcher Commandeered Plane – flew plane sideways
“A security researcher kicked off a United Airlines flight last month after tweeting about security vulnerabilities in its system had previously taken control of an airplane and caused it to briefly fly sideways, according to an application for a search warrant filed by an FBI agent.
Chris Roberts, a security researcher with One World Labs, told the FBI agent during an interview in February that he had hacked the in-flight entertainment system, or IFE, on an airplane and overwrote code on the plane’s Thrust Management Computer while aboard the flight. He was able to issue a climb command and make the plane briefly change course, the document states.
“He stated that he thereby caused one of the airplane engines to climb resulting in a lateral or sideways movement of the plane during one of these flights.”
Wired dot com
Direct link…
http://www.wired.com/2015/05/feds-say-banned-researcher-commandeered-plane/
Anyone here a pilot that can explain how an aircraft (other than a helicopter) can fly sideways?
This ad campaign must be aimed at Liberals who tend to HATE our military and what we (used to) stand for……
NFL-No Fu@@king Longer
The NFL IS NOT A SPORT!!!
IT IS LICENSED AS ENTERTAINMENT….
There for as in TV and Movies it’s all for your entertainment…
Anything goes , even fixing games as that is entertainment…
In a real sport Tom B. would thrown in jail for fixing a game……….
But since it’s entertainment no foul, just 4 game suspension.
Dont believe??? Then check out the Supreme Court case of a NYJ fan against the NFL. There lawyer says it all..
Wake up people
I never watch NFL. For real football games I only watch college games. Unfortunately even college football is becoming too commercialized.
From this article, Nascar and football events appear to be the favorite “targets” (pun intended) by the military. Suggests that the most pliable, brainwashable citizens attend these events- at least per military research- probably also funded by grants to useless psychology departments to study this correlation.
Got to hand it to the government though, so far it seems to be working.
What I am interested in is how and what kind of people the military is targeting for recruitment? I know an ARMY recruiter for instance who says that they will not recruit anyone with tattoos showing beyond a standard tee shirt- i.e on the forearms or on the neck.
At the same time I hear reports of the military letting go certain officers and even lower rank soldiers for no apparent reason. Have the armed forces found through various ways of finding out who is “dependable” in a SHTF or Jade Helm scenario?
Against a backdrop of declining civilian opportunities in the job market which “forces” men and woman to look to the military, what kind of enlistees are we getting?: Disgruntled recruits who may be fed up with the whole system and be ready to revolt on a dime, or a select bunch of Gestapo types who love the authority, power and perks?
Horse’sass
Small minds talk about other people.
Average minds talk about events.
Great minds talk about ideas.
And those with no mind use their pen and phone.
OutWest, we the regular posters at SHTFPlan.com have GREAT minds.
Huh,? An off the wall time worn cliche is all I get here at SHTFplan? I guess it is time for me to move along.
bye
I don’t have a problem with the Pentagon spending money to advertise themselves. The military isn’t for everyone but for those that choose it and can qualify can make quite a good living with good benefits and if they make a career of it – a nice retirement package too. Listen – once you sign on the dotted line – you effectively belong to Uncle Sam and yes, you may go into harms way and have to put your life on the line – everyone knows that. It is a business – a hard life for sure but only the individual can make that decision. You have good days and bad days, it’s what you make of it. There is a need for a strong military. I’m not going to get into the pros and cons of past military interventions. Whether you believe in the military/industrial complex or not – the military can be very constructive and educational for a young man or woman today. Knowing what’s going on in the world today, lets all just hope the draft never comes back.
God bless our troops!….and God DAMN those sons’o BITCHES that sent them there!
That is why all sports programming sucks. The singing of the warmongers anthem repulses me. “The rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there”. Total brainwashing! Hold your hand over your heart as a good moronic brainless robot as you shoot em dead soldier. All big business are warmongers. It’s the American way. These bastards didn’t get filthy rich by being honest or nice to people. F*ck all the sports, the players, the owners, and the evil warmongers using them as a propaganda ploy. Also f*ck Marco Rubio, the neocons presidential #1 choice to lead the lying killer pentagon and it’s henchmen. His mantra is more, more war. The Bush Crime Cabal owns this government and Qbama was brought in to continue their control and rampage. That poppy bush hasn’t croaked yet from his monumental evil is bizarre. That’s right, he isn’t human. Some outermost force is needed to smite these devil’s down.
There was a brief period of lucidity though; “If the American people knew what we have done to them they would chase us down the street and hang us from the nearest lamp post”. George H.W. Bush. Then his brain melted down. No coincidence, nope. Just “tilting at windmills” like they do.
Its just our tax dollars helping the American way of life!
Joseph Goebbels would be proud that the techniques he perfected are still in use today.
I guess that would place us at the same point the Nazi’s were at in 1933 or so.
Look at that history and see what the people didn’t do.
I believe we are the frog in the pot and the waters beginning to bubble…
Joesph Goebels was probably impressed with our propaganda techniques in the 1930s!!!
We won the propaganda war right from the get go. In fact we’ve been on top of the propaganda game for a century now. Look how we use German propaganda from the 1930s and still use it to control the masses today.
Support the Troops and then take away their gun rights because of supposed PTSD.
Of course the fascist filth will use any tool they have to keep the brain dead dumbed down chemically altered fat ass boot licking COWARD Zombie slaves of collapsing Murica cheering and boot licking their Corporatist Fascist protection force of military slave Zombies. What better way to get the boot licking fascist filth Zombie slave COWARDS bowing to authority than using their money pig brain dead low life shit stains in the “bread and circuses” mindless Corporatist Fascist controlled sports industry. While the chemically altered toxic dump fat asses are watching their mindless sports complete with military boot licking trash-they will be gobbling down all the vile disgusting poisonous toxic processed chemical and sugar filled shit the fat asses can shove in their brain dead dumbed down fat ass slave bodies, so they will be dumbed down and chemically altered even more, while they cheer their fascist filth military of Corporate boot licking TREASONOUS slave trash. The shithole of Corporatist Fascist evil vile disgusting Murica is NO DIFFERENT than Nazi Germany circa 1930’s. The boot licking slaves in the Murican evil shithole are NO DIFFERENT than the filth in Germany in the 1930’s cheering and saluting the military of the Third Reich. Now the boot licking fascist filth in collapsing Murica cheer the military of the evil vile Fourth Reich controlling fascist collapsing Murica.
You need a thesaurus, because you’re repetitive. You used “boot licking” 7 times in one post.
Out of 25K only 20 acceptable? Leads me to believe that NASCAR fans are smarter than the average bear. They Military nowadays only wants robots that will follow orders without hesitation. The American people may be waking up since even the 20 acceptable did not join. The misses and me both served in the 70’s and 80’s. When we got out we both swore we would never allow our children to join the Military. I had many somewhat heated discussions with recruiters at the High School trying to recruit our children at career nights. I would expect that if things get bad a real war they will have to re institute the draft. Question will be if anyone will show up?
Dave, I never joined the miltary, period. Most of my family have served at point in time then left after only 4 years. They won’t let their kids or even grandkids join the military or even law enforcement. The US military has always been interested only in mindless robots who will follow orders without question and without reservation. They could try to reinstate the draft but I doubt if anyone shows up.
Wonder when they will start paying them to host a giant “Yes we can/Yes we have no banana” mindless leftist lemming-like chant in. I’m sure it will be soon
TEST, don’t be surprised if they have something like that for Hillary. I do believe that will happen.
Screw the nfl,they support anti gun groups/proposals,do not give em a penny of your money or time.Fuck the assholes that buy out and control our govt. for putting citizens in wars around the world,these wars are all economic.That same govt. then fucks the vets with many times bad care in the va system though do realise the folks that work the hospitals do care from the docs to the janitors,me mum was a doc in the va and saw it was admin/beancounters the enemy there along with the pharm industry.
Warchild, I don’t even watch any of the games on TV; never been into sports, period.
Watched foreign news yesterday. London police are going to shut down part of a major highway to practice for a crisis. At the same time as Jade Helm? Nato conducting multiple training operations in Eastern Europe. Hmm. Stay tuned.
Just more Pentagon propaganda.
You would think they would spend our tax dollars a bit more wisely.
Glad I gave up watching sports in ’82, when the Atl foulcoons almost made it.
Time is a commodity, use it wisely…
Nice try pentagon you ain’t folding anyone but yourself. I entered my office in Friday and korice that half the bulbs in my office was out. My assistant tokd to change the florescent bulbs, but I just changed them last month. I went up into the ceiling and noticed that they were all unscrewed. What did this? The vibration from the shinuk helicopter flying over at nighttime. My office was rattled last week if you guys remember when I posted about that. All if the bulbs need to turned again and entire office lit up
. So f…. them, they think after what they gave done that they can just fool us. had we turned in out guns I wouldn’t have the pleasure of posting on this site in fact.
The only reason why my frickin bones are not in a mass grave out in some field at a concentration camp on the outskirts of my city is because we are smart people.
All us us would have already been shot at the firing squad and the females in out family raped and murdered by foreign Soldiers, Chinese etc..we would have been dead already. The communist chinese got the mineral right and then the Bundy ranch happened, as the cablist got ready to open fire in the people while your BLM boys are tapering women and slamming them into the ground. Our faith would have been far worst if we had now guns..
We will not take the Kosovo versus the Serbia soldiers in the village crap in this city fools. That one story I heard certainly go my attention.
So having troops saluting with the flag is and insult us in the know..you boy Leland Yee was caught smuggling in rocket launchers and Ak’s fully automatic and other weapons on California, and was on TV right after sandy hook taking about disarming Californians..the white Hats in the FBI ARRESTED THE CHINESE COMMUNIST SENATOR’s AZZ IN CALIFORNIA. SO DONT B….H….T ME OR ANY OF Us ON THIS Board thinking that we are that stupid retards. The Pentagon is no friend of the American a people. Who do you think is running jade helm 15.
Nice try with the Flag at the game. It’s not working, it not fooling us.
Every week you no namers keep jumping on this board attacking us, trying to discredit David Hodges, Quale, hagmannandhagmann.com etc thinking that you can come on here and steer public thinking, nice try you bastards.
HCKS, I couldn’t have said it any better.
PROPAGANDA = SHEEP HERDING. And the Nazi’s said we Americans were the best at it. Now I know why.
Never was much of a sports fan myself. Nowadays national pride is discouraged because you might offend an immigrant but immigrants keep their national pride and ethnicity. Being white and proud is somehow racist. If you stand up for white pride your a nazi. Come on that is rediculous. Everything has become politicized and the people who can raise the most $ rule the day. We little people do not matter to the agenda if you try to resist they will just destroy your life. You will never recover from this. I watch people go about their business fuckin mindlessly helping the elites because somehow it’s the right thing to do. I feel churches play a big part in this not all but most. We all want to succeed and when we comply by going to work and keeping our mouths shut being good workers we are being exploited by the elites they take our labor in exchange for a few bucks. When will everyone say this is bullshit and stop helping them build the wall. Never as long as people are dumbed down and get their few shillings they will keep producing. You will never have a lot of $ because the system is designed so we are all the same no matter what. The takers are getting all the same things the workers get without lifting a finger. Sure they are slaves to the gov. But the workers are slaves to the employer. We are all slaves folks. But we should be proud of our oppressors regime right. I used to be proud to be American but I grew up it has nothing to do with me personally. Our gov spends more time making laws that destroy freedom how can this be a free country. Lies but if you want to believe that go right ahead.
You see the USA is the land of greedy cowards.
People only grow a pair of balls in the US if they are being paid too do something or they continue to act like cowards, in fear of the state as they watch it all getting worse.
Not all americans are the same and I know they are putting stuff in your food just like they are doing here whilst running a breeding plan for people with low IQ’s who breed like rabbits on state aid.
Where they have gone wrong with this plan is some of the slaves on state aid can see the bigger picture and have just stopped playing the jones game, they are not lazzy or stupid and just refuse to be milked.
Everything is for sale in the USA including your leaders and that is the real reason the place has become so screwed up and the “won’t work” people are no worse than those who kiss dicks for a living but never stop to think why they are so poor.
Pentagon use this for recruitment since the left has made it illegal to display the flag to be patriotic in many areas for offending some “one”.
The left has made patriotism an offense, have shamed the military, have left veterans to die waiting for doctor appointments, and the commander in chief is not a leader… and in turn, recruitment for the military is down
It is so bad the pentagon dropped conditions of intelligence for new recruits. No one smart wants to be in Obama’s military. This is bad. If we had to go to war with Russia Iran, and/or China, we would lose.
Woogie.. thanks for bring that up. Those are some really sickening fact. The American flag is being banned and one state is trying to make it illegal to have it on your car. I read it somewhere. Don’t remember where but read it..I had one instance where a middlle eastern couple got from beside me in a restaurant on Westhiermer..Houston TX, looked at me with disgust and sat else where. Strangely the husband didn’t seem to care but the wife had problem with me. He was okay with sitting beside me, but the wife got up and told him to sit elsewhere, babbling some crap to him in arabic, and I am good looking muscular studly dude..it could not have been my ugly looks that offended her, it’s the flag..must have been the veteran type of appearance..Anyone living in Houston who goes to the Galleria are know that the guys who are dressing like women, walking twisting their azz like a woman, holding hands in public, etc..i find that offensive, yet I don’t behave like t that toward gays. not do I disrespect them in public. This is like me telling my girlfriend, let sit away from the faggots, there clothing and symbols, and faggot appearance offend me. There was a flag on my cap and on my shirt. The bitch is offended by me because I am red neck. I feel like I am being discriminated against..wtf?..These people must th?g that they own this county or something.
WTF is this country coming to?
We are going to have a civil war in this country and I am seeing ample evidence, and with this kind of behavior it’s inevitable..they are looking at the American white man like he is a foreigner in his own land..
HcKs,
Just ignore the freak azz foreign jerks who dislike rednecks.
Also, faggots are vile, filthy things that should be avoided.
This country has become the land of the narcissistic faggots and sociopath reptilian, paedophiles.
HCKS, i hear you loud and clear about the foreigners and sodomites. I avoid them all I can. I don’t even care what they think about me.
“they are looking at the American white man like he is a foreigner in his own land..”
But as you know if you study your history you is a foreigner after killing all the natives off.
Putting that aside your government is starting wars all over the place because your leaders are banker puppets and they also rule Europe and places like Japan else you would not have US military bases all over these places.
Americans needs to sort these banker puppets out or someone else will do it for you all and that will take you all with them as nukes start to fly.
As far as propaganda goes, this is no worse than the nightly news where we’re fed with a president always standing in front of a multi-cultural crowd cheering him on….or a constant barrage of TV/Movies with political themes to push someone’s agenda. We are a people constantly under attack by groups trying to sway us to their side, from the time even before we enter school until we die. The media age has given us that.