Department of Peace

The lamestream media told you:
Nothing.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The left wing of the Democrat party, lead by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), has introduced a bill to form the swell sounding U.S. Dept. of Peace.

This would be a cabinet-level position, with a Secretary of Peace, Undersecretary of Peace, and dozens upon dozens of other officials, each with a staff of their own. The starting budget will be only eight thousand million dollars ($8 billion), and will grow only as fast as everything else at the federal level.

According to a presentation attended by The Uninvited Ombudsman, the new Dept. will avoid the usual bureaucratic waste and inefficiency because it will be, "an umbrella group" absorbing other agencies, and "it will be streamlined and efficient." Why other federal agencies can't also operate that way was unexplained. The Dept. will be better than a private operation, a non-profit, or a think tank, organizers are sure.

Promoters are quick to point out that the Dept. of Peace will "research, facilitate and articulate peaceful nonviolent solutions to conflict." They are less quick to point out that the new Dept. will have policy making powers, social engineering programs, indoctrinations for school children called "educational programs," enforcement powers, and more, in its 5,000-word enabling statute, HR 808.

As currently written, the Dept. of Defense will have to confer with the Dept. of Peace before it can do anything. It was not clear from the discussions if any of the bill's supporters have read the bill.

Not to overlook an opportunity for backdoor gun control, the Peace Dept. will, "(5) analyze existing policies, employ successful, field-tested programs, and develop new approaches for dealing with the implements of violence, including gun-related violence and the overwhelming presence of handguns."

The reason the lamestream media missed this story are unclear.

Tags: Dennis Kucinich, HR 808, U.S. Dept. of Peace

Comments

[Linda Henderson]

Well, it seems clear why this column is named the "Uninvited" Ombudsman. The dismissive and arrogant nature of your report on the Dept of Peace legislation (HR 808), was heavy on the superficial fiscal critique, without analyzing in depth the reality of spending our tax payer money on the wrong end of the equation.
The World Health Organization identified that we spend $300,000,000,000 a year on interpersonal violence in this country alone.

What is so scary for you about having our government research the underlying causes of this violence and address them on the front end? Nonviolent conflict resolution is not a left or right issue...it is a less expensive means to a less expensive end. Rather than falsely conjuring up fears about more bureaucracy and people taking away your guns...perhaps you could bring yourself to consider the wisdom of this proactive initiative to address murder, rape, domestic assaults, gang violence, racial violence, school shootings, prison overcrowding, mental health crisis, homelessness...the list goes on.

As to your allegation that the Defense Dept would have to clear everything with the Dept of Peace before it could act...this is simply not supported by a reasonable reading of the legislation...which by the way...this supporter of the bill has in fact done many times.

Linda Henderson

[Patricia]

"Uninvited Ombudsman" should start reading the newspaper and then go back and re-read the legisation. If he had done his homework, he would have seen the recently published article "Violent Crime in Cities Show Sharp Surge" that appeared in many major newspapers across the country. Clearly, the system we currently rely on to reduce crime and violence isn't adequate by itself.

UO derisively refers to educational programs that would train students in nonviolent conflict resolution "indoctrination." Sadly, NVC is clearly essential for today's students. How many more school shootings, bullying incidents that lead to suicide, "mean girls" beating up defenseless victims, and other senseless crimes that occur - yes - in school, need to happen before UO concludes that our students aren't safe even in school? The Baltimore School District alone arrests 150 students per month, so many that the police refer to their legal processing as "kiddie booking." But let's look the other way and keep on keepin' on, right UO?

Remember what your mother told you: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Well, in this case, funding for one year of a Department of Peace is less than 1 month of funding for the Iraq War. The vast majority of Americans would rather prevent violence than continue to simply react to it. A Department of Peace would lead the way.