There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
Noam ChomskyRead
The Bush Administration do have moral values. Their moral values are very explicit: shine the boots of the rich and the powerful, kick everybody else in the face, and let your grandchildren pay for it. That simple principle predicts almost everything that's happening.
Interpretation
Chomsky critiques the moral values of the Bush Administration as favoring the wealthy at the expense of the vulnerable.
In this quote, Noam Chomsky expresses his view that the moral values of the Bush Administration are characterized by a clear prioritization of the interests of the rich and powerful over the needs of the general populace. He suggests that these values lead to a societal structure where the powerful are catered to while those less fortunate are neglected, resulting in long-term consequences for future generations.
In practice
During a public rally discussing inequality, one could use the quote to highlight the disparities in political priorities.
There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
The 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.
If you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are.
There are very few people who are going to look into the mirror and say, 'That person I see is a savage monster;' instead, they make up some construction that justifies what they do.
The Republican Party has become overwhelmingly so extreme that it's hardly a traditional political party anymore.
There is still much debate about whether torture has been effective in eliciting information - the assumption being, apparently, that if it is effective, then it may be justified.
Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.
The Koch brothers, through the expenditure of billions of dollars and the creation and support of dozens of extreme right organizations, have taken fringe extremist ideas and made them mainstream within the Republican Party.
Unfortunately for governments like that of Iran, when they forbid something, people become more interested.
A neoconservative is a liberal who's been mugged by reality. A neoliberal is a liberal who's been mugged by reality but has refused to press charges.
Of what does politics consist except the making of imperfect decisions, many of them unjust and quite a few of them deadly?
Since the 1930s the technique of buying votes with the voters' own money has been expanded to an extent undreamed of by earlier politicians.
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