Some people have asked: "Why do you want to go to DC for a conference? That's the belly of the beast!"

Well that's true…and it's also exactly why we go there.

There is literally no opposition inside the Imperial City to the dangerous and destructive policies that same Imperial City imposes on the rest of us. They live in their own bubble, stroking each other's egos while they pretend they are fighting each other tooth and nail. They aren't. They all support an imperialistic US foreign policy which embroils us in endless wars which in turn enrich the military-industrial complex which in turn leads to more donations to "think" tanks on the Left and Right (and even those who claim to be opposed to interventionism).

While there are certainly decent people who are trying to work within the machine for the right cause, the institutions are hopelessly corrupt because they are all hopelessly inbred.

Here's a great example: Not long ago there was a big brouhaha over at the "non-interventionist" Quincy Institute (that outfit funded by Koch and Soros purportedly to rein in neocon foreign policy). Long-time Beltway denizen Joseph Cirincione had a freak out and resigned from Quincy over what he claimed was the Institute's, "ignoring the dangers and the horrors of Russia's invasion and occupation, focus(ing) almost exclusively on criticism of the United States, NATO, and Ukraine."