From "Notes From a Subterranean Library in Oregon," a compilation of Ray Peat's newspaper letters and columns, compiled by T3Uncoupled (2023). Originally published 1984.

Ray Peat, "Stop the fanatics", p. 49

In the 1950s, many high officials openly advocated a first-strike “preventive” war against the Soviet Union. Government documents made public in 1983 reveal that such a war was scheduled to begin in 1949, and was postponed when the Russians demonstrated that they too had nuclear weapons. Rescheduled for 1957, the plan was again changed when the Soviets produced the hydrogen bomb sooner than expected, and were not in the desired weak position. Officials such as Dulles and Goldwater wanted the atomic bomb to be used even in Vietnam. When he speaks seriously to religious groups, and when he jokes with his staff, our President reveals murderous and paranoid thoughts. Seen in their historical context, those statements shock humanity. Seen against a background of increasingly militaristic anti-Soviet television programming, they appear to be part of a campaign to prepare the public for further “anti-communist” adventures against small nations, probably in Latin America. When high officials can claim that Mexico is the center of subversion in this hemisphere, it is clear that our government is moving toward bigger things than just the invasion and permanent occupation of Grenada. A landslide victory for Mondale might come in time to stop the fanatics.