some punk returned from sunny Afghanistan went on a shooting spree at a political event in arizona today, and took down about a dozen people with an automatic weapon -- including a federal judge and a member of congress.
the member of congress, U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords, was in the crosshairs of sarah palin's political campaign to rid congress of democrats in the latest election. giffords won, but today some lunatic with a gun made palin proud.
(palin has now removed the graphic of giffords with the crosshairs from her website.)
i am not qualified to give a psychological diagnosis of what drives a stranger to kill people at random, and there's certain to be more to this guy's story than a robotic subservience to sarah palin's political agenda. even though the GOPpers' message is incendiary, it will never pass any kind of legal test of incitement. palin and her cronies will simply brush it off, and claim it's just resentment over the recent political pounding the democraps took.
sarah palin and the repugnant party don't have that much power. the tea party brings along a lot of tempermental yahoos, but they aren't the real gasoline on the fire, either.
there's a complete, total breakdown of society underway. there is a steadily building undercurrent of pathology and simmering rage that is coursing through the body politic. the blood is starting to boil. it won't be islamic terrorists who will wreak havoc on our cities and shopping malls. it'll be the lone wolf gunman, tipped over the edge and armed to the teeth, who will strike again and again against the comfortable, afflicting them with the same horror that invades the dreams of the shooters.
Seung-Hui Cho was one such, but there will be more. many more.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Land of the whine and losers
this is such a corrupt and demented nation, we can ignore information day after day, but when the military-media complex decides to throw us some scrap of information to stampede the herd into a panic that will bolster the "defense" budget, it rates top position in the news -- witness the recent strides in military technology from our global rivals in china.
stories coming out in the mainstream press last week trumpeted new chinese threats from above -- a new stealth fighter and a ballistic missile that can ruin an aircraft carrier.
damn, there goes amulti-billion-dollar tub, down to davey jones' locker!
moreover, the pentagon "experts" have once again got it wrong: the chinks are 10 years ahead of schedule! who gave 'em permission to that?
the news about the jet made a bit of a splash, but for the folks in the trade it was taken in stride. the air force times (here) gives the inside line:
as for the anti-ship ballistic missile, there's a little less cocksureness about that one. according to the US naval institute :
so how much do you think it's going to cost to counteract the anti-threat threat posed by our much more financially robust adversaries in asia? how are we going to get the money to pay for a defense against the chinese defense? do you suppose the PBOC will buy more US t-bills? not likely, as they've already quit.
besides, with our puny industrial base and declining educational system, how are we going to meet the challenges of tomorrow? we've moved all the factories to low-wage countries and our plutocrats are pocketing the money that used to go into education and other forms of social progress that keep a nation prosperous and strong. unfortunately, both political parties have been co-opted by the plutocrats, and this is a government of, by and for the advancement of the very few.
by the time the filthy rich realize that they've gone too far, and didn't think collectively enough to forestall their own destruction along with everyone else's, so as we slide further and faster downhill, they're finding there's no "stop" button!
i think they may still feel that they're safe in their gated communities far from the chaos they've created in their zeal for acquisition. they believe that they can simply use their money to stay one step ahead of the coming catastrophe. global warming/climate change? simple, move to montana or wyoming, where there's plenty of high ground and mostly like-minded white people to provide refuge. (either that, or the rapture, which is scheduled for may 21 this year, according to the latest estimates).
it's a very sad commentary on our times: the chinese and the indians , while "liberalizing" their economies to play with the big boys in the west, have not totally deregulated financial institutions like their more audacious counterparts in the wall street/london axis, and consequently they are not in the same boat as economies in europe -- and soon to be the US -- where they are subject to "hostile takeover" by the IMF (max keiser, the keiser report -- you really need to follow this guy's show: keiser report). it's a huge and horrific scam, where working people are forced to bail out the failed banks in their respective countries, and then face crippling austerity measures mandated by the IMF in order to obtain financing for the debts incurred because of the bank bailouts!
this dysfunctional scenario hasn't quite sunk in at the US entertainment console. that 52-inch HDTV is just starting to warm up for the stupor bowl, and while we know the GOPpers are back in the driver's seat in the US capitol, the guy with the golden voice has been redeemed reunited with his mama, so there's no limit to the decency and goodness of the american people. move along, folks, nothing to see here...
i've always found it amusing how gullible and clueless americans are. i think it's part and parcel of our sense of entitlement, and the narcotic effect of american exceptionalism. this is an affliction that affects the entire body politic, incidentally, and not simply the uneducated and otherwise diverted lower-caste of characters. it affects those who are steering the ship of state no less. they are so impressed with their own brilliance, their own perspicacity, that they can't conceive of their lapdogs pissing on their pantlegs while they're enraptured by their own reflections in the bathroom mirror.
while we are going broke chasing all these star-wars anti-missile defense systems and gee-whiz pilotless drones with hellfire missiles, and sending our aircraft carrier fighter groups around the playgrounds of american hegemony -- while we're strutting about like a gassed-up peacock, preening and squawking and shitting like kings, we're being sold out by our own best flunkies and hangers-on. frankly, they would piss on us if we weren't on fire, so instead they give us a drink of ice-cold flattery while robbing the firehouse.
it isn't the $52 million (from wikileaks: When one of Afghanistan’s two vice presidents visited the United Arab Emirates last year, local authorities working with theDrug Enforcement Administration discovered that he was carrying $52 million in cash. With wry understatement, a cable from the American Embassy in Kabul called the money “a significant amount” that the official, Ahmed Zia Massoud, “was ultimately allowed to keep without revealing the money’s origin or destination.”). it isn't even the $55 BILLION spent by american taxpayers to rebuild afghanistan that has gone down a black hole, without any kind of accounting.
it's our bestest fair-weather friends, the israelis, who deserve the eternal gratitude of all those who hate and live to humiliate the american people. the israelis are the world's most outstanding example of two-faced, opportunistic, lying and thieving miscreants. when it comes of offal, dirtbags and scum, you can't find more deserving of the shit-can of history than the bunch that rules that orgy of self-serving hypocrisy.
i have no doubt in my own mind of how the chinese have been able to so prodigiously steal and copy the technology and designs of all the advanced weaponry that they are now aiming at US targets. if you have any question about which side the israelis are on vis a vis the US, just remember the liberty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident).
if you care to see what in the world our "allies" in israel are up to, try a google search of "israel sold US technology to china", and you'll immediately open a treasure trove of readings telling of decades of treachery. not only have we bankrolled the development of all these gold-plated weapons systems, and given to most foreign aide to the israelis, but we stand by them in the UN every time they commit some new outrage against international law and humanity, and give them the fig leaf of our veto in the security council. we're a full-service sucker for the rapacious, murdering, oppressive regime that spares no effort to make the US a most-hated partner in their crimes.
the likud government's most sincere wish is to bring the US into a war on iran, which is sure to plunge this country into the darkest period in its history. still, the israelis believe it will be to their advantage to be rid of yet another potential brake on their expansionist, terrortorial agenda. so, to paraphrase an american diplomat in a moment of rare candor, they believe the price is worth it.
the price, however, isn't necessarily to be shared equally among all the partners. the US will to the fighting, will pay the bills and do the dying, while the shriveled old fucks in saudi arabia and egypt will be able to pass an unconstipated turd, and the zionist crackheads get to horn in on more territories and resources they covet. then, if the US is washed up and there's civil unrest and violence in the major cities, so what?
there aren't many zionists in china. the chinese have no experience with the pogroms and lunatic christian persecution of the jews. they are, after all, an unapologetically atheistic society. they battle muslim separatists like the uighurs, or the tibetan buddhists, but it's mostly a naked exercise of power over ethnic groups for territory. when the pope wails about the freedoms of chinese catholics, the yapping american media may report it, but this is of no importance in a culture that's cohesive, proud and values conformity. i cringe a little when i hear the central committee launching it's program for "a harmonious society" and realize that this is the source of china's strength.
with the US on the way down and china on the way up, the conniving government in tel aviv is willing to stab is benefactor in the back to gain the gratitude of a potential future patron. it'll be interesting to see how they fare in this endeavor, in that there is no jewish lobby in beijing, nor is the chinese political system open to the highest bidder as it is here in the US. while china is doing all the right things to become an economic powerhouse, the chinese government is still disciplined and powerful enough to draw the line somewhere short of selling the state to wealthy interests. there's a much older, more developed political culture in asia than here in the US. we've succumbed to "globalism" here, meaning that multinational corporations have no allegiance whatsoever to any nation or state -- they simply go where the tax laws are most favorable.
that won't happen in china, where the hierarchy still favors and stands for the chinese state and chinese people. in this way, the nationalistic agenda of the likudniks is well understood by their chinese counterparts, and why they are so willing to do business with the israeli government. they understand the impulse for territorial expansion, and the liquidation of indigenous people as part of the nationalist impulse. so it does not strike them in the least as dishonorable or ungrateful for the israelis to show contempt for their erstwhile patrons here in the US. the chinese, too, were more than happy to give the americans plenty of rope with which to hang themselves, too.
in a way, i'm pleased that the US has sold out its national interests to corporations and the plutocrats that run them. i'm happy to see the systems of exploitation and oppression finally failing and falling. i'm sure there's going to be much chaos, killing and upheaval on the way to a new world. still, just as there is no "stop" button on the greed impulse that's dragging america to it's fall, there's no way to stop the remaking of the world in a new image. i take the ascendancy of china and all the lesser players as but a brief stop on the way to a new order that elevates the status of the historically dominated to a new equilibrium among many and smaller states living more in harmony with one another and with the planet.
just don't ask me why, or how, yet...
stories coming out in the mainstream press last week trumpeted new chinese threats from above -- a new stealth fighter and a ballistic missile that can ruin an aircraft carrier.
damn, there goes amulti-billion-dollar tub, down to davey jones' locker!
moreover, the pentagon "experts" have once again got it wrong: the chinks are 10 years ahead of schedule! who gave 'em permission to that?
the news about the jet made a bit of a splash, but for the folks in the trade it was taken in stride. the air force times (here) gives the inside line:
The Defense Department isn’t worried about the China military, said spokesman Marine Col. Dave Lapan.
“It is not of concern that they are working on a fifth-generation fighter,” Lapan said, since the Chinese are “still having difficulties with their fourth-generation fighter.”whew, i was worried there for a minute... but now it looks like all we need to do is cancel some of those planned pentagon spending cuts secretary gates has proposed, and we'll straighten it....
as for the anti-ship ballistic missile, there's a little less cocksureness about that one. according to the US naval institute :
If operational as is believed, the system marks the first time a ballistic missile has been successfully developed to attack vessels at sea. Ships currently have no defense against a ballistic missile attack.now that is a definite, oh-shit, scenario for our brilliant "defense" planners, as our whole MO is based on the carrier battle group to maintain total domination over the planet. in fact, this chinese kill weapon (ISNI news) is so serious:
"The Navy's reaction is telling, because it essentially equals a radical change in direction based on information that has created a panic inside the bubble. For a major military service to panic due to a new weapon system, clearly a mission kill weapon system, either suggests the threat is legitimate or the leadership of the Navy is legitimately unqualified. There really aren't many gray spaces in evaluating the reaction by the Navy…the data tends to support the legitimacy of the threat."
so how much do you think it's going to cost to counteract the anti-threat threat posed by our much more financially robust adversaries in asia? how are we going to get the money to pay for a defense against the chinese defense? do you suppose the PBOC will buy more US t-bills? not likely, as they've already quit.
besides, with our puny industrial base and declining educational system, how are we going to meet the challenges of tomorrow? we've moved all the factories to low-wage countries and our plutocrats are pocketing the money that used to go into education and other forms of social progress that keep a nation prosperous and strong. unfortunately, both political parties have been co-opted by the plutocrats, and this is a government of, by and for the advancement of the very few.
by the time the filthy rich realize that they've gone too far, and didn't think collectively enough to forestall their own destruction along with everyone else's, so as we slide further and faster downhill, they're finding there's no "stop" button!
i think they may still feel that they're safe in their gated communities far from the chaos they've created in their zeal for acquisition. they believe that they can simply use their money to stay one step ahead of the coming catastrophe. global warming/climate change? simple, move to montana or wyoming, where there's plenty of high ground and mostly like-minded white people to provide refuge. (either that, or the rapture, which is scheduled for may 21 this year, according to the latest estimates).
it's a very sad commentary on our times: the chinese and the indians , while "liberalizing" their economies to play with the big boys in the west, have not totally deregulated financial institutions like their more audacious counterparts in the wall street/london axis, and consequently they are not in the same boat as economies in europe -- and soon to be the US -- where they are subject to "hostile takeover" by the IMF (max keiser, the keiser report -- you really need to follow this guy's show: keiser report). it's a huge and horrific scam, where working people are forced to bail out the failed banks in their respective countries, and then face crippling austerity measures mandated by the IMF in order to obtain financing for the debts incurred because of the bank bailouts!
this dysfunctional scenario hasn't quite sunk in at the US entertainment console. that 52-inch HDTV is just starting to warm up for the stupor bowl, and while we know the GOPpers are back in the driver's seat in the US capitol, the guy with the golden voice has been redeemed reunited with his mama, so there's no limit to the decency and goodness of the american people. move along, folks, nothing to see here...
i've always found it amusing how gullible and clueless americans are. i think it's part and parcel of our sense of entitlement, and the narcotic effect of american exceptionalism. this is an affliction that affects the entire body politic, incidentally, and not simply the uneducated and otherwise diverted lower-caste of characters. it affects those who are steering the ship of state no less. they are so impressed with their own brilliance, their own perspicacity, that they can't conceive of their lapdogs pissing on their pantlegs while they're enraptured by their own reflections in the bathroom mirror.
while we are going broke chasing all these star-wars anti-missile defense systems and gee-whiz pilotless drones with hellfire missiles, and sending our aircraft carrier fighter groups around the playgrounds of american hegemony -- while we're strutting about like a gassed-up peacock, preening and squawking and shitting like kings, we're being sold out by our own best flunkies and hangers-on. frankly, they would piss on us if we weren't on fire, so instead they give us a drink of ice-cold flattery while robbing the firehouse.
it isn't the $52 million (from wikileaks: When one of Afghanistan’s two vice presidents visited the United Arab Emirates last year, local authorities working with theDrug Enforcement Administration discovered that he was carrying $52 million in cash. With wry understatement, a cable from the American Embassy in Kabul called the money “a significant amount” that the official, Ahmed Zia Massoud, “was ultimately allowed to keep without revealing the money’s origin or destination.”). it isn't even the $55 BILLION spent by american taxpayers to rebuild afghanistan that has gone down a black hole, without any kind of accounting.
it's our bestest fair-weather friends, the israelis, who deserve the eternal gratitude of all those who hate and live to humiliate the american people. the israelis are the world's most outstanding example of two-faced, opportunistic, lying and thieving miscreants. when it comes of offal, dirtbags and scum, you can't find more deserving of the shit-can of history than the bunch that rules that orgy of self-serving hypocrisy.
i have no doubt in my own mind of how the chinese have been able to so prodigiously steal and copy the technology and designs of all the advanced weaponry that they are now aiming at US targets. if you have any question about which side the israelis are on vis a vis the US, just remember the liberty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident).
if you care to see what in the world our "allies" in israel are up to, try a google search of "israel sold US technology to china", and you'll immediately open a treasure trove of readings telling of decades of treachery. not only have we bankrolled the development of all these gold-plated weapons systems, and given to most foreign aide to the israelis, but we stand by them in the UN every time they commit some new outrage against international law and humanity, and give them the fig leaf of our veto in the security council. we're a full-service sucker for the rapacious, murdering, oppressive regime that spares no effort to make the US a most-hated partner in their crimes.
the likud government's most sincere wish is to bring the US into a war on iran, which is sure to plunge this country into the darkest period in its history. still, the israelis believe it will be to their advantage to be rid of yet another potential brake on their expansionist, terrortorial agenda. so, to paraphrase an american diplomat in a moment of rare candor, they believe the price is worth it.
the price, however, isn't necessarily to be shared equally among all the partners. the US will to the fighting, will pay the bills and do the dying, while the shriveled old fucks in saudi arabia and egypt will be able to pass an unconstipated turd, and the zionist crackheads get to horn in on more territories and resources they covet. then, if the US is washed up and there's civil unrest and violence in the major cities, so what?
there aren't many zionists in china. the chinese have no experience with the pogroms and lunatic christian persecution of the jews. they are, after all, an unapologetically atheistic society. they battle muslim separatists like the uighurs, or the tibetan buddhists, but it's mostly a naked exercise of power over ethnic groups for territory. when the pope wails about the freedoms of chinese catholics, the yapping american media may report it, but this is of no importance in a culture that's cohesive, proud and values conformity. i cringe a little when i hear the central committee launching it's program for "a harmonious society" and realize that this is the source of china's strength.
with the US on the way down and china on the way up, the conniving government in tel aviv is willing to stab is benefactor in the back to gain the gratitude of a potential future patron. it'll be interesting to see how they fare in this endeavor, in that there is no jewish lobby in beijing, nor is the chinese political system open to the highest bidder as it is here in the US. while china is doing all the right things to become an economic powerhouse, the chinese government is still disciplined and powerful enough to draw the line somewhere short of selling the state to wealthy interests. there's a much older, more developed political culture in asia than here in the US. we've succumbed to "globalism" here, meaning that multinational corporations have no allegiance whatsoever to any nation or state -- they simply go where the tax laws are most favorable.
that won't happen in china, where the hierarchy still favors and stands for the chinese state and chinese people. in this way, the nationalistic agenda of the likudniks is well understood by their chinese counterparts, and why they are so willing to do business with the israeli government. they understand the impulse for territorial expansion, and the liquidation of indigenous people as part of the nationalist impulse. so it does not strike them in the least as dishonorable or ungrateful for the israelis to show contempt for their erstwhile patrons here in the US. the chinese, too, were more than happy to give the americans plenty of rope with which to hang themselves, too.
in a way, i'm pleased that the US has sold out its national interests to corporations and the plutocrats that run them. i'm happy to see the systems of exploitation and oppression finally failing and falling. i'm sure there's going to be much chaos, killing and upheaval on the way to a new world. still, just as there is no "stop" button on the greed impulse that's dragging america to it's fall, there's no way to stop the remaking of the world in a new image. i take the ascendancy of china and all the lesser players as but a brief stop on the way to a new order that elevates the status of the historically dominated to a new equilibrium among many and smaller states living more in harmony with one another and with the planet.
just don't ask me why, or how, yet...
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Ain't it a lovely world?
on the day johnny boner's gang finds itself in da house once again, it's just too exhausting to think about their program of obstructionism and gridlock for the next two years. the nation is teetering on the brink of something -- not even sure what any more -- and it seems like we need a more serious approach to our nation's challenges than trying to give the president a black eye at any cost.
that's where we're at, unfortunately.
in that spirit, i'd like to depart from the sorry spectacle here in the US seat of government, and look briefly at a story that i read on the politics daily website by david wood, their chief military correspondent (here). titled "pentagon surprised, concerned as china debuts hi-tech weapons," it is but one more reminder of how mentally deficient the US leadership is, and how the chinese will someday soon eat our lunch.
the chinese, it seems, have been busy developing the kinds of technologically advanced weaponry that will shortly render the great american ocean-going armadas obsolete -- vestiges of a bygone era. while we continue to pour untold billions of dollars building the aircraft carrier battle groups with all their bad-ass armaments, the reds have developed a ballistic missile that can sink these lumbering behemoths. so, as we go broke building the best 20th century navy, the asian hordes will render them useless for pennies on the dollar. so much for our ability to operate globally without challenge.
while the military will be busy thinking of new, ever more expensive countermeasures to offset the chinese gains, it seems quite obvious to me that the chinese have the initiative here, as we are so overly impressed with ourselves that we don't give a potential adversary credit for having either the ingenuity or tenacity to out-think or out-fight our side. this is why we're terminally bogged down in afghanistan, a debacle from which we'll only emerge defeated and humiliated.
the chinese, too, i'm afraid, are way smarter, more nimble and effective than we are. they are wise enough to realize that without a strong economic base, they could never last on the world stage, so every day you read about new investments they're making for strategic resources around the world. the US, on the other hand, sends its aircraft carriers around, and holds war games with its clients around the world as an implied threat to keep everyone in line. we may be broker than broke, living off borrowed dime, but we're still the greatest -- and don't you forget it.
for all these nations that are too busy building their economies to participate in the frivolous shows of bravado, i'm certain we look slightly ridiculous -- still a force to be wary of, since we're so belligerent and unpredictable, but only one to be sneered at privately, as the comeuppance that we so richly deserve is not so far off. we will, it is all but certain, to meet the fate of other empires who responded to the own decline with first denial, and then ridiculous, self-defeating feats of compulsive arrogance.
this makes johnny boner and his buddies look all the more hopeless and clueless, as they pursue an agenda that will only hasten the demise of the very empire that sustains them.
that's where we're at, unfortunately.
in that spirit, i'd like to depart from the sorry spectacle here in the US seat of government, and look briefly at a story that i read on the politics daily website by david wood, their chief military correspondent (here). titled "pentagon surprised, concerned as china debuts hi-tech weapons," it is but one more reminder of how mentally deficient the US leadership is, and how the chinese will someday soon eat our lunch.
the chinese, it seems, have been busy developing the kinds of technologically advanced weaponry that will shortly render the great american ocean-going armadas obsolete -- vestiges of a bygone era. while we continue to pour untold billions of dollars building the aircraft carrier battle groups with all their bad-ass armaments, the reds have developed a ballistic missile that can sink these lumbering behemoths. so, as we go broke building the best 20th century navy, the asian hordes will render them useless for pennies on the dollar. so much for our ability to operate globally without challenge.
while the military will be busy thinking of new, ever more expensive countermeasures to offset the chinese gains, it seems quite obvious to me that the chinese have the initiative here, as we are so overly impressed with ourselves that we don't give a potential adversary credit for having either the ingenuity or tenacity to out-think or out-fight our side. this is why we're terminally bogged down in afghanistan, a debacle from which we'll only emerge defeated and humiliated.
the chinese, too, i'm afraid, are way smarter, more nimble and effective than we are. they are wise enough to realize that without a strong economic base, they could never last on the world stage, so every day you read about new investments they're making for strategic resources around the world. the US, on the other hand, sends its aircraft carriers around, and holds war games with its clients around the world as an implied threat to keep everyone in line. we may be broker than broke, living off borrowed dime, but we're still the greatest -- and don't you forget it.
for all these nations that are too busy building their economies to participate in the frivolous shows of bravado, i'm certain we look slightly ridiculous -- still a force to be wary of, since we're so belligerent and unpredictable, but only one to be sneered at privately, as the comeuppance that we so richly deserve is not so far off. we will, it is all but certain, to meet the fate of other empires who responded to the own decline with first denial, and then ridiculous, self-defeating feats of compulsive arrogance.
this makes johnny boner and his buddies look all the more hopeless and clueless, as they pursue an agenda that will only hasten the demise of the very empire that sustains them.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Moronathon
 |
| the day begins in blazing orange |
i read with great interest an essay by robert jensen, a journalism professor in texas, who describes someone who claims he's the greatest with no evidence as either mentally deficient or an "asshole". applied to a nation like the US, the obsession with american exceptionalism among our politicians seems to be holy mantra, but we're only legends in our own minds. still rich and militarily powerful, the US empire is in decline whether we care to acknowledge it or not -- and we're definitely NOT acknowledging it!
in fact, we are demonstrating the opposite -- quite convincingly, i think. still, it does no good to question the dogma that animates our great national delusion. we americans can't stand to be second-best. anyone who questions our superiority deserves to be take down about half a dozen notches just for disrespect. being an american means never having to say sorry.
so we've taken down a tinhorn, second-rate dictator or two, and deported lots of illegal immigrants. we cut our taxes while demanding ever more services from the government (but only if we benefit personally). we find bright lights and big bargains at the mall, with cheap titillation on TV and the 'net 24/7, and our team in the playoffs. job, mortgage and dog: life is good.
there's one other thing: we're not a class-conscious society in the way our british cousins are. no class warfare entertained or tolerated here. we're told that in our advanced capitalist society that everyone has the chance to become rich -- a notion we more or less embrace without debate.
at the same time we don't resent what the rich have, however, it's different when it comes to the guy next door. if someone we consider no better than ourselves appears to be more successful, then the venom comes out. i'm convinced this is what has doomed the labor unions. no one faults the rich, but regular working stiffs making all that money? we can't stand the idea. when the local bus drivers went on strike, they got no sympathy when their peers learned they were making $17 an hour! as though that was an outrageous sum.
in effect, it's working class people who are driving wages lower and lower, because no one wants to see the other guy get ahead. it's worked itself to the point where working class people are positively hostile to unions -- when organized labor is the only way we'll ever get a more equitable distribution of wealth in this country. the talking points against unions are well rehearsed -- some of the best minds in PR have worked on the problem. and unions themselves have succumbed to the success disease, with leadership that's grown to have more in common with management than the rank and file -- big salaries, mega pensions. the country club set will never take pity on the servant class, after all.
bread and circuses. that's how the roman empire kept a lid on the common folk, and a couple of thousand years later and they still haven't run that scam into the ground. this is the betrayal that i've felt for the past 30-40 years, a betrayal of the promise of a better life, and a more just society over time. we're retrograde. we're lulled by cheap spectacle, kept on edge with lurid tales of what our enemies are up to and finally psyched to resent the next guy if he seems to be getting ahead while we're standing still.
we're not getting better, we're getting chintzier. far from the best or the greatest, we are seduced by tawdry entertainment to accept a stupider and coarser culture. intellectualism is scorned; science is mocked. we, the greatest nation ever in history takes seriously a cardboard cutout of a human like sarah palin, onto which we project ourselves, with all our stupid prejudices and insecurities. we're the grand prix, the world cup of mediocrity, decked out in a gauzy leisure suit thirty years out of style.
it was ironic that the pinnacle of the moronic, ronnie reagan, rode to reelection on the slogan "morning in america". more accurately, it's morning in china, or morning in india, while here it's more like sundown. while our incipient rivals for the title of greatness are actually building economies and societies that have a reasonable chance of attaining greatness at some point, we seem consumed with desire to make this our last hurrah.
last year i happened to be at a rural convenience store at the same time as another guy, plaid flannel shirt and ball cap, swearing a blue streak about illegal immigrants getting free health care while he has to work for everything he gets. why he was so wound up, i couldn't tell -- no mexicans around, as far as i could tell. so i had to conclude that he was simply seething in general about things he'd been listening to on the radio. a non-stop litany of hatred and resentment to others, who if truth be told, were nowhere near living the cushy, paid-for life that the purveyors of AM-radio hatred talk up.
indeed, the poor in america, live a pretty meager existence by any measure (except third-world). if anyone walks into an emergency room seeking treatment, they'll be seen. i fail to see how this is unique to illegal immigrants. of course, if they're migrant workers or living under a bridge, the bill collectors aren't likely to catch up with them, but they're hardly living the high life. but you couldn't tell it to the boiling mad country boy in louisa, va., because he's already made up his mind that no-account foreigners are getting a free ride at his expense.
come to think of it, there are some no-account foreigners who are getting a free ride at his expense, but they're american client dictators in places like afghanistan and pakistan or nigeria. hamid karzi, for example, the former conoco consultant chosen by condi rice to run the american project in afghanistan, not only pockets big money from uncle same, but the iranians have him on retainer, too, for a cool million or so a year. but you'll never hear rush or hannity criticizing our authoritarian friends in places where we have "interests". the real enemies are guys like julian assange and wikileaks who dare to pierce the veil of american conniving around the globe.
we might also reserve some of our outrage for the to-big-to-fail financial institutions whose financial shenanigans brough the world economy to its knees, which necessitated a rescue by the government in the form of trillions (eventually) of taxpayer dollars. it's terribly curious how "the government" can ride to the rescue of private businesses, which are not answerable to the government for how they operate, while at the same time citizens are on the hook for debts made by the government to bail out these firms, even though the public is clearly against these bailouts.
but then, who asked the taxpayers if this is how they wanted their money spent? in some of the european countries under the threat of IMF-imposed austerity, there is much public opposition to the bailout of the wealthy by working people. in the USA, we still don't really know what austerity means. "cut spending" is one of the central tenets of the tea party faith, but "cut spending" as a slogan and "cut spending" as act that affects real people hasn't become explicit yet in a way people who only respond to a frying pan over the head can comprehend.
it'll be interesting to see how long the moronathon can continue under the circumstances. "we're the greatest" is coming face to face with "we're fucked" -- and we're fucked has the next move...
What's going on here?
i started off this morning soaking in all the happy talk about the economic recovery. a CNN international story on the news aggregative site set the mood: new opportunities for job seekers (albeit that bringing out the discouraged workers could actually raise the unemployment rate), and as people move out of their parents' basements, they'll spend money, which in turn will further stimulate the economy.
while i have no doubt there will be some pickup in the anemic growth rate here in the US, even this story acknowledged that we'd still be down some 8 million jobs since the crash, and there's nothing in sight to restore them. but that seemed to be merely a nuisance compared with the surge in activity to come. i'm not so sanguine about it.
consider, for example, that the GOPpers are about to take over one house of the national legislature, after a hard-bought political campaign funded by giant corporate interests on behalf of their wealthy patrons. the GOPpers campaigned on the promise that they'd tame runaway government spending. (not that it matters, but during the 6 years of the bush presidency, when they controlled all three branches of government, they did no such thing, but let's not be shitty about it.) let's consider their basic premise: if they free business from government regulation and taxation, it will result in an explosion of economic activity, and like a volcano, the tsunami wave will lift all boats -- or something like that.
because explosions and the aftermath of a tsunami looks a lot like what we ended up with by following 30 years of the GOPpers' programme -- ever since the arrival of ronnie reagan, the great budget cutter who tripled the deficit during his watch. wreckless military spending coupled with irresponsible tax policies that deliberately aimed to cause a budgetary meltdown were the program in the 80s, and they're pushing the identical program today. in that respect, past is prologue.
of course, you can't convince the american public anything's wrong with abetting this kind of profligate "government", while the opposition party, for its part, seems to be more concerned with holding onto the perks of power than to use power on behalf of its constituency. you see this most clearly with the recent "compromise" between president zero and his tormentors across the partisan divide, where tax cuts for the wealthy were to be preserved without reservation (it's easy to say you didn't want to do it, so that doesn't count).
i feel for the unemployed, who were made the fall guys for this demonic deal in DC. as if being called lazy by the GOP leadership wasn't insulting enough, the tax cuts for fat-ass crony capitalists were the condition for giving the out-of-luck a break. then, to have to hear that this was the only way -- what a nauseating spectacle, courtesy of the slimy bagmen of today's robber barons.
when the GOPpers get on TV now, their priority will be overturning zero-care, a healthcare reform without the reform -- just a few sweeteners for the many while providing a bonanza for the insurance companies. since the GOPpers have no way in hell to repeal the law, it's obvious that this is only spectacle for the inFOXicated right-wing -- red meat to get their dander up, while the real game is to defang any regulations that might have put on industry's ass (although it's hard to imagine much was allowed when president zero's team hashed out the law "stakeholders" while it was being written).
so we'll go around in circles, have a big, knock-down, drag-out battle over the debt ceiling before some other cherished social program is gutted, while at the same time we continue to flush billions and trillions of dollars down the military-industrial commode on pointless, futile wars in south asia and the persian gulf.
it's a recipe for catastrophe. the only question is, how much can the plutocrats steal before the bottom falls out. more on this later...
while i have no doubt there will be some pickup in the anemic growth rate here in the US, even this story acknowledged that we'd still be down some 8 million jobs since the crash, and there's nothing in sight to restore them. but that seemed to be merely a nuisance compared with the surge in activity to come. i'm not so sanguine about it.
consider, for example, that the GOPpers are about to take over one house of the national legislature, after a hard-bought political campaign funded by giant corporate interests on behalf of their wealthy patrons. the GOPpers campaigned on the promise that they'd tame runaway government spending. (not that it matters, but during the 6 years of the bush presidency, when they controlled all three branches of government, they did no such thing, but let's not be shitty about it.) let's consider their basic premise: if they free business from government regulation and taxation, it will result in an explosion of economic activity, and like a volcano, the tsunami wave will lift all boats -- or something like that.
because explosions and the aftermath of a tsunami looks a lot like what we ended up with by following 30 years of the GOPpers' programme -- ever since the arrival of ronnie reagan, the great budget cutter who tripled the deficit during his watch. wreckless military spending coupled with irresponsible tax policies that deliberately aimed to cause a budgetary meltdown were the program in the 80s, and they're pushing the identical program today. in that respect, past is prologue.
of course, you can't convince the american public anything's wrong with abetting this kind of profligate "government", while the opposition party, for its part, seems to be more concerned with holding onto the perks of power than to use power on behalf of its constituency. you see this most clearly with the recent "compromise" between president zero and his tormentors across the partisan divide, where tax cuts for the wealthy were to be preserved without reservation (it's easy to say you didn't want to do it, so that doesn't count).
i feel for the unemployed, who were made the fall guys for this demonic deal in DC. as if being called lazy by the GOP leadership wasn't insulting enough, the tax cuts for fat-ass crony capitalists were the condition for giving the out-of-luck a break. then, to have to hear that this was the only way -- what a nauseating spectacle, courtesy of the slimy bagmen of today's robber barons.
when the GOPpers get on TV now, their priority will be overturning zero-care, a healthcare reform without the reform -- just a few sweeteners for the many while providing a bonanza for the insurance companies. since the GOPpers have no way in hell to repeal the law, it's obvious that this is only spectacle for the inFOXicated right-wing -- red meat to get their dander up, while the real game is to defang any regulations that might have put on industry's ass (although it's hard to imagine much was allowed when president zero's team hashed out the law "stakeholders" while it was being written).
so we'll go around in circles, have a big, knock-down, drag-out battle over the debt ceiling before some other cherished social program is gutted, while at the same time we continue to flush billions and trillions of dollars down the military-industrial commode on pointless, futile wars in south asia and the persian gulf.
it's a recipe for catastrophe. the only question is, how much can the plutocrats steal before the bottom falls out. more on this later...
Monday, January 3, 2011
Right and Wrong in the USA
the title could have been hypocrisy, but it seems a far too brazen for that. what IS the right term for people in public life who boldly, unapologetically do precisely the same things they condemn in others? the ruling class must be looking at the rest of us as uniformly stupid and uninformed, since their audacious shamelessness is so abundantly celebrated in the media.
take, for example, tonight's headlines that california rep. daryl issa, one of the new oversight honchos in the GOPper house or reprehensibles, is planning to ceaselessly investigate the "corrupt" obama administration. looking back to the 90s, we can surely relate to what's in store -- with the whole sordid psychodrama from vince foster's death to monica lewinski's dress being merely preamble to what's in store for the big 0 for the next two years.
forget tom "the hammer" delay and jack abramoff for a moment, and the whole, rampant pay-to-play K Street con game the last GOPper majority ran on the government. that's nothing compared with the get-out-of-jail-free cards the Big 0 handed out at the beginning of his shameless, spineless tenure in the white house to the previous war criminal occupant and his sociopathic, malignant, inhuman crew. it was time to look forward, rather than back, that compelled this naive and malleable cipher to excuse the inexcusable -- crimes for which they deserved to swing from the gallows, and not be enjoying a triumphant, lucrative retirement as honored citizens.
to put it plainly, those responsible for the war of aggression against a country that posed no threat to ours; who manufactured false reasons for an invasion and then used the aftermath to advance the financial and ideological agendas of its sponsors in business and industry; who killed countless hundreds of thousands of people in pursuit of profit and personal satisfaction; who even today brazenly recount their crimes with pride, and without any regret -- these very people deserve at the very least to be brought to justice in the international court of justice, along with all those who aided and abetted them. this includes the media cheerleaders who, contrary to their claims, did not simply convey the government's case for war, but used their professional situation and the prestige of their employers to make a persuasive case for war to a gullible populace.
okay, okay. you couldn't kill the bastards enough times to extract justice from them... besides, i'm against the death penalty even for monsters such as these. simply treat them as the government presently is treating bradley manning -- which is to say, apply the same methods of torture they so enthusiastically endorsed for others to them, for as long as they can endure it; then do it again, twice as much. bush, cheney, rumsfeld, wolfowitz, abrams, rice... you get the idea. while we'll never see justice done to any of these, we can state unequivocally, in every possible venue, how much they deserve it.
but that's old news now. more up-to-the-minute are reports from raw story (here) about how a number of prominent neo-cons from the bush years appeared in paris last month at a forum sponsored by supporters of Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK), an iranian opposition group that's also on the US state department's list of terrorist organizations.
it's the old story: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. and the US is legendary in its support for unsavory groups and individuals that are useful in advancing the current agenda of those in power in DC. saddam hussein was one such friend of america, for waging a particularly harsh and bloody, 10-year war with iran (who do you think, incidentally, gave saddam all those chemical weapons he so notoriously used against his own people?). the MEK happens to share our dislike of the rule of the clerics in iran, so even though they have "killed innocent life", in the peculiar vernacular of W -- even american life -- we can do business with these people, you know?
so rudy guiliani, tom ridge, michael mukasey and fran townsend flew off to paris to lend their moral support to this most malign organization -- no inconsistency there, you know. so while the Big 0's justice department may go after anti-war protesters or activists who try to raise consciousness about the suffering of the people of gaza under military occupation -- charging them under the statute for giving "material support for terrorism" -- you'll see a miraculous double standard applied to these booster of the MEK. not only are they not apprehended and incarcerated, but given positive coverage in the national press. about the only exception, it happens, is a spoilsport who wrote an op-ed for the NYT, pointing out the more or less glaring inconsistency in how neo-cons are treated by the authorities, compared with terrorist-sympathizing bleeding hearts.
as i said at the beginning, it's not hypocrisy, and it's not a double-standard. in the good ol' USA it's what we call business as usual: wherever the money and power line up, that's how we distinguish the white hats from the black hats. and even if the Big 0's got to take it in the ass as a sacrificial victim in the service of money and power, to be never-endingly investigated by the GOPpers in congress, you can count on this: those who take the payoff always triumph over those who follow their conscience.
take, for example, tonight's headlines that california rep. daryl issa, one of the new oversight honchos in the GOPper house or reprehensibles, is planning to ceaselessly investigate the "corrupt" obama administration. looking back to the 90s, we can surely relate to what's in store -- with the whole sordid psychodrama from vince foster's death to monica lewinski's dress being merely preamble to what's in store for the big 0 for the next two years.
forget tom "the hammer" delay and jack abramoff for a moment, and the whole, rampant pay-to-play K Street con game the last GOPper majority ran on the government. that's nothing compared with the get-out-of-jail-free cards the Big 0 handed out at the beginning of his shameless, spineless tenure in the white house to the previous war criminal occupant and his sociopathic, malignant, inhuman crew. it was time to look forward, rather than back, that compelled this naive and malleable cipher to excuse the inexcusable -- crimes for which they deserved to swing from the gallows, and not be enjoying a triumphant, lucrative retirement as honored citizens.
to put it plainly, those responsible for the war of aggression against a country that posed no threat to ours; who manufactured false reasons for an invasion and then used the aftermath to advance the financial and ideological agendas of its sponsors in business and industry; who killed countless hundreds of thousands of people in pursuit of profit and personal satisfaction; who even today brazenly recount their crimes with pride, and without any regret -- these very people deserve at the very least to be brought to justice in the international court of justice, along with all those who aided and abetted them. this includes the media cheerleaders who, contrary to their claims, did not simply convey the government's case for war, but used their professional situation and the prestige of their employers to make a persuasive case for war to a gullible populace.
okay, okay. you couldn't kill the bastards enough times to extract justice from them... besides, i'm against the death penalty even for monsters such as these. simply treat them as the government presently is treating bradley manning -- which is to say, apply the same methods of torture they so enthusiastically endorsed for others to them, for as long as they can endure it; then do it again, twice as much. bush, cheney, rumsfeld, wolfowitz, abrams, rice... you get the idea. while we'll never see justice done to any of these, we can state unequivocally, in every possible venue, how much they deserve it.
but that's old news now. more up-to-the-minute are reports from raw story (here) about how a number of prominent neo-cons from the bush years appeared in paris last month at a forum sponsored by supporters of Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK), an iranian opposition group that's also on the US state department's list of terrorist organizations.
it's the old story: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. and the US is legendary in its support for unsavory groups and individuals that are useful in advancing the current agenda of those in power in DC. saddam hussein was one such friend of america, for waging a particularly harsh and bloody, 10-year war with iran (who do you think, incidentally, gave saddam all those chemical weapons he so notoriously used against his own people?). the MEK happens to share our dislike of the rule of the clerics in iran, so even though they have "killed innocent life", in the peculiar vernacular of W -- even american life -- we can do business with these people, you know?
so rudy guiliani, tom ridge, michael mukasey and fran townsend flew off to paris to lend their moral support to this most malign organization -- no inconsistency there, you know. so while the Big 0's justice department may go after anti-war protesters or activists who try to raise consciousness about the suffering of the people of gaza under military occupation -- charging them under the statute for giving "material support for terrorism" -- you'll see a miraculous double standard applied to these booster of the MEK. not only are they not apprehended and incarcerated, but given positive coverage in the national press. about the only exception, it happens, is a spoilsport who wrote an op-ed for the NYT, pointing out the more or less glaring inconsistency in how neo-cons are treated by the authorities, compared with terrorist-sympathizing bleeding hearts.
as i said at the beginning, it's not hypocrisy, and it's not a double-standard. in the good ol' USA it's what we call business as usual: wherever the money and power line up, that's how we distinguish the white hats from the black hats. and even if the Big 0's got to take it in the ass as a sacrificial victim in the service of money and power, to be never-endingly investigated by the GOPpers in congress, you can count on this: those who take the payoff always triumph over those who follow their conscience.
Recovery? What recovery?
just finished a fun little piece by mary bottari on commondreams.org called "full catastrophe banking", which sets the stage for an exciting ride in the financial marketplace in 2011. check it out here.
the headlines in the local newspaper these past couple of days are promoting the idea that the worst is behind us and that there are blue skies ahead. to those who've lost much in the recent unpleasantness, the idea is to suck it up and keep on straight ahead.
but unfortunately there's lots of crap bubbling just under the surface of these glowing reports about the stock market reaching unseen heights. for starters, the housing mess and foreclosures have nowhere near run their course. millions will lose their homes in 2011, and more will find themselves underwater. there's the "mortagegate" fraud circus, with shady securitization of fatally flawed mortgages sold to gullible investors, that may lead to billions in losses for the big banks (BofA just announced just such a writedown in the financials today). of course, the banks will demand and receive complete and total bailouts by the taxpayers -- all this tea party nonsense notwithstanding.
but the clincher is probably the collapse of the cities and states into default and bankruptcy. 100 candidates for collapse this year across the land -- a gambit the GOPpers anticipate with relish, seeing it as a path to busting municipal workers' unions. not only will social services be shredded in the process, but an entire slice of the economy that depends on government contracts will be savaged. the trickle-down effect promises to be substantial.
at the end of the line is the po' lil' ol' taxpayers. we're making less, being taxed more, and getting further and further behind. $4/gal gasoline is in sight; how long til our devalued dollar brings it up to $5? all the while, those on the receiving end of bailouts and huge tax cuts and other giveaways are loath to feel any of the pain they so prodigiously created, leaving those of us working for a living holding the bag.
same old same old, it looks like. who'd of thought? while these tea partyers and mall lizards are cloaking themselves in obliviousness, bad juju is coming down on us from above. welsh on your current debts, pile more charges on another card, until you can numb the pain from the impending collapse... the narcotic of conspicuous consumption will cure what ails ya!
the headlines in the local newspaper these past couple of days are promoting the idea that the worst is behind us and that there are blue skies ahead. to those who've lost much in the recent unpleasantness, the idea is to suck it up and keep on straight ahead.
but unfortunately there's lots of crap bubbling just under the surface of these glowing reports about the stock market reaching unseen heights. for starters, the housing mess and foreclosures have nowhere near run their course. millions will lose their homes in 2011, and more will find themselves underwater. there's the "mortagegate" fraud circus, with shady securitization of fatally flawed mortgages sold to gullible investors, that may lead to billions in losses for the big banks (BofA just announced just such a writedown in the financials today). of course, the banks will demand and receive complete and total bailouts by the taxpayers -- all this tea party nonsense notwithstanding.
but the clincher is probably the collapse of the cities and states into default and bankruptcy. 100 candidates for collapse this year across the land -- a gambit the GOPpers anticipate with relish, seeing it as a path to busting municipal workers' unions. not only will social services be shredded in the process, but an entire slice of the economy that depends on government contracts will be savaged. the trickle-down effect promises to be substantial.
at the end of the line is the po' lil' ol' taxpayers. we're making less, being taxed more, and getting further and further behind. $4/gal gasoline is in sight; how long til our devalued dollar brings it up to $5? all the while, those on the receiving end of bailouts and huge tax cuts and other giveaways are loath to feel any of the pain they so prodigiously created, leaving those of us working for a living holding the bag.
same old same old, it looks like. who'd of thought? while these tea partyers and mall lizards are cloaking themselves in obliviousness, bad juju is coming down on us from above. welsh on your current debts, pile more charges on another card, until you can numb the pain from the impending collapse... the narcotic of conspicuous consumption will cure what ails ya!
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