Ideas are not radical. Ideas are expressions of deeper, inner thought which surface above the noise of life and are filtered into existence. "Idea men" are either considered genius or they are considered crazy, sometimes both or sometimes neither. For an idea to be happily accepted in our highly-processed, corn-syruped society, the idea must either promise millions of dollars in potential income; or, it must fall into a neat and safe strait-jacket of rules, niceties and boundaries.
The truth, sadly, in our modern life, has become an "idea." When one speaks the truth, others, less comfortable with it, will often say, "you have no idea what you are talking about;" and, they shake their heads, look to others who are also NOT in agreement and, quite often, they will laugh--a reaction which is based on the fear instinct. Laughing is a sign of fear, believe it or not.
The truth is in the eye of the beholder; and, the news we are fed is in the eye of the beholder. Fox News, CNN, ABC, CNBC, etc. are not in the business of reporting truths. The truth is not something that sells. In a similar way that doctors are beholden to drug-companies, so too are TV "news" execs beholden to viewer ratings: without them, they won't get advertising dollars and the "business" makes no sense. Truth being often boring needs to be twisted and sensationalized so that we, in the safety of our homes, can be entertained (see Tony Schwartz's writings on this matter).
There are so, so many resources for obtaining truth. Yet, this said, true truth gathering is a process that is learned; it comes with years of patience, critical analysis of the so-called facts (anyone putting forth a fact has an agenda, usually); and, it requires inquisitiveness: "why is that person saying that this is the truth?"
Sadly, so much of what is the truth makes the vast majority of us uncomfortable. We cannot deal with the raw, cold and often ugly facts of life which surround us so we always somehow find a disclaimer on the so-called truth: "ah, computer error, well, they will fix that error and all will be well." Perhaps, had the metro system in DC over the past 10 years not been running on a bare-bones budget indirectly caused by massive federal tax cuts, that "computer error" would not have occurred.
In this blog, which no one reads except for myself and a few other people, I am putting forth the truth of our life and on top of it I am adding sarcasm and consequence. I am imbibing the truth with cynsism for the purpose of reaching emotion. Without emotion, written words stand no chance against the bells, whistles and smoke screens of CNN, FOX and the other entertainment conglomerates.
The few who read this blog often call me a radical. I am not a radical. I study the life we all live with the eye of an anthropologist. I travel to many places and meet even more people. Having met them, I then begin to study their life, politics and culture until a foundation has been created from which further and proper analysis is made possible.
Then, I will return to their country, state or village and I meet them again but only now, with an enhanced understanding. Once, I feel comfortable, after having read thousands of pages about them and having had dozens of meals with them and conversations, I dare to espouse something which may begin to resemble a truth.
That is what this blog (a blog I write for my future children so they can know I was active, albeit in a relatively passive way), is all about. It is about truth. To those not in agreement with me, to those made uncomfortable by my words, to those for whom I am a radical, I say, dig beyond the piping-hot servings of infotainment and search for the truth. It is available. Our great American society permits us to have the real truth in many forms at any time. All we have to do is ask, but, this requires action.
The truth is often inconvenient, to borrow from Al Gore--an idea man many consider nuts (I consider a genius). Life is complex and difficult and so often there is simply no time for finding the truth; if this be the case, then I merely suggest that rather then pooh-pooh the "ideas" of someone not in agreement with you, listen and consider them; after all, they are making a contribution and never can thought be a bad thing in our modern, American world.
In the following 10 blogs, 10 truths will be put forth for consumption, consideration and discussion. Each one will make many uncomfortable. From these future postings, I gain nothing but a sense of satisfaction that the God-given powers of observation and analysis granted to me are being put to use, for better, for worse, for me, for someone, for my future children; to use.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Just Leave Iran Alone for Crying out Loud!
The Hollywoodian "happy ending" is as American and anticipated by world cinema-goers as the Indian Bollywoodian "dance ending" when cast members break out into dance--as seen at the end of "The Slumdog Millionaire" movie. Having grown up on a century of often corny and even sometimes completely unrealistic endings to Hollywood films, the psyche of America has been transformed: we always expect things to turn out for the best.
And, really, thank God! Or, more precisely, thank the founding fathers of Hollywood for this small and relatively little-noticed-at-the-time transformation of a entire nation's subconscious forever. Yes, we Americans always expect things to turn out for the better. Be it through the good graces of an ever just God. Be it through our own, "pulling ourselves up by our boot straps," somehow, after a little bit of complaining and whining, we manage to get it done.
We are not a cynical nation. We don't expect government to step in and solve problems that we can solve by ourselves. Our demand for action from government tends to be for the resolution of problems and issues on a more macro-level: health care, for instance, military, space exploration and most recently the solving of the global warming issues (despite the fantasy of conservatives/republicans that this is NOT a problem).
Europeans expect their governtment ministers to wallow in bureaucratic infighting. The British regularly make such fun of their elected officials that all one need do is add that "Benny-Hill"-music to a meeting of Parliament and hysterics are guaranteed. The Russians simply don't have government, thugs, corrupt officials and lying ministers, fill that void.
The GE Theater
Ronald Reagan, one of the most popular presidents in our lifetime, was a master of the Hollywood setting. He was a studio-created creature whose role during WWII was to make propaganda films for increasing support for the war. Such propaganda was a needed and good thing for the war effort.
Afterwards, he hosted The General Electric Theater, mastering the ability to sell barely real benefits from GE products; persuading listeners that these new appliances and services were magical and born of American genius--certainly some truth was present but a real lot of "salesmanship" was layered in amongst the facts.
Reagan's magic for the rhetorical flair was at its best when he challenged Gorbachev to "tear down this wall;" these words, as spoken, echoed off the Berlin Wall with East German boarder guards standing less than a football field away. The world was awed and a few short years later, that Wall was torn down by inspired East Germans.
Reality check: despite Reagan's child-like belief that American "democracy" was the pancea for all ailments (despite the dogma of Reagan-worshippers that all that is good was created by his hands and molded by his words), the Soviet Union collapsed under the weight not of Reagan's obviously heavy words. It collapsed from decades of incompetence; it collapsed as a result of a near century of massive misdevelopment of its entire infrastructure; it collapsed because oil prices had again sunk to then record lows and the nation. Physically falling apart, the vast nation needed repairs and there just was no money left because the Communist Party members had stolen everything they could get their hands on--and that had been going on for at least 30 years prior to Reagan's speech in Berlin.
But, we live in a movie and we needed a John-Wayne moment: "tear down this wall." Cut to the wall being pulled apart several years later and guess what, when watching on Youtube, it really seems like Reagan was the most powerful man to walk the earth in the past century. Jump to W and his wonderfully B-movie-esque comment: "bring it on." Jaws across the world dropped in shock. Terrorist HR directors in caves throughout Afghanistan-Pakistan high-fived each other. W had done more for their recruiting cause than 9/11 had done.
Do you speak "Iranian"? Hungarian?
Iran is not a nation the average American can understand, let alone find on a map! In the same way that "democracy" didn't break out in Russia after their collapse in 1991; in the same way Ukraine is a basket-case today despite their "democratic" revolution; in the same way that pretty much every nation that has acquired "freedom" and "democracy" since that Reagan moment in Berlin is struggling today. With the bitter experience of the W catastrope when he "freed" the Iraqi people from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, we can now safely say that an Iranian internal conflict, stoked by rhetoric from Obama will not result in a "morning for Iran."
President Obama is doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing: almost nothing. Conservatives/republicans are criticizing him for not speaking out with 16-year-old-boy-like words of "yo, Iran, I'll kick your ass if you don't let that vote stand." "Go ahead, I dare you to not let that election stand, try me, man, COME ON!"
In 1956, the Hungarians, egged on by Voice of America with words "if you rise up against your communist oppressors, we will come to your aid", rebelled. A week later, after countless thousands has been killed and run down by Soviet tanks, Ike's complete failure to back up Voice of America's words bridged their struggle to tragedy. Ask a 65-year old Hungarian what they recall from that moment and they will not tell of the Soviet tanks, they will tell of being "instructed" to rise up by America and then being slaughtered: pawns in a big chess opening.
Ike did nothing because he couldn't. He was not going to risk WWIII for the sake of tiny little Hungary. WWII was "started" when the British and French went to the defense of Poland, Ike would not fall into this trap, too.
The Trap
Should Obama fall into the childish and irresponsible trap that is being laid by the conservatives, the same ones who loved W's "bring it on" comments; the same ones who have thrown our military into every conflagration across the globe so that today we are more overstretched and as a result weaker than we have been in decades; Iranians, emboldened by the rhetoric of a popular American President, could start to rebell enmasse and guess what? We won't be able to do anything but watch.
And then, as thousands will be slaughtered by the Iranian military, Obama, not having the money or the military power to respond, will sit quietely, aghast, and then he will be hung by world opinion. And, his brave attempts at rebuilding our own society will come to a terribly Hollywoodian "un-happy ending."
What is going on in Iran is about the Iranians and not what some preacher in a small Church in Kansas thinks--"let us pray for our brothers, the Iranians, as they struggle for their democracy, and for our President so that he will know what to do to support their fight." It is not about Limbaugh or Cheney or the other fascists seeking power while manipulating such lofty words like "freedom", "democracy" (everything they were against), it is about Iran and Iran alone.
While the Iranians struggle for their freedom, I say, good luck. Call us when it is over. In the meantime, in case no one has noticed, our nation is economically depressed for the most part, right-wing conservatives are calling nuts with guns to arms and the killings are increasing because the lunatics think they will soon lose their weapons--the NRA is espousing these lies; we struggle to pass a universal health care act.
The nation's plate is full. Yet, the conservatives don't want America to get better. They want to draw attention from the problems with some good old-fashioned swagger and rhetoric so that just maybe, we can get ourselves another war. Why? Because today, as is in America, the worst off we are, the more money those America-haters make.
President Obama, keep leaving Iran alone, for the sake of America's future.
And, really, thank God! Or, more precisely, thank the founding fathers of Hollywood for this small and relatively little-noticed-at-the-time transformation of a entire nation's subconscious forever. Yes, we Americans always expect things to turn out for the better. Be it through the good graces of an ever just God. Be it through our own, "pulling ourselves up by our boot straps," somehow, after a little bit of complaining and whining, we manage to get it done.
We are not a cynical nation. We don't expect government to step in and solve problems that we can solve by ourselves. Our demand for action from government tends to be for the resolution of problems and issues on a more macro-level: health care, for instance, military, space exploration and most recently the solving of the global warming issues (despite the fantasy of conservatives/republicans that this is NOT a problem).
Europeans expect their governtment ministers to wallow in bureaucratic infighting. The British regularly make such fun of their elected officials that all one need do is add that "Benny-Hill"-music to a meeting of Parliament and hysterics are guaranteed. The Russians simply don't have government, thugs, corrupt officials and lying ministers, fill that void.
The GE Theater
Ronald Reagan, one of the most popular presidents in our lifetime, was a master of the Hollywood setting. He was a studio-created creature whose role during WWII was to make propaganda films for increasing support for the war. Such propaganda was a needed and good thing for the war effort.
Afterwards, he hosted The General Electric Theater, mastering the ability to sell barely real benefits from GE products; persuading listeners that these new appliances and services were magical and born of American genius--certainly some truth was present but a real lot of "salesmanship" was layered in amongst the facts.
Reagan's magic for the rhetorical flair was at its best when he challenged Gorbachev to "tear down this wall;" these words, as spoken, echoed off the Berlin Wall with East German boarder guards standing less than a football field away. The world was awed and a few short years later, that Wall was torn down by inspired East Germans.
Reality check: despite Reagan's child-like belief that American "democracy" was the pancea for all ailments (despite the dogma of Reagan-worshippers that all that is good was created by his hands and molded by his words), the Soviet Union collapsed under the weight not of Reagan's obviously heavy words. It collapsed from decades of incompetence; it collapsed as a result of a near century of massive misdevelopment of its entire infrastructure; it collapsed because oil prices had again sunk to then record lows and the nation. Physically falling apart, the vast nation needed repairs and there just was no money left because the Communist Party members had stolen everything they could get their hands on--and that had been going on for at least 30 years prior to Reagan's speech in Berlin.
But, we live in a movie and we needed a John-Wayne moment: "tear down this wall." Cut to the wall being pulled apart several years later and guess what, when watching on Youtube, it really seems like Reagan was the most powerful man to walk the earth in the past century. Jump to W and his wonderfully B-movie-esque comment: "bring it on." Jaws across the world dropped in shock. Terrorist HR directors in caves throughout Afghanistan-Pakistan high-fived each other. W had done more for their recruiting cause than 9/11 had done.
Do you speak "Iranian"? Hungarian?
Iran is not a nation the average American can understand, let alone find on a map! In the same way that "democracy" didn't break out in Russia after their collapse in 1991; in the same way Ukraine is a basket-case today despite their "democratic" revolution; in the same way that pretty much every nation that has acquired "freedom" and "democracy" since that Reagan moment in Berlin is struggling today. With the bitter experience of the W catastrope when he "freed" the Iraqi people from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, we can now safely say that an Iranian internal conflict, stoked by rhetoric from Obama will not result in a "morning for Iran."
President Obama is doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing: almost nothing. Conservatives/republicans are criticizing him for not speaking out with 16-year-old-boy-like words of "yo, Iran, I'll kick your ass if you don't let that vote stand." "Go ahead, I dare you to not let that election stand, try me, man, COME ON!"
In 1956, the Hungarians, egged on by Voice of America with words "if you rise up against your communist oppressors, we will come to your aid", rebelled. A week later, after countless thousands has been killed and run down by Soviet tanks, Ike's complete failure to back up Voice of America's words bridged their struggle to tragedy. Ask a 65-year old Hungarian what they recall from that moment and they will not tell of the Soviet tanks, they will tell of being "instructed" to rise up by America and then being slaughtered: pawns in a big chess opening.
Ike did nothing because he couldn't. He was not going to risk WWIII for the sake of tiny little Hungary. WWII was "started" when the British and French went to the defense of Poland, Ike would not fall into this trap, too.
The Trap
Should Obama fall into the childish and irresponsible trap that is being laid by the conservatives, the same ones who loved W's "bring it on" comments; the same ones who have thrown our military into every conflagration across the globe so that today we are more overstretched and as a result weaker than we have been in decades; Iranians, emboldened by the rhetoric of a popular American President, could start to rebell enmasse and guess what? We won't be able to do anything but watch.
And then, as thousands will be slaughtered by the Iranian military, Obama, not having the money or the military power to respond, will sit quietely, aghast, and then he will be hung by world opinion. And, his brave attempts at rebuilding our own society will come to a terribly Hollywoodian "un-happy ending."
What is going on in Iran is about the Iranians and not what some preacher in a small Church in Kansas thinks--"let us pray for our brothers, the Iranians, as they struggle for their democracy, and for our President so that he will know what to do to support their fight." It is not about Limbaugh or Cheney or the other fascists seeking power while manipulating such lofty words like "freedom", "democracy" (everything they were against), it is about Iran and Iran alone.
While the Iranians struggle for their freedom, I say, good luck. Call us when it is over. In the meantime, in case no one has noticed, our nation is economically depressed for the most part, right-wing conservatives are calling nuts with guns to arms and the killings are increasing because the lunatics think they will soon lose their weapons--the NRA is espousing these lies; we struggle to pass a universal health care act.
The nation's plate is full. Yet, the conservatives don't want America to get better. They want to draw attention from the problems with some good old-fashioned swagger and rhetoric so that just maybe, we can get ourselves another war. Why? Because today, as is in America, the worst off we are, the more money those America-haters make.
President Obama, keep leaving Iran alone, for the sake of America's future.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Their Hate is No Good
All countries eventaully decline. It is the natural order of things. Leadership is not easy. Nations, by their nature, like people, are ever in competition. Some find their greatness in being second, third or 33rd. The nations that make up the top 20 in the world, are in their respective positions pretty much because that is where they want to be.
Some are in flux, certainly. Russia is always either rising or declining, depending on the price of oil and some other things. China is rising. Some in Eastern Europe are rising but there is not so much room for these smaller, less powerful nations so they will jostle and fight for their places somewhere between 40 and 20 and be happy.
The United States of America is arguably still number one. Then again, how do we define this? Is it GDP, GNP, level of education, level of health care, percentage of GDP spent on health care, level of deficits, miles of road, number of infant deaths per thousand, number of deaths by hand guns each year, etc.?
Or, is it the amazingly unmeasurable notion of "freedom" that makes us number one? Is it the amazing system of balances that our government still flaunts so many years after its inception? Truly, this is one of the greatest contributions to modern governing. Our ability to always find a way to recalibrate the scales so that no one branch ever becomes too powerful is simply mystifying to the world. It prevents something like Nazi Germany from ever happening in America.
It is a Constitution
Foreigners just don't believe that this system exists; they can't because it suggests that there is a certain selflessness amongst the leaders of these three branches. It suggests that the leaders of the three branches are devoted to something even grander than their own tenuous grips on power: they are all beholden to a Constitution.
The Bush II people, and Cheney still, made the most aggressive assault on that system and really, we should thank them. What good is a system that is never tested every now and again? The system worked wonderfully and even despite the manipulation of fear by W to get us to forget about our rights and the balance that ought be, all found its original equilibrium. And, we are once again, America, for better or worse.
As America teeters in its role as the world leader, however, we have found a new voice and commitment to excellence. President Obama is our president and he is leading all Americans, whether you voted for him or not, to a place that will certainly be better for all. He is determined to make us a good as we can be and by all of us becoming better, America becomes greater. This is a worthy goal and one that should be supported.
Yet, the hate has once again commenced. An abortion doctor is shot to death in church by a man who undoubtedly voted republican in the last election and who most certainly is a fan of Rush Limbaugh. A WWII vet slaughtered a black guard at the Holocaust museum solely for the reason that he was black. This man too, 88 years old, is no doubt a conservative and probably hates Obama.
The Department for Homeland security has said that the "chatter" on the airwaves is similar to what it was like when Timothy McVeigh was getting ready to blow up that daycare center in Oklahoma. They say that the chatter is of American origin and is against blacks, Jews, gays, the government, etc. Why do we permit this nonsense? Why is our nation so afraid of change?
Why do the conservatives have this monopoly on the US flag and patriotism and soaring eagles and apple pie? Yet, at the end of the day, it is these same conservatives who hate so many of their fellow Americans. Why isn't someone like Limbaugh called what he is by the national press, by the President, by the FBI, "a revolution-espousing fascist" who will only rest when this nation has been brought to its knees? (Oh, and he is a drug addict, as well.)
The conservatives and their more radical kin, the "people haters" (the brownshirts), manipulate our system in ways similar to how the Muslim terrorists use it. And, like those terrorists, they use this system not to make our nation greater, but to destroy it.
Just Once
Just once, I wish someone would have the balls to go to one of their NRA rallies, one of their conventions where they praise the Lord and quote Limbaugh, and I wish this person would...but then again, that would make us no better than they are. I refuse to live with the hate that unites them.
As Obama makes us better, heals us, they will tear us down still and yes, we will decline into the cauldron of failed powers, consumed by our own idiocy and backwardness. Jesus would not tolerate them for who they are, so then why do we? Oh, I remember why, because they are our fellow citizens and there is that document, parched and probably enclosed in glass.
This document legally permits them to "hate", to "blather endlessly, mindlessly" yet always in the hope that just once, a word, an idea, a proclomation might prove worthy of national notice. That document, ratified in 1789, is our playbook for governing right. It is the US Constitution and it belongs to all of us, so be it.
Some are in flux, certainly. Russia is always either rising or declining, depending on the price of oil and some other things. China is rising. Some in Eastern Europe are rising but there is not so much room for these smaller, less powerful nations so they will jostle and fight for their places somewhere between 40 and 20 and be happy.
The United States of America is arguably still number one. Then again, how do we define this? Is it GDP, GNP, level of education, level of health care, percentage of GDP spent on health care, level of deficits, miles of road, number of infant deaths per thousand, number of deaths by hand guns each year, etc.?
Or, is it the amazingly unmeasurable notion of "freedom" that makes us number one? Is it the amazing system of balances that our government still flaunts so many years after its inception? Truly, this is one of the greatest contributions to modern governing. Our ability to always find a way to recalibrate the scales so that no one branch ever becomes too powerful is simply mystifying to the world. It prevents something like Nazi Germany from ever happening in America.
It is a Constitution
Foreigners just don't believe that this system exists; they can't because it suggests that there is a certain selflessness amongst the leaders of these three branches. It suggests that the leaders of the three branches are devoted to something even grander than their own tenuous grips on power: they are all beholden to a Constitution.
The Bush II people, and Cheney still, made the most aggressive assault on that system and really, we should thank them. What good is a system that is never tested every now and again? The system worked wonderfully and even despite the manipulation of fear by W to get us to forget about our rights and the balance that ought be, all found its original equilibrium. And, we are once again, America, for better or worse.
As America teeters in its role as the world leader, however, we have found a new voice and commitment to excellence. President Obama is our president and he is leading all Americans, whether you voted for him or not, to a place that will certainly be better for all. He is determined to make us a good as we can be and by all of us becoming better, America becomes greater. This is a worthy goal and one that should be supported.
Yet, the hate has once again commenced. An abortion doctor is shot to death in church by a man who undoubtedly voted republican in the last election and who most certainly is a fan of Rush Limbaugh. A WWII vet slaughtered a black guard at the Holocaust museum solely for the reason that he was black. This man too, 88 years old, is no doubt a conservative and probably hates Obama.
The Department for Homeland security has said that the "chatter" on the airwaves is similar to what it was like when Timothy McVeigh was getting ready to blow up that daycare center in Oklahoma. They say that the chatter is of American origin and is against blacks, Jews, gays, the government, etc. Why do we permit this nonsense? Why is our nation so afraid of change?
Why do the conservatives have this monopoly on the US flag and patriotism and soaring eagles and apple pie? Yet, at the end of the day, it is these same conservatives who hate so many of their fellow Americans. Why isn't someone like Limbaugh called what he is by the national press, by the President, by the FBI, "a revolution-espousing fascist" who will only rest when this nation has been brought to its knees? (Oh, and he is a drug addict, as well.)
The conservatives and their more radical kin, the "people haters" (the brownshirts), manipulate our system in ways similar to how the Muslim terrorists use it. And, like those terrorists, they use this system not to make our nation greater, but to destroy it.
Just Once
Just once, I wish someone would have the balls to go to one of their NRA rallies, one of their conventions where they praise the Lord and quote Limbaugh, and I wish this person would...but then again, that would make us no better than they are. I refuse to live with the hate that unites them.
As Obama makes us better, heals us, they will tear us down still and yes, we will decline into the cauldron of failed powers, consumed by our own idiocy and backwardness. Jesus would not tolerate them for who they are, so then why do we? Oh, I remember why, because they are our fellow citizens and there is that document, parched and probably enclosed in glass.
This document legally permits them to "hate", to "blather endlessly, mindlessly" yet always in the hope that just once, a word, an idea, a proclomation might prove worthy of national notice. That document, ratified in 1789, is our playbook for governing right. It is the US Constitution and it belongs to all of us, so be it.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Many used to think the streets in America were paved with gold. Of course, we know that this was never the case. Yet, for the millions of immigrants seeking a better life, seeking an escape from the poverty and the oppression, this simple, glittering fact lulled them asleep night after night until they arrived to our shores.
Arrival did not guarantee success or an easier life. Those willing to work, to struggle and to even fight for that new chance at life were in varying degrees rewarded. Obviously, not each person can succeed. The resources which make wealth are not endless and they cannot be granted to all. Some were lucky and the streets, although not gold, certainly seemed so in comparison to the dirty, stone pathes of the
Here We Go Again
As gas prices rise across America, journalists are making the rounds to service stations. "We just filled up our SUV and it cost $89." Shocked and awed, they ponder about the effects of another season of lost sales earnings caused by frugal Americans: our adolescent recovery, may not make it out of puberty, they threaten.
Yes, it does hurt when you drop a $50 into the tank and it still isn't full. However, the picture is still wrong. Many being interviewed at the gas stations are still driving the wrong cars. Last summer, when gas was sky high, I recall seeing Hummer's and other such monstrous and failed business ideas of the now extinct car companies, sitting in driveways collecting bird droppings.
Then, around New Years, when gas prices were bottoming out again, those lunch-box like cars with their racing strips and tinted windows could be seen idling at lights with tiny mothers chatting gleefully away on cellphones while the kiddies in the back watched movies and ate chips. America's heroin was again cheap.
Lost earnings as a result of less travel this summer caused by high gas prices may slow our recovery but in the long term, it will speed up our national transition from a nation held hostage to 50 years of good, old-fashioned bad American business practices. The whims of the board room and the scavenger hunts for profit at any cost are now considered by many as the causes for our decline. The era of make bigger and worse and less competitive cars has come to an end.
As the end of that era settles, bankruptcy for GM drying in the books, "il Chryler" soon to become part of Fiat, the Obama people have made it a national priority to force big business to actually produce things that can compete in a world economy; and, the main priority of whether to produce or not will no longer be, "by how much will it increase our bonuses at the end of the year?"
Greed
It was the greed of big business which led us to where we are; and, it was the idiocy of government, usually republican led congresses and administrations, that permitted big business to turn our manufacturing core into something that is barely more efficient than Russia's.
Conservative disingenuousness sold the mantra to the masses that government intervention in the market was bad: it was "communist, socialist...liberal even." Yes, democratic presidents have also chosen to believe that the market is self-correcting and usually right. This philosophy may have held some water back when there were some regulations still in place.
But, from the "government is the problem" speech of Reagan to W's dismantling of our government so that there simply were no resources left to properly regulate anything, the profits being made by big business and Wall Street were simply so amazing that really it is hard to blame them for stealing our nation's wealth, our future. Owning islands and box seats for every team would be kind of cool, right?
President Obama, being accussed by those same wealthy patrons of the last 30 years of republican-led theft, is forcing big business to recall that the nation in which they are located, and whose interests they should also consider when they have their board meetings, is America. Islands belong to countries and not corporate "barons." The new Yankee Stadium is farcical in its catering to the corporate world. Whoever heard of paying $2000 for one seat at one game?
These companies, Wall Street, are not "island-companies" inhabiting a world of other "island companies" abusing the world's resources, human and natural, all for the sake of wealth, more wealth and still more wealth. They are corporate entities obligated to give to the national foundation which permits them to exist.
Business, in America, is now being forced to be people, nation-friendly. Perhaps, I am naive to believe such a thing, but, I know one thing for sure, virtually everything President Obama has done since becoming president is a step toward this end goal.
Unless, however, the republicans/conservatives regain some power and then, they will continue to dismantle our national wealth and then it will be too late--the global warming which doesn't exist, they say, will have done its deed and by then Denver will be under water.
Yes, rising gas prices make today difficult, but they remind us of our dependence on foreign oil and on really, really bad business decisions of the past half-century. Business cannot again be allowed to run free without rules and without the interest of the nation at the heart of its mission statement.
Good luck, President Obama!
Yes, it does hurt when you drop a $50 into the tank and it still isn't full. However, the picture is still wrong. Many being interviewed at the gas stations are still driving the wrong cars. Last summer, when gas was sky high, I recall seeing Hummer's and other such monstrous and failed business ideas of the now extinct car companies, sitting in driveways collecting bird droppings.
Then, around New Years, when gas prices were bottoming out again, those lunch-box like cars with their racing strips and tinted windows could be seen idling at lights with tiny mothers chatting gleefully away on cellphones while the kiddies in the back watched movies and ate chips. America's heroin was again cheap.
Lost earnings as a result of less travel this summer caused by high gas prices may slow our recovery but in the long term, it will speed up our national transition from a nation held hostage to 50 years of good, old-fashioned bad American business practices. The whims of the board room and the scavenger hunts for profit at any cost are now considered by many as the causes for our decline. The era of make bigger and worse and less competitive cars has come to an end.
As the end of that era settles, bankruptcy for GM drying in the books, "il Chryler" soon to become part of Fiat, the Obama people have made it a national priority to force big business to actually produce things that can compete in a world economy; and, the main priority of whether to produce or not will no longer be, "by how much will it increase our bonuses at the end of the year?"
Greed
It was the greed of big business which led us to where we are; and, it was the idiocy of government, usually republican led congresses and administrations, that permitted big business to turn our manufacturing core into something that is barely more efficient than Russia's.
Conservative disingenuousness sold the mantra to the masses that government intervention in the market was bad: it was "communist, socialist...liberal even." Yes, democratic presidents have also chosen to believe that the market is self-correcting and usually right. This philosophy may have held some water back when there were some regulations still in place.
But, from the "government is the problem" speech of Reagan to W's dismantling of our government so that there simply were no resources left to properly regulate anything, the profits being made by big business and Wall Street were simply so amazing that really it is hard to blame them for stealing our nation's wealth, our future. Owning islands and box seats for every team would be kind of cool, right?
President Obama, being accussed by those same wealthy patrons of the last 30 years of republican-led theft, is forcing big business to recall that the nation in which they are located, and whose interests they should also consider when they have their board meetings, is America. Islands belong to countries and not corporate "barons." The new Yankee Stadium is farcical in its catering to the corporate world. Whoever heard of paying $2000 for one seat at one game?
These companies, Wall Street, are not "island-companies" inhabiting a world of other "island companies" abusing the world's resources, human and natural, all for the sake of wealth, more wealth and still more wealth. They are corporate entities obligated to give to the national foundation which permits them to exist.
Business, in America, is now being forced to be people, nation-friendly. Perhaps, I am naive to believe such a thing, but, I know one thing for sure, virtually everything President Obama has done since becoming president is a step toward this end goal.
Unless, however, the republicans/conservatives regain some power and then, they will continue to dismantle our national wealth and then it will be too late--the global warming which doesn't exist, they say, will have done its deed and by then Denver will be under water.
Yes, rising gas prices make today difficult, but they remind us of our dependence on foreign oil and on really, really bad business decisions of the past half-century. Business cannot again be allowed to run free without rules and without the interest of the nation at the heart of its mission statement.
Good luck, President Obama!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
$5, the Key to Happiness
For the price of a Starbuck's breakfast, with change back ($1), happiness, new beginnings, a sound night's sleep and maybe even the next Nobel price winner in economics, can be had. Isn't America great?
$5 can get you a Sunday New York Times, although I am not sure. It will certainly get you a 7/11 20-oz coffee, a daily Times and leave some change jingling about in your pocket. Imagine that with the flick of a wrist by our president (although, probably not his wrist but some mid-level bureaucrat), America has managed to chip away at the patina of incompetence that led the world to wonder: "so, it is true, they do all of those good things around the world only in the hope of opening more markets."
Katrina came and went and in the wake lives were lost and lives were ruined. And, after the news vans pulled out, what remained was devastation. America's cultural gem, a city that so many snobs throughout the world label "America's only contribution to world culture" (they are refering to jazz), was decimated and fell into Gomorra-like destitution.
Oddly, a person like Brad Pitt, and I am sure so many other amazing Americans, started to do something to help these people, the city. The government was completely absent during all of this (I will not recall that photo of our "hands on" President sitting in Airforce One looking down at the misery). It is simply too easy to say that nothing was done because most of the sufferers were black and poor. But, really, a) what contributions were the sufferers making to the tax base? And, b) how many of them had voted republican (or had voted) in the last election?
Had a beach been eroded in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, you can be rest assured that the government would have had the Army of Engineers out there rebuilding that lost property value for the republican faithful. But, New Orleans is only relevant when crime sprees prove that "well, look at them, they're animals." Or, when we need a Super Bowl to be played there as if this shows that America is uniting to help this lost city.
Really, this $5 is not for New Orleans, but for the victims. It truly boggles the mind when I read recently that the homeless there, those who had lost their homes during and after the hurricane, were about to be evicted from their trailers. Imagine? I cannot imagine this and I am certain that W., living in that swank neighborhood in Dallas and enjoying bbqs with neighbors where a wink and a tug on the elbow are silent signs of "haha, they go theirs, uh?" has no idea that this was going to happen. I am even more sure that his only response would be: "well, uh, the goodness of Americans and our tradition of giving will certainly help these folks." Said, whilst the sheriff has pad-locked these homes and the bulldozer is shifting gears.
W. and Mr. Potter's responses would have played out perfectly with the conservative lumpen, for they believe that charity from the rich to the poor is the real way to run a nation. And, if there isn't any "charity" left, then this is because the government is taking too much from them in taxes and so, well, we know the story. The bottom-line is that such thinking makes it impossible to sell homes for $5 because really, the barrel has found it's bottom, we are a broke nation, and yes, "$5 here and $5 there all adds up." Here I agree with the conservatives!
Yet, for a mere $5 the homeless, who had been stuffed like sardines into tin trailers, which are only a little better than a sweltering subway car in August heat, were about to be evicted and President Obama said: "no, this will not happen while I am president." So, for a mere 500 pennies, these people bought their "new homes" and with this they bought security, a sound night's sleep; they bought tomorrow in the place where they went to bed at yesterday and the day-before.
Stability and knowing where my favorite shirt is hanging, where my cat is sleeping at this moment of the day, knowing the smell of the breeze as it makes it's way through the neighborhood, pulling along with it smells of frying fish, a cigarette, some freshly-washed strawberries and then finding you, sitting in a chair sipping on a tea, cooling you and reminding you that "for better or worse, this your home and tonight you will sleep under this roof," is a very powerful commodity. For these people, however, it is a "luxury" and that is not right.
We are better than this. President Obama has again shown us that we, all of us, are truly better than what Bush and Cheney had made us out to be. And, once again, we are a safer nation thanks to our President and a government that is governing. To this I say, and I will borrow shamelessly from the conservatives, "thank you sweet Jesus!"
$5 can get you a Sunday New York Times, although I am not sure. It will certainly get you a 7/11 20-oz coffee, a daily Times and leave some change jingling about in your pocket. Imagine that with the flick of a wrist by our president (although, probably not his wrist but some mid-level bureaucrat), America has managed to chip away at the patina of incompetence that led the world to wonder: "so, it is true, they do all of those good things around the world only in the hope of opening more markets."
Katrina came and went and in the wake lives were lost and lives were ruined. And, after the news vans pulled out, what remained was devastation. America's cultural gem, a city that so many snobs throughout the world label "America's only contribution to world culture" (they are refering to jazz), was decimated and fell into Gomorra-like destitution.
Oddly, a person like Brad Pitt, and I am sure so many other amazing Americans, started to do something to help these people, the city. The government was completely absent during all of this (I will not recall that photo of our "hands on" President sitting in Airforce One looking down at the misery). It is simply too easy to say that nothing was done because most of the sufferers were black and poor. But, really, a) what contributions were the sufferers making to the tax base? And, b) how many of them had voted republican (or had voted) in the last election?
Had a beach been eroded in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, you can be rest assured that the government would have had the Army of Engineers out there rebuilding that lost property value for the republican faithful. But, New Orleans is only relevant when crime sprees prove that "well, look at them, they're animals." Or, when we need a Super Bowl to be played there as if this shows that America is uniting to help this lost city.
Really, this $5 is not for New Orleans, but for the victims. It truly boggles the mind when I read recently that the homeless there, those who had lost their homes during and after the hurricane, were about to be evicted from their trailers. Imagine? I cannot imagine this and I am certain that W., living in that swank neighborhood in Dallas and enjoying bbqs with neighbors where a wink and a tug on the elbow are silent signs of "haha, they go theirs, uh?" has no idea that this was going to happen. I am even more sure that his only response would be: "well, uh, the goodness of Americans and our tradition of giving will certainly help these folks." Said, whilst the sheriff has pad-locked these homes and the bulldozer is shifting gears.
W. and Mr. Potter's responses would have played out perfectly with the conservative lumpen, for they believe that charity from the rich to the poor is the real way to run a nation. And, if there isn't any "charity" left, then this is because the government is taking too much from them in taxes and so, well, we know the story. The bottom-line is that such thinking makes it impossible to sell homes for $5 because really, the barrel has found it's bottom, we are a broke nation, and yes, "$5 here and $5 there all adds up." Here I agree with the conservatives!
Yet, for a mere $5 the homeless, who had been stuffed like sardines into tin trailers, which are only a little better than a sweltering subway car in August heat, were about to be evicted and President Obama said: "no, this will not happen while I am president." So, for a mere 500 pennies, these people bought their "new homes" and with this they bought security, a sound night's sleep; they bought tomorrow in the place where they went to bed at yesterday and the day-before.
Stability and knowing where my favorite shirt is hanging, where my cat is sleeping at this moment of the day, knowing the smell of the breeze as it makes it's way through the neighborhood, pulling along with it smells of frying fish, a cigarette, some freshly-washed strawberries and then finding you, sitting in a chair sipping on a tea, cooling you and reminding you that "for better or worse, this your home and tonight you will sleep under this roof," is a very powerful commodity. For these people, however, it is a "luxury" and that is not right.
We are better than this. President Obama has again shown us that we, all of us, are truly better than what Bush and Cheney had made us out to be. And, once again, we are a safer nation thanks to our President and a government that is governing. To this I say, and I will borrow shamelessly from the conservatives, "thank you sweet Jesus!"
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