9-11: EVERYTHING CHANGED . NOTHING CHANGED
From the time I thought about writing this until now (a few weeks) I
have
become so increasingly disgusted by our political process - yes, even
more
than before -- it's hard to hold to the focus of this line of
thought.
The spectacle of a mass of supposed-representatives who act out little
playlets ("Hey kids - I know someone who has a garage, and we have some
paint and wood - let's put on a SHOW!") to pretend they're going to
stop
taking bribes and actually do their jobs is beyond grim humor.
(Or perhaps I've just once again lost my sense of humor - admittedly,
it
could just be my problem . but I don't think so.)
Republicans and Democrats alike.
The man who was installed in the Oval Office twice stands up like the
scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (but who hasn't yet - even now -
found
out that he actually needs a brain, regardless of what Professor Rove
et al
tell him from behind the curtain) and smirks and stutters and tells us
that
it's just too bad if old sick people can't understand the bizarre
thicket of
options and exceptions that were created to obscure the fact that the
Medicare Drug Benefit Bill was no more than a politically-forced
situation
resolved by passing a gigantic payoff to Big Pharma.
And then has the temerity to stand up and tell us he refuses to extend
the
deadline because "People have to learn there's a finality to things."
As if
he's our Third Grade Teacher. I guess he's channeling Laura now, being
as
he is and always has been, a tool for whoever is the strongest woman
around
him. Maybe Condi's boots scared him back to his plushie toy.
Actually, the Republicans are now pretending to stand up to this
spoiled
brat monster and make noises in opposition, since they see their
futures
entwined with his. God Bless the politicians - always ready to
cannibalize
their own if it threatens their own little patch of plunder.
Democrats still unable to stand up for themselves, let alone to stand
up to
and face off the current representative of what is generally considered
to
be the most vicious, vindictive family in the history of American
politics.
For 4+ years we've heard how 9-11 changed everything.
Well, yeah . well, no.
Let's see - killing at random in countries of brown-skinned people who
can't
hurt us, couldn't hurt us before, either -- (Oh, sure, they can hurt
the men
and women who were patriotic enough or dumb enough or needing to prove
their
stones enough to put on a uniform for their country, but US is defined
as
rich, mostly white, and owning a piece of the Carlyle Group.) -- while
letting anyone who CAN give us a fight go with a warning, backing away
like
a scared pussycat who realizes he could get clawed if he goes
there.
Nothing new about that.
Let's see - pals of the prez and his friends making billions and
billions of
bucks from dancing on the bodies of the dead, with the admin screwing
the
soldiers and the families of soldiers who are fighting and dying and
getting
maimed out of their benefits, straight-facing them ("Policy, sorry.")
when
they refuse medical treatment or forcibly extend active duty time as
they
point out the fine print in the contract.
Nothing new there either*
Whipping up fervor against "THEM."
(THEM being, in the parlance of the tough tall Texan "Sand Niggers"
and
"Illegals." Oh how rude. Well, did Monkey Boy think no one was
listening
when he was laughing with his pals back in the Oilmen's Club in
Houston?
They say "Illegals" as if the word had any more meaning than a
definition
created by a law the mob in Washington invented. What they are is
Native Americans from other parts of America - Mexico,
Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, . places with various names depending
on
where the people with guns drew the lines or invented countries, like
Panama. Guess what? THEY'RE AMERICANS!)
Illegals? Take a trip through Houston's River Oaks, where Bush's pals
like
Kenny Boy Lay all live. Those people couldn't get out of bed in the
morning
without their illegals. A chicken in every pot and at least one or two
"illegals" in every house.
So we're in an era where racist plundering and free-range violence are
all
being sanctioned by the govt.
In other words, taking OUR money to fight what THEY'RE afraid of.
Taking OUR money to pass laws and make it THEIR money.
(Which may be why they're so afraid?)
Not a goddamn thing new about that.
Blaming the previous administration for everything that is bad, and
landing
with both feet on anyone who doesn't think God has actually appointed
this
piss-poor excuse for a human being as president.
(Ahh, I hear my W.C Fields mental voice chiming in: "I could carve a
better man out of a banana." Little did Mr. Fields think the day
would
come when someone would actually try it. And even though it wasn't any
good,
would go ahead and make that redneck United Fruit golem the President
of the
United States. Money - ain't it amazing stuff?)
SO WHAT HAS CHANGED THEN?
The contempt level for the public having risen so high they don't even
try
to hide their plunder and racism and viciousness. ("Racism? Wattaya
talkin'
about? We had TWO spooks in a row as Secretary of State, and the
Colored Gal
is even doing what we tell her to.") That open contempt is new, or
rather,
an old old old attitude emerging from the dark dank shadows anew.
The Uber-organization of Secrecy run by second-rate hacks. 'Nuff said
about
that.
And it's NOT just Monkey Boy - it's all the pigs in the trough in
congress,
in the corporations, in the judiciary - IN THE PRESS . all of 'em, all
asses
and elbows, down on all fours, scrambling and fighting for gold and
pieces
of the dead bodies to eat. Oh, they call it "Serving my constituents,"
but
it's just free-for-all greed, their constituents getting little payoffs
to
convince them to send the miscreant back to the government money pot.
So they ALL let the vicious little prick go on raving about whatever
Dick
Cheney and Cheney's Masters tell him is God's Will. (God's Willy** more
likely . )
And the press - hey - you get half a mil a year to sit in the White
House
Press Room, you're not going to risk that loot by asking a real
question, by
writing a real analysis of what's going on. Well, Helen Thomas does,
but who
else?
In the words of a writer mostly overlooked these days - Upton Sinclair:
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something
when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."
Clear enough?
What's changed is that FINALLY we're seeing the answer to the question
a
journalist asked Huey Long. He said:
"Governor - will we ever have Fascism*** in this country?"
"Hell yes - but we'll call it "Americanism."
And we do.
Where is Guy Fawkes**** when we need him?
**************************************************
* Major General Smedley Darlington Butler wrote War is a Racket,
which details the dollar value of our gangster crap in WWI to such
worthies
as Anaconda Copper, US Steel, etc, while denying those who actually
fought
the bonuses they were promised. General Butler refused to disperse the
'Bonus Army' from the D.C Hooverville, but Dugout Doug MacArthur
volunteered. Killed a few of them, too.
General Butler pointed out in his book that he had been the number one
gangster in America for 20+ years, and that Al Capone only controlled 5
counties and could learn from the government. Of course, now the
government
IS the mob, organized Crime Units and RICO Statutes no more than
devices to
remove the competition.
**Robert Anton Wilson, many years ago, asking aloud if God had a
Willy,
and if not, why is the Deity called "He?"
*** Fascism, literally defined as a merger between the state and the
large
corporations. Am I exaggerating? Can anyone --- PLEASE - show me that
I'm
wrong?
**** Famous Irish patriot described by George Bernard Shaw as "The only
man
who ever entered the (English) Houses of parliament with honest
intent."
Penny for the Guy, anyone?
hjp
