Capitalism

I know my posts have been more partisan and less fun to read. I’ve been pointing out the right’s use of the word Socialism a lot. I have to admit it’s my angry gut reaction to what I perceive as fear mongering. Like my friend Tony says, “nobody reads these anyway!”

When the republicans warn of big government and Socialism what they’re trying to scare us with is Stalinism. I doubt the youngsters that vote today have any idea what that is. If they had any sense of history would George 2 have been voted in twice?

The republicans have been bashing Roosevelt about his economic recovery programs. They say the populist reaction was for us to become a socialist state. Popular involvement in government is not Stalinism. It’s the opposite. I contend that the public were not launching an idealistic response to economic disaster. They were getting involved. It was Democracy in action.

I also contend the world's most efficient kind of Capitalism today is practiced in China.

Profiling

A report issued by the Missouri Information Analysis Center linking people with ideologies based on “Christian” views that oppose illegal immigration, abortion and federal taxes to militia groups has angered conservatives across the country.

The report was intended to help state troopers identify militia extremists. It also warned to watch for 3^rd party political candidate bumper stickers.

Police were instructed to look for Americans who were concerned about unemployment, taxes, illegal immigration, gangs, border security, abortion, high costs of living, gun restrictions, FEMA, the IRS, The Federal Reserve and the North American Union/SPP/North American Community. Domestic terrorists might like gun shows, short wave radios, combat movies, movies with white male heroes, Tom Clancey Novels, and Presidential Candidates Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and Chuck Baldwin!

Chief James Keathley of the Missouri State Patrol issued a statement that the release of the report prompted him to "take a hard look" at the procedures through which the report was released by the MIAC.

"For that reason, I have ordered the MIAC to permanently cease distribution of the militia report. Further, I am creating a new process for oversight of reports drafted by the MIAC that will require leaders of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Department of Public Safety to review the content of these reports before they are shared with law enforcement. My office will also undertake a review of the origin of the report by MIAC," he ordered.

I know I’m being snarky but I hope they find their sources were entirely credible. When you take the current conservative philosophy to its conclusion you end up with this kind of extremism. What these xenophobes want is religious, social, corporate and military tyranny with no taxes.

You have to admit this whole brouhaha is pretty funny.

Winners and Losers

I was flipping through the radio dial a couple of weeks ago when I had to stop at Rush Limbaugh. He was calling our economic crisis Obama’s Recession. As if Obama was responsible for this mess.

It occurred to me that folks that take Rush seriously would certainly never be happy if everyone had economic security, adequate healthcare, and education. I’m sure this would be perceived as Socialism.

With this view there’s no way we can all be winners. Being a winner is defined by the losers. My group is worthy because yours is not. This applies to almost all social groups; Socio-economic, genetic, and especially religious.

If you’re a little more sensitive you might look at this as the haves vs. the have nots.

I’m not sure why Socialism became so frightening when clearly Fascism is the most obvious alternative. This idea should be even more frightening.

The conservatives are great at striking fear with certain words, even changing their meaning. Look at the word liberal.

 

From Merriam-Webster:

fas·cism 

Pronunciation:

\ˈfa-ˌshi-zəm also ˈfa-ˌsi-\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Italian fascismo, from fascio bundle, fasces, group, from Latin fascisbundle & fasces fasces

Date:

1921

1often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

2: a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control

 

The social, fiscal and military conservatism they preach is exactly the “Big Government” they rail against.

Photo courtesy http://free-stock-photos.com/

Music and the Money Demographic

I've published a piece for Helium about music and the money demographic. Unfortunately it took a long time before I realized I had to give it one of their titles. I'm exhausted so I'm leaving you with only this link today.

http://www.helium.com/users/414508

Amnesia

When Bush first pushed for war as a reaction to the attacks of 9-11 I lived in Florissant, MO. I was totally distraught at the public enthusiasm for it.

Bush kept saying war was a last resort. People that were old enough to remember Vietnam knew it wasn’t true. In spite of the fact that we keep hearing boomers are aging and we’re the majority demographic I knew these slightly younger folks were our national conscience.

 Let’s not kid ourselves that it was about a terror threat. Bush was taking advantage of our collective outrage to push for a totally unrelated war.

We really need to expose the crimes of his administration. Unfortunately accountability looks like partisan retribution so we have to let it go. It’s doomed to happen again!

I have mixed feelings about our collective amnesia. On the one hand war, instead of diplomacy, seems to be our answer to every dispute. On the other hand a younger public will vote in a black president without a thought to how extraordinary this is.

Younger voters aren’t carrying the same mental baggage. It appears reason might finally set in. But you know war will always come back.

I’ve been listening to Republican strategists all week on the radio. They’ve been reacting to Rush Limbaugh’s rants and Obama’s huge stimulus. It still sounds like a bunch of aging white men to me and this demographic is growing smaller.

They kept using the word socialism like it will stir fear in our souls. The younger demographic doesn’t share their fear. Big government is the other catch phrase. I think people realize government means us. Of course we have to pay attention to our actions but big government is reality.

It’s really just a matter of what kind of big government you want. If we had the collective memory we should, we’d see their alternative to socialism is fascism defined by corporate control, a huge military, religious paranoia, and xenophobia.

What defines the Republican Party? Fiscal conservatism, social morality, military strength. Nice, simple qualities that are easy to manipulate a group with.