The Lopsided Foreign Policy Of The Corporate Idiocracy

Consistency has never been a key factor in US foreign policy. It doesn't matter if there's a Democratic president, or a Republican one, the double standard employed by both always been the same.
Take today, as an instance. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced sanctions against eight Iranian officials for human rights violation following a crackdown on protesters after last year's elections. On the surface it sounds good, not just more posturing designed to soften the television watchers up for an attack on Iran.
In the meantime, the UNHRC says Israel used incredible violence against a Gaza Aid flotillaviolated international law by storming the flotilla and killing nine human beings, including an American in execution-style killings, and what does our country do? It criticizes the report as 'unbalanced'. The truth is, the only thing unbalanced is our foreign policy, which seeks to condemn one act of brutality, while defending another.
Now one case is set to go to the International Criminal Court, which the US opposes, mainly because between Iraq, Afghanistan, and the crackdown on the Gaza strip, American-Israeli exceptionalism rules the day. We can torture, kill, and maim whom ever we so please, as we are better than the people living over all those preciou natural resources the Corporate Idiocracy needs to keep it's followers happy and buying more useless things, giving up their time and money to make the incredibly wealthy, more incredibly wealthier.
I don't suspect this will end anytime too soon.

You Could Change All That, It's Why You Are Where You Are

Remember when we all voted for change, because we felt the country was going down a dangerous path towards dictatorship,and someone needed to put a stop to it? Then we all hoped that by putting the Democratic Party in charge that they would do what they were elected to do?
Boy, were we suckers.
Because, once again, as we did seven years ago, we have FBI agents raiding the homes of antiwar activists. You know, the protesters the media completely ignored? Someone was listening, Big Brother.
Speaking of change, wasn't President Obama going to bring an end to the war in Iraq? Yeah, right. And antiwar activists are giving material support to the enemy. Sounds like something out of the Bush administration, but no, it's an ongoing policy.
The Democratic Party is concerned of losing seats in congress to the G-O-Tea Party. Instead of standing up for real progressive issues, and ending the insanity that is the War Party, they choose instead to continue on with it, lest they be seen as weak. But by doing so, they are weak, afraid to stand up to the minority party, and not doing a lot to compel those people who might vote for them to leave their houses and, well, vote for them. Sure, losing the House may help Obama in 2012, but what about helping us, now? Be the Change. It why you were elected.

Bring On Teh Crazy

Republicans seem to think this midterm election will be a cake walk, that they'll end up with the control of Congress, giving them ample opportunity to continue their obstructionist policies. But I don't think so. Why? Because instead of offering answers and solutions to the myriad problems facing this country, the emperor wannabes new clothes are steaming hot piles of insanity.
First up is the insanity intern and future Palin hopeful Christine O'Donnell, who was revealed to have dabbled in satanism as a teenager, by her own words forcing her to cancel her appearances on the Sunday Morning Talking Heads New Shows on CBS and even Fox. You know when a Republican cancels a chance to knock softball questions out of the park on the media arm of the GOP, something is up, and that something is teh crazy.
Next at bat in the bat-shit crazy line-up is, no, not bat-shit crazy Michelle Bachmann, but the Montana Republican party which, in a moment of pure unenlightened unenlightenment have decided to adding homosexuality as a crime to their party's platform this year. It takes some severe homophobia to want to lock gays away, where you wouldn't be tempted to want to join them. Why else put them in jail, because what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own homes is something Republicans say that the government should stay out of, right?
And from homophobia, we cross the crazy trail to the phobia du jour of the conservative regressives-Islamophobia! Failed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is proposing a law to ban Sharia Law's use by judges in deciding cases. First off, you should have done that when you were, you know, an actual member of congress, doofus, and not now when it does no good but stokes the fires of a thousand burning Korans. Secondly, we already have that in our constitution, it's called the Establishment Clause, and it bars any decision made based on Sharia Law, Biblical law, Judaic Law, or any other law emanating from some all powerful invisible being who doesn't exist. All this does is play into the ignorance of haters who think that Muslims are taking over the country, and that our president is one of them. And that is the Republican plan. No policies. No solutions. Just pure unadulterated hate. And not a hate based on reality, but an unfounded hate based on insecurity. That is pure paranoia. Which is nothin' but teh crazy!

...You Just Might Be A Terrorist!

Ever march against BP? Carry misspelled signs at a Tea Party rally? Ever stand up for LGBT rights? Well, according to Homeland Security, you might be a terrorist! You're either for us or against us, and if you're protesting us, you must be against us, and if you're against us, you might be a low level terrorist, or so goes the specious reasoning of the lovely folks at the Pentagon.
So while corporations are able to avoid the scrutiny of the Patriot Act when it comes to it's wheelings and dealings because they are a matter of national security, you're on a no-fly list because air marshals have a quota to fill in order to get raises, bonuses, awards and special assignments.
Got it yet? It doesn't matter if we have a Republican controlled congress, or a Democratic. Corporations own the politicians; we just pay their salary. That's why you probably won't get a tax cut, but the Bush tax cuts will likely become permanent. And if you don't like, be careful who you tell it to, lest ye become labeled a terrorist.

High Fructose Corn Syrup By Any Other Name Would Still Be Too Sweet

I've been eating a healthier diet lately, becoming more vigilant about what I put in my body. You can often find me at the grocery store, reading labels of processed foods, trying to avoid additives and sweeteners that aren't good for my body. One of the most dangerous of these is high fructose corn syrup, which your body processes in different ways than regular cane or beet sugar, which in turn alters the way metabolic-regulating hormones function. It also feeds cancer cells.
So, being a prudent shopper, I should have the right to decide what I ingest, right? Not if the high fructose corn syrup industry has it's way.
Now they want to change the food label for high fructose corn syrup to the more pleasing 'corn sugar'. Why? because consumption of high fructose corn syrup in the US market has fallen 21 percent in the last ten years as more and more consumers are avoiding it in the diet. Even First Lady Michelle Obama says she doesn't want her daughters eating food with it in it's ingredients. Meanwhile, the industry has opened up new markets in Mexico and other emerging economies.

Pretty Ladies Selling The Lie

Yesterday was the ninth anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11, and while there were a number events to commemorate that day, and to honor those who lost their lives so that the Corporate Idiocracy could engage in endless wars to secure it's energy needs until the world runs out of oil, none were more obviously selling the cover story than Michelle Obama and Laura Bush honoring the 'heroes' of Flight 93.
The official story is that passengers on that fateful flight overtook their MossadBlack OpsArabIraqi?Al Qaeda! hijackers and forced them to crash into a field in Pennsylvania. But not according to Donald Rumsfeld who stated that Flight 93 was shot down by US fighter jets, which is supported by an examination of the crash site.
Now I'm not suggesting their either of the First Ladies know anything about this, or were anyway involved in a cover-up. I'm just cynical about anything that concerns the 'official' conspiracy of 9/11.
But not that I expect anyone else to be cynical. If you think that an administration that was dishonest in Florida in 2000,and lied about Iraq's WMD is being honest to you about the events of 9/11, I understand. If you think a steel frame building can be brought down by mere kerosene( the most of which burned off in the initial explosion following the crash), good for you! Just don't expect me to go all rubbery when ever some one chokes out 'hero' in a story that basic facts do not support. No matter which side of the corporate idiocracy you bring out to sell it to me.

Abe Lincoln Would Not Be Proud

The GOP for years had portrayed itself as the party of Abraham Lincoln, author of the Emancipation Proclamation. But ever since they decided to instead be the party of Reagan (whom himself was no friend to the working man), things have changed. And that's something to remember this Labor Day.
Especially when a person charged in the largest human trafficking case in US history,(that's slavery to you and I) one Mordechai Orian was also a major contributor to the Republican Party between 2004 and 2006. Curiously enough, that's when the GOP was pushing their"guest worker program".
Now I'm sure the corporate idiocracy would love to import as much slave, er, I mean, cheap labor as possible. It doesn't improve anything but the bottom line, since CEOs of the 50 firms that have laid off the most employees since the economic crisis began took home 42% more pay. Imagine how much more they could make if they didn't have to pay their remaining employees anything! Of course, that being the case, they would eventually lose their jobs because no one would be able to buy their products, but when you make $50 million in one year, how much longer do you need to work anyway.
So their you have it. So while you're out celebrating the murder of labor organizers by US marshals by grilling a steak from a non-union slaughterhouse, remember that while neither party seems too interested in watching your back, the GOP is even less likely to be concerned about your human rights as well.