Delusional Paranoia Or Creeping Fascism?

Face it. While the right wing has been demonizing Islam and branding it as a cruel religion, the truth is all religion is cruel, barbaric, and just plain wrong when it's extreme (as in extremely conservative).
Here in the US, extremism takes another shape. I speak, of course, of the political religious zealotry of Sharron Angle. Known in progressive circles for spewing the fear mongering rhetoric of the right, Angle now claims there are domestic enemies in Congress, a claim she twice refused to disavow. Sure there are, Ms. Angle, they're called lobbyists. People to whom money is speech and corporations are people, their agenda is to tilt our system away from the will of the people and towards the will of the Multi-Nationals.
These are not the enemies of which Ms. Angle spoke, obviously. Unaware of the 14 characteristics of fascism, she is proving ample distraction for those whose loyalties lie not with a country, but with it's capital, taking as much as they can for themselves while left and right rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.The second Great Depression is upon us and even a college degree doesn't guarantee a good job.
So you could take Ms. Angle's paranoid delusions at face value, and believe she must have stopped taking her meds, or just conclude that she's just another rodeo clown, distracting bullish Americans from the corporate cowboys who are riding us until we are broken.

Eric Cantor Hates America

Just who does Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Tel Aviv) represent? When the Netanyahu government announced they were building more settlements during a visit by VP Joe Biden, Cantor blasted the Obama administration as 'irresponsible' on Israel. Cantor, who receives a career total of $200,730 from Pro-Israel PACs, also told President Obama to veto any UN resolution condemning Israel for it's assault on an unarmed flotilla where one American citizen was shot in the head four times.
Well, one would hope that given how much support Cantor has given Israel when it's been in the wrong, that at least he would demonstrate the same compassion for the American citizens whom he allegedly represents. Right?
Wrong.
In fact, Cantor, who opposed President Obama's economic stimulus package, has actually been betting against US Treasury Bonds.
Now I'm not a believer in Karma or anything, but it is good to know that while Cantor has been betting against his country and the people who allegedly represents, his bet is down 31%. Still, I think that it would be beneficial to our country to have it's leaders working to improve things, not hoping to get rich from the suffering of it's people. Maybe the people of Virginia will wake up and vote out a representative who doesn't want to make America a better country for all it's citizens, but I'm not going to bet on it.

Is There A Gas Bubble?

Saudi Arabia raised it's oil production following an appeal from President Bush. Of course, as Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told U.S. officials that increased output would not reduce costs at the pump for U.S. motorists as soaring prices were mainly the result of a weak dollar, speculation and tensions in oil-producing countries. Increased demand by countries like India and China (two countries that have benefited from the policies of the corpocracy) have also pushed oil prices up.
It's not that there isn't enough oil, it's because the actions of the Bush administration have created high oil prices.
The weak dollar is mainly caused by deficits, both trade and budget. While the Bush administration speaks about a strong dollar, it's actions are being interpreted by currency speculators as favoring a weak dollar. (It's kind of like how the Bush administration wants to bring peace to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but doesn't pressure Israel to give up any of the land it has taken from Palestine, or do anything about the numerous UN resolution violations Israel has been hit with.) Corporations doing business overseas benefit from the weak dollar, as well as companies buying raw materials, but the rest of us suffer, especially since a weak dollar means low sales for manufacturers, who then are forced to cut back on hiring.
Tensions in the oil-producing countries is directly caused by the Bush administration. Iraq was a needless war, with no justification found for us to invade, and our continued harassment of Iran, for exercising their rights as co-signee to the NPT, have lead to the belief that in the future, the Bush administration will invade that country as well. When and/or if that happens, oil prices will shoot through the roof, as the world's access to the oil-rich Gulf states will be compromised.
Through the nineties, the stock market, mostly the NASDAQ, saw their value increase because of what was known as the Dot-com bubble, driven, in part, by speculators and lots of available investment capital. One of the causes behind the recent housing bubble was driven in part by speculative interest in the housing market.
Now, we have rapid increase in oil prices coupled with speculation in the oil markets , with speculation adding at least $10 to $15 per barrel. So, is there a gas bubble, an artificial rise in prices caused by outside market influences?
We can cut down consumption of gas. Decreased demand will cause prices to fall. As far as easing tensions in the Middle east, the one thing that won't help is voting for John McCain. If the Bush administration hasn't already bombed Iran before the end of their term, an elected John McCain will seize his perceived mandate to go after Iran. Barack Obama has been ridiculed for using diplomacy (i.e. actually talking with regimes the Bush administration has deemed "terrorist", forgetting the Osama Bin Laden is still loose in the world), but in the end, that is what's best for easing tensions, and aiding Americans suffering under high gas prices.

The Election Is The Democrats To Blow

One of the two Democratic front runners should step down (actually, there's only one front runner and a second place person trying to redefine the rules to their advantage) not for the sake of the party, but for the sake of the country. By extending the nomination process well into June now, what with the possibility of a Michigan do over, (and trust me Senator Clinton, you will not win that) you are allowing the Republican nominee to define the issues and continue feeding right wing misinformation to the public, with a little help from the corporate media.
Even though violence has increased in Iraq and the Iraqi leadership has fallen short of goals set, John McCain is basing his campaign on foreign issues such as Iraq. Support for the war is at it's highest level since 2006, likely because the Pentagon has canceled release of a report confirming the fact that the war was based on lies. This is all information that a Democratic front runner could use, if they didn't have to spend this time fighting for a nomination that will seem less likely to win once the disinformation takes hold in the mind of the average American television watcher. And the war in Afghanistan is going so well, that NATO is approaching Russia to come to our aid, which is odd, since we originally backed the mujahedeen there to keep the Russians out.
The Democrats need to point out the collapse of the dollar, the falling stock market and the prospect of a severe recession, all products of a driving US economy driven too long with Republicans at the wheel. But they can't do that by bickering over who gets to be the nominee, statements made by supporters and other non-issues that will rapidly begin to turn off voters on either side of the party. One of the two nominees needs to be a bigger person and step aside, but unfortunately, if one of them were to do that, the one that did would probably be better suited to be our next president.
Meanwhile, John McCain can make ludicrous claims about al Qaeda trying to tip the US election, and there's no one there to call bullshit on that because they're too busy arguing over things Geraldine Ferraro or the Reverend Jeremiah Wright have said (no matter how right the reverend is)which is irrelevant to the fact that the US is no longer the greatest economy in the world

Clueless, Clueless, Clueless

In Washington DC, it's 3am everyday, and I worry because the chimp-in-charge is as clueless as a game of Password between two blind and deaf mutes. I imagine he sits around watching old war movies because he says stupid things like he would like the "romance" of fighting on the frontline in Afghanistan. I don't believe the war in Afghanistan is as cut and dried as a WWII movie with "us" (the good guys) vs. "Them" (the indigenous people fighting off a hostile occupation force)facing off across an empty field. But that's how Bush sees it. He wishes he were young enough to fight there, but when he was young enough, he opted to party down in the Texas Air Guard, rather than enjoy the "romance" of fighting at Khe San.
And with the economy quickly sliding towards a depression, Bush is urging us to go shopping and spend, spend, spend. Just like he did right after 9/11, so you know that we're in some deep shit now. That's what the rich people do to take their minds off their troubles, shop, shop, shop.Of course, with rising oil prices driving up the price of everything, most people don't have extra cash to buy, buy, buy, and those who refinanced their homes to pay off credit card debt have lost money because the value of their home dropped with the falling housing market. Nobody wants to extend themselves because their job could be gone tomorrow, and then, with the new bankruptcy laws passed by the Republicans, they'd be stuck with a debt they couldn't get out from under forever.
Then the State Department releases a report criticizing the Russian Federation for human rights abuses. Hell? Our Congress just voted to make waterboarding okay, and we're complaining about human rights abuses there? How about a government that spies on it's citizens? The report goes on:

Security forces reportedly engaged in killings, torture, abuse, violence, and other brutal or humiliating treatment, often with impunity. Hazing in the armed forces resulted in severe injuries and deaths. Prison conditions were harsh and frequently life threatening; law enforcement was often corrupt; and the executive branch allegedly exerted influence over judicial decisions in some high‑profile cases.

Government pressure continued to weaken freedom of expression and media independence, particularly of the major television networks.he government restricted media freedom through direct ownership of media outlets, influencing the owners of major outlets, and harassing and intimidating journalists into practicing self-censorship. Local governments tried to limit freedom of assembly, and police sometimes used violence to prevent groups from engaging in peaceful protest. The government used the law on extremism to limit freedom of expression and association. Government restrictions on religious groups were a problem in some regions. There were incidents of discrimination, harassment, and violence against religious and ethnic minorities.

Maybe you should work to fix these problems at home before you start pointing the finger at other people. Double standards are for hypocrites, and you'd be their King.

You Have Been Played

The US is concerned because China has increased it's defense budget by 17 percent because it's unclear as to what China's intentions are. Even with the Chinese increase, it is still but a fraction of what we spend on our defense budget ourselves. We spend nearly as much as the rest of the world combined does on our military, and yet, we are still worried about national security in this election.
The economy is slipping into a recession, the dollar is falling as the price of oil rises, and all any of our presidential candidates can use to mobilize voters is fear. Not fear that the economy is in rubble, but fear of attacks from people with no standing armies on the other side of the world. People, you have been played.
Since we are outspending the rest of the world on security, we should be fairly secure, whether it's a high noon or three o'clock in the morning. If we are not, than we are spending way too much money on a system with no guarantees. The US is involved in two wars, fighting the alleged enemy, which has not made of safer than we were before the wars, and has, in fact attracted more people to the cause of the "Islamofascist". These wars, which were supposed to be relatively cheap(around $60 billion, according to administration officials) has actually cost us trillions of dollars. They are a drain on our economy and yet not one single presidential front runner has suggested we end these boondoggled quagmires.
There is one candidate who thinks we should cut the huge, bloated, wasteful military budget, or that we should reverse U.S. policy in the Middle East. Unfortunately, the nation of television-watchers, with their minds turned to mush from being fed a diet of constant fear are being herded like lambs to slaughter by the corpocracy's lesser of two evil strategies that will have people actually not voting for a decent candidate with good ideas, but against a candidate with whom they do not like.
Suckers.

Who To Believe...........

In crisis management, the first step is admitting there is a problem. The second step is indentifying the cause of the problem. Of course, if you have caused the problem yourself, the first thing you do is deny there is a problem, or try to blame others for the problem that doesn't exist.
Our president denies there is a problem, or that it's not as big of a problem as we're being led to believe. Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says there is a problem, caused in part by the war in Iraq. So who do you believe? An imbecile who can't open his mouth without letting a plethora of untruths fly forth, or a respected economist. Hmmm. That is a poser.
This really illustrates the disparity between the two Americas. On the one hand, there's the billionaires who are making money in this economy, and they don't really feel the pinch of $3+ a gallon gas and rising prices for everything else, then there's people who work everyday and have to figure out how to make do with less because some greedy bastard doesn't have enough yet. And that's a situation that's not going to change until we get a government that works for everybody.

"But, Hey, Defense Contractors Are Making Money. Wait, You Mean There Are Americans Not Employed By The Military-Industrial Complex?"

So George Bush thinks the war in Iraq has nothing to do with the economy. This chimp faced chump couldn't buy a clue if he was the only bidder at a clue auction. Not that anyone expects him to admit to any of his numerous failings, in his mind the economy's doing swell.
Let me spell it out for you, Mr. Presnit: The war in Iraq has increased the budget deficit. Deficits mean the government has to print up more dollars, which in turn makes those dollars worth less than before by virtue of the fact there's more of them floating around. That increases inflation, and if you don't think prices are going up, you haven't been to a grocery store recently.
The war in Iraq has also increased instability in the Middle East. This coupled with your threats against Iran have driven up the price of a barrel of oil. Higher oil prices means Americans are paying more at the pump. In the last three years, gas prices have doubled. Paying more for gas means people have less to spend on other things, which in turn has led to slower retail sales. That in turn leads to lay-offs, etc., etc.
So never mind that most Americans think that leaving Iraq would boost the economy, even though most Americans have a higher capacity for intelligence than you. You are like a fart in a stiff wind, you're talking out of your ass and your breath probably stinks as well.

Sometimes Someone's There To Make Mike Huckabee Seem Plausible

I'm always alternately amused amazed and angered when I read an account following the latest Republican debate. Amused as they fall all over each other in an attempt to appeal to their base by offering the biggest tax cuts in history. Which then makes me angered as I realize that the tax cuts are what has lead us down the road to Deficitville, one of the reasons the economy is stinking like Dick Cheney's undisclosed location after a particularly long weekend of heightened terror alerts. But mostly I'm amazed at the almost willful display of ignorance being offered to those who would vote Republican.Usually the most amazing statements are made by unbrainwashed's own personal whipping boy, Rudy "I-couldn't-beat-a-carpetbagging-Hillary-in-my-own-state-how-will-I-beat-her-in-a-national-race-why-am-I-still-in-the-race-when=I-haven't-placed-in-a-single-primary-America's-mayor-Mr.-9/11" Ghouliani. In another bold display of bad decision making in the face of contrary analysis, Mr. 9/11 Man made this naive statement:

"I see 20 or 30 million people coming out of poverty in China every year," said Guiliani. "To me, that's 20 or 30 million more customers for the United States."

And what, pray tell, does Rudolph propose we sell to China? I'm sure he sees it as an opportunity to sell them more of his wonderful "consulting" capabilities, but the for the rest of the country, most of the things that our corporations sell are made in China to begin with, how does that create jobs?
Amazing!

There Goes The Housing Bubble

The Commerce Department reported that housing sales declined sharply in February, following a 15.8 percent decline in January. Median housing prices fell to $250,000, and foreclosures are on the rise. Meanwhile, Republicans tell us the economy is "booming" under Bush, but the reality is the subprime mortgage crisis could hurt the economy. (Which, as Bernie Sanders put it is really only booming for one percent of the population.
Housing prices are not falling in the west, however, as most people are seeking to leave the rust belt for places where there will actually be jobs in the future. I eman jobs where you can actually afford a $250,000 median priced house.