About 140 years ago, following the Civil War, Northern businessmen flocked to the South with carpetbags, prepared (so Southerners thought) to loot and plunder the defeated South -- to the victor belongs the spoils. These carpetbaggers bought up the land at huge discounts to the land's former value, and then expected to reap huge profits in cotton with the help of the former slaves, now free men. Most of these "businessmen" never developed a love for the land, like its previous owners had from birth, and subsequently hung on to the land just long enough to turn a nice profit. They took their quickly gotten gains and headed elsewhere, changing little, but upping the cost of business for everyone else who followed them.
Is this starting to sound familiar?
Today's carpetbaggers have not been trading in land. Today's "land" is now virtual real estate in the sense that what is being traded is not the physical property but the mortgage attached to the property - the financial instrument. Today's carpetbaggers went to Wall Street with bags full of mortgages all bundled together, and generated huge commissions based upon the cash flow assumed to be forthcoming from these mortgages. Where the banking community erred was in assuming that there would be an endless supply of able buyers supplying these cash flows. After all, during the period when all this creative financing was making lots of people millions of dollars, if a buyer had trouble meeting his payments he simply turned the property over to another buyer and more paper was created. This paper took the form of second and third mortgages and balloon payments, and a plethora of new and esoteric financial instruments, all based on a forever upward price spiral in real estate. After each "turnover" everyone involved helped themselves to profits and commissions, and even cash back to the purchaser on closing.
Where this ends up is where we are now. The carpetbaggers have sold their bundles of mortgages and moved on with their millions (billions), and the rest of us get left with their empty bag. It is too bad that the money these financial geniuses and masterminds made isn't as virtual as the financial house of cards they built and are selling to the taxpayer. What sickens me is the fact that all the phony profit these people made is being turned into real money as we speak, by the government. Private profits turned into public losses. For shame, for shame.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Republican Political Savvy At Work
American Political Savvy?
Out from the Alaskan wilderness comes a former beauty queen (runner-up) to the second highest office in the land. Are you kidding me? This stroke of brilliance from the Republican masterminds is a sleight-of-hand worthy of David Copperfield. A party which has recently failed this country in every measure of merit common to industrial nations, and done so in opposition to the wishes of the public it governs, has successfully diverted public attention from the major issues facing our country. This speaks volumes about the public’s political savvy. I am in awe of the fact that a Republican candidate who has voted for the reckless policies of the Bush administration 90% of the time can manage to distance himself from the results of those policies.
While the middle class has seen a drastic erosion of their real incomes, their standard of living, and their net worth and security (most middle-class American wealth is tied to the value of their home) the top 2% of the nation’s wealthiest people and corporations are still receiving bailouts and tax breaks. It further astounds me that the people most negatively affected by the costs of unending wars and unconscionable price manipulations on the part of the oil barons would even consider electing someone closely associated with these disasters.
It is beginning to look like the democrats’ decision to overlook Hillary Clinton for Obama’s running mate might be a fatal one. Americans seem to be more interested in a pretty face at the podium than in the war, the economy, education or health care. So be it. We get the government we deserve.
But wait! Breaking news! The Bush policy of laissez-faire with regard to corporate financial responsibility is actually making news again. As a few more of our oldest, largest, and most respected institutions crumble, Wall Street takes the worst beating since 9/11/01. This, unlike oil prices, won’t have as much impact on the middle class. It is America’s wealthiest who suffer most from collapsing stock market prices. If the current administration’s fiscal policies carry forward to the next administration, more government bailouts of private institutions will undoubtedly be necessary.
Maybe this latest example of the disastrous Bush years will refocus the public on how we got here. In a few short months we will have our answer. Hopefully sanity will prevail and the middle class will have looked past lipstick and rhetoric. Our national focus will move away from the acquisition of obsolete and environmentally harmful energy sources by any means possible, including more war. With a responsible and forward thinking administration we can develop those resources we have an abundance of here in the good old USA; like sunshine, propane, and clean nuclear and coal power.
One final note. It is a real possibility that McCain could have health issues. In spite of the fact that he is in the tightest race in his political career, he has managed to take ample time off and uses weekends to recoup. He is likely to be the last person in politics to accept a 3 a.m. phone call. His age must be considered. If, God forbid, he should succumb to the pressures he inherits from his predecessor, Sarah Palin will step up to the plate. The fate of the free world would then, theoretically, rest in the hands of a prolific soccer mom.
PS: Anyone who thinks a hawk like McCain will back off our military spending to save the economy needs a reality check.
Out from the Alaskan wilderness comes a former beauty queen (runner-up) to the second highest office in the land. Are you kidding me? This stroke of brilliance from the Republican masterminds is a sleight-of-hand worthy of David Copperfield. A party which has recently failed this country in every measure of merit common to industrial nations, and done so in opposition to the wishes of the public it governs, has successfully diverted public attention from the major issues facing our country. This speaks volumes about the public’s political savvy. I am in awe of the fact that a Republican candidate who has voted for the reckless policies of the Bush administration 90% of the time can manage to distance himself from the results of those policies.
While the middle class has seen a drastic erosion of their real incomes, their standard of living, and their net worth and security (most middle-class American wealth is tied to the value of their home) the top 2% of the nation’s wealthiest people and corporations are still receiving bailouts and tax breaks. It further astounds me that the people most negatively affected by the costs of unending wars and unconscionable price manipulations on the part of the oil barons would even consider electing someone closely associated with these disasters.
It is beginning to look like the democrats’ decision to overlook Hillary Clinton for Obama’s running mate might be a fatal one. Americans seem to be more interested in a pretty face at the podium than in the war, the economy, education or health care. So be it. We get the government we deserve.
But wait! Breaking news! The Bush policy of laissez-faire with regard to corporate financial responsibility is actually making news again. As a few more of our oldest, largest, and most respected institutions crumble, Wall Street takes the worst beating since 9/11/01. This, unlike oil prices, won’t have as much impact on the middle class. It is America’s wealthiest who suffer most from collapsing stock market prices. If the current administration’s fiscal policies carry forward to the next administration, more government bailouts of private institutions will undoubtedly be necessary.
Maybe this latest example of the disastrous Bush years will refocus the public on how we got here. In a few short months we will have our answer. Hopefully sanity will prevail and the middle class will have looked past lipstick and rhetoric. Our national focus will move away from the acquisition of obsolete and environmentally harmful energy sources by any means possible, including more war. With a responsible and forward thinking administration we can develop those resources we have an abundance of here in the good old USA; like sunshine, propane, and clean nuclear and coal power.
One final note. It is a real possibility that McCain could have health issues. In spite of the fact that he is in the tightest race in his political career, he has managed to take ample time off and uses weekends to recoup. He is likely to be the last person in politics to accept a 3 a.m. phone call. His age must be considered. If, God forbid, he should succumb to the pressures he inherits from his predecessor, Sarah Palin will step up to the plate. The fate of the free world would then, theoretically, rest in the hands of a prolific soccer mom.
PS: Anyone who thinks a hawk like McCain will back off our military spending to save the economy needs a reality check.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Surprise -- Surprise
Currently C-SPAN is covering a hearing in the House of Representatives on the resolution by Dennis Kucinich to impeach the president. As everyone should be aware of by now, the president has been using the highest office in the land to sanction illegal activities such as torture and phone taps. He has subverted the Constitution and allowed (encouraged perhaps) subordinates in his administration to break the law. He has then provided shelter to the perpetrators through the use of presidential privilege. (Take Karl Rove for example.) He has done this without fear of prosecution since, by law, a sitting president cannot be prosecuted for anything while in office. The only remedy available to the citizens of this country to address malfeasance by our leaders is to impeach them after the fact. It is extremely unlikely we will see anything of this nature take place within the limited time left to George Bush.
Here is the surprise. After listening to the proceedings, I learned that the minute the President is no longer president he can be prosecuted for any crimes committed during his administration. On several occasions in the past (Nixon and Agnew come to mind) officials have been threatened or were prosecuted only to be pardoned by the next administration. The thinking behind the pardons, I guess, is that the satisfaction the public would receive by seeing the crooks convicted is overshadowed by the disgrace to the nation and the blow to our national pride. Can you imagine Bush defending himself on a charge of murder, as some in Congress are suggesting, for the torture deaths of several alleged terrorists while in US custody?
This time might be different. Of course, if McCain were to be elected, any course of action against people in the Bush administration will be squashed. Or if Congress insisted on prosecution, the perps would undoubtedly be pardoned. However, Obama might be inclined to stand back and allow events to take their course. Congress is royally teed off at Bush for his outright lies and policies of secrecy, and seems inclined to blame the executive branch for much of the public's loss of confidence in the legislature. Obama, I believe, would be sensitive to their position and would not be inclined to thwart their effort to restore the public trust. After all, he needs their support if he hopes to accomplish anything during his administration.
It is ironic that the president, while attempting to subvert many of our constitutional safeguards, hides behind them. We need to send a clear and strong message forward that Congress and the public will not tolerate abuses of law by our elected officials. If I were Bush I would be quaking in my boots.
What say you, fellow citizens, to these amazing developments?
Here is the surprise. After listening to the proceedings, I learned that the minute the President is no longer president he can be prosecuted for any crimes committed during his administration. On several occasions in the past (Nixon and Agnew come to mind) officials have been threatened or were prosecuted only to be pardoned by the next administration. The thinking behind the pardons, I guess, is that the satisfaction the public would receive by seeing the crooks convicted is overshadowed by the disgrace to the nation and the blow to our national pride. Can you imagine Bush defending himself on a charge of murder, as some in Congress are suggesting, for the torture deaths of several alleged terrorists while in US custody?
This time might be different. Of course, if McCain were to be elected, any course of action against people in the Bush administration will be squashed. Or if Congress insisted on prosecution, the perps would undoubtedly be pardoned. However, Obama might be inclined to stand back and allow events to take their course. Congress is royally teed off at Bush for his outright lies and policies of secrecy, and seems inclined to blame the executive branch for much of the public's loss of confidence in the legislature. Obama, I believe, would be sensitive to their position and would not be inclined to thwart their effort to restore the public trust. After all, he needs their support if he hopes to accomplish anything during his administration.
It is ironic that the president, while attempting to subvert many of our constitutional safeguards, hides behind them. We need to send a clear and strong message forward that Congress and the public will not tolerate abuses of law by our elected officials. If I were Bush I would be quaking in my boots.
What say you, fellow citizens, to these amazing developments?
Monday, June 2, 2008
Who is the “Root of all Evil”?
Corrupt politicians or corrupt billionaires?
Four decades ago we experienced a huge run up in the price of precious metals, and in particular, the price of silver. Silver futures reached into an unheard of and totally unwarranted $80 price range from a normal $4 price. Based upon normal market factors, like supply and demand, the value of the dollar, and world stability this run up made no sense. What turned out to be behind the extraordinary run up was a pair of oil billionaires, the Hunt brothers. They determined that the float in silver futures was small enough for them to gain a monopoly. They gave it the old “college try”, and nearly succeeded. But the US government stepped in at the last minute to save the day. The treasury released enough stockpiled silver bullion to pop the Hunt’s balloon. Since the Hunts were borrowing money to finance their diabolical plot they nearly caused a major bank failure in the process.
Next we saw a real estate boom financed by greedy bankers and real estate speculators. This has also required a government bail out. Could these scenarios possibly be precursors to today’s commodities manipulations? According to the Saudis they are producing enough oil to satisfy current world demand. Russia has moved into second place among the world’s oil producers and is providing for the large increase in demand in Southeast Asia, by way of a pipeline project similar to the Alaskan pipeline. The decline in the dollar is miniscule, when related to the increase in oil prices. All is quiet on the world stage with the exception of our unwanted intrusion into the Middle East. So absent any fundamental factors which could be responsible for the current price of oil, we are left with market manipulation by commodities billionaires. (The names may change but the irresponsible nature of the greedy remains the same). It appears that without our government stepping in and dumping huge reserves of oil on the market from its strategic stockpiles, manipulators will enrich themselves yet again at the expense of people who can least afford it.
As to corrupt politicians, consider this. Do you suppose this unprecedented run-up in oil prices could have occurred if we didn’t have an “oil ticket” benefiting directly from and facilitating the manipulators? First they stirred up the world’s major oil suppliers like Venezuela and the Middle East. Secondly, they have done nothing from a legislative point of view such as eliminating tax breaks to profiteers and spreading that wealth around, or dumping oil on the markets to depress prices.
For me the answer seems obvious. Big government, together with big business, is acting without a conscience to conspire to hold the world hostage to their will and egos. Corrupt politicians, together with corrupt billionaires, are the root of all evil. And the world’s poor and starving can’t afford to put rice in their bowls or purchase a loaf of bread for their table. For shame, for shame.
Bob Parmelee www.parmsplace.com
Four decades ago we experienced a huge run up in the price of precious metals, and in particular, the price of silver. Silver futures reached into an unheard of and totally unwarranted $80 price range from a normal $4 price. Based upon normal market factors, like supply and demand, the value of the dollar, and world stability this run up made no sense. What turned out to be behind the extraordinary run up was a pair of oil billionaires, the Hunt brothers. They determined that the float in silver futures was small enough for them to gain a monopoly. They gave it the old “college try”, and nearly succeeded. But the US government stepped in at the last minute to save the day. The treasury released enough stockpiled silver bullion to pop the Hunt’s balloon. Since the Hunts were borrowing money to finance their diabolical plot they nearly caused a major bank failure in the process.
Next we saw a real estate boom financed by greedy bankers and real estate speculators. This has also required a government bail out. Could these scenarios possibly be precursors to today’s commodities manipulations? According to the Saudis they are producing enough oil to satisfy current world demand. Russia has moved into second place among the world’s oil producers and is providing for the large increase in demand in Southeast Asia, by way of a pipeline project similar to the Alaskan pipeline. The decline in the dollar is miniscule, when related to the increase in oil prices. All is quiet on the world stage with the exception of our unwanted intrusion into the Middle East. So absent any fundamental factors which could be responsible for the current price of oil, we are left with market manipulation by commodities billionaires. (The names may change but the irresponsible nature of the greedy remains the same). It appears that without our government stepping in and dumping huge reserves of oil on the market from its strategic stockpiles, manipulators will enrich themselves yet again at the expense of people who can least afford it.
As to corrupt politicians, consider this. Do you suppose this unprecedented run-up in oil prices could have occurred if we didn’t have an “oil ticket” benefiting directly from and facilitating the manipulators? First they stirred up the world’s major oil suppliers like Venezuela and the Middle East. Secondly, they have done nothing from a legislative point of view such as eliminating tax breaks to profiteers and spreading that wealth around, or dumping oil on the markets to depress prices.
For me the answer seems obvious. Big government, together with big business, is acting without a conscience to conspire to hold the world hostage to their will and egos. Corrupt politicians, together with corrupt billionaires, are the root of all evil. And the world’s poor and starving can’t afford to put rice in their bowls or purchase a loaf of bread for their table. For shame, for shame.
Bob Parmelee www.parmsplace.com
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Can We Be Bribed?
After enjoying the lowest approval rating in the nation's history, can both the Congress and the president buy their way back into the public’s favor? The proposed one-time tax refund of 600 dollars per person or 1200 dollars per household is designed to accomplish exactly that. Are we really that gullible? Can we really be expected to forgive all the lying, favoritism, and corruption perpetrated by this administration? After leading us into war and driving the nation into a recession, they propose to give the taxpayers some of their money back. Let us not forget that in order to give money back to us, they have to take it from us in the first place. And let us not forget, if it weren’t for this administration wasting trillions of dollars on an illegal, immoral, and unpopular war in the first place, we wouldn’t be on the brink of a financial meltdown.
$160 billion. It sounds like a lot of money. However, if we look at the Bush/Cheney welfare to Halliburton program it is a drop in the bucket. According to a recent Bill Moyers exposé, 200 billion dollars of the 400 billion dollars billed by Halliburton to the American taxpayer has disappeared. By disappeared I don’t mean failed to show up in Halliburton’s account. I mean disappeared as in the services billed to and paid for by the government were never performed. Buildings billed and paid for were never built. Outrageous double or triple billing for products and services were never reimbursed, or credits issued. In a recent investigation by a Senate panel concerning financial irregularities Condoleezza Rice attributed these disappearing funds to "accounting" errors. It is incredible to imagine waging a war on a cost-plus basis. Earmarks to other favored capital gangsters are rising to outrageous levels. Theft, by any other name, is still theft. Isn’t it?
Most economists agree that this proposed "stimulus package” won’t stimulate anything. Because businessmen realize the bubble is of short duration, they won't be adding payroll or capacity to plants. It is fair to say a portion will go to paying down personal debt, which won’t stimulate anything either. All this measure really does is drive up the nation's debt. According to Bloomberg analysts, this president has the nation on cruise control straight over a cliff. If anyone in the private sector proposed such a reckless policy, they would be on their way to an institution and fitted for a strait jacket.
We used to be able to tell the bandits from the good guys because the bandits had the decency to wear masks. Now the bandits are leading our nation and stealing us blind with the tacit approval of congress. Since the modern-day Bonnie and Clyde's are above the law they plunder and pillage at will. Unfortunately the scope of the nation's greedy plunderers extends around the globe. Because the country gets no benefit from the exploitation of our treasury, the value of the dollar is in steep decline around planet. Because our dollar is still the Globe's primary currency we are taking the rest of the world down with us. And consider the irony of needing Chinese AND Arab money to bail us out!
Now the administration is proposing the largest federal budget of all time, at a time when we can least afford it. A large portion of this budget will go to increasing this war effort and increasing military spending. While the world should be at peace, this pugnacious administration is creating an ever larger war machine and using it to invade sovereign nations without proven provocation. At the same time they propose cutting popular programs like Medicare and Social Security and other social programs like health care and education cost relief for the nations’ poorest children. The third Reich mentality couldn't possibly have arisen again, could it?
More articles of this nature can be seen at Black Belt Politics by going to
http://www.parmsplace.com
$160 billion. It sounds like a lot of money. However, if we look at the Bush/Cheney welfare to Halliburton program it is a drop in the bucket. According to a recent Bill Moyers exposé, 200 billion dollars of the 400 billion dollars billed by Halliburton to the American taxpayer has disappeared. By disappeared I don’t mean failed to show up in Halliburton’s account. I mean disappeared as in the services billed to and paid for by the government were never performed. Buildings billed and paid for were never built. Outrageous double or triple billing for products and services were never reimbursed, or credits issued. In a recent investigation by a Senate panel concerning financial irregularities Condoleezza Rice attributed these disappearing funds to "accounting" errors. It is incredible to imagine waging a war on a cost-plus basis. Earmarks to other favored capital gangsters are rising to outrageous levels. Theft, by any other name, is still theft. Isn’t it?
Most economists agree that this proposed "stimulus package” won’t stimulate anything. Because businessmen realize the bubble is of short duration, they won't be adding payroll or capacity to plants. It is fair to say a portion will go to paying down personal debt, which won’t stimulate anything either. All this measure really does is drive up the nation's debt. According to Bloomberg analysts, this president has the nation on cruise control straight over a cliff. If anyone in the private sector proposed such a reckless policy, they would be on their way to an institution and fitted for a strait jacket.
We used to be able to tell the bandits from the good guys because the bandits had the decency to wear masks. Now the bandits are leading our nation and stealing us blind with the tacit approval of congress. Since the modern-day Bonnie and Clyde's are above the law they plunder and pillage at will. Unfortunately the scope of the nation's greedy plunderers extends around the globe. Because the country gets no benefit from the exploitation of our treasury, the value of the dollar is in steep decline around planet. Because our dollar is still the Globe's primary currency we are taking the rest of the world down with us. And consider the irony of needing Chinese AND Arab money to bail us out!
Now the administration is proposing the largest federal budget of all time, at a time when we can least afford it. A large portion of this budget will go to increasing this war effort and increasing military spending. While the world should be at peace, this pugnacious administration is creating an ever larger war machine and using it to invade sovereign nations without proven provocation. At the same time they propose cutting popular programs like Medicare and Social Security and other social programs like health care and education cost relief for the nations’ poorest children. The third Reich mentality couldn't possibly have arisen again, could it?
More articles of this nature can be seen at Black Belt Politics by going to
http://www.parmsplace.com
Friday, May 23, 2008
How should we spell relief?
I, for one, spell relief as the end of the Bush/Cheney "oil ticket" reign of terror. If the rumors, founded on "leaks" in the White House to Andrew Cockburn of "Counterpunch", are correct, the gruesome twosome have signed a secret finding authorizing a covert offensive against Iran, among others, unprecedented in scope. Bush's secret directive covers actions across a huge geographic area stretching from Lebanon to Afghanistan and includes strategic assassinations of targeted officials. The source for these assertions comes from a former official on the National Security Council.
According to CBS sources, the State Department is at work drafting an ultimatum to Iran demanding they cease all current activities in Iraq. The fact that allegations of Iran's involvement in Iraq have never been proven seems of no concern to a man whose policies are based more on faith than fact. A curious side benefit to the most ridiculous foreign policy in this nation's history is a near bankruptcy of Citigroup, the world's largest financial services company. This company avoided immediate ruin by selling an 11% interest to, are you ready for this, the Arabs. The fact that a direct result of the war in the Middle East has driven oil prices to the point where major industries, airlines and trucking to mention just two, are on the verge of collapse, hasn't dawned on the war hawks yet. As higher oil prices put ever larger chunks of American capital in Arab hands, the Arab countries turn around and buy ever larger chunks of America.
Could we possibly be doing anything stupider or more damaging to our country than continuing, let alone increasing, our involvement in the middle east?
According to CBS sources, the State Department is at work drafting an ultimatum to Iran demanding they cease all current activities in Iraq. The fact that allegations of Iran's involvement in Iraq have never been proven seems of no concern to a man whose policies are based more on faith than fact. A curious side benefit to the most ridiculous foreign policy in this nation's history is a near bankruptcy of Citigroup, the world's largest financial services company. This company avoided immediate ruin by selling an 11% interest to, are you ready for this, the Arabs. The fact that a direct result of the war in the Middle East has driven oil prices to the point where major industries, airlines and trucking to mention just two, are on the verge of collapse, hasn't dawned on the war hawks yet. As higher oil prices put ever larger chunks of American capital in Arab hands, the Arab countries turn around and buy ever larger chunks of America.
Could we possibly be doing anything stupider or more damaging to our country than continuing, let alone increasing, our involvement in the middle east?
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Who is telling the truth?
marshall mcluhanWho is telling the truth?
Except for the liars, everyone is.
Unfortunately, we all view history through the lens of our own upbringing. An ever-changing kaleidoscope of world events refracts the “truth” into a thousand prisms. We each eventually pick a point of view of the world which is most pleasing, or least terrifying, to ourselves. That view is focused and shaped by what we see and read daily.
Saul Bellow once said about the media, “nobody will be heard, who doesn’t speak in short bursts of truth”. Bill Moyers recently reflected that news people need to speak in “bumper sticker” snippets to hold our attention. Media mavens have seven seconds to grab us and make an impression before we are “gone” and on to something else mentally.
It would be simple arithmetic to hold the media responsible for our loss of depth perception. But that would be wrong. We are conditioned to accept specially crafted sound bytes. Marshall McLuhan, back in the 70’s, wrote a blockbuster book exposing the medium as the message. People have always had a tendency to view what they read as “truth, so help me God”. Today people view what they see as the “truth”. But as the written word is just a sound byte, the video is just an action byte, and only as real as we perceive it to be.
Here is a case in point. The Bush administration focused our attention on terrorism after 9/11 and in true Barnum and Bailey sleight of hand switched our focus to Iraq. Although one had nothing to do with the other, we followed the sound bytes and believed the video clips, and “agreed” Iraq needed to be punished. Most recently, a concerted military effort has been made to link the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq to Iran. Over 20,000 weapons were assembled from various armed engagements, and military experts were tasked to find a link back to the source -- Iran. Of course, no tangible link exists. But many will follow this “sleight-of-hand” maneuver and accept the inevitability of a war with Iran.
We would do well to remember a former writer named Len de Caux, who said in “Armies Of The Poor”: “Sometimes I’d hear a Communist speaker say something so bitter and extreme I’d feel embarrassed. Then I’d look around at the unemployed audience -- shabby clothes, expressions worried and sour. Faces would start to glow, heads to nod, and hands to clap.” So here we are again, and to the thousands who protested before the war began and the hundreds of thousands since, the Bush administration says, more or less, “So?” Well, my face is glowing, my head is nodding, and I’m clapping my hands! And I am no communist.
Governments of the wealthy, by the wealthy, and for the wealthy are never sustainable; such empires always fall from within. The wealthy have been leading this charge over the cliff with their golden parachutes and laser guided bombs. Hopefully we will learn that arrogance and greed have no place in a democracy. And we will reorganize ourselves accordingly.
Except for the liars, everyone is.
Unfortunately, we all view history through the lens of our own upbringing. An ever-changing kaleidoscope of world events refracts the “truth” into a thousand prisms. We each eventually pick a point of view of the world which is most pleasing, or least terrifying, to ourselves. That view is focused and shaped by what we see and read daily.
Saul Bellow once said about the media, “nobody will be heard, who doesn’t speak in short bursts of truth”. Bill Moyers recently reflected that news people need to speak in “bumper sticker” snippets to hold our attention. Media mavens have seven seconds to grab us and make an impression before we are “gone” and on to something else mentally.
It would be simple arithmetic to hold the media responsible for our loss of depth perception. But that would be wrong. We are conditioned to accept specially crafted sound bytes. Marshall McLuhan, back in the 70’s, wrote a blockbuster book exposing the medium as the message. People have always had a tendency to view what they read as “truth, so help me God”. Today people view what they see as the “truth”. But as the written word is just a sound byte, the video is just an action byte, and only as real as we perceive it to be.
Here is a case in point. The Bush administration focused our attention on terrorism after 9/11 and in true Barnum and Bailey sleight of hand switched our focus to Iraq. Although one had nothing to do with the other, we followed the sound bytes and believed the video clips, and “agreed” Iraq needed to be punished. Most recently, a concerted military effort has been made to link the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq to Iran. Over 20,000 weapons were assembled from various armed engagements, and military experts were tasked to find a link back to the source -- Iran. Of course, no tangible link exists. But many will follow this “sleight-of-hand” maneuver and accept the inevitability of a war with Iran.
We would do well to remember a former writer named Len de Caux, who said in “Armies Of The Poor”: “Sometimes I’d hear a Communist speaker say something so bitter and extreme I’d feel embarrassed. Then I’d look around at the unemployed audience -- shabby clothes, expressions worried and sour. Faces would start to glow, heads to nod, and hands to clap.” So here we are again, and to the thousands who protested before the war began and the hundreds of thousands since, the Bush administration says, more or less, “So?” Well, my face is glowing, my head is nodding, and I’m clapping my hands! And I am no communist.
Governments of the wealthy, by the wealthy, and for the wealthy are never sustainable; such empires always fall from within. The wealthy have been leading this charge over the cliff with their golden parachutes and laser guided bombs. Hopefully we will learn that arrogance and greed have no place in a democracy. And we will reorganize ourselves accordingly.
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