March 21, 2012

American Politics is Broken

Since American government operates under our two-party federal/legislative system instead of the parliamentarian system of government that most other Western Democracies operate under, it falls on those two parties to act as moderating forces on our body politic.

Ideally, The Democratic Party is not supposed to act as a far left political party, but as a CENTER LEFT party, as is the job of the Republicans to serve as the proper CENTER RIGHT party.

For our government to operate, in spite of which party holds power, it's actually the consensus of each side which is required for its proper functioning. Without this consensus, government is gridlocked. Gridlock is never a preferable state of affairs. It falls on democratic representation to guide the operation of our government, that's why we have ELECTIONS… To allow our government to operate under the consent of the governed.

Unfortunately, our system of government is not proceeding, either in the best interests of all the citizens, nor at their behest.

Although Democrats are doing their level best to continue to play by the rules, the Right Wing has coerced the Republican Party into giving up their responsibility as a proper moderating force.

The dependency on great wealth to affect the policies and laws in our country, which can traced back to alterations of the tax code going back thirty years, through to planned irregularities heaped onto the way votes are counted and up to the present scheme to repress the voting rights of vast segments of society has exacerbated the breaking of our political system.

The mainstream media induced meme of Mitt Romney representing the moderate element of the Republican Party is a false one. From the stances that he has taken on well established civil rights issues, economic realities and just plain old common sense, he has gone out of his way to appeal to the Right Wing forces that now rule Republican ideals. The impending exit of Senator Olympia Snowe is a clarion call, signaling the death of Republican moderation. She has seen the writing on the wall and has said as much.

Seeing all of this a person should ask, why would any decent thinking person vote Republican? The GOP is apparently at war against both decency and common sense in their quest to appeal to the worst aspects of American politics. A lot of people are asking this question: Women, minorities, moderates… People who aren't stupid, racist or so hateful of President Obama and the Democrats that they'd vote for a ham sandwich if it had an "R" next to its name.

The biggest problem is that there is a large segment of Americans who are not aware that the Republicans have all but abandoned their proper role as a moderating force on the political right. These people are not demanding that the GOP correct itself. Look at any gathering of the Republican base and you'll see madness reign supreme:

What is going on here?

I have no idea how we're going to have a proper general election this coming November if one side has abandoned any semblance of sanity, but I hope that the Republic survives the process.

The partisan side of me hopes that Democrats will win, not only the White House again, but also that the Far Right becomes marginalized and out of power in Congress and state and local offices. Perhaps this will give the Republicans to reset and come to their senses.

The American people are going to have to take this bull by the horns and rein it in, or you might as well spell the doom of the United States as a properly functioning society if this cancer in our body politic is allowed to kill the patient.

March 19, 2012

I could have been Trayvon Martin.

Black males in America are looking at that slain child and are thinking, "There but for the grace of God, go I."


Justice For Trayvon.

January 26, 2012

First you start with a lie...

The lie doesn't have to be immediately disprovable, just stick with it and repeat it as many times as possible. If the truth is a problem, shape it and mold it to your advantage. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Don't worry, there will always be someone who doesn't know any better to believe you… They're EVERYWHERE!

Next you target some scapegoats. It's best to go with boogiemen who are alternately as weak and as powerful as possible. Don't go for any scapegoats in the middle. That's just plain dumb and self defeating.

About your powerful targets, make sure that they are people who are opposed to your activities mostly on principle. More opportunities for you to fantasize the worst things possible about them that way. When lying about their motivation use the worst stereotypical dog whistles. Go for the jugular. These people are "out" to get you (Even if they're really not).

It's easy to portray your enemies to blame for the very problems that your very own powerful benefactors are causing because you're intimate with the details. Your followers need someone to hate. Just make sure that they're hating the "right" people.

Remember, your benefactors are paying you well to help them out by deflecting attention away from them. Give it your best shot.

About your weak targets, they can't really defend themselves. Blame them for lots of problems that either don't exist, or those that they had absolutely nothing to do with. I mean, how often do the poor and the weak get cameras pointed at them… Not as often as you, right?

Next, find a sympathetic figure from the past and talk up your work to preserve their "legacy". Use a dead one, if possible. Living legends are too problematic. Hero worship is a great tool. The years have a way of softening all the horrible crap that they did in the past and all of the people that they stepped on to get to the top. Just like what you're doing this very moment.

Everybody loves a winner. Helping people look up to winners get is a way of helping them associate winners with you. It doesn't matter if you've had absolutely nothing in common with that person, or if they in fact, hated your guts.

Everybody LOVES a winner. Never forget that.

Play a martyr hard and long. You know that as a rich, powerful, white guy, you have no power in this world and everyone that hates you is ready to kick you in the nuts while you're down. Either that, or they're jealous of your hard work and success.

I know that it sounds confusing, don't worry, it'll work out.

Anyway, you're not a really loser, you're merely "STANDING" with the little guy. (Snicker.)

Accessorize with a trophy wife and trophy children freely, early and often. You don't have to sedate the current crew to prevent them from going off script. They'll basically behave through handling a life with you through self medication and reminders about pre nups and changing wills.

You can always trade them in for newer models later if they've become too problematic.

If any embarrassing details come out about your past, or if you say of do something incredibly stupid in the present, just blame the press for reporting it. If they're not with you by glossing over it or misrepresenting it, they're out to get you.

Make sure to make all kinds of promises that you have absolutely no intention on keeping.

Go for it and shoot for the moon. Buck that! Go for MARS!

If you're challenged in front of a camera, immediately act indignant. People watching will quickly forget how you were caught exposed to inconvenient facts and focus directly on the testy exchange instead. They won't even remember what started the argument in the first place, but they'll damn sure remember that you stood up for yourself against that unkempt ne'er do well.

If things aren't going as well for you at some stage, pick someone and START a fight. Pick people who can't defend themselves. Don't worry about looking like a bully. People who follow people like you are people who intrinsically LOVE bullies.

That's just a fact. Use it, don't lose it.

Cheat.

If you're not cheating, you're not trying hard enough to win… And winning is EVERYTHING!

And last, but not least, GET PAID.

Mistresses, country clubs, big houses, vacations and fancy cars cost money.

Why else are you in this business?




Win, lose or whatever, you'll have made your mark. If not for today, but for another day when the people are just a little more fearful, stupid and crazy to fall for someone like you and all of your well practiced bullshit.

…And that, my friends, is how you become a Goddamned Republican.

January 2, 2012

The Right Wing is always saying that America should be more conservative

…And America is already an incredibly conservative nation. I use "incredibly", because in many ways it still continues to function IN SPITE of how conservative it is. Despite our collective conservatism, on the liberal side of things, you really don't hear that we need to make America "More Liberal". It comes right down to basic differences

Put liberal and conservative politicians side-by-side, and the level of discourse is quite remarkable between the two camps.

Take the most liberal of pols like Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, He's not's saying that America isn't "liberal enough", he says that America has to work for everyone. This is typical for most so-called "liberals":

When you listen to Republican conservatives, you hear remarks about compassion for poor people being akin to some kind of evil deed. Take South Carolina Lt Governor Andre Bauer, for example. His remarks are quite amazing and at the heart of conservative thinking:



The basic language difference between liberals and conservatives couldn't be more striking.

While liberals usually make references of inclusivity and equality, conservatives are always finding ways to separate people. Separations between race, ethnicity, socio-economic class, gender, religion, sexuality, age is always featured in the language of conservatives. Differences which are always depicted as something to fear and hate.

Basically, they're afraid of EVERYTHING, even each other:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4ira7hemAXQ#t=566s

When listening to conservatives, one gets the idea that America can NEVER be conservative ENOUGH. That no amount of cruelty can ever be enough to be heaped on those unlike themselves…

Gays and the sick should just die, non-Christians should be thrown in jail, the poor should starve and their children should be sent to Dickensian orphanages and so on and so on. And many Americans, living desperate lives and fearful of their own futures and their familys' future fall for this hateful and violent rhetoric again and again. Even if it's too their OWN detriment: People who vote to restrict some perceived "liberal" evil, like voting rights or "excessive" lawsuit awards find out that those votes are against THEMSELVES.

Conservatives depend on using fear and hatred as the impetus for getting Americans to shoot themselves in their own feet. Voting for Conservatives may always be depicted as "holding the line" but it's always invariably moving twenty steps back.

Any decent person should be appalled when they listen to all the conservative Republican presidential candidates talk about what they want for America if they ever regain total control of the Federal government. The last time that had that kind of control, we almost destroyed ourselves and yet, they claim that the excesses of total Republican control were not conservative enough.

Anyone who cares for the future of America, Americans and the fate of the world around us should take care when dealing with any kind of conservative idea. They should all be rejected out of hand as nothing more than radical and destructive to all of us.

Making America "more conservative" than it is already is nothing more than an exercise in self destruction.