Relentless Purpose -- my populist rant

[JMDEM]

The story of the Republican party since 1975 can be summed up in one phrase: Relentless Purpose.

It has nothing to do with the health, wealth, or well-being of the USA. It has everything to do with strengthening the Republican Party. Every appointment, every vote, every voter registration law, every judicial appointment, every re-apportionment, every law passed by Republicans has had this goal at the forefront.

Take over the media
Bust the unions
Weaken public education, making for a dumber, gullible populace
Weaken laws that protect the masses
Strengthen laws that make the strong even stronger
Massive corporate welfare
NO public welfare
Raid the SSI coffers
Raid State coffers, such as the California State Employee's union

You think these people give a rat's ass about abortion? They'll send their daughters to Europe, regardless of what happens here. You think they give a rat's ass about education? They all send their kids to private schools. Gay issues? Hey, it's okay to be gay if you are "on the inside", but heaven forbid you be gay outside the fraternal order. You think they give a rat's ass about religion? The only religion they know is money and power.

We all grew up with this crap. Insiders versus the outsiders. The "in-group" versus the "not-so-cools". The in-group has the inside track on all the scams coming down. The "not-so-cools" get their lunch money fleeced in all the scams. Unfortunately, it's human nature.

I mean everything is a scam to these people. Katrina was turned into a scam. Enron was a scam resulting in billions lost to the Democratic stronghold of California and the amazing feat of installing a Republican Governor (and a Republican SS) in a heavily Democratic state. The prison system has become a scam. The "war on drugs" is a scam. And of course the two biggest scams are Iraq and health care.

So how do they keep getting away with it? I'm not sure, but the Dems have been somewhat poor at sticking to their messages. Do we have a vision? Do we have a coherent vision? Or do we spend all our time deflecting the flag-cross-in-your-face Republican bogus vision?

A vision seems so simple to me. We invigorate the US industry to attack the energy crisis head-on. We invest in research, development, and production of alternative energy sources. Wind generators. Next generation battery technology. Next-generation solar cells. Solar energy farms in the deserts. New energy storage devices such as 100,000 rpm carbon fiber flywheels to store up the solar or wind energy during off-peaks. Hydrogen-generating platforms in the oceans that convert wind power to stored hydrogen and oxygen. Bullet-trains. Carbon credits for reducing emissions and planting trees. Solar panels on every house, at least to heat water. $100 million dollar rewards for workable technologies that significantly reduce global warming. Jobs jobs jobs. Income income income. A strong, vital, and self-sustaining economy.

And no more foreign oil.

Simultaneously, we move back to the small to medium sized farmer for meat, dairy, and crops. No more agri-business. No more genetically engineered crops. No more hormones in our milk or meat. The land would be used in a manner that is at least twice as efficient as it currently is, with a far lower pollution profile. Not to speak of the jobs created -- jobs in a lifestyle that many people would still prefer to live, if possible.

We have vast resources of research potential available in the Universities. Grad students work cheap. They land grants -- produce things of great value, and the Universities then get a cut, along with industry. Universities get richer, supply cheaper education, and further improve their ability to do research. Grad students are happy because they get to spend a few more years avoiding real life :). Industry is happy. People are happy because more jobs are created AT HOME. If the grants fail to produce productive research at a given school, they go to other schools.

SO why don't we go this route? Why don't we make our vision clear? Because Dems are bought off too? Quite Possibly. But JC -- there is more than enough for EVERYONE if it is done right. This greed is consuming its own. And pretty soon it will consume everything so there's nothing left for anyone. Even the richest will bake and/or starve and or become victims one way or the other of the global warming crisis that is staring us all in the face.

A vision is a simple thing to project. We need to start projecting the best vision we can for our future -- a vision that benefits everyone.

[JMDEM]

1. I guess the short synopsis of this is...

America is being plundered, and we don't seem to be able to stop it, or even slow it down. How sad...

[Uncle Joe]

2. I've always thought of the Internet it self as populist in nature.

Anybody and everybody from the poorest to the wealthiest can contribute and their ideas can be upheld or shot down based on the merits. While this sounds like a grand idea, I believe this also creates powerful enemies; those who prefer the top down one way filter of disseminating information. Regardless of whether it's television, radio or newspapers, the few at the top have control over the number and quality of dissenting opinions. This stifles innovation in the same way the Soviet Union stifled their own progress at the height of the Cold War. I believe the powers that be will attempt to make populist the new dirty word and they will do their best to weaken the Internet, one way or another.