Monday, May 17, 2010

Get Real

It's been a long time since I've posted here. I'd said just about everything I wanted to say and then decided to settle down and see whether my predictions were going to come true. I guess the result at this point remains inconclusive. Things have certainly been going steadily downhill for most of us (NOT the bankers and big time investors, natch; after all, they are under the protection of the US Government) and now seem to be approaching a crisis, but my main prediction was wrong. The total collapse I predicted for last summer has been either averted or more likely delayed, due as it would seem to further inflation of the same Ponzi balloon that lead to the previous crisis. If you feel free to print money with no constraints, then you can keep a Ponzi scheme floating indefinitely, it would seem.

Meanwhile, however, the political situation has turned from embarrassing to disturbing to bizarre to even more embarrassing to downright scary. What particularly got me down was a recent TV ad by a candidate in a local congressional primary announcing to the world that he is both "pro-life and pro-gun." Which wouldn't be so strange except that this guy is running as a DEMOCRAT!!!!

That did it. I'm starting my own party. It's called the "Get Real" party and it has a platform guaranteed to alarm both wishy-washy liberals and know-nothing conservatives:

1. Big government has no right to tell any of us what to do with our own bodies and therefore big government should not be allowed to dictate to women whether or not they should have abortions. Neither should small government. A fetus is not a baby, a human fetus is not fundamentally different from an animal fetus so if we have no problem doing away with animals we should have no problem doing away with unwanted fetuses. I'm as pro-life as hell and would greatly prefer that no living thing ever have to be sacrificed. I'm also against the hunting of innocent animals and have serious reservations about their use in scientific experiments also. But if we recognize that there are times that innocent animals must be sacrificed then GET REAL -- there are also times when innocent fetuses must be sacrificed. Let's by all means work as hard as we can to minimize the tragic necessity for abortion, not only for the sake of the fetus, but the woman forced to make such a horrific choice. But we must also recognize that in some cases this is the only humane option available and it should therefore be both legal and covered by health insurance. And yes, being humane is a part of the "Get Real" platform, a very important part. That should go without saying, but to listen to just about everyone in the Republican party, being humane is tantamount to being "liberal," which is of course just about the deadliest sin imaginable. The only thing worse for Republicans, I'd imagine, is actually being Christian -- but hey, the Republicans have managed to co-op both Christianity and Christ himself to serve their own selfish, greedy ends. If they knew which way was up, maybe they'd have a better understanding of which direction they'll be headed on Judgement Day.

2. There is no part of the constitution that guarantees the unrestricted use of firearms, therefore GET REAL: firearms are dangerous and have in fact become a menace in the United States and should therefore be strictly controlled by the federal government. The "right to bear arms" is NOT the right to purchase any weapon one might choose, nor is it the right to carry any firearm anywhere one might want. Just as the right to free speech does NOT give you the right to cry "fire" in a crowded building or utter offensive racial slurs in public. GET REAL.

3. Global warming may be real (or maybe not), but hysterical attempts to reverse its effects by controlling the output of carbon, or institute the trading of "carbon credits," will without question lead to even worse consequences, exacerbating an already fragile economic situation, with devastating consequences for the vast majority of the world's people. All the evidence tells us this trend cannot be reversed or even meaningfully contained. So all the efforts to control it will do little more than make affluent liberals such as Al Gore feel better about themselves -- at the expense of the most vulnerable among us. So GET REAL: if global warming will lead to higher ocean levels, there is no way we'll be able to stop that trend, just as there is no way we'll be able to replace those melted glaciers. But if we act quickly enough, we just might be able to stave off the rising seas by building dikes. If that seems like an impractical option, take a look at what the Dutch were able to do, with relatively primitive technology, hundreds of years ago. If certain parts of the world will become uninhabitable due to changes in climate patterns, other parts of the world will become open to habitation, including vast regions of Russia, Canada and Alaska. The answer to global warming is not to turn back the clock -- that's no longer an option -- but to do what countless generations before us have done when faced with climate change: GET REAL, i.e., adapt.

4. The current oil spill in the gulf is going to be highly destructive for sure, but if the lesson we learn is to halt or restrict offshore drilling then we have learned the wrong lesson. For one thing, crude oil is as organic as alfalfa sprouts and wheat germ. All it is, really, is fossilized organic matter, the remains of our pre-human, pre-animal ancestors, in fact. It happens to be a natural part of the ocean environment, where deep fissures at the bottom of the sea, many of which have been regularly opened by earthquakes over thousands and in fact millions of years, permit subterranean oil deposits to spill into the ocean, which is certainly nothing new and can happen at any time in any part of the ocean due to natural causes. The real lesson of this latest spill is that "fail-safe" technologies are not necessarily foolproof and when they fail that can indeed have dire consequences. If a "fail-safe" device on an oil rig fails, that can have serious consequences for sure, and every effort should be made to improve these technologies. Imagine, however, what the failure of a "fail-safe" device in a nuclear power plant would mean. If we restrict access to fossil fuels, and less dangerous methods such as solar energy and wind power are not yet ready, then our only alternative will be the wide, unrestricted use of nuclear power, a far worse alternative, believe me. So GET REAL: The oil now spilling into the gulf will eventually sink to the bottom, taking its place among the innumerable tons of organic remains already sitting there, waiting to become part of the food chain. But the effects of a nuclear disaster could mean the destruction of many thousands or even millions of lives and the irreparable destruction of vast areas, including whole cities, with no hope of restoration for thousands of years.

5. There's a good reason why conservatives and their proto-fascist allies, the so-called "Libertarians," carry on continually about the evils of "Big Government." In the United States, big government is what we, the people, have put in place to ensure democracy, and protect us from the overstuffed oligarchs and plutocrats who are pulling the strings of equally overstuffed puppets such as Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and their disgusting and offensive ilk. GET REAL! Without big government, i.e., our democratically elected representatives, we would be completely at the mercy of "conservatives" whose notion of "enlightened self-interest" is to promote their own selfish interests at the expense of everyone else. They have heaps of money to spend and have used it to literally create the so-called "conservative" and "libertarian" movements out of whole cloth. If you look under the hood you'll see that there is nothing of substance actually there. "Conservatives" aren't really conservative. If they were, they'd be fighting FOR and not AGAINST the time-honored American ideals of honesty, equal opportunity and fair play. And "Libertarians" are not interested in any sort of liberty aside from their own freedom to do whatever they like regardless of the consequences for anyone else. The fat cats who once upon a time were millionaires and multimillionaires are now billionaires and multi-billionaires. If you think for a moment of all the destructive things someone can do with a billion dollars, someone crazy enough, Ego-driven enough and ruthless enough (and there is no shortage of people in these categories), then you'd stop complaining about "Big Government" and start working to make our federal government, our government "Of the People, By the People and For the People," even more powerful, in order to protect our freedoms from those whose money and power have driven them mad with greed. While it's true that many in government have in fact been corrupted by the billionaires, they can always be voted out of office by an enlightened electorate. The oligarchs and plutocrats, on the other hand, are with us to stay. All we have on our side is the counterweight of a democratically elected President, Congress and Senate.

6. What any fair minded person would refer to as the bare necessities of a civilized society have come to be known as "entitlement" programs. And to the lasting shame of our so-called "liberals," hardly anyone has come forth to challenge this term. No one in a democracy should have to be seen as "entitled" to basic necessities such as food, shelter, health care and an education for his or her children, as though providing them with such "entitlements" was something the more affluent among us do out of the goodness of our hearts. It is in NO ONE's interest to deny such necessities to our citizens on any basis whatsoever. What we are all "entitled" to is to live in a society characterized by decency, civility, fairness and compassion. Because the alternative is: India, where only the affluent are "entitled" to anything at all. If you think there's a problem with all these "entitlements" then imagine yourself living in a community where beggars with bleeding sores and children with burned out eyes and lopped off limbs are continually holding their hands out for a crumb of food and people are dying in the streets around you.

We are continually being reminded that we "cannot afford" all these "entitlements." Well, the truth is that the United States is a nation of vast wealth, vaster by far now, even after the economic "collapse," than ever before in history. The Wikipedia lists a total of 403 billionaires in the United States alone. The list would undoubtedly be significantly larger if it weren't for the additional billions socked away in secret bank accounts overseas. Bill Gates alone has $53 billion, Warren Buffet $47 billion, Lawrence Ellison $28 billion, Christy Walton $22.5 billion and Jim Walton $20.7 billion. There is in fact more than enough money in this country to fund any "entitlement" program you might care to think of. What we lack is not the money, but the will to stand up to the billionaires and insist that they pay their fair share of federal, state and local taxes.

(to be continued)

6 comments:

  1. Dear mole,

    I had bookmarked your site long ago but everytime I visited it, there was no new posts so I thought maybe you just abandoned it or died or whatever. I happened to check it (one last time?) for anything new when I found your Get Real Party stuff and comments/opinions.

    I agree with you on many things but disagree on many things and I wouldn't mind challenging you on a few things, but I have a slow computer and dialup and your site makes my whole computer freeze within minutes so not only can I barely read what you've recently written, but leaving comments or retrieving answers all makes it too slow and crash.

    So, I was wondering if you could REMOVE the video or UTube links on your main page? Because that is what's slowing it all down, imo and you're losing lots of readers or fans. I think a mainly text blog is great but all the links and stuff slow it down for a lot of people without modern computers or fast internet. Couldn't you just provide text links to other sites or graphics or videos, etc.?

    Hoping you are well, I also hope you remove the high-speed imbedded content and go to almost all text, or maybe start a twitter account or something?

    Jay in Texas

    ReplyDelete
  2. OK, Jay, I've removed the video links and also cut down on the number of posts displayed on each page. I'm not sure this will help, but hope it does, since I'm eager to learn exactly what you agree with and disagree with on any of my posts. Let me know if the blog is now easier for you to access.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Some responses:

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    PART ONE OF TWO

    1) Agree with you mostly here. I do not want government telling me what I can do or

    not do with my body, let alone what it consumes, swallows, or inhales. I am purely

    libertarian on this issue, unfortunately, scratch almost all professed "libertarians"

    and you will find they really only want no government interference in personal

    liberties unless it involves convenient, witch-hunt "groups" or ideas preaching some

    sort of irrational "totally unregulated capitalist/fuck the consumer" attitude. Insult

    added to injury are the "christian conservatives," Sure enough, ya betcha. If only

    they would practice what they (and their messiah) actually preached. Instead they

    practice almost the exact opposite, republican, democrat, etc.

    2. Disagree here. The gun lovers of course, misinterpret the 2nd amendment, but

    unfortunately, the present "government" (if indeed as corrupt as you and I both may

    agree it is) should not be the final say in this. There are sane approaches to this

    (moderate, rational ones) however like with abortion. For instance, while a gun or

    rifle, may be totally inappropriate in the big cities, they may be a necessity

    elsewhere, especially in rural areas of vast areas with small populations over vast

    areas like out west or up north (and in farming/hunting/fishing areas). This is not a

    one-size fits all for the nation as a whole though.

    3. You seem to contradict yourself here. I mean, the point is, global warming is real.

    But is it being greatly worsened by human fossil fuel consumptions and emissions,

    and if so, various conservation and lesser use of such is a possible answer. If "we"

    are not making the situation so much worse, then we are in a climate-change period

    regardless, and alternative fuels and changes to world consumptions and uses will

    fail. Then yes, other answers must be sought. The mainstream media could help in

    this by spending less time on "entertainment news" and more on the real thing, that

    is with a lot more scientist interviews and less with the likes of Sean Penn, etc. As

    well as much tighter government regulations. And redistribution of wealth of course.

    ReplyDelete
  4. PART 2 of 2

    4. What makes the BP thing different however is that planetary environments are

    doing things like this all the time, and have in the past, only it's NOW, and this whole

    unregulated nightmare close to "home" which encompasses 3 states now and

    spreading, over to Florida, maybe over here also soon off the coast of Texas. The

    government has real no "case" here against BP and their thugs however, because

    they have been approving such rigs (and still are), and yes, Obama is no great leader

    or even honest when he was "drill baby drill" a few weeks before, and he wants to

    build more nuclear plants. I agree with long term solutions, however, for now the

    government should take over BP (like it basically did with the big banks, GM, etc.)

    and fix the problem asap. As well as the obviously faulty regulations.

    5. Agreed above and here. But I question whether "democracy" is any sort of

    answer. And I would wonder what you would define that as, because I think it is a

    system that HAS never really worked, and never really will. One war follows another.

    The war to end all wars, leads to an even bigger one, and then cyclical new, smaller

    ones. In this regard, I am basically against the whole notion of "democracy," as far

    as such is practiced by a mostly ignorant "majority." This comes down to various

    issues but its very heart was redefined only recently when the "majority" opinion of

    the "Supreme Court" said corporations have the same rights as "human beings."

    How do we get out of THAT sorry state of affairs? Just, rational, and humane "rule"

    will never come about because of "democracy" (or basically majority-rules, even if

    they're a bunch of morons). IMO, there is no "enlightened electorate," now or ever

    as long as "democracy" has anything to do with majority-rule opinion and not fact.

    6. Agree, but this isn't just "socialism" but marxism. Which in principle I agree with

    but it is an impossible ideal in any concept of "democracy." The whole "entitlement"

    argument (against) is just another steal from the poor and give to the rich philosophy

    of the wacko right wing, seeing as how the only real entitlements they really want is

    for themselves and their rich, selfish, hypocrital, and/or ignorant sheep followers.

    Thank you for taking the video links off of your site, it speeds it up and I was glad to

    reply. Talk at you again, whenever. Keep the faith, but remember to hold on to your

    wallet at all times... ;-P

    Jay (Texas)

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  5. Sorry for the bad formatting...will try better if I continue with this.

    Jay

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dear Mole

    Thank you for a well thoughtout blog. I acquired your link from the 21st Century Socialism site in the UK. It is not a matter of agreeing or disagreeing with your comments. What is refreshing is the leftwing ideals being expressed by citizen of the United States of America.

    Best Wishes

    Red-Metta

    ReplyDelete

 
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