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Saturday, September 25, 2010
I am concerned

Concerned, as a matter of fact, that we, as a country, may be fucked.

The economy is still very rough for a lot of people, we're mired in a couple of very costly wars, oil rigs are tipping over and exploding, and I can't think of a snappy way to end this sentence.

In the past, when I felt a little down about the state of things, I'd take a step back from it all, remind myself that this country has been in rougher spots, and we always managed to tighten the belts, pull together, and do what was necessary to stop the ship of state from sinking. We'd emerge stronger, wiser, and the next generation would be on its way to doing better than the current one.

Not this time. I can't see it happening. Why? There are a lot of reasons.

First of all, I think we have a fascism problem that needs to be addressed. Some of you are probably smirking in a knowing fashion. "A-ha! He sees Obama for what he really is!"

Sort of. You're right, but for the wrong reason.

Fascism is not when men in garish uniforms stand at podiums demanding racial purity or national superiority. Fascism is much more an economic theory than a political one. Essentially, when the government and corporations collude to determine national policy, that's Fascism. Corporatism would do equally well as a description.

So, when you cry that Obama is a Fascist, it's because you think he's coming after your guns and Christianity. He isn't. If the president has Fascist leanings and policies, and he does, you should at least be somehow content that it's only because he is allowing corporations to write law and policy at the federal level, whether they are good for the citizens of the United States or not.

So, stop calling Obama a Fascist, unless you're actually concerned about the creeping corporatocracy that is ruining the country.

But ignorance of the meaning of the word brings me to another equally large problem that makes me think we're going to have a tough go bouncing back this time: We are getting dumber by the year.

We may live in the information age, but most people only want the information that jibes with what they already believe. The world is only 6000 years old? Of course it is, hundreds of websites and my pastor say so! You can cut taxes and reduce deficits? I've found an entire cable news channel and one-and-a-half major political parties in the US who insist it's so! Evolution is a myth? Damn straight, otherwise monkeys would have human babies, right?

Check and mate.

I can almost live with the willful ignorance. I mean, people are taught a lot of really dumb things as children, and bad wiring is tough to rip out once that house is built. If you were taught that the Bible is a literal record, there's always the possibility that you may, upon reaching maturity, understand that they are loosely historically-based fables. Many have good morals, some have really bad ones, and you can still manage to believe in your deity without worrying too much about whether to eat shellfish, or selling your daughter into slavery.

We're past willful. We've moved on to prideful ignorance.

These are the people who will stick their fingers in their ears, screaming how climate change is a myth, even as reams of data rolls in about the continuing streak of hottest years on record. You show them fossils, they trot out Genesis and stories of how dinosaur bones were put in the ground by Satan to fool us. What great things can you hope to accomplish with dependence on people like this?

So, we're ignorant, and dumber. What else? Lazy.

Now, I don't think it's so much a lack of work ethic. People in this country work hard, many because they take real pride in doing good work and earning their pay, although more do it because they're afraid if they don't crush it every second, they'll find their asses fired.

Our problem is that a lot of us want to believe that there is a magic bullet to solve our problems. Crumbling infrastructure? Someone will fix that, the free market, most likely. We're fat, so instead of eating better and exercising, we wait around for science to invent a pill that will allow us to do whatever we want and stay thin, and erect for more than 15 minutes, but less than four hours.

I don't believe we have the will to pull together and achieve anything important anymore. Could this country, as it exists today, build the Interstate Highway System, electrify Appalachia, the South and West, or send a man to the moon? How could we hope to manage them, when everyone is so insistent that things be done the way they want, common good be damned?

Which brings us to intolerance.

We've actually spent a good hunk of the summer arguing about whether or not American citizens with spotless criminal records should have the right to build a community center on a city zoning-approved site they own, two blocks from where some radical religious assholes knocked down buildings nine years ago.

THIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

The First Amendment is very clear about this. The government doesn't get to decide how or where you pray. A local government can pass restrictions about types of construction allowed, and usage of areas of land, but if you pass muster on the zoning, you get to have your prayer shack.

Why isn't anyone getting in the ass of the greedy capitalist that sold "sacred ground" (near the strip club), to these awful weirdos, who, let me remind you, had nothing to do with any terrorist attacks on American soil, or anyplace else?

"Well, turning a profit on real estate is as American as apple pie."

And so it is. A corporation made money on the sale, investors were enriched, and the wheel keeps turning, greased in the same manner we all understand.

Greased, not with the tens of millions of gallons of oil that flowed into the Gulf, while government stood by impotently, as BP was allowed to control beach access and the airspace over the disaster, because they've got more flex than any government agency. The feds couldn't stop it, and it turned out that the almighty corporation didn't have a plan for such a contingency, either.

No plan for trouble was needed. The government trusted the corporation to do the right thing. And BP will deliver on that promise, larger profits when all of this blows over.

Which will be sooner rather than later.

This country lacks the will to achieve anything much greater than finding a more comfortable way to watch television. It will be built in China, and it will be paid for with a credit card.

There are still things to be thankful for, of course. I am mostly thankful that I won't be alive in a hundred years to see how bad it gets.

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posted at 11:57 PM

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Sunday, May 02, 2010
Good luck pinning me down

Like most of us, I've spent the past week looking at pictures from the Gulf Of Mexico, and the spread of the oil after an offshore rig blew up on April 20th. It's a disgusting thing, seeing oil floating in the Gulf, and made worse by the fact that BP isn't anywhere close to shutting off the flow, even after something like a million and a half gallons have been spilled.

I'm old enough to remember the Exxon Valdez spill, and how grotesque and widespread the damage was. I've seen footage of enough oil spills to know how damaging they can be. Interestingly, this is the first large one I recall since the advent of Facebook.

I've noticed a few people "sending prayers to the plants and animals in harm's way." 12 people are missing and presumed dead in the explosion that set off the spill, but I think I understand why no one has much sympathy for them or the bereaved left behind.

They were complicit, right? Their hands were, quite literally, dirty, no? Would you be so bold as to suggest that they got what they deserved? I hope not.

The "drill, baby, drill" crowd is, in a moment of reasonableness, largely keeping their simpleton mouths closed on this one. Truth be told, I'd prefer it if someone in a position of responsibility would make a sensible case that justifies this inevitable result of a backward-looking US energy policy, but I likely won't hold my breath.

The Gulf Coast is about to be inundated with toxic sludge, and should the tides fall badly, a lot of inland areas, lakes, streams, wetlands, will suffer catastrophic damage. It's even possible that this floating cesspool may drift into the Gulf Stream, and let a whole lot of the rest of the world share in our special brand of energy security.

Also this week, after nearly ten years, the people who want to build an enormous wind farm off the coast of Nantucket, finally received the go-ahead to do so. My feelings about the project are mixed, although not for the normal reasons.

On the pro side: Hey, wind power! Neato! The stuff is out there, let's harvest it.

On the con side: Wait, there aren't any places left on dry land to build these turbines? There are vast areas of North Dakota, Texas, and other areas in the Southwest to build these things. The cost of building a 440-foot high structure in the ocean is far more expensive than doing it on dirt. Let's grab the low-hanging fruit first.

What I don't care about is people on Nantucket bitching about their view being ruined. I've seen projections, and on a clear day, if you stare way the hell out to the horizon in just the right spot, you might be able to see these things from shore. They aren't going to be 50 feet out in the harbor.

And a special dishonorable mention to Ted Kennedy and his powerful family, who have been instrumental in holding up the process. I have a great deal of respect for the late senator, and the decades of great work he did for the country in his service. But for my money, on his list of shameful acts, this isn't up there with Chappaquiddick, but it makes the top 5.

Getting back to the energy question, I was reading a column by David Brooks this week, and one of his figures jumped out at me.


Technology companies spend 5 percent to 15 percent of revenue on research and development. Energy companies, on the other hand, spend only one-quarter of 1 percent. The federal government spends $30 billion on health research, but only $3 billion on clean energy research.

BP's first quarter profit rose to $6.1 billion in the first three months of this year, which I suppose is nice, because even if they spend a billion dollars trying to clean up their own mess, everyone is still going to walk away with nice fat dividends.

But getting back to Brooks' column, my question is, why doesn't the government use a gigantic stick & carrot to get us on to the next thing?

The oil companies, in an adorable attempt to appear green, have re-branded themselves as energy companies. Well, I should hope you are, we need a great deal of it. Maybe you ought to consider spending more than one dollar in every 400 on researching what the next viable method of providing energy will be.

So, how about this? For every dollar of revenue you put back in to research on solar, wind, tidal, more efficient methods of moving electricity over great distances, etc, you receive a 1-for-1 free pass on your profits. Let's say, for the hell of it, you make a profit of $6.1 billion dollars in a quarter.

Ridiculous, I know, but I'm in a silly mood.

If you want to have 20% of it absolutely untaxed, all you have to do is put $1.2 billion into research. Not only have you effectively lowered your overall tax burden, you've also kicked some money into a future, where you'll have to opportunity to continue making fat profits, only on cleaner, safer forms of energy that don't require the fouling of our coastlines, or funding of insane people who want us to pray like they do.

Besides, you're going to want to get that tax break, because the taxes on revenues from carbon energy sources are going to rise significantly. I'll set it up so that you can continue to make a ton of money, but only if you start realizing those profits from cleaner energy sources. It'll be in your interest to make it work, because otherwise, you'll be taxed out of business.

So liberals, don't take too much shameful joy in this shaming of the Palin philosophy and the energy companies. And conservatives, don't become too fearful that I am trying to steal your way of life and ability to make a good living in America. You can still charge me too much for your energy services, you're just going to need to stop fouling beaches and exploding rig workers while you do it.

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posted at 1:50 AM

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Thursday, March 27, 2008
Morbid Curiosity

I doubt that anyone who reads this blog regularly would be surprised to find out that I voted for Barack Obama in my state's primary. I suppose no one would be all that shocked to find that I have a pessimistic streak in me as well.

I know. Such intimate stuff.

Three or four months ago, I was pretty pleased about the slate of candidates running for president, and saw a number of Democrats and even a Republican or two (eh, one) that I wouldn't have minded casting my vote for. As the Democrats got down to just two, I was of the mindset that either one of these people would make a pretty good president.

To hell with that.

I have decided, and am stating for the record, that if Hillary Clinton is awarded the Democratic Party's nomination, I am not going to vote for her.

"Gonna sit this one out?"

Nope. I'll vote for John McCain. I will cancel out someone's vote, and do it with a grin on my face. My reasons are twofold.

First of all, I am absolutely disgusted with both Hillary and Bill Clinton, and with the type of campaign they have chosen to run. I just don't remember things being this damned nasty back in the 90s, but maybe it was. I don't remember it like this, I just don't. Maybe it's because Bill actually had charisma as a candidate, whereas Hillary seems to have very little. But as a supportive spouse? Bill Clinton can take his smug aw-shucksness and cram it with walnuts.

If the Jeremiah Wright videos were dug up by anyone, it was by the Clinton campaign. Yeah, the pastor is a world-class douchebag, but for Hillary to have the stones to castigate Obama in the manner she did was just ludicrous.

"If my pastor had said something like that, I'd have just gotten up and left."

Well, what if you were married to him and found out he was nailing an intern? Would you have stayed with him then? Or would you stay with him because there's no way America elects a bitchy divorcée to be the first female president of the United States?

It backfired anyway, because Obama ended up giving one of the greatest speeches in political history as a response. His numbers dropped two points. Hillary's went down eight.

The other reason I'll vote for McCain over Clinton is - well...

I just want to see how bad things can get.

McCain wants to maintain high troop levels in Iraq. He wants to invade Iran. He's content to let the mortgage crisis play out, and has very little understanding of economics. He's my guy.

Let's really crater this thing, I mean just fly the country into the side of a mountain at 1000 miles per hour, and see if it bounces or explodes. I'm really curious to see what happens to our 300 million soft, fat asses when the long overdue correction in our standard of living really kicks in and takes out 100 other economies in one fell swoop.

I'm not proud of this impulse, but I recognize it, and figure I may as well be honest about it.

Besides, why should anyone other than a Conservative have to clean up Bush's ridiculous mess? I think Obama could take a crack at it and maybe get this thing back on course, but Hillary is cautious and timid, policy-wise, and we are beyond any good that baby steps can provide.

John McCain sees this thing heading toward a cliff and punches the accelerator like he was driving his Buick Century through a downtown farmer's market.

If we're still actively involved in Middle Eastern wars by 2015, I'll probably leave the country, to be honest. The machinery of war is lubricated with the blood of youth, and I'll make no contribution of that resource, not for oil, and not for empire.

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posted at 10:40 PM

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Thursday, October 14, 2004
Pay up, bitch.

To begin with, I did not see the debate last night, so I won't comment on it. Unfortunately, I had to work.

And as I drove in, I noticed that gas has gone up about twenty-five cents in the past month. I regretted that I'd be missing the final debate of the 2004 presidential race, as I was hoping to hear what Uncle George was going to do about this problem. But I knew that he'd be too busy spouting off about how Kerry was going to tax and spend us back to the Stone Age to say anything substantive.

Remember back in early 2001 when Dick Cheney had his private meetings with Ken Lay of Enron and a dozen other corporate criminals, as they set the energy policy for the US? Well, even though no one will discuss what went on at the meetings, the Bush administration's energy policy has become readily apparent:

Two dollar a gallon gasoline.
Fifty-plus dollar a barrel oil.
Begging the Saudi royal family to pump more oil.

And you staunch Republicans out there might pacify yourself with the notion that if that's what the market will bear, then that's just how it is. So you are willing to pay 100 bucks a week to keep your Hummer rolling, and maybe that's patriotic in it's own warped way. And yet, you are so opposed to taxes.

Why is that? Do you really believe that your personal comfort, which would only be minimally impacted by driving a reasonable vehicle, is more important than the fiscal condition of your country? Life is better with a poorly educated citizenry? You are comfortable with cutbacks in police and fire protection? You're ok with porous borders, and next to no regulation of shipping containers coming in to the country? Are you honestly so selfish?

And how do you jibe that with your so-called Christianity? Aren't you somehow compelled/obligated to do right by those less fortunate? I know that in reality your view is "I got mine, fuck you," but if that's the case, why do you put any real stake in a candidate's "values?" In your view, Bush is a better Christian than Kerry. Why? Because he says so? Is it Christian to make things harder for the sick and poor? Is it Christian to have 45 million people without health insurance, so many of then kids? Is it Christian to waste precious resources like oil? Is it Christian to let your government send poorer Christians to go fight Muslims, so you have the freedom to waste even more oil? How do you reconcile that?

And after all, the government's lax policies in the area of fuel conservation, in conjunction with our failed foreign policy, have basically resulted in a tax on fuel. Compared to four years ago, you now pay a seventy-five cent per gallon tax every time you fill your vehicle. You pay it when you get your electric bill. You pay it at the grocery store, and everyplace else, because it costs them more to get their products to the shelf. Virtually all plastics, which includes clothing fibers, are derived from petroleum, so they cost more, too. Everything costs more, and the only way to avoid this de facto tax is to not spend, and that would make you a bad American.

Your government is taxing you, and it never shows up on your check stub. It's showing up on your receipts. It's showing up in your dwindling checking account. And it shows up in the lint at the bottom of your pockets. This administration wants to be your friend so much that it lies to you. And you enable it by going along with half-truths and outright lies, because you have been told it is unpatriotic to do otherwise. With George Bush, you don't have to wait until April to pay taxes. You get to pay every day of the year. And not just in money. You pay in credibility, of which America is nearly bereft. You pay in increased terrorist activity. And if we continue down this blindly reactionary path, you will pay for it with the blood of your sons and daughters. The future of America is happening in Fallujah. The reports will eventually come from Amman, or Pyongyang, or Tehran, but they will come.

There are truly dangerous people in the world, who honestly don't care whether you live or die. And some of them live and work on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

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posted at 7:42 PM

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