Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
The Bush-Clinton Dynasty
“So, to return to today’s theme, elect Bush or elect Clinton but outside of style points...it’s all the same to 99.9% of the planet.”
And of course, it’s “all the same” for the people of this country as well (though many don’t seem to fully grasp such a simple idea)... As Monbiot said yesterday, “When the US constitution was drafted, representative democracy was a radical and thrilling idea. Now it is an object of suspicion and even contempt, as people all over the world recognise that it allows us to change the management but not the firm.”
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=8610Posted by RT on from Houston 08/31 at 07:12 AMAmerican democracy = change the management but not the firm.
Thanks, RT.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 08/31 at 10:31 AMAbout the Clinton-Bush Dynasty… Yep, there’s not a dimes worth of difference.
About that little summer place that the Bush’s have in Maine...if people only knew how much it costs taxpaupers to keep that fortress up. All of those CIA dudes in their black rubber suits, in their black rubber boats, in their big black SUV’s. Maybe it is our duty as good citizens to relieve the country of that burden during these troubled times. Under the new Supreme Court Ruling on Emminent Domain, I bet that we, here at Mickey’s, could think of a lot ways that Walker’s Point could be put to better use. How about converting it into a shelter for the homeless, or a hospice for all of those whose lives are cut short because of no medical coverage, or how about selling it and giving the money to the Iraqi victims, or maybe its ownership should be transferred to the rightful owners, the native Americans..... There is a serious moral question here. How many homes is it morally acceptable to own, while there are homeless people in the world?Posted by rosemarie jackowski on from crossing the line 08/31 at 12:07 PMI’m still thinking Schwarzenegger’s gonna run in 08. However his popularity has been dropping lately so you never know..
Posted by Luna_C on from work work work 08/31 at 01:46 PMSchwarzenegger can’t run, he wasn’t born in the USA. >whew<
Bush 45 could easily be Jebbers, I suppose, but the afterparty will be held by George P Bush, the half-Hispanic son of Jebbers. What a dream candidate for the Repulsivecans...right ethnicity (remember Bush 41’s famous line as VP: “Those are my grandkids over there, the little brown ones” as he debarked Air Force 2 during the 84 campaign?) and, as of now, one of the party faithful.
Love this T shirt idea:
I’m not a liberal...but I play one on TV
Should have a paint-in or something where artists of a leftward bent all paint their interpretations of the saying on T shirts that get sent to the nominee as special gifties.Posted by Scared Old Liberal on from The Hot Place 08/31 at 02:06 PMSpeaking of 2008, what does anyone out there have to say about Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich as a potential candidate for the Democratic nomination?
Posted by Richard on from Texas 08/31 at 02:32 PMThe aftermath of this huge storm should clearly demonstrate what our government really is. The wealthy, who build vast estates just a few yards from the edge of an ocean, will quickly receive the funds to rebuild. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of poor and working people will be consigned to lives of even greater misery and wretchedness. Many of them, previously living in sub-human sorts of structures, will now be homeless and completely destitute.
The surface of much of New Orleans, and the surrounding areas, will be covered with a wide variety of dangerous toxins and wastes. Soon those desperate, destitute people will be wandering about the landscape, on foot, searching for shelter or food or any sort of respite from their misery. Next year, amid the unusually high death tolls from hunger or sickness or despair, rising cancer rates will be noted at various area hospitals - many of which will refuse to treat these impoverished, uninsured people.
Meanwhile, the rich will cruise over the pollutants in a Mercedes or Lexus or Beemer, pausing here and there just long enough to meet with city or county or federal officials, or fawning insurance agents, all desperate to help them reestablish their digs on the shore, or in ancient but refurbished plantation-era estates. They, too, will be concerned with the pollutants, and the steps they take to protect themselves will result in employment for some of the miserable but hardy folk who will shuffle through the devastation, desperate for work. Among those so employed, cancer rates will probably be absurdly high.
The children will play in the dirt and the grass. They’ll dig and run and tumble and splash through puddles of noxious industrial wastes. Those who aren’t already sick because of malnutrition or exposure to the elements, will soon be rushed off to local hospitals for treatment of strange wounds which won’t heal, or coughs which just won’t go away, or a variety of illnesses and cancers not often seen in children in “wealthy, western societies.” Many of them will not be treated, since their families will have no money or insurance. And, of course, the nation can’t be expected to care for them: We have wars to fight and massive, expensive weapons to buy, cronies to enrich, butt-boys and bag-men to pay off, and Elite pockets, everywhere, to be stuffed full of the lootings from the treasury.
Just another day in the Empire…Posted by joe on from Oregon 08/31 at 02:50 PMAn hour before my flight back here from NYC I saw the one and only “left-leaning” bumper sticker during my month-long stay in liberal New York. It read “Give ‘em Hill” and was paid for by “Friends of Hillary Clinton”. Ugh.
In the September issue of Harper’s, Cass R. Sunstein has written in his article ("Fighting for the Supreme Court") “The Center has become the Left. The Right is now the Center. The Left no longer exists.” Let’s prove this unfortunate “truism” wrong, please, and soon. F-Clintons, F-Bushes, F-Schwarzenegger (although I support his right to run, as I voted for a Cuban immigrant labor rights activist in 2004).
I truly love no longer living in the manic, neurotic, oppressive, authoritarian, aggressive, money-obsessed, materialist, war-mongering, faux-democratic United States. If only the USUK coalition’s war on who- and whatever sits atop oil didin’t cause the rest of the planet to be so xenophobic, life could be nice in here in NL, with its miniscule shred of decency in politics, the social system, etc. We would not see disparities in the aid offered to rich and poor if a Katrina-type catastrophe struck The Netherlands.
Posted by Keir on from back in The Hague, finally 08/31 at 03:52 PMGreat comment RT! The rest of the planet seems well aware of the fact that both parties are really the same and are convinced that Americans are all a bunch of morons for not understanding this basic concept. And yes Keir I would imagine it is wonderful not to live in the manic, neurotic, oppressive, authoritarian, aggressive, money-obsessed, materialist, war-mongering, faux-democratic United States.
Posted by Fiona on from San Diego 08/31 at 05:31 PMHere is an article with photos about the Invisible Poor in this country. Read about Matilda and compare her house to the Bush Summer home.
http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/special_packages/the_invisible_poor/
Posted by rosemarie jackowski on from crossing the line 08/31 at 06:04 PMHello all. Some more bipartisan reality (as if anything further was needed after Joe’s comment):
(From the LA Times)
Nearly 37 million Americans, or 12.7%, lived below the official poverty line in 2004, the Census Bureau found in its survey. That was a rise of 1.1 million people from 2003, when the poverty rate was 12.5%The Census Bureau also reported that 45.8 million Americans, or 15.7%, lacked health insurance in 2004, essentially the same amount as the 15.6% in 2003.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 08/31 at 07:14 PMA commenter on another blog said most people who get engaged with politics spend all their time “chasing the cape”, and cited Burroughs as the source of that observation. In fact, you can spend a lifetime examining the differences in managerial style, be well-informed, and unfortunately not be any wiser for the study. That kind of study obscures the longer term trends, like the shift from corporate liberalism to corporate neoliberalism. Or the new politcal correctness of risibly ignorant jingoism.
It seems to me, at times, that many people are ready to dump their party affiliations, and take a more oppositional role against the rigged representation system. They need something to fill in the void left by abandoning that game.
I recently demo-ed the software from Project Cyclos. It’s free. You can manage a community currency, local exchange system with it. This is something fairly revolutionary. Mickey, I’d love to know what Sander thinks of it. From what I’ve read, he’s just the kind of guy who could make maximum use of it.
Posted by Harry on from 08/31 at 09:44 PMIt WOULD be amazing to see such systems in place in poor and working-class sections of New York City, Mickey. Literally millions of people would benefit from such a system. Harry, as usual, you’ve been busy.
Mickey, just to place that 45.8 million people without health insurance, into a context of sorts, that’s more than the population of the entire West Coast of the US - from Mexico to Canada…
The cruelty and brutality of government seems to be endless.Posted by joe on from Oregon 08/31 at 09:54 PMHi Joe, I have been busy. I also feel obliged to be better behaved and more solution-oriented here than on other blogs
Speaking of health care, via a left libertarian blog, which focuses on a mutualist economy, I found this health care cooperative, I regret I haven’t managed to get over to check it out. I’m sure it’s everything the organizers say it is, but I feel a need to see it myself. Still makes interesting reading.
Posted by Harry on from 08/31 at 10:20 PMAnd as an addition for those about to web surf, there’s an amazing blog called, So what can I do?. The blogger who runs it is highly competent, dedicated and smart.
Posted by Harry on from 08/31 at 10:28 PMGood post Mickey although I am a ‘lesser evil’ person and still lean towards the Dems or would if I were an American. And thanks for all the quotes and links!
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 08/31 at 11:43 PMHi Harry, good to hear from you!
Great links.
I just left the Libertarian Anti-Capitalist place. This guy is very impressive.
I enjoy reading about almost any Anarchist perspective on almost anything. And, while I find Economics somewhat difficult to follow, generally (took me several months to get through “The Worldly Philosophers,” years ago, and the biographies weren’t all that technical...), I found I could follow his critique of Vulgar Libertarianism, fairly well. He’s simple and clear, at least that’s my take, thusfar.
Anyway, that’s a load of blab to say:
“Great link, thanks!”
I’ll peruse the others with greater attention, soon.
Be well, Harry…PS - Mickey - thanks for the kind words about the “Hurricane Post.” After readings last night and this morning, I felt crushed by the enormity of their situation down there. It felt good to write for a bit, afterwards. As always, thanks for this wonderful forum.
Posted by joe on from Oregon 09/01 at 12:07 AMRosemarie, Harry, Fiona, et al—good morning.
When I say that it’s “all the same”, I am referring to the structures of power that dominate the political landscape here in this country, which is big business. And that control is growing year after year, election after election… So it doesn’t matter who’s in power in that respect, as each of the dominant parties are overwhelmingly funded and controlled by powerful corporations. Hence my liking of Monbiot’s phrase: “change the management but not the firm” when it comes to “American democracy”....
With that being said, however, I do think it’s relevant to add that each party serves crucially different business interests, meaning the political agenda of any given candidate/administration can have important differences and consequences. Right now, we have a group of extreme right-wing war mongers in office (what Paul Street likes to refer to as “messianic militarists"), who have done nothing but piss-off most of the world’s population and increase any threats (real or imagined) of terrorist attacks here and abroad. That’s the sad reality.
I guess my point is that even the slightest drift away from that extreme “messianic militarism” of the Bush administration is perhaps the only hope we have of shifting the political spectrum back over towards the left. And that will speak volumes to the rest of the world, offering the best hope for change, even if its only short-term.
Thus, I think we need to take full advantage of popular actions (like those planned at the end of this month), and continue to support Cindy Sheehan, etc., if only to show the rest of the world that there are counterveiling forces here in this country that stand against the Bush administration’s illegal and highly regressive policies.
And that’s the GREAT thing about this country: the first amendment. It means we are potentially a democratic society. In fact, exercising first amendment rights is how almost every important change (eg, labor rights, voting rights, civil rights, ending the Vietnam war) has been won in the past. WE fought for it, WE put the pressure on, and WE made it happen. Not our so called leaders.
Posted by RT on from Houston 09/01 at 05:23 AMHarry, I’ll pass that info along to Sander and will add that link (http://sowhatcanido.blogspot.com) to my list.
Again: thanks, all.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 09/01 at 05:52 AMThanks, Mickey.
RT, I agree with you to a great extent. One of the problems I’m trying to work through with electoral politics is how to displace Bush without the demotivating a significant portion of the left. Past efforts have wound up aligning people with the Democrats, and costing good people their time, energy and in some cases a bit of their credibility.
I think being supportive of the high visibility popular movements is a good thing. But trying to build a base of something better than what we have now takes priority with me.Posted by Harry on from 09/01 at 06:47 AMThanks for the promo, Harry and Mickey. Please stop by “So what can I do” again soon, and thanks for your good work here.
Posted by Karama on from 10/28 at 09:46 AMWhy are you folks so scared of the Bush Clinton dynasty? Good grief!
http://www.bushandclintonforever.com/
Posted by Bush and Clinton Forever on from USA 10/21 at 02:43 PM
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