It doesn't really matter which party is in power. The credit-card companies will still get to write the bankruptcy laws. Big Pharma will still be writing drug laws. HMOs will be writing healthcare laws. Big Oil will make sure they're subsidized by our taxes. The American people will still find themselves eternally ass-up-in-the-air, steadily buggered by their Barbarian elite.
The Barbarians are in charge because a nation of Barbarians put them there, and it took our nation of ignoramus hicks all of six years to find out how Barbarian their chosen Barbarians can be. At last Bush's approval rate sleeps with the fishes, and most Americans want the end of a war most of them now think was a mistake, but wouldn't you know? Bush is still whining away on TV, refusing to get his butt out of Iraq.
Now that we know how easy it is to turn our "democracy" into a dictatorship (in the current jargon, a "unitary executive"), what can we expect future administrations to get up to?
Don't think you can trust an administration run by Democrats to be more "democratic" than the Barbarians. The template has been set. It's just too easy to hijack our "democracy." Our media are simply too compliant. Our citizens are simply too ignorant (how many of them realize they make no more money than they did in 1970, even though they're way more productive and work much harder?). And our business leaders can buy too many profit opportunities under the Barbarians. Heck, they love the war; they're making a killing in Iraq.
That shrewd old Nazi, Hermann Goering, explained the whole thing at Nuremberg: "Naturally the common people don't want war. But after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and for exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country."
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - gonzo marx
well Adam...don't hold back, tell us how you really feel about all of this...
heh
second - you are giving Barbarians a bad name here comparing them to these pigfucking greedhead shitweasals
and so it goes...we can only hope that at least 51% of our Nation wakes the fuck up soon, and begins to show both political gangs that THEY are NOT in charge...but that "We the People" ARE.
"the people should not be in fear of their government, it is the government that should fear the people" - V
is it time to "water the roots" of our Tree of Liberty as Jefferson suggested?
hopefully we don't have to go that far, the System is there to heal the rifts and get back on track... i just don't see anyone on the field who appears capable or willing to take up the Task
Excelsior?
2 - moonraven
Who told you the barbarians were LEAVING?
Considering that there will be a new barbarian in the Oval Office from either the Tweedledee or Tweedledum(B) party, I see absolutely no indication that the barbarians will be leaving.
I remember the words of Pogo, in the fifties, who said "We have met the enemy and he is US", and I have acted accordingly by leaving the country.
3 - adam ash
Gonzo Marx:
"pigfucking greedhead shitweasals" ... hey, Gonzo, don't hold back yourself either.
Moonraven:
Where did you move to? I was thinking Toronto. Boring compared to NYC, but at least in Canada, the creationists and other "pigfucking greedhead shitweasals" are a rarer breed than here.
In my CD that I write about just below the article, I take a crack at the king of the "pigfucking greedhead shitweasals," our Barbarian-in-Chief. We must use all media to keep insulting the Barbarians until a majority of Americans join us.
Adam Ash
4 - Baritone
Adam,
Great and comprehensive article. I couldn't have said it better. You might want to consider making the dozen shitheads a baker's dozen by adding the ever popular mad genius shithead Karl Rove to the list. And to not be totally sexist one might make an ancillary list with Condoleeza Rice at the top of that group. Others come to mind, but you pretty well nailed it.
I was incredulous during Nixon's tenure, befuddled with Reagan - Is this ham actor really our president? - disappointed in Clinton. But Bush takes the prize. I've never felt such visceral hatred for anyone as I do for Bush and the rest. They are a bunch of self-righteous abominations.
You may be correct. It may be difficult to recapture our rights and eradicate all of the abuses of Bush and Company. It's like taxes, once they're there, it's hell taking them back. It may be far too tempting for the next administration to retain all the powers stolen by the Bushies rather than relinquish them.
Good writing Adam!
Baritone
5 - moonraven
Mexico. Fifteen years ago. Single best life decision I have ever made.
6 - Baritone
Baritone:
Maybe I was a bit too pessimistic about a Hillary or Obama presidency.
They will be WAY better in international affairs than the bone-headed, blustering, non-diplomatic warmongers we have now.
It's just that when it comes to domestic matters, special corporate interests have bought Congress, no matter what party is in power. The Dems are a little more for-the-people than the GOP, but our real domestic problems never get solved by either party. Both parties bend over for our corporations; both let the lobbyists write our laws; both send our jobs overseas, etc.
But certainly, when it comes to international affairs, Hillary or Barack will be like saints compared to the incompetent a-hole idiot succubi from hell we have now.
You're right: Rove and Rice belong on the list, even if they spoil the aptness of number 12.
Adam Ash
7 - handyguy
Re: #6
Wait...are Baritone and Adam Ash the same person? I am so confused.
Anyway, good article. Righteous indignation is healthy...not to the point of giving up all hope, however. And we should all call a moratorium on comparing contemporary figures to Hitler. Never a good idea.
8 - moonraven
Actually, it is absolutely imperative to compare contemporary figures to Hitler.
Otherwise, they believe that you approve of them!
If the boot fits....
9 - gonzo marx
"Re: #6
Wait...are Baritone and Adam Ash the same person? I am so confused."
no..I am Spartacus!
but i digress...
Stalin might be the better analogy, nobody has done Pravda better than this Administration since the fall of the Iron Curtain...single Party rule fucks up every system, it appears
especially as long as Party comes before Nation, or especially before "We the People"
Excelsior?
10 - Adam Ash
Moonraven:
Mexico is a big place. Did you go urban or rural?
Adam Ash
11 - Dave Nalle
So once the visigoths are gone, what are we going to do about the vandals and the huns?
Dave
12 - Clavos
"We must use all media to keep insulting the Barbarians until a majority of Americans join us."
Americans ARE the barbarians.
ALL of 'em.
And always have been.
It's what makes 'em great...
13 - moonraven
[Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor]
Adam,
I live in a village 10 minutes from a town of 400 thousand and an hour and 40 minutes from Mexico City.
Pretty much covers all the bases.
14 - Adam Ash
Dave, you've nailed it.
One way to cut down on hun behavior is to take corporate money out of the political process by having public funding of political campaigns.
It may not cut down on actual visigoths, vandals and huns in Washington, but at least it'll mean they're not totally in the pockets of special interests. They might start believing they represent the people who voted for them. That might make some difference.
Adam Ash
15 - Baronius
"education, healthcare, energy, the environment, campaign funding and income inequality"
Are those the big issues of our day? I would put one of them (education) in my top six. Actually, I don't know that I'd list six things for the government to be involved in.
I guess there's a place for the government in environmental policy. And energy, to the extent that it's a matter of national security. But they shouldn't be in the health care, campaign finance, or income equality business.
16 - moonraven
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
We have public funding of political campaigns here in good ole corruption-free Mexico!
We have the longest, most expensive (look it up), most fatuous political campaigns in the world!
Of course narcotraficantes and other important constituents also contribute--there's the mysterious 205 million dollars found in a false closet in a Chinaman's house in March. I believe he was arrested by the DEA two days ago in Maryland....
He said the PAN threatened to kill him if he didn't hide the extra campaign money for them.
Who knows....
And even as I type this, Jorge Hank Rohn is running for governor of Baja California on the platform of buying a vest made out of burro penises--I kid you not!
Right. Go for it, suckers. Throw your tax money down the pockets of hangers on. We have thousands of folks here whose entire income is based on the public monies for political campaigns.
What a riot!
You guys just kill me.
I am going to have to go home and hit the hammock....
17 - Clavos
"Chinaman's"
Racist.
18 - Lumpy
If they're sophisticated enough to take a bribe the one thing they aren't is barbarians. What we've got are decadent romans and what we NEED are some barbarians.
19 - gonzo marx
Lumpy sez - "What we've got are decadent romans and what we NEED are some barbarians."
Quoted for Truth
anybody else need one of these helmets with horns on 'em? i got axes cheap too!
Excelsior?
20 - Adam Ash
Baronius:
You say
"I guess there's a place for the government in environmental policy. And energy, to the extent that it's a matter of national security. But they shouldn't be in the health care, campaign finance, or income equality business."
The fact is, the government IS in healthcare (medicare), education, and they make the laws about campaign funding.
Since we can't get them out, the question is: should they be in these things to help the people or the rich?
BTW, what do you think our big problems are?
Adam Ash.
21 - Baronius
First thought: the rich are people.
What are our big problems? That's a different question than what should government be involved in. The biggest problems in health care and campaign finance are caused by government involvement. Government shouldn't do much more than national defense and the legal system. So I'd say that our biggest problems are national security, excesses in the legal system, education, and the government.
22 - Baritone
Baronius,
Obviously, I disagree with you about health care. As was discussed in my article about Sicko, if health care is left to the private sector, fewer and fewer people will have any access at all. If we don't bite the national health care bullet, millions of people in this country will continue to be left out of the system. But who gives a shit, right? So long as share holders get their dividend checks, the rest can suck it.
Also, no Adam and Baritone are not the same person. Don't know how that happened above. Only the Blogcritic gremlins know for sure.
Baritone
23 - Adam Ash
Baronius:
National security!?
Hey, I don't see any countries wanting to attack us. Maybe some terrorists, but we don't need the Pentagon for that. We need more cops for that, more airline security, more inspections at ports.
This bugaboo about national security is BS. I'd feel much more secure if the Pentagon was 1% of its current size -- then at least we'd be less likely to get into wars, like we've done in Iraq, where we've created way more terrorists than there were before.
Whining on about national security is for pols who want to scare their citizens into letting the pols get up to mischief.
Adam Ash
24 - Clavos
No need to fix the roof; it's not raining...
25 - Adam Ash
It's bizarre: a year ago, this article would've brought down the wrath of the rightwing fanatics at Blogcritics on my head like a ton of bricks.
You know who you are.
But today you rightwing nutters are strangely silent. Could it be you've finally come round? Could it be that you've regained your senses? Could it be that you've been born again as good Americans? Or are you simply too busy licking your wounds?
Adam Ash