Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground: Part I

Posted on March 9, 2016 by johnrachel

JFK on RevolutionBernie Sanders — and ironically even Donald Trump — has awakened a new populism in America.  U.S. citizens are demanding fundamental change in how government goes about its business.

This uprising, this surge of awareness, is not complex or theoretical.  It is simple and pragmatic.  From both of these superficially opposite ideological phenomena, the enlightening Sanders campaign and the frightening Trump victory, we see evidence of frustration and outrage.  The battle cry is the same.

People are saying . . .

“We’re getting screwed and we’re not going to take it anymore!”

This could be an incredibly powerful vehicle for serious reform, regardless of how the presidential election turned out.  In spite of the election of the orange autocrat and his unseemly team of kleptocratic neoliberal crusaders!

But there’s only one way that can happen.  And it doesn’t depend in the least on who ends up in the White House.

Remember . . .

A president is a lightning rod.

But a president is not the lightning.

We the people are the lightning.

And that “lightning” does not find its effective expression in one person.

We the people are the energy, the force, the real movers-and-shakers behind fundamental change.  We the people and only we the people can shape the future we want.

The Bernie Sanders revolution, which many are hailing as a truly historic populist revolt, can only be real if we the people individually and collectively — starting from the very bottom and working our way up — make it real.

It starts with each individual.

Each individual makes his or her unshakable commitment to what it important.

To what is non-negotiable.  To what is absolute.

That commitment spreads outward from there.  Family members, friends, neighbors.

It all starts at a personal level with each person and then diffuses through the network of individuals each individual regularly and not so regularly comes in contact with.  One by one each person engages those who are to varying degrees part of his or her life.

One by one, they individually and collectively come to terms with what is important.

To what is non-negotiable.  To what is absolute.

This is how to build a revolution.

It’s not about cheering for one man and expecting that one politician, regardless of how eloquent and charismatic, to do the work for us.  Especially since that man may not even get elected.  Especially since that man might end up being a truly horrifying demagogue, whose own otherwise despicable party even rejects him — Donald Trump.  Or might not be a man at all but a war mongering corporate toady and unapologetic lapdog for Wall Street who happens to have a vagina — Hillary Clinton.

There is still time to harness the energy of the Bernie Sanders revolution.

There is still just enough time to make it happen if we want it.

Specific advice starts with Part II of this series.

While you’re waiting, you might take your Birkenstocks to your local cobbler and make sure they have plenty of tread.

 

Posted in Corporatism, Deconstruction, Democracy, Political Rant | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How to Become a Target for State Assassination

Posted on March 4, 2016 by johnrachel

Martin Luther King SpeakingIn my recent article Peace is as American as . . .?, I argued that while there have been anti-war movements, there has never been a real “peace movement” in America.

What’s the difference?

The absence of war is not peace. 

More accurately, in our times the absence of war is a truce.

A truce is the abatement of conflict with no guarantee that war will not break out again.

Peace is a state where no conflict is ongoing or possible.

Big difference!

There are over 15,000 nuclear weapons held ready for use by nine countries.

Nuclear Stockpiles

Just because we are not at this point in time using them does not mean we are at peace.

It’s like living among pallets stacked with dynamite, serving breakfast on a table-size crate of TNT, and claiming that you feel safe and secure knowing that if you’re careful the whole thing won’t blow sky high.

Our Nobel Peace Prize president has committed $1 trillion dollars to “update” America’s bulging nuclear arsenal. Capable of destroying the planet and every living organism on it 25 times over, it needs to be made more efficient.

Do you feel the peace?

We occasionally see surges of anti-war sentiment. More recent than the game-changing demonstrations against the Vietnam War, immediately before the Iraq War, impressively large crowds assembled to object to the announced attack.  While the numbers were in the hundreds of thousands in Europe, across the U.S. demonstrations drew tens of thousands of “anti-war” activists.  CBS reported protests in over 150 cities.  I personally marched in Portland, Oregon where it was estimated that 58,000 showed up.

Even more recently in September 2013, when pressure was mounting on President Obama to attack Syria around the false flag use of chemical weapons — allegedly by Syria’s Bashar al-Assad but later demonstrated to be by rebels who were trying to hoodwink the U.S. into a full-on bombing assault — again impressive numbers of people voiced their opposition. The White House and offices of our congressional representatives were flooded with calls, emails, letters.

I still maintain that a fuss over a particular war, or some misguided military aggression by the U.S. military does not constitute a “peace movement”.

The truth is that America does not embrace peace.

America promotes war.

“The greatest purveyor of violence in the world: My own government, I cannot be silent.”

Who said that?

Martin Luther King, in his speech at Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967.

He was assassinated one year later.

Unfortunately, what Dr. King said is more true now than ever.

Evidence?

By a long shot, every year the U.S. is the leading exporter of military equipment in the world. In 2014, our military-industrial complex, as advocated and supported by our own government, sold over $36 billion in weaponry.  In 2015 it increased to over $46 billion.

Everything but our most advanced weapons — we have to keep them in reserve for when all the other weapons we sell are turned on us — is for sale.  Fighter planes, bombers, bombs, artillery, guns, killing machines and devices of every shape and size.

I could go on for hours citing examples.  But here is one from just last week.

Yes, the Pentagon in its infinite wisdom is selling $683 million worth of smart bombs to a country which is destabilizing the entire Middle East.

Though a member of the NATO alliance, Turkey has lately proven to be a wild card, its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pursuing his own highly nationalistic and treacherous agenda. Selling more weapons to this renegade, arguably psychopathic ego-maniac, is like giving an armed grenade-launcher to a 3-year-old child to chase the dog around the yard.

The U.S. continues to supply Saudi Arabia — one of the most ideologically-extreme, brutal, anti-democratic monarchies in the world, responsible for horrifying war crimes in Yemen, egregious crimes against its own citizens, and a major player in plans to destroy Syria and eventually Iran, even if this triggers a major war with Russia and carries the possible risk of starting World War III — with some of our most advanced weaponry.

Such decisions to militarily equip saber-rattling, autocratic, aggressive, dangerous regimes would be the target of a real peace movement in America.  These are clear, frightening and appalling examples of America’s wanton propagation of lethality and potential for hellish destruction across the face of the Earth.

Our silent acquiescence represents the opposite of peace.  It is nothing less than our tacit approval and championing of war.

I occasionally hear faint whispering from the enlightened but tiny minority of Americans who understand this — more like muted whimpering than a concerted call to action.

This is not a peace movement.  It is an anomaly.  At the same time . . .

What can we expect?  Americans are addicted to war.  The idea of peace does not even get enough attention to be scoffed at. It’s such a quaint, silly sort of notion, the simpleminded province of “peaceniks” and “peace creeps”, evidence of weakness and cowardice, clearly an infliction of modern day Don Quixotes and other delusional brainiacs.

It’s appropriate and inspiring to revisit the words of John F. Kennedy:

JFK_Just Before Assassination_2“What kind of peace do I mean?  What kind of peace do we seek?  Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war.  Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave.  I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children — not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women — not merely peace in our time but peace for all time . . .

Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly toward it . . .

For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet.  We all breathe the same air.  We all cherish our children’s future.  And we are all mortal.”

John F. Kennedy spoke these words at American University, June 10, 1963.

He was assassinated five months later.

Posted in Deconstruction, Philosophy, Political Analysis, War and Peace | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

R2P = L2K

Posted on February 25, 2016 by johnrachel

Rabid DogRobert Scheer at Truthdig treats us to an oft-recurring refrain in his impassioned pleas for sanity and common sense.  I’ve heard it a number of  times in the many fascinating interviews I’ve heard of this brilliant, inspiring journalist. 

Here it is . . .

“What happens to these people?”

Indeed!

What happened to Colin Powell?

He ruined a sterling reputation and destroyed his historical legacy by lying at the U.N. — with the whole world watching — about WMDs in Iraq.  Hundreds of thousands of people died so he could make his boss, George W. Bush, proud of him.  Tragic on so many levels.

Here’s a good one:  What happened to Dick Cheney?

This is the man behind the curtain, personally responsible for more chaos and carnage than anyone since Richard Nixon murdered 3 million people in Vietnam and Cambodia.  This is really mind-boggling!  Watch him explain in 1994 why we should not destroy Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein.

Okay, Cheney is a psychopath.  So we can’t expect consistency, much less common sense.

But what happened to Samantha Power?

She is an example of someone who has truly made the transition to the dark side. 

She wrote a book on the “responsibility to protect” or R2P, as the convenient acronym goes.  It was called A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, and won a Pulitzer Prize. However, this once noble framework and call for responsible, moral action is now the neocon public relations weapon of choice to bomb and destroy any country that has the audacity to disagree with America’s corporate imperial ambitions.  Power herself has become a neocon war monger, who rails incessantly at any national leader or country who stands in the way of America’s march to world hegemony.

R2P now equals L2K — license to kill.

“What happens to these people?”

I think I can answer that.  But I’m not going to waste my time.  Because . . .

You know what?

I don’t really care what happens to any of these people.  Not any more than I care exactly how a dog contracted rabies.  When the animal is frothing at the mouth, howling, leaping in the air, snapping at everything in sight, out of its mind and posing a danger to everyone — children, old folks, anyone innocently strolling by — there’s only one immediate concern, and one sensible action.  We need to do something before someone gets hurt.

I’m not proposing shooting these people. But they do need to be isolated before they do any more harm to others.  They need to be called out, driven out, shut out, exiled from public life.  They must be removed from positions of power before anyone else gets hurt.

“What happens to these people?”

I know what should happen to them.

No more pulling punches.  No more political correctness or obsequious politeness.

We don’t behead here in America. But we certainly do eviscerate public figures — vilify and assassinate them in the public forums, villainize, quarantine them, ridicule and demonize them personally, mock and marginalize their messages.  Usually it’s the good, decent ones, citizens and public servants who take their duty to their country seriously and are guided by genuine moral concerns and driven by selfless and magnanimous agendas — people like Don Siegelman, Edward Snowden, Dennis Kucinich, Chelsea Manning, John Kiriakou — who take this kind of heat.

Samantha_PowerTime to turn the tables and call out the real enemies of America.

These people have made a sham of what this country stands for, lie and deceive the citizenry about the real agenda behind their faux-noble ideas, rationalize and obfuscate the horrifying consequences of their actions.

We’ll start with Samantha Power.  Her book, brimming with noble intentions, has morphed into a foreign policy brimming with lethal weapons.  She truly is a traitor to both herself and us.

We should show no more mercy toward her than she and her homicidal accomplices have the hundreds of thousands they’ve murdered, in the name of “responsibility to protect”.

There should be no haven. Wherever this violent, disingenuous shrew appears publicly — and even where possible privately — everyone should be reminded she is a murderer and a war criminal.  When the outcries and collective revulsion sufficiently compounds and she is rendered totally ineffective and discredited, she will be toppled from her pulpit as the former ambassador to the U.N. and the chances of survival for those who she now “protects” will be increased exponentially.

Rot in Hell Samantha Power!  You’ve killed enough people.

Make snuff movies or become a mercenary sniper.

Either is a perfect match for your CV.

Posted in Deconstruction, Democracy, Political Analysis, Political Rant, War and Peace | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The BS Challenge

Posted on February 19, 2016 by johnrachel

Bernie Sanders Lovely SmileWhile I disagree with Bernie Sanders on a host of important policy issues, I will certainly give credit where it’s due.

The man admirably has raised the awareness of the American public on critical challenges to the American way of life — like income inequality, corporate malfeasance, the plundering of the working and middle classes by Wall Street and the 1%, the corruption of our democracy by the Citizens United decision and unprecedented influx of money into electoral politics.

There is now real talk of major reform.  The word “revolution” is being floated.

Perhaps more laudably, Sanders has said that the movement fueled by his presidential campaign must go on with or without him.  If he is drummed out of the election by the Machiavellian apparatus of the Democratic Party, or if he loses to Trump or Cruz or which ever imbecile the Republicans nominate, we shouldn’t give up. We must fight on for what he stands for and for the vision of America he has presented.

Bravo!  This is excellent advice.

But let me make a point I’ve made repeatedly to a deafening silence.  Even if Bernie does win, we must fight for what he stands for and the vision of America he has presented, and this fight goes way beyond just getting him into the White House.

Translation:  If Obama with majorities of both houses of Congress on his side couldn’t get anything “revolutionary” done, with the current complexion of the House and Senate what chance does a Sanders presidency have?  (I really don’t want to get into why Obama failed. I have my own rather extreme take on that.  It’s not relevant.  My point is still valid.)

Let me also offer my solution.

Let me offer it as a challenge to all of you Bernie supporters, because I know you are way above average intelligence, well-read and versed in history, informed and armed with a deeper understanding of the realities of our political system.

If you folks are really feeling the Bern, then you need to build on your enthusiasm and support for Bernie and take it to a whole new level.  This means transforming Congress into something allied with and totally supportive of the “Bernie Sanders revolution”.

This accords with his entire vision for remaking America, is true to the selfless spirit of his campaign, and assures genuine progress — WITH OR WITHOUT HIM!

If he gets elected, he gets a Congress he can work with.

If he doesn’t get elected, the thrust and wisdom of his vision continues, promoted by those leading the charge in our legislative bodies.

So here’s the plan.

District by district, state by state, we give an ultimatum to every single candidate running for Congress in the 2016 election.  Every single candidate for the House and Senate.

EITHER YOU’RE WITH BERNIE OR YOU’RE AGAINST HIM.

If you’re with Bernie, you get our votes.

If you’re against Bernie, you don’t.

And if you’re against Bernie, we’ll find someone else — independent, Green Party, greeter at Walmart, homeless guy on a freeway ramp.

Because ANYONE WOULD BE BETTER THAN YOU!

Am I being clear here?

Now we get to the nuts-and-bolts.  And I sincerely apologize for this article being so long. But I can’t fashion this into a short and snappy meme.

As just explained above, we set up a showdown — a line in the sand.  We confront every candidate in the 2016 federal election with a simple, easily-grasped choice. 

“You’re either with us or against us.”

How do we do that?

We give them a contract to sign.

Either they sign it and get our vote.

Or they don’t sign it and they don’t get our vote.

This is how you reform the Democratic Party or get the scum out of the running!

Here’s the contract.

(Note: This is written for a candidate campaigning for the House of Representatives.  Obviously, it can easily be reconfigured for a Senatorial candidate.)

I, [Name of Candidate], if elected to a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, hereby commit to sponsor and vote in favor of legislation for all of the following:

  • Raising the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour.
  • Reforming tax regulations to stop corporations from shifting their profits and jobs overseas to avoid paying U.S. income taxes.
  • Establishing a progressive estate tax on the top 0.3 percent of Americans who inherit more than $3.5 million.
  • Enacting a transaction tax on Wall Street speculative trading.
  • Investing $1 trillion over five years towards rebuilding our crumbling roads, bridges, railways, airports, public transit systems, ports, dams, wastewater plants, and other infrastructure needs.
  • Creating 1 million jobs for disadvantaged young Americans by investing $5.5 billion in a youth jobs program.
  • Making tuition free at public colleges and universities throughout America.
  • Expanding Social Security by lifting the cap on taxable income above $250,000.
  • Increase benefits by at least 10% for all eligible recipients.
  • Establishing healthcare as a right of citizenship by enacting a Medicare for all single-payer healthcare system.
  • Requiring employers to provide at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave; two weeks of paid vacation; and 7 days of paid sick days.
  • Enacting a universal childcare and prekindergarten program.
  • Making it easier for workers to join unions by fighting for the Employee Free Choice Act.
  • Breaking up huge financial institutions so that they are no longer too big to fail.

I will not resist, discourage, or in any manner put up an impediment to, and in fact will publicly and on the floor of the House of Representatives actively promote, any and all legislation in support of these measures. If no other legislator comes forth to propose such individual pieces of legislation, I will create and introduce by my own initiative, within 90 days of taking office, legislative acts for all of the foregoing, for consideration by Congress.

I further understand and fully agree to the following: If I violate the above-stated terms of this agreement, I will tender on the 91st day after taking the oath of office for my legislative seat, my full and unqualified resignation from this elected position. Moreover, within one year of my resignation, I will refund all contributions made by individual donors in support of my candidacy for this office.

This entire agreement constitutes a legally binding contract between myself and that class of citizens who will be my constituents, should I win the upcoming election. In the event that I fail to perform the above-required actions, redress may be sought by those same citizens in the form of a class-action suit in a civil court of law, and I will be liable for a minimum of $10,000,000 damages for breach of contract. If I fail to resign from office due to my failure to fulfill the other requirements of this contract or similar contracts, I may be liable for an additional class-action settlement for an amount not less than $50,000,000. To reinforce the fundamentally democratic boundaries of this contract, and to preclude frivolous legal action, litigational harassment, and related abuses: 1) Class action lawsuits can only be initiated by a clear majority in a referendum of constituent voters: and 2) No portion of the awarded settlements resulting from class action lawsuits may be paid from campaign donations, PACs or SuperPACs.

I sign this contract voluntarily and with full appreciation of my responsibility to the citizens of the [Name of Congressional District] should they choose me as their elected representative. I accept the terms of this document as legally binding, and with a thorough and lucid understanding of its requirements and consequences.

Signed: ________________

Date: _________________

Let me tell you why this will work.

First, we’ll know who’s serious about reform and who’s not.  Talk is cheap.  If a candidate signs the contract, we’ll know he or she is serious.  Because . . .

Second, if they’ve signed on the dotted line, when they report for work in Washington DC, they will have to deliver on everything they agreed to in writing in the contract.

Not just because it’s a contract.  But because it would be political suicide if they didn’t.

I won’t elaborate.  You’re smart people.  Think about it.

In closing, I find it inspiring and heartening that Mr. Sanders is doing what he’s doing.

I hope that his supporters will have the energy and foresight to build on the awakening that seems to be occurring in this country.  I hope they will dedicate themselves to putting in place elected representatives who truly represent, who are serious about turning this country around, advancing an America which serves all of us, not just a privileged few.

Yes, I put this forth as a challenge.

It’s really quite simple . . .

Cheer leading and hero-worship are the easy part.

Revolution is hard work.

Bernie got the ball rolling.

Are you prepared to do some heavy-lifting?

Or is Chris Hedges right? . . .

Is this just more BS along the historical road to disintegration and collapse?

Posted in Banking, Democracy, Health Care, Political Analysis | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Peace is as American as . . . ?

Posted on February 14, 2016 by johnrachel

peace-sign-soldier-stencilHas America ever really had a peace movement?

Yes, there was an anti-war movement in the late 60s, early 70s.

But it was an anti-war movement . . . specific to one particular war.

The Vietnam War.

Why?

Because young people — I was the perfect age and in the thick of it — didn’t want to get blown away in some rice paddy in some country in Asia they could barely find on a map.

It’s was survival.  Demonstrate.  Burn your draft cards.

Stay alive!

To be in principle for peace means you are values-driven.

But Americans for the most part are results-driven.

Get the job done.  Get the job done right.  Miller time.

Which troublingly is a short leap to “the ends justify the means”.

To see how that works out, just ask the survivors of Dresden, Hiroshima, Nagasaki.

Ask the citizens of Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Kosovo, Yemen.

Get the job done.  Get it done right.  Watch the Super Bowl.

Peace is a warm and fuzzy idea. It’s something you can wriggle right up to, get all friendly, pinch its cute little cheeks, coddle it like a newborn, smile for the camera.

Yes, peace is really awesome!

As long as you don’t have to be peaceful.

Therein lies the conundrum.

America likes to kick ass!  It’s our way or the highway.

It’s our way or you better head for a bomb shelter, mofo!

America is tough.  You know where America stands.

America wears its temperament on its sleeve.

It open-carries its guns . . . fair warning.

Don’t even think about it!

Fuck with me and you’re dead meat!

Doesn’t exactly sound like fertile ground for a peace movement, eh?

pink_blue_glittered_peace_sign%5B1%5DHowever, peace signs are great!

Simple and attractive.

Make a great tattoo.  Charm bracelet.  Bumper sticker.

They’re compact, symmetrical.

Blend in nicely anywhere.

OH YEAH!  PEACE, BROTHER!

 

Posted in Deconstruction, Political Analysis, Political Rant, Social Commentary, War and Peace | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Still Crazy After All These Years

Posted on February 9, 2016 by johnrachel

JD At The Top_1

Yes, I’m still climbing the mountain near my house here in Japan. Only twice a week now. It has been COLD! Maybe not by Michigan standards (where I grew up), but I’ve lost all of my tolerance for low temperatures. I think living in Southern California for fifteen years recalibrated my body’s thermostat.

So to make my twice-weekly pilgrimage up the mountain, I bundle up like I’m exploring the Siberian tundra. It’s well worth it. The calm, the quiet, the meditation, the centering has become a ritual I can’t live without. Well, I guess I would live. But I’d be more insane than I already am.  My wife, Masumi, has yoga and ballet.  I stumble up and down a big mound of dirt.  Works for me.

Today my trek was a real adventure and a phenomenal treat.  While normally we don’t get that much snow here in Sasayama — and when we do, it typically doesn’t linger more than a day — this weekend we got over 12 cm (5 inches) and it stuck around.

Now I don’t own proper hiking boots. And given the variations in temperature, sometimes I was plowing through snow, other times negotiating slush and ice. My feet ended up very numb and at times I felt like I was roller skating on Teflon. I’m proud of myself. I only fell once — no broken bones. And my piggies thawed out real nice. None had to be amputated. I didn’t even get chillblain itchies! Anyone growing up in severe winter weather will know what I’m talking about.

Anyway, here are a few photos.

Photo Pair_1Photo Pair_2Photo Pair_3Photo Pair_4

I know how good I have it.  I thank the karmic lottery every day for the life I fell into.

Is it so unreasonable to think that every single person in the world deserves this?

Just a simple, basic shot at happiness, free from hunger, fear, war, oppression.

Not that I expect it to shine any light on my random musings, here’s a song by Paul Simon. (Is he still married to Edie Brickell? Last I heard, their neighbors were complaining about the noise from them screaming at each other during their epic connubial squabbles.)

I don’t feel so all alone.

I guess everyone’s still crazy after all these years.

Posted in Adventure, Philosophy, Spiritual | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Choose A Symptom, Ignore The Disease

Posted on February 1, 2016 by johnrachel

Trump Clinton Cruz Sanders_AltThis presidential election is about choosing a symptom and living in denial of the disease.

Willful ignorance, cognitive dissonance, reductive rationalization, diversion or delusion — call your suicide pact Kool Aid whatever you want — has little sway with the Grim Reaper.  Just ask Steve Jobs.  He thought he could beat the Big C.  He was dead wrong.

America made its bargain with unspeakable Evil and now is afflicted with the cancer of its own corruption and self-sabotaging choices.

To avoid the pain, it has euthanized its democracy.

To avoid thinking about extinction, it has embraced fantasy, magic, demagoguery.

To avoid the humiliation of moral bankruptcy, it has exalted profit over people.

To mask its treachery, it wraps itself in the flag, thumps on the Bible, and proclaims: “You’re either with us or against us.”  Anyone who doesn’t fall in line is carted off to a for-profit prison.

To keep the sheeple giddy as we sashay to slaughter, it now promotes puerile pandering, grandstanding and simpleminded showmanship over a principled, thoughtful, honest and constructive national conversation.

Thus . . .

Elections have become a circus.  The center ring is reserved for the ones with the shiniest teeth-whitened smiles, biggest megaphones, and most dazzling tricks.

It’s all so very entertaining, eh?  What will Donald Trump say next?  Ha ha ha!

America has hollowed itself out from the inside.  As is embarrassingly and frighteningly evident from the current presidential campaign, the political system can now only collapse into its own vacuousness — the black hole of a sham democracy.

Trump, Cruz, Clinton, Sanders?  They’re symptomatic of the times.  The inflammation.  The nausea.  The diarrhea.  The vomiting.  They’re the struggling, heaving, gasping of a deathly ill body politic, telling us something’s very wrong.  Quick!  Call an ambulance!  Vital signs are fast disappearing!

So I say . . .

Don’t yell at Hillary.  Or Trump.  It’s like yelling at a stuffy nose.  Or a rash. 

They’re just symptoms.  It’s a waste if time.

We need to get to the root of the problem.

“What’s the disease?  Cancer you say?”

Cancer is not a simple pathology.  It’s complex and multi-pronged — which, of course, is why it so stubbornly resists a comprehensive and enduring cure.

The form of cancer which is destroying our nation is a like self-replicating Hydra which has metastasized throughout the entire infrastructure of our economy, ravaged the entire political system, leeched the media of any integrity and efficacy; it has polluted even the basic support systems of our churches and community organizations; it has completely poisoned the collective consciousness of our citizenry. 

This brazen and aggressive malignancy feeds on:

1)  Unchecked imperial ambitions.

2)  Exceptionalist hubris and arrogance.

3)  The crushing power of corporations.

4)  The militarization of everything.

5)  Plutocratic tyranny and greed.

Trump?  Clinton?  Cruz?  Sanders? 

Choose your symptom.  As if it makes a difference.

Each has his or her own special twist.  A plausible version of reality.

Adult fairy tales.  Bedtime stories.  Go to sleep now.  Dream the American Dream.

At the same time . . .

If we listen very carefully to them, as tedious and exasperating as that often is — with their carefully-crafted rhetoric, focus-group tried-and-tested talking points, slick sound bites, patriotic pandering, tongue-wagging, finger-pointing, massaging and masking of the truth, manipulation of public perception, their smooth seductions and patronizing provocations — we do indeed see what the real problem is.  It’s right there staring back at us through the rheumy, half-closed eyes of a patient on life-support, whispered, but still audible, in the phlegmy rhythm of an incipient death rattle.

Our country is very, very sick.

And yes, I include Sanders as a symptom. Here is a decent human being who is being vilified as an extremist and a socialist nutcase because he promotes such controversial ideas as:  Every person has a right to a living wage, and every citizen should get proper, affordable health care.  Isn’t that an obvious sign that the central nervous system of America is being ravaged by some malignant flesh-eating bacteria?

!!!FFTDWD_Cover_200x300Yet make no mistake about it . . .

None of these candidates will talk about the disease itself.

Because none of them has a cure.

There’s only one cure.

Us.  That’s right . . .

You and I.

Posted in Corporatism, Deconstruction, Democracy, Economics, Political Analysis, Social Commentary, War and Peace | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Americans . . . GET A GRIP!

Posted on January 28, 2016 by johnrachel

Frightened CoupleSince 9/11, a grand total of 45 Americans have been killed by terrorists.

45!

That’s about 3 per year.

I’m not going to callously marginalize the tragedy of 45 deaths. All these were people who had families, friends, dreams about the future. Each one is a sad example of what it means to live in a dangerous world.

But think about it . . . only 45 people have been killed by terrorists in the last 14+ years.

Last year alone, there were 16,121 HOMICIDES.  11,208 of those were people killed by firearms!  That more than one gun killing PER HOUR!

Every 51 minutes in America, someone is killed by drunk driving.  Almost 11,000 a year!

Last year 1,658,370 new cancer cases were diagnosed.  589,430 people died of cancer! That’s 1,615 A DAY!  67 people PER HOUR!

Over 102,000 people die EVERY YEAR from hospital associated infections — by the time you finish reading my article, two people will have died from filthy medical facilities.

Get this:  Even greater numbers, meaning in excess of 216,000, die every year because of medical error!  Yes, you read that correctly.  Almost 600 people die EVERY DAY because of misdiagnosis or error in reading medical charts. “Golly gee. I’m sorry. It said 20.00 cc. I was sure it was 2000 cc. Oops! Can you notify the family of the deceased for me?”

I could go on and on.  But this offers some perspective:  Rare as it is to be electrocuted in a storm, you are seventeen times more likely to get killed by lightning than by a terrorist.

Let’s cut to the chase . . .

Since 2001, the U.S. has spent over $3 trillion on the War on Terror.

That’s $3 trillion with a ‘t’.

For $3 trillion we could have outfitted everyone with bulletproof vests, cured cancer, put breathalyzer shut-offs on every single car to keep drunks from getting behind the wheel, disinfected every hospital in America, outfitted every single American with a lighting rod, and probably had some money left over to train nurses and doctors how to read a chart.

What’s going on in this country . . . home of the brave, land of the free?

Oh yes, indeed we are free.  Free to wake up frightened, go to bed frightened, live every moment frightened because . . . THERE ARE TERRORISTS LURKING EVERYWHERE!  They hate us, they hate our freedoms, they want to chop off our heads, rape our women!

I agree about one thing for sure . . .

We should be afraid.

We should be afraid that our priorities are completely whack and that our government is overrun by self-serving lunatics, at the beck and call of our out-of-control military!

Here are some questions we should ask ourselves . . .

How many of you have known a friend, relative or neighbor who has died of cancer?

How many of you have known someone who has a family member killed by a drunk driver?

How many of you live in a community where someone was murdered?

Contrast your answer with . . .

How many of you know someone who was attacked by a Muslim?

How many of you know someone who was killed by a terrorist?

Folks . . . the War On Terror is a fraud!

It’s just a cash cow for our bloated military-industrial complex.

All I can suggest is this:  Every time one of the fear mongers comes on TV and shows you guys in ski masks and tell you to hide under your bed . . . GET A GRIP!

You are more likely to get hit by a bus while you’re under your bed, than be attacked by a terrorist while standing at a bus stop.

Here, folks, is my prediction for each and every one of you for 2016.

Ready? 

You WILL NOT BE KILLED by ISIS or al Qaeda or al Nusra or by boko haram guerillas.

Actually, you’re much more likely to be killed by your local police.

 

Posted in Deconstruction, Democracy, Political Analysis, Political Rant, Social Commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

More Bases More Bombs More War

Posted on January 24, 2016 by johnrachel

They say things have to get worse before they get better.

But how much worse can the U.S. and the world tolerate?

Driven purely by institutional self-preservation and relentless pursuit of profits by the military-industrial-complex, the cancer of American military presence continues to metastasize unchecked across the planet.  Not satisfied with creating tens of thousands of new terrorists since 9/11 with aggressive wars, invasions, special ops initiatives, drone bombing, assassinations — all claiming the lives of over a million innocent civilians — budgetary allocations are in place and plans being implemented for even more bases in Asia, Africa, Europe, even the Arctic.

Is it any surprise that when America sets up a new military hub in a foreign country, conflict and war soon follow?

It’s a closed feedback loop where a cure sets up the conditions for the disease it’s supposed to treat.  If an area is relatively at peace, the putative guarantees of continuing tranquility offered by a military presence will produce opposition and rivalry which inevitably will metastasize into conflict and war.

On that note, there certainly is no mystery why terrorism is on the rise, especially in Middle Eastern countries.

Osama bin Laden stated it clearly.  To paraphrase: “We don’t want you here.”

Not only is sovereignty at issue in these native lands, but often they host sites which are considered sacred in both social and political traditions which stretch back centuries. The very presence of U.S. soldiers, war planes, drones, or any of the other paraphernalia of empire is insult enough. But the slaughter of innocent individuals, too often women and children, can only evoke cries of outrage and demands for revenge.  Is it asking too much to imagine how U.S. citizens would react if a wedding party was blown to bits in Topeka, Kansas or Knoxville, Tennessee?

This must end. The unnecessary expansion of U.S. military presence throughout the world is bankrupting our economy, incriminating each and every American citizen in horrifying war crimes, risking World War III, and ultimately will collapse the nation and take down the great American experiment.

It’s up to us to stop this before it’s too late!

Posted in Corporatism, Deconstruction, Political Analysis, Political Rant, War and Peace | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Politics is a Rock Concert, Not a Seminar.

Posted on January 22, 2016 by johnrachel

rock-concert

The biggest failure of the Left is not understanding politics.

Politics is a rock concert, not a seminar.

I’m not talking about the “political system”. I’m talking about the realities of attempting a constructive dialogue with 319 million people.

The political system requires a thoughtful, analytical, patient, usually plodding “process” to accomplish anything of substance and lasting value.  This is how it is, and how should be, recognizing the importance of law and the framework it creates for a functioning society.

Having said that . . .

It’s unrealistic to expect everyday citizens to begin to understand the arcane particulars of fashioning laws, much less participate in the tedious business of debate, negotiation and compromise in the committees and on the floors of legislative bodies.  People barely have time to cook their meals and make it to work on time, much less pore over congressional studies and the notes of sub-committee meetings, watch monotonous hours of C-Span, or read the informed analysis of issue experts.

Maybe this is the intrinsic flaw in the whole idea of democracy, but that’s an entirely other discussion.

The point is, people cheer for their favorite causes the way the cheer for their favorite sports teams — or remaining true to the metaphor of this particular piece — their favorite songs.

The truth is — for better or worse — this makes it pretty easy to govern.

If you play a song people hate, or sing out of tune, they will boo and threaten to storm the stage and tear you to shreds. If you play what they like and perform it well, they’ll cheer, dance, revere you like a god, and go home happy.

I know this sounds simplistic.  And, of course, it’s casually brushes aside differences in taste.  Some will love Katy Perry, others think Deerhunter is the ultimate.

But I’m making a simple point.  If the Left would try “tuning in” to people, immediately stop condemning the public for being so dumbed-down and apathetic — snidely looking down their noses at Mr. and Ms. Everyday American for not wanting to sit through a four-hour Chomsky seminar — then actually play some music the voting public wants to hear, maybe some of its messages — many critical to the survival of the human race — would actually get heard.

You could argue that this is what Bernie Sanders is managing to do.

Unfortunately, it’s also what Donald Trump is doing.

But realistically both have mere cult followings, neither approaching universal appeal. Trump scores with the Ted Nugent fans. Bernie has got the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young crowd locked down.

Both have certainly tapped into a hungry void.  Someone needs to sing the songs the vast majority of Americans want to hear.  Perhaps more than ever before in recent history, there is an urgent need for music which will raise our hopes and inspire new dreams.

But the way things stand, there are still a huge number of folks who have no song to hum.

I believe people know what they want. But they can’t write the tunes themselves. They hear what’s being played, listen for a catchy melody, a singable chorus, an infectious beat. They take it from there.

None of the candidates so far have come up with a true hit.

Does this characterization trivialize politics?

It doesn’t have to.  It simply means that there is a lesson here.

The challenge is offering an honest, heartfelt, engaging, entertaining message, which is true to both the spirit and the content that drives that message, and one which people not only want to hear, but will be “singing” themselves — because it genuinely resonates with them.

For the right wing of this country, this is apparently easy. While what they say makes me as a progressive shudder and recoil in horror, I have to hand it to them. They know how to put it out there and get their deluded, misguided, parochial flock of lemmings excited!

The Left — and I’m not talking about the “sold out” Democrats or Starbucks liberals who for all intents and purposes form the willfully ignorant center of the political spectrum — just can’t seem to get it together.

For many progressives, especially progressive academics and pundits, the devil is so entirely in the details, nuance and caveat reign supreme, and tragically the message gets lost.  The “big ideas” might be out there, but they’re buried in a blizzard of abstractions, qualifiers, minutiae, pros-and-cons, excuses and rationalizations, the truly annoying and pathetic preemptive defenses, deflections, even counter and counter-counter arguments.

You know . . . the old forest and trees myopia.

Where am I going with this?

I’ll offer one simple example.

War Is Over (If You Want It)Remember the John Lennon song Happy Xmas (War Is Over)?  The end of the song features a vamp with a huge chorus singing:

…………. War is over if you want it! ………….

Sound naive?  Stupid?  Wacky?  Impossible?

All we have now is war, morning, noon and night . . . 24/7/365.  War is like oxygen!

But the simple truth is, we — that is, you and I — could put an end to it, at least put an end to our aggressive, destructive military misadventures.  We could stop the slaughter of tens of thousands of people and the promotion of even more anti-American terrorism. You and I could stop the militarization of our nation and the world precipitated by the profiteering and insatiable greed of the corporate military-industrial complex.

The method is actually quite straightforward.

The message is simple and clear.

Spend some time with this and see for yourself . . .

http://peacedividend.us

War and fear and militarization and national bankruptcy are over.

. . . if you want it.

Have you heard this tune from any of the candidates?

Have you even heard it from the Left, the progressive intelligentsia, many of whom say you should just look the other way on Bernie Sanders’ longstanding support for militarization, his active promotion of unnecessary military expenditures, his declared endorsement of drone warfare, his votes for the surveillance state, his condemnation of Edward Snowden, his appalling knee-jerk approval of Israeli apartheid and brutal military oppression of Palestinians?

Why not?

War and fear and militarization and national bankruptcy are over if we want it.

It’s simple, catchy.  Has a nice sound to it.  Good beat.

Why don’t we ever hear this song?

You might ask one of the “progressives” at your next Chomsky seminar.

Posted in Corporatism, Democracy, Philosophy, Political Analysis, Social Commentary, War and Peace | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment