Ediface Rex
Expert textpert choking smokers,
Don't you thing the joker laughs at you?
--I am the Walrus, The Beatles
The old soft shoe
He jumped so high, jumped so high
Then he lightly touched down
--Mr. Bojangles, Jerry Jeff Walker
Ooh, ooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell?
Ooh, ooh that smell
The smell of death surrounds you.
--That Smell, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Isn't it pretty to think so?
--The Sun Also Rises,
Ernest Hemingway
______________
Don't you thing the joker laughs at you?
--I am the Walrus, The Beatles
The old soft shoe
He jumped so high, jumped so high
Then he lightly touched down
--Mr. Bojangles, Jerry Jeff Walker
Ooh, ooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell?
Ooh, ooh that smell
The smell of death surrounds you.
--That Smell, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Isn't it pretty to think so?
--The Sun Also Rises,
Ernest Hemingway
______________
The more you think on it, the Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©) and the economic crisis and attendant stimuli are exactly the same.
Both are based upon illusion, false premises and a heapin' helpin' of unreal expectations. Smoke, mirrors, in fact, lies. Lies presented as obvious assumptions. Neither word belongs in policy or war making. We fancy we are a nation of warriors and consumers led by experts, but our experts are only masters of doublespeak.
They talk real pretty and look pretty nice, but a national life is made not of tap dancing and pretty words. The real estate bubble and bust was based upon predatory, faith-based lending and mortgage practices. The faith was in the outstanding aspect of America that allowed for limitless asset appreciation. The market could bear all. Bankers sold fairy dust and snake oil.
Both the home "owner" and the banker colluded in a commensal lie, and the balloon payment down the line got a nod and a wink. Denial and greed are the names for that most American of games. As Big Daddy asked, Didn't you notice the powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity in this room?
The PWOT shares many of the same features. BushCheney & Co. sold the war to Congress (= mortgage) to Congress (= the buyer) on the lie that the war would not exceed $50 Billion. D'oh.
The figure was a lie and everyone knew it, but Congress bought the fiction like a good sub prime borrower and signed onto the interest-only mortgage (= the congressional authorization to use military force to execute the PWOT.)
The bill was further bastardized when the terms were changed without a complete renegotiation and refinancing of the note. The original mortgage was the invasion of Afghanistan. However, this was unilaterally expanded to include Iraq.
This type of switcheroo would be unheard of in a mortgage or loan situation, yet Congress accepted the term change without so much as a whimper. The media mavens didn't summon much concern, either.
The extension of the mortgage to include Iraq was sold as a predatory loan. Bush sold Congress and the people the idea that the war would be paid with a balloon note payable in Iraqi oil assets. Unfortunately, Bush didn't ask the Iraqis if they were on board with his diktat.
After the war was won in such a spectacular manner it became obvious that the initial mortgage would not ever be paid, as initially promised. What to do? Take out a 2nd mortgage, renegotiate the note and pass regular ersatz "Emergency Funding Bills" to cover the interest only. Sadly, as with the bad mortgages, the balance is still due and is beyond our ability to pay at this time.
The wars and the stimulus packages are based upon faulty logic. Yet we continue stalwart down that road, as it's the only one we know.
The government exists for one purpose: to provide for the general welfare of the citizenry, rich and poor. That is our social contract.Effective democracy is the muting and accommodation of the extremes; it is the middle ground, which is no longer terrain traversed by either party.
Both parties favor big business and finance to the exclusion of the middle and lower economic strata. The government has abrogated its mandate when it permits predatory behavior, as it has done in the financial sector and the war making sector. Yet we call this predation, democracy. If so, democracy is dead.
Ranger sees a realignment of the political parties reflecting the economic realities of the nation. Power to the people, if they can surmount their hysterical fealty to divisive issues like gun control and abortion rights.
America will survive by adapting and abandoning policies that harm the majority of the citizens. It remains to be seen whether the divisive Rovian tactics can be trashed in favor of a national ethos. If enough things break down, maybe the citizens will coalesce in a unity of purpose.
The welfare of America is not the welfare of corporate CEOs.
Both are based upon illusion, false premises and a heapin' helpin' of unreal expectations. Smoke, mirrors, in fact, lies. Lies presented as obvious assumptions. Neither word belongs in policy or war making. We fancy we are a nation of warriors and consumers led by experts, but our experts are only masters of doublespeak.
They talk real pretty and look pretty nice, but a national life is made not of tap dancing and pretty words. The real estate bubble and bust was based upon predatory, faith-based lending and mortgage practices. The faith was in the outstanding aspect of America that allowed for limitless asset appreciation. The market could bear all. Bankers sold fairy dust and snake oil.
Both the home "owner" and the banker colluded in a commensal lie, and the balloon payment down the line got a nod and a wink. Denial and greed are the names for that most American of games. As Big Daddy asked, Didn't you notice the powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity in this room?
The PWOT shares many of the same features. BushCheney & Co. sold the war to Congress (= mortgage) to Congress (= the buyer) on the lie that the war would not exceed $50 Billion. D'oh.
The figure was a lie and everyone knew it, but Congress bought the fiction like a good sub prime borrower and signed onto the interest-only mortgage (= the congressional authorization to use military force to execute the PWOT.)
The bill was further bastardized when the terms were changed without a complete renegotiation and refinancing of the note. The original mortgage was the invasion of Afghanistan. However, this was unilaterally expanded to include Iraq.
This type of switcheroo would be unheard of in a mortgage or loan situation, yet Congress accepted the term change without so much as a whimper. The media mavens didn't summon much concern, either.
The extension of the mortgage to include Iraq was sold as a predatory loan. Bush sold Congress and the people the idea that the war would be paid with a balloon note payable in Iraqi oil assets. Unfortunately, Bush didn't ask the Iraqis if they were on board with his diktat.
After the war was won in such a spectacular manner it became obvious that the initial mortgage would not ever be paid, as initially promised. What to do? Take out a 2nd mortgage, renegotiate the note and pass regular ersatz "Emergency Funding Bills" to cover the interest only. Sadly, as with the bad mortgages, the balance is still due and is beyond our ability to pay at this time.
The wars and the stimulus packages are based upon faulty logic. Yet we continue stalwart down that road, as it's the only one we know.
The government exists for one purpose: to provide for the general welfare of the citizenry, rich and poor. That is our social contract.Effective democracy is the muting and accommodation of the extremes; it is the middle ground, which is no longer terrain traversed by either party.
Both parties favor big business and finance to the exclusion of the middle and lower economic strata. The government has abrogated its mandate when it permits predatory behavior, as it has done in the financial sector and the war making sector. Yet we call this predation, democracy. If so, democracy is dead.
Ranger sees a realignment of the political parties reflecting the economic realities of the nation. Power to the people, if they can surmount their hysterical fealty to divisive issues like gun control and abortion rights.
America will survive by adapting and abandoning policies that harm the majority of the citizens. It remains to be seen whether the divisive Rovian tactics can be trashed in favor of a national ethos. If enough things break down, maybe the citizens will coalesce in a unity of purpose.
The welfare of America is not the welfare of corporate CEOs.
Labels: bailouts, bill of goods, democracy dead, phony war on terror, PWOT, unity
posted by rangeragainstwar at 5:18 PM
7 comments
