In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
The Coronation of America's First Tyrant King
The $80 million (don't believe that $40 million figure, that's PR) pomp and circumstance about to unfold as U.S. troops without honor -- um, make that armor -- get blowed up real good every single day has been bought and paid for by the same deregulated industry that rigged the election in the first place, thanks to the undemocratic machinations of single-party rule in every branch of government, including the unofficial -- make that official -- fourth branch: News Corporation, Clear Channel, and a host of other communication conglomerates in clear violation of FCC mandates. But why stop at the FCC? How about the FDA, the SSA, OSHA, and all the rest of the erstwhile hugely successful government programs WE pay for? Who the hell has the political will or authority to tell them No? When you buy off the Supreme Court and pack every single federal bench with radical ideologues and religious fundamentalists, you can get away with anything. It's called being a "strict constructionist" as opposed to those evil "activist" judges who favor "Big Government". You know that stroke your dad had last week from a medication his doctor prescribed because his knees hurt from playing too much tennis from trying to keep in shape? Remember that cancer that killed your mother because of the medicine her doctor prescribed due to the early onset of osteoperosis? Remember how your schizophrenic brother finally killed himself by jumping out a 20-story window after taking that pill the doctor prescribed to keep him from killing himself? Thank you FDA, it's nice to know that you're regulating yourself and keeping Americans safe from harm and physical injury.
And why shouldn't they regulate themselves without mandatory oversight? After all, it is the law, legislated by the all-Republican all-the-time House and Senate, our "morals and values" leaders, who lead by example. That's why we have the Patriot Acts, I and II, a morality play starring Big Brother, whose sole purpose is to break down any wall separating the executive branch from amassing unlimited, unprecedented power, which used to be illegal (an American president was almost impeached for it, until he had to resign after firing his cabinet). Not any more! Thank you, U.S. Department of Justice. Wait a minute, didn't Orwell call it that? It's so confusing!
So what, you say, why shouldn't the executive branch have all the power it could ever want -- including the power of the purse, which used to be Congress's domain (after all, what does it really matter, since they're all best friends, and have all the same best friends) -- without answering to anyone; we're at war against an evil enemy, somewhere anyway, and we have to jail and torture and murder anybody with the same religion, because they all believe the same thing: that their God is bigger than our God. Or did I get that backward? Oh well.
The other great thing about the Patriot Act is that not only is it unpatriotic not to support it, but it also gives the right of your medical privacy to banks and insurers and credit card companies to share, who have unlimited access to every purchase you ever made in your entire life, and they can raise your rates based on this private information, without a cap, for however much they want, retroactively! Isn't privatized health insurance great? That too used to be against the law, and once was considered unethical, like torture. Those were quaint beliefs, though, according to the new attorney general. There must be spies who must be tortured, like that 15-yr.-old girl who was raped and could only get an abortion if she published the names of every person she ever had sex with in the newspaper. Didn't end up really mattering, since the papers dragged her name through the mud anyway during the court case. Thank you, Jeb Bush. Anyone for a second helping of compassion? It's reassuring to know that you're on the side of traditional values. It makes the community safe from terrorists -- I mean, doctors who perform legal abortions.
How about those pesky liberal senators trying to stop coal and mining industries from poisoning the air and the water? Americans have the right to die of asthma, get inoperable brain tumors and become infertile. It's in the Constitution, and if it isn't yet, it should be, like a ban on certain people who love each other. I'll take my water black. I like it that way. Same with the air. And if you don't think so -- there isn't anything you can do about it. Speaking of which, if you've invested your life savings in an energy industry -- like Enron stock, for example -- the CEOs, those upstanding captains of industry with so much integrity and accountablity, are completely protected from any meaningful litigation when they lie about their assets in their financial reports, sell off all their stock and run away with every penny of the investors' money, to the tune of $60 billion. It's all legal now! (Well not really, you pay a small fine.) From now on, we should call it rightdoing! All they have to do is fly the U.S. president -- or "candidate" anyway -- around in a private jet for free and spend quality time with him on the links arranging fraud. Golf is such a great game, especially how it historically discriminates against groups. Some people are addicted to it.
The Pentagon and defense contractors are addicted to each other. That's been true for a long time. Nothing illegal about that. I don't remember, though, actually bombing a country that didn't do anything to us so that they could make billions from rebuilding it at fantastically inflated prices, putting U.S. soldiers' lives at risk every minute of every long day for years and years and years to do the dirty work for them. I guess that's what they mean by a standing army: the actual fellows who profit can't stand doing the work. And they sure as hell ain't payin' for it. WE ARE. That's why John Kerry is a flip-flopper. How dare he question this noble enterprise? Clearly the man is unsuited to be president of the United States.
Not like the Emperor, who always wears his suits in plain sight, representing all the American people. I can't see them, though. Where are they? He isn't wearing any. I better go see a doctor, I must be blind. Come to think of it, maybe I won't.
- Michael 4:07 PM - [PermaLink] -
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