The ‘Bailout’ & the Crisis of Democracy
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009I am no economist, but it seems to me that this “financial emergency” is fundamentally a CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY.There is nothing in this “bailout” scenario that has not been predicted and avoidable for decades. People with experience and sane and healthy analyses who spoke and wrote of the dangers were ignored, ridiculed or scorned. Certainly not given airtime nor column space in major media to explain their concerns or to connect the dots.There is absolutely NO intention of this “government” and the corporate lobbyists that fund and write the legislation for them, who influence and buy legislators, and who “regulate” their own ventures, to allow the People either:
1. first-hand, un”regulated” or uncensored knowledge of what actually goes on, or what/how/by whom decisions are made.
2. a free press that engages the public and discusses and questions situations as well as alternatives.
3. a free electoral system that allows such a simple notion as alternative views and political organization (i.e. other parties) with both the right and “permission” to speak freely and in the open and with access to the public’s airwaves.
Forget Public Funding of Elections.The “Free Marketeers” who have so brazenly lied to us, lo these decades (centuries?), about their ideology and intentions, admit no Free Market of Ideas, eliminating candidates from National Debates, allowing no television time for smaller candidacies (as nations such as Brazil and Mexico somehow manage to do), preventing any real dialogue, exchange of ideas IN MUCH THE SAME WAY AS their Phony “Free Market” Rules and rigged games they play, that ALWAYS end up with us, the taxpayers, bailing out the failed “plans” (schemes?) AFTER the usually unpunished perpetrators have taken out and stashed away their private profits.It’s time to realize: this is a wholesale Criminal Enterprise masquerading as a government, while bad-mouthing ANYTHING representing truly democratic or representative ideas of the governed.The enemies of democracy are not conspiring to smash aircraft into our symbols of power. They are circulating freely in the corridors of our Capitol and White House. They sit behind microphones and in front of cameras that blanket the nation with innuendo, false images of humanity and science, disinformation, vitriol and hatred. They take what they want, prey on the weak, and plot to silence those who might object. They cover their actions and trails with emotional rhetoric spread by giant media networks with whom they share power.This is not democracy in ANY sense of the word. It is a Cosmetic Democracy at best where appearance deceives and illusions shatter if you look too closely.A Thousand Plagues, too, on the folks like Nancy Pelosi and her duplicitous and traitorous gang of enablers who use the romantic and nostalgic falsehoods of a supposed Democratic Party “legacy” of supporting working people to quietly shut up, shut down and neutralize the efforts of exactly those elements in our society (anti-war movement, veterans, women’s groups, labor, impeachment advocates, etc.) who actually WOULD stand up to defend our REAL democratic principles.We must also question the sense of all those people of good will, still IN the Democratic Party (or so self-identifying), who have willingly allowed themselves to be used and fooled time and time again, accepting “lesser-of-two-evilism” as the Norm and Rule, having demanded NOTHING of their duplicitous neo-liberal usurped “Leadership” Council of that political party, having lowered both their expectations and their pants to that “leadership”, without getting a single meaningful concession in return that supports the American People or our Constitution.This has gone on for decades now.Those of you who have tolerated and even supported this should be ashamed and embarrassed. You have willingly allowed the oligarchy of this nation to use the artifice of a “second flavor” of Capital, the Democratic Party, to fool, use and abuse both you AND this nation, wasting your time and our democratic potential.If you truly are progressive, it is time to take up the real and active defense of Democracy, insist on Impeachment (there is still time), restore the Constitution (there may be still time), and BAIL OUT of that phony Party to put your energies and resources towards building a new one that has its feet firmly planted in Democracy. This may hurt and sadden some to realize, but...it is too late for the Democratic Party — they have already effectively betrayed the nation. They have stood by and watched (when not aiding and abetting) the worst elements of our society rape and pillage our nation and ravage others across the globe — and done nothing — other than shout down those who begged them to act on behalf of the people.There IS NO legacy to save.This whole supposed “government,” propped up by officials of both “Official Parties” is really an illegal occupation of Governmental Positions and Roles by people who hate government, because when it works, it represents ordinary people. They work hard to see representative government destroyed and replaced by an oligarchic-corporate fiat in the guise of government, touting “freedom” and “democracy” as no more than brand names and slogans.