Alligators 'n Roadkill

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Monday, January 31, 2011

I’m just sayin’………..

The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive. - Thomas Jefferson

You know, it was pretty bad when a certain ex-president was able to lead us all down a fear-ridden garden path by lying to us. And, it was pretty bad that millions of fools chose to believe him and to follow him to the point that they re-elected the man to a second term, even after he had been proven wrong. It was actually worse that these same millions were so quick to turn on their fellow citizens whenever the existence of certain fictitious WMDs was questioned labeling the questioners as traitors. And, of course, it is really bad that we are still embroiled in a larger and (by far) worse quagmire than ever before in our history. It is downright sad that after adequate numbers were able to elect a new President, with a promise of change, that those other voices have become louder than before, and now have turned on that new President and any who support him or his efforts to bring about that promised change.

For some strange reason, hate and fear are now given a more prominent place from which to shout their terrible slogans, and hate has joined fear to provide a continual distraction, which takes the attention of the American electorate away from the real issues that face our once great and proud nation, and away from the very real threats to our freedom, and the very ideals of our democracy. The wool is firmly in place over the eyes of the majority of Americans, and we Americans now spend too much of our precious time and energy arguing among ourselves, while the tail has begun to wag the dog. Does anyone remember Dwight D. Eisenhower's very timely words of warning, from January of 1961, regarding The Military Industrial Complex?

One of the biggest distractions involves the screaming, irrational voices that clamor for the current sitting U. S. President to show them his "long-form" Birth Certificate, to prove to them that he is indeed a citizen of the U. S., and born on U. S. soil. These fools totally ignore that their candidate was born in Panama (John McCain; look it up). They ignore and shout down any attempt to ask them to stop and use logic or any kind of rational thought in seeking the answer that they want to their demand. Even those few moderate Republicans who initially hoped that this might be a real issue long ago abandoned this pursuit when they realized that it is a dry hole. No amount of reason will penetrate these people's minds, because they tune in daily to get their reinforcing 'shots' of hate and fear and lies and untruths from the likes of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and just about anyone who works on air for FOX 'News.' (Note: the word, news, when used with FOX, is italicized and in quotes because this is not a real news network. It is one of the World's largest and worst examples of a propaganda machine. It does Joseph Goebbels proud.)

Most recently, this evil man, Glenn Beck, has incited his listeners to some truly hateful threats of physical violence against one person, that person being 78 year-old Frances Fox Piven, an American Sociologist, formerly on faculty at Columbia University, and today, still on faculty at New York's City University. (see this link for a full report: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1349723/Widow-78-receives-death-threats-Glenn-Beck-attacks-economic-views.html). Mr. Beck spent some seven minutes of his Jan. 5 'program' on FOX ranting against her for a paper she co-wrote with her now deceased husband, in 1966, a short two years after this idiot (Beck) was born! This rant, during which he said things like her 55-year-old article was a call to 'overwhelm the system and bring about the fall of capitalism' was of course swallowed hook, line, and sinker by his fanatic listeners. Reportedly, his temper had flared over a more recent article she wrote for The Nation praising the demonstrations and civil disobedience that took place in Britain and in Greece over the last few months of 2010.  'Is that not inciting violence?' he asked. He slammed her as an 'enemy of the Constitution'. She has received multiple death threats, and despite formal requests to FOX to curb Mr. Beck's enthusiasm, FOX 'News' refuses to control his rhetoric because, in their words, he has "quoted her accurately," and because Mr. Beck has never threatened her.

Let's put this in context of the also recent shooting in Tucson (Jan. 8, just a few days after this particular rant). No, no, no. I am not trying to directly link these two separate events. But I am saying that rants of this nature are bound to lead to actual physical violence because all too often these radical, right wing so-called 'conservatives' resort to threats of physical violence when they find that their arguments (which usually lack all sense of logic or reason since they are so often based on fear and hate mongering) are falling on deaf ears. That has to inevitably lead to real violence, and one wonders what can be done to curb some of this.

Granted, I have done little more than suggest something here. But, to go back to my original concern, having to do with that entity Mr. Eisenhower warned us against, all those years ago, let me ask you some questions:

Who benefits from war and other acts of aggression? (Hint, the initials are M-I-C).

Who has one of the more powerful lobbies working for them in Washington, D. C.? (M-I-C) (This may well be the single largest and most powerful lobby, if you include some areas that are normally listed as being representative of other interests, such as Misc. Business, Communications/Electronics, Transportation, Other, Construction.)

Who has very strong influence over most Representatives and Senators (as in, 'in their pocket'), maybe the strongest? (M-I-C)

Who was really behind our 'incursion' into Iraq, not only the first time, 1991, but more recently, in 2003? (M-I-C)

Who really controls the Pentagon? (that's right, M-I-C; or, 'you betcha,' as one tea party-er might say)

In what field did Dick Cheney work prior to becoming Vice-President-In-Charge-Of-Evil? (M-I-C)


 

I'm just sayin'………..

2 comments:

  1. Great post! And so sadly true. I just shake my head in dismay and disbelief at the madness gripping the U.S. After a 3 week trip in late December, I posted similar comments on my blog as well. And it does seem to have all gotten traction and sped forward after that stolen election in 2000. What a travesty... and what a disaster it has led to in the good ole U.S. of A. Thanks for posting this ...

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  2. I am in 100% agreement; well written and I join Kat Sunlove in saying how sad for the nation I am a citizen of. I thought that the US would change for the better with the election of President Obama - however the fanatical right wing opposition is on adrenaline against Obama with one ignorant attack after another. On a personal level my living in Costa Rica is a wonderful escape for me from the madness in the USA.

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