so full of righteous hate...

so it is now well into the period when the world was supposed to end if we did not hand over $700,000,000,000 to the bush administration to buy a bunch of crap so that banks would not collapse. the market was supposed to be down 200% by now...it really hasn't moved all that much. although a lot more people are out of work (of course that is a trend that has been continuing for some time). and since people were beginning to look around and say "wait a minute, wasn't this supposed to be a must-get-done-yesterday thing?" the boy king comes on television and tells you that the world will end on sunday if we don't give his boys $700,000,000,000 and just sit back and wait for an update sometime down the road.

yet another ploy by a "drown it in the bathtub" crowd. say what you will about those that lead the conservative coup (not conservatives in general, just those at the top with the all the money), but they tend to think forward in ways that the left has been unable to do for some time. see, toss $700,000,000,000 into the shitter and suddenly thing like governmental regulation, education, health care, social security, etc. become unfeasible in the very near future...it just simply can't be paid for (although pissing away hundreds of billions fighting phantoms will always be en vogue). they don't want you to think about it, just do it. it was the same thing that gave us that brilliant "patriot" act (and if mccain is that kind of patriot, in the words of his illustruous running mate, thanks but no thanks). it was the same thing that made my effective tax rate hit the fucking roof while warren buffet now pays a lower percentage then his secretary.

only they didn't foresee something different this time...the american people are sick of being told to be afraid. perhaps the one great thing about american exceptionalism is the "fuck you" attitude that arises when "leaders" tell us to be scared...we are too damn proud to put our tail between our legs and cower behind uncle sam for too long. and now, we're mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore.

and we are looking at that price tag, and people are flooding their congresspersons with angry letters, phonecalls and emails. they are questioning why $700,000,000,000 can't shore up an economy by providing jobs through public works programs. they are wondering why it is that they have been told 1/6th of that is too much to pay for health care for their children and themselves, but it isn't too much to protect poor business leaders following what we all knew would be a failed economic philosophy. they are wondering how many schools would be upgraded with a fraction of that money. they are wondering why $700,000,000,000 can be thrown at wall street but not at the ninth ward or galveston. they wonder how it is that bankers get hundreds of billions while programs for those most in need get cut year after year. most of all, they are wondering when joe and jane america will be considered too important to let fail.

and so mccain calls a "timeout" to run back to his office (which he has abandoned for almost 1/2 a year) because the 500 plus members of congress are hopelessly lost without him yelling at them. nevermind that this is an issue he admits he knows nothing about (not that many supposed "experts" have any fucking clue...more historians, less mba's please). nevermind that congress is already close to hammering out a deal (just in time for him to swoop in and take credit for something he had nothing to do with). it is a stupid move politically because the people are pissed off about the bailout...and he wants to save the bailout. just goes to show you how insanely out of touch the right wing has become.

and then there is bill clinton...who has made it very, very clear we should not be talking about who is to blame for this mess. and always talks about "we" when he mentions how this mess came to be. nevermind that bill clinton's embracing the "free market" and financialization guaranteed this day would come. nevermind that clinton signed the bill that repealed much of the safeguards put in place after the last time this happened to ensure it never happened again. nevermind that clinton wanted everyone to believe that because the stock market was high everything was grand.

the stock market is not what makes america great. it is great in spite of wall street, not because of it. "the gross national pruduct does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. it does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. it measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our passion nor our devotion to our country. it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. and it can tell us everything about america...except why we are proud that we are americans."

for instance, don't look now but a gitmo prosecutor quit his job because his higher-ups were demanding he proceed unethically. mccain votes to undue habeaus, this reservist quits because the process is un-american. who is the hero here?

in the end, take comfort in knowing this...racism is a powerful force in america, but at times like these, class solidarity becomes equally powerful. and as society becomes more diverse, and as a younger generation stands up to mom and dad, and as the corporate fat cats desperately try to one last grab at controlling your government, they are finding out they did not act soon enough...the shock is over...the sleeping giant has been awakened. the landslide is on.

talkin' about a revolution...