The Lazy Republic

When it comes to understanding the realities of our economy and it's role in the overall power structure of 21st century America, are millions of Americans soft-headed or just lazy?  I hate having to ask that question, but clearly it has to be one or the other.

I won't pretend to completely understand the events that lead to the recent financial collapse and subsequent bailouts that, to-date, total somewhere in the trillions of dollars.  But it doesn't take much digging to realize that the individuals responsible for the aforementioned collapse have yet to be held accountable.......for ANYTHING!  We bailed them out and it was right back to business as usual.  The same business, btw, that screwed us in the first place!

Upsetting, right?  I'm upset, you're upset.....individually, we are upset!  And as a nation?  As a nation we are so upset that we immediately call for the heads of these Wall Street scam artists.....these billionaire punks who used greedy politicians and an uneducated, uninterested public to help finance their criminal dealings.  We're talking full-scope investigations, baby!  Justice served.

*sigh*  Now, reality. 

We chose instead to be our usual uninterested, uneducated selves.  We took the easy, well-marked path of blindly following radio gurus and  TV talking heads who's own interests happen to be directly aligned with the same super-rich criminals who fucked us!  These self-proclaimed 'patriots' would have us believe that the poor (code speak: minorities) and Big Government are wholly responsible for our current situation, and that our saviors will be the very same 1% who, once again, plan to use our blessed, unregulated free market economy to make themselves even richer.  How will that save us?  Trickle down, silly! 

I'll give you a moment to wade from that bullshit........

Seriously, that's what they're shilling, and millions of Americans are buying it.  But why?  Is it the fear of not being considered a 'Real American' by these fact-phobic, flag-pinned pretenders who have sworn, while talking down to you, to not talk down to you?  If so, that makes you soft-headed.....which sucks, since there's not much that can be done about that.  But if those buying in are doing so simply because it's easier than sorting through facts, let alone becoming semi-knowledgeable about what is admittedly an extremely complex economy, well that's just good old fashioned laziness.

Perhaps the most frustrating part, for me at least, is that this laziness isn't absolute.  These folks have plenty of interest and fervor when it comes to being outraged, and it's not hard to understand why.  After all, 'outrage' is what they see and hear every time they tune into their favorite news programs. The #1 goal of these programs is to manufacture outrage by scaring the shit out of an uninformed audience.  This audience is then told that they're right to be afraid because that just means they possess that most coveted of American values, common sense.  That's a big favorite among the lazy crowd.  Common sense....sorta like smart's folksy cousin.  Nevermind that the most basic, fundamental element of common sense is fact.  Facts are common to all precisely because they aren't based on subjective emotions.....

......like fear, for instance.  Getting the picture?

-TRS

Dream On

A sobering, if not sickening excerpt from former Goldman VP Nomi Prins' book, 'It Takes a Pillage' ....

"Here are some numbers for you. There were approximtely $1.4 trillion worth of subprime loans outstanding in the United States by the end of 2007. By the first quarter of 2009, there were forclosure filings against approximately 4.4 million properties. If it was only the subprime market's fault, $1.4 trillion would have covered the entire problem, right?

Yet the Federal Reserve, the treasury, and the FDIC forked out $13 trillion to fix the housing "correction"… With all that money, the government could have bought up every residential mortgage in the country – there were about $11.9 trillion worth at the end of December 2008 – and still have had about a trillion left over to buy homes for every American who couldn’t afford them."

Got that? $13 trillion to fix a correction. She goes on to say that these bailouts were always more about paying off bets than stabalizing the economy. So that's it. Since not one bank exec has been brought up on charges, let alone convicted and jailed for any of this shit, it's time to acknowledge that the "American Dream" has become just that; a dream. Reality is that sign sitting in front of 'your' house.

Careful What You Wish For

see more Señor Gif

Broadcasting 101

Never screw someone out of a promotion on live TV....

Love Grenade for Sister Sarah

If you have a strong stomach, I invite you to read this gusher of a love letter to America's #1 whack job, Sarah Palin, written for Time Magazine by America's #2 whack job himself, Ted Nugent.  If not, allow me to sum it up for you:

1st Line: Guitar Joke
Middle: Policy and fact-free, flag waving horseshit
Last Line: Hunting Joke

Actually, it's hard not to call the whole thing a joke.  'The Nuge' believes Palin to be the lipsticked reincarnation of our brilliant, serious minded forefathers and describes her as having a 'herculean work ethic.'  Got that?  So despite what we all learned in school, apparently Thomas Jefferson was quite proud of not knowing much about anything and George Washington quit midway through his 1st term in office.

This 'piece' wouldn't bother me so much if it had been published in 'Field & Stream' or 'Guns & Ammo,' but Time Magazine?  Is it too much to hope that this was a total tongue-in-cheek job by the editors and was in no way meant to be taken seriously?  Otherwise, I'm at a loss.  One minute, Uncle Ted's rantings are safely relegated to Fox News, Tea Party rallies and Reality TV.  The next, I'm opening what I thought was a respectable magazine and reading about how Ted's beloved Sarah represents all that is 'good' in America while exposing all that is 'bad and ugly.'  Don't bother asking what he means by 'good' and 'bad.'  As with anything Palin-related, specifics are to be avoided at all cost.  Ask again and Ted will literally shoot you in your commie face!  *air guitar*

On a happier note, I think we can all agree that nobody's ever done album covers quite like Ted Nugent.  The man was a visionary!  Just a shame the editors at Time weren't able to get their photoshop on.  Would have been a nice compliment to the article, I think.

Queen for a Day

I'm thinking about starting the 'Rosie Ruiz Appreciation Society.' On this day 30 years ago, Rosie won the 1980 Boston Marathon. She was unfairly stripped of her title when it was discovered that she had joined the race about a mile before the finish line. :) A win is a win, right Rosie?

Atta girl!

Legit Movement or Armed Circle Jerk

Sullivan got it right.  A movement based on the noble core principals of smaller govt and fiscal responsibility loses all credibility when it's guided by blind partisanship (see: unfunded war perpetrated by a GOP President and Congress is all good, but this President is killing our nation with debt!) and suspiciously high levels of open hostility towards the current administration. I'd wager that if you offered the average Tea Party member an opportunity to either sit down with the President to discuss ideas for cutting taxes and reducing spending, or attend a TP rally on the White House lawn, he'd choose the latter everytime.  "Civil discourse is appeasement!"  No, actually it's not.  It's how serious people handle serious problems in the modern world.

"...and that lack of seriousness is complemented by a near-fanatical cultural alienation from the modern world."

It's enough to make you wonder if Tea Party 'leaders' aren't perfectly happy being marginalized.  After all, having a seat at the legislative bargaining table means having to use your 'inside voice' to articulate actual ideas. *yawn*  Instead, let's embrace that fringe and keep those cameras rolling!  It's a beautiful time of year to be standing outdoors screaming about socialism and 'your America.'