Since the justification for going into Iraq, WMDs, the Iraq-Al Qaeda link, and the imminent threat caused by the Saddam Hussein regime was non-existent, how do we resolve and absolve the crimes committed by our country against humanity?
If we as a people, citizens of the United States, allow murder in the name of our defense then we are not worthy of our heritage, legacy, or presumed sense of superiority.
It is not by chance that action, sanctioned by our belief in god and our self-proclaimed belief of god's belief in us, has resulted in a diminished world, diminished freedoms, and squandered opportunities to lead. When led by fearful emotions, inculcated by the steady drumbeat of leaders with ulterior motives, the result is a population of cowards who deserve not, that which was won by honorable actions, the American Legacy.
The so called political leaders, Bush, Cheney, Rice, and Rumsfeld with the hands of the military corporations controlling their words and actions brought us back in time 50 years, when lies brought us to Vietnam. Where is the hue and cry now, where are the brave and fearless, they linger and wallow in the mess of their possessions and the satiety of their excesses.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
At what point do people become sell outs? How and when do the rationalizations overwhelm the underlying good nature of people where they can then justify the corruption they enable?
At some point the noble ideas of creating a world that benefits the most people while destroying the least amount of the world has been left far behind in our rear view mirrors in the name of capitalism. Our economic model is based on rampant unchecked consumerism in the name of promoting capitalism. And this is not to say that the best aspects of capitalism cannot be appreciated though they cannot be if they inhabit only the far end of the spectrum.
Consumerism, entrepreneurship, businesses, and corporations are representative of capitalism’s success but these exist because our system allows them, they exist because citizens have allowed them in their present form. They are not possible without the support and collusion of citizens that provide the engines that make them possible they are marketed to us, propagandized, and their value to our lives an inculcated mantra of things we can’t live without to the exclusion of everything else. It is a symbiotic relationship and ignoring this fact, taking the capitalist constituency for granted, is what brings us to the brink of anarchy.
The hubris, I need to create a word that defines prideful hubris, that the champions of capitalism possess totally ignores the contribution, resilience, and faith of the people which endure despite their exploitation. To listen to those on the far right talk all that is good in our nation resides solely in realm of capitalism.
The greatest accomplishment of this uber-capitalism is the elimination of accountability. By leaving tort reform unresolved, occasionally paying it lip service, along with escalating the costs of, and ubiquitous applicability of, insurance, the once sanitizing act of responsibility is taken out of our society as a way of identifying and eliminating corruption. The evil aspects of human nature, the worst of which are the exploitation of our fellow global citizens and earth’s resources, are now sanctioned and accommodated through the equation of costs divided by benefits. There no longer is any value to holding anyone accountable for anything. The payoff happens the parties involved are placated with monetary awards and the cost of all of it is dissolved into the vast wealth of our consuming passion labeled capitalism.
At some point the noble ideas of creating a world that benefits the most people while destroying the least amount of the world has been left far behind in our rear view mirrors in the name of capitalism. Our economic model is based on rampant unchecked consumerism in the name of promoting capitalism. And this is not to say that the best aspects of capitalism cannot be appreciated though they cannot be if they inhabit only the far end of the spectrum.
Consumerism, entrepreneurship, businesses, and corporations are representative of capitalism’s success but these exist because our system allows them, they exist because citizens have allowed them in their present form. They are not possible without the support and collusion of citizens that provide the engines that make them possible they are marketed to us, propagandized, and their value to our lives an inculcated mantra of things we can’t live without to the exclusion of everything else. It is a symbiotic relationship and ignoring this fact, taking the capitalist constituency for granted, is what brings us to the brink of anarchy.
The hubris, I need to create a word that defines prideful hubris, that the champions of capitalism possess totally ignores the contribution, resilience, and faith of the people which endure despite their exploitation. To listen to those on the far right talk all that is good in our nation resides solely in realm of capitalism.
The greatest accomplishment of this uber-capitalism is the elimination of accountability. By leaving tort reform unresolved, occasionally paying it lip service, along with escalating the costs of, and ubiquitous applicability of, insurance, the once sanitizing act of responsibility is taken out of our society as a way of identifying and eliminating corruption. The evil aspects of human nature, the worst of which are the exploitation of our fellow global citizens and earth’s resources, are now sanctioned and accommodated through the equation of costs divided by benefits. There no longer is any value to holding anyone accountable for anything. The payoff happens the parties involved are placated with monetary awards and the cost of all of it is dissolved into the vast wealth of our consuming passion labeled capitalism.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Home of the free, Really?
Home of the free, really?
We are not free from fear it is fed to us by our leaders on a daily basis. It is the reason we illegally overthrow governments under the guise of protecting our country from small groups of fundamentalist religious fanatics. The fear mongering has depleted our national defense capabilities, eroded the very freedoms we proclaim as our reason for the illegal wars, and has compromised our economy through borrowing and increased deficits.
We are not free to speak our minds or debate because our views will be used against us to limit our opportunities. You and I are not free to have opinions lest we will be ostracized. We are not free to worship unless it is the Christian religion that has become the de facto religion of this country.
We are not free to live in our homes without an annual tax lien imposed by our government to “support” social services. And if anyone has seen our school systems you can see how well that has worked for us.
We are not free from the corruption in nearly every sector of our society crimes are committed by corporate officers.
Food producers do not maintain adequate control of their processes as evidenced by salmonella, e coli, and the colossal mistake of industrialized farming causing us to rely on the high cost of transportation and single providers.
Banking and financial companies are constantly guilty of fraud and abuse, creating financial trading vehicles that are impossible to understand and manage.
Corporations receive federal subsidies in way of contracts that are not negotiated, not regulated, not verified, and with no accountability for failure to deliver. Especially sacrosanct defense (offense) industries, when profits lag, start a war.
Mine safety, oil rigs, ships and vessels, pipelines, transmission grids, drug companies, schools, food processing etc. all sectors are unregulated, not scrutinized, and cheat on their process controls.
Insurance companies can change their policies indiscriminately. On the Gulf Coast, insurance companies cancelled wind policies for homes below I 10 immediately following the hurricane seasons of 04-05. Then there were few storms for the next 4-5 years. They request a rate increase to make up for the money they would have received in wind coverage which would have been all pocket money because of the low hurricane incidents.
Insurance companies lobby for seat belt laws, the resultant windfall, fewer damages paid for injuries is not refunded to policy holders or realized as reduced cost in policy charges.
There has been no tort reform or caps on insurance awards, why, because the capitalist pyramid scam only works when the cost of insurance overwhelms the money paid out in awards. We all lose, insurance have a license to print money.
We still wage a war on drugs, when, to hold a decent job you need to take a drug test. Another “war” to maintain and subsidize the defense industry sector, or corporate welfare.
How absurd is it that employees have to sign vows to behave ethically, when we are surrounded by corruption at every level of leadership?
We are not free from fear it is fed to us by our leaders on a daily basis. It is the reason we illegally overthrow governments under the guise of protecting our country from small groups of fundamentalist religious fanatics. The fear mongering has depleted our national defense capabilities, eroded the very freedoms we proclaim as our reason for the illegal wars, and has compromised our economy through borrowing and increased deficits.
We are not free to speak our minds or debate because our views will be used against us to limit our opportunities. You and I are not free to have opinions lest we will be ostracized. We are not free to worship unless it is the Christian religion that has become the de facto religion of this country.
We are not free to live in our homes without an annual tax lien imposed by our government to “support” social services. And if anyone has seen our school systems you can see how well that has worked for us.
We are not free from the corruption in nearly every sector of our society crimes are committed by corporate officers.
Food producers do not maintain adequate control of their processes as evidenced by salmonella, e coli, and the colossal mistake of industrialized farming causing us to rely on the high cost of transportation and single providers.
Banking and financial companies are constantly guilty of fraud and abuse, creating financial trading vehicles that are impossible to understand and manage.
Corporations receive federal subsidies in way of contracts that are not negotiated, not regulated, not verified, and with no accountability for failure to deliver. Especially sacrosanct defense (offense) industries, when profits lag, start a war.
Mine safety, oil rigs, ships and vessels, pipelines, transmission grids, drug companies, schools, food processing etc. all sectors are unregulated, not scrutinized, and cheat on their process controls.
Insurance companies can change their policies indiscriminately. On the Gulf Coast, insurance companies cancelled wind policies for homes below I 10 immediately following the hurricane seasons of 04-05. Then there were few storms for the next 4-5 years. They request a rate increase to make up for the money they would have received in wind coverage which would have been all pocket money because of the low hurricane incidents.
Insurance companies lobby for seat belt laws, the resultant windfall, fewer damages paid for injuries is not refunded to policy holders or realized as reduced cost in policy charges.
There has been no tort reform or caps on insurance awards, why, because the capitalist pyramid scam only works when the cost of insurance overwhelms the money paid out in awards. We all lose, insurance have a license to print money.
We still wage a war on drugs, when, to hold a decent job you need to take a drug test. Another “war” to maintain and subsidize the defense industry sector, or corporate welfare.
How absurd is it that employees have to sign vows to behave ethically, when we are surrounded by corruption at every level of leadership?
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