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Well it seems I have a little unwanted time on my hands today, yes the economy has hit home. Louisiana has actually been doing pretty well while the rest of the country was hurting but as Rev. Wright would say, "the chickens have come home to roost". It seems at this point people here are tightening their belts to see exactly what is going to happen in the short term before making decisions for the long term. But that is enough about me because one way or another my karma will win in the end.
Just to get you started a must read by Meteor Blades
I'm going below for my issue, join me won't you ;)
Sitting around this morning with nothing to do so I start surfin', this is never a good thing, I want to throw things and yell at the screen but none of it seems to bring down my blood pressure. My only out is to try and make others get angry too, maybe I can start a revolution.
Now that I have that established I'll try and make the segues' as painless as possible, bear with me.
Since I starting speaking of my own economic woes let me broaden the landscape a bit. As you know the economy is contracting, those who have the money are now fearful of spending that money because they are not sure if, or when it might come back. Granted that this accentuated by the disastrous policies of the last eight years, fifteen years, forty years and beyond, there really is no specific date but I will say this guy warned us in 1961 on his way out the door.
Forty-eight years later we still haven't learned it seems. We borrow money from our neighbors and spend like drunken sailors(no offense intended to our Navy personnel who may be joining the party).
Mark Engler, "Empire Foreclosed?" (Washington, DC: Foreign Policy In Focus, April 17, 2009) has an opinion on our ventures foreign and the affect it has, and will have on us domestically. This article is really long and hits on many points that I think need to be discussed. I'll supply a few of the key points but please read the entire article.
The theory of imperial decline that has become standard over the past two decades is known as "overreach" or "overstretch." Historian Paul Kennedy most famously described the concept in his 1988 book, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Kennedy argued that, historically, dominant world powers doomed themselves by engaging in overseas adventures that drained their strength and strained their finances. His analysis, with its implication that the United States could well follow the pattern of past empires, proved influential. The term "imperial overstretch" quickly became a fixture in mainstream political discussion.
(snip)
..."Baseworld." This is what author and foreign policy analyst Chalmers Johnson named the country's sprawling network of overseas encampments, rarely noticed by citizens at home but bitterly resented by much of the world. The United States officially owns 737 bases worldwide, worth more than $127 billion and covering at least 687,347 acres in some 130 foreign countries. "Once upon a time, you could trace the spread of imperialism by counting up colonies," Johnson writes in his 2007 book, Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic. "America's version of the colony is the military base."
Johnson explains, "The purpose of all these bases is 'force projection,' or the maintenance of American military hegemony over the rest of the world. They facilitate our 'policing' of the globe and are meant to ensure that no other nation, friendly or hostile, can ever challenge us militarily."
(snip)
What makes the United States different than other countries? As the world's political superpower and largest economy, America's dollars serve as the reserve currency for the rest of the world. Foreign countries keep their money in dollars because they believe they are more dependable than any alternative. As long as other nations are willing to keep pouring money into the dollar, the United States can finance ever-larger deficits.
Ironically, one effect of the crisis thus far has been to sustain high demand for the dollar. The logic is simple. In a chaotic economy, many investors consider U.S. Treasury bonds the only safe place to hold their money - even if interest rates are low. But this won't last forever. Already noises of discontent have come from major investors. As world leaders were gathering in London for the recent G20 summit, Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of China's central bank, called for a new "super-sovereign reserve currency," which would displace the dollar.
(snip)
More pressing, then, than determining whether the United States is an empire is the question of how Washington will manage the transition to a situation where its relative dominance has diminished. Because the contours of this decline are highly variable, the foreign policy decisions of the Obama administration remain very relevant.
One current danger is that Obama, while rejecting the brash unilateralism of the Bush administration and pulling back the fist of U.S. hard power, will return to a softer form of imperial power. Under Bill Clinton, the United States used multilateral institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO) as primary instruments of foreign policy. While staffed with economists in business suits rather than grunts in fatigues, these bodies exerted considerable control over foreign peoples.
Like I said it is a long article that definitely deserves to be read.
On to my next issue that actually is the same issue. As you know I am a big fan of Tom Engelhardt and once again he and one of his contributors hit the nail TomDispatch.com. Anyone who has visited Mr. Englehardts site knows he provides commentary on each article that his contributors post. He also provides links to some of the most informative articles that address the issues being discussed. Needless to say but maybe you should bookmarkTom.
Let me start by singing the praises of William J. Astore a retired Lieutenant Colonel USAF who contributes at the dispatch. He is also a consistently informative writer who posts around the web, from huffpo to antiwar I guess the older you get the more you turn left, look at Mark Martin (I know gratuitous Nascar reference).
Back to my point LCol Astore reminds us of another American hero. Mary McCarhy who had not a clue of the actual destruction of war traveled to both South and North Vietnam and as a citizen/ writer/journalist asked questions. That is the responsibility of every "citizen", questions must be asked and answers must be given.
LCol. Astore refers to Ms. McCarthy and posits...Seven Lessons and Many Questions for the President. I really want you to read the LCol's article so I will only provide a few snippets of both the quotes from Ms. McCarthy and the questions that HAVE to be asked.
1. McCarthy's most fundamental objection was to the way, in Vietnam, the U.S. government decided to apply "technology and a superior power to a political situation that will not yield to this."
Questions for President Obama: Aren't we once again relying on the destructive power of technology to "solve" complex political and religious struggles? Aren't we yet again showing indifference to the human costs of war, especially when borne by non-Americans?
Questions for President Obama: Have you, like Vietnam-era presidents, pivoted toward yet another surge simply to avoid the label of "loser" in Afghanistan?
Questions for President Obama: If your surge in Afghanistan fails, will you be able to de-escalate as quickly as you escalated? Or will the fact that you've put more troops in harm's way (with all their equipment and all the money that will go into new base and airfield and road construction), and committed more of your prestige to prevailing, make it even harder to consider leaving?
These are just a few of the questions he offers in his article that need to be asked not only of this President but those that surround him behind that "wall around D.C.".
Look I'm a nobody in this world I have no stroke amongst those in power but there is one thing I do have and that is a voice. That voice was granted to me by men with much more wisdom than myself in 1776. I can and will until the day I breathe my last breathe call injustice by its name no matter who commits that affront.
President Obama has made many accomplishments since gaining office, he has made many good decisions and I applaud those moves yet I remember his call before the election to hear dissent when deserved. Let us all hope that once again dissent becomes patriotic.