Politicians have transformed their work from compromising with each other to accommodation en bloc to Death Star U.S.A. The accommodation by elected officials to Death star U.S.A. is the status quo that everyone is talking about.
"Death Star USA" = 1 conservative ideology+ 2 corporate oligarchy+ 3 the unelected power establishment. The establishment includes the money grubbing culture of both political parties that thrive on a phony rhetorical war and partisan divisiveness. Candidates serve the function of pit bulls in a political gambling ring owned by freebooting profiteers.
The quest for political dominance is not progressive, whether practiced by the left or the right. Yes, FDR had his Karl Rove in Lois Howe but the Republicans had no answer to the New Deal and the electorate had a decisive progressive bent.
The political hardball that FDR played was not always progressive. His failure to support anti-lynching legislation was a play to Sothern Democrats. Progressivism is not a political party; progressivism is local and arises from local economic issues; it influences politics by the demonstrated accomplishments that discredit MSM. It is a state of mind, which, is available to the entire electorate.
The progressive state of mind among the electorate produced a century of these progressive reforms.
WORKER’S COMPENSATION
THE EIGHT-HOUR WORKDAY AND 40-HOUR WORK WEEKN FOR ON-THE-JOB ACCIDENTS
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
PROHIBITIONS AGAINST CHILD LABOR AND WORKPLACE EXPLOITATIONS
THE LEGAL RIGHT OF PEOPLE TO ORGANIZE WITHIN LABOR UNIONS AND ENGAGE IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR FAIR WAGES AND BENEFITS
THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO VOTE, FULL LEGAL EQUALITY, AND THE ELIMINATION OF FORMAL DISCRIMINATION FOR WOMEN AND MINORITIES
THE GRADUATED INCOME AND INHERITANCE TAX
PROTECTIONS AGAINST CONTAMINATED FOOD AND MEDICINES
HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF ACRES OF PROTECTED WILDERNESS AREAS, WATERWAYS, AND NATIONAL PARKS
ANTIMONOPOLY AND ANTICOMPETITIVE REGULATIONS OF CORPORATIONS
DIRECT ELECTIONS OF U.S. SENATORS, DIRECT PRIMARY ELECTIONS OF POLITICAL CANDIDATES, AND THE INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM PROCESS IN THE STATES
CIVIL SERVICE TESTS TO REPLACE POLITICAL PATRONAGE
NATIONAL SUPERVISION OF BANKS AND THE CREATION OF A FLEXIBLE NATIONAL CURRENCY
REGULATION OF THE SECURITIES INDUSTRY
FEDERAL INSURANCE OF BANK DEPOSITS
BANS ON SPECULATIVE BANKING PRACTICES
REFINANCING AND FORECLOSURE PROTECTIONS FOR HOME AND FARM OWNERS
NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE INCLUDING ELECTRIFICATION, RAILWAYS, AIRPORTS, BRIDGES AND ROADS, AND THE INTERNET
SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE TO AID THE ELDERLY AND MEDICAID AND CHIP TO HELP LOW-INCOME FAMILIES AND CHILDREN
MINIMUM WAGE LAWS AND INCOME SUPPORT FOR THE WORKING POOR
No 'ism' can fix politics; it can only be fixed by democracy. The conservatism of the Roberts court is the first palpable infringement on the Bill of Rights after 250 years of rolling up the Constitution and rendering it inaccessible to any but the highest bidder. Death Star U.S.A has made the concept of republicanism an enemy rather than a friend to citizens.
We encountered Death Star I on May 25, 1977 when Governor Tarkin destroyed the planet Alderaan using The Death Star's superlaser that derived power directly from the hypermatter reactor.
Death Star II, larger and seemingly redesigned to eliminate the two-meter exhaust vents and recharging the lasers more quickly. It was destroyed on the forest moon of Endor and Death Star III was strangled in its crib during the Battle of Endor.
We return now to the very definition of ‘the real world’ with Death star U.S.A. Maybe it is best to call it Death Star IV, with an asterisk. It has become operational in the last decade after forty years under construction. It uses no beam but instead infects its victims with a spiritual virus that is destroying our planet and our ‘advanced’ civilization. Meanwhile, we witness our own incremental, inevitable destruction as we debate whether to fill up the tank, take a hot shower or see if there is an app for wiping our ass then, we all demonstrate our brilliance by listing the reasons why good ideas will not work.
The cosmos is inhabited by vast concentrations of gravity that destroys space/time and whatever matter is drawn into black holes. Similarly, cynicism is a spiritual failing that inhabits our modern, complex society; it attracts and efficiently shreds whatever idea is drawn into its maw. Our very ability to think is pulverized.
The greatest harm that the state of mind called conservatism has done to this country was to spread cynicism into every corner of society. Look in the mirror and tell yourself that nothing can be as bad as a Republican or a blue dog. Lightening should strike soon. Cynicism among voters is the reason that politicians are locked into inaction, not partisanship. True that, partisanship is a natural outcome of choice but hatred of the opposite partisan is a result of deliberate party strategies. Mistaking sophistry for belief is an intellectual failure with emotional consequences.
Who can responsibly rely on the news to explain what is important in life?
Layoffs and the current massive economic downturn.
Home foreclosures.
The Gulf disaster.
Two Middle East wars
Domestic spying
Denial of civil rights to GLBT
The agonizing plight of soldiers caught in DADT, TBS, suicide and PTSD
the eradication of the bee population
The danger of a pandemic virus
None of does this begins to address matters close to the local community
Constant content with no context is paranoia and perpetuates cynicism.
Does it all seem like it is designed to constantly remind me to be angry? Would that not be a good way to make sure that nothing was done about theses things? What barbarian decisions arise from universal anger? My very spirit is being manipulated by my ‘friendly’ commentator and I am led astray to focus on anger instead of my soul.
It is only possible to speculate what angers people in any society but in our society polarized by stoking anger, anxiety and fear, prolonged expressions of anger becomes out of proportion to the perceived injuries. Because of the continuous focus on anger, anxiety and fear, cynicism is the only possible outcome. Hope does not obligate one to fail; although cynicism predicts failure. Anger is an emotion that requires a survival skill like swimming to experience it without harm. Without skill, anger takes a status in your thinking as anything other than emotion.
Glancing at the fuel gage is another exercise in efficient management, not a reminder that an addiction to oil is the ultimate cynicism infecting millions of people, regardless of race, creed, color, nation of origin, political affiliation or income level.
Using the washing machine or leaving the TV on instant on while we tsk, tsk at the mining disaster, as if we were not responsible for incentivizing Massey Coal. It was their fault entirely, yet, we the brave, we the free, we the proud, we the most religious, we who are in touch with our inner selves, we the people cannot live without electricity made from coal, credit cards made from usury or cell phones made with conflict minerals.
Demonstrate in protest; donate time and money to the candidate of your choice or blog about "those dirty bastards"; that will educate the world; that will show 'em, that will bring that good old geologic incremental change. You know, naturally, like erosion or tooth decay. We can wait. After all, we have about a hundred years left; according to these guys:
“It’s an irreversible situation. I think it’s to late.” 95 yr old Australian micro-biologist Frank Fenner, who helped eradicate smallpox from the planet.
Britain’s astronomer-royal and president of the Royal Society, Martin Rees questioned whether humans are smart enough to use what they have learned to save themselves. He warns that the promise of extended life-span through medicine and prosperity through economic growth, could easily lead to oblivion by using up Earth’s resources and changing the planet’s climate.
Doh. Where have I heard that before? If the real world is a reality, you can bet on this prediction.
This is what conservatism and the spread of cynicism has wrought. Politics in a true democracy is important. In our American society, politics is an unused concept from the eighteenth century, a silly marketing term and an accommodation to the Death Star.
Who thinks that cynicism is not the ultimate triumph of conservatism? It is so easy and efficient to be a cynic. Whatever the complexity of the argument, a simple declarative sentence about how the solution cannot work in ‘the real world’ is an instant path to unearned intellectualism.
Well no, there really is no ‘invisible hand’ of the market, the wrath of God or justice without a lot of work. In fact, there is no such thing as the ‘real world’; only the world that we allow by errors of omission, the world that we are too lazy to articulate accurately, the world free of the oppressive intrusion of political correctness, the efficient, ineffective world; the real world.
The essence of progressivism is the inter connectedness of the human race, or another definition of hope. The very idea that a political party vis a vis party activism can unite society to improve society is absurd when their main outcome is a divided electorate.
TakeAction Minnesota: A Hybrid Leadership Structure & A Focus on Health Care
Although they are organizing against Pawlenty, they are not in a power struggle within the Democratic Party. That is a horse of a different color. I am also disappointed that backers of Halter are saying that they have 'sent a message' to Blanche Lincoln; the only message I saw being sent was to Arkansas voters and that was that she was their chosen conservative senator.
If anything, Halter did her a favor and insured her continued tenure for many cycles to come. The latest push by ''progressive'' Democrats for political dominance was naïve at best.
If You Read One Article Today...
Without using the term, Death Star U.S.A., this article is about the unelected power establishment that can go left or right (political parties, the pit bulls of the establishment are one example; they provide income for the culture of politicking and are a net drain on society)+ the corporate oligarchy that reigns ex-officio, depending on their payout+ conservative ideology; among its many negative qualities are the spread of cynicism that has infected every corner of world civilization.A
Consensus Builds for Independent Progressive Movement
I am glad that the consensus among non pretend progressives is to get away from politics, especially the dog fighting political parties. They produce perpetuating divisiveness for the benefit of their own respective self serving fund raising and power manipulating cultures.
The parties are constantly seeking money and time only for it to benefit party pundits, party pollsters, party strategists and party apparatchiks. Even candidates are hostage to their own parties.
The only antidote to the outside unelected establishment forces that cause elected lawmakers to abandon compromise and accommodate to these forces is to compete with them and show people that a progressive sector can provide them a sustainable life style.
Right now, it is too much to expect a nation of addicts that are nowhere close to hitting bottom that ideas can trump a job. Even a shitty job will help them feed their addictions. At least with an alternative way of life, they can exercise their humanity and make a choice.
Let's see, what would you choose; life or money?
The progressive movement sorely needs a leader to inspire human rights and social justice. Our various national addictions and obsessions cannot be healed with politics or prideful, defiant and impotent individualism. There is the problem of other people.