POLITICS

I'm going to get involved in politics this year. I just can't stand it any more. America is facing the greatest threat in its history. We are close to losing forever the very standards and liberties for which America has stood all of these years. I'm not talking about terrorists, of course. I'm talking about the Bush administration and the takeover of our governemnt by a radical element of the Republican party which has worked assiduously for 30 years to gain power. My biggest disappointment is that middle America, the stronghold of patriotism, thinks that this Republican Party is the same one they joined years ago. They are the folks we need to stand up now to this threat, but instead, they are falling for all of the hype about family values and protecting America. They see the sheep's clothing, but not the wolves inside.

I am in a little danger here, because the labyrinths that I sell for a living are high-ticket items, often donated by wealthy patrons who, I am guessing, are largely Republican. Clearly, I am not.

Here's the problem. You can't win an election anymore by arguing issues. President Bush, the most unqualified president imaginable, was not elected by discussing issues. I remember hearing Roger Moore answer a reporter's question, asking if he had anything good to say about Republicans. He said, "Yes, you've got to hand it to them, they get people to actually vote for them."

No, issues don't win elections anymore. They should, but now everything is changed. Every intellectual, every informed citizen, everyone who has read books about the destruction wrought by the Republican administration, all of those people, can vote for the Democrats. But it won't be enough. The Republicans concede those votes. In reality, the election won't be about the issues. It will be about terrorists, about gay marriage, about abortion, about family values. These are just ruses, of course, just the focus of propaganda, but they work. Our democracy is supposed to be protected because informed people will vote out any bad elements. No longer. The majority of the half of Americans that even vote do so largely on single issues, like abortion, or personality or fear. John McCain can't run on the record of the Republicans, so he will run on a platform of fear and ego.

"My fellow Americans, do you want to be losers? Do you want to leave Iraq with your tail between your legs? Well, I don't. I'm going to WIN the war. I'm going to defeat those nasty terrorists that hate America. And not only that, I'm going to cut taxes and put money iin your pocket. If you vote for those Democrats, they will raise taxes and pull out of Iraq in defeat. They are soft on terrorism and probably atheists, too. Is that what you want?" It is, of course, complete bull. The war can't be won, and the terrorist cause (which previously had nothing to do with Iraq, until it became a killing field for Americans) has been strengthened beyond their wildest imagination, thanks to our stupid policies. Our military is so demoralized and the equipment so destroyed that we would be hard pressed to respond to a real threat against America. Safer by fighting in Iraq? Not hardly. For the first time in history, during wartime, the wealthy and corporations have NOT been asked to do their part. Instead, they have had their taxed reduced. And of course, their children never actually serve in the military. We are in the worst financial condition ever, including the most debt, the lowest dollar, the lowest confidence. Out friends around the world have disappeared.

My financial advisor is a Republican, of course. When I say all of these things to him, he just says, "all politicians are the same. The Democrats are no better." But he is wrong,. Sure, there is a strong bias in our whole system favoring the elite and the rich and their interests. But for the first time, America's patrimony has been for sale to the highest bidder. Lobbiests can write their own bill, as long as they pay enough. The environment has been one of the major victims. Anyway, my advisor says that he won't vote for anyone likely to raise taxes. He is otherwise a fairly intelligent person, but think of what he really is suggesting. As a financial advisor, if the United States were his client, he would say this: "Well, you're spending far more money than you make, you've gotten yourself into the worst debt ever, so what I recommend is that we cut your income even more, and give another chuck of it to my rich friends." Huh? Democrats fall into this trap, too, saying they will cut taxes, or at least will only reverse the tax breaks for the rich. Who is going to stand up for America?

Try this one on. Suppose you had a district attorney running for office. The current office holder has initiated a number of criminal and civil actions against some businesses involved in illegal behavior. The opposing candidate receives millions of dollars in donations from those indicted companies, allowing him to win the election. Once in office, his very first act is to drop the charges against the companies under indictment. Don't you think that is reprehensible? Isn't that graft of the worst kind? Isn't that criminal? Well, that is just what the Bush administration did. Some 75 energy and coal companies were under indictment for criminally polluting the environment and failing to update their emmission controls on schedule. They donated tens of millions of dollars to the Bush campaign. One of his first acts as president was to drop those cases. As a result, they can continue to profit at the expense of our environment. This whole episode is outlined in Robert Kennedy, Jr. 's book, Crimes Against Nature. He states outright that some of the pollutors are just downright criminal enterprises, who will save hundreds of millions of dollars that should have been spent on pollution control devices, and who will continue to reap their illegal profits, thanks to their puppet in the White House. Meanwhile, Kennedy estimates that the resulting poor air quality will result in the deaths of many people with asthma and similar breathing problems, to the tune of 5,000 per year. Now let's get this right. The terrorists at 9/11 killed 3,000 people, one time, but the pals of the Bush administration (which is going to protect us from terrorists) are killing 5,000 a year. And of course, hundreds of thousands more by the phamaceutical industry gone crazy, whose outrageously expensive and ineffictive (if not downright deadly) drugs are being approved by the FDA.

Gas costs have reached an all time high while oil companies are reaping profits larger than any corporations in history -- while our country is bankrupt. Remember that meeting of energy executives at the White House, the names of whom they refused to reveal?.Here's how I envision what went on. "Well guys, it worked. Unbelievably the voters took the bait and elected George. Can you believe it? Well, anyway, fill out these request forms for what you want, and we'll get it for you. Let's see now, raise gas prices by 100%? No problem. (We'll tell them it's because the refineries are being cleaned.) Give you billions of dollars of federal money for research and exploration? No problem. Open up our sensitive wildlife areas for more drilling? No problem. Sorry to cut the meeting short, but we have some coal industry executives waiting outside."

You see this in the Third World. Some dictator in Africa takes over the government and drains the treasury to build himself palaces and fill his Swiss bank accounts, while his country wastes away. Well, that's what we have here. America has been bankrupted bu giving our money to the rich.What's more, the whole nature of how the system runs has been corrupted. For example, in concgress, instead of being given important positions due to seniority, people are now promoted according to faithfull obedience to the radical party line. I call it the Putin-ization of America, resembling the despotic concentration of power Putin has organized in Russia, thwarting their democratic reforms and putting billions into the pockets of his supporters. (Someone said that Russia has more billionaires than any other country. Isn't that outrageous, given the economic desperation of the general public? We're headed in that direction.)

There is a name for a system which is rabidly nationalistic, run by a strong, even despotic, central person or group (which has an extensive spy system to watch for opposition), with strong economic favoritism to corporate power. It is not democracy and free capitalism. It is a melding of political and economic power to give a specific elite all of the control to achieve their secret agendas. It's called fascism. Yes, I realize that by using that word I will be seen as leaning far to the left, but it is only in contrast to the vast direction that we are leaning to the right. Note, I am not unAmerican. I am for capitalism and a free economy. I think it would be a good idea. But that's not what we have. We have a manipulated and controled economy, meant to benefit a few, who are in collusion with the government. That's corporate socialism. That's fascism. In our case, it is radical evangelical Christian fascism. It is the Coors-ization and Dobbs-ization of our government.

This isn't even the body of what I want to say. I'm not even warmed up yet. But I want to make a prediction. The only way McCain can get elected is for there to be another terrorist strike in the United States in, say, June or July. Will it be caused by looking the other way, like Pearl Harbor (and that was a Democrat)? Will it actually be done by secret Republican operatives? Not necessarily. The terrorists themselves may realize the importance of getting a Republican elected. It's a very symbiotic relationship. The attacks on the World Trade Center were the best thing that ever happened to the Bush administration. Instead of being ridiculed as an inarticulate playboy president, Bush enjoyed the support not only of most Americans but countries around the world. And then, of course, squandered that good will and turned our allies all away from us with his rash actions.The terrorist threat was just the right circumstance for the radical group that has now gained power to further its unAmerican secret agenda. The reverse is true also, in that the Republicans are the best thing that every happened to terrorism.

I have no confidence that the Dempocrats can win. The Republicans and the terrorists may be more than they can overcome. Did I mention electronic voting machines with no paper trail? And why is the election commissioner in almost every state a Republican? This current political climate has been carefully orchestrated for a long time. Apparently, the Democrats have no such vision or agenda What a bunch of wimps. In the event that the Democrats manage to win, I think that president Obama should spend the next eight years indicting and bringing to justice all of those pollutors and lobbiests (like the ones running John McCain's campaign) and thieves. They should finally catch Carl Rove and Dick Chaney in their illegal smear campaigns and lock them away. Now that would be making America a safer place.

And if Obama does try to take back America for its people, what will happen? I predict that he will be killed. It has happened before (Kennedy). Oh me oh my. Should I move to Mexico? No, it's too corrupt. Maybe I could move to France. The Euro will become the world's currency, now that the dollar is worthless (thanks, George). I'm not sure I can afford France, as the Euro will be worth $2 by then. Perhaps Malaysia. I hear it is a stable democracy organized in such a way that money can't buy influence and power. Hm-m-m-m-m. If that's correct, maybe they understand democracy better than we do. They say Asia will be the next big economic powerhouse. Hm-m-m-m-m-m. Malaysia is looking better and better. Or maybe New Zealand . . . . No wait, I don't want to run away. I want to help take back America and save it from the corruption and greed of the radical right.

Given the record of what has happened in the last seven years, how is it that anyone would vote Republican? How could it even be a race? How can Republicans be rewarded for voting as a block, thereby shutting Democrats out of the picture. OK, one last rant. Another example of unrestricted greed turned loose is the credit card industry. Their actions have been completely reprehensible, far worse than the sub-prime mess. Just as lenders gave unqualified buyers mortgages, banks flood credit cards on the public, initiate policies that will encourage late payments (if you live on the West Coast, see where your payments go -- likely to the East Coast, and vice versa), and then charge usurious rates of 31% interest. Is this just good capitalism seeking a fair profit? No, it's greed of the worst kind. Someone told me that banking lobbies recently got credit card debt exempted from bankrupcy proceedings. In other words, going bankrupt wouldn't wipe out your credit card debt, and leave you obligated for those 31% interest rates. Can that be ture? It is so patently against the public interest, it is hard to believe. The examples go on and on how the public is victimized by the influence money can buy. That's wrong. My point is that we cannot allow the Republican presidency and congress that is responsible for much of this to go scott free. Certainly, we can't re-elect them. Let's get together and take America back!