Just like health care, just like social security. The US Gov is only interested in protecting the elites. For the private individual, all services must be purchased - if you can afford it. What next, city fire and ambulance departments that will respond only to client calls?

== The same pay-to-be-saved logic governs this entire new sector of country club disaster management. There is, of course, another principle that could guide our collective responses in a disaster-prone world: the simple conviction that every life is of equal value.

Indeed, we have lost our humanity if the powers-that-be do not act as if every life is worth saving.

This country is in the grip of a conflict about using taxpayer money to benefit all citizens on one hand, and, on the other hand, privatizing those same services so that citizens must pay directly for them out of pocket. The Bush doctrine of economics is to cut government services to taxpayers and create a society in which only the wealthy are safe.

What happens to the single-payer health care push in the US (S-Chip, too) will probably affect this move toward privatizing disaster services -- that have been traditionally a government responsibility paid for by all so that all get the benefits -- in an economic environment where only the wealthy can afford them. If school vouchers are any indication, these "private companies" will also have their hands out for taxpayer money, too -- never mind that their services aren't extended to all.

The US Gov is the elite! They are the millionaires, socially connected, inherited wealth families. Government is supposed to be unable or incompetent to deliver any kind of public service but supposedly the government has great wisdom and capability in providing foreign policy and financial management.

The myth is that the US has representative government. With a two party system the squelches political discourse. With an election system that requires a small fortune to be a candidate. With media conglomerates that only communicates what is in their interests.

American democracy is an illusion.

Every student of politics is aware of the expression "title of nobility." The term refers to the transformation of a right for everyone into a privilege for a few.

It is very easy to see Bush and Cheney's mission as a relentless effort to create as many titles of nobility as possible in America, using taxpayer money to create a private-sector infrastructure while abandoning government programs that serve everyone.

jj

Naomi, investigate the Bilderbergers.

fpal...The wealth of the elite is maintained by taxpayer dollars..no decisions are made unless the bottom line dribbles directly into their pockets...follow the money and somehow it manages to come back, millions unaccounted for here, billions unaccounted for there. Hey, it's my money and your money and someone should be calling a spade a spade, it is First Degree Grand Theft Why spend money on such stuff as children's health when there are probably not enough ways to skim the profits?

Excellent article, I had no idea about these types of companies. But I'm not surprised. Stuff like this is just a symptom of the underlying problem: America is still a ME society. And the ironic thing is that probably 99% of the people owning these companies, and 99% of the rich folks paying for their services go to church on Sunday. Then again, Christianity (though not Jesus) is utterly selfish so what do you expect.

makes my skin crawl.

It is certainly obvious that the USA is led by tyrants.

"If we were all of equal value", is right to the point. Money is the unequalizer of a society. When money talks louder than people, you get the United States of Everything. Run by the Uncle Buck political party, the USE has done away with Uncle Sam. He has been cast aside and replaced by Uncle Buck. The members of Uncle Buck's party divided into two wings, the political and the corporate. Both have at their disposal the use of the PR Department (mainstream media)to spin its imperial ventures while keeping us preoccupied with fear, sports and celebrities.
Hoa binh

Naomi Klein is an excellent modern-day muckraker, exposing a lot of things that need to be exposed.

I do wish, however, that she wasn't lowering her writing standards to gutter level in making fun of the biblical concept of Rapture of the Church. In the first place, the metaphor doesn't fit. We're NOT getting Rapture here on earth (with a re-appearance of Christ) due to privatized disaster services.

But more importantly, there are many voters who believe in a literal reading of everything in the Bible. In 2000 and since, many of them were duped to vote Republican even despite the fact that much of "conservatism" does not square with the teachings of Jesus. We need those voters switching sides, and some of them might do so on social issues and their real eyes looking at the fruit of the last six years--IF WE DON'T SLAP AND INSULT THEM FOR THEIR FAITH. It wasn't necessary to do that, and one would think someone as otherwise smart as Naomi Klein would know it.

Deuteronomy 23:1 ESV
No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.

I guess there is just no hope at all for the dickless wonders who believe in a literal reading of the Bible.

Great article Ms Klein, and the metaphor of the Rapture is appropriate as you point out that..." The country is indeed in the grip of extremists who are determined to act out the biblical climax–the saving of the chosen and the burning of the masses–but without any divine intervention."

It seems so clear to me that the elites know that big disasters are the new capitalist frontier and the more money and power they get the more they can take and protect for themselves.

And the diversion of public funds (welfare reform under Clinton the first), has been used to fund the tax cuts bestowed to the privileged classes which helps them pay for this new cost of private protection services, and it's just one aspect of a social policy, single-mindedly pursued by the entire American political system, including both the Democratic and Republican parties, which is devoted to protecting the interests of the richest 10 or 20 percent of the population at the expense of the mass of working people and the poor.

Ahhh FAITH in the Lord. Paraphrasing Mark Twain...Faith is the ability to wholeheartedly believe in something we know to be a lie. A little less faith and a lot more thought would be a nice change for the good ol' USA.

I agree that it isn't very wise for Naomi to package her article--which is clearly about Haves and Have Nots, not Biblical concepts--in "Rapture" terminology.

Yes, evangelicals are a huge part of the current problem, but spitting in the eyes of Christians just for the sake of spitting is, in a word, stupid.

It's spitting into the wind.

One would do well to remember how many consecutive elections were handed to the GOP on a silver platter with gun control talk--most of it pointless, because the NRA's lock on Capitol Hill was virtually unbreakable. Nowadays, gun control is virtually dead, while the GOP grip on power is only showing mild signs of having passed a tipping point.

I do think that naomi klein's metaphor works.

It is the privatization and outsourcing of 'God'. That is what has happened to the 'rapture' story. Or, you could say it is another spin on the idea of a 'rapture'. The idea of the chosen few being saved.

And it makes much sense. Those with the most money are the 'most worthy'. God has smiled upon them...etc.

I am thinking that this is one reason why they keep covering up about environmental changes of all kinds. Because they are going to corner the market, before anyone else can cash in on these pending disasters.

Privatization and deregulation simply means going back to the bad old days that existed before the Progressive and New Deal Eras.

In fact, many of our cities burned to the ground because fire companies would only focus on those residences that had appropriate insurance seals on their gates.

When cholera, dysentary, and other diseases racked the general urban population, the Gilded Age elite moved to healthier private abodes near the ocean or high in the mountains.

The biggest differences between now and the pre-WWl era is that deregulation and privatization are both supported by the public budget, the Fed, military power, the infrastructure and state-trained personnel
developed by the Warfare/Welfare State.

Unfortunately, most of today's proles are not small farmers; as a result, when their resources are increasingly diminished, they won't have alternative methods of gaining food, water, shelter,security and work.

This is a reversion to the practice of the 19th century in US cities, when fire companies were private clubs, or subscriptions services. If your house didn't have the castiron symbol of the company they wouldn't bother to try to save it.

I thought we had progressed from the "I've got mine, how are you doing" -- or "hooray for me, and screw you" -- mind set, but I guess not.

Also, today we are in a completely different climate, emotionally, psychologically, environmentally, and so on...

And we are talking about a much more global and all encompassing effect.

funny thing, fire departments used to be private, and what is described here is precisely how it was once upon a time...

yes, as someone above mentioned, perhaps the framing of this in religious terms is not helpful?

and also, I would agree with another post that attention be focused on the elite who run this dog and pony show, the Bilderbergers....

http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=23052

Guns and Butter Wednesday, October 31st, 2007

Interview with investigator and author, Daniel Estulin, on his just published book, The True Story of The Bilderberg Group.

10 years...
Shocking unless you've been following in great detail...

[It's about "money & energy"].

Bu$h the inferior's religious crowd has outsourced their worship from God to the $. This is just another example of saving their faithful.

Well,

I made comments back in the early 90's when my local volunteer fire company in Rural Maryland, which I was Secretary and on the board of directors when discussions started being held on how Vol. Fire/Amb. co. could seek pay for services from victims that have insurance. Some of the older members and I was a younger one but concurred that it might hurt those without insurance. They assured us if you didnt have insurance you would not have to pay as always. We always got contributions from people we transported, normally anywhere from $25.00 to 200.00 contribution. The local fire companies had active members and always made money. Now being able to go after insurance companies, plus increase in State and Local Funding. So now "privatise" and the poor will suffer and that we are to appreciate the U.S. being the "Free Country". I guess it would be if your rich

The problem with Republicans is that they're in love with concepts like 'unregulated markets' and 'privatization' without recognizing the inherent inequity and suffering that their policies cause. That's why we have mercenary cowboys, SCHIP vetoes and yes, the selective saving of houses in Southern Cal while the house next door burns.

Isn't it funny how these people who are against the science of evolution are the same ones who believe in a social darwinism? - I've got mine and screw you. It's like group Doublethink.

The direction this country is heading in looks uglier as time goes on.

This idea is friggin repugnant.

Will someone please remove the Republican's from the halls of govt?

I think they are evil, self serving bastards.

NAOMI IS MY HERO!
WOW!!!

EVERYONE SIGN THIS PETITION!

American Freedom Campaign
http://afagenda.nonprofitsoapbox.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=41

If anyone think that any fundamentalist are gonna join with Democrats, welll, I have a bridge to nowhere you might want to buy. Before you start defending these "poor folks" whose religious zeal is to be honored, look at a few of the websites that tout this crap. Sorry. I haven't got time for people who think they are part of the chosen and the rest of us are all damned. These same folks think that being filthy rich is a sign of God's favor. Sorry, but Naomi's stretch of the metaphor is right on, It is just that the cynical people who exploit their fellow human beings and trick them into believing that they too can enter their ranks of the Chosen if they just keep voting the way they are told, well..need I say more? Let's just say, I pray my karmic debt is much lighter.

starofthesea

I agree. I don't WANT those folks in my camp. The radical right-wing, at least, is determined to make America a theocracy, and believe that gays and adulterers should be executed.

They are definitely urged to stay on their side of the fence. Here's what they're really about:

http://moose-and-squirrel.com/bozo/bozo.html

"America's Own Taliban"

Naomi Klein is one of my heroes.

I suspect that as the world runs out of resources (the price of oil is now over $90 a barrel) life will just go on as usual for those who can afford a particular energy-driven lifestyle. Everyone else will just starve in the shadows. It'll all be very surreal. People will drive to church in their SUVs powered on fuel made from food denied to others. Meanwhile, debates over morality will focus on who's worst ("The US does it too!") rather than the underlying behavior. A MAD society.

Fortunately, Naomi Klein is not a politician, so she doesn't have to play to any constituency other than her own. No need to worry about Bible thumper blow back in Canada.

Is this the prelude to another landmark book from the fertile Naomi?

I hope so. Friends, we are in the presence of genius.

With a fraction of what we're spending in Iraq we could provide this for everyone. But we obviously have our priorities, and only the rich will be exempted from the inferno. Kinda like the sale of indulgences.

Oh yes, a little wisdom from Mr. Ambrose Bierce -- "Politics" as he defined it is... "the conduct of public affairs for private advantage." Class dismissed.

From citizens to consumers. Better be able to buy in the New World Order. Those who can't continue to consume may have to be done away with.

When ever I read about devastation that is created by the interactions betweem people and nature it always gives me a knot in my stomach. I think first that people must be dimwitted, and have episodes of group dimittedness to competely so disregard nature until there homes are washed away or burnt to the ground. I don't mean to sound harsh but how many times does your home have to washed away before you decide it is unwise to build it in a flood plane or that flood planes are a necessary part of nature and equilibrium. Or, other naturally wild areas that depend on the forces of nature to keep a balance. I think if your paying companies like Blackwater to saturate your home with toxic flame retardant chemicals you are not the winner in this story. What really protects people in a tragic situation is a sense of community and a respect of where and how we live. Money is just money, real power is a clean healthy environment.

As someone above noted, fire depts used to be private but eventually people got the idea that when a fire gets going, everyone's house goes up. That's why this idea will ultimately fail all by itself. Global warming will get everyone eventually, so will influenza pandemic, etc. Our only recorse is to stick together. In the end exclusion will never work. There's nowhere to run.

"Nothing new under the sun', Naomi...
One of the wealthiest of Romans, when "Crassus received word that a house was on fire, he would arrive and purchase the (apparently lost) property along with surrounding buildings for a modest sum, and then employ his army of 500 clients to put the fire out before much damage had been done."
[The blowback, from that devious and exploitive practice, perhaps gave birth to modern/well-organized Volunteer Fire-Departments, btw.]

Let the buyers of services from these mecenary organizations beware. Consider the experience of the U.S. government at the beginning of the second Iraq War. Many of the food services had been contracted out, privatized, to firms such as Halliburton. However, when the war started, some of these firms reneged on their contracts, claiming the battlefield was TOO DANGEROUS and UNPROFITABLE. Thus, many units ate the most basic food and suffered water shortages during the most intense fighting. Take it from a retired New York City firefighter, you don't want to have to rely upon a bunch of greedy thugs to come to your aid in time of danger.

The Children of Satan are in control,only God can save us.
the Spirit of the Beast 'ANGER'

Where else did the majority of voters think deregulated capitalism would go? Low taxes for the wealthy? Teeny tiny government? All who hold Ronald Reagan as a big idol can thank him for putting this in motion. Also, thanks to Gerald Ford who pardoned Nixon and sent the message that corruption won't be punished with jail time. And for all the "folks" who offered such a big vote for Bush (twice!) that the election was easily stolen. I don't believe it's about God saving us. We must, as a people and a country, save ourselves.

Correction: I meant "so many" voters, not "majority."

anney said: The radical right-wing, at least, is determined to make America a theocracy, and believe that gays and adulterers should be executed.

I would amend that to say, except their own gays and adulterers.

Republicans do not reflect higher moral or ethical standards as a group than other groups. Red states actually have higher rates of divorce and teen pregnancy than blue states that reflect progressive values.

Greed will result in fires started on the sly by the privateers themselves.

great job Naomi! we'd be lost without you

I just finished Naomi's Shock Doctrine book. It was a major league mind blower. I hope she produces a 2 hr DVD based on it that can be shown to the people who never read books. It's an important message that needs to get out there soon.

I have my own little Naomi Klein wish list of future book titles/subjects:

1) Mind Control and/or Brain Washing
I think this has been engineered into a science over the last 100 years in order to turn us into apathetic and ever consuming sheeple. I have read several books that present part of the picture. The first chapter in her last book gets into it too. If she could present a coherent picture of the the entire system, it would go a long way in countering our enslavement.

2) Banking/Money-System:
I think Naomi is much more literate about economics than I am. But the following quotes really get me going.

"Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take it away from them, and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create money ." Josiah Charles Stamp (then reputed to be the second richest man in England)

If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks...will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs. -Thomas Jefferson

holy cow.

I guess this insurance covers and protects from mass social upheaval too.
if protesters are terrorists then its a state of the art standing army at their disposal.

Maybe each gated, country club community gets their own paramilitary, to insure their way of life.