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America, Land of the Free to Be Stupid
What people are angry about, if they only knew it, is that social mobility in the US is over and their economic future screwed
There are some remarks that are so stupid that to be even vaguely aware of them is the intellectual equivalent of living next door to Chernobyl. This is what it's been like to live in the United States for the last year or two: it's the moronic influenza, as the irate among us find increasingly convoluted ways to say decreasingly less (as I just did).
Hard to say precisely what it is that people - "folks", as President Obama likes to call them - are so darn exercised about, but they say things that show that their command of any words with more than two syllables is completely questionable, like: "The president is a socialist", or "healthcare reform is unconstitutional". Of course, what they want to say, and what they should say, is something to the effect that they hate this man that those people elected president and they want to kill him - but only people like me, elitists with Ivy League degrees - people who actually have read Das Kapital and who have studied constitutional law - talk trash like that.
If you don't know better, apparently, you demand to see the president's birth certificate - suddenly, every American is on border patrol - and you start claiming that there is nothing about separation of church and state in the first amendment, even though the supreme court has ruled on the point more than 25 times since 1878.
Look, America is a very sad place right now, which is what the Tea Party movement and the midterm elections are about. I could analyze the particulars, but then I would be no better than the whole 24-hour media machine - which, given that unemployment is at 9.6%, is lucky that no one has noticed that they don't exactly do their job. If the news outlets were actually reporting, they would tell us the honest and awful truth: the United States is a post-industrial empire in decline, like England or Belgium or worse (is there worse?). There is no next. We are at next.
And truthfully, it would not be so bad, if we could only come to terms with who we are: we are an amazing country still, but not in the way we believe. We are, in fact, kind of nerdy. We decry elitism, and yet it is precisely the high-falutin' stuff that we are good at. We still have the best research universities on the planet - every world survey puts Harvard, Berkeley and Stanford at the top - and we still have companies like Apple and Google that no one else on earth can come up with. And, of course, our creative industries - movies and music - are still our biggest import, even if piracy is deflating their value.
What are we not good at? Dumb stuff, the things they can do in China for cheap, the things we think we're good at, like making cars and clothes.
So, here's the problem for President Obama, and now for all those shiny, happy Republicans who have just been elected: they don't need to speak truth to power; rather, they need to tell the truth to the weak. They need to tell "folks" that their future, maybe even their present, has been outsourced.
Yes, the United States is still the great meritocracy it's always been; but now, if you aren't brilliant or beautiful or both, there isn't much to do, because they can do it cheaper in Shanghai or Mumbai. The Tea Party people should enjoy their rallies, because the rest of it is, indeed, quite bleak.
For the first time in American history, then, social mobility has been replaced with class struggle. Europeans have always been mystified that poor people in this country don't rise up and throw potatoes at Donald Trump - instead, they make him a reality TV star. But that's because everyone here is sure they are going to be rich like him someday, too. Maybe tomorrow.
The American Dream, coupled with government subsidies of utilities and cheap consumer goods courtesy of slave labor somewhere else, has kept the poor huddled masses from rising up. But no more. They know better now. They are, so to speak, "tea-ed off".
To make matters worse, the current president, who is one of those beautiful and brilliant elite people that the world has not left behind, happens to be black. Ouch! This has got to really hurt. And so, all of a sudden, he's a socialist. The funny thing is, in the United States, there's really no such thing as socialism - instead, there are people here who will tell you, without embarrassment, that The Fountainhead is their favorite book ever. They don't think that it's pulp or that Ayn Rand is a nasty lady - they really think it's a good book, up there with Middlemarch and Moby Dick. Howard Roark is a hero and Objectivism is considered a form of human kindness. So, we just don't know socialism here. It's an absurd accusation.
As for anything being a violation of the constitution: the reason that document has survived over 230 years, while others belonging to other republics are replaced as often as one changes the oil in a car, is that its provisions are vague. The "necessary and proper clause" allows Congress to pass any legislation it deems necessary and proper. Kind of hard to define the contours of that one, right? I, for one, am going to trust the experts to figure out what these words mean, which is what we've been doing all along. There's a reason this society is so litigious and lawyers are so busy - it's because Sarah Palin can't be trusted to interpret the bill of rights for us.
So, you see, all this anger is misplaced. No point changing who is in Congress or who is in the Oval Office. Doesn't matter. Just moving deck chairs on the Titanic. Or switching parties in America, which was great while it lasted.
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229 Comments so far
Show All"There is no sin except stupidity," (Oscar, of course), and the wages of sin is death, or at least an old age without Medicare, Social Security, or any other governmental help. The elderly teabaggers deserve this fate, as do most Americans, who've always disdained education and consider intellect to be suspect.
Since when is making cars or clothes dumb? You're kidding, right? I see, so whoever isn't brilliant, should be kicked to the curb as useless? Can you make your own clothes? I doubt it! You can't eat a book for pete's sake either. I agree that the masses want change, but switching parties like chairs on the deck won't do it. Most people are not"brilliant" or "beautiful". Perhaps you should read about eugenics!
Just the headline made me want to comment. I know Bush stole 2 elections, but enough stupid people voted for him 2 times to make it happen. And now they have voted to give the thugs more control do to damage to this country 'faster' then the dems will. Stupid is as........
Joe,
Exactly. People who vote for these morons deserve what they get. Sadly, it is at the expense of those of us with brains and commonsense. I am tired of trying to think of ways to solve the ills of the current political ethos. With stupid people electing these intellectually bereft, corporate prostituting politicians, they make it infinitely harder to maintain one's will and spirit to change the political culture.
Not to mention the morons who voted for Obama and any other democrats. Those incomprehensibly stupid, half-witted, mouth-breathing ignorant morons get exactly what they deserve too!
Unfortunately, those who didn't vote for them have to suffer the consequences too.
Will, I will admit it. I am a MORON. I voted for him. I actually believed the hype of hope. Anyone here catch Jesse Venture's CT last nite. About the Bilderburg group and the bank heist. I mean bailout. I will post this again. Google Depopulation Control/Rense.com and see how the banks and the Gate's foundation are going to wipe out most of the world's population. Thru vaccines and meds and the shit they are putting in the food and water.
Off topic, but as you know, this years flu vaccine has the H1N1 and hep B an something else in it. Anyone hear of a hep B outbreak anywhere in the US? Why is that in the vaccine this year.
Anyway, we will suffer the fools voting the thugs back in. I decided that since there is no difference between the parties and all they are doing is screwing us, I sat out the election.
I signed petitions, made phone calls, called the WH and everything else I could do to stop the wars, get the PO and many other things I thought was important to me. Just to see them hand over everything to the real people that run this country.
If there is a god, I am wondering what he is waiting for. WIpe humanity off this rock and let the animals and plants recover from what we have done to them.
M
YOu should have voted Green or similar. You wouldn't have elected anyone -- enough won't vote that way yet to makea difference except maybe on local levels -- but it would have counted as one more voter who was not 'apathetic' but didn't like the 'choices' given by the machine, and helped to add legitimacy to third parties.
funny!
>Anyone here catch Jesse Venture's CT last nite. About the Bilderburg group and the bank heist. I mean bailout. I will post this again. Google Depopulation Control/Rense.com and see how the banks and the Gate's foundation are going to wipe out most of the world's population. Thru vaccines and meds and the shit they are putting in the food and water.<
I always figured the MSM and Big Three networks were trying to kill me by making my head explode from the stupidity the call news. I like to poke at some in these threads whenever they bring up a topic like the unsustainability of our population, or how too many humans are fucking up the earth,, As Bilderburger Trolls as that where these ideas come from, that man, or too many of us are the big problem and most of us need to be eliminated to have a better world.. For those Priviliged to remain to serve our betters.
Personally I have to take two days a week off from news and the interwebs just to get my blood pressure down. pills wern't cuttin it.
>^^<
P.S. I love Jessie Venturas show "Good Work"
Buckminster Fuller developed everything needed to house man with more space than he gets now, at a higher population level on a space total of the size of Texas, growing all food on land the size of the US, and letting the rest go back to nature. He did this in the 60s. Improvements have been made since.
Congratulation joecool9, you will be awards "Obama Prize" at a ceremony in the WH. Pssssh, please bring with you $50K for his reelection bid in 2012.
Well, that sure was a shitty reply. F you very much.
It meant as a joke. I am sorry and retract my post if you feel offended. please accept my apology. Watch it you will be banned. I suggest you take it easy
Please. They don't have to invent drugs or pollute the water to depopulate the earth. Just the dietary habits they have browbeaten us into, and the way they've encouraged the development of the food industry, is enough.
Human beings need a high-fat, high-fat-soluble-vitamin, high-mineral diet in order to produce sturdy, healthy children who are smart and behave well, and who grow up into competent, well-socialized adults. And by this I don't mean sheeple who follow the herd, but mature individuals who can strike a healthy balance between the good of the individual and the good of the tribe, and who make decisions accordingly.
Just the fact that our "experts" are telling us to eat like cows and rabbits--low-fat, low-cal, low-fat-soluble-vitamin (they're telling pregnant women now not to eat liver--WTF???), low-mineral--is going to be enough to put the population into decline. I personally think it is needed, something has to give before we overshoot and cause a huge die-off in the human population--but while we're declining we're going to see more infertility, thus more people stealing one another's children (causing much social unrest--it is already happening, first-mothers and adoptees are becoming royally pissed off), and more ADHD and more of a decline in general intelligence, and more antisocial behavior leading to a stronger police state.
Whatever else they get up to is window dressing. I don't care if you hate industrial food, buy local and use Linux on your computer--if you believe the B.S. about humans being herbivores and donate money to PETA, you're part of the problem.
The situation is a lot more complex than that but that's the one thing we could potentially fix without the government's permission. Will we? We could fix the overpopulation problem just fine if we empowered women and encouraged everyone to space their kids at least 4 years apart to allow women's bodies time to recover nutritionally from childbirth. Not everyone has kids anyway; there are some in each generation who can't or decide not to.
Don't mean to derail but I can't stress this stuff strongly enough. We're killing our kids and grandkids--or ensuring we have none at all--by believing nonsense. And it is the elites pushing that nonsense, make no mistake. I will be singularly unsurprised if I ever find out that PETA is bankrolled by Cargill and Monsanto.
Getting back on topic, speaking of which, I'm bored by the notion that Americans are somehow too special to do manual labor, or that outsourcing is a good thing. Let the oil run out and you'll find out just how stupid our current economic arrangement is. When you can grow tomatoes in your own backyard, it's stupid to import them from Mexico. We can make or grow almost everything we import that is not culture-specific. The only reason we don't is these corporations want to weasel out of environmental-protection and labor laws. So we're outsourcing abuse and pollution to countries that are presently incapable, legally, of defending themselves. That is a slimy thing to do, much less to make excuses for it--I expect that sort of egregious behavior from Republicans, teabaggers, and neoconservatives, not from people on "my" side.
"they're telling pregnant women now not to eat liver-..."
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The advice for not eating liver is a sound advice because one of the Liver functions is to filter toxins and pollution from the blood, so the Liver has a great concentration of toxins and pollution especially because of the polluted environment in the world today.
And, of course, they do not wish to acknowledge the existence organic meats, as then they would have to explain how they are different.
The morons I see around me are those that throw out hate filled generalizations and name calling invectives. They are equally disturbing on both the right wing and the left wing.
Instead of spewing anger at the internet, ( and I agree with many of your comments by the way), why not volunteer for your community or do something "green" such as supporting green businesses, growing food, helping out someone who needs it or helping nature in general? People are sick and tired and want change, but we are a cocountry of over three hundred million with a relatively small government. Also, cyber action won't get you anywhere, unless you are raising money or contributing to a data base. Work with an organization that is promoting change on the local level. That's how it really gets started. Also, if you watch t.v., skip the main stream, and go to satellite and watch democracy now . Amy Goodman rocks! Years ago, we actually cared about each other beyond the family and friends. I believe Phil Ochs wrote a song parodying that Outside a Small Circle of Friends. Now , it's rugged individualism. That does not strengthen a country-it weakens it, and that's now people like the tea party get in! They are not a new party like some idiots think, they're theocrats or ultra conservative republicans! They use the old right to life and homophobia arguments that tend to fire up the deep South. That of course has nothing to do with lack of jobs, proper health care, weak environmental laws etc. The curtain opened and "Oz " was revealed as the Kochs two billionaire brothers were funding the campaigns of the "tea baggers". Of course! Would they actually want to pay taxes to help anyone but themselves? Sad, isn't it? We're not parties, we're human. There's an expression. If you want a friend, stop talking and listen. We have stopped listening to each other as people. Money and the illusion of power can make people crazy, yet deep down we all have the same needs food, shelter, health and a support system . So get out there, help someone, be in nature, and get off your computor. It won't feed you, give you a hug, or say" I love you." And now I am signing off to go outside.
Please, mind your words. We are NOT stupid, just to proof it, we will vote for Bush again in 2012, making it 4 times.
Brainwashed masses of fascist amerika are out to lunch/ clueless that their elitist, compassionless responses to the terrorist acts of amerikas military are very much a part of the collapse of the empire !
"Just moving deck chairs on the Titanic" Some words are so complete and encompass such a broad area that everything said before or after is an attempt to assist those that need constant clarification.
"...if you aren't brilliant or beautiful or both,"
or under 40...or is it under 30 now?
And you have to be thin.
What is brilliant? has anybody solved the IQ question, I can do most anything cook, clean, teardown and repair most mechanical and electrical machines. I accumulate knowledge I need for a project and put it away for later use, I can give sencible instructions, I can plan battles, I can save a life. What is brilliant?
I never did get through college, and for the life of me I can't sit through a whole Obama speach.
again, what is brilliant. eienstien couldnt dress himself, oppenhimer didn't know when to keep his mouth shut. I don get it!
>^^<
The myths of Einstein's inability to function in the normal world are BS. Contrary to popular CW, the man was not thrown out of school because he was unable to do the work but because he was an uppity Jew who had the temerity to point out to his strict prussian professor the holes in the mathmatic principals that "everyone knew were true". Those are the principals that he later upended changing modern understanding of reality.
Einstein's big sin is that he was a non-conformist slob (socialist and pacifist too) who was not afraid to jump with both feet into any controversy he felt a stong oppinion about, a habit that made a lot of emimies in the halls of power. For that reason it became necessary to invent stories about what a hopeless nincompoop he was (in much the same way as Obama is caricatured).
No doubt Professor Einstein would have appreciated Richard Catz's practical knowlege as he was very interested in practical mechanics (patent examiner, inventor) as well as the more esoteric workings of the universe. The man was anything but an elitist.
My apologies for the rant but I felt that needed to be addressed.
thanks, Fred
fpie,
Nobody accused or claimed that Einstein was a hopeless nincompoop or social misfit or "invented" stories about that.
Yes, Einstein learned to talk much later than the average child and performed below avarage in the first couple of years in Kinder Garten and consequently he got poor appraisal from his teacher, but he was NOT "thrown out" from any school.
When he became famous scientist, some people commented that he has very poor knowledge of history and politics of the world and now some feminists accuse him of being a "male chavinist", but he lived in different times and every man was a "male chavinist".
From where did you get the story of the Prussian professor and the "uppity Jew"?. Is this story a "Jewish Invention"??!!
The author's Donald Trump analogy is right on. Though we like to blame the Banks and their predatory lending practices on the real estate bubble, it was those people who thought they were living the American dream, thought they all would be rich like Trump, with their new dream houses they couldn't afford, who really caused the augmentation of the now gone recession.
The author says she has been mad the past year or two. I was near psychotic the previous 8 years. Although there are few bright spots in the past two years, there were no bright spots the previous 8, and there were only dark clouds, so...
Donald Trump got reality. The rest of us got reality TV.
So, there's this strange sensation across America; the knowledge that we're hosed, but only when the TV is off (or you're sober).
Thanks, I knew I had a problem.. (Too Sober) gotta fix that. I was thinking frontal lobatomy, maybe with my pen! but yep! sticking my head in a bottle would be as good and less messy! :)
>^^<
"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy."
"What are we not good at? Dumb stuff, the things they can do in China for cheap, the things we think we're good at, like making cars and clothes."
I agree with the gist of this article... but I'm having a hard time digesting the quoted statement. I think the difficulty I'm having is pinning down the tone... is it sarcastic? If it is, then the rest of my comment that follows is all for nothing...
But, if Elizabeth is serious then I have a problem with this statement. First, she uses the 'We' statement which lumps us all into one big American family. This in itself is a total crock.
Second, I think back in the day the American workers were actually good at making this 'dumb stuff'. By using the 'We' in her statement she partially puts the blame on the workers for the reasons why their jobs were outsourced -- because they were not good at making cars, clothes and the dumb stuff.
The problem wasn't that they were bad at making this stuff, but that the US workers had gained too many democratic rights (worker rights, reasonable wages, health benefits, retirement benefits) and this in turn cut into the capitalists profits. But, the capitalists were finally able to buy off enough Congress-critters to get the policies that they needed to find a cheap labor force to increase their profits - a labor force that has no rights and has a strong totalitarian gov't to keep it this way (ie: China). The capitalists obviously needed to create neat little storylines to justify their actions, so they hired economists and propagandists to spread their bullcrap memes. Elizabeth seems to be spreading their memes...
The decisions to outsource has NOTHING to do with the workers - NOTHING! What does a worker have to do with making executive decisions? Nothing. In reality it was the folks at the top who needed to find ways to make more profits for their Wall Street funders...
Actually, the trend started with Japan. I used to have a Japanese knockoff of a Leica, made by Canon. A perfect copy of the Leica I also had. Eventually, China started undercuting Japan's prices. But the real change came when Sam Walton died, and his successors started ordering everything from China.
Nothing hard to pin down at all despite some good jabs at the stupids in the tea party, this article is nothing but a naked apologetic for globalist capitalism which is a choice like all macro economic decisions.
IMO it's time for the left to start arguing tariffs again to incentivize local production which would not only be better for workers rights both here and in sweatshops in the third world, but would also reduce the amount of fossil fuels used to transport goods around the world. We should be making quality long lasting goods at home in small shops and co-ops, and less of them, if we want a just sustainable 21st century society. And yes we can live a high quality life with less as Europe is leading the way in currently.
Thumbs down to this globalist apologist b.s.
There's nothing stopping us from doing that except our own self-imposed limitations. Socialism works better on a small scale anyway.
I agree, for all it's grounded realism, this article is ultimately defeatist. I disagree that we are resigned to our miserable fates, that we must finally face the reality of living lives of quiet desperation and dreary toil.
Oh, Hell No!
There is greative greatness in each of us, even genius. All of us are capable of miracles, and good rewarding work, of contributing beauty, joy, love, and abundance. We know this when we dream; we know it when we're very quiet, away from the tube and the nets, when we connect closely with others.
It is the parasitic elite, who within a small univerese of only money, power, and aquisition, that is bleeding us, squelching our potential, instilling fear and loathing, causing scarcity, and inciting division and violence throughout the world. This is the evil we must resist and the yoke we must throw off. But let's not indulge in self-pity and small-mindedness. Perhaps that is Wurtzel's hidden message after, one we have to find and claim for ourselves.
The parsitic elite, and the fools who would emulate them. I spent the sfternoon with a coworker who belives that 3000sqft homes are fine and that investers don't have to care about broken communities, ruined dreams, just more profit thats the end all be all, if you can find a sucked take his money and be happy. In case anybody here doesn't know these values stated are WRONG!
I can't save those who won't listen, I can't bring life to a rock. Maybe americans do deserve this, maybe they are lucky to have a job? where do I fit in to all this? I don't, well there goes another day foolin the plebes, pickin up my check. go home wash rince, and repeat tommorow. That's all a croppled old white guy like me can ask for. :(
>^^<
ouch, that had to leave a mark.
nicely said, jill.
Ouch!?? Are you kidding me? That didnt hurt! That just proves how stupid you continue to be!
I have been surrounded by tea baggers. I have infiltrated their camp and learned how it works. (not by choice) Let me deverge afew of their secrets. First, it's a belief to them. They refuse to look at the facts. They will never read nor watch any respectable news outlet. They thrive on Fox news and Rush. NPR, Time magazine, Frontline and even 60 minutes are "liberal" and are never refered to. They believe the world is ending, people are bad, and the government is evil. They are lead by fear instiled in them by their fundamental churches. They are usually older white southern men who are pissed off that they aren't king of the mountain anymore. They think all the progress our great country has made with rights for minorities sucks. They " want their country back". This is their lifestyle. You know, country music and guns.
They have no compassion for anyone different from them. The government is not the problem, these people are. History books will prove that Obama was a great president. It's funny how they all complain about health care reform but none of them have actually took the time to read it. They don't read anything that has even the slightest truth in it. They just throw mud and bitch and complain.
They are still upset about the civil war. They want to regress and live in a land they can rule so they can feel better about their pathetic lives. Can we just give them their land back and let them play cowboys? Or atleast not take advantage of Medicare or health care benefits? And for the women, they are just simply ignorant. They are fighting to loose their rights. It's really sad and frustrating. How do you enlighten such narrow-minded ignorant people? They love Reagan and Bush even though they mortally wounded our country. What kind of belief is that?
FYI it's not the "civil war",,, it's the "War of Northern Agression" at least learn that and you may get a clearer idea how your opposition thinks. Most White Southerners don't want to have any part of ownong blacks, they never did. That was their Leaders, the ones who never seemed to pay for their crimes. Lumping people for the crimes of their leaders? might as well put a wall around Germany. oh yea we did that,, but it's gone now. As have most southerners been assimilated to northern values. You'd know that if ever spoke to any.
Damm Americans for divisive jackalls who'd eat their own at the dropp of a hat.
>^^<
Thanks for both playing and proving Jill's point about how stupidity is an equal opportunity afflicter.
Enjoy your infiltration missions, Secret Squirrel.
LOL! you cought me eh! well sometimes it's nessary for the pot to call the kettle black! as long as you remember who you are!
As I posted above it's funny how were all manipulated so skillfully. Leftys spewing right-wing population control reteric. and so on.
>^^<
Good point about the lefties "spewing right-wing population control" rhetoric. Sometimes we all need to review all the different memes and concepts floating around in our heads and try to determine which ones are consistent with each other and are consistent with our political goals (and which ones are inconsistent and likely were created and propagated by the corporatists). I always cringe when I read someone on CD or some other left-of-center blog railing against the human race as I strongly believe such sentiments are shared by, and certainly promoted by, the worst of the corporatist predators. The elite predators also have no use for a human population of 7 billion and would like to see it reduced by 90 to 99 percent. They too see that as a much more sustainable population with a much more friendly environment. I even suspect that many of them are thinking of ways to make this happen and consider it to be a valid plan for addressing global warming, thereby saving much of the life on the planet!
Stephaneista, Jill is right you are no smarter than the tea baggers if you think the the corporate whore, war mongering Dims have anything more to offer than the corporate whore war mongering Repigliecons. There is no democracy in America it's just a stage act to keep the proles from burning the place down, and Obummer is just another war criminal corporatist like Bush. Hint, it's the policy stupid! I challenge you to read these links from activist left sources to see what a criminal your hero Obummer is, hint I voted for him but at least I realized I was fooled as soon as he put bankster robbers in the cabinet, mea culpa Cynthia McKinney, suck it Obamabots, I and MILLIONS of other betrayed left activists WILL vote for the Green in 2012 Obummer going to be one term "wonder."
Obama as bad as Bush the documented record:
1. The escalated wars even compared to overt war criminal Bush?
www.alternet.org/world/144449/obama_far_outdoes_bush_in_e...
2. The continuation of the abrogation of Habeas Corpus just like Bush?
www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2009/04/11/bagram
3. The continuation of military tribunals just like Bush: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/04/...
4. The continuation of rendition to countries that torture just like Bush:
www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/11/target-of-obama-era-ren...
5. The continuation of a prison camp that tortures in gross violation of the Geneva conventions just like Bush:
www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,650324,00.html www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/51564
6. Continuation of of Bush's TARP program to transfer money from the poor and middle class to unaccountable banksters rather than helping the mainly African American victims of sub prime loans?
abcnews.go.com/GMA/Economy/story?id=6626721&page=1
www.detroitnaacp.org/civilrights/predatory.asp
7. The appointment of industry insiders in the industry that supported Obama in the Campaign shades of Cheney and Halliburton:
www.helium.com/items/1813307-goldman-sachs-ties-to-the-ob...
8. Obama's support for "clean coal," nuclear power and the first offshore oil drilling in 20 years which was only halted with a moratorium after the disastrous Gulf oil spill:
www.treehugger.com/files/2010/02/obama-defends-clean-coal...
www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/16/obama.nuclear.power/index...
www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/science/earth/01energy.html
9. Obama's crushing of government whistleblowers of U.S. War crimes and other government malfesance like wikileaks:
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/17/wikileaks_whistleblowers
10. Assassination orders against American Citizens overseas:
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/04/07/assassinations
11. Support for expanding Bush's Unconsitutional surveillance of American citizens:
http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/internet/obama-aims-to-wiretap-skype-facebook-blackberry-the-entire-internet.asp
12. Health insurance reform that is a giveway of a trillion taxpayer dollars to the big insurance companies that broke the system in the first place with no price caps:
http://static1.firedoglake.com/1/files/2010/03/mythfactshcr-2.pdf
See also for more info on Obummers Bush term III policies
http://stpeteforpeace.org/obama.html
Well said, Jill.
Jill, your call for an analysis of what makes Americans repeatedly vote against their self interest is laudable. However, the tea baggers - many of them, at any rate - are evidently stupid or at least extremely uninformed, as Elizabeth pointed out. So your parallelism between her presumed vote for Obama and their inane accusations against him is perhaps invalid. And, quite simply, Obama's rap was better than any of the tea baggers.
I find no cause for superciliousness in these sad discussions on the Titanic. I voted McKinney but so what? I get no smug self-satisfaction from the fact, and am entirely cognizant that she had not a snowball's chance in hell of winning, given the way the electoral system is currently established. Maybe people just want to vote for someone who has a snowball's chance in hell of winning. Maybe that is hardwired into our DNA.
No. the people who voted for Obama were not fooled or misinformed. I wrote in CD against Obama before he was elected. The people on this site, and others chose to vote for a man who did not say one word against the massacre Israel perpetrated on Gazans. He showed a coldness and a callousness that was politically and mercilessly calculated. And yet you kept dumping on those who told you you were in self-denial. That is what it was, don't blame it on the media. Maybe you just didn't notice that he didn't say anything about one the great crimes against humanity in our times. Many of you voted for this man and you should be ashamed that you didn't have principles. Don't vote for criminally minded people!!
Everyone on this site votes for a candidate on the basis of principles, but most people vote on the basis of tribal identification. That is, blacks voted for Obama because he was black. Many whites voted for him because they thought his speeches placed him in the group they identified with. Certainly McCain and Palin shared no values with vast groups of people sick of war and recession. Politics has everything to do with demographics and, frequently, little to do with platforms or ideas.
I voted for Obama because I saw a great opportunity for blacks to feel included in the American political process. I had hope that he would act on behalf of the powerless and, sadly, was mistaken about that. I'm not sure I'm ready to apologize for voting for Obama; at least, for a moment in our history, we were able to overcome more than three centuries of racism.
Drosera wrote,
"most people vote on the basis of tribal identification."
Most people do everything on the basis of tribal identification.
And that will be our epitaph.
I've often watched a group of horses of different colors horsing around, sharing pasture or just calmly standing around enjoying life. Then I asked myself, WTF is wrong with humans? We are supposed to be smarter than horses. They could care less whether you are black, white or brown. It puts the expression 'horse sense' in a whole new light.
It's not just about race, though. It is about values. Clarence Thomas, after all, identifies with the oligarchs (most of whom are white). Political campaigns are all about convincing people that they can identify with a certain set of values, a certain tribe as I call it. Repubs play up nativism, independence, morality, and American exceptionalism in foreign policy. Honestly, I do not know what Dems stand for. (that is their problem, isn't it?) Anyway, none of these things connect with actual policy--Medicare for all, reduced military expenditures, free tuition for qualified college students, a carbon tax....etc. CD participants want defined solutions to problems; most voters just want the guy to be in charge to be "their kind of guy." The kinds of decisions he makes are irrelevant; it's WHO decides, not what the decision is.
These are thoughtful comments, drosera.
Here's another thought: The inability of USAns to distinguish between good and bad policy, and to vote accordingly, is one of our biggest faults. You are right, too many of our population cannot begin to focus on the effects that policy has on their lives, and on the rest of the world.
Yes, the media has culpability in this matter. But the people need to become more aware as well. Our torpor may arise from our relative prosperity, historically speaking. It is often among the disadvantaged of the world that political consciousness is the most astute.