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Tuesday, May 2, 2017
It's miserable outside today, with heavy rains and thunder. It seems like it's been gray, cold, and rainy for most of the past 6 1/2 years, ever since conservative Republicans roared back into power by retaking Congress in that fateful election of November 2, 2010. It was the most stunning political upset in our entire history, and I still can't believe it happened! As we all know, they completely destroyed any possibility former President Obama may have had of enacting anything on his agenda, and defeated him overwhelmingly in a record landslide on a dirty campaign of lies, innuendo, and misinformation two years later. They even reversed and repealed his health care reform legislation by a huge majority! UNBELIEVABLE!
I think I'll be moving again soon. I've never been paranoid in the past, and I don't think I'm being that way now, but I just don't feel safe here anymore. Yesterday was a terrible day. Congress passed the "Free Enterprise, Free Choice Act of 2017", effectively making labor unions illegal. ILLEGAL! After the price and wage riots in March, I figured there would be some sort of crackdown, but I never imagined THIS! I've lost track of my old leftist blogger friends like SJ, MyCue23, Burr, Vigilante, Manifesto Joe, Suzan, Max's Dad, Oso, mud_rake, MadMike, Holte Ender, Stella by Starlight, Marc McDonald, Truth101, TomCat, Beach Bum, Punky Penny, and all the rest. I hope they're FREE, ok, and SAFE, at least, because I know they're not happy. Maybe they've all gone underground, as I plan to do. I got a smuggled letter last Friday from Gwendolyn Barry, who used to write A New Global Myth before Senator Liz Cheney's restrictive "Patriot Information Act" was passed on November 9, right after the "re-election", which has led to the arrest of many bloggers, leftists, and union union officials on charges of being security threats. GWENDOLYN'S not happy! She mentioned she had been relocated to some type of work detention camp, and she HATES it! I guess being made to help manufacture bombsight materiel for the military isn't her cup of tea. I'D hate doing that, too, so I'm going to hit the road, blend in anonymously somewhere, and become an American Dissident/Fugitive until either this corrupt regime is removed from power (which seems all but impossible now), or I get caught and thrown into a camp like Gwendolyn was. Sadly, I suspect many of my other old pals have suffered her same fate. It didn't take long for these kinds of roundups to begin. For this isn't the "land of the free" anymore. It's become the land of the conservative, militaristic, and wealthy so far as government policy is concerned. I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd see a situation like this occur!
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When the President (whose name I STILL can't bear to even write or say to this very day) took (STOLE) office on January 20, 2013, I, like most of the rest of the country, was in absolute shock. Shock that someone SO stupid, SO shallow, SO dishonest, SO self-centered, SO unqualified, SO narrow-minded, SO in love with money, fame, and the military/industrial complex, and SO vile could have been sold to voters and could have ever attained the office. We on the left all thought, after the disastrous presidency of George W. Bush, that the ultra-conservative Republican Party was dead and set to disappear altogether. Boy, were WE ever wrong! They came roaring back with that infamous "teabagger" movement they so skillfully manufactured in the summer of 2009, and they haven't looked back ever since! They began feeding the public a non-stop stream of steady lies and distortion, so much and so often, that voters have now come to accept most of their phony claims as accurate fact. Secretary of Public Information Glenn Beck has seen to that, as the newly-created (2014) Department of Public Information (I call it the "Apartment of Public DISinformation") headed by he and Deputy Secretary Rush Limbaugh, is further cementing this fearmongering spin. It has even started a subtle rewriting-of-history campaign to feed the public lies about the past. Secretary of Education Karl Rove has begun implementing this disinformation throughout our public elementary and secondary schools. The Kennedy half dollar has been replaced by the new Reagan piece, and I hear the old FDR dime is up next for a revision. The White House stopped giving all press briefings two years ago, and has now resorted to using staged "interviews" with only one network - Fox "News" and only John King or Dana Bash from CNN. ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, and the almost defunct PBS have all been shut out of the direct info pool. Yes, these dreadful, corporatist, plutocratic, ultra-conservative Republicans have become awfully bold and brazen of late, especially since the President was just "re-elected" by such a wide margin last year and they were able to slightly increase their already large congressional margins... .jpg)
I don't think it's any accident that this hideous "Free Enterprise, Free Choice Act of 2017" was passed and immediately signed into law on May 1; "May Day", the traditional day dedicated to workers worldwide among Socialists (and the old Communists). With a 313-125 conservative Republican majority in the House, a 73-27 conservative Republican majority in the Senate, and a 7-2 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, these ultra-conservative Republicans have gotten awfully arrogant these days. Led by Vice President Michele Bachmann, I'm sure they were smacking their lips with absolute glee at the thought of squashing working people's only means of leverage once and for all by outlawing unions! Rumor has it, since she was successful in a push for "abstinance only" sex "education" in the schools and the complete banning of ALL abortions nationwide, teen pregnancies are skyrocketing, as are deaths from back-alley abortions. Of course, you'll never hear this from a White House or Department of Public Information press release. Pundits are already speculating that Bachmann has a lock on the 2020 Republican presidential nomination and will almost certainly win the 2020 election. God! Vice President BACHMANN? And maybe PRESIDENT BACHMANN? How did this nightmare HAPPEN? How in the hell did this extreme, wacko, delusional woman ever even get elected to the HOUSE, let alone become VICE PRESIDENT and probably now will even become PRESIDENT in three years?
Since the National Guard has undertaken training of militia groups in the countryside to crack heads on the poor and leftists in the inner cities and urban areas, it has freed their regular contingents to continue our three year-old war in Pakistan and Iran, and our sixteen-year old war in Afghanistan. To think we were once on the verge of pulling our troops OUT of Afghanistan! After DICK Cheney (before his fatal heart attack in 2013) and other far-right neocons engineered the phony terrorist incidents in the summer of 2012 (which scared the living hell out of the public and helped knock Obama out of office), the military/industrial complex has had a field day. Defense Secretary Jeb Bush, in his brother's best tradition, has dished out non-bid military contracts like appetizers at a cocktail party. As such, an end to this militaristic gluttony is nowhere in sight. Thanks to their having underwritten our exponentially expanding national debt for much of the past thirty five years, China has now finally built up a military roughly equal to our own in nearly every category except numbers, of course, where they outnumber us 20 to 1. Naturally, the military/industrial complex doesn't mind, because they have been profiting handsomely all the while. And you'll never hear reports of this nature on Fox "News" or coming out of the Department of Public Information! Big business is happy, too. Ever since gigantic new tax cuts for business and sweeping deregulation changes became effective in 2013, and now that nearly all of us working Americans are working 60+ hour weeks and are being paid what would have been considered a mere 20% above minimum wage only ten years ago, and with labor unions now outlawed, corporate executives are in ecstasy. I'll give these Republicans credit for one thing, though: they succeeded in getting the unemployment rate down to a scant 3.1%, and that's what's enabled them to get by with this economic murder. For it's come at a terrible price. Now we all have jobs, but UNDERemployment stands at a staggering 47%, so we have jobs, but no money. The last time I had a good steak dinner was at Christmas; my shoes and pants have holes in them; and going out to eat in a fancy restaurant or taking a nice long European vacation are luxuries that have disappeared into the lost decades of a distant past. As we might have expected, once the President issued an executive order ending all affirmative action, unemployment among blacks and Hispanics has shot up dramatically, to 31,7% and 24.5% respectively. A lot of us are now too tired and old to raise much hell about all this anymore. But not me, and that's why I'm hitting the road and going on the run...
Who would have ever thought wages would dip this far? Who would have ever thought unemployment benefits, overtime pay, and welfare would have all been done away with, as they were in 2015? Who would have ever thought that every major bridge in every major city would have dozens of homeless people "living" under it as we now have today? Who would have EVER thought the Republicans would successfully privatize Social Security as they also did in 2015, leading to a gigantic leap in the number of those over 70 becoming destitute almost overnight?
I keep thinking, over and over: HOW IN THE WORLD DID THIS HORROR STORY HAPPEN? I mean, IF ONLY WE ON THE LEFT HAD ACTUALLY VOTED AND HAD NOT STAYED HOME IN THE 2010 AND 2012 ELECTIONS! IF ONLY WE HAD FURIOUSLY FOUGHT TO EXPOSE EVERY SINGLE TEABAGGER/CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN LIE WHEN WE HAD THE CHANCE! IF ONLY WE HAD ARGUED MORE FORCEFULLY TO CONVINCE INDEPENDENTS AND THE APOLITICAL THAT THE CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN AGENDA WOULD BE CUTTING EVERYONE'S THROATS! IF ONLY WE HAD PUSHED PRESIDENT OBAMA FURTHER LEFTWARD INSTEAD OF ABANDONING HIM ALTOGETHER! Surely, had we been more proactive, things would have turned out far better and much differently than they are today. And I wouldn't be going on the run...
35 comments:
Part of the "joke" about being a Tory in my blog is that I think this was what happened in the War for American Independence. The fringe started a movement that ended up bringing in those who weren't willing to resist (those who did resist were called Tories and fought for the British). The Benedict Arnold posts are second guessing that this was exactly what happened when poor Ben realised he'd been had.
Even if the "People" supported the Independence crowd, this country hasn't turned out as they planned.
The Second And Third Amendments are there to protect us from Standing Armies. As the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776's Declaration of Rights, art. 13 put it:
XIII. That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the state; and as standing armies in the time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; And that the military should be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.
That last bit means that Militias are under the control of Civil power, not right wing loonies with guns.
234 years of mistakes, it's time to go back to Britain!
WONDERFUL~!!! Look for my "A smuggled letter to Jack..." response! I adore it! And it goes to prove a very important point, Jack. If we fall asleep at the switch or lay back because it isn't all that we think it should be or we just grow apathetic, this might be a real story. I applaud your creative nature and drive... like Beach, you've found an outlet to sting us into recognizing, if we snooze, we loose! Well done! Like I said, I'll be writing you from my status in the world you just can't believe. :-)
Jack, good to hear you're still alive, I am but barely, I was arrested in April of 2016 for sedition, I called the president an asshole, they shut my blog down of course. The local militia found me guilty as charged, I was supposed to be shipped to Cuba, it's one big prison camp since the invasion, but I lost 20lbs on a holding barge in the middle of the Okefenokee swamp, got malaria and they didn't want to deal with my sickness, so they turned me loose. Some locals nursed me back to health with the limited drugs they had. There is a thriving underground movement where I am (can't tell), but they are all old geezers like me, so eventually there will be no resistance. Well must shut down this site before they track us down. Good luck.
Very nice Jack, this is what could happen, if the lies go unchecked and unchallenged. I hope I can sleep tonight.
Laci,
Well stated! You raise a very valid point on the bearing arms issue, and we have definitely misinterpreted that on a pervesely wide scale!
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Gwendolyn,
Thank you for recognizing my intent here, and I look very forward to your "smuggled letter!"
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Holte Ender,
Thank you for your creative reply, and thanks for "keeping me in the loop." I hope if enough of us actually take frequent and strong positions between now and November, we'll be able to write a different future "history." BLOG ON, MY FRIEND! DEFEAT THE LIES!
First let me say this was a scary, fantastic post! Just the detail itself on what very well could happen was very nicely done.
"Free Enterprise, Free Choice Act of 2017", effectively making labor unions illegal.
I not only feel that is possible but some form is likely given what I've heard from the conservative talking heads. They are freaking over the current PRO-labor union legislation pending in congress which I understand the democrats have become lukewarm, at best, about.
Making matters worse the usual Marching Morons are as rabid against protection for the working people even as the whine about how health care costs are increasing.
On another matter this was a terrifying piece because of the security issues mention in the story's future timeline. I was still in the National Guard when 9/11 happened and while I have no real problem or disagreement with the sense of danger that hung over the country right after but one thing chilled me to the bone.
Stories-rumors really-floated about strange events and occurrences all across the country usually involving dark-skinned men. After a few months it became less real concern and more self organizing fearmongering. And I will tell you right now long before 9/11 many in the National Guard took it upon themselves to challenge anyone who "smelled" of liberalism. Of course this is South Carolina which will never win a contest for enlightened and rational thought. But my point is that given a few "terrorist incidents" and some minor prodding from conservative radio and Fox Noise types the middle class lemmings could very well go along with such camps as you mentioned.
Got to run...
@Jack,
none of us would ever go quietly...
-Saints preserve us; I sound just like a Tea Bagger.
But seriously, I never ever get tired of posting these lines from the motion picture adaptation of "V for Vendetta"
V:
Good evening, London.
Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, are celebrated with a nice holiday; I thought we could mark this November the fifth, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.
There are, of course, those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now orders are being shouted into telephones and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there?
Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance, coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told...if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.
I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War. Terror. Disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you and in your panic, you turned to the now High Chancellor Adam Sutler. He promised you order. He promised you peace. And all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.
Last night, I sought to end that silence. Last night, I destroyed the Old Bailey to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago, a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom are more than words - they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you, then I would suggest that you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek...then I ask you to stand beside me, one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament. And together, we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever, be forgot!
Take that: Fox News, Roger Ailes, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, all of you who oppress while pretending to defend freedom.
-SJ
Jack,
I just wanted to let you know that I made it over the border and am safe in Canada. I think SJ may be in the hills of North Dakota or at least the last place I heard from him. My blog is being blocked from reaching the US, but I'm still fighting the good fight. You do the same, my friend. And in the words of Elliot Ness in the Untouchables, "Never stop fighting 'til the fight is done".
may 5 2017
translated from Spanish
La Jornada mobile blog transmitting on a weekly basis from various points in Northern Mexico
Update on news from the U.S.
defeat of Blackwater mercenary force confirmed in Los Angeles.Combined Mara Salvatrucha, Blood and Crip peoples armies have annihilated a Blackwater force estimated at division strength.
Hezbullah - provided electronic jamming software and stinger missiles prevented air support to the mercenary forces.
Due to anger from the San Fernando Massacre it is unlikely the guerrilla forces will be taking any prisoners.
Mexican Mafia and Black Guerrila Family-directed suicide bombings at Blackwater facilities continue.
hasta la victoria siempre
signing off
Upon reading your World of Delusion piece, my mind flashed to that great scene in Scrooge after the visit of the ghosts.
He utters, "Are these visions of what must be, or of what might be?"
Hopefully not, 'must be,' but that all depends on the combined ignorance of the American electorate and their vulnerability to propaganda.
Beach Bum,
Thank you very much for this nice comment, but thank you especially for giving me the inspirattion to put it together! Ever since your 12/27/09 post "After the House of Cards Has Fallen", it has been percolating and taking shape in my brain.
Your comments on your National Guard experience around 9/11 are chilling. There is a terrifying disconnect these days from some of those who are supposed to be protecting our freedoms and what those freedoms really mean and are.
Thank you again, my friend. BLOG ON!
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SJ,
I like that fighting spirit. That was a fabulous quote, and I especially like your last sentence, too, where you call out Fox and the conservatives for fostering oppression in the name of freedom.
I said in my first post of the year I wanted to make this be a year of truth. We can all do this by battling these far right conservative Republican lies every step of the way!
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Mycue23,
Fabulous comment, and I love that romantic spirit of fight and adventure it contains! I'm glad you and SJ are continuing the fight. Our flame of truth shall never be extinguished! Great quote from The Untouchables. We MUST keep fighting the Republican lie machine, or many aspects of this frightening 2017 scenario could become reality - GOD FORBID!!!
!
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Oso,
Spectacular addendum to my little story! Let us hope these deep disagreements between left and right in this country never erupt into the bloody and terrifying scenario you paint here. We on the left know that, despite whatever nonsense the teabaggers claim, we would never enact repressive regimes like both your and my story illustrate. That is why it is up tro US over the next 9 months or so to refute every Republican lie and convince every rational voter that voting for conservative Republican and tea party candidates will be an absolutely hideous mistake!
Hasta la victoria, siemre, mi amigo!
Good point, mud_rake, but it also depends on us getting out the truth and exposing the conservative Republican lies so that the American electorate will be less ignorant, and therefore less vulnerable, to far right propaganda.
fine, now I have to rewrite my smuggled letter in which Vigilante and MadMike still 'take out' Pat Buchanan somewhere in Virginia.... :-)
wonderfully creative crowd here!
Jack, I am not sure how to get those who refuse to think to change their ways. Have you ever read Mad Cao's Blog (Self-righteous and deluded blogging)?
This is a woman who is in love with Palin and doesn't believe in global warming.
Words are more powerful than guns, but those with guns can try to force silence upon those who speak out.
Laci,
I'm not familiar with that blogger you mention, but I'm sure my blood pressure would spike if I went there. I have nothing in common with anyone who holds admiration for Palin.
As far as I'm concerned, Sarah Palin is a deluded, stupid, naive, gullible, ignorant, shallow, dishonest, greedy, self-serving, rash, vain, intellectually and emotionally immature little girl. Anyone who believes in her or follows her is a stupid and ignorant fool, too.
Your last sentence is especially true here in the States, as what happened to JFK, RFK, and Martin Luther King, Jr. serves as abundant proof.
Jack I am writing this through a proxy and I am sure you can understand the need for caution. The bastards almost got me in the summer of 2015, but I managed to escape through the tunnel. Sadly they killed one of my dogs, but the rest made it out with me. I have been publishing secretly bust someone snitched me off and all of my equipment was destroyed. I have an idea who it was but until I can breathe for even just a few minutes, revenge will have to wait. Keep up the good fight my friend. Nothing is forever, not even these scumbags. Be safe and beware the Baggers and the Dumbers. There is a rumor they are hanging the "seditionists."
Great post -- I'll be linking this for sure.
Let's make sure things don't reach this point so that we end up having to hold a "green revolution" like the Iranians, just to get back to where we are now.
MadMike,
Great to hear that you yourself are well and are continuing the fight for truth, justice, and the REAL American way any way you can. Be safe, and BLOG ON, my friend!
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Infidel753,
I share your concern, and the only way we can be sure to never reach that 2017 point and be forced into an Iranian-style green revolution is to stand up to these Republican lies TODAY and TOMORROW and NEXT WEEK and NEXT MONTH! We've got to disprove the Hitler-Goebbels axiom that telling the biggest lie often enough will cause it to be believed! Thanks, my friend!
I guess I should say I escaped Philadelphia in 2011 to make home in London. I miss chasing squirrels.
Mad Cao gives me apoplexy as well.
Ahhh---beautiful London! Sorry about the squirrels, but at least you nor anyone else is denied health care there! See you at Kew Gardens! :-)
Careful Oso. Spanish was outlawed in this hemisphere after the passage of the revised Monroe Doctrine Patriot Act of 2016.
Fortunately for the Brazilians, secretary of state Dana Perino didn't know they spoke Portuguese.
Secretary of State Dana PERRINO? O MY GOD! At last---a bit of comedy in this horror story! Way to go, Truth101! :-)
Very nice blog you have here. I like reading political blogs for some reason. Anyway, I have a site myself where people from around the world come and debate on popular issues. I feel as if this will give citizens some form of power, letting their voices be heard.
I'd like to exchange links with you to help spread some traffic around between each other. If you'd like to, please leave a comment under our "Compadres" page when you've added our link and we'll return the favor.
Until then, keep up the good work.
Jason
DEBATEitOUT.com
LOL truth !
I better call you "La Verdad" (the Truth) till 2016 then !
Jason,
Thanks for stopping by! Your site sounds interesting---I'll check it out and add it to my blogroll.
Jack @ it also depends on us getting out the truth and exposing the conservative Republican lies so that the American electorate will be less ignorant, and therefore less vulnerable, to far right propaganda.
Exactly. I would encourage those of us who 'get it' to expose the bastards through letters to the editor of our local newspapers. Those editorials reach a much more broad audience than here in the blogophere.
Jack, may this fantasy never come to pass.
mud_rake,
You are absolutely spot on, and I hope all will heed your very good advice!
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TomCat,
It all depends on us. No matter how disappointed we may be with Obama at this point, we must always remember that the conservative Republican alternative is far, FAR worse! It is up to US to make certain they do not gain any more strength as they have been a malevolent destructive force already. We must continue to BLOG ON and also follow mud_rake's excellent recommendation!
Great, and scary, post, Jack.
I've been so angry at Obama and the Dems lately that I had been considering not even voting this year.
I figured that, even if the GOP took back the Senate and House, would it really make any difference?
After all, the Dems control both chambers and they haven't really been able to do sh*t. That watered down, piece-of-sh*t, pro-corporate "health care" bill was the last straw for me. Is ANY Democrat out there (who is not a politician) happy with this bill?
However, your post was sufficiently scary enough to motivate me to go ahead and vote in November.
Marc,
I'm glad you WILL vote, and urge others to do so, too! We CANNOT let the Republicans paralyze this country any further, or enable them to regain power to enact even 1% of the horror story I have portrayed here!
I share your frustration with the President and with the Democrats. I look at it this way, though: achieving 10% of SOMETHING with this motley crew is far better than achieving 100% of NOTHING with the conservative Republicans! Just as with Social Security in 1935, if we pass a less-than-desired agenda now, it is a strong foothold which can be strengthened and expanded later. That's why we cannot afford to sit on our tails and effectively scuttle even the tiny gains we have achieved so far. BLOG ON! And VOTE! And write editorials in the newspaper, yoo!But DON'T sit inactive in disgust, my friend!
You'll be welcome up here in Canuckistan, but I'm afraid the situation is a bit dicey. You see, U.S. corporations control much of the economy up here. Washington has a strong influence on Canada. And by "influence" I mean control through might and intimidation.
Thanks, Stimpson, and I'm sorry about our "interference." We can all be glad, though, that your health care system is uniquely your own and isn't wholly dominated/corrupted by greedy US insurance and pharmaceutical companies, the way it is here!
Jack, great minds. Your reply echoes mine to you at my place.
TomCat,
We are truly political and economic kindred spirits, and I am glad. Thank you for your intelligence, passion, wisdom, and heart!
That is the scariest story I've ever read. And that's saying something. After reading Steven King's book "It", I slept with the overhead light on in my bedroom for a month. This is scarier than that.
Lisa G,
Sorry to raise your blood pressure that way! But it's up to all of us to make sure this story never becomes real!
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