if you don’t read joe bageant…
September 11, 2008 by Betmo · Leave a Comment
you should.
“I have to pretend more or less that I think it can be fixed, that some politician can be elected who will turn around 200 years of observable social trajectory. People say, “Well, at least some people are trying to fix the problem from within the system. And I want to scream: THE SYSTEM IS THE PROBLEM! IT’S RIGGED, YOU DUMB FUCKERS!
I wish I could at least call this denial. But if people are incapable of even perceiving the facts because of state conditioning, serving up the facts is useless. Which is why all that powerful truth out there on the net has no real effect. It exists outside our indoctrination’s reference framework. Therefore it does not exist. What exists is the system. The ward on which we all live and secretly fear Nurse Ratchett. But it is still the system and the U.S. is still a ward in which the citizen patients are carefully observed and managed to best result for the corporate state. Best result meaning economical producers and consumers for (allegedly) free market capitalism. And every patient and affinity group has a cherished unreality which allows them to live in denial. For instance, there is the cherished notion among liberal and left leaning Americans that all this is recent, and sprang up simply because George Bush was elected. I don’t think so friends. No one man can establish cruelty in 300 million people in eight years. He can only heighten it by squeezing the people harder, encouraging fear and alienation and coldness of spirit.”
i feel the same way. i try really hard not to talk to people anymore. they don’t really want to hear the truth. some on the left claim that they want to hear the truth- but i think that they recent primaries debacle pitting obama against clinton was clear enough evidence that people don’t want the truth. americans don’t want the truth- they want someone to fight. i am disgusted at myself for getting caught up in all of this nonsense. i am disgusted with myself for allowing myself to think america could perhaps buy itself some time. but i keep forgetting- american is about the people. right? we, the people,- americans are proud of being americans. but i have to agree with george carlin on this one:
at any rate, i have made my personal decision to withhold my vote. it is my form of protest against a system that is corrupt and rigged and essentially useless. i am also not going to blog anymore on any of the presidential candidates- or their running mates. i see no point. i am one one of those people who sincerely hope that this country can eke out a few more years of holding it together- until i pass away or am too old to care if i die. selfish? yep. i didn’t ask for this america. it isn’t the america i was told i lived in. it isn’t even close. the generations before mine fucked me over in a big way- and now, they don’t care. so, i am going to hunker down and enjoy my life as best as i can in spite of the stupidity and ignorance that surrounds me and i am going to learn what i need to do in order to survive. survival in a corporatocracy is a whole new life for me. i was told i was born free.
Sphere: Related Contentquestion of the day
August 31, 2008 by Betmo · Leave a Comment
how much truth can we handle?
i used to rail against people who were happily in denial. you know the folks who are still rah, rah for america and who believe that we are a democracy spreading democracy around the world. i am beginning to think i should let them be. the truth seekers have lost. most folks believe that this upcoming ‘election’ in america will be about change. i don’t believe it will be. everything i thought i knew about america; everything i learned in my history and social studies classes- was lies. lies and propaganda. i thought i was beyond caring about that these days but apparently, i am not.
knowing that america fought in world war 2 against hitler’s brutality and torture- and hirohito’s brutality and torture- and then came home and was a part of that very brutality and torture in other countries- makes me so unbelievably sad. the realization dawning on me that the cold war was indeed about differing ideologies- but it had more to do with corporate interests and less about human rights- makes me so unbelievably sad. the fact that our country spawned the likes of milton friedman and the chicago school of economics that partnered with the right wing to cause do very much misery and suffering around the globe in the mid 20th century- and the same players are doing the same thing today in indonesia, south america (again) and now the middle east- makes me so unbelievably sad.
the fact that the tactics used then and now around the globe- the police state tactics- are being used here in america- well, the realization of that has brought me low. i know what’s coming. these people don’t have independent thought- they recycle from the past and what has worked for them- and the techniques that worked in indonesia and latin america- are being put into play in the middle east and now here- on the streets of america. people don’t want to believe that. they want to believe that we can change it through our votes. and we can’t. the corporations worked with the cia during the kennedy administration- covertly. he was killed because he couldn’t be bought. it wasn’t the mafia- it was big corporate interests. they came into their own under nixon- that era spawned the seeds for what we see today. and if you think things ended well for the left wing during that time period- well, i have swampland to sell ya.
make no mistake- these databases and whatnot are not for security. at least not in the sense that they are being touted. they are keeping tabs on the people who are most likely to try and fight back- rage against the machine. these folks will be rounded up in raids or with a knock on the door- and spirited away to be tortured with drugs and shock therapy at the very least. many will die. and the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer and the earth will finally have enough. whether big corporate likes it or not- their gravy train of profits will end. global climate change is real.
so, i picked the scab off the old wound of grieving for a country that never actually existed. go an dread naomi klein’s ‘the shock doctrine’- if you haven’t already.
Sphere: Related Contentwow. just wow.
August 29, 2008 by Betmo · 2 Comments
this is probably as good a description of upstate new york as i have read. it is an absolutely beautiful place- naturally speaking- but as for humans- not so much. the small cities and towns that used to look like mayberry in the 1930′ through the 1960’s- well, let’s just say that nothing was really built here since. no, that’s not true- the strip malls and mcmansions on the hills were constructed- but mostly it looks old and tired. like folks gave up. i think that there was a saying a long time ago- ‘rode hard and put away wet’ well, that describes upstate new york.
you know- the place where hillary clinton allegedly lives? the place she conveniently conducted a listening tour of in 2000 and hasn’t been back to since because she gets her love from the clintonistas.
new york is a beautiful state but it is no different than any other state these days. everywhere you look- the orgy is coming to an end. we didn’t prioritize the important stuff- infrastructure and investing in our communities in meaningful ways- instead focusing on hedonistic, consumeristic pleasures. we were on a binge- and now, we are crashing down from our high and realizing that we have to get back into reality. cold turkey.
Sphere: Related Content‘when in the course of human events…’
April 9, 2008 by Betmo · 4 Comments
if there is one thing i have gotten out of the last 8 years or so of well- whatever this has been- it is a healthy appreciation for the written word. ha! that isn’t what you expected me to say 
i am a reader. i love words- and i love well written words. when it comes to the written word- no one has anything over the founding fathers. ‘we, the people, in order to form a more perfect union…’;
‘when in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.’
and here we are full circle. we dissolved the union between us and the mother country in order to form a more perfect version- and here we are now- dissolving into a nation separated from itself and the rest of the world. the only one i have heard speaking of uniting anything- barack obama. everywhere in this nation- we are walling people out physically through actual walls; through laws; through cliques and discrimination. it doesn’t matter who they are- if they aren’t exactly like us- we want them separate. and yet, we say we love america. we love our country. all of the shredding of our precious constitution and declaration of independence- has been done in the name of ‘insuring domestic tranquility and providing for the common defense.’ i guess it isn’t as important to ’secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.’
dusterella and i email back and forth occasionally (someone has to keep this blog functional- and it’s her and we have some good asides. this last exchange i told her why it was i was scaling back on blogging and giving a shit about what happens here. i tend to be longwinded- so i will paraphrase
no joy in mudville
March 18, 2008 by Betmo · 2 Comments
i am not even really sure what to write about these days. oh- don’t get me wrong- when i say that, i inevitably end up writing 3,000 words anyway my mind is in a bit of turmoil and i don’t know that it’s quite spring fever because it isn’t a happy sort of feeling. i am disappointed that the democratic party has chosen to continue playing politics as usual within the corporatocracy because i honestly thought we had a shot at beginning to change things. but no. i guess i shouldn’t be surprised when the democratic party is made up of ‘crossovers’ from camp clinton and the blue dogs like lieberman. so- i am truly going to change my affiliation to independent. i have no desire to be affiliated with the democratic party any longer. in fact, i fully intend to send in my membership renewal (sans cash of course) with a nice letter explaining to howard dean, et al, where exactly they can shove that renewal and why. and so it goes. i feel very andy rooneyish today. i am also bitterly disappointed that we, the people, haven’t fought harder to save our constitution. we, the people, collectively decided to roll over and play dead while the pnacers took over our country. they effectively control everything and no one will make any kinds of moves to stop them. in the news recently:
fbi wants palm prints, eye scans, tattoos…
the government reads your mail- oh, and your emails and browser searches, and blog sites, and listens to your phone calls….
police taser use on rise- death toll mounts
americans can be detained indefinitely and tortured- cause bush says so
Sphere: Related ContentFYI
February 22, 2008 by Betmo · Leave a Comment
no good news here in mudville today- just more lies, deceit and corruption. and no i am not talking about the renzi scandal no- i am talking about the amount of heat al gore has taken over global climate change. a couple of articles for your amazement and amusement:
There was no consensus about global cooling in the ’70s, says study
“The supposed “global cooling” consensus among scientists in the 1970s - frequently offered by global-warming skeptics as proof that climatologists can’t make up their minds - is a myth, according to a survey of the scientific literature of the era.”
and—
pentagon tells bush: climate change will destroy us
“A secret report, suppressed by US defence chiefs (emphasis mine) and obtained by The Observer, warns that major European cities will be sunk beneath rising seas as Britain is plunged into a ‘Siberian’ climate by 2020. Nuclear conflict, mega-droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world.”
but never fear- the same folks who don’t believe in evolution are the ones who don’t believe in global warming. and the skeptics are just common folks with no hidden agenda either. guess they have egg on their faces now.
Sphere: Related Contentsame mistake
January 17, 2008 by Betmo · 3 Comments
[youtube]vuBo4E77ZXo[/youtube]
video preview of zeitgeist above
james blunt’s new song from his latest album kind of feels like where we are right now- at least i am. (complete lyrics here)
‘ I’m not calling for a second chance,
I’m screaming at the top of my voice,
Give me reason, but don’t give me choice,
Cos I’ll just make the same mistake again
And maybe someday we will meet
And maybe talk and not just speak
Don’t buy the promises ’cause
There are no promises I keep,
And my reflection troubles me
So here I go’
many folks don’t know that i started my own blog- life’s journey- in 2006. i have a former friend who is a computer geek extraordinaire- and she introduced me to my love of the internet. another thing many don’t know is- i became a political blogger and activist because of my mom. she was my partner in crime- so to speak. she used to be a junkie- watching news shows and the agriculture shows- she even listened to limbaugh’s radio show to get intel. any of the good posts i have done- i usually credit mom. so- she got me researching the things we found to be strange about the whys and whos and the how comes- and it opened my eyes. and i have been grieving ever since.
Sphere: Related ContentNBC uninvites Kucinich to the Vegas debate
January 11, 2008 by Dusty · 2 Comments
This is the media’s attempt to marginalize Kucinich and it’s wrong on every level. Thank You Corporate media..you are running true to form.
NBC un-plugs Kucinich from Presidential debate
Re-writes criteria to exclude candidate with ‘dissenting’ positions
Less than 44 hours after NBC sent a congratulatory note and an invitation to Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich to participate in the Jan. 15 Democratic Presidential debate in Las Vegas, the network notified the campaign this morning it was changing it announced criteria, rescinding its invitation, and excluding Kucinich from the debate.
NBC Political Director Chuck Todd notified the Kucinich campaign this morning that, although Kucinich had met the qualification criteria publicly announced on December 28, the network was “re-doing” the criteria, excluding Kucinich, and planning to invite only Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and former senator John Edwards.
The criteria announced last month included a fourth-place or better showing in a national poll. The USA/Gallup poll earlier this month showed Kucinich in fourth place among the Democratic contenders.
Sphere: Related Contentthoughts
on why i am not writing about the bhutto murder. i am a woman and i recognize that bhutto’s stint as prime minister in an islamic country was important. her role as a strong leader among men was as important as golda meir and margaret thatcher’s were in paving the way for women everywhere. however, i am someone who believes that people are equal. men and women are equal even as they are different physiologically. that bhutto was murdered is newsworthy because she was an opposition leader backed by america to disrupt a nuisance who doesn’t want to toe the mark. that doesn’t detract from her former accomplishments or what her future could have held. but is her life any more newsworthy or precious than any number of iraqis or kurds or palestinians or sudanese or rwandans? or anyone else on the planet? in my mind no. she was a daughter and wife and mother- just as countless other women are. she suffered loss just as any number of women have. she was special only because she moved up the ranks of power- something that many women can’t do.
Blue Dogs and Greenbacks..
November 20, 2007 by Dusty · Leave a Comment
Reprinted from TomPaine.com-It’s worth your time….this is why the Dem’s are fast becoming my former party.
Al Meyerhoff
November 15, 2007
An attorney in Los Angeles, Al Meyerhoff is co-counsel for the class in the Enron shareholder litigation.
Perhaps Ralph Nader was right.
The leadership of the Democratic party recently had the rare opportunity to significantly recast the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It was a highly watched choice in certain quarters-and in many boardrooms. Which Democrats would show up? Those favoring broad and systemic reform of our nation’s markets? Or “Blue Dog” business Democrats, happy with shifting campaign contributions and seeming more like Republicans every day? Unfortunately for the country, it was the Blue Dogs by a mile.
Created as part of the New Deal, the SEC, with future Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas as its Chairman, was the ultimate Depression era watchdog-safeguarding the public from the fraud and dishonesty that so characterized Wall Street in those sad times and in these times too. For the better part of 70 years, the Commission did its job, but as markets changed and expanded, the Commission’s powers often proved insufficient. Its role also lessened-especially during the roaring 90s, when deregulation reigned supreme. Happy to fill this regulatory gap, the fraudsters came out from under their collective rocks at Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, HealthSouth and elsewhere.
Sphere: Related Content
