Weekend open thread ...
Glenn Beck says conservative agenda is to dismantle federal government; Ronald Reagan said he wanted the government "small enough to drown in the bathtub".
Elena Kagan is a Justice of The Supreme Court of The United States. She will be sworn in Saturday afternoon by the Chief Justice.
An Island of ice broke away from Greenland. It has enough water, when melted, to supply every tap in the U.S. with running water 24/7 for 120 days.
With regard to Glenn Beck, of course it has been all along. Actually, the TRUE purpose has been to dismantle the "welfare state" (that's me and you) in favor of a corporate version of the same. Workin' pretty well so far I'd say, regardless of political party in power.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to Ronald Reagan, actually that quote belongs to Grover Norquist, who was one of the masterminds behind the current agenda. Neither Ronnie, Bush I, nor Bush II had enough sense to hatch a plot this large and comprehensive. That's what political operatives are for. Although I must say, who knew it would be a Democrat that would hammer the final nail home so convincingly? I must say, Obama's shamelessness has surprised even me.
Oh yeah, global warming? Might as well phone it in from here on out. We've missed our opportunity to affect any meaningful change, and besides, we show no inclination to change our ways in the face of fairly undeniable and convincing evidence anyway.
In two words: WE'RE FUCKED!
disaffected,
ReplyDeleteYep, Grover coined the phrase, but like Grover on Sesame Street, not many take his sayings to heart.
It took the Gipper to make it a Gripper, a throb in the hearts of right wing hate junkies who want the military government to replace the civilian government.
I'll add that one of the reasons we won't see any real aggressive approach to combating anthropogenic climate change -- is because petroleum is incredibly useful substance for controlling governments, just as chemical dependence is quite powerful in controlling human behavior.
ReplyDeleteI would speculate that "our addiction to foreign oil" became a Bush Administration catchphrase because it neatly elided the fact that crude oil collected within America's boundaries goes on the world market in the same way as that from Canada, Mexico, or Saudi Arabia. BP and Shell own the oil they pump in the U.S., not our government.
Anonymous,
ReplyDelete"petroleum is incredibly useful substance for controlling governments"
Yes, in the context of being "well oiled" and the notion that money (well oiled) talks and BS walks.
But that is the old way that got us to the precipitous state we are in.
We had better start listening to the testimony of the earth or civilization (governments included) will walk out of existence.