Collapsing Puppet Theaters

Civil War? About what? Who are the antagonists? All these are questions that are unanswerable to most Americans. If asked, they would hesitate; they'd stumble. And yet, all would feel the answers just on the tip of their tongues. It's just that if they were to allow them to slip (out), they would invariably be made to sound foolish.

The truth is, although Americans know something momentous is underway, most have no idea of what's truly at stake. A 'Civil War' implies at least two sides. Most Americans are reluctant to take sides. Taking sides implies a commitment similar to adopting the mindset required after just having been told one has cancer. One problem is that the sides in this nascent struggle cannot be defined by visible – geographical or racial - markers. Neither is it a war between Republicans and Democrats (which is usually the first default answer given). It's not even between conservatives and progressives; or between blacks and whites, young and old, male or female, etc. All these are purely proxy skirmishes that are always enlisted in service to a greater cause. The real war pits the American people against big, bloated, arrogant, unresponsive and corrupt government.

Whereas one might say that a ‘conservative progressive’ or a ‘totalitarian democrat’ are oxymorons and cannot be; I would say, all these can and do exist as long as they exist in the right measure. Nobody (in theory) would mind a small Marxist dictatorship in Washington if that dictatorship would not intrude on our (the peoples’) liberty and hobble the private sector. But that is exactly what we’ve come to. Our political leadership – right and left alike – have brought us this nightmare whereby we, the people, are being literally enslaved to irreconcilable debt for generations to come. Washington has broken our savings plans, our business plans and is trying to interfere with our natural instincts for self-preservation.

We, on the other hand have refused to cooperate. We have decided we will break Washington even if it means we break our own legs in the process. We will stop doing what we do best. We will not expand our businesses. We will not create jobs. We will not spend our money. We know we’re the ones who keep this big economic engine running – not Washington (that keeps promising better times ahead). Washington has nothing to say about it. Washington will have to backtrack on that promise time and time again because we will see to it that nothing happens. We will only resume pulling our share again once Washington becomes more acceptable to us – and that means primarily ‘smaller’ and less intrusive into our personal lives.

So far, neither side has blinked. Washington thinks it’s in charge. Career politicians of both parties think that if they can just choke the golden goose a little bit harder, it’ll cry ‘uncle’ and begin genuflecting. The people are beginning to understand that they themselves are in charge. They know they alone can bring this government to its knees by simply sitting on their hands.

Little by little, as the truth of it leaks out, the antagonists reveal themselves. On one hand there’s a handful of puppet masters with strings attached both to themselves and their fingers; on the other, there are the good people of the America who have vowed that they will no longer bother to come to the show. Once the elites finally get it, their puppet theater will collapse and they will be forced to move out of town.

Threepenny Opera

In a way it's good that we elected Barack Hussein Obama because his election has forced the citizen owners of America to decide once and for all whether or not they want to live in a communist state. Never before has it been so clear what the Left in our country is up to. The next couple of elections will decide unambiguously what it is we want for ourselves and for our children. It's a simple yes or no question that requires a simple yes or no answer.

The result will show which side has the majority. If it's close, we're divided and we will slip into full-fledged communism. Communism is international and can draw on virtually unlimited resources from outside our borders. If it's not (close), our communist friends should consider moving to another country where they would feel more at home. Anthony ‘Van’ Jones, (for example) if he were to decide to move to China, wouldn't be the first to have made the decision to settle in a more politically compatible climate. Berthold Brecht left the U.S. and settled in communist East Germany*. I'm wondering why Michael Moore doesn't just pull up stakes and move to his beloved Cuba; or Sean Penn to Venezuela? Or why Obama continues to occupy the White House when he'd be infinitely more comfortable bunking with the princes in the House of Saud.
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*Die Lösung (The Solution) was Brecht's belated commentary on the uprising of 17 June 1953 in East Germany:

After the uprising of the 17th of June
The Secretary of the Writers Union
Had leaflets distributed in the Stalinallee
Stating that the people
Had thrown away the confidence of the government
And could win it back only
By redoubled efforts. Would it not be easier
In that case for the government
To dissolve the people
And elect another?

Meghan's Father

John McCain is a hero; a national treasure. He is also a stumblebum who lost his quest for the presidency either deliberately or for sheer lack of nerve. We all knew of McCain’s political prowess; his quickness to anger; his wit and ability to engineer the always effective sound bite size put-down. We waited breathlessly for him to do his stuff during the candidates’ numerous pre-election debates.

It never materialized. In fact, it appeared, he deliberately sidestepped every grapefruit size opportunity to hit it out of the park. In the end, all we could do is feel sorry for him and rationalize that he had been in some way fundamentally damaged while serving his country in a Hanoi prison. Now it is commonly heard that things would be much worse if McCain had been elected.

Republicans have come to know McCain, as a has-been pol, well past his prime. Blind to the dangers his nation is facing, he remains alert for every opportunity to undermine his own party. While the national press adores him, no Republican is fooled anymore. Not even in his own state will grant him another term. If he stays in the spotlight, it’ll be Democrats who will shine it. It is they who owe him big time.

Today’s performance only serves to bolster the indictment against him. It proves that he still has what it takes; that he drew back inexplicably and deliberately withheld the winning hand when it counted most.

Why Are We There?

Let’s step back for a moment and ask the question, “What do we hope to accomplish in Afghanistan?” Is it nation building? No. Is it to prop up an illegitimate puppet government there? Not in so many words. Is it to protect the homeland? Hardly. Is it for oil? Officially speaking, no. Is it to protect Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal? It’s a concern, but no. So why are we there?

As time goes on, this question is becoming harder and harder to answer. If the way in which we’re fighting this war is any indication, it does not seem to be critical that we should win. So why are we there? To maintain a presence? To remain a factor - to reserve a seat at the table where the ultimate solution for the region will be decided? Perhaps.

It seems to me, that if we want to remain relevant in what happens in this tortured region, we must be certain of what we ourselves hope to accomplish. Such clarity, unfortunately, is not readily apparent. We appear to no longer believe in human rights. We no longer believe in democracy. We no longer believe in free market capitalism and the energy that sustains it. We no longer believe in American exceptionalism. We no longer believe in Israel. We no longer believe in ourselves. So, why are we there?

Is it perhaps to inflict another crushing blow on our military; to re-create Vietnam, April, 1975? Is it our stealth desire to install an Islamic Caliphate in the region? Is it to overwhelm global political systems to the point of ushering in a world-wide economic and political collapse; hence, revolution; to clear the tables of any and all evil Western influence?

When Bush spoke of the “axis of evil”, we had the last indication of a strategy that had the potential of advancing America’s largely benign influence. With one or two coherent, coordinated strokes we could envision a victory that would bring peace to the region by holding any corrosive elements at bay; assuring the uninterrupted flow of oil to western nations; and securing Israel’s right to exist.

All of that has been officially disavowed now. There is no longer any reason for us to be conducting any foreign campaigns; no reason to spill the blood of our bravest and finest. Why then are we there? All that makes sense at this point is that we are aiming to blunt the last arrow in our quiver that stands in the way of total chaos.

The John Edwards Affair

All this should come as a cautionary tale to Republicans who are now smiling broadly, fully expecting to take over leadership of congress after the November elections. So much hasn't happened yet. When it does, the outlook could change. Every contested seat represents a drama that hasn't yet been fully scripted. For one thing, the Dems have the money. For another, the Dems are ruthless. They may already have sex tapes in their vaults ready for release at opportune moments. If they don't, they're quite capable of making it up and saying 'sorry' later. The MSM can be expected to play along with the Democrats. The public is always highly prone to be distracted from the real issues by any one of a variety of gambits that left-wing spin-meisters are likely to hatch. And they and their compliant media allies are well versed in the art of electronic lynching and smear. They know that we would much rather argue about who slept with whom (yes he did; no he didn’t; yes he did…) than face the larger issues involving our own destiny.

Republicans don't usually play this game. The way the rules are now structured, Republicans are always at fault. They react to Democrat ploys rather than formulating their own strategies. They are likely to spend an inordinate amount of their time and resources defending themselves. In this Republicans are rather dull - to say nothing of wielding power once it has dropped into their laps.

The intrigue will start in earnest once the Republican front runner has been decided on. Expect a third - seemingly attractive - choice to be introduced into the mix. Whoever is chosen for this particular task will be expected to fall on his or her sword once the Republican effort has been sufficiently undermined. Don’t laugh. This play has been run before with considerable success. People have short memories. It could just work again.

Will the Dollar Hold?

Well stated, Mr Doakes. Your submarine analogy goes even further than what you are suggesting. I heard something in passing on Glenn Beck this morning. It’s positively chilling how long the Left has worked on pushing their agenda, not just on America, but also the world. On the surface, the hook they use is the promise of eternal peace. The ‘peace movement’ was the forerunner of the ‘global warming’ hoax. It got traction because the ‘absence of war’ has always been a worthy, if unattainable, goal for any thinking people. Yet, war seems to be hard wired into the protocol of global politics. It is the only remedy for when differences in the expectations of diverse populations become insurmountable. In the end, you once again have a level playing field in the shared memory of the horrors of war and kindled a desire to once again begin working together and compromise for the common immediate need to reconstruct some sense of stability. Note that many of the arguments we are currently having preclude compromise. This is dangerous and can only result in the unthinkable.

Even though this seems to be how the fabric of the human community is structured with its predictable cycle of horrors seemingly woven in, liberal and progressive think tanks have been busy working up schemes whereby the continuum of natural human history can be distorted to eliminate certain inconvenient truths: war, for instance. So, it was thought that by linking the world’s economies into an unbroken chain, no population would ever again risk a tear in this now single bolt of fabric. We’ve seen much of Europe, for example, choosing a single currency with which to conduct business. We see the ME oil producing nations advocating for a single petro-dollar. We see the Asia-Pacific rim contemplating something along the lines of what Europe has done. All the while, the U.S. dollar has been the unofficial standard of world currency.

This is like your analogy to the air-tight chambers of a submarine. If the world were to adopt a single currency – a single economic system – to bring all countries under the same umbrella as the globalist envisions, there would be no more chambers; no way to close the hatches. A rogue nation like Zimbabwe could be the tear that renders the entire cloth useless.

Will the dollar hold? Will we be able to forestall world-wide financial Armageddon? It’ll all depend on (and I keep coming back to this) whether or not we are willing to admit mistakes and hold people accountable. Without this, the system simply fails and no one is at fault. While pains are taken to discover whether a church or house fire is accidental or deliberate, we seem to be unconcerned as to the source when it comes to an attack on our financial systems.

Haste Makes Waste: On With the Revolution!!!

There's yet another problem coming to the fore with certain cars: steering. It seems that in their continuing quest to make cars lighter - struggling to comply with government mandated fuel efficiency standards - automakers have decided that a computer chip would eliminate the need for a considerably heavier steering-assist motor assembly. There have been problems with under and over-steering. I can't help but thinking that Toyota's acceleration woes are due to much of the same. There is no reason why the old, reliable and time-tested systems should be replaced simply to meet some government mandate based on what we now all know is faulty science. This is precisely how mistakes happen – mistakes that could have been avoided under normally occurring market-based timelines.

It is perhaps a sign of the times that our government – sensing itself on the ropes – declares that everything must now be done in a rush. Health care must be passed now; the same with jobs (bill); cap and trade; education and banking reform; immigration; don’t ask, don’t tell; energy independence; and so many others. The rush is on perhaps to avoid the shifting of political realities; or, perhaps, to build monumental political legacies; or, perhaps more ominously, to overwhelm the system a la the Cloward-Piven (strategy).

As the old adage, “Haste makes waste,” will continue to hold true, perhaps the whole point of all of this is precisely: ‘waste’ the old, on with the revolution!!!