A Baleful Eye

“And even a liar can be scared into telling the truth, same as an honest man can be tortured into telling a lie.” William Faulkner, Light in August

*A couple of nights ago we got some rain, along with thunder and a few flashes of lightning. The sound of rain on the roof and dripping from the trees outside our bedroom windows was so unusual that at first I wasn’t sure what I was hearing. The drought on the Platinum Coast has gone on for so long, and been so severe, that a natural sound like falling rain becomes a novel event. I got out of bed and opened the back door and watched the rain fall on our deck; the eucalyptus trees seemed to extend their branches toward the sky to catch every last drop.

*Election season rolls on. Each day our mailbox is clogged with a fresh batch of direct mail pieces, and the TV channels stack one political ad atop the next. Big Pharma is pouring millions of dollars into defeating Proposition 61, a ballot measure that would prevent California from paying more for prescription drugs than the Veterans Administration. Big Pharma gets testy when its ATM machine is challenged.

*Although I don’t pretend to understand the history or politics or religious rivalries at play in Syria, the country -- what remains of it, anyway -- has been on my mind. Images of destroyed buildings, bombed out apartment blocks, rubble-strewn streets, and the faces of displaced people, scattered across the Middle East and Europe. Even if the warring sides were to pull back and stop fighting, and some sort of political solution be achieved, can Syria be rebuilt? Is this possible given the instability in the region?

*The gift of chaos, bequeathed by George W. Bush and his band of neocons, continues to give.

*If the US had mandatory military conscription rather than an all-volunteer military, would we be content to sit back and allow undeclared wars to drag on for 15 years? I wonder. Nothing sobers the mind like flag-draped coffins.

*Here’s another thing I’ve wondered about since I heard that the armed gang that took over a federal wildlife preserve in Oregon were acquitted: if a group of armed black men had done the same thing, would they have survived to be acquitted? I doubt it. The right wing media machine would have been howling around the clock about the “new” Black Panthers, armed revolutionaries, raising the specter of race war, and calling for immediate action by state, local, and federal law enforcement to put down the insurrection. No forbearance. No patient standoff. And definitely no acquittal, if anyone was alive to be tried. Is there anything more terrifying to white Americans than the prospect of angry armed black men? This fear is lodged deep in our DNA.

*The soul of my country is pathological.

*My wife and I regularly watch Real Time with Bill Maher and for the most part I find Maher amusing, occasionally insightful -- particularly about the immediate danger posed by climate change along with the absolute futility of America’s failed War on Drugs -- but often off base and full of shit. His pompous pronouncements that Americans have only one choice in the presidential election next month reinforce the power status quo that is destroying our country and the planet; his commentary about Islam and Muslims ignore the fact that the vast majority of Muslims are not hell-bent on waging jihad against the west; and his paeans to Obama for the president’s stewardship of the economy are simply wrong. Yes, Bill, “official” Department of Labor unemployment statistics show that unemployment is lower now than it was when Obama took office for his first term, but this doesn’t reflect the true unemployment rate in the country. Thousands of people drop off the radar, give up looking for work, and many thousands more are working part-time or contingent jobs for paltry wages, and this is hardly a situation to be sanguine about. The fundamentals of the American economy have been manipulated and papered over to appear stronger than they really are.

*Happy Halloween.

It's Finally Over and We Lost

I watched it.

I shouldn’t have.

When it was mercifully over I felt sick to my stomach.

I understand that most of what I was taught to believe about the United States is myth. When the fables of American exceptionalism are stripped away, what remains reveals that this is a nation built on racism and genocide, imperial conquest, double-dealing and hypocrisy. This is harsh but inescapable. Recognizing the truth about one’s country doesn’t imply or prove hatred of one’s country.

Not a single direct question in any of the “debates” about climate change, the most urgent issue facing the world. This is inexcusably irresponsible.

Deemed more important is a false question about the national debt and entitlement programs. First of all, Americans pay into Social Security and Medicare paycheck by paycheck, with the promise that when the time arrives, as it will for all of us, these programs will be there to insure that no person that has worked his or her entire life is forced to live in poverty. Conservatives have railed against Social Security and Medicare for decades, and now they are routinely joined by corporate Democrats like Hillary Clinton, all shouting in unison for austerity measures.

It’s total bullshit, of course. If this country stopped pouring trillions of dollars into the Pentagon, we would have more than enough to fund Medicare for all and to insure that Social Security lives up to its implicit promise. Year after year polls show that the majority of Americans want to expand these programs, and year after year the political class ignores the will of the majority.

Was I surprised that Donald Trump is completely ignorant about abortion?

No more than to hear Hillary Clinton blame Russia for trying to tip the election in favor of Trump. Hillary declared that Russia -- the highest levels of the Kremlin, mind you, harkening back to the Cold War -- is behind the cyber attacks that led to the latest WikiLeaks disclosures. Clinton stated that all 17 of America’s intelligence agencies have confirmed that Russia is behind the leaks. My first question is: do we really need 17 intelligence agencies? And these are, I suppose, the same crack agencies that spent more than a decade searching the globe for Osama bin Laden, the world’s most wanted man? Couldn’t find him anywhere...

And speaking of that great bogeyman bin Laden, Clinton twice said that bin Laden had been brought to justice. Strange, I don’t remember bin Laden being charged and tried in an American court or any court for that matter. Didn’t America’s brave operatives assassinate bin Laden and dump his body into the sea? In an age when the American president decides who shall live and who shall die by remote controlled drone, I suppose you can say that bin Laden was brought to justice.  

If Russia is behind the cyber attacks and attempting to subvert our election all I can ask my country is: how does it feel to have the tables turned, to be on the receiving end for a change?

Some of the exchanges were merely amusing, ample proof, as if any were needed, of the utter debasement of our democratic process, like when Trump insisted that nobody respects women more than he does. Or when Clinton defended the money laundering operation that is the Clinton Foundation.

It was a sad night for America. I shouldn’t have watched, but I did.

Breathing Life into a Corpse

“Explicitly rejecting capitalism is essential for movement-builders today – capitalism has no answers to the crises we face, and zombie capitalism, casino capitalism, Wizard-of-Oz capitalism is in fact the root of the problem.” Bill Ayers, Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto

I had no intention of watching the second Trump-Clinton “debate,” but after the recording of Trump’s Access Hollywood performance hit the media, and Wikileaks dumped e-mails related to Clinton’s speeches to bankers and others she was trying to court for future campaign contributions, my wife wanted to see how The Donald and Hillary would comport themselves, and I admit that once the show began, I was morbidly fascinated.

The first thing I noticed was that Clinton was not attired in one of her Kim Jong-Un pantsuits.  

So much for the highlight of the evening. 

Trump was his usual creepy and arrogant self and did his best to jab at Clinton over trade and the economy and her e-mails and the misdeeds of her husband, but he was ineffective for the most part, and -- if by stalking around the stage like a caged wolverine Trump thought he could rattle Clinton and knock her off balance -- he failed as well. Clinton may be one of the most dishonest political figures of recent times, but she’s never unprepared and she fabricates with elan. That’s a lawyer for you.

I want this cursed election to be over. I want Donald Trump to fade away and never be heard from again; I don’t want to see his offspring or his mail-order bride, and I don’t want to hear the Access Hollywood recording again. Trump was a pig from the jump, but the American media conglomerates quickly learned that covering The Donald’s every bigoted utterance, gaffe, falsehood and outrage was pure bank. So Trump got coverage and people alienated by politics-as-usual tuned in, and the risible field of GOP candidates fell by the wayside, one by one, until only Trump was left. The media played a critical role in creating Trump, and when it looked last week like his campaign would implode, they were all over him like white on rice. 

Even after Sunday’s debate some of our most renowned blabbers on corporate TV cling to the fantasy that Trump remains viable and the great American horserace has another month to run. Talk about trying to breathe life into a corpse. I doubt Trump will do the honorable thing and withdraw; slim chance of an egomaniacal narcissist doing that. No, I assume Trump will flail around for another three weeks, spouting gibberish and bizarre threats, anything to keep his diehard supporters interested.  You can bet that the corporate media will insist to the bitter end that the election is too close to call, and that Trump might still have a path to victory.

Better faux drama than no drama.

The System is the only clear winner in this terrible political year. By that I mean the two-party duopoly, the corporate media, the pollsters and campaign strategists, the PR flacks, and the rest of the parasites who profit from the disgraceful sham that is American democracy. The issues that threaten our very survival go unaddressed, and regardless of who wins the White House, property and profit will remain our nation’s primary organizing principles. The commons will continue to be sold to the most politically-connected bidder; the rich will become richer; our imperial wars will stumble on and may even intensify; the planet will send us even stronger warning signs that our time is running out. A President Trump would be a disaster, but let’s not kid ourselves – Clinton II will not be a stroll down the lane. Trump is dangerous because he’s clueless and reckless; Clinton is dangerous because she’s wedded to Wall Street banks, fossil fuel extractors, and the military-industrial complex.

POEM: The Pentagon's Rabbit Hole

“Since 9/11 the United States has entered new territory, for we are in our fifteenth year of a government-proclaimed state of permanent war, an absolute war against ‘terrorism or evil.’” Bill Ayers, Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto

Why aren’t Americans outraged by

15 years of continuous warfare?

Trillions of dollars, thousands of human lives

The standing professional army of the United States

Never sleeps.

Boots on the ground, drones in the air.

Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan.

The Establishment (with no skin in the fight)

Claims we are safer from the hordes

Who besiege us, threaten our freedom

And the American Way of Life.

No proof offered except more of the same,

And billions more of our national treasure sucked down

The Pentagon’s rabbit hole.

War undeclared and without end, what we used to call

A quagmire

Is now

Normal,

Accepted as inevitable and necessary.

Human needs like healthcare, education, food, clean water,

Meaningful jobs, mass transit, bridges, roads, and breathable

Air

Go begging.

We are told we can’t afford these things,

And to propose an end to our imperial madness

Is to be labeled unpatriotic, utopian or naive.

Just ask Dr. Jill Stein.

Who?

That’s my point.

Another world isn’t possible says the Establishment.

The indispensable nation must remain on the march,

Left, right, left, left, right, left

Hup, two, three, four

Armed to the teeth

We always come in peace

But leave behind

Mangled bodies

smoking ruins

Chaos

And new enemies.

No Savior

I read that during the first presidential debate Donald Trump declared himself fit for the Oval Office because he has always been a “winner.” A man could easily spend a month or more, even years, investigating Trump’s history as a businessman. I don’t have that kind of time or inclination. All along I’ve not taken Trump seriously, which is a mistake, I admit, because many political figures who appeared ridiculous in their respective nations were able to seize power. I still believe that Trump doesn’t want to be president -- he just wants to win the election.

Which I don’t think likely to happen. Yes, Hillary Clinton is a serial failure and queen of mendacity, but she is going to win the election, if only by a slim margin.

But getting back to the Donald...I think he is utterly emblematic of the neoliberal age that took off in earnest when Ronnie Reagan blamed all the nation’s woes on government bureaucrats and pointy-headed intellectuals and lazy welfare queens. Remember how Businessmen were glorified back in the 80’s, looked upon as intrepid pioneers who would deliver prosperity to all if only they could shrug off the government’s shackles. Profit became the Holy Grail and the “free market” the only route to get there. The Great American Sell-Off began, and Trump was in the front row, ready to capitalize. A new crop of robber barons extolled the free market while their lobbyists and lawyers and compliant politicians did everything in their power to serve up monopolies: defense, telecommunications, media, pharmaceuticals, insurance, finance. As time passed, the lexicon of the market crept into every aspect of American life. Privatize everything not tied down, went the mantra, bust unions, and ship jobs where labor is dirt cheap and workers disposable. This formula, and a constant litany of calls and legislation for lower taxes on the “producers” and “job creators” worked, transferring wealth upwards at a clip unseen since the Gilded Age, and crazier yet, despite decades of evidence that this system was a one-way street, the people continued to believe that capitalism was the only way American life could be organized.

The ironic thing about Trump is that, for all his self-proclaimed business prowess, he has wallowed in failure time and time again: casinos, Trump Airlines, Trump University. Trump is skilled at spectacle, at being the frontman, the bombastic talking head for whom nothing is too big or grand; the reality is much different, failures outnumber wins, but this has never deterred Trump from portraying himself as infallible, or from queuing up for tax breaks, bankruptcy protection, and other forms of government aid.

Same as the big banks back in 2008. By all the laws of the Market, the banks that risked and lost should have been allowed to fail. Isn’t the Market supposed to weed out the weak, the poor performers, the companies that can’t innovate, adapt, and thrive? Neoliberalism doesn’t work that way; business calls the tune and government dances. The wealthy and connected get protection, the poor and vulnerable get the Market’s bitter medicine.

It’s a racket, all legal, and 100 times better than anything the Mafia ever dreamed up.  

So, Donald Trump crows about not paying income taxes, says that makes him smart rather than a run-of-the-mill dick, and the fool has the nuts to make this boast before the entire world. That alone should have made his most devoted followers switch off the light, but maybe they haven’t realized that the joke is on them.

Here’s the harsh truth: a savior isn’t going to rise from the political duopoly.

We’re on our own.