Forever Unhinged

“Market capitalism is simply not conducive to mutual human concern. It is a system based on social warfare, cultivated by its root socioeconomic orientation.” Peter Joseph, The New Human Rights Movement  

The corporate-owned media always acts surprised when Donald J. Trump goes off script and rants, as he did after the murder of a peaceful demonstrator in Charlottesville, and then again at a pro-Trump rally in Phoenix. But nothing Trump does or says or tweets should surprise anyone. Disturb yes, surprise, never. Trump was unhinged when he declared his candidacy for the White House, unhinged on the long primary campaign trail, unhinged through the general election, and unhinged the day he sat behind the big desk in the Oval Office. Trump hasn’t changed. Trump can’t change. Trump won’t change.

What should be clear to the people of the United States, and unfortunately isn’t, is that Trump and the two political parties have no interest in confronting the massive problems facing the country. This isn’t necessarily because all the people in government are evil fucktards -- though some of them (Attorney General Sessions, for instance) surely are -- but because our political and economic system is designed to serve the interests of private property and private capital. Forget all the rhetoric about “We the people” and “all men are created equal”. Our system rewards particular behaviors along a very narrow spectrum that doesn’t include the welfare of the many. In the past, in the New Deal era for example, because the entire system was teetering, the negative consequences caused by unregulated capitalism had to be addressed and some effort to better distribute resources undertaken. This worked reasonably well for several decades. In fact, the financial reforms and social initiatives of the New Deal era worked too well, presented too much of a challenge to the system and those who own and profit from it.

Poll after poll demonstrates that Americans of all political persuasions want affordable college tuition, health care, decent housing, safe roads and highways, clean drinking water, retirement security, and other basic necessities of life. The wealthy individuals and corporations who run the country have no interest in any of these things.

Our failed, stupid war in Afghanistan is set to last a lot longer. When Trump earlier this week announced a change in strategy, which was not much of a change at all, except perhaps to exacerbate tensions between India and Pakistan, many corporate media talking heads applauded in their usual knee-jerk way, so conditioned are they to support war. Insert 4,000 troops or 40,000 and the US is still going to flounder, and ultimately fail. Our brave and heroic troops may, as Trump boasted, kill some terrorists, but they will also kill and displace hundreds, if not thousands, more innocent civilians than have been killed and displaced in the past 16 years. This means creation of more fanatics filled with grievance and hatred and hell-bent on revenge.

Obviously influenced by the military men he has surrounded himself with, Trump offered only destruction and death in a country in desperate need of a political solution. Does the US even bother with diplomacy in the age of Trump and the Kleptocrats? Why talk when you can bomb? The majority of the American people are paying no attention to Afghanistan, have probably forgotten that any US troops are there at all. What we should have learned is that   starting a war is easy, ending one is much more difficult; the generals dig in, refuse to face reality, demand more troops, more drones, more cruise missiles, and promise that victory -- whatever that means -- is around the corner, within reach. Defense contractors like Raytheon and Boeing have a huge financial stake in keeping wars going, and their lackeys in Congress are scared to death to oppose them.

Do we ever learn? Of course not. And what does a culture of endless war abroad mean on the domestic front? Can a nation engaged in foreign military conflicts enjoy peace and prosperity at home? Ask the protesters at Standing Rock or activists from Black Lives Matter what it feels like to confront militarized police forces.

The taxpayer money that has been poured into Afghanistan, wasted, lost, funneled to warlords and corrupt officials, could easily alleviate the crushing student loan debt faced by so many Americans.

Opportunity lost in the fog of endless war.

Fire & Fury

“By interpreting freedom as the multiplication and the rapid satisfaction of needs, they do violence to their own nature, for such an interpretation merely gives rise to many senseless and foolish desires, habits and most absurd inventions.” Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

The elderly of North Korea know fire and fury very well. They survived carpet-bombing by the US Air Force, the dropping of napalm on their towns and cities. War and utter destruction is their history, never to be forgotten. Yes, the leader of North Korea is as nutty and unstable as the leader of the United States, but let’s keep in mind that North Korea doesn’t stage massive military exercises -- war games they are called -- near the border of the United States.  

I keep reminding myself in these days of August that Donald Trump and his band of incompetent kleptocrats and bigots are a symptom, not a cause. The problem is neoliberalism, imperialism and militarism; I keep reminding myself that American capitalism is a failure, a brutal and inhumane system that works -- spectacularly well -- for only a small percentage of the population and leaves the majority insecure, indebted and in misery; I keep reminding myself that the economy is a castle of sand, sure to be toppled by the next big wave; I keep reminding myself that racism lies at the heart of the American experience, and that it takes little to unleash that wicked genie from the bottle. Look at what just happened in Charlottesville, Virginia. To me it was like being shot back in time, to 1955 or 1860 or 1741. We can say, “this isn’t us,” but it’s not true -- this is us. Racist, violent, intolerant and ignorant.

The author Ta-Nehisi Coates, speaking on Democracy Now, placed the inaction of the Charlottesville police in perfect context when he said, imagine if, after the killing of Eric Garner by police, black people had organized a march and flooded into the streets laden with torches, clubs, guns and shields, and brawled in the streets with counter-protesters. Do we think the police would have stood idly by and done nothing? Unarmed black people are gunned down in this ass-backward country for driving a vehicle with a busted taillight.

Fareed Zakaria passes himself off as one of the wise men of CNN, but, like so many of his colleagues, he’s a hack who toils within the narrow confines of what masquerades as public debate. On Bill Maher’s HBO show the other day Zakaria said that illegal immigration has been a long-standing problem in part because it has driven down the wages of working Americans. Maher let this trope pass without challenge. Wages in America have been flat for decades by design. Offshoring manufacturing jobs to China, Mexico, Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and other countries where labor is dirt cheap was a conscious decision by American corporations and the allies they bought in government. Trade, tax and monetary policies that favor capital over labor, investors over workers, have also contributed to wage stagnation here. And let’s not forget the effects that union busting have had on wages. Decades of corporate attacks on what once was called Big Labor by corporations, with support from Republicans and Democrats, have done far more than illegal immigration to produce the staggering level of wealth inequality that is not only tolerated in this country, but celebrated.

Every single day King Donald I exposes the deep cracks and fissures in the foundation of our system, the insane and insatiable desire for wealth and power, the complete indifference to human needs, domestically and abroad, the unbridled arrogance with which America deals with the rest of the world. Even if King Donald were driven from his throne tomorrow the system would stumble on toward the abyss, like a blind ogre.

It was 70 years ago that the British partitioned India. Millions of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs suddenly found themselves on the wrong side of arbitrary lines. The mayhem and dislocation and violence that ensued was monumental and the ramifications continue to this day.

Fear and intolerance are powerful things.

Trump Declares War -- On Tacos

“That’s the thing about privilege; those who hold and wield it are afflicted by a maddening tunnel vision, an obliviousness to the forces and needs (beyond corporate board rooms) that shape the world.” Oscar Gonzalez

The White House is a grim, unsettled place these days with a lot of nervous, confused and frightened people scurrying around in a doomed attempt to keep up with President Trump’s mercurial pronouncements and splenetic declarations. There are cocky and belligerent folks too, mostly those who spend a lot of time with Trump. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, routinely belittles the White House servants, complains about the food, and threatens to fire any underling who doesn’t jump high or fast enough. Ivanka, even more of a tyrant than her hubby, has already cycled through four assistants; three of them ran out of the White House in tears. There have also been reports from credible sources that sometimes, in the wee hours of the night, the lights in the residence flicker on and off and an eerie wailing from a source unknown can be heard, but, oddly, this arouses no suspicion whatsoever. One source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he hasn’t experienced such a dark, moody vibe in the White House since the last year of the Nixon Administration.

Late one recent evening, President Trump summoned his new Chief of Staff, John Kelly, and his chief political guru, Stephen Bannon, to the Oval Office.

DT: I don’t like seeing those trucks on the street, especially in Washington D.C.

JK: What trucks are those, sir?

DT: Those taco trucks. They’re everywhere, on every corner, on every block, probably operated by illegal immigrants or other bad hombres. They just pull up and start dishing out tacos and burritos and tortas like they own the street, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re dealing drugs, too. I want this investigated right away by the FBI’s best people. The best! Get them on it! Order them to infiltrate the taco truck cartels. I want them wiped from our streets! They’re a grave threat to our national security, like Iran and North Korea. I want to see good, old fashioned hot dog carts, pushed by real Americans. No dark-skinned foreigners. Nothing is more terrific, more American, than a plump juicy hot dog slathered in mustard and sauerkraut and onions. When people complain that there are no jobs we’re going to tell them to get in the hot dog business. Once this taco truck ban takes full effect all across the nation, it will create thousands, maybe even millions of jobs!

JK: I will have it investigated, Mr. President.

SB: Wonderful idea, Mr. President. It dovetails nicely with our ongoing effort to level the playing field for white Americans. It’s about time America had a president committed to alleviating the oppression of the silent white majority by militant and entitled blacks, spics, and Asians. This move will solidify your base of support and most definitely boost your poll numbers even higher, sir.

DT: How high are my numbers now, Bannon?

SB: I located a rare but highly credible poll produced by a small community college in Alabama that pegs your approval rating at 70%.

DT: That’s huuuuuge. That’s real news. Get that in the mainstream media. Call our friends at Fox and Sinclair. I want this covered, wall-to-wall.

SB: Yes sir.

DT: John, how great a job am I doing? Has any president ever done as much as I have in such a short time? Nobody is even close, am I right? I’ve done more in seven months than Obama did in eight years. And nobody is more presidential, am I right? Maybe Lincoln, but nobody else comes close. I walk into a room at the G20 and everybody stops what they’re doing because they know a strong US president is in the house, ready to do business. I walk in and the other leaders wet their pants, they soil themselves. Sad! I sit down with Putin and he knows he’s dealing with a real man. I go to Poland and the people love me because they know I’m not going to take any crap. Huge crowds wherever I go, adoring crowds, women tossing flowers at me, little kids asking for my autograph. The Saudis think I’m awesome. I’m easily the most respected leader in the world.

JK: You’re a very great, man, Mr. President. You’re single-handedly making America great again.

Melania Trump enters the room, hisses at Bannon and Kelly and gives her husband the finger.

DT: What are you doing, Melania? We’re talking business here, important stuff you wouldn’t understand. I just made a major decision. My decisiveness is unbelievable, off the chart, so much better than Obama’s. I make the best decisions, incredible decisions.

MT: (Looking unimpressed) What decision is that, Donald?

DT: A complete and total ban on all taco trucks nationwide. They will be replaced by hot dog carts. How great is that, huh? How great am I? C’mon, tell me.

MT: Donald, you are an asshole, surrounded by assholes. I’m going to bed. Don’t disturb me when you come up, and if you know what’s good for you, don’t even try to touch me.

Melania exits.

DT: You can see how much she worships me, am I right?

JK & SB: (In unison) Absolutely, sir, no doubt about it.