Thursday, January 6, 2005

The Triumph of Bullshit

It's over, gang. It is officially over. Bullshit talks. Regular guys and gals walk. If you didn't believe that before today, you just got all the proof you will ever need. And if you don't believe it after what you have seen today, you are so deep in denial that you may never recognize the truth again, even if it hits you over the head. Which it probably will. Someday. Just like it did today.

Ah yes, today ... After a so-called historic debate, the United States Senate voted, by the margin of seventy-four to one, to accept a slate of illegally selected electors from the profoundly corrupt state of Ohio. Only one Senator dared to vote against this bullshit election! But before she did that, she had the audacity to stand up in Senate chambers and feed us a bucket of bullshit herself. Well, why not? Bullshit talks. And we walk.

The writing on the wall has never been clearer. It is completely over. Politics as you used to know it is a thing of the past. You wanted electoral reform? Forget it. You wanted to see some intellectual honesty from your 'elected' representatives? Forget it. You wanted to know whether or not your country was a democracy? Well, today you got the answer. And the answer is "No"! It is not now, and it never was, and the sooner you wake up and face this fact, the better it will be for all of us.

The United States of America, a so-called 'democracy', was never an actual democracy at all. At best, it was a democratic republic. But that's not what it is anymore. It's not even close. Let's take a deep breath and face the facts, folks. The United States is a bullshit country run by bullshit politicians, supported to the hilt by bullshit 'news' media.

Am I kidding? No! Am I ripping our so-called leaders unnecessarily? No! I am being kind to them. Do you want me to be completely honest? No, you don't. You may think you do, but you really don't. You don't want the truth. Nobody wants the truth. You can't handle the truth. Hell, I can't even handle the truth.

First things first: Hooray for Senator Barbara Boxer [photo], Democrat from California and the one and only Senator who had the nerve to sign the objection [of Congressman John Conyers and others] against the Ohio electors.

Next things next: Senator Barbara Boxer, in her speech today, proclaimed:
Our democracy is the centerpiece of who we are as a nation. And it is the fondest hope of all Americans that we can help bring democracy to every corner of the world.
The fondest hope of all Americans? Oh really, Senator? On what planet did you hear that? You don't talk to your constituents, do you? Or maybe you talk to them but you don't listen. You don't read the papers either, do you? Otherwise, how could you be so far removed from reality? So far removed that you don't seem to have any idea what Americans hope for.

Well, perhaps I can enlighten you. Perhaps you might accept some free advice from a Winter Patriot, a reward for standing up when all the other Senators chose to sit down, a little gift that might help you survive the remainder of your term in the highest legislative chamber in the land.

First and foremost, there is no "fondest hope" of all Americans. There is virtually nothing that all Americans can agree on. The country is deeply divided, not only geographically, but politically, spiritually, culturally, economically, and in many other ways as well.

For some Americans, their fondest hope is that their taxes will be cut yet again. These people will always support the so-called president, because he will always promise them tax cuts. Nothing else he does seems to matter to them. Their attitude seems to be "promise me tax cuts and I will follow you anywhere." Most of them will never admit this, of course, but they will follow him all the same. And there is no doubt in my mind that they will follow him straight to Hell. Which is exactly what they deserve, for they are nothing but cheap and selfish whores, happy to sell their children's future for a few lousy dollars, the value of which, by the way, is declining steadily and inexorably.

Some Americans hope that the so-called president and his neo-conservative thugs will be able to embroil the entire Middle East in such a grand conflagration that it will bring Jesus Christ himself back to Earth, triggering the 'rapture' and sending them all to Heaven. They are deluded dreamers, every one of them. But it seems that they are in control at the moment. At least it seems so to them. They claim to believe in an omnipotent God but yet they think they are in control. How completely absurd; how perfectly representative of their hypocrisy. May they burn in Hell forever.

Some Americans hope that the issue of electoral fraud will go away, so they can get on with their plan to install electronic voting machines everywhere in the country. Then they will work on eliminating the 'paper trail' that the best of these machines can produce. If they get their way, never again will there be a free and fair election in the United States. Neo-conservative Republicans will rule forever. And their supporters will dance with glee. What a pretty sight they will make, frolicking in the ashes of the democratic republic which they themselves will have destroyed. Won't they be surprised when their totalitarian leaders turn on them? It won't happen? Bullshit! It will happen. It always happens. It has happened every time totalitarians have gained power in any country. And it'll be exactly what they deserve. It's what all traitors deserve.

Some Americans hope that somehow the federal government can become the instrument by which they can eliminate all 'sin' from the entire nation. The 'sin' they seek to eliminate is 'sin' as they define it, of course. And they will define it as anything that differs from the lifestyle which they choose to lead. Down with gays, down with feminists, down with liberals, down with civil libertarians. Down with Blacks and Hispanics and Moslems and Arabs. Down with every single person or group who is in any way different than they are. Their fondest hope is to remake America in their image. And they tell us so, very clearly, every day, though often not in so many words. They are easy to recognize; their arrogance is exceeded only by their ignorance. And they claim to be people of God. Followers of Christ. What Christ is that? Surely not the Christ who lives in my Bible. Surely not the Christ who walked with prostitutes, ate with sinners, and told his disciples to love their enemies. They are followers of a different Christ, a fictional Christ, a spiteful character made up out of whole cloth by the false prophets who call themselves 'evangelical Christians'. 'Money-grubbing charlatans' is more like it.

What do these Americans have in common? They all support the so-called president. None of them care a bit about bringing "democracy to every corner of the world". They don't even care about bringing democracy to every corner of America. They would be quite happy living in a country where the only people who are allowed to vote are the people who agree with them. And in fact, they are already on their way to living in such a country. So as far as they are concerned, the system is working just fine.

Of course there are many other Americans who have very different hopes.

Some Americans hope they can find a decent job. Some Americans have given up looking for a decent job; they hope they can find any job. They hope they can somehow earn enough money to care for their children, and for their parents. And they hope that there's something left of Social Security for them, when they grow too old to work for themselves.

Some Americans hope that the rapid and increasing destruction of the natural environment can be slowed, maybe even brought to a halt, and possibly even reversed.

Some Americans hope that their kids will be able to grow up in a society where a difference of opinion is not only tolerated but respected, as it was for many of them when they were kids.

Some Americans hope that their children won't be sent off to fight illegitimate wars in countries which they have never even heard of. For other Americans, it's too late to hope for that; they hope their children who are already fighting illegitimate wars will be returned to them, healthy in body and not too badly damaged in spirit. And of course, for other Americans it is already too late even for that. They hope that their family can somehow recover from the death or serious injury suffered by their son or daughter, husband or wife or parent, whose only 'crime' was being naive enough to buy some war-mongering propaganda, who wanted to give something of themselves to defend America from foreign enemies, never realizing that the most vicious and dangerous of all enemies were here at home, playing their mad empire-games in the corridors of power.

Some Americans hope for world peace, and pray for a safe and prosperous future for their children, and their children's children, and their children's grandchildren.

Some Americans hope that their nation, once a world leader in fighting for human rights, will get over its current fascination with torture. They hope for an end to unlawful confinement, and a return of respect for the Bill Of Rights.

Some Americans simply hope that the bloody mass-murderers who now control all three branches of the federal government will eventually be removed from office.

Some hope that a reasonably balanced discourse will someday return to their national 'news' media, and that they will be able to learn the truth about their country, and the role it plays in the world, from sources within their own country.

And, of course, a great many Americans hope that somehow democracy can be brought to every corner of America. But how can that be done? Through legislation? How? We've got one senator with enough spine to vote against the outrageous theft of a presidential election, while the rest of them -- even those who supported her in open debate -- left her twisting in the wind. And even that one Senator -- the one with the spine -- seems to have no idea what's up in her own country.

Either she's been fed too much bullshit or she's deliberately feeding bullshit to us. One way or the other, it's over. The opposition in the Senate now consists of one woman with a spine and a bucket of bullshit; all the rest have buckets of bullshit of their own but no spines. So how are they going to push for electoral reform? How can they possibly push for anything, when they can't even support the one senator who dared to sign the objection?

It's over, folks. It is completely over. The Democratic party is a dinosaur. It's still walking, still breathing, but it is as dead as a pterodactyl, as extinct as a brontosaurus.

Even the most die-hard of Democrats can see that their party ran a bullshit convention in which they never even attempted to show how disastrous -- for the country and for the entire world -- another four years of this so-called presidency would be. And then they nominated a bullshit candidate, who didn't take a strong or principled stand against anything, including an illegitimate war, the widespread use of torture, the unprecedented use of unlawful confinement without charge or trial, or any of the other thoroughly evil policies of the current administration. As if this were not enough of a head-slap to the voters who supported him anyway, he then conceded while the outcome was still in doubt, taking much of the steam out of a strong and fast-growing grassroots effort to prove that the election was a sham -- and to do so in time to do something about it.

But that wasn't all. The bullshit candidate then wasted two months sitting quietly in the wings and doing nothing, while private citizens dug up all kinds of evidence showing that the election had been rigged, and that, had it been fairly conducted, he would have won.

Sitting quietly must have agreed with him, for he continued to sit while private citizens wrote letters and e-mails and blogs, desperately trying to spread the news about this fraudulent election -- news that the bullshit 'news' media refused to touch -- and looking forward to a day -- today -- when the criminals who ran this sham election could finally be challenged in public. And when the day of reckoning came, our bullshit candidate found it most expedient to be out of the country.

In my books he will be forever remembered as the big man with the little heart. The world's tallest living spineless skunk. The word on the net is that he didn't want to get involved in this fight because he wants to protect his image, since he's thinking of running for President again in 2008. What a pathetic joke! I wouldn't vote for him if he were running for dog-catcher. It takes courage to catch a dog, Johnny boy. You can't catch a dog with bullshit.

But maybe his entire bullshit performance, not only today but throughout the entire campaign, was exactly what the doctor ordered. After all, bullshit talks. And regular guys and gals walk. This campaign certainly talked. And so did this election.

And maybe a bit of bullshit is what we, the regular guys and gals, needed too. In polite society, as we all know, it's not called "bullshit". It's called "manure". And according to the gardening experts in my neighborhood, it promotes growth!

~~~

How about another song? We really need a song tonight, don't we? Well... Here's another one of my favorites. It's by Peter Hammill, in my opinion the most abundantly gifted poet who ever graced the rock 'n roll stage.
The Future Now

Here we are, static,
in the latter half
of the twentieth century
but it might as well be the Middle Ages
there'll have to be some changes
but how they'll come about, foxes me

I want the future now
I want to hold it in my hands
All men equal and unbowed
I want the Promised Land

But that doesn't seem to get any closer
and Moses has had his day
the Tablets of Law are an advertising poster
civilization, here to stay
and this is progress?
... you must be joking!
me, I'm just looking for any kind of hope

I want the future now
I want to see it on the screen
I want to break the bounds
that make our lives so mean

Oh blind blinded blinding hatred
of race, sex, religion, colour, country and creed
you scream from the pages of everything I read
You just bring me oppression and torture
apartheid corruption and plague
You just bring me the rape of the planet
and joke world rights at The Hague
Oh, some day, the Millennium
but how far is some day away?

I want the future now
I'm young and it's my right
I want a reason to be proud
I want to see the light
I want the future now
I want to see it on the screen
I want to break our bounds
and make life worth more than dreams