Showing posts with label Trump. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trump. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

OCCUPY Occupies Trump Billionaire Robert Mercer/video


MeanMesa has never quite mastered all the "moving parts" of posting a video directly to this blog. However, this little jewel from OCCUPY appeared on MeanMesa's FaceBook page, and it simply has to be shared -- as is. [You will have to follow the link below the photograph.]



Saturday, January 21, 2017

"Trouble Ahead" - Trump and the GOP Senate

Fracturing the "Nothing Can Stop Him Now" Nightmare
Since he doesn't understand how "being President" works,
we can assume that he doesn't understand how "dealing with the Senate" works, either.

In these dark moments when we've allowed our worst expectations to gain an unwarranted inevitability, we've imagined that the machinations of the Trump Administration will be effortlessly herding one legislative nightmare after another through a vengeful, gloating clutch of obediently greedy Senate plutocrats. Although the reactionaries are now firmly in control of ALL branches of the government, things may not be "singing" along in an ebullient chorus of victory, plunder and prizes for the salivating Trumpkins.

Normally, one would anticipate that the Republican controlled Senate would assume the historical tradition of its mindless, unanimous lockstep. This is hardly an exaggeration. We've watched this for years now. Still, when there is no essentially other possibility of hope -- as is the case now -- our gloom may have obscured a faint glimmer of unexpected optimism lurking patiently in the Senate chamber's cloak room.

Now, immediately dispatch any furtive expectation that the Senate Republicans are going to somehow act in the interests of the country or the old democracy. They haven't done anything similar to this for decades. But -- MeanMesa sees a faint possibility that, while continuing to consistently embrace their absolute highest priority of further enriching themselves and their billionaire handlers, these old, white GOP Senators may possibly have an even less legitimate interest scurrying around in their dark dreams -- revenge.

"Legitimate?" Don't forget the now antiquated theory that the Senate "serves" the interest of the common people of the country, and that doesn't mean "serves them up as meaningless pork chops on a plate of deregulated, Senatorial, get rich quick schemes."

We can be quite certain that, should the Senate Republicans deny Trump any of his "election bling," they won't be doing it because of their love of democracy. Republican Senators do, in fact, "love $omething," but it's not democracy.

 Possible "Bad Weather" Ahead In Trump's GOP Senate
"Bad weather?" Let's just say "Bad Feelings" -- plenty of them.
An inexperienced, under informed, naive President
 and the geriatric Senate's GOP, anti-democracy, expert "meat grinders"
They won't even need their proverbial "long knives" for this one.

The Senate of the 115th Congress [the current one] is 54-R to 44-D with 2 Independents who caucus with the Democrats. That leaves the "operational tally" at 52-R vs 48-D.

Unimaginably, we are now looking to 3 Republicans to stand up for the democracy -- of course, following some weird, inexplicable Republican motives for such a move. Realistically setting the possibility of any actual, unseen Republican patriotism aside, our hopes now reside squarely with the prospect of "Republican political revenge" -- entombed somewhere in the mix with the now suddenly checkered prospect of having to compete with the White House Trumpkins over the traditionally successful Senatorial looting operations -- presenting "priorities" which might sway what, otherwise, appears inevitable.

Let's take a look at a few examples of some of the possible Senate "storm clouds" quietly drifting toward the Oval Office and the new President's legislation.

Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah
Trump, Senator Orrin Hatch and the Mormons

Mormons have the cultural scars, bruises and grave stones of "PR problems" from a century ago. Not only are the rank and file LDS sensitive to such matters, it is very good politics to also be sensitive, yourself, if your constituency happens to be in Utah. Orrin Hatch doesn't like criticism of Mormons. He really didn't like Trump's "Mad Hatter" humiliation of Mitt Romney. Regardless of Orrin's personal sentiments, the politics of "stump the Trump" will play well at home. Utah, in general, is already less than ecstatic with The Donald's "pussy grabbing" even if they were somewhat less upset with his string of multiple wives and simultaneous, extra-marital "sweet hearts."

Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida
Trump, "Little Marco," the Cubans and the GOP's "Young Guns"

Marco Rubio was heavily bruised during the GOP Primary debates. He had already established his own political comic meme with the frantic water guzzling while "rebutting" an Obama State of the Union speech.  Trump chewed up Rubio alive with a string of insults which continued in standard "Trump style" -- always met with histrionic doggerel screams during his rallies -- even long after the Primary had ended [leaving Rubio embarrassingly conflicted with his Senatorial future] and The Donald had plunged deeply into his strange, surreal Presidential campaign.

Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas
Trump, "Lyin' Ted" and the "nearly out of breath" Texas Evangelicals

The reason that Ted's evangelicals are "nearly out of breath" is because they had been forcibly "pigeon holed" into approving Trump's decidedly "non-evangelical," wildly public, profligate behavior. If you are familiar with "the biblicals," the real problem is that the "other guy" is black.Ted Cruz grudgingly "made up" with the tyrant in a depressing bid to be chosen for the cabinet but received his own "Romney style" humiliation instead. Trump's crazy allegation that Cruz's hyper-pious father had helped assassinate JFK struck an impressive resonance with the hillbillies in the raucous crowds at the Trump-fests, but left just about everyone else staggering toward the nearest vomitorium. [Trump Accuses Cruz Father/POLITICO]

Senator John McCain, R-Arizona
Trump, Senator John McCain and the angry war mongers

The Donald began his pointed irritation of the geriatric war monger by "firing a shot across the bow" with his weird crack about McCain's POW experience. [Trump Slams McCain for being captured/WashPOST]  This "love affair" has plunged into deeper water since then. McCain became even more upset when Trump lurched after McCain's "buddy," Senator Lindsey Graham.

Senator Lindsey Graham,
R-South Carolina
Trump, and "lost boy," Senator Lindsey Graham
 -- "looking for love -- practically everywhere"

Lindsey Graham may not have garnered many votes in primary campaign support, but he still has a Senate vote and even something of a strange loyalty from his own voting block "caucus" comprised of other Confederate state, Senatorial throw backs. Trump easily absconded with Lindsey's historical segregationist base of Southern racists with an endless string of "white supremacist" innuendos in his campaign speeches which most erstwhile "Lindsey backers" found almost as delightful as either bad religion or bad narcotics.

"You ain't washin' this one off!"
[image]
The Republican Establishment -- "Hey, brokers, lobbyists and hedge fund billionaires have feelings, too."

The damage already inflicted by the Trump "experiment" has inflicted fundamental damage to the Republican brand. Worse, this kind of damage is almost certainly politically permanent. The US has experienced two un-elected Republican Presidents in this Century. The first one was horrendous. This one appears quite ready to re-brand that last nightmare into the imaginary dust of "the good old days."

Choices: another Republican depression,
 WWIII or both? That question is too
complicated for the hillbillies.
[image]
The American Electorate is Terrified

Now that the Inauguration is complete, an actual majority of Americans -- including the 55% who didn't bother to vote -- are officially frightened. For the past couple of months those with a "more whimsical - less realistic" comprehension of matters were desperately seeking "someone" who could "fix" this. We're on the train. We're going where the tracks go. There isn't anyone left in power except Republicans. Take it from there.

There are plenty of "ego bruised" Republicans beyond this short list of examples. Happily, many of them are seated in the Republican controlled Senate.

During a more typical Republican Primary candidates would have been recruited from the various Red State Governors, but this nomination process found a depressing majority of Red States as "Federal hand out parasites" and the corresponding "Red State Governors" as petulant, ill advised, incompetent ideologues. As a result those FOX News "debates" were packed with Republican Senators -- literally an indigestible poison pill for the Party's hordes of beer soaked racists terribly upset after being bushwhacked by Washington "insiders."

Worse, the GOP Governors couldn't politically maneuver well at all while dragging their instate collection of "fetchy" oil billionaires around behind them -- so the Koch Brothers  and Goldman-Sachs won. What the GOP Senate seems to be doing day by day as of this posting may look relatively innocuous, but every action -- on practically anything -- is now the result of "orders coming down" from the big boys on the far end of the campaign checks.

The rowdy GOP House caucus is chuck full of amateur looters, but the GOP Senate is, on the other hand, chuck full of surgically professional GOP looters. The extremely well fed, Republican banksters and hedgies who currently own these Senators, while probably appreciating the exciting business opportunities of becoming utterly unregulated, are far less enthusiastic as they watch huge tranches of the "peoples' money" sliding out of their grip and into the hands of Trump's lobbyists, billionaires and other Goldman-Sachs "swamp dwellers."

Trump has never been famous for sharing.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Will the New Fascism Solve Global Warming's Challenge?

Growing Like Topsy
Autocracy, Fascism, Oligarchy and State Militarism
 Increasing Faster Than Global Temperatures
Is an intuitive, subconscious "extinction precursor" 
altering the preferred form of national governance?

After "spinning their wheels" for several centuries attempting to resolve the challenges of life on Earth with the chaotic voices of various "educated electorates," the democracies -- both the previously, proudly "pure" and the self-admittedly, "heavily blemished" -- have now taken the breathless, yet predictable, plunge into the somewhat less frightening embrace of autocracy's warm hands. The most promising nations on the planet are now, officially, oligarchies of one sort or another.

For any visitors who might consider such a gloomy conclusion a product of the geriatric ranting and railing of MeanMesa, perhaps the specifics will help. In the somewhat confusing mix of oligarchy, autocracy and fascism, the following nation states present a compelling argument which describes the newest, most modern choice for autonomous governance we see sprouting all around -- including here in the US.

Russia
Russian Federation
Russia is reinvigorating its colonial appetite. Within the country Putin is an unquestioned autocrat. Around him are "tolerated" oligarchs when "obedient."

Russia has made only modest efforts at sustainable energy infrastructure. The Federation is heavily reliant on nuclear and fossil fuel systems.

US
United States
United States has adopted a monolithic one party government not subject to influence by majority citizen opinion. The new autocracy is belligerent and functions independently of citizen rule. Oligarchic priorities supersede political priorities.

The US has made significant progress with sustainability in its energy sector, but fossil fuel based oligarchs will now have an opportunity to become resurgent.

EU
The EU states
The EU countries definitely have oligarchs with dynastic wealth, but priorities of the mature social culture limit their power. Fascist interests are rising in dominance. NATO militarism is traditionally moderate.

EU states, particularly Scandinavian and Germany, are global leaders for sustainability. EU social culture is currently investing in significant efforts to reduce green house foot prints.

Turkey
Turkey
Turkey is moving rapidly toward a strong autocracy with religious overtones. Its strengthening militarism is justified by local conditions but contradicts traditional NATO. Its vulnerable economy hosts both Turkish oligarchs and religious purists. The current government is "unofficially" fascist.

Under the growing autocracy, Turkey directs greater interests to internal stability than to sustainability. The country has economic limits and regional challenges preventing significant modernization.

China
Peoples Republic of China 
China is a "state autocracy." Its expansionist tendencies are state tendencies, not nationalistic or particularly imperial. Its military investment is at a sensible level. Its cultural investment is high. Chinese oligarchs, while globally wealthy, are firmly controlled by State Council policy.

The PRC public is pressuring the autocracy to remedy existing climate hazards, but the Chinese autocracy is "holding out" for a more profitable course forward which can be integrated with PRC priorities for increasing domestic demand.

Israel
Israel 
Due to regional policy challenges Israel's government prioritizes militarism. Illegal colonial expansionism consumes social, cultural and national resources which could be directed at sustainability.

Allocation of nation resources for sustainability is undercut by the necessity of expensive military spending. The priority for access to potable water is becoming a regional trigger.

Japan
Japan
Japanese oligarchs are largely accepted as a social phenomenon and exert only a "mature" influence on the government. Japan was forced to reconsider its national energy priority after the Fukushima disaster when it reverted to traditional generation for a while. However, the nation's economic needs have led a return to the "nuclear option" since then. Overall, the nation is clearly dedicated to sustainability.

Due to regional competition the next "economic adjustment" will probably be a resurgence of increased military spending.

The precise "metrics" in the charts [above] are quite speculative, yet these speculations represent a rough measure of conditions as they have been reported over the last few years. Additional nations can be included in the list, but MeanMesa will leave those further "intuitive conjectures" to the blog's visitors.

The point is not a pleasant one. All the responsible governments on the planet should, reasonably, be directing most of their national budgets to projects which might either mitigate or, at least, soften the impact of what is rapidly approaching. This is not a debate. The fact is that national governments have postured themselves to pretty much ignore the welfare of their citizens, controlled and contradicted scientific information about the climate and have, instead, primarily focused resources on military spending and the care and feeding of their already quite over weight billionaires.

Does this change as climate conditions grow steadily worse?

By "worse" MeanMesa means more lethal and painful. What capability is left of the traditional habit of sensible, "democratic" decision making is fading fast.

What the New Fascists Will Be Facing
Toxic ideology is practically invisible as long as everything is "roses, simply roses."
 In the view of hindsight 2016 [no matter how awful it's been] will look like "roses."

Most of the citizens in the First World are fully aware of what is approaching. The exceptions to this general rule are either those expending every effort to intentionally ignoring the matter or others with a financial stake in avoiding the reality of it at any cost. The level of "demographic disengagement" is unsettling.

However, once the "debating" activity is set aside, the common perception of what may be anticipated from global warming has been hampered by "too much science." The eyes of the laity roll back at once when "the parts per million" figures are presented. The helicopter videos of polar bears looking for enough ice to conduct their seal fishing are compelling enough, but reasonable prognoses of day to day life on the planet as the climate deteriorates are, too often, considered suspiciously over dramatic.

[MeanMesa posted a "engineering/project management oriented" paper on global warming several years ago which has been widely received. If you would like to review this, link  here - Managing Global Warming Solutions/MEANMESA]

In response to this "perception problem" MeanMesa has prepared the following "calendar" with a few of these "reasonable expectations" about what we might be seeing on the "news."

The next 40 years of global warming in 1. the US, 2. Internationally and 3. on a planetary scale.[MeanMesa]
As we thread our way through these "not too promising" [although painfully likely] headline events, MeanMesa encourages visitors to consider each of them with two, separate world views.

1. How would these developments be handled in an environment with more representative, democratic governments around the world?

2. How will these developments likely be handled by the new crop of autocracies and oligarchies which have taken control of such matters now?

The New Oligarchies' Approach to Management and Survival
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Authoritarian Control
Yes, some of these political developments might be "just what the doctor ordered,"
 but it's not likely. This is going to require significantly more than a handful of Tweets.

The failed domestic "news" reporting about global warming effects has become an agonizing blather as the same road weary questions and speculations are bandied back and forth endlessly. The overall effect on the public consciousness has been an almost narcotic "soothing."

"Nobody is sure what is really happening."
"The full extent of this remains uncertain."
"Planetary warming predictions have been ruthlessly exaggerated."
"Planetary warming predictions have been dangerously under estimated."
"Here's an interesting story about one specific place
 which is now under water -or- dry as a bone."

The US President [Obama] and more than a few other world leaders have made it a point that they regard global warming as real and extremely dangerous. In other words these voices have said that serious resources must be applied immediately to reduce the lethality of the impact. At the counter point the US President-elect [Trump] has taken great pains to express his opinion that "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive." [politifact]

So, can we expect that after conditions deteriorate to some certain level, that the autocrats will direct their un-opposed authority toward the climate problem? If this is to be the case, what state would those "conditions" have to reached before such a decision might be taken?

Make no mistake. Compared to the curiously durable "gaseous foam approach" which has ear marked the more "democratic" responses to the on coming calamity, these war lord types could, possibly, act quite decisively and effectively -- if they were to perceive such an action as consistent with their ideology and political goals.

Nonetheless, throughout history autocrats of all the various forms have demonstrated a real problem with empathy. The idea of actually cooperating "for the common good" is quite alien to them. This is a "motivation divide." Autocrats have difficulty being motivated to undertake "projects" which benefit others more than they benefit them. Or, for that matter, even benefit all more or less equally.

A billionaire is positioned to survive the worst conditions of climate change in fairly good order. Mansions and palaces can generate a breathable atmosphere if a sufficient amount of money is spent to accomplish this. Such places can certainly be refrigerated. If there are locations around the planet where the climate conditions are somewhat better than average, they can be purchased -- and defended.

Bear in mind that billionaires come in widely differing "flavors." FDR was a very wealthy man, but so are Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Sheldon Adelson and the Brothers Koch.

State level efforts to mitigate
 climate change
.[image]

In the US the onslaught to convert humanity's future into immediate profits will commence at the state level. The new US autocracy controls a large majority of state governments entirely -- governorships, state Houses and Senates. Further, many of the profit burning, "regulatory irritants" which might actually help with the climate problem are enforced at the state level, which means that anti-democracy organizations such as ALEC can begin their dissolution essentially without being contested.

Public opinion will descend even more deeply into the very profitable states of hopelessness and panic as global conditions become more violent. While such desolate sentiments are truly "bread and butter" for the billionaires manipulating national policy, the inevitable crescendo of frantic survivalism may be enough to "inspire" the oligarchs to actually act in the public interest at some point.

The picture at this stage will not be a pretty one. This possible, new "inspiration" will be emerging long after most of the effective mitigation policies might have been instituted.

The Climatic "Tipping Point"
When Global Conditions Begin to Render Dynastic Wealth Irrelevant

Higher ocean levels do more
 than move beaches.
[image]
All sorts of unpleasant changes will patiently begin to arrive at the gated, front steps of the mansions and palaces. In addition to the mayhem of global chaos economic pressures targeting the "top 1%" will gradually become terminal. Enterprises which previously provided a dependable income flow to the oligarchs' coffers will begin to falter.

Consumers will have little interest in the "discretionary" purchase sectors. Market levels for automobiles, Internet services, gasoline, new houses and the like will lose ground to more immediate needs which used to be considered "givens."

Trump's ostentatious, top end hotels will be left to meet these new, violently reduced market demands with just a couple of inhabited floors of thousand dollar per night suites. Vice President Pence's curious obsession with Old Testament sexual authoritarianism will fade into the class of other, long ago abandoned "historical oddities."

Once again events will repeat the same lesson. Fascism cannot flourish in conditions of harsh austerity. This has been well established in the matter of political fascism, but no corrective "over throw" will be possible when the austerity is imposed on us by the planet herself.















Sunday, September 25, 2016

2016 - Making Oligarchy Painless

[A note from MeanMesa: This post title needs a little fixing -- a quick do over to get things started on the right foot. Of course MeanMesa doesn't expect the approaching oligarchy to be painless. To move toward a tiny bit more realism, the following title is, most likely, more appropriate:

"2016 - Making the Start of Our New Oligarchy Relatively Painless - 
At Least For the Time Being."

Now, having restored some semblance of literary relevance, we can proceed with another great post which meets Short Current Essays standards . Enjoy.]

 Remember, the Billionaires Are In Charge
Are they simply well 
paid pleasure puppets or 
network "news anchors,"
calling the tune?[image]
The "passionately embraced and insightful political discourse" currently choking the American media atmosphere amounts to what's left of the cheap cosmetics on a not particularly classy lady standing drunk on a pretty dark corner in a rainstorm.

Things are looking pretty dismal in the US political contest underway. Everything portrayed as "important" seems mysteriously banal. Surely, something must definitely be going on here, but the unavoidable conclusion is a suspicion that what we are seeing is quite removed from what is actually happening.

The gaseous culpability behind a mystery such as this -- at least in these modern times -- almost always rushes headlong to the feet of the billionaires. Armed with their "public opinion managing think tanks," these emboldened, in bred, trust fund trolls are now creeping from their gated country clubs out into the light as they pursue their ultimate obsession: a permanent, dynastic oligarchy.

A very faint "bright spot" in this careening descent into the "new state of things" is not buried any deeper than a very peculiar feature of these billionaires with their monetary wet dream of calling the shots after these last few details of replacing democracy have been "settled."

They're tremendous cowards.

They already own so much stuff that they instantly become embarrassingly nervous at the very first prospect of actually losing even the tiniest part of their dynastic fortunes. Their typical life experience has never included what the rest of us would consider "ups and downs." This constant fear might drive them to take chance and make mistakes, but their ten digit asset accounts actually give the little darlings plenty of leeway.

Standing this close to total victory, we can anticipate some pretty crazy behavior on their part. They are, typically, quite clumsy in the assertion of their power. They may have learned about patience and risk taking in their childhood "guillotine classes," but the "carousel's ring" is desperately shiny and almost within their reach at this moment.

With this little detail now handled so nicely, we can lurch right into the "meat of the issue." The final steps to accomplish this transformation is certain to be practically "hiccup-free" thanks to the fact that around 88% of "interested, informed, democracy loving" Americans have any no idea what an oligarchy is.

No idea at all.

No idea how life will change after we "complete the shift."

No idea how depressingly permanent this gut wrenching change 
will prove to be in a half a dozen decades. 
Think of it as a never ending tooth ache.

However, this is not a problem. The billionaires currently own around 88% of everything, so perhaps the numbers, in a sense, go together.

The Extremely Unusual 2016 Election

What's missing, and what's been added.

MeanMesa is constantly amazed as the "puppet show" rambles forward. In every corner the "political discourse" has become a predictable lament focused on the failing and foibles of one side or the other. The narrative has become tiresome and pointless. Regardless of the channel setting, the passionate accounts shared with the citizens continue to paint the comfortably reassuring meme of simply another, more or less normal, clash of mysteriously legitimate political campaigns.

MeanMesa is unable to discern anything recognizable as an actual "political campaign" mired in the media soup at this point. All the faces and words "networky" enough to reach New Mexico's high desert amount to endless flow of painfully tiresome, over scripted, castrated groans of dancing puppets -- dancing puppets with painfully obvious puppet strings which are far too visible to be ignored.

There's no reason to be overly "discrete" when revealing the personal specifics of this experience. MeanMesa will vote for Hillary Clinton. Bill's plan to scare the daylights out of this old voter has been highly effective. As is the case with most Americans who will also vote for Hillary Clinton, the most compelling reason, of course, is Donald Trump. That was Bill's plan to accomplish the election of his un-electable wife.

It seems to be working. The sold out networks -- also quite predictably -- are now reporting that the election margins are "closing." MeanMesa doubts this, but there isn't much reason to lose sleep over the prospect. Most likely it is simply another cheap tactic to "juice up" the contest so the campaigns, frightened by these inauthentic numbers, will spend even more on advertising.

Among the ranks of these contemporary, bumbling politicians, no one seems to know anything. Both campaigns are fiercely amateurish.

The industrial US media has infrequently insinuated that Hillary has actually proposed actual policy proposals about a few things here and there -- perhaps 5% of the minimum policy a normal, healthy campaign might have proposed. Of course there is little opportunity to particularly explore any of these "campaign ideas." Decades ago the Democrats completely lost their presence in the network media flow. The entire party -- and, certainly, including Hillary Clinton -- has become disturbingly invisible.

[Continuing with the theme of not being "overly discrete," MeanMesa is more than willing to share the media consumed here in the Galactic Head Quarters.

Stephanie Miller
Thom Hartmann
Rachel Maddow
Randi Rhodes

None of these sources are difficult or expensive to access. MeanMesa's enduring infatuation with Randi Rhodes has prompted the expenditure of $10 per month for her pod cast -- even though parts of it are available by subscribing on YouTube. Blog visitors are encouraged to seek out these sources. You will continually feel more and more "inner peace" the further you get from the toxic corporate media, but don't confuse "inner peace" with anything similar to hopeful reassurance.]

This is a crushingly gloomy vision.

Unsurprisingly, this election will be completed with essentially no expression of citizen opinion with respect to the future course of the country. It is a chilling case of "The Platitudes Win!" Thanks to the useless domestic US media, anything that isn't "a platitude" isn't reported. It is buried beneath thirty impenetrable layers of wet wool. The American political "audience" has become so codependent and so hopelessly stricken with ADHD that everything of interest must be reduced to a 140 word Tweet before it becomes considered to be digestible.

The New Paradigm Explains Everything!
The explanation is just as painfully distasteful as the question it explains.

The old paradigm rests on the equally old idea that elections in a modern democracy have something to do with the concerns and aspirations of the electorate. This time around such a presumption leads only to an incomprehensible, obsolete model of events with only the most tedious, flimsy "connections" to the reality of what is unfolding.

The billionaires' think tanks have been working diligently to deliver an electorate which is savagely alienated and disgusted. Citizens are alienated by the infuriating ineffectiveness of the current government. Few of what had previously been the "middle class" continue to expect that anything Washington might do will alter conditions of life in the country in any positive way. The carefully orchestrated effort to disgust voters has succeeded. There are dangerously few voters still retaining some tattered hope that the government might yet be saved.

This "dangerously few" number diminishes even more when the current candidates are added to the question. MeanMesa estimates that no more than 30% of the electorate expects any noticeable improvement in "American life" as an outcome from electing either one of them.

So. Is all this the result of a "groundswell" of irritation so intense that it has just finally "boiled to the surface?"

No, this is a "Swiss watch" of masterful, carefully planned, political manipulation -- a quite expensive one. Groundswells seldom have sponsors, designers or benefactors. This groundswell has all three.

The billionaires are making their move. The very last element of the old democracy which continued to block their efforts was the ballot box. However, after injecting a few hundred million dollars into state elections anywhere they could, the previously potent ballot box is, now, dangerously handicapped.

It is a two pronged effort. The voters had to be alienated and disgusted to a point where voter turn out was even lower than it has been traditionally. Voters who had "skin in the game" compelling enough to drive them to the polls were met with six hour wait times, the corpse of the old voting rights act after it had been thoroughly eviscerated by an obedient Supreme Court, crudely fashioned "identity" requirements, mass voter registration purges and every other possible, criminal disincentive.

There is no way to predict what voting statistics for the 2016 election will be. If the billionaires' think tanks have done their job, it will be dismal. Once the election has been completed, it will, most likely, be terrifying.

The Interesting Conclusion of Ibil ka Dum
Everything old is new again, except
there's nothing new under the sun.

Ibil ka Dum, 14th Century
Islamic Historian [image - YouTube]
Ibin ka Dum was a 14th Century Islamic historian. He documented an exquisitely interesting pattern of the origin, development and demise of an entire series of ancient cultures in the Middle East. [Note: It wasn't the "Middle East" until much, much later.] MeanMesa thinks this pattern that he observed paints a very modern picture. Although the stakes have evolved through the centuries [grown even larger], we are still in the cycle.

[Watch the YouTube video - 11 minutes. It explains everything. Then, come back to MeanMesa for the remainder of the post. Pre-Islamic history of the Middle East]

Now, we must seek the similarities between our current dilemma and the historic, repeating sequence of events our historian noticed.

The stages in Ibil ka Dum's "sequence" were both laconic and chillingly prescient.

Conquest
Consolidation
Expansion
Degeneration
Conquest

The list of civilizations observed by Ibil ka Dum to have progressed in this manner is impressive.

Mesopotamians
Sumerians
Akkadians [Sargon the Great]
Gutians
Ammorites [founded Babylon]
Babylonians [Hammurabi]
Assyrians
resurgent Sumerians and resurgent Babylonians
Kassites
Assyrians 
Chaldeans [hanging gardens of Babylon and Nebuchad'Nezzar] 
Persians and Medes [Zoroaster]
Macedonia [Alexander]
Seleucids [Alexander's generals]
Parthians


The period of all these changes is so long that only the highlights are mentioned here. While this ancient historian recounted this repetitive sequence of the events of ancient, pre-Islamic cultures in the Middle East, it offers a compelling resonance with the events of our most immediate, modern times. However, few souls beyond the inebriated bumblers in the odorous mob of mindless hill billies and bigots in the Trump minority consider the prospect of the United States being "conquered" by a rambunctious assault by nomadic tribesmen to be particularly likely.

Assyrian Soldier Beheading
 an Edamite ca: 650 BC

[image]
In each of the cases in Ibil ka Dum's list of repeating examples the power controlling an established civilization was over thrown by "wild" nomadic tribesmen from a near by region. Once the fighting ended, the cycle began. The initial "conquest" phase was pretty violent and destructive. With the nomads in charge a "consolidation" of all the remaining pieces was the next step.

The "new blood" of the conquerors, for a time, energized the "consolidated" citizenry of the "new" culture to undertake a territorial expansion. But over time the new, energetic blood of those who had now recently conquered, consolidated and expanded began to degenerate -- to become "soft from city living." By this point in the cycle the next near by nomads already had their eyes set on the next cycle of, you guessed it, conquest.

Still, MeanMesa offered "similarity" and "resonance" between this ancient tale and our modern events. So, without sinking too far into the details let's make an important distinction right away.

Let's replace the ancient idea of conquering an established culture, ripping apart everything there and taking over as the "new boss" with a modern version of the same process. In this case the degenerate "city dwellers" are replaced by the degenerate citizens in both various modern democracies and in various, more or less free, modern national economies. However, these modern day conquerors have no interest at all in the unilateral destruction of everything of value. Instead, their efforts are entirely focused on essentially maintaining the degenerative process while continuously extracting wealth from their new possession.

Rather than immediately becoming notably raucous, ancient city conquering, "party animals" celebrating their sudden, newly acquired wealth, these modern conquerors are much more inclined to adopt the character of the quiet and patient parasite. They intend to take possession, over time, of everything previously owned by those they conquered while allowing the "conquered democracies" and the "conquered economies" to continue to exist, appearing -- at least for a time until such an arrangement begins to divert too much of the conquered gold to the effort of maintaining such an artificial ruse -- unchanged in their "surface" appearance.

The Modern "Degenerates"
It's going to be much neater without the pillaging, plundering
 and all the messy wreckage of those old city walls.

By this time everyone already knows the nature of the next modern conqueror. The traditional Republicans, although somewhat confused by their nomination of such a shady candidate, are  still confident enough that the looting festival begun in the Reagan era will continue. The Democrats are still somewhat shell shocked that their candidate was so unpopular when she was nominated, but Democratic voters are quite aware of Ms. Clinton's close connections with oligarchic interests such as Goldman-Sachs, WalMart and others.

But, what should we have expected? We are in the final phase of our conversion to the oligarchic style of national government. It was inevitable that, at least by this point, the billionaires and corporatists would, very predictably, begin choosing Presidents comfortably sympathetic with their interests. To accomplish this it is completely understandable that the nominated candidates from both parties would both offer administrations committed to this "comfortable sympathy."

Nonetheless, we need not feel that the US voter is the sole victim in this global take over scheme. Yes, the US is a literal "treasure trove" of national wealth which offers the billionaires many remaining years of successful "hollowing out" before they've finished. But a quick review of oligarchic advances all across the world reveals that these happy go lucky, opportunistic billionaires are devouring every "democracy" and every otherwise relatively functional "national economy" which can boast of as much as two dimes to rub together.

Other countries may not offer the same stupendous wealth to serve as sustenance for these suddenly revealed oligarchic dynasties, but the other economies around the world, while perhaps offering less to loot, are significantly easier and cheaper to "conquer."

The Russian Federation is an autocratic oligarchy. The Peoples Republic of China, while not even pretending to be a democracy, is unquestionably an oligarchy. The prosperous nations in the EU -- meaning those which are not currently bankrupt -- qualify as "ripe picking" for the respective oligarchs. The oil soaked monarchs, theocrats and autocrats lurking about in the Middle East [Because this is significantly later than the world observed by Ibil ka Dum, we can call it that.] are either oligarchs or are having violent, religion flavored dreams of becoming oligarchs. The African and South American states, already enjoying a tradition of frequent government take overs, aren't faring much better.

It's probably important to understand that as the oligarchs succeed in taking control of an ever growing number of countries, the prospects for ever removing them decrease rapidly.

In terms of "degeneracy" -- as noted by Ibil ka Dum -- the citizens of the democracies have very successfully "filled the bill." With the now nearly unilateral failure of the public education experiment American voters have no idea about most of what was taught in high school civics classes half a century ago. Normally, when US voters would hear a Presidential candidate proclaiming that he intended to do what -- in those days -- everyone knew would have to be done by Congress, that entire campaign would have ground to a halt.

However, with more modern, "civics free" voters such a claim seems eerily acceptable. Adding to the "new understanding" is the fact that Congress never actually does anything anyway, making the gravity of such a campaign gaffe curiously gaseous. 

Don't forget to vote in November.





Thursday, May 19, 2016

The Strange Face of 21st Century Democracy

The Perils of Proceeding Without a Name
US oligarchs are attempting to imitate the tiger that changed its stripes.
[It's understandable that they don't wish to continue in their present image...]

History is littered with exciting anecdotes describing the transition from one form of governance to the next. Some of these accounts are a record of years or decades filled with unrest or unrealized ambitions, but others, usually with much briefer time spans, record events which unfolded rapidly -- and usually quite violently.

In each case "once the smoke cleared," the rubble had been tidied up, the dead had been buried and a "fresh, sparkling" new name was painstakingly coined to "identify" whatever had emerged from the transition. Of course both these "alterations" themselves and the "sparkling" new name were far more palatable as "matured" historical concepts than in the immediate reality of what had actually "happened on the ground."

In most cases these "high born struggles of conflicting ideals" were, when viewed in the cold light of day, painful episodes of mass chaos where thousands or millions of cases of "getting even" unfolded in the bloody wreckage once the stopper had been removed from the bottle. No matter. In the end happy destiny rose from the blood and ashes to provide "absolutely every fact" required to justify the next generation of history texts [even if  they bore a "not a too accurate" account of the events], and that is also, of course, history books written by the victors.

There are plenty of exquisitely painful examples. 

The Reich movement transformed Germany into a war hungry national socialist state. Hungry Russians rejected Nicholas' gold plated sink faucets and transitioned the country from a Czarist autocracy into the USSR. More recently, Ukraine, Thailand, Arab states, Serbia, Egypt and a dozen others have violently abandoned the "old thing" and adopted a "new thing." Each of these transformations included more than a few violent missteps along the way.

However, and it is an important point for this post, these transitions all emerged from the blood, dust and wreckage to embrace a new name, that is, there were already names handily awaiting what emerged from the process. The particular bunch of the involved parties who managed to scratch and claw their way up to the top of these brand new, blood soaked things which had been created had names already prepared for them, too, names such as the NAZIs or the Soviets.

In no time newspaper reporters and other "experts" on such matters were able to refer to the NAZIs or the Soviets, and everyone who read their newspapers knew not only exactly what they meant but also had a pretty good idea about what they intended to do -- all this because of these shiny new names.

In the United States, the Russian Federation and a good number of "quieter" countries, the parameters and players in the modern types of transition are freshly empowered oligarchs who are, predictably, validating their machinations as necessary measures to "unleash free enterprise," "unfetter the captains of industry" or simply to obliterate troublesome, profit gobbling laws and regulations. Historically, raw, parasitic oligarchies are usually not christened with the formal name "oligarchy" until much later, decades after they have actually "conquered" their host economies.

Nonetheless, once the establishment of these oligarchies has been completely accomplished, the name, "oligarchy," is all ready on hand to name such amazing "new things" the moment they have been created. Of course, right up to the very last moment prior to the full "live birth" of such dynasties of avarice, the official  new title necessarily remains obscured. This is not too much the case in the US where education has faltered to the extent that 98% of the newly created "servant class" has no idea what such a word might even mean.

This post is about the latest form of such "transitions" or "take overs." This introduction is necessary because this most modern bunch...has no name! Worse, it also lacks any particular "validating" principle or mission which might, more or less, automatically provide even the foggiest insight into its intentions.

Well, yes. Now that we're here, we would all like some sort of "forward glimpse" of what we can expect from "rule by party elites." After all, the take over and transition of our post-democracy government is, apparently, now complete.


The history written to describe this episode will leave students wondering "Wait! Why did they do THAT? This is so confusing that I can only hope that this isn't on the test!"



The History of Screwing Over 
Constitutional Elections for Fun and Profit
Not much has changed except that the myth
 that they weren't always screwed over is now collapsing.


We're Americans, so if we do it, it's democracy, right?
(Don't start with the "divine right" stuff until she passes out.)
[image]
We can quite confidently count on US political seasons to "bring out the worst" in us. The stakes are high, and the system through which the decisions will be made is leakier than the beer keg after a shoot out at a cowboy bar.

The part of the US Constitution which sets the structure for elections, although really dated, did a fairly good job of designing the process and explaining how it was to be done. What it has morphed into through the years is a grisly mix of shockingly outdated measures to accommodate the technology of the 1700's and a relentless deluge of annual intercessions in favor of everything from comforting desolated ex-slave owners to modern industrialists with a penchant for dumping their pollution into rivers providing drinking water.

Since the Constitution was originally written there has been a constant stream of chicanery, deceit and other Constitutional mischief made in efforts to twist the thing into something which could be looted. This effort has exploded into a "sperm frenzy" in the last few years as the emboldened oligarchs have finally felt safe publicly displayed their insane sociopathy. This began to surface quite openly after they purchased majority control of the Congress and the Supremes. Now that one of their staunchest, most dependable servants on the Court has dropped dead, they are panicked with the prospect of losing the rather vast profits they've enjoyed to date.

Bilderberg Group - Logan Act Violations
Don't worry about us, we own the DOJ. [image]
Still, in the past, the Owners of the Republican Party have all been creepy but identifiable billionaires as they gathered for a quick one in the bar downstairs from their annual Bilderberg Conferences. US voters are grudgingly accustomed to the expectation that these well heeled, not particularly stable, trust fund children will, in fact, probably decide the outcome of the next election -- except for the White House. "Loading the dice" for the Presidential election has, at least until recently, been too visible and too risky. [This is, obviously, changing -- in both Parties.]

These rich ones have always concluded previously that meddling with democracy while everyone was watching simply exposed them to an unacceptable level of danger. As for conducting such sabotage on the Constitutional system "from behind the curtains," however, the ROI [return on investment] for such schemes easily outweighed the risks. This is not an exaggeration. The visible parts of this "return on the George W. Bush investment" saw $600 billion dollars flow into the pockets of the 400 top income earners in the country during that disastrous 8 years.

For the mathematically challenged, $600 Bn is $100 Bn more than half a trillion.

This time around is apparently going to be even worse. The Koch brothers have already announced their plan to "invest" $900 million in the 2016 race in the pursuit of electing a Republican President.

[The brothers -- their father financed the John Birch Society and the Heritage Foundation -- while quite comfortable with a crack pot religious Dominionist such as Rafael Cruz, aren't quite reactionary enough to back the Trumpy. Perhaps they'll just have to go shopping and buy something else with their $900 million. Perhaps, say, Argentina.]

Now, Eat the Nice Dog Food
No Need To Bother Voting
It's Time For democratic Rule By the "Party Elites"
Crushing democracy from behind the curtain
[The lower case "d" is necessary because both parties are hard at it.]



No, no, no.
All this voting only confuses things. Plus, elections

 cost money. Right now,we clearly
need to focus on our "gift" list. [image]

Party Elites. Who are they? 
Where'd they come from?

Don't worry. This is the way we always do it.
And besides, we promise that they're definitely not oligarchs, okay? So just relax.

Let's take a look at exactly what is confronting the Republic, that is, voter registration "mysteries" in numerous US states. This has become necessary because both sides of this 2016 election are vaporizing the democratic process before our very eyes.

When MeanMesa states that "both Parties are hard at this electoral mischief," don't assume that it is simply another case of overly dramatic geriatric rambling. They are. They REALLY are.

1. The Republican Party elite are planning to trash the democratic process during the Republican National Convention.

With the previously troubling "Voters Rights Act" nicely trashed by the oligarchs' men in Supreme Black, and unlimited cash intervention in elections ruled to be a "free speech right" by the same Supremes, 2016 really, REALLY is going to amount to a drunk in the clown car headed for the well lubricated political whore house of looted money and power. Don't be shocked. It's basically been this way for most of the time since Reagan.

In the 31 states currently suffering under GOP control, there has been a similar systematic attack on voter enfranchisement by every possible method -- restrictive voter identification requirements at polling places, extensive gerrymandering of Congressional election districts and suspiciously targeted purges of non-GOP voter registration records.

It's "yesterday's news" that sold out Republican candidates can't even come close to holding their own in national election, and that all the anti-democracy moves by these red state governments, actually, amount to an embarrassing display of frantic political desperation. In the US it is widely assumed that most of these red state governments were only able to gain control with the "generous" contributions to state campaigns by the Republican Party's billionaire Owners. A few million dollar "contributions" funneled through ALEC to state level GOP candidates can usually deliver an election.

The Republicans discovered that state legislatures and governors' mansions can be purchased at a bargain price in the US.

Even today, Republican "policies" are being exposed by these red state basket cases -- in bankrupt Kansas, in violently bankrupt Louisiana, in the festering wreckage of anti-union Wisconsin and elsewhere. These examples alone should present an essentially insurmountable political obstacle to the Party's ambitions for national office.

Nonetheless, the GOP "elites" are publicly exposing their now quite insatiable appetite for even more wealth. Terrified with the prospect of nominating Trump and, hence, utterly losing the 2016 Presidential race, the billionaires in charge are now laying out their scheme to sabotage the nominating process at the GOP National Convention.

Happily, even though this scheme of theirs could have a variety of final outcomes at the Convention, none of the specific outcomes contained in that list of possibilities even remotely portends an optimistic result. The billionaires in charge are, apparently, so incredibly out of touch with current attitude of the Party's foot soldiers that they are still assuming Trumpy's already unstable followers -- even after they have watched these aristocratic power brokers from the hated Republican establishment ignore the electoral results of Trump's primary victories -- will simply calm down and eat the dog food.

If the GOP base were more educated or more informed, this Convention subterfuge might prove to be sufficiently outrageous and incendiary to actually even initiate some sort of civil war -- Duck Dynasty-style, of course. Don't count on. The GOP's expendable, brain modified foot soldiers are now lining up in hordes to head for the polling stations to elect The Donald.

2. The Democratic Party elites are also planning to trash the democratic process during the Democratic National Convention

The Democratic Party "danced with this devil" at the Chicago Convention in 1968 -- with politically disastrous results. [MeanMesa was there -- in the streets.] The "burning question of the day" concerned the conflict between Democratic primary victors solidly proposing an end to the Vietnam War and Democratic Party elites just as firmly committed to continuing with the wildly profitable southeast Asian "meat grinder." There had already been tens of thousands of Americans killed by this time, and no end was in sight. Neither was there any sign of progress, making the question quite political.

In this case the Democratic Party elites -- after effortlessly dumping the anti-war primary victors at the 1968 Convention -- shoe horned pro-war Hubert Humphrey into the nomination even though he had not won a single delegate in the Party's primaries or caucuses. The results were so explosively destructive that the Democratic Party modified their nominating rules within months after losing the election.

Unhappily, these labyrinthine modifications were essentially only cosmetic. For the 2016 contest the arcane "rules" provided Bill Clinton with every sort of dirty trick needed to secure the nomination for his wife -- and once again place him in the Oval Office.

Even though it would require cleverly subverting the safeguards installed after 1968, the Democratic Party elites are already scheming to guarantee the nomination of Ms. Clinton -- probably regardless of the primary election cycle's outcomes. Although the progressive media is focusing on the Convention nominating mischief made possible by the Party's poorly lit, ultra-fickle and ultra-sinister "super delegates," there has been plenty of mischief already inflicted upon the primary outcomes.

These shadowy super delegates are, indeed, ultra-fickle and ultra-sinister, and they are that way by design. They represent the last "fortification" of the Party elites to retain control of the nominating process, and they are hardly the product of an innocent oversight -- the provisions in the Democratic Party nominating process which created them were originally written in 1968 with precisely this future situation in mind.

Still, MeanMesa is seeing a much wider and much more sinister "Party Elite" scheme unfolding in state primaries. In case you're not up with the latest progressive reporting, what went on with the Democratic primary in Arizona and Nevada is an excellent case in point. It is evidence of a "multi-pronged," albeit regulation conformable, political attack on what is, at least cosmetically, a representative process. It seems that even the previously credible 538 is now in on the scheme. Have a look at Hillary's claim to have 3 million more primary votes than Sanders: Counting Up Sanders' Votes - Hillary Style.

Fighting For Air in The Democracy's Election
Yes, it's rigged, and, yes, you lose.
The new rule: No dreaming allowed.

As democracy loving Americans we've probably lost this one, but the dreams of the Democratic Primary voters were not crushed in time by the Clinton dog food salesmen. Don't be discouraged. When the American dreams are left to mature with the scars and bruises added, it marks a dangerous time for the political dinosaurs.

Of course this mischief isn't limited to the Clinton machine on the Democratic Party side of things. The wholly owned Republicans simply take care of this same dirty business in the cold light of day. Afterward, standing among the dung they've just created from the old democracy, the billionaire owners of the Republican Party aren't even embarrassed, but this time, they do seem a little concerned. 

However, the Democratic Party's meat handed involvement in skewing primary election results in favor of Bill's wife are becoming as equally "difficult to ignore" as the proverbial red headed step child. Of course this animosity is most visible between supporters for the respective candidates, but the electoral mischief referenced here has been occurring as a rather shockingly brazen conspiracy undertaken by the "old style" Clinton loyalists and orchestrated by "someone" situated extremely close to the Clinton campaign. 

[MeanMesa cannot avoid the almost automatic impulse to direct this suspicion to powerful DNC Chair, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. She was Clinton's campaign manager back in the Clinton/Obama contest. Debbie had already been placed squarely on the "usual suspects" list when the DNC forbade candidates from debating in unsanctioned debates and intentionally scheduled the official, sanctioned debates for the darkest, loneliest, late weekend hours offering hardly any television viewers -- all of which benefited the Clinton campaign unfairly.]

When we cool off enough to have a glimpse at the big picture of the 2016 election, we see two very likely, equally unappealing candidates with roughly equal "unfavorable ratings" in the 60's to 70's. Before you resign yourself to a stoic groan, try to remember. This is a democracy. That means that we theoretically elect leaders whom we want -- that is, leaders who are popular because we think they would be effective, successful Presidents.

Most Americans are disgusted with the conduct of the paralytic government we have now. Yet, we seem doggedly determined to continue with an almost exact replica of the current catastrophe.

Don't bet on a high voter turn out for this one. We CAN bet on this, though. The lower the general election turn out, the more likely that Donald Trump will be our next President. The lunatics are already planning to show up at the polls.

And, here's a secret.

All those nameless delegates who are preparing to deliver the respective nominations are thinly disguised tools of the same oligarchs who are already firmly in charge of running everything.