Bannon White House - Rebuilding the Soviet Empire

Staying "On Focus" 

The Russians, the President and the Republicans

Are Desperately Trying to Confuse Everybody

The Congress and the Media Aren't Helping.

Vladimir Putin and the oligarchs in the Russian Federation have been pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the "Trump Experiment" all through the 2016 election. While the entire collection of both methods and the goals tempting the Russians into this enterprise constitute a long list of mischief, there really is a "big picture" in play which supersedes all the distracting antics playing out "here and there" in the White House.

None of these matter much to the illiterate hill billies and bigots among Trump's voting base, but for the rest of us the stakes are high, indeed.

An estimate of the "secondary" goals for this Russian gambit is fairly straightforward. A few of the larger issues can be listed immediately.

1. Hillary Clinton and Future US Foreign Policy

In the beginning stages of this process Putin was afraid of the prospect of seeing a politically empowered Hillary Clinton in the White House. It is now clear that the Russian's initial plan was to pump resources into Trump's campaign in the hope of politically "wounding" a new Clinton President with the result of throttling some of her executive ability to reign in the Russian Federation's expansionist appetites.

Putin's first impulse was to simply weaken her by introducing a flood of character damaging propaganda during the campaign. Trump's victory apparently caught Putin by just as much surprise as it did Trump.

If there is a visible error in the Russian's geo-political strategy, it can be seen most clearly in the timing confusion which quickly followed this unanticipated turn of events. Putin was still focused primarily on inflicting damage to a newly elected Clinton, "confusing" what would have probably been a quick turn to exploiting Trump's win.

Nonetheless, Russian "cast iron" political strategy doesn't usually spend much time at all getting back on its feet after a miscalculation -- especially not when there is such a "rich pot" on the table.

2. Dreams of a New Soviet Empire

Since the rather ignominious fall of the old Soviet Empire, Russian expansionist plans have been constantly blocked by NATO and the United States. One particularly poignant "low point" in this -- for the Russians -- frustrating international military policy has occurred in Ukraine. Further, this recent set back occurred while the injuries of the previous set back were still raw. Yes, the fiasco in Afghanistan was during the entropic end of Soviet fever dreams of hegemony, but the damage the Russians inflicted upon themselves as a result of the over reach was severe and long lasting.

[The similar self-inflicted damage for the West from its own adventure in Afghanistan -- the longest war in modern history -- was also severe, yet somewhat less painful. The economies of the participating countries forced to absorb it were stronger than that of the Federation.]

In many ways the Russian military and political efforts to regain control of Ukraine are a direct result of this. [See item 3, below.] However, the Russian appetite for aggression is not limited to Ukraine. It is executing a slowly growing resurgence in several democratic nations along the old Warsaw Pact border. The Russian Federation's long term goal is to destroy the unity of European countries -- and the US -- currently supporting NATO. 

3. Internal Politics Within the Russian Federation

The current President of the Russian Federation deals with an internal politics not too dissimilar to Donald Trump's situation in the US. Within the widely diverse population of the modern Federation most Russians -- as is the case around the globe -- are primarily concerned with the events and challenges of day to day living. However, a staunch minority of Russian nationalists dependably support policies by the controlling autocrat, Vladimir Putin, directed at re-establishing the old Soviet Empire.

Russian oligarchs comprise an obedient gang of thugs obliged to carry out instructions from the Kremlin. The pay is great -- so long as you follow orders, you get to live as a billionaire. The penalty for not following orders is also extreme. When "top secret" correspondence between Trump and Putin had to be carried out, a Russian oligarch's hundred million dollar personal jet, in this case, one owned by Russian billionaire, Dmitry Rybolovlev, repeatedly appeared as various airports around the US at the same time Trump was there. [Russian Billionaire's Secret Meetings With Trump/MSNBC]

Although Putin himself is already, most likely, the richest man on Earth, the ambitious crowd of Russian billionaire oligarchs surrounding him also stand to gain even more wealth if the Federation can expand beyond its present boundaries. This bunch "cheers him on" when he formulates schemes such as intervention in Ukraine...or in the US.

"Paying the Piper"

What does Putin Want From Trump?

Should we expect to see troops from the Russian Federation

 as "Peace Keepers" when the rioting begins?

The confusion being generated daily by the Trump Administration has a purpose, but that purpose has nothing to do with feeble gestures to gratify the unwashed, uninformed masses who served to elect him. Donald Trump could not care less about the any of his incendiary actions which have left the country is such a vulnerable dismay.

Trump's central purpose [All Russian assets have a "central purpose."] is to quit making US foreign policy which would stop Putin and the Federation from expanding into the recently liberated countries which used to be Soviet satellites. Everything else coming from the White House is simply a distraction -- a suspiciously convenient confusion.

Take a moment to read the CNN article.

Putin's aggression in Europe
should worry the US

By Richard Shirreff
October 21, 2016
[Visit the original article Russian Aggression and NATO/CNN]

(CNN)Since the formation of NATO in 1949 the defense of Europe and the free world has depended on the absolute certainty that whatever president is occupying the White House, the United States will come to the aid of a NATO member if attacked. Any doubt about the American commitment, and the credibility of NATO's doctrine of collective defense, is holed below the waterline.

At a time when the West faces a greater threat from a resurgent Russia since the most dangerous crises of the Cold War, NATO, more than ever, needs to stand strong, united and credible.

Russia's invasion of Crimea and Ukraine in 2014 may have already lit the fuse that could lead to the unthinkable: nuclear war with Russia in Europe.

Consider the words and actions of President Vladimir Putin, who has described the breakup of the Soviet Union as the "greatest geo-strategic tragedy of the 20th century." In his speech on March 18, 2014, the day Crimea was admitted into the Russian Federation, Putin majored on the threat the West posed to Russia by its continued encirclement and warned about the possibility of pushback: "If you compress the spring to its limit, it will snap back hard: something you should remember," while claiming the right to protect the interests of Russian speakers everywhere, "even if it will worsen our relations with some states."

Overnight, Putin became NATO's strategic adversary, starting a dynamic that could lead to a clash with NATO over the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia (which have significant Russian-speaking minorities).

Two years on and the threat is even greater. Indeed, the ratchet of tension clicks tighter on an almost weekly basis: Even this week we wake up to news of Russia sailing warships near the British coast in "a show of force and a show of capabilities," according to Peter Felstead, editor of Jane's Defence Weekly.

Unprecedented levels of military activity on the borders and in the airspace of the Baltic states, Finland and Sweden have been matched by the rapid buildup of military forces in Russia's Western Military District on the borders of NATO.

For example, in January, Russia announced the formation and deployment of three motor rifle divisions, about 60,000 troops, along the Russian frontier with the Baltic states. And the Russians have kept themselves busy with regular so-called snap exercises to test the readiness of their military, at least one of which was based on a scenario of invasion and occupation of the Baltic states.

Putin's strategic aim is clear: to re-establish Russia's status as one of the world's great powers and to dominate the former republics of the Soviet Union -- imperialist intentions that might have been acceptable to great powers in the 19th century but which are an affront in 2016. If the opportunity presents itself, he may well activate long-held plans to march into the Baltic states.

To paraphrase British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's 1938 comment on Czechoslovakia, why are events in these faraway countries of which we may know little important to Americans?

First, because if Russia puts one soldier across the borders of the Baltic states it means war with NATO.

Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania have been members of  NATO since 2004 and are therefore protected under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, the founding document of NATO, which states that an attack on one is an attack on all. A Russian attack on the Baltic states puts America at war with Russia -- meaning nuclear war, because Russia integrates nuclear weapons into every aspect of its military doctrine.

And don't think Russia would limit itself to the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. Any form of nuclear release by the Russians would almost certainly precipitate nuclear retaliation by the United States, and the dreadful reality of mutually assured destruction and the end of life as we know it would follow.

Indeed, Russia is at war with America already. Russian hacking of Democratic Party email servers and, if confirmed, WikiLeaks publicizing of Clinton campaign emails to discredit the Democrats and propel Donald Trump -- arguably what Putin would classify as a "useful idiot" into the White House -- is classic maskirovka -- deception, aimed at undermining the intelligence and integrity of the enemy in a way that remains below the threshold of conventional warfare. In the words of Dmitri Trenin of the Carnegie Moscow Center, and a man with close connections to the Putin regime, the Kremlin has been at war since 2014.

But although the clock may be ticking close to midnight, it is not too late. Maintenance of the peace we have enjoyed in Western Europe for nearly 70 years depends on effective deterrence. The bar of risk must be raised too high for Russia to consider any opportunistic move into the Baltic states. This requires forward basing of a credible military capability in the Baltic states and eastern Poland (rather than the token presence agreed at the NATO Warsaw Summit in July).

NATO reserves able to move quickly and effectively to bolster defenses in the Baltics will send a powerful message. It also requires Canada and European members of NATO to recognize that military capabilities lost from cumulative disarmament over the past two decades must be regenerated. This means increasing defense spending, almost certainly above the 2% of gross domestic product agreed -- but often not acted upon -- by NATO members (less the United States, UK, Estonia and Greece).

2017 is 100th anniversary of the first occasion the United States intervened in one of Europe's wars. The region's security is a matter of American security, and it means continued and close engagement in Europe and a continuation of the strong leadership that America has given NATO from the start.

Hillary's Video - The View From the GOP's "Dirty Tricks" Bunker

The Billionaires Counter Attack [image POLITICUSUSA]

Putting "Flesh on the Bones"

It's time to quit simply imagining.

Any American old enough to handle his own shoe laces has already heard plenty about Citizens United and the billions of US dollars currently flowing into political coffers as a consequence. It's come to the point where "news" of, for example, the Koch Brothers' $889 Bn "war chest" no longer elicits anything even resembling a shocked outrage from citizens still trying to pay next month's rent and eat at the same time.

Slowly -- very slowly -- it is finally emerging as "common knowledge" that the billionaires are firmly in control of US elections and, as a result, of the US government. 

This "common knowledge" idea means that even in the least "savvy" political observer there is now at least a seminal perception -- still one not influenced by too many facts -- of the actual situation. In such a cloudy narrative cash money starts as a tiny, inconsequential part of one of these dynastic fortunes and mysteriously winds its path to an election night victory rally.

Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the remaining misperception arises from the comparison normal voters make when they compare themselves and their financial situations to the corresponding situations enjoyed by this handful of overly well fed US plutocrats. As these "more or less average income" Americans attempt to scale the magnitude of these fortunes, they too often end up comparing such wealth to that of acquaintances of theirs who are simply "doing better" than they are.

The difference is absolutely not one of simply "doing better." Such comparative "parameters" are so disparate as to have essentially nothing to do with each other, and this "disconnect" sabotages the possibility for any serious comprehension of the degree of illicit political influence made not only possible, but chillingly convenient from a position of such wealth.

For example it's estimated that the Kochs wealth is around $80 Bn -- $80,000,000,000 for the mathematically challenged visitor. A bit of the "latest news" reports that 14 of the wealthiest "hard working" Americans have increased their personal wealth by $127 Bn -- $127,000,000,000 in the last twenty four months. [Read more here - COMMONDREAMS]

These billionaires sit and calmly strategize the details of their immensely profitable and inevitably lucrative plans for "absorbing" everyone else's money [One can, if desired, add a little something about sipping mint juleps during the discussion.]. They make "decisions" about "moving" millions of dollars from their "money bins" into the hands of their "hired guns" who will, in turn, place these dollars in suitable spots at just the right moment to control the next Congressional vote -- or the next election. Traditionally, these "hired guns" have been lobbyists, but with the successful 2010 "colonization" of the Congress, the trend is more and more to utilize actual public servants for this work. [Here is a link to a video of now House Speaker, John Boehner, admitting that he handed out checks on the House floor prior to a tobacco bill's vote. CROOKSANDLIARS]

Here, we arrive at the "fleshing out" part of the post. Although MeanMesa has no "supernatural periscope" through which these dark deeds of anti-democracy might be observed, it is still necessary to do what can be done to somehow peer through the black, frigid depths into the back rooms in a way which can make the players and the process more, well, real.

We need not speculate that this is really happening. It is. Our problem is that the billionaires' carefully devised payola scheme is as opaque as the obsidian dagger the Aztecs used to carve the hearts from the chests of their screaming sacrifices.

Parting the Veil

With a Little MeanMesa Fiction

The mere fact that we can't see the real thing

doesn't mean that we can't still have some fun with it.

When Mrs. Clinton "fired the first shot" with the announcement of her candidacy for President, the dark, grudging right wing think tankers were clearly caught off guard. A good number of their candidates had already strutted out in front of "audiences" to spout their announcements, but she had, instead, gone public with a -- to them -- terrifyingly low key, comfortably folksy, social media style video.

If an actual "shot" had actually been fired, it would have been over the bow of the tediously lumbering adherence to "everything 1950" as the officially adopted political template of the right wing and the billionaires. While the clown car's ideological denizens were blathering out their predictable litany of meaningless, detail free, road weary talking points to slumbering crowds of dull yet obediently dutiful tea partiers, the Clinton campaign was effortlessly conducting the modern equivalent of a "fire side chat" with millions of eager supporters already "chomping at the bit" to be knocking on doors and canvassing their neighbors in her behalf.

Sigourney Weaver - ALIENS [image]

It would be a mistake to presume that this 2 minute video announcement landed in the reactionary back rooms of the think tank bunkers gracefully. The entire theme of Clinton's message was undoubtedly so alien to this crowd that even an appearance by Sigourney Weaver herself would have hardly been noticed had she -- along with one of the alien creatures -- added a cameo walk through to Hillary's script.

Having set the scene, let's indulge ourselves in a short novella depicting what we might have seen that day unfolding in the GOP "dirty tricks" bunker had we been there. [The Clinton video is not a shabby piece of work. If you would like to refresh your recollection of it, here is a link NYTIMES-2m15s]

Ryan's New Job

[MeanMesa strongly suggests that visitors read the quoted material highlighted in the story aloud. Any effort made now to familiarize ourselves with the understandably awkward idiosyncrasies of "Confederate speech" will be rewarded in the future as we attempt to comprehend the Republican "debates."]

Ryan had accrued a notable scholastic record by the time he graduated with his degree in political science last year. Not being the least bit naive about the paucity of career opportunities he would find as he searched for a position somewhere, Ryan had maintained his youthful optimism even longer than he had hoped. Yet, employment choices for this new graduate had turned out to be even more depressing than he had anticipated.

His dreams of boldly participating in some promising candidate's exciting election campaign had gradually evaporated, leaving him selling shoes in a local mall shop. Enough time had passed for the inevitable "first notices" to arrive for his college debt repayments. Things were beginning to look rather bleak. He dutifully spent at least an hour or two every night after work scouring the internet looking for job openings in his field, but there were few notices of anyone hiring.

His job applications and resumes seemed to be simply disappearing into an empty, foreboding void.

Then, suddenly, the dark, gloomy "job skies" opened. Although he had never heard of the Christian Legion of American Whites, the prospect of finally using his degree and education to begin getting experience for his resume was electrifying. His hands were shaking as he carefully wrote down the phone number and address.

He was to call for an interview appointment and appear in person instead of blindly dispatching another email. Nervously, he dialed his cell phone. Although it was already several hours after five, a polite voice answered, identified herself as an answering service.

Gathering up his "interview" clothes, the young man spent the remaining hours of the evening in the local laundromat. As he carefully positioned his still damp "no iron" dress shirt on a hanger, his excitement was reaching an almost unmanageable crescendo. The interview was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon! No matter what the Christian Legion of American Whites turned out to be, he was positive that working there would be much better than selling shoes.

As the appointment time approached Ryan strode in as confidently as possible for his interview. The office was located in the front part of a warehouse in a rather shabby industrial park a few blocks from his apartment. There was a string of identical doors along the front of the massive grey, windowless, concrete structure, and the entrance to "Unit L" was notable only for the small "L" on the glass door and a small, innocuous sign board bearing the word "CLAW" hanging above it.

Staring again at the small sign above the door, it took Ryan a moment to realize that "CLAW" was an acronym for Christian Legion of American Whites.

The inside of the place was a tenuous extension of the outside. The room seemed strangely crowded with all manner of unkempt rubbish and half empty card board boxes. Sitting at a folding table a few steps inside was a strikingly beautiful young woman completely occupied with chewing gum and filing her nails. A carefully machined name plate on the otherwise essentially empty table identified her as "Savannah Magnolia."

Other than the young woman, there appeared to be no one else anywhere in the office.

Ryan noticed an unusually large Confederate flag pinned crookedly in that hallway just beyond Savannah's table. Another sign bearing the word "CLAW" was positioned on the wall just to her right. After a awkwardly strained delay Savannah finally noticed Ryan's presence as she looked up from her nails.

"Yew must be th' little Yankee we hirin' for thu campaign." Savannah drawled out slowly, her gaze returning to her unfinished nail filing.

"Yes, ma'am," Ryan answered politely, "I have an appointment at 2 o'clock for an interview."

"Wahl, Reveren' Jimmi 'n Mistah Jingo ain't come back from lunch yet, so yew gonna haf to jest sit yore little sef down over theah n' wait fer 'em." Having said this, Savannah once again began to even more violently chew her gum and work on her nails.

"Is my interview going to be with one of them?" Ryan asked. "Do you know if they are planning to hire sometime soon?"

Looking up again, Savannah slowly answered. "Ah figger so. Thu Reveren' and Mistah Jingo's thu ones in charge o' evvythin' 'round heah, so they's probly thu ones alraeht." Returning to her nails, she continued. "Ah know's thet they's plannin' a strateegery meetin' this aftahnoon to figger out 'bout whut tu doo with thet bitch's 'nnouncement video. Thu Reveren' told me ta' git thu confrunce room cleaned up so's theah culd hev' thu meetin'."

Suddenly, the front door of the place opened to reveal two obviously drunk men fumbling their way into the room. Savannah smiled broadly at the them. Ryan noticed that she had quickly adopted a strange combination of matronly disapproval along with the subtle physical demeanor of a bar room tease. The woman's image was further amplified by her violently crimson lipstick. While preparing herself for work, she had clumsily placed an obviously false birth mark just below her left nostril which was now beginning to dangle precipitously.

There was something incongruous about Savannah's unknowing inclination to imitate Marie Antoinette's cosmetics.

Without acknowledging Ryan at all, the two barged down the hall beyond Savannah's table -- apparently to the office's conference room. The Reverend, speaking to his side as he passed her, commanded the receptionist, "Yew git thu staff down t' thu meetin' room. We got work to do." Even though he had passed her table by this time, he spoke again, this time facing ahead in the hall way. "Hold them calls, too, Missy."

Again alone with only Ryan remaining in the room, Savannah giggled, then spoke, "We ain't gittin' enny calls. Ah ain't even got no phone -- th'only one's back theah in the meetin' room. Now, yew'd bettah git in theah."

Puzzled, Ryan asked the receptionist, "Are there other job applicants here for the interview?"

Returning to her nail filing, Savannah answered through the obvious impediment of her continuing gum chewing, "Naw. Yew ain't no applunt. Yew're thu staff. The big boys from K Street wuz heah yesterday, 'n thay tole the Reveren' t' hire a hepper. Yew're it. Yew goin' t' be thu hepper now, boy."

Mister Jingo was waiting impatiently by the open door to admit the young staffer to the conference room. Ryan proceeded down the hall way, casting a curious glance at the sagging Confederate flag as he passed. The Reverend was already seated at the conference table. Spread across the table was an open bottle of raw bourbon, an old desk top telephone, a single dull pencil and a ragged spiral note book.

At the far end was a flat screen television clearly showing the first frame of the Hillary Clinton video announcing her candidacy. Neither of the two men seemed to have any interest in interviewing Ryan or discussing any details about the job. Neither of them even bothered to introduce themselves.

The Reverend began. "This raht heah's thu damned video thet ole' witch sprang on thu country day afor' yestidday." Glaring at Ryan, he continued, "All o' us knows thet ain't no one 'cept a handful o' brain ded Yankees 'n othah librawls whats goin' to listen t' it, but them K Street boys all got theer panties all tied up in a wad on account o' it, so's they's eskin' us to start in tearin' thu thang apart so's we kin git thu countah message off to FOX raht away."

Mister Jingo spoke next, directing his comment at Ryan. "Yew bein' a lil' Yankee 'n all, the Reveren' 'n me figgered yew were goin' to be 'xactly the one who kin figger out whut 'n hell thet bunch's tryin' t' do with sumpin' lahk this. Old Hillarious Hillary done got all them Jews on her campaign team's PR squad t' spit this heah thang out all o' a sudden t' ketch us off guard. It's purty cleah now thet they ain't got no plan fer enny kinna' decent politickin' anywhares down in them dark little Jew hearts o' thearyas."

Jingo thumbed the video remote "play" button. The Southern accents were beginning to tax Ryan's capacity to translate what was being said into a comprehensible form of English. Yet, the young man recalled the wise words of his favorite political tactics professor. It had been a warning that after graduation, he might very well find himself employed by those with a political viewpoint other than his own. "Just stay cool. Get the paycheck, and count your blessings. Be glad that you're working."

Savannah abruptly appeared to serve Ryan an extremely unappetizing styrofoam cup of luke warm instant coffee. Neither of the two men seemed to notice the rather surprising number of flies in the room.

The Reveren' annotated the video. "Now, yew'd 'spect lots of coloreds in sumthin' lahk this, but them wimmen's a problem, tew. They's all smilin' 'n kissin' each othah. We gonna' need to git thu word out thet thet rag\ht theah's goin' 'gainst thu Baubul. Thu trew patrots out theah need t' git warned 'bout thu creepin sin oozing outta' thet damned thang. Hillary's tryin' t' drag 'em all down t' her level!"

Mister Jingo broke in at this point. "Whaet wimmin folk's simpul critters -- at least thu God fearin' ones -- 'n theay's gonna' git confused if'n theay see sumthin' lahk this heah." Turning to Ryan, he added, "Thu Negroes and thu Aayrabs 'nough t' scare the livin' daylahts outta' the men folk, but we need t' git thu message fer thu ladies raht back to sin, sex, rape 'n 'bortion if'n we plan t' keep 'em in thu fold. All thet lady-stuff gits them men folk angry as hell, too."

The Reverend, now becoming even more piously agitated, jumped in again. "But them queers 'n lesbeterians got throw'd in theah jest to wrankul thu folks we workin' fer! God fearin' whaht votahs ain't goin' t' take kindlay to struttin' thet kinda' sinnin' raght out in front o' theyah noses! Thet kinda' trash jest don't cut no mustahd on K Street!" Glaring at Ryan, he continued. "Yew got thet, boy? We's needin' a message heah -- sumthin' thet kin reach all thu way to them trailer parks 'n thu 'Merican Legion halls wheah thu voters are!"

Jingo piped in immediately after a long pull on the bourbon. "THET"S whut we gittin' paid t' delivah, boy! The message!"

The Reverend followed up Jingo's emphatic order. "Yew jest git yore lil' Yankee ass busy cookin' up sum kinda' message thet's gonna' stop thet bitch in her tracks. When yew got thet done, yew just shag raht over t' this heah phone 'n call 't in t' FOX." 

Reaching into his jacket pocket, the Reverend withdraw an inch thick bundle of newly printed hundred dollar bills still bearing the bank wrapper. Licking his finger carefully, he then peeled fifteen of the bills out onto the table. pushing the money in Ryan's direction. "This raht heah's yore walkin' around money, Yankee. Theah's plenty more wheah this come from, so git on with it."

Ryan thought, "This can work." After a moment's pause, Ryan reworded his thought. "Wahl now, this raht heah kin werk." He smiled, picking up the dull pencil and the spiral notebook.

LAST CHANCE!! JOIN NOW!! MeanMesa's Fabulous New 501C4: MAPPEMAJIC

How do these people -- even possibly --

 ever wind up in the Congress?

Here's a little fantasy from the MeanMesa "horror collection."

 It will explain everything.

This tale begins as a "family matter."

My wife demanded that I accompany my brother-in-law to some kind of political rally in near-by  Buffalo Junction.  She insisted that I go in order to keep her brother, Harold, a 50's something Tea Party zealot, from simply getting drunk, arrested and lost for a week -- his usual pattern on out of town visits.

Grudgingly I packed some underwear and my sports coat along with a spare pair of more or less presentable black loafers.  At least our expenses for the trip were being paid for by Harold's new campaign sponsor.  Harold dutifully appeared at our house at 7:30 AM sharp, fairly sober but dressed in an awful pair of checked trousers and a slightly soiled Polo shirt -- a shirt which did painfully little to disguise the man's giant belly.

Off we went.

Amazingly, Harold had arrived in a new band new Buick to make the 200 mile trip.  "Did someone loan you a car, Harold?"

"Nope.  This lil' beauty's all mine.  My campaign bought it for me as a gift." he answered, driving away unsteadily.  "Ain't no secret thet I'll have to drive all over to talk to mah voters."

Now, Harold had run in every election for County Commissioner since the 1980's, losing every time, and, in fact, losing every time by a larger and larger margin.  My wife had told me that Harold was considering a run as a Tea Party Republican in our district's primary for the US House of Representatives, but I had given the news very little thought after that.

The precise reason that Harold kept losing elections was because he had no support, no policy ideas and a really bad reputation as a hollow blow-hard. His understanding of governing was limited to a few, usually mangled, talking points he had picked up from right wing radio. Our neighbors, in fact, had always considered him something of a nuisance.  I had never met a single voter who would admit to ever voting for him a single time, much less one who might have thought he had something to offer the local government.

The next election was still more than a year away, and my hope was that after this conference or whatever it was Harold might just change his mind and be reconciled with just watching FOX on television, drinking beer and, being perpetually unemployed, living on his wife's money.  And, after my "little errand" of baby sitting him for this meeting, I would return home to a grateful wife.

However, the conversation in the car rapidly grew very disturbing.

"You must have found some campaign donors, I guess."  I offered as casual conversation.

"Don't yew wurry nun about thet.  I found me a campaign donor, got mah' campaign all financed real good, 'n I plan to walk away with that House seat.

Mah' donor's payin' fer this here conference so's I'll be able to win thet 'lection when th' tahm cums."  Harold grumbled, easing the car into the fast lane.

Harold's false Southern accent had always puzzled me. To my knowledge he had never even left the state, much less ever travelled to the South.  He had begun speaking this way when George W. Bush had been appointed to the Presidency by the Supreme Court.

"Ah alreddy know thet 'afore I start talkin' public, Ah'm gonna' hef to read this heah little book mah donor give me so's Ah'll know fer sure whut I think 'bout stuff. If Ah kin do thet okay, mah donor's got a plan fer everything else -- he keeps sayin' thet redistrictin's comin' up on account o' thu census 'n all jest afore my 'lection."  Harold rambled.

"Gosh.  That sounds pretty good.  Who is this donor?"  I asked.

"Oh shore.  Naturlly yew wann'a know thet!  Wahl, thet raht theah's one of thu rules.  Ah don't evah tell no one who mah donor is.  Just figger thet he's a good whaht Chrishtun patriot.  Thet's all yeew need t' know."  Harold snapped.

The rest of the ride was peacefully silent.  Harold, usually a tragically insecure ne'er do well, seemed to be suddenly sporting an unanticipated optimism.

Mile 41 Motel

After half a dozen confused circles around the center of Buffalo Junction, Harold finally located the cross street, recklessly accelerating his new Buick down the back street toward the motel meeting room hosting the conference.  In minutes we were making our way through a half empty parking lot to the meeting room, a fairly dilapidated place pretentiously announced on a the surviving ruins of a small, haggard, sun bleached sign as the "Highway 41 Motel -- Conference Forum."

I was grateful that Harold's campaign donor was at least providing us separate rooms at the dump.

After checking in, an embarrassingly excited Harold herded me toward the meeting along a long, seedy hall way.  An over dressed man sat at a reception desk near the door of the meeting room.  Directly behind him, I saw an over sized sign advertising the group hosting the meeting.

Harold drew a business card from his jacket pocket, comparing it to the sign behind the reception desk.  "This is it!!  This raht heah's MAPPEMAJIC!!  We'r at the raht place!"  he exploded. "These folks gonna' fix it so's I kin win thu 'lection!!"

He immediately began scrawling his name, address and a few other items on the official registration form.  When he had finished, he stared blankly at the broadly smiling man at the reception desk, pointed his thumb at me and said "This heah's mah aid.  Ah ain't registerin' him."

The greeter responded with a knowing smile, "Of course.  You two can go right on in."

Harold was ecstatic.

Once we were in the meeting room it became clear that Harold was to join a line of strangely similar "new candidates" for "additional registration procedures."  No one seemed to mind if I tagged along next to him, however, the raucous mood which prevailed around the rest of the gathering had changed into a far more somber, executive business meeting atmosphere.

Harold was suddenly surrounded by a group of men in expensive suits, apparently lawyers.  One of them was explaining the arrangements which had been made to provide "MAPPEMAJIC election services" to get Harold through the candidate nomination process.

"We're going to pay plenty to get your state legislators to gerrymander a Congressional District where you can win your primary, so, our...uh... investors want to be sure that you'll 'remember' them once you're elected."  one of the lawyers rambled.  "Just sign here, and head on to the next station."

Harold scrawled his name on the paper with absolutely no hesitation.  It was unusual for him to act so confidently.  The over sized advertising signs were everywhere, but I couldn't tell if Harold even noticed -- much less read any of them.

Harold, for the first time, looked puzzled.  "I shore plan to 'member mah donor all raht, but how a'mah gonna know whut thet donor wants me t' do?  Ah don't even know whut his name is yet."

Suddenly everything was becoming clear.  Harold didn't have any idea who was "footing the bill" to hire MAPPEMAJIC or paying for his campaign.

The lawyer responded fluidly.  "Don't worry.  We've already prepared a list of staff members you'll be needing once you get to Washington.  They'll be able to tell what your...uh...donor thinks about bills and issues."

The next "station" was a very business-like group of "image consultants."  While one bunch measured Harold for his new wardrobe of suits, shirts and ties, another group was "inventorying" the physical improvements that would be necessary for his new role in the national spot light.

Handing him the already prepared round trip tickets for his flight to the secret candidate "fix it farm" in California, one quietly explained what all would be done.  "You'll be getting a mouth full of brand new teeth from a full set of dental implants, and you're going to have nice head of hair once the doctors have finished with the replacement surgery.  We're setting a preliminary weight loss target at 40 pounds, but don't worry, these guys know how to do that so you'll never feel a thing."

As we moved to the next table, Harold, smiling broadly now, turned to me and said, "Ah'm gonna look so 'Congreshinyul' thet neetha' yew nor thet damned bitchin' wahf o' mine's even gonna' recogonahz me!"

Another group of "suits" had just finished with the man in line before us.  He was clearly some kind of rancher or farmer. Dressed in boots and a worn out cowboy hat, he kept spitting chewing tobacco every few seconds.  As Harold and I approached their table, the man seated there fumbled to find Harold's file in a box of folders.

Opening the papers in the manner of an accountant, he reviewed Harold's accounts.  He withdrew a cashier's check from amid the papers and laid it carefully on the table top.  "I see that your donor has prepaid your MAPPEMAJIC membership dues.  You just need to endorse this check, and we can add you to our official client list."

Harold clumsily took the ball point the man offered, and endorsed the back of the check.  As he turned it over, I peered over his shoulder just long enough to see the check's face.  It was a cashier's check made out to "MAPPEMAJIC election services" in Harold's name for $1,000,000.  On the "subject" line were only the cryptic words: "for services rendered."
 


"Of course there will be an additional payment due once you win the election," the accountant explained, "but your 'campaign donor' has already signed a promissary note for that expense.   After that there will just be the annual dues of $275,000, but you should be able to pay those easily from your political 'war chest.'  It only sounds like a lot of money because you haven't had time to get used to it yet."

After reviewing Harold's file, the accountant was satisfied that everything was complete.  He pointed to the audience area of folding chairs, "Go ahead and find a couple of good seats for the short presentation of MAPPEMAJIC client services.  Welcome aboard!"

 
The convention's speaker introduced himself and quickly referred the attention of the motley crowd of future Congressmen to the giant wall board directly behind him.

Harold whispered to me, "Am Ah 'spossed to unnerstan' thet?"

Before I could answer, the speaker had gone on to explain that these election districts had already been gerrymandered by MAPPEMAJIC so client candidates who otherwise had no chance of ever being elected would win elections and become Congressmen.  Harold immediately understood.

"Now that you are all MAPPEMAJIC members, we intend to do exactly the same thing for you!  Just think of yourselves on the night following election day.  You have already packed your socks and clean underwear for your victorious trip to Washington, D.C. where you will be Congressmen!"  he continued.  "MAPPEMAJIC is a complicated thing to call this, but that just keeps everyone who isn't here guessing!"

"We just think of ourselves as a sort of 'election district map design' organization.  There are plenty of voters out there ready to elect you guys. Once our newly designed district boundaries are in place, none of you will have the problem of all the voters in your new district who won't vote for you. Your Congressional success is just around the corner!"

The excitement among the strange group in the audience was palpable.  Harold, himself, was clearly lost in a haze of an imaginary fantasy where his teeth were straight, and he was wearing the fine new suits which were practically already waiting for him in Washington.


"When you're walking through the halls of the Capitol, everyone's going to think you're important!" the salesman delivering the talk droned on for almost an hour.  "There will be fancy dinners in fancy restaurants, nice cars driving you around and a great office right down the street from the White House!  And, of course, women."

The over weight hill billies in the audience gasped, salivating.  Noting this, the speaker jumped right back to the point.

"Those Washington, D.C. women are attracted to a powerful man, and when I say 'powerful man,' I'm talking about you!"  he added, sealing the deal.  "So get out there and get ready for your election campaigns!  Remember who your friends are!  And, remember to mention MAPPEMAJIC to folks with the same ideas that you have!" 

The road trip back from Buffalo Junction was a nightmarish torture. I finally tuned the Buick's radio into a AM FOX station and watched Harold's eyes glaze.


Additional MeanMesa reading on this topic:

A Mathematician Redistricts Congress

The New Egypt - What's To Be Done With the Billionaires?

Some Advice for Egypt From A Poor American

This is the first of a series of posts on economic issues following the revolution.

See also (link here): The Next 12 Months -- Egypt's Path Forward: Elections

Virtual libraries of classic economic theory are already available in both Cairo and Albuquerque.  Some have demonstrated a promising "track record," and others, given time, have exposed themselves as really, really bad ideas.  Naturally, both American pundits, anxious to make some compelling point, and  the citizens of a new, revolutionary Egypt, facing the daunting task of defining the new democracy's new economic principles,  are attracted to the overly convenient possibility of simply "adopting the names" and "shoe horning" some ready made economic ideology into the unique conditions of the place and the moment.

Although MeanMesa has no particular appetite for competing with the likes of Keynes and Marx in promoting some poor fitting economic theory from a decade or a century ago, there may be some benefit to be gained from a very "pedestrian" comparison of Egypt's new possibilities with a few of the American mis-steps currently vexing our own nation.  Like warts on a baby, these political-economic constructs have insinuated themselves into our US domestic ideas with a troubling durability, a difficult permanence now being revealed as we are faced with the task of "undoing" them.

As far as any validating credentials might go, MeanMesa openly admits to the following two:

1. An income from US national Social Security which is significantly below what is defined as the "poverty level" here in the United States, and,

2. An abiding interest in observing the economic realities of the US as they are, that is, often in contradiction with what they are commonly accepted to be when  compared to the unexamined, traditional social myths in the minds of Americans.

So, rather than propping up any pretension to be lecturing to a hall filled with economics graduate students, let's look at a few "tips" which might prove to be more akin to a friendly chat with one's grandfather.

A final, introductory note:  The little graphic effort in Arabic, 

scattered through this post, is meant to mean "extreme caution."  Admittedly, MeanMesa's fluency in Arabic has suffered a slow death from decades of non-use, so please forgive any unintentional translation problems.  It's the thought that counts.

Some "Not So Academic" Thoughts From Grand Pa

Let's look at a few "thought points" which seem to come to mind.  Remember, these are things to consider, not "instructions" about what to do.  The "what to do" question is an Egyptian one which has no legitimate place on a zany little foreign blog.

Class War May Smell Delicious, but...

It doesn't require an endless sea of compassion to understand why Egyptians might have an appetite for outright class warfare against the oligarchs who have enjoyed "every business privilege" possible during the recent autocracy.  Just like the US, Egypt has a "bumper crop" of well fed billionaires.  This bunch causes just as much mischief here as they do in Cairo.

At first glance, it seems to be the incredible wealth these oligarchs have amassed which has caused the problem.  Of course, the wealth is part of the question, but the even worse effect of having such gangs running loose for so long has to do with opportunity.  They have not only schemed to control immense illicit  wealth, they have also schemed to protect those "wealth producing" mechanisms by scheming to protect their illicit opportunity to make even more.

"Illicit opportunity?"  Yes.  Legitimate wealth comes, in a general over view, from innovation, invention and efficiency.  Illegitimate wealth may include bits and pieces of these qualities, but in a larger scheme, it actually profits because it "games the system."  In the US this means that when "research and invention" money is diverted to "campaign contributions," the "return on the investment" becomes extremely attractive.  Egyptians already know this story -- in spades.

After a while, no market remains able to "correct" itself while buried in layers of such corruption.  The benefactors become so established that competition becomes impossible.  Billionaires, corporations and oligarchs like it that way.

Although Egypt has been in this feudal economic state for so long that it may seem normal to many, it is a mistake to think this way.   Dreaming is not optional. Egyptians are just as industrious and ambitious as any one else.  When this mind set is placed to one side, when the feudal hierarchy is replaced with a "level playing field," prosperity becomes an everyday, normal expectation -- for everyone willing to try.

Come on.

Isn't that a bit "flowery" as predictions go?  Nope.  Both Egyptians and the rest of the world will be shocked at how fast and how deeply prosperity can spread if things are done well.  The MeanMesa phrase which comes to mind is prosperity like "spring dandelions in a cabbage patch!"

 Guillotines, Regulation and Tax Policy

Guillotines

So, how can Egypt get from the "Mubarak" economy to something that actually works for the "rest" of Egypt?

 Although the French Revolution's guillotines may seem attractive, when cooler heads prevail much better alternatives emerge.  Mobs looting mansions and street corner lynchings might seem like a good idea, but there are better choices with better future outcomes -- and, not outcomes just for the billionaires, either. Outcomes for Egypt.

Because of the revolution, those "better choices" have now become real possibilities and should be strongly considered.  However, this is mentioned here because the "other side" is extremely well practiced in subverting such attempts.  The "founders" of a New Egypt have to be very careful to keep these ideas front and center as they gradually form the new economic structure for the country.

It's not only the money which must be removed from the pockets of these billionaires, it is their illicit stranglehold on opportunity.

However, as we concentrate on the money, we can divide the question into two parts:

The immediately obvious cases of criminal enterprises -- blatant corruption, bribery, extortion and the like -- acts which can be investigated and prosecuted under existing law.  Retroactive or post dated laws are probably going to create more dissent than convictions would be worth in money or in justice.

The future plans to continue the same style of criminal acts as soon as illicit influence can once again be restored in the new government.  These crimes were only profitable before when they could be conducted "under the cover" of the government.  The folks who benefited from them are already planning a "come back" as soon as they can be made "safe" again.

On this second matter, the "poker game" of representational democracy begins.  Will the people elected to the new government succumb to the inevitable assault by these "old captains of industry" when the "quiet money" begins to flow again?  This is the "terror of the moment" when it comes to getting and maintaining a democracy right where this same crowd used to call the shots.

Regulation

In the US, citizens gradually lost sight of this responsibility for constant vigilance.  While the US electorate wasn't paying enough attention to matters in Washington, D.C., American billionaires gradually insinuated themselves deeply into the Congress and, in one recent case, the Presidency itself.  Assumptions about the trustworthiness of US federal regulatory agencies turned out to be incorrect.  Assumptions about the idealism and democratic commitments of public officials turned out to be equally unfounded.

The New Egypt faces this same threat, only with even more grave consequences.  In the US, voters still had the idea that these wrongs could be corrected.  However, in post revolution Egypt, this development can shake the faith of everyday Egyptians that a trustworthy government is even a possibility.

Much of this can be resolved as the new government begins to pass laws which both regulate the business interests and make the activities -- and bank accounts -- of elected representatives absolutely transparent.  Grand pa's advice is to "beat this horse to death," that is, err on the side of over regulation and transparency rather than on the side of less.

"Sunshine is the best soap to remove stains."  Last time MeanMesa looked, Egypt now has plenty of sunshine -- more than ever.  Very few valuable things must be done in the dark.  Also, very few of the legitimate things that a government must do are so complicated or sensitive that the people can't be told about them.  All about them.

It's always easier to relax regulations on businesses and legislators than it is to increase them.  The reason it's easier is because these regulations usually only  increase after everyone realizes that they weren't strict enough the way they used to be.  

This idea also applies to what we call "lobbyists" in the US.  At the time of this posting, lobbyists and special interest groups are practically in charge of the day to day decisions of the both US and state governments.  It is a serious mistake to assume that these same types of "influence salesmen" won't be clustered around Egypt's new government the very same day the doors are first opened for business.

Be ready for them.  No candidate should be able to win an election without a convincing promise to fight against this.

Tax Policy

Carefully enforced tax policies represent the best on-going guarantee that the billionaires won't simply take over again.  Here we can present a bit of US history.

Right now, the US is under a mountain of national debt.  Once a few thousand "reasons" and "culprits" are stripped out of the mess, the conclusion is simple:  the country was simply not collecting enough taxes.  The tax rates for corporations and billionaires went down, and down, and down -- to their lowest rates in half a century now -- thanks to the influence these folks had in the Congress.

We Americans are now supposed to be astonished that the country doesn't take in enough money to pay its own way without borrowing.  A central feature of this is straight out corruption, but that idea may need to be broken down into a few other, smaller parts.  MeanMesa intends to address those in another post.

The point here which pertains to the new Egyptian government is Grand Pa's advice to keep taxes simple and uniform.  A progressive scale where the tax rate increases as income does is probably something to consider, but perhaps the most important idea is that everybody pays their share.

The top 300 US corporations in the US paid no income taxes this year.  Zero.

Although this didn't happen overnight, it still happened.  The new Egyptian government enjoys a rare opportunity to prevent a similar thing.

As mentioned before, tax policy includes lots of details, but MeanMesa will look at the biggest issues when we revisit this topic.  Nonetheless, now is the time to start carefully considering how these laws will be written once the Constitutional process takes control of the country.

So, do some "big picture" thinking while the country prepares to start governing itself.  Until then, best wishes from MeanMesa!

Don't Be Too Generous With French Austerity

Of course the college students were in the streets.  What else might one reasonably expect in Paris?  MeanMesa just supposes that the latest "economy mending" scheme from Mr. Sarkozy wasn't such a big hit with the working class folks.

The semi-comatose News Hour viewer arrives at the carefully crafted, pre-conclusion attitude very easily.  The French economy is in shambles -- thanks largely to the same forces which have plunged our domestic US economy into shambles.  

Oh my.  Something must be done to re-establish economic order!

How about scratching out a couple of extra years before we have to pay the pensions to all those French lefties when they retire?  Not a bad plan.  Naturally, there seem to be a few loose ends in the decision, but after a few days of mayhem on the streets, everyone will settle down and live with it. 

After all, something had to be done.

However, as MeanMesa tries to size this up and make sense out of it, a few other "flies in the ointment" keep buzzing about in an otherwise calming suave.  For one thing, there aren't enough jobs in the French economy to go around now, that is, with the current population of French workers.   Why add even more?  For another, a 62 year old Frenchman is going to have roughly the same difficulty earning a living wage there as he would here.

France has seen the same "out shipment" of jobs we've seen here -- and, unhappily, for the same reason.  Savage greed doesn't end at our shores nor do our oceans protect us from it -- especially not when the savage greed has sprouted in our own garden.  When the oligarchs seize control of any government, every regulation and incentive which might even remotely serve the national good is immediately branded socialistic and discarded.

Except in France, of course, the brand socialist doesn't carry quite the same stink as it does around here.  However, even this concept represents a task a bit too complicated for Fox "News" to teach the hill billies.  Better to just coast on the ideological terror campaigns of the Cold War.  If there's not enough paranoia left over, even after all these decades, to keep the old "Godless Communist" fires stoked, at least  there's enough to keep them smoldering.

So, what about all this European austerity?   Is it really the out right result of a too liberal social program for the working poor or is there a little more to its actual causes -- and benefactors?  Yes, the economies of Portugal, Ireland, Greece and a few others are in the dumpster, but does the largesse of these respective governments in providing unfunded social safety nets really represent the foundation of the whole problem?

Over here, it is apparently against the law to even so much as hint otherwise here in the "land of the free."  

However, in that MeanMesa is not actually one of the major players in managed media, an un-noticeably small infraction of the law might not bring the rapid exit of our corporate sponsors, especially given that we have none.  So, there seem to be a few untended, irritating observations still bubbling over the "lid of the pot."  Let's take a quick look at a few.

The Quantity and Price of Labor

We already know that the gleefully crafted Republican Recession has, as one of its fundamental root causes, an appetite on the part of the extremely short sighted oligarchs for lower labor costs.  Of course, for them there is the obvious answer of simply going off to the nearest third world dictatorship to shop for slave labor.  However, if American workers have no jobs and no money, these rich boys are left with a market where their customers are broke.

The only money maker left at that point is to increase the amounts these workers can borrow, leaving the desolated ruling class no option but to simple struggle ahaead, left with only a few bloody scraps of credit card and pay-day loan interest.

In the "austerity countries," there are the same sickening collection of "post free marketers" as here.  Blinded by their suicidal short term profit epileptic fits, lower labor costs are the "cat's meow."  Their wet dream is that the old musical chairs scheme will leave some other oligarch over extended in the no money, no customers, no business lurch after they have extracted the last few cents and left town.

So, for them, "austerity" means austerity for the working class.  The higher unemployment rises, the more desperate the workers.  Shuffling a few million 62 year old geezers in the fast food shops increases the available labor quantity.  Jobs become even harder to find, and wages being offered -- for every job -- continue to plunge.  Labor becomes more and more economical until, gosh, it's just as low as Bangladesh.

A Correction for Poverty Distribution but not Wealth Distribution

Not a one of these "austerity" countries went over the brink repairing roads, providing health care, subsidizing education or the like.  Yes, every one of them did those things, but not with "pretend money" which was claimed by the oligarch class out of the goodness of their socialistic hearts.  The working classes in these countries made regular payments for those programs every time they took home a pay check.  It was their money -- money contributed from the wages of the workers -- which had been voted on, levied and collected to provide those services.

Wealth only needed to be "re-distributed upward" when the oligarchs had  finally -- and mortally -- failed to recklessly continue looting the treasuries to make good their outrageous gambles of risk and greed.  Only when these plutocrats saw their paper castles collapsing like piles of autumn leaves did they, once again, trot out the "socialism" song bemoaning the greed of the lower classes.

The grotesque "austerity" programs were no more than the next step on the ladder.  The elite had already made all necessary provisions for their exclusive place on the life boats.  To make the trip across the Atlantic, only the nouns needed to be changed in the story.  Over here we use the term "entitlements" to characterize the old age pensions we wage earners have so loyally paid over the years.

Why, those Social Security checks, according to John Boehner's cronies, are nothing but extortion "gifts" we have extracted from the pockets of those who rightfully owned all that money all along.  Now, our domestic version of "austerity" means giving up our fraudulent "entitlements" without damaging the dollars made legitimately by the "masters of the universe" and their hacks in the Congress.

But wait.  Didn't the people getting Social Security pay for it?

This unsettling line of reasoning runs even deeper into the quick.  When we review the immense deficits of the W's autocracy, can we actually see that all those red-lined costs benefitted the public?  Was our country's infrastructure the proud recipient of all those billions?  Did education improve?  Did much of anything improve?  That is, "much of anything" beyond the accumulating wealth of the billionaire class?

Hell.  Did our aging public schools got so much as a roof repair?

To see the European "austerity" policies in "down home terms," we need not look beyond the W's deficit spending record.  In a sickening "mirror image" of the economic calamities in Europe, through an arcane collection of redistribution schemes tax money was first diverted to the "ownership class" without limit, then the ensuing economic disaster was blamed on the "uppity" working class who so selfishly demanded schools, roads and jobs.

After the "capitalistic" prosperity had been surgically removed from the economy, the "socialist" wasteland was left for the working class.

Another Reorganization of Ownership

Further, we shouldn't assume that the billionaires -- either domestic or European -- are losing sleep worrying about having accidentally initiated some sort of revolution.  The primary irritant in their lives is impatience.  They have to wait until the collapse progresses far enough that the prices of all the commercial assets they want to buy has reached "rock bottom."

After that, the portfolio of the oligarchs will once again stabilize.  When the mergers and acquisitions of all these "bargain basement" assets has been finally accomplished, those oligarchs know that the Congress and Senate will become even more interested in "serving up desert."  The role -- and even the existence -- of a middle class will fade to nothing more than a past-times phenomenon which was ultimately corrected in 2010.

Now that's some real "free market" capitalism by golly!

Just try to save as much as possible.  Times will get a bit rocky for a while -- at least two years, but MeanMesa sees all of this as a temporary glitch.  History tells us that the process of economically subjugating the masses may seem to lead to "high times," indeed, but time has a habit of correcting such momentary fantasies.

Even poor people remember the sensation of a full stomach, a warm, well fed family and hope for the future.  Not even Will Durant's expansive long time models present any historical evidence that an entire class of people will simply forget these things.

So, John Boehner and Fox "News," good luck with disguising everything about your latest  "austerity" scheme.  Just don't plan on the prospect that it will go on forever.