d Blog

Welcome to d blog, also known as Dan's rant. The content herein is essentially comprised of miscellaneous ramblings and random thoughts on the nature of contemporary existence.

"FEAR ECONOMY-A Collective Delusion"

America became King Of the World because of Character. The generous moral Character of Americans positioned us as the ones to be admired and emulated. Economics is all AGREEMENT and nobody agrees with an ass. Our leadership having once attained the moral high ground attracted an international constituency of people, that while they may have disagreed with America politically, they believed whole heartedly in our ability to attract and develop wealth. Thus the value of American Currency as an investment instrument. Which inevitably increased our political capital as well. No More. The Hay day is over. The rise of Wall Street and the bloating of the Financial Industry at the expense of all others such as manufacturing has presided over the abdication of American Character.

Now It's all become a fascinating lie. Whether it be by design or ignorance it is less than true. And yes Binky it's possible that there does exist an Earthquake Machine that was recently tested by covert operatives.

Here for example is an example of the misdirection of public attention at it's finest;
Me thinks it quite possible that in their conservative desire not to antagonize the powers that be, Toyota may have pulled an Obama by acting so conciliatory. Suffering the slings and arrows of profiting politicians and the weak knee'd press serves nobody's purpose. My rationale is simply that I've not seen one iota of proof or analysis or anything pointing to any kind of specific defect in Toyota's vehicles. Have You?

I think it may be a case of diffusion and a belief in a collective delusion. I think, as we computer people say, this may be a "PICNIC" situation, that is to say, Problem In Chair Not In Computer. Pilot error may be responsible for the mis-acceleration episodes.

Hey if the floor mat is sneaking up and obfuscating the pedal controls, adjust it or remove it! Take responsibility as the driver. Based on my youthful Ford 429 Powerbraking experience in lighting up the rear wheels in a clorox puddle, I'm under the impression that there isn't a car made whose engine can overpower the brakes if you stand on the brake pedal. Or you can simply turn off the ignition. If you can't react fast enough you shouldn't be driving.

Of course you can't fix it if you can't see it. Has anybody seen the Toyota acceleration defect and documented it? If so please share the information inquiring minds want to know. Toyota, stand up for your rights...listen to your constituency of course, but don't take mass hysteria lying down. Unless you want to be a one term Auto Manufacturer!

Now one must take into consideration the environment in which this is occurring. Misdirection and obfuscation are deflecting our attention from serious issues. Nothing to see here keep moving, hey look over there...

To put it into perspective the current administration inherited a world sliding off the scales just at the the 11th hour prior to the elections. So admittedly all Obama's best plans had to be shelved to deal with the reality at hand. Obama had it in mind to broker a consensus between the political parties. As it turns out this approach is ill conceived to say the least.

Background;
In the intervening years between Reaganomics and the present day,the Republican Party has been Hijacked by the extreme right wing or lunatic fringe as we have come to know them.

Simultaneously the Democrats appear to have undergone a spinalectomy removing all backbone and thus seem to have no taste for battle. To Fight The Good Fight is no longer in their vernacular.

Pussys!! Indeed!

Whatever the Democrats propose, the Republican Strategy is to say no. Further, in an effort to bolster their cred for the next election, Republicans may not provide a straight up no, instead their program is one of obfuscation and delay if not outright lying.

On the March 5th Episode of Bill Maher's REALTIME I heard the analogy that The Republican approach of less government and deregulation is reflected in the Haitian earthquake experience, wherein the weak infrastructure and lack of building codes provided a situation where civilization was almost completely wiped out and 1/4 Million people died from a standard issue earthquake.

Subsequently, in Chile, a land of strong building codes and vigorous government regulation, The most violent earthquake ever measured has killed only 1000 people and although there is great damage, the governments own rescue crews are in charge and recovery is well underway. Hear that Democrats, reinforcement for your idealogy....

Back to our own American Dilemma;
Without a single payer option I don't think that I'm in favor of any Health plan the current administration proposes, particularly given the deals with the devil that are being made to promote it.

*Putting those ex Goldman Sachs Alumni, the Geithner Gang in charge of our Financial Industry is and has been tantamount to leaving the FOX in Charge Of the Henhouse. After all Who were key players that had an incentive to take big risks, because it was heads they win, tails someone else loses? Bank heads retired with their large fortunes intact, top executives at failed U.S. financial companies received billions in “performance related” pay before their firms went belly-up. Then the Geithner Gang rushed through the Siphoning off public funds to line the pockets of their buddies who were the midwives of the economic disaster we know find ourselves at the effect of does not sit well with me at all.

Where are the new regulations? Where are the clawbacks of ill gotten booty paid to nefarious inhabitants of the C-Suites? Where is the new consumer protection agency? Where is the regulation governing too big to fail? All I see are institutions that have become bigger and richer than ever off the backs of the proletariat.

What has happened to the promise that Obama brought to the White House? Has he sold out? Is it simple incompetence? Is Barack too professorial? I want him to succeed but it appears that he has squandered the good will and support that he rode into town on. His efforts at developing political consensus have fallen on the scrap heap of failed initiatives. Chicago politics has met it's match.

Last year it was the Republicans with Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff, Now the Dems take it in the chin with consecutive high profile Governors of NEW YORK caught in corruption scandals and The head of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Charlie Rangel caught in a scandal wherein he claimed ignorance of the tax code. The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives and sitting at its head is a fellow ignorant of the tax code. Does it get any worse?

It appears that Washington no longer works. It appears as if our government is failing, A logjam in the legislative production of our ruling bodies is leaving our nation frozen, caught in an inextricable quagmire of divergent territorial and parochial positions, a thick adversarial milieu between the ideology of the two ruling parties, whose main goal is to keep their cushy positions and seek re-election by any means possible...leaving the citizenry to fend for themselves.

Throw the inglorious basterds out! Come The Revolution Comrade we shall all be dining in paradise, sitting pretty in the land of milk and honey. Just as soon as the majority realizes that although it is possible that any individual can rise above and make a fortune it's not going to happen for you. You are not going to win the lottery. So Retaliate and rise above. Like I said Come De Revolution Comrade!!! Learn Sharing.

A man once told me that The Truth Believed Is A Lie. Irrelevant because I can't find the truth anyway.


* With Thanks to Paul Krugman
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/opinion/08krugman.html

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