There can be little doubt that the corporate MSM represent the collective opinion of the "fantasy island" cities of the east and west coasts of the US.
At the same time, the corporate right wing media represent the collective opinion of much of the rest of the country.
God help us!
The president of the US has a well developed left wing agenda. Let us not be fooled by all the talk of concern for the welfare of the "middle class," whatever that might be in the US.
He and his allies in "the archipelago" seem to believe that an inevitable acceptance of the virtue and wisdom of their belief in the specifics of their dream of "the future" will take place. In pursuit of that goal all sorts of foolishness is taking place. Some is serious. Some is just silly.
- The phrase "a more perfect union" is often quoted from the preamble to the constitution in the hope that the sheeple will believe that it was meant to signify a belief in the possibility of perfection of The Republic as a sort of earthy garden of delights. In fact, what was meant was the improvement of the mechanism of federal government.
- Country-wide statistics of polls regarding issues of importance to Archipelegian politics are cited as evidence that the preponderance of opinion in the "islands" will surely sweep all before it. Surely! This morning Chris Cillizza (?) badgered a member of the House from outside the archipelago to accept the idea that SURELY! there would have to be gun control sufficient to satisfy the islanders. It should be remembered that Cillizza, by his own admission, is badly infected with Connecticutt Fever.
- What is missed by the islanders is that the US is still a federal republic. It was built that way deliberately for the purpose of holding the political ambitions of the archipelago at bay. That was the motivation behind the Great Compromise that gave Wyoming and California each two senators. In addition, many senators represent constituencies where "guns" is not a four letter word. That would include many non-islander Democrats. These people will not vote for very much of BHO's agenda. That would include the gunster dreaming. No amount of demagogic speechifying will change that.
- The Republicans hold the House and they hold it with members by and large elected in districts outside the archipelago. That would include in states where island city states are located. These folks know what their chances are if they back the islanders against their own people. That would also include some Democrats.
- Finally, BHO has to get any new laws or executive orders past SCOTUS.
There is a lot talk about the changing demographics of the US. Yes, but the demographics of the US have changed many times before. They always continue changing. The islanders should beware of the future. It is an "undiscovered country." pl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers_under_the_United_States_Constitution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalism_in_the_United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
Good for you.
I don't think it's you who's the "islander" on this subject. Apparently the blinders go on around here when the subject is too near and dear to one's heart.
Posted by: Edward Amame | 15 February 2013 at 09:43 AM
I keep thinking of Pavlovs dogs.
Whether it is abortion, gay marriage, illegal immigrants or gun rights or city vs. country, it matters not. These are distractions.
No matter what the posturing, we all know that there is nothing Washington can do to prevent gun deaths, no matter what law gets passed or doesn't get passed.
He question therefore is why the constant distraction?
My answer is that the powers that be are as busy as beavers doing their level best to emulate the Russian Kleptocracy as fast as possible. That is why your healthcare is the mess it is. That is why the Post Office is being financially shackled - the powers that be want to privatise it - buy it for a song. The big banks want to channel your social security investments into their vaults. Everywhere their are big interests doing their level best to buy up institutions or get the Government to legislate for their monopoly.
This is why you keep reading the BS in the mainstram media : "Government can't do anything right" and all the "big governement" crapola. THe implication being that corporations can do it better. It wasn't "the Government" that caused the Global financial crisis, it was greedy bankers who have no morals and built a highly unethical and illegal real estate pyramid scheme, and when that inevitably failed, they went straight to the Government and got bailed out.
Of course Government is inefficient, it is not perfect and it has to do things in convoluted ways to comply with laws that corporations aren't saddled with, but to condemn the entire edifice?
Your real problem is that your legislators are way too closely coupled to very rich donors and they do their bidding. You aren't going to get gun control because its not in any corporations interest for you to have it. They make their money selling weapons or profiting from the aftermath of irresponsible gun ownership - right down to the private prison system.
Your public education system is in tatters because it suits corporations to sell to credulous fools rather than informed adults with critical thinking skills for example, taken from the Texas GOP platorm:
"Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/texas-gop-rejects-critical-thinking-skills-really/2012/07/08/gJQAHNpFXW_blog.html
To put it another way, you are going to hell in a hand basket with every corporate grifter greasing the skids under you. I have started to notice a trickle American immigrants here which suggests to me that the smarter folk know that things arent going to get any better.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/americans-rise-up-migrant-ranks-reveals-changed-face-of-nation/story-e6frg7ex-1226405924415
Posted by: walrus | 16 February 2013 at 04:32 PM