The Coup is Almost Complete

A friend wrote me an email in which he decried the show trial in DC...the sham, cover-up (so far) performance in the Senate.  My response is below.
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Yessir, it's flat-out Orwellian.

I would disagree, though, that these Fascists are "Republicans".  Republicans (before they dried up & blew away) believed in a Constitutional Republic.  These folks are Trumpistas/Corporatists/Fascists...a horse of a different color.  Republicans didn't believe in Interventionism overseas, or shooting people in the back, or doubling/TRIPLING the Debt, or a National Surveillance State, or ignoring the Geneva conventions on war, or a host of other nightmares.  

The Repub Party was hijacked a long time ago, even before Reagan.  [The Reagan years almost tripled our National Debt, & essentially launched Neoliberalism in economic policy.  Both Reagan & Thatcher joined in what was known as the "Washington Consensus", pure Neoliberal policy.]

"Pinochet's neoliberal policies came to be codified as 'structural adjustment', and Thatcher became one of structural adjustment's most enthusiastic promoters, not only for Britain but the world, popularising her approach with the slogan 'There is no alternative'. With Thatcher and the US president Ronald Reagan as its main boosters, and the World Bank and IMF as its executors, structural adjustment or the Washington consensus was generalised throughout the developing world."

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/apr/16/legacy-margaret-thatcher-neoliberalism  

The story is similar with The Democrat Party.

Carter, David Rockefeller, Brzezenski, & the Trilateral Commission created much of the philosophical underpinnings for Neoliberalism.  The Trilateral Commission's 1st Annual Paper ("The Crisis of Democracy", book-length) proposed:  the crisis of democracy was that there was too much democracy in the world.  According to the scholarly authors (all supposedly "Liberals"), that had to be remedied if the Establishment were to survive.  "The Crisis of Democracy" was published in 1975.

Today, the terms "Republican" and "Democrat" are nothing other than Edward Bernays style PROPAGANDA.  The NEOconservatives & NEOliberals both started up in the 1970's (the difference between them is almost nil); they now rule much/most of the Western World.  In practical terms, "Conservatives" & "Liberals" no longer exist; they've both either converted or given up & faded away.

With Trump & Crew, the Neoliberal/NeoCon Coup is now almost complete... and it's not a "conspiracy"; it's in plain sight.  Meanwhile, the main worry of too many Americans is:  when is the new I-Phone making its debut.  Hey, maybe this next one will be able to fry pancakes.  

And so it goes.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Hoaxes and/or Lies by the Oligarchs (Plutocrats)

Here are just a few crucial ones---

1.  The Income Tax

Disregarding earlier, temporary income taxes in the 1860s (to fund the Civil War), the Big Kahuna was the Revenue Act of 1913.  It passed into Law shortly after the 16th Amendment to the Constitution was adopted.  [I won't get into arguments about whether or not the 16th was legitimately ratified.  That's a can of worms and could be argued until the End of Time...and is a waste of time.]  The purpose of the 16th Amendment apparently was to correct a glitch having to do with direct taxes and income from property & interest in the 1909 CORPORATE Income Tax law.

In passing the 1913 Revenue Act, the intent of Congress was to levy an income tax only on the very richest Americans.  [I forget the income threshold, but it was high.]   Only the top 2% of households were required to pay the tax; everyone else was exempt.  Furthermore, the tax was on income from property, rents, and interest, not wages.  [The top 2% had no wages.]  That was the original Income Tax Law.  Obviously, successive Congresses changed it...23 times if I recall correctly.  I sincerely doubt that We the People wanted all those changes...to the point where the IRS does what it does today.

The point is this:  I'm fairly certain that most Americans are largely unaware of the information above.  We've been sold a Bill of Goods relative to the history of the Income Tax Law.  The original intent of it never was to tax the wages of average Americans.  That was rammed through by the Oligarchy later.

According to Reagan's Grace Commission, 100% of your income tax dollars is used to pay the interest on the National Debt.  [97% of all money in circulation in the USA is debt.]  Gov't services are paid for by other taxes, and more borrowing.

2.  The Cold War (1945-1989) Resulted in a Victory of Capitalism over Socialism

Not true, and here's why.  First of all, we had then and still have a Mixed Economy.  At best, it's Crony Capitalism, not Free Market Capitalism.  The only Capitalists in the Western World are SMALL business people.  Western societies, including the USA, have both a weak Welfare State AND strong socialism for the super-rich.  Corporate welfare abounds.  The State-Corporate Complex rules the day.  That is not Free Market Capitalism.  Secondly, when Lenin and his Gang seized power in Russia, socialistic institutions created during the 1917-1918 Revolution were eliminated.  Bolshevism morphed into Communism...which is a political system, not an economic system...and it's totalitarian.  Socialism is not a political system.  The Cold War resulted in the triumph of Democracy (of a sort) over Communism.

The point is this:  the Oligarchs in the Western World today continually claim that they are Free Market Capitalists and that the only other alternative is Socialism...which they claim was defeated by the Cold War.  None of that is a true picture of reality.  Crony Capitalists are not Free Market Capitalists; instead, they are married to the State.  Soviet Russia had a super-elite Class which practiced Totalitarianism...that's what was defeated by Democracy (of a sort) and a Mixed Economy.

Mega, transnational corporations and their propagandists falsely claim that they are Capitalists opposing Socialism.  What they really are (in general) is Fascists opposing the rest of us.  Both FDR and Mussolini defined Fascism as:  the marriage of the State to BIG Business.  That's pretty much what we have in almost the entire Western World today.  Even China now is more Fascist than Communist.  I don't remember any Communist countries ever having billionaire real estate moguls.  China does.

Don't buy into the Propaganda.  Despite their claims, the super-rich are not Free Market Capitalists and they're not opposing Socialism.  They are Neofascists and are opposing the rest of us.

3.  The Scam of Neoliberalism

In the USA, it dates back to at least the 1970s.  The overthrow (essentially by Nixon & Kissinger) of Allende and the installation of Pinochet in Chile on 9-11-73 (the other 9-11) was to be the first practical test of a portion of Neoliberalism.  What a disaster.  The implementation of this political and economic philosophy continues, but Oligarchs here have managed to keep it mostly in the shadows... until recently.  None of that is a conspiracy; to them, it's simply good business practice.  In general, most all Oligarchs today are Neoliberals.  Those at the highest levels are Democrats, or Republicans, or Liberals, or Conservatives in name only.  They don't care at all about those obsolete categories... except to use them as divisive propaganda.

Neoliberalism exploded in growth during the reigns of Reagan and Thatcher.  It continues today.  The goal is nothing short of domination of the worldwide economy and finance by super-rich elites and mega transnational corporations.  Its adherents agree with David Rockefeller, who stated publicly in 1991, "Surely it is preferable to have the world run by unelected elites than by the corrupt politicians of today.".  At least he got the "corrupt politicians" part correct.  He also thanked the Mainstream Press for keeping the Elites' work under wraps "for the past 40 years".  [You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried.]

The irony of this is that it seems some, perhaps many, of these Elites actually are altruists.  I'm convinced that some of them really believe that the world would be better off if it were run by the unelected super-rich.
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If all this seems convoluted, that's because it is.  It's so Orwellian that I'm afraid most people don't believe it.  Or, if they do believe it, they either don't grasp how it affects them directly or they think nothing can be done about it, or both.  And so it goes.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

The Neoliberal Presidents: Reagan, Poppy Bush, Clinton, Dubya, and Obama...and the WTO

If you think that none of this affects you, please think again after you're done reading it.  I'm too old and decrepit to worry about any of it for myself, but I'm very concerned about the impact of it on my grandchildren...now, and when they become adults.

Neoliberalism is an economic philosophy/policy which promotes (on a global scale) deregulation, privatization of government services, financial liberalization, and trade liberalization.  All the Presidents listed in the title above were/are Neoliberals.  If you believe that none of this affects you and your family, unfortunately, you're dead wrong.  If you're a "Conservative" (which really means Neoconservative) in the USA, and if you believe that Neoliberalism sounds pretty good, you're dead wrong.  Here's why.
Background---
The World Trade Organization (WTO) grew out of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).  The idea (after WW II) was to liberalize Trade around the world... make it easier, which supposedly would benefit all people.  The groundwork for the WTO, formally founded in the mid-'90s, was laid during the Reagan-Thatcher Era and the White House tenure of Poppy Bush in the '80s & early '90s...with eight years of trade talks, the so-called "Uruguay Round".
The Catch---
At the last count I'm aware of, the WTO has seventeen Agreements... only one of which has anything to do with Trade in any substantial way.  The other Agreements deal with subjects such as environmental regulations, health & safety regulations (including food safety and toy safety), unions & workers, privatization of government services, deregulation of the financial sector, rules for the SERVICE industry, etc.  Keep in mind that the WTO controls about 97% of all world trade.  Member countries must agree to all seventeen covenents.  If a country breaks one of the Agreements, the WTO can apply economic sanctions/trade sanctions to that country.  In other words, the country basically can be excluded from world trade.
So, for example, India (the world's largest Democracy) once had laws prohibiting the patenting of life forms, seeds, and medicines.  Because of WTO action, India had to repeal or drastically modify those laws.  Also because of the WTO, all water in some places in India is owned by private companies...and anyone who collects/gathers rainwater or river water is considered a thief.
Because of the sixteen other Agreements of the WTO, various countries have been forced to privatize government services such as water and electrical utilities.  In most cases, the cost of those services then went up to as much as 50% more.  This is why, as a result of the Bolivia Water War, commoners in that country essentially and eventually kicked out of their land the transnational corporation, Bechtel...they had the public water contract and water fees went up by half.
The Presidents---
Reagan, along with Prime Minister Thatcher of the UK, concocted what became known as the Washington Consensus---a global promotion of Neoliberalism.  In many ways, it's the trickle-down theory of economics---make the rich richer and benefits will trickle down to what the Oligarchy calls the "little people", or "small people", or "ignorant, meddlesome outsiders", or "spectators".  But that theory seems to have worked well only for the super-rich.
Poppy Bush was simply more of the same.  More than once, he spoke of "a New World Order", by which he meant seamless world trade and Big Business as the savior of all of us.  He didn't put it quite that way. :)
Clinton probably was the first of the Neoliberal "Democrats".  Thanks to him and Gore, NAFTA deceitfully was sold to the American public.  A lot of manufacturing and jobs went South...and mostly only Oligarchs were the financial beneficiaries.  Their Administration also was largely responsible for getting rid of the Glass-Steagall Act, thus "liberalizing" the Financial Sector...which certainly to some degree made possible the greatest heist in American history---"too big to fail".
Dubya's Adminstration was responsible for the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) which included the USA, Mexico, and Canada...as well as CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement.  In the minds of the Oligarchs, the SPP was to be the pre-cursor of the North American Union.  All of these types of things are either tools of the WTO or supportive of WTO objectives.  Bush also was a big backer of deregulation and privatization...great sounding goals, but their implementation often negatively impacts the so-called "little people".
Obama, much more than the others, truly is a wolf in sheep's clothing.  He's a consummate liar and deceiver.  He blatantly promotes the TPP and TAFTA, and all other so-called "Free Trade Agreements"...selling them as the best thing since sliced bread.  He poses as some sort of "Leftist", but in reality is a Corporatist of the highest order.  He protects Big Business while backing regulatory reforms that either are window dressing or actually favoring his Corporate financial backers.  He ran more or less as a Peace candidate, but he's the most war-like President since LBJ (who also ran as a Peace candidate).  He's a genuine Neoliberal...and just as bad as Dubya.

Let's be clear.  All the above Presidents support (or in Reagan's & Poppy Bush's cases, laid the groundwork for) the WTO.  The WTO is a worldwide economic structure run by unelected elites that promotes deregulation of environmental-health-safety laws, deregulation of the financial sector, the loss of worker protections such as unions, the ability of private mega corporations to own natural resources (such as rainwater) that should be available to all, the ability of mega corps. to PATENT life forms, the ability of mega corps. to control the world seed market, the forcing of countries to accept foods with artificial growth hormones, the forcing of countries to accept genetically modified foods, the forcing of countries to accept potentially unsafe children's toys and pet foods, and on & on.  That's Neoliberalism.  The Fed Gov't (at the highest levels) and the Corporate Media have a different story...and it's a lie.

ALL the above Presidents (who are still alive) fully support and promote Neoliberalism, especially Obama.

Just my opinion...and that of many, many others.  The available scholarship on this subject is impeccable.  All you have to do is ignore the Propaganda Kool Aid and do a little digging.

[NOTE:  In addition to the economic philosophy/policy of Neoliberalism, there also is a political philosophy by the same name.  Political Neoliberalism, as you might guess, simply is broader in scope.  I don't have the time or energy for that right now.]

Happy Trails

USA Democracy, State-Corporate Complex, & Bernays Propaganda [and a Note on Chris Hayes]

First, a note on my previous post and Chris Hayes.  After viewing about an hour's worth of MSNBC Chris Hayes clips on YouTube, I've concluded that Mr. Hayes appears to have two different personas.  When he's a guest on Democracy Now and other non-corporate venues, talking about Twilight of the Elites, his message hits the mark & he definitely has credibility.  On his own show on the prostitute corporate medium MSNBC, he's mostly an apologist for Obama...and fails to recognize (or perhaps conceals the recognition) that Obama is part of the Meritocracy that he deplores so in his book.  That's my take on it, anyway.
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Let's begin by recognizing the unfortunate fact that the USA is no longer a Constitutional Republic.  About half of everything that the Fed Gov't (at the highest levels) does is unquestionably unconstitutional.  In large part, both Democrats and Republicans ignore the Constitution and instead pass laws or issue Executive Orders that they believe trump the Supreme Law of the Land.  Once in a blue moon, to their credit, they do get things right.  For example, just recently a Congressional Panel determined that the NSA's bulk collection of data is illegal.  That's rare.  Of course, don't look for anything significant to be done about that finding.

Despite the propaganda from the Gov't and Corporate Media, and despite the belief of most of our population, let's also recognize that neither is our form of gov't a Democracy...at least, not a genuine Democracy.

Not long after WW I, Walter Lippmann, writing about politics in America, described the general public as "ignorant, meddlesome outsiders" who should only be "spectators" in the political process and leave such matters to the ones who know what they're doing...in other words, the smart, informed people...the Meritocracy.  Lippmann was part of the intelligentsia at the time; he was known as the "Dean of American Journalism"...and was a so-called "Progressive".  So much for American style Democracy, at least, from his point of view (which was quite influential).

In 1928, Edward Bernays found a publisher for his book, Propaganda: Molding the Public Mind.  In it, he made the case that propaganda is essential to the successful functioning of any Democracy.  He said that the true rulers of the country are the ones who control the propaganda; the elites bought the proposition lock, stock, & barrel.  Bernays later was recognized as the Founder of the Public Relations industry.  His type of propaganda played a major role in our Govt's overthrow (in the '50s) of the democratically elected President of Guatemala.

The State-Corporate Complex flourished in the '50s and '60s...and beyond.  Ike warned us about it, but We the People pretty much ignored his warning.  The molding of the public mind was in full swing by then, with one of the promotions being that we lived in a "Democracy".  The elites' version of democracy is this:  every two years or so, the "ignorant, meddlesome outsiders", aka, the "spectators" truck on over to a designated site and pull one of two levers...and then go home.  Each lever represents a candidate chosen, groomed, and financed by the Meritocracy...and sold to the public via Edward Bernays style propaganda.  The public doesn't really know where either candidate stands politically...because all info given to the public is based on polls, studies, & focus groups that determine just what it is that the public wants to hear.  Adjustments are made for the phony differences between the two candidates.

By the '80s, voters weren't even really "spectators" anymore...because the Reagan and Thatcher administrations became private and secretive.  How many of you know about the Reagan-Thatcher concoction known as the "Washington Consensus"...it had a major impact on the world.  It promoted Neoliberalism around the globe, much to the dismay of most third world countries.  Not too many folks "spectated" that one.

By the '90s, transnational corporations (via institutions such as the GATT, WTO, IMF, and World Bank---that are completely secretive & absolutist--- as well as so-called "Free Trade Agreements") were creating a completely non-democratic, worldwide economic structure whose rules trumped U.S. laws.  That's continuing on steroids today.  So much for American style Democracy.

During all of this time, right through to the present, the American public (and the world public) is fed a steady diet of propaganda which basically and simply says, this is all good for you...and it will "create jobs".  What a deceit and a scam.

So, what's to be done about it?  Well, the first step is to stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid.  I'll say it 'til I'm blue in the face.  :)

Just my opinion.