As the financial markets come falling down around our heads, the king makers in Washington and the barons of Wall Street have wasted no time in trying to corner complete control of the 700 billion dollar bailout that is now the big bone of contention in our Nation’s Capitol. As of this writing, it looks as if the power of the people may well have been louder than the corrupt influence of those who perpetrated this crisis, and who are seeking to cover their financial asses at the expense of the taxpayers. It remains fluid and the final outcome is yet to be seen. However, it says a hell of a lot more about the wisdom of those who opposed this stampede and their grass-roots movement than any credit due the Founding Fathers in setting up this so-called “democracy.” In the end, though, there is little doubt in my mind that the taxpayers will once again get the big screw without benefit of kiss.
Let’s face it, folks. The notion that we are, or ever have been, a democracy is nothing more than a grand illusion taught to us from the first day of school in the newly formed United States of America. We are, pure and simple, a plutocracy. Money and the power of money control and dictate what our government does, and who benefits from it. To be sure, it ebbs and flows, but the plutocrats always come out on top and the common man is left with the hindmost.
With the passage of time, we have come to believe that those who founded this country were a bunch of egalitarians who believed in the wisdom of the common man, and all authority flowed from them to the political and government leaders of the Republic. Not altogether true. There were those among them who held views to the effect that those of education and privilege were more suited to govern the country. Given the nature of negotiation and compromise, it only stands to reason that some aspects of that mindset carried over into practice with the newfound “democracy.” I happen to believe that same mindset and the effects of their wealth and privilege on our government, as well as the citizenry, still reside with what has often been termed, “Eastern money and power.”
Today, we have what is unquestionably an imperial presidency, more pronounced by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney than any of their predecessors. They have thumbed their noses at the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They have trampled on the rights of the citizens. They have conducted business in secret, flirting with the very legality of their conduct. They have lied to the American people, leading us into an illegal war. Their deception has been further compounded by the periodic admonitions about threats to our safety and security, leading us to somehow believe that they, alone, were protecting us from the forces of evil and darkness. Much like the monarchs of days gone by, they have effectively gotten off Scot-free with what can only be regarded as criminal behavior, all because we and Congress have allowed them to behave as if they were reigning royalty! The term “Imperial Presidency” seems more apt than ever. They have gotten a free pass on conduct that would have landed Average Joe Blow a reserved accommodation in the slammer. If that were not bad enough, they will retire with a fat pension and a goodly number of the trappings of the offices they held.
That George W. Bush can claim he graduated from Yale and received his MBA from Harvard only underscores the fact that family and wealth play a far greater role in his credentials than does intellect and academic achievement. Also, the very size of the Endowment Fund at Harvard would further underscore its ties to big money.
Of the 43 presidents who have occupied the White House to date, 13 or 30 per cent have one or more degrees from Harvard, Yale or Princeton.
Of the 42 Cabinet positions occupied by Harvard graduates, 8 have served as the Secretary of the Treasury, 7 have served as Secretary of State, 7 have served as the Attorney General, and 8 have served as the Secretary of War or the Secretary of Defense. Of all the Cabinet positions, those would seem to hold the greatest power and influence.
Of all the Justices who have sat on the Supreme Court, 19 have been graduates of the Harvard Law School.
I categorically reject any notion of academic superiority by any and all of the Ivy League Schools. Despite the mystique they have cultivated, which most of us buy into, I am more inclined to believe it is more a factor of the power of wealth and family name than it is to the gene pool from whence they come. That they exert disproportionate influence over our lives by the positions they hold and the resources they control seems rather self-evident.
Let us not lose sight of the fact that, although all massive de-regulation of the financial institutions on Wall Street was fostered by Senator Phil Gramm while he was serving as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee in a Republican Congress, for it to have become law it had to have been signed by then President William J. Clinton (Yale), with the concurrence of either Robert Rubin as Secretary of the Treasury (Harvard) or Lawrence Summers as his successor (Harvard). I, also, find it rather coincidental that it came out during the primaries that Chelsea Clinton worked for one of the largest hedge funds on Wall Street. Coincidence? I am reasonably certain, if the issue were to be carefully researched, we would find that the same disproportionate amount of influence and control over the financial industries lies is in the hands of the Eastern centers of power, wealth and influence that have always been major players in our national destiny.
Two of the chief proponents of the bail out of Wall Street from the current financial crisis are (1) George W. Bush (Yale, Harvard) and Henry Paulson (Harvard).
I rather imagine most of us would like to believe that our institutions are a cross-section of America. The facts seem to suggest otherwise.
The 17th Amendment to the Constitution effectively created the Federal Monolith that lies within the Beltway of Washington, D.C. Up until the passage of this amendment, members of the United States Senate were directly accountable for their actions to their individual states through the state legislatures. Now, largely because they only have to seek re-election every 6 years, rather than every 2 years (House of Representatives) or every 4 years (Presidency), they are more insulated from the power of the people than any other branch of government except the Supreme Court and, as a consequence, tend to provide more fertile ground for self-serving and corrupt practices, as well. They are much more prone to respond to the influence of lobbyists and special interests, and all the other perks that go with their office. Is it any wonder they so readily dismiss the will of the people in favor of their own omnipotence? At least, because congressmen in the House of Representatives have to go back to the voters every 2 years, they are, generally, more sensitive and beholden to those who put and keep them in office.
There is one more very important element involved in the balance of power between the players in Washington. That is the role played by a free and unfettered news media, a role that has served this country and our democracy extremely well until events of recent history radically changed all that. Historically, they have done an outstanding job of keeping the system honest. Through the political maneuvering exerted on the Federal Communications Commission, the role of the media has been radically changed and drastically reduced by permitting corporate ownership of our newspapers, radio stations and television networks. They are now anything but “free and unfettered.” They operate within the sphere of influence by which public opinion is shaped for the purpose of serving their corporate masters and shareholders. From a former diet of divergent opinion, discourse and debate, we citizens now live on a bill-of-fare prepared by big business interests and doled out to us in the form of corporate Pabulum of mediocrity, sameness, entertainment and advertising. Nothing that would challenge the mediocre mindset of most Americans. We are simply too ignorant, too lazy, too complacent or a combination of all three. We are there to be picked off at will in order to feed the insatiable appetite of avarice so endemic to our culture.
At the end of the day, I do believe that the parliamentary system of government has more going for it than the plutocracy that governs our national affairs under the banner of “democracy.” Why? Because there is more direct accountability to the people and less opportunity for limitless greed and personal power.
We have: (a) a President, (b) the Senate and (c) the House of Representatives.
The British Parliamentary System has: (a) a Constitutional Monarch, (b) the House of Lords and (c) the House of Commons.
Under a parliamentary system, the gargantuan egos and the propensity for corruption by the elite are given expression, but contained, through use of meaningless titles and the other trappings of exclusivity so dear to their need for superiority. At a price to be sure, but far less costly to the taxpayers than what goes on within the Washington Beltway.
It seems to me a palace on the banks of the Potomac, a summer palace in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a winter palace in Wickenburg, Arizona, a fleet of Cadillac and Lincoln limousines, a few diamonds and duties comprised of frivolous by ceremonies of one sort or another pales in comparison to what is included in our Federal Budget every year.
Though the “duties” of office are likely to be nothing short of burdensome, shall we start the transition by crowing me King Robert I? It does have a rather nice ring to it.
Cowboy Bob
October 3, 2008
.
Let’s face it, folks. The notion that we are, or ever have been, a democracy is nothing more than a grand illusion taught to us from the first day of school in the newly formed United States of America. We are, pure and simple, a plutocracy. Money and the power of money control and dictate what our government does, and who benefits from it. To be sure, it ebbs and flows, but the plutocrats always come out on top and the common man is left with the hindmost.
With the passage of time, we have come to believe that those who founded this country were a bunch of egalitarians who believed in the wisdom of the common man, and all authority flowed from them to the political and government leaders of the Republic. Not altogether true. There were those among them who held views to the effect that those of education and privilege were more suited to govern the country. Given the nature of negotiation and compromise, it only stands to reason that some aspects of that mindset carried over into practice with the newfound “democracy.” I happen to believe that same mindset and the effects of their wealth and privilege on our government, as well as the citizenry, still reside with what has often been termed, “Eastern money and power.”
Today, we have what is unquestionably an imperial presidency, more pronounced by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney than any of their predecessors. They have thumbed their noses at the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They have trampled on the rights of the citizens. They have conducted business in secret, flirting with the very legality of their conduct. They have lied to the American people, leading us into an illegal war. Their deception has been further compounded by the periodic admonitions about threats to our safety and security, leading us to somehow believe that they, alone, were protecting us from the forces of evil and darkness. Much like the monarchs of days gone by, they have effectively gotten off Scot-free with what can only be regarded as criminal behavior, all because we and Congress have allowed them to behave as if they were reigning royalty! The term “Imperial Presidency” seems more apt than ever. They have gotten a free pass on conduct that would have landed Average Joe Blow a reserved accommodation in the slammer. If that were not bad enough, they will retire with a fat pension and a goodly number of the trappings of the offices they held.
That George W. Bush can claim he graduated from Yale and received his MBA from Harvard only underscores the fact that family and wealth play a far greater role in his credentials than does intellect and academic achievement. Also, the very size of the Endowment Fund at Harvard would further underscore its ties to big money.
Of the 43 presidents who have occupied the White House to date, 13 or 30 per cent have one or more degrees from Harvard, Yale or Princeton.
Of the 42 Cabinet positions occupied by Harvard graduates, 8 have served as the Secretary of the Treasury, 7 have served as Secretary of State, 7 have served as the Attorney General, and 8 have served as the Secretary of War or the Secretary of Defense. Of all the Cabinet positions, those would seem to hold the greatest power and influence.
Of all the Justices who have sat on the Supreme Court, 19 have been graduates of the Harvard Law School.
I categorically reject any notion of academic superiority by any and all of the Ivy League Schools. Despite the mystique they have cultivated, which most of us buy into, I am more inclined to believe it is more a factor of the power of wealth and family name than it is to the gene pool from whence they come. That they exert disproportionate influence over our lives by the positions they hold and the resources they control seems rather self-evident.
Let us not lose sight of the fact that, although all massive de-regulation of the financial institutions on Wall Street was fostered by Senator Phil Gramm while he was serving as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee in a Republican Congress, for it to have become law it had to have been signed by then President William J. Clinton (Yale), with the concurrence of either Robert Rubin as Secretary of the Treasury (Harvard) or Lawrence Summers as his successor (Harvard). I, also, find it rather coincidental that it came out during the primaries that Chelsea Clinton worked for one of the largest hedge funds on Wall Street. Coincidence? I am reasonably certain, if the issue were to be carefully researched, we would find that the same disproportionate amount of influence and control over the financial industries lies is in the hands of the Eastern centers of power, wealth and influence that have always been major players in our national destiny.
Two of the chief proponents of the bail out of Wall Street from the current financial crisis are (1) George W. Bush (Yale, Harvard) and Henry Paulson (Harvard).
I rather imagine most of us would like to believe that our institutions are a cross-section of America. The facts seem to suggest otherwise.
The 17th Amendment to the Constitution effectively created the Federal Monolith that lies within the Beltway of Washington, D.C. Up until the passage of this amendment, members of the United States Senate were directly accountable for their actions to their individual states through the state legislatures. Now, largely because they only have to seek re-election every 6 years, rather than every 2 years (House of Representatives) or every 4 years (Presidency), they are more insulated from the power of the people than any other branch of government except the Supreme Court and, as a consequence, tend to provide more fertile ground for self-serving and corrupt practices, as well. They are much more prone to respond to the influence of lobbyists and special interests, and all the other perks that go with their office. Is it any wonder they so readily dismiss the will of the people in favor of their own omnipotence? At least, because congressmen in the House of Representatives have to go back to the voters every 2 years, they are, generally, more sensitive and beholden to those who put and keep them in office.
There is one more very important element involved in the balance of power between the players in Washington. That is the role played by a free and unfettered news media, a role that has served this country and our democracy extremely well until events of recent history radically changed all that. Historically, they have done an outstanding job of keeping the system honest. Through the political maneuvering exerted on the Federal Communications Commission, the role of the media has been radically changed and drastically reduced by permitting corporate ownership of our newspapers, radio stations and television networks. They are now anything but “free and unfettered.” They operate within the sphere of influence by which public opinion is shaped for the purpose of serving their corporate masters and shareholders. From a former diet of divergent opinion, discourse and debate, we citizens now live on a bill-of-fare prepared by big business interests and doled out to us in the form of corporate Pabulum of mediocrity, sameness, entertainment and advertising. Nothing that would challenge the mediocre mindset of most Americans. We are simply too ignorant, too lazy, too complacent or a combination of all three. We are there to be picked off at will in order to feed the insatiable appetite of avarice so endemic to our culture.
At the end of the day, I do believe that the parliamentary system of government has more going for it than the plutocracy that governs our national affairs under the banner of “democracy.” Why? Because there is more direct accountability to the people and less opportunity for limitless greed and personal power.
We have: (a) a President, (b) the Senate and (c) the House of Representatives.
The British Parliamentary System has: (a) a Constitutional Monarch, (b) the House of Lords and (c) the House of Commons.
Under a parliamentary system, the gargantuan egos and the propensity for corruption by the elite are given expression, but contained, through use of meaningless titles and the other trappings of exclusivity so dear to their need for superiority. At a price to be sure, but far less costly to the taxpayers than what goes on within the Washington Beltway.
It seems to me a palace on the banks of the Potomac, a summer palace in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a winter palace in Wickenburg, Arizona, a fleet of Cadillac and Lincoln limousines, a few diamonds and duties comprised of frivolous by ceremonies of one sort or another pales in comparison to what is included in our Federal Budget every year.
Though the “duties” of office are likely to be nothing short of burdensome, shall we start the transition by crowing me King Robert I? It does have a rather nice ring to it.
Cowboy Bob
October 3, 2008
.
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