"Our Finer Angels on Life-Support?"

I find it utterly incredulous at the pervasive state of apathy in this country. The American public has fallen victim to the most unsavory bums among us; those who reap astronomical compensation for systematically dismantling our economy. Yet, they continue to collude with politicians while milking the Treasury of our precious tax dollars so they can enhance their balance sheets and resume the game of playing roulette with our money. The penalty for all this? Salaries and bonuses that boggle the human mind, all the while feeding us a diet of crap to the effect, if they don’t compensate their staff to the lavish extent they do, the whole house of economic cards could come falling down around our heads all over again. How, I ask you, can any rational and sane mind buy that line of bovine scatology? The truth of the matter is, if we don’t rein in the thieving bastards that is exactly what is going to happen to us. When are we going to get off our dead asses and take them to task? Of this, I am certain. The day will never come when they have a qualm of conscience, decide they are going to atone for their transgressions and suddenly become benevolent toward those they have so ruthlessly impoverished. I am not quite ready to accept the notion that the “Second Coming” is upon us.

Starting with Ronald Reagan and escalating up to and including Barack Obama, the cozy relationship between the political establishment, corporations, big money and the military-industrial complex has only intensified. And John Q. Public is the loser; big time!

From Ronald Reagan to the present day, the country has been up for sale to the plutocrats, oligarchs and government stooges. You know, that bunch of elitists who treat us like the proverbial mushrooms - keeping us in the dark and feeding us a steady diet of bullshit. And what did we do? We sat passively by, continued to elect and re-elect them into office, all the while believing they had our best interests at heart.

So, what did we get for all that trust? A gluttonous appetite for a veritable buffet of materialistic possessions and hedonistic pleasures never before dreamed of. We became hooked on our faux mansions, luxury cars, backyard barbecues, physical beauty and sexual prowess that in mythology only belonged to the gods. Fun and more was our birthright and there was no end to what we could have.

We abandoned any semblance of requiring even a modicum of accountability from the powers that owned and controlled our lives. So long as we could satiate every manifestation of our appetites, we were surely in heaven itself. An aside to all this was that we simply turned our backs on any notion of a moral compass with which to guide us. Regardless of how challenging and difficult moral standards may be, without them we are like a ship without a rudder, drifting aimlessly on a sea of nothing. We become empty and devoid of those aspects of our human nature that call upon the finer characteristics of what we should aspire to be. That abandon opens the door to all of the baser dimensions of what we are, thereby blinding us to what sets us above and apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. We seem to exist in a state of anomie - the delicacy of the parasites that are consuming us. They have all the tools to seduce us and they use them with a skill and cunning never imagined. They give us reality television, game shows, silly comedies, and all sorts of easy and meaningless prescriptions for an easy road to a life of sublime luxury and “fun.” And what do we do? We accept it all without question and total abandon.

With the Internet, all of the information one could possibly want in order to make informed decisions and to really know what is going on around us is there for the asking. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to ferret out reality and the truth; something that you won’t find in the Pabulum fed to us by the entertainment industry and corporate America. But it does take a certain foundation of curiosity and interest; something we seem to be totally lacking.

I can’t quite figure out if we are where we are because of the inherent laziness required to live in a complete state of indifference and denial, or because we are so demoralized that we have abandoned all hope of things getting any better. Just for a moment, let us ponder a few facts:

1. As a nation we are completely broke. We are the largest debtor nation in the world and it is getting progressively worse. Yet, we are told things are turning around and getting better. What a bunch of crap!

2. Goldman Sachs has owned the Treasury and the Federal Reserve since the Clinton Administration. The same sharks operative then are operative today in the Obama Administration. By all the best estimates, the Wall Street bailout has put the taxpayers in hock somewhere between $10 trillion and $24 trillion. That is one hell of a lot of money, folks! Yet we are diverted by the endless quibbling over the few billion dollars needed to provide the nation with an efficient and cost-effective health care system. The whores in Congress have finally worn down the opposition to the point they are willing to take what they can get, giving the Health care Industry free reign to fleece the nation with even more obscene profits.

3. Our economy is in shambles and no amount of cheap rhetoric is going to change that. When Billy Boy wasn’t getting a blow job from Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office, he was busying himself with the task of enabling the total dismantling of our industrial base, shipping jobs overseas, and fleecing the Treasury - all in the name of free trade - only for Obama to pick up the same thieves and agenda as we had in the 1990’s - and further exacerbated by George W. in the first 8 years of the 21st Century. Our unemployment rate continues to escalate with no immediate hope for that much promised “change” we were sold in the last presidential campaign. How are people going to engage in meaningful work when there is no place to work????? How are people going to work at jobs that no longer exist????

4. We have finally arrived at the point where any notion of a real democracy is but a myth from days gone by. We are totally at the mercy of corporations, a military-industrial machine that has an insatiable appetite for money, and a political establishment that is so hopelessly corrupt and greedy that its attention to the voters is only discernible when the next election rolls around. We are now firmly in the grip of a “Corporatocracy” that owns and controls every aspect of our lives. While they thrive and prosper, the majority of us sit in waiting for the few crumbs we hope will fall from the table.

5. We live in a delusional state of a world power; a power on which the sun is setting. We have no means to continue this charade into perpetuity, but we still wrap ourselves in the flag, boasting of being the richest and most powerful nation in the world, while the poor fight and die in wars, the profits from which only enhance the rich who remain safe and secure in their gated communities and luxurious estates. They call this an “all-volunteer” army; an army made up of people who are mostly those who can’t find a real job and have no alternative but to place their lives on the altar of greed. Bill Moyers is right on the button when he states it is time to resurrect the draft so we all share, equally, in these wars; poor and rich alike. It is indeed time to share the burden and spread the risk.

6. We like to think of our system of government as a multi-party system. This is but another example of our national preoccupation with self-deception. Democrats and Republicans are different in name only. Both serve the same masters of the corporate world, the military-industrial complex and the financial institutions deemed to be “too big to fail.” While they pander to the sea of money and privilege made possible by impoverishing the country, they pretend to represent our interests in their official capacity as elected representatives, including the White House. They regularly meet behind closed doors and in secret with their real constituents, making a mockery of the much-touted notion of transparency so often championed by the current incumbent at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The only real champions of anything resembling an independent political philosophy are to be found in people such as Ron Paul and Bernie Sanders. To be sure, there are a few stolid hold-outs who make an effort to stand on principle, but they are few and far between, and easily brought into line on major issues affecting those to whom the majority is beholden.

I love to watch the machinations of those who champion a free and unfettered market system. It is so apparent that, for any such system to accrue to the benefit of the society in which it operates, it would have to be completely free of corruption and self-serving practices. That is inherently beyond the reach of human beings, as imperfect as we all are. For anyone so naive and who would believe such crap, I have the secret formula for eternal youth for sale at a bargain price. Regulation and oversight is an integral part of any legitimate government and civil society. Except for the absurdity of it all, it is almost comical to watch the sexual exploits of prominent Republicans morph into some kind of divine cleansing of the soul, soon followed by a Bible in hand, extolling the virtues of having seen the light and the error of their ways. I believe Mark Sanford said it best when he paraphrased his conduct to the tune of “Pray for me, Argentina!” At the end of the day when they have concluded their charade of piety, they bend over and grab their ankles at the beacon call of those to whom they are beholden, and it sure as hell isn’t those who voted them into office! Just observe the sleazy creeps in action and listen to their pathological lies. They couldn't be honest and forthcoming even if their next bribe depended on it.

Democrats? Well they love to think of themselves as the great emancipators, but there are so many causes they want to foster in the name of diversity and equality that it would take a football stadium to hold them. Diversity? Yes. Equality? Yes. But certainly not as it is packaged and sold by those pushing their own vested interests. Those most squirming today are the so-called Progressives who are doing their damnedest to avoid having to even remotely entertain the notion that their “Golden Boy” in the White House may be the least bit corrupt, self-serving and deceptive (as in political). When I voted for him last November I thought he was the sainted one we had all been waiting for. Little did I realize we were getting an admixture of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, re-packaged with all the phony sincerity, integrity, Christian values and liberalism that came with it. I don’t believe, for one moment, that Obama does anything unless it fosters his own political agenda and serves the interests of big money, corporations and the elite of this country. I would be very surprised if everything he does isn’t scripted to the gnat’s eyebrow, including photo ops and public appearances of every kind. He just gives another speech and Rahm Emanuel does the dirty work. To think otherwise is sheer folly.

7. This country is in dire need of a new political party, founded on absolute standards of integrity, which will rout out the corruption within our political, financial and social systems. One that will rein in the excesses and polluting influence of corporate America. One that will put in place a system of checks and balances that will prevent the corruptive influence of power and money. We don’t need someone to start such a movement who has his/her own axe to grind. We don’t need a super-rich megalomaniac who hasn’t anything better to do with his/her money. We don’t need someone who is championing a radical cause, with big ears, a squeaky voice and who sleeps with the Bible under his/her pillow. We need a party, the governing principles of which are easily understood by those who vote them into office. We need a party that knows, understands and champions the clarion call for real liberty, equality and justice for all.

As long as we remain complacent, duped by all that numbs our minds and dilutes our intellect, we will continue to enslave ourselves, aided and abetted by the excess of the wealth and power of the few who have managed to bring us to the brink of the greatest catastrophe since the Great Depression. Until we have the courage and sheer determination to regain all that we have lost, and which came at the price of so many precious lives, the finer angels within us will remain on life-support.

Me thinketh the spooks we most have to fear are not the ones who come out on Halloween, but those who ply their dirty skills in the shadows and feed on the life-blood of a nation. Time to stop quivering like a bunch of dogs passing peach seeds, take our heads our of our behinds, focus on reality, take control of our destiny and do whatever it takes to restore some semblance of sanity and decency to this great country!


Cowboy Bob
October 31, 2009

"Miss Bender"

I never thought I would reach the point in my life where my perspective was more “retro” than “pro,” nor would my memories be more about people than the interesting places I have visited and the major events in my life. Be that as it may, I am glad things turned out the way they have. I find that I have warmer and deeper feelings about people than anything else in my life. Those memories are far more comforting and reassuring. I can become terribly melancholy about some of those folks, but they are feelings that remind me of what a gift they were, never forgotten but so easily lost.

Of all the people who crossed my path, the most outstanding and memorable are those who dedicated their lives to the education of others. They are two in number. One was a college professor and the other was my junior high school math teacher, Miss Dorothy Bender. This is about her.

Miss Bender had a well-known reputation for being stern. In those days, it meant you paid attention in her class and you accorded her the deference she commanded. When I moved into junior high school, I knew I was soon to encounter her, which engendered a certain amount of fear and trepidation at the mere thought of that eventful moment.

I went to my first study hall only to find the teacher assigned to oversee the hour was, you guessed it, Miss Bender. We were all sitting at our desks with a certain amount of apprehension in anticipation of her arrival. Shortly after taking our seats, the door opened and in walked the dreaded disciplinarian of junior high - Miss Bender. I was both a bit scared, but mesmerized, as well.

Here was a very stately woman who I would have guessed was in her early fifties. She had a quality about her that was rather statuesque and which gave the impression of being taller than I suspect she actually was. She had salt and pepper grey hair that was about midway down her neck and neatly done in waves. Her blue eyes were accentuated by a pair of glasses that did not dominate her face. She appeared serious and did not smile. She wore a finely tailored black knit suit with a three-quarter length jacket and fine-quality black leather shoes with small heels. She had a certain air of refinement in the way she walked. Even at the ripe old age of twelve, I found her to be a lady with an elegant mystique. She reflected a sense of class and a good upbringing. Her very countenance commanded respect which, I am sure, contributed a great deal to her reputation for having a low tolerance for nonsense. Her persona was almost perfect except for the small, fine scars that were etched in her face. The cause of those scars was to remain a mystery for many years.

I don’t know where Miss Bender came from, but she did not fit the stereotypical impression of a person born and raised in Wyoming. Rather, she reflected the characteristics and demeanor of a person who was probably from a good family rooted in a less remote part of the country. I don’t know that she had any close friends. Her background and private life remained a mystery to me.

During World War II, Miss Bender served as the principal of the school, a position she vacated at the end of the war because, as she opined, it was what caused her hair to turn grey. That was fate pointing her in the right direction. Her skills as a math teacher made a vastly greater impression on the many young minds eager to share in the knowledge and discipline she had mastered over the years. Her influence convinced me that I would one day devote my adult life to math as she had done, but it was a destiny that was never to be realized.

In the grand scheme of life, junior high school seemed like a brief stop on the continuum of education that soon led me to the local high school and beyond. I continued to favor math as my major academic interest, but when I entered my junior year in high school, I encountered the complete antithesis of Miss Bender.

Walter Morse taught higher mathematics. There was something rather serpentine about his demeanor. He seemed to harbor an irrational contempt for certain students, manifesting a finely honed sarcasm and the need to demonstrate his prowess in that regard by singling out students to bear the brunt of his perversity. I was one of his chosen ones, and I soon developed a disdain for him that was equal in its intensity to the respect I had for Miss Bender. I could never quite figure out what made this guy tick. It could only have been either a faulty gene pool or poor potty training. All I knew was he was a perfect prick in every respect. He didn’t like me and I certainly didn’t like him. Sadly, the one tragic outcome of my experience with him was the loss of my interest in and any enthusiasm for math that was such a prized legacy from my brief time under the tutelage of Miss Bender.

As it became apparent that I was not doing well in higher mathematics with Mr. Morse, I sought out the help of Miss Bender. Not surprisingly, she graciously and generously gave of her time and talent that got me though to graduation and out into the world of a young adult. I don’t know if I ever told her how much I appreciated all she did for me. If not, I should have. I cannot think of anything more egregious than taking another person for granted, particularly one so grand as Miss Bender.

I had long moved on and, in my early fifties, found myself working in the Middle East. It was a weekend and in my solitude, as I was prone to do, my thoughts took me back to earlier and better times. On that particular day, Miss Bender entered my conscious state. A warm feeling came over me as I recalled the impression she had made on me and how much of this great lady still remained with me. Although I was almost certain she had long since passed from this world, I was moved to write a letter about all she instilled in me, how much I had gained from her and wondering if she still remembered me. I mailed the letter with the hope that just a name and place would suffice to find her if she was indeed still a part of that community.

I soon forgot about that brief flight into past memories and focused on other things. Much to my surprise, a letter arrived a few weeks later. The envelope was addressed in beautiful handwriting and with the return address of Miss Dorothy Bender at the Pioneer Home in Thermopolis, Wyoming. I couldn’t believe my eyes. She let me know how much she enjoyed hearing from me and, yes, she certainly did remember me, as well. I had no idea how old she must have been, but she surely had to have been in her nineties. She shared aspects of her life at that point in time, thanked me for thinking of her and taking the time to write, and wished me well in the future. I don’t think I ever answered that letter which is more an indictment of me than anything else. It is a regret I still harbor.

I am told Miss Bender died in 1992. I suspect she left this world with the same air of elegance she carried throughout her entire life. I cannot imagine her being anything less. I hope she was not alone at that appointed hour. She deserved better.

I have met kings and queens, chiefs of state, the rich and the famous during the course of my life. None can even begin to measure up to the person I so affectionately knew as Miss Bender. She was one in a million.

Oh, by the way, back to the story that was recounted to me about the scars on her face. It is reputed, when she was a young woman, she was to be married to the man of her dreams. On the way to her wedding with her fiancé they were involved in a car accident. He was killed and she was injured, carrying the scars of that tragic moment for the rest of her life. I could not confirm the veracity of that account, but it is somehow a perfect fit with the Miss Bender I knew. As I conclude with this brief story, I hope she is in her heavenly home and in the prime of her life, with her face free of the scars she carried in this life. I hope she is in the company of her fiancé once again, holding hands while sitting on the banks of some celestial stream, and savoring a life there she lost so early in life here.

I, also, hope she has found it in her heart to forgive an aging man who took her for granted so long ago and who now finds it somewhat bittersweet to recall her with such fondness. I suspect she has. Miss Bender was a class act.


Cowboy Bob
October 19, 2009

“Where Is The Real Prize In All This?”

I would have to confess that my political leanings are more towards the liberal agenda than they are with the conservative. I prefer to base my conclusions more on the merits of the issues than on any allegiance to a particular political party. Absolute party loyalty smarts of extremism and I find that intellectually repugnant. Many of the same threads of corruption and ignorance run through both parties. One seems to take refuge in believing he always takes the high road of compassion while he looks with disdain on those he deems to have been reduced to thinking in monosyllabic frames of reference. The latter, in turn, impugn his adversaries in simplistic terms, labels and admonitions of divine wrath. My tolerance for both myopic extremes is limited.

Yesterday’s revelation that Mr. Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize threw this entire issue into sharp relief. The liberal/progressive extreme regarded it as almost tantamount to having been a divine revelation, and rose up in righteous indignation against all those who did not share their enthusiasm. Do I think he deserved it? Not in the least. Why? Because, I would ask, what has he done except for his penchant for always being counted on for a good speech? Hillary nailed him on that one during the primaries! He seems to have an aversion to any decisive action that doesn’t serve his own personal ambitions and political agenda.

I was an avid fan of this man while he was engaged in capturing the presidency. I thought he was going to do great things for this country that had, for far too long, been neglected at the expense of the American people. Much to my dismay he has proven to be just as corrupt and self-serving as any of his predecessors, regardless of party affiliation. He doesn’t have any concept of what it means to be a “leader.” Statesmen lead, don’t avoid calculated risks and have the guts to make real decisions. Community Organizers are accomplished at peddling bull puckey, manage by consensus and enjoy broad acceptance through mediocrity. Consensus decisions are lukewarm and weak at best, through the dilution of being made acceptable to the greatest number. The President has carried that background, further tainted by corruption, into the White House where it is totally inappropriate. His cajones are atrophied, big time!

Obama has reneged on practically every major campaign promise he made. He sold us out to the barons of Wall Street, the kingpins of the former Clinton Administration, and Corporate America. I would ask you, “What in the hell does this guy stand for?” I doubt I would receive a cogent response save for a few interested and enlightened minds.

Obama is the puppet whose strings are pulled by the shadow president in the person of Rahm Emanuel, the real power at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The backdoor deals and secret meetings, concessions and agreements that have been made within the hallowed halls of that great seat of executive power would boggle the minds of most of us, I have no doubt. For example, Emanuel assured the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee that he had nothing to fear. A public option would not be a part of any health care reform package. The lobbyist’s money would indeed be safe and they would deliver on what had previously been sold to the highest bidder.

This country is an empire in decline. We are hopelessly corrupt. We are complacent and ignorant. We are impervious to the suffering of our own citizens. Our moral compass is broken. We are numbed by what has happened to us in the last year and haven’t a clue as to how to fix it. Meanwhile, our illustrious leader is hamstrung by big money and their minions who do their bidding in the halls of government. Unemployment figures are skyrocketing and his stimulus package is a joke. There are hollow promises about putting people back to work. Doing what? With an almost total dismantling and exporting of our industrial base overseas, where are these thousands of people going to work?

Where are people going to live when their homes have been repossessed? How are they going to pay the skyrocketing fees now charged by banks and credit card companies? How are they going to afford health care that appears to be destined to be even more lucrative and monopolized by profit-making health care insurers, drug companies and their ilk?

With the fox guarding the chicken coop, how are we going to put in place and enforce any meaningful regulation of the financial industries and corporate excesses? When the regulated dictate the terms of regulation, how can there be any progress on behalf of the consumers who are now their hostages?

How much longer can we rely on an army comprised of people who have to be in uniform because of their lot in life, subjected to repeated re-deployments into harm’s way, totally exhausted and demoralized by wars that cannot be won? Who said this is not a poor man’s war? I dare say, a significant majority of those laying their lives on the line for the rest of us are there because they have no other choice. The good paying jobs on the home front as an alternative to their sacrifices are scarce as hens’ teeth. They simply aren’t there to be had.

How much longer can we brag about being the richest country in the world when more and more of us are living in abject poverty? How much longer can we brag about being the richest country in the world when our currency is no longer regarded as premium on the world’s currency markets? How much longer can we brag about being the most powerful country in the world when all we have left is a fractured economy that can no longer support our empty dreams of empire?

And, who is being held out as the last bastion of hope for our future? A cadre of motley political whores and parasites peddling nothing but more corruption and bull crap while the host gasps for one more life-sustaining breath?

So, Mr. President, “What have you done that makes you a credible choice for the Nobel Peace Prize?” No major speech required. A simple, declarative statement will suffice. By the same token, I would ask the loyal opposition, “What have you done to improve the lot of the people of this country?” Damned little. I don’t regard extremist political and religious philosophies as currency for a better country. I don’t regard machinations of a few ideologues, lying, tea parties, feigned righteousness, unbridled greed and obstructionism as much of a down payment on a better future. Try as you may, there are no simplistic answers to the very complex issues we face, both domestically and internationally. What shall we call this one pathetic political party we now have? The party representative of their own ambitions, not those of the electorate. Demopublicans or Republicrats? A rose by any other name?

Damned few of you in or seeking public office have the courage, principles, integrity or will to do what is necessary in order to turn this ship of state around in order to avert its impending collision with the iceberg looming on the horizon. Left to those currently in power, there will be no survivors from this fate we are all destined to share.

We need a new political party, cleansed of the corrupting influences of what we now have, and based on the principles set forth by the Founding Fathers. In the absence of any meaningful moral base to support it, what chance do we have?
　

Cowboy Bob
October 10, 2009

"Bovine Scatology? Still Bullshit to Me"

　

It has been quite a summer, what with “tea parties,” the contrived rallies made to look like individual citizens’ concerns over health care reform and the latest demonstrations on the mall in Washington, D.C. There is nothing quite as pathetic as having to bear witness to the full display of the empty minds among us who haven’t a clue as to what is really going on or what it all means. It would all be rather comical were it not for the fact that they have the same chilling affect as the famous Nurnberg Rallies of the 1930’s. I would have to confess, despite its perverse purpose, the discipline and pageantry of the latter was certainly more impressive than the exaggerated dress and chaotic behavior of those taking to the streets nowadays. They have given a new meaning to the term “transparency.”

Our democracy, by its very nature, requires an informed citizenry in order to function for the benefit of the electorate. Unfortunately, being informed has never been so out of vogue as it appears to be today. By reacting from the viscera rather than the cerebra, we have rendered ourselves incapable of being responsible stewards of democracy. By our very ignorance, we have abdicated any first line of defense against tyranny, and have readily yielded that power to oligarchs and corporations. Since 1980, the country has been theirs for the taking. They don’t even have to ask. They simply have to shape public opinion, define public appetites, and offer us easy credit and the means to satiate every conceivable kind of materialism and hedonism imaginable. We have been willing sheep through it all. Now, when our country is in shambles, we stand bewildered as to where it all went wrong, and feel totally helpless to do anything about it.

Meanwhile, those whose rapacious nature got us into this mess are, once again, planning their next assault on what remains of the last vestigial remnants of what is left of the carcass on which to feed. Only the total bareness of the landscape they have wrought will convince them that there is an end to everything and their time has come as well.

We are a people who love to throw the term “freedom” around at will, and the more we tend to think of it in terms of its absolute meaning, the more favor it incurs. In reality, absolute freedom is the barbaric state. Anything short of that has to give credence to some form of social order at the expense of certain individual freedoms. You cannot have a civilized and orderly society without that precondition. The concept of an unfettered free market is held up before us as if it were the Holy Grail, but without ever giving a passing thought to the fact that for such a system to exist there must of necessity be a population imbued with absolute honesty and one which is completely incorruptible. I would submit that the essence of our human nature makes that virtually impossible. Hence, all of our various manifestations of social intercourse must be subject to regulation in order to protect the common good. Society has to remain vigilant, however, and ensure that such regulation comes from the people and remains accountable to the people. Otherwise, the rights of society eventually become subordinate to the state and the ambitions of a select few, to our common peril.

If we are to be a truly representative democracy, we must guard against our tendency to operate according to our own vested self-interests at the expense of the society of which we are a part.

From my perspective, we have arrived at the point where our future is clearly in peril. It is in peril because we have either been too trusting or too lazy to engage in the hard work of ensuring accountability and integrity in exchange for our votes every 2, 4 and 6 years. Our federal system of government, in all respects, has become so corrupt and so insulated from those who put them in office that it is now a self-serving and a self-perpetuating system of tyranny. Every branch of government; the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial are tainted by their own power to some extent. Objectivity among them is, without question, a relative term.

Our elected officials are up for the highest bidder. Secrecy, lying and deception are the tools with which they ply their trade. Whenever money changes hands from those seeking favors from government to the hands of those who are government, the rights of society and its control over our system of government are compromised.

Corporations, although enjoying most of the privileges and rights accorded human beings, are not and cannot be the same. The nature of the beast makes that virtually impossible. They do not have a conscience akin to that of the people. Consequently, the human element within corporations is negated in deference to the “conscience of the corporation,” however that may be defined, and becomes manifest in society. I think it is safe to conclude that rarely, if ever, do they operate with the same enduring values we hold as human beings who are subjected to their power and avarice. Vested interests outside those of the governed cannot and will not serve the interests of the people. It just isn’t going to happen.

Thanks largely to the Clinton Administration, but going all the way back to the Reagan Administration, the industrial base of this country was systematically dismantled and shipped overseas to cheaper labor markets. Our current rate of unemployment is skyrocketing and we are lead to believe there will be an interval where it will only get worse before it gets better. I would ask, going back to work where and to jobs that are no longer there? Free trade and globalization has seen to that. We are assuaged by the rhetoric that we are now an information society. An information society of whom, by whom and for whom? Surely, they don’t expect us to believe that everyone is endowed with the same talents, skills and opportunities, so that great amorphous market can absorb them all! In the meantime, their homes are being repossessed, they have no jobs to go to and their unemployment benefits are running out. Are we to believe they will continue to be passive in the face of total and complete ruin without some backlash?

The barons of Wall Street are becoming just as emboldened as they were before the bottom fell out of the financial markets. They are hatching schemes that will game the system in much the same way as bundled mortgages, hedge funds and the like. Moreover, you can bet your bippy that the same players are behind it all as they were in the Clinton Administration, the long dark days of the Bush Administration and now transplanted to the Obama Administration. I would ask you, how transparent has the industry become? What new regulations and controls have been imposed on them? Do we really buy into all the crap about “too big to fail?” As an old cowboy would have said, “If you can’t break a horse, you will never ride him.” Seems rather fundamental to me.

The entire protracted foreplay having to do with “reforming” the health care system is just another glaring example of how we, as a people, are being had without even so much as a modicum of KY Jelly! All of the players; the White House, the Congress, the lobbyists and the profit-making health care corporations, in all their various manifestations, already know what the eventual outcome will be. We are witness to a grand charade, all for our benefit. The stench of pure unadulterated bullshit hangs heavy over the marble city on the Potomac.

If we really want to reform the system so every citizen gets a better deal out of one of the most lucrative segments of our economy, it certainly is not difficult to accomplish, nor does it take a rocket scientist to make it happen. Have you heard the term “trigger?” I am reasonably certain the term, as used in Wyoming, is not quite the same as it is when used by the distinguished Senator from Maine, but it is close enough for company work.

Let us begin; as soon as Company Obama signs a bill into law, we set ourselves to the task of undertaking the modernization of the system through computerization of medical records, digitalizing technology and other improvements in our nation’s health care system. Then, at the end of the first year, the trigger mechanism comes into play.

The minimum age for eligibility for Medicare drops from 65 to 60 years of age. From that point on, the trigger will encompass all of those in population increments 5 years younger until the program covers the entire population. That will give the current crop of health care bandits a respectable period of time in which to steal as much as they can before the well runs dry, and the fat cats among them can then fly off to whatever tax haven is harbor to their fortunes. Goodbye and good riddance.

Concurrently, a well-respected, qualified and honest group of citizens should band together and form a new political party that will stand on old fashioned virtues of honesty, integrity and accountability in government at all levels. One that will cut out all of the vestigial remnants of privilege, largess and power now endemic to this rather fragile, but treasured raison d’etre for our democracy. A government truly “of the people, for the people and by the people,” without all the constant barrage of bull crap we get from the entrenched bunch of thieves and their minions in the corporate news media.

We, as a people, are simply better than what we are getting from government, and we sure as hell deserve better after all they have put us through. Call it what you will, but bovine scatology still amounts to nothing more than plain old bullshit.
　
Cowboy Bob
September 13, 2009
　

“Our Finer Angels - An Endangered Species?"

　

The year was 1945 on a ranch, 60 miles south of Cody, Wyoming, on the South Fork of the Shoshone River.

The ranch was owned by a wealthy heiress from a prominent Pennsylvania family, who was then married to her second husband, a rodeo cowboy of minor fame in calf roping on the regional rodeo circuit. A romance that was born, no doubt, amid the pungent aroma of manure and the glamour of a real western rodeo. Her first husband was a man of prominence, living in Philadelphia, who had custody of their only son more, I suspect, because of the superior environs of life on the Main Line versus those of living on a remote ranch in Wyoming.

My Dad was a hired hand working on that ranch who, also, harbored dreams of becoming the World Champion Calf Roper, dreams never to be realized. I was nine years old and, when I wasn’t helping my Dad, Smoky (the best horse I ever rode) and I would take off to explore the many wonders hidden among the foothills leading up to the mountain peaks high above the ranch site. As the sun would begin to set in the West, Smoky would take over, I would drop the reins over the saddle horn, and he would dutifully take me directly to the door of the ranch cabin we called home, just in time for supper. I was quite content to be alone with my own company, a cherished solitude that was to be interrupted by the son of the heiress who was to be my constant companion for the remainder of those precious summer months.

It was the first time I realized that people actually traveled in private railroad cars accompanied by a butler. That was totally alien to me, but he proved to be just another nice enough kid. We would divide our time between the working ranch from that of the owner, which was separated by a couple of miles. I recall the stately log structure of the main ranch house and its manicured lawn, with the utilitarian part of the home joined to the main house by a breezeway. He and I would often have lunch together at a small table in the main kitchen. On one such occasion, following lunch, he asked me to go with him to his room. His Mother happened to be in the kitchen at that time, and I can recall the incident as vividly as the day it happened, as she turned to her son and said, “Georgie, you know we never allow the hired help into the main house.” That was my introduction to the reality of the relationship between wealth and the hired help to which I, obviously, belonged at the ripe old age of 9! It proved to be a signature moment in shaping the values that have sustained me throughout my life. The Heinz 57 brand never graced our table again.

I don’t believe that most wealth is the product of dedication and hard work. Rather, I am more inclined to think it is from gaming a system for its own benefit, and usually at the expense of others of lesser stations in life. To the mouths of the greedy, there never seems to be enough. They always want more.

I, also, don’t believe that people who are dedicated to amassing great wealth are unaware of the cost of their ambitions to the society of which they are a part. Rather, I am more inclined to believe they know full well what they take for themselves and the attendant costs on those who work to provide it to them. Conscience is not one of their virtues. The free market, without regulation and safeguards to ensure honesty and fairness, simply does not work and does not accrue to the benefit of society.

In order to make what they do more palatable, wealth seems to have an ingrained ability to demonize those they exploit and whose pittance they plunder at will. The statistics showing the massive transfer of wealth from the common man to the top tier of the population in this country, since the days when “Ronnie” was our president and up to the present time, clearly shows what has been sacrificed by our working people in order to make all that possible.

Free trade, so strongly advocated and touted by our political establishment and the business “community,” certainly did nothing to improve the lot of working Americans. As business flourished in the new environment of globalization, with illegal aliens pouring across our southern borders, deregulation of business interests and the massive dismantling of our industrial base, the working Americans faced a dismal future, devoid of the hope and promise so cherished and embodied in the American dream. They were vilified by business and government sympathizers for looking to organized labor in order to help shore up their base and restore some semblance of control over their own destiny. As the service industries burgeoned, we witnessed massive numbers of people reduced to the minimum wage and consigned to menial labor; what we came to refer to as the “working poor.”

History has been witness to a string of First Ladies parading around like dowager queens in their expensive finery, deigning to acknowledge those who were not particularly high in the social register and patronizing those who hadn’t quite made it. Great role models for a country that so reveres the notion of equality as a fundamental virtue of what we are supposed to be all about. Most enjoyed that station in life by virtue of the compromises in character made by their husbands in supplication before the thrones of vast wealth and power.

Bill and Hillary abandoned the richness of their trailer park heritage in favor of pandering to massive wealth, whose favors could be had for the asking by casting their lot with the likes of Wall Street Bankers and corporate America. They made a bundle after leaving office, ostensibly from “speaking engagements” which remains suspect as far as I am concerned.

Then, of course, there was George W., The Village Idiot made good. What Bill did not finish, George and Co. did, and Obama is sweeping up the crumbs from all that is left. The impoverishment of mainstream America is now all but complete. It was just a question of time before their house of cards came tumbling down, but it did so with a bang not heard since the Great Depression.

It is utterly incredulous to me how so many mainstream Americans can buy into, and blindly support, the mantra of the rich, powerful, corrupt and morally bankrupt of this country and, indeed, the world. Their zealousness boggles the mind and the conscience of those who know better. Just look at them. Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney, Alberto Gonzales, Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, Marc Sanford, John Ensign, tea parties, religious zealots, Ann Coulter, ad nauseum. Then there are those who are the masters of seduction when it comes to manipulating all those who profess to be so well-intentioned, all the while dutifully serving their masters of power and privilege, such as Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, Barack Obama, Joe Lieberman, Ben Bernanke, Max Baccus, and a whole host of others who routinely sell out this country and those who elect them to public office. No amount of sanitizing by all those who aid them and the media who champion them can wipe the stains of shame from their dark and dirty souls. People suffer and die because of their empty rhetoric and their veiled pretense at giving a damn.

The Christ they all call on for the deification of the rotten remains and memory of all they claim to be, but are not, did not live in a palatial home, did not surround Himself with the powerful and elite of his time, did not travel in a golden chariot nor indulge his appetites with the finest foods and wines available in his time. Rather, he wore simple garments and sandals. He walked the dusty roads among the most humble of men. He lived in simple surroundings and was carried on the back of an ass. He championed the least among us, and admonished us to share our bounty and our treasures freely with all of those who had so little. How do those who mock Him in every aspect of their lives, yet profess such undying faith to his teachings, square the hypocrisy that seems to have claimed their immortal souls?

I take strenuous exception to the notion that “all men are created equal.” That statement defies reality. People come into this world with grossly disparate measures of genetic makeup. They are born to vastly different levels of affluence and opportunities laid before them as their birthright. The suffering and degradation that will follow and will dominate the lives of so many cannot be explained away by their perceived failure to seize missed opportunities and the burden of perceived indolence they carry.

With the onset of the economic bubble that has just burst, we came to revere and emulate the very ones who have plundered the country and laid fallow that which has given so many, historically, the means to pursue the American Dream. The massive advertising put before us an endless menu of materialistic and hedonistic offerings, made all the easier to acquire through easy credit has, I believe, caused us to lose sight of what we are all about. We now have a mega-church whose pastor preaches that Christ wants all of us to be rich, as if wealth is the beginning and end in our pursuit of redemption and salvation. But people have bought into that opiate and are flocking in droves to hear his message. For us to acquiesce to a world of such massive greed, avarice and callousness toward the human condition, without attempting to ease the plague of human suffering, has to be the greatest affront we can commit in the eyes of our Creator.

Wyoming, known as “The Equality State,” was the first state to have a woman for Governor and was the first state to grant women suffrage. Now, both U.S. Senators from the state are staunch supporters of a health care industry totally out of control, as they sap billions and billions of dollars from the lifeblood of people when they are most at the mercy of the system. So much for the historical banner of “equality.”

“For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required.” Luke 12:48

“Whatever you do unto the least of my brethren, you do unto me.” Matthew 25:40
　
What has happened to our finer angels?


Cowboy Bob
September 1, 2009
　

“It just keeps getting piled higher and deeper”

I was impressed by the news of the day yesterday, particularly in regard to the current state of the economy.

It was reported that the Dow Jones was going through the roof, the housing market had rebounded, and consumer spending had increased. Wow! What great news. Makes one as happy as a pig in shit.

Then we were told the unemployment figures continued to go up, with California topping the eleven percent mark, foreclosures were still rising and consumer confidence was down.

How could that be? Now I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I find those bits of information rather incongruous. Do you suppose the Dow Jones is going through the roof because all those unemployed folks are rushing to their brokers with their unemployment checks to invest in the market? Or, is it because those with the money are hoping to make another killing? Nah, that would be downright obscene, wouldn’t it?

Why is the housing market rebounding when people are still losing their homes. Perhaps all those unemployed, and about to be unemployed, are taking all that money they have stuffed under the mattress and buying a cheap house while the market is down. Or, could it be that the opportunists would stoop to capitalizing on other people’s misfortunes in order to reap handsome profits when the economy rebounds? That seems so un-American, don’t you think?

And why would consumer confidence be down? Looks like all those hucksters on Madison Avenue and Hollywood have been asleep at the wheel. After all, they are the ones who create and sustain consumer demand. That could be the only rational explanation for all those folks not flocking to Wal-Mart Mart to buy a bunch of cheap crap from China they don’t need, and paying for it with money they don’t have. That can’t be. There must be something more to it than that. I just might be they have to scrape enough together to feed the kids and keep the bill collectors at bay. I wonder how that would play in The Hamptons?

In trying to make some sense out of all this by applying a rudimentary grasp of Aristotelian logic to these contradictions, it occurred to me that perhaps the mainstream news media has become so calloused as to forego any attempt at subtlety in peddling the corporate and political line of bovine scatology to a nation of suckers. Surely, when people are down on the rims, you would think they might have a modicum of conscience, and revisit notions such as hard news and investigative journalism. But, that is probably asking too much from those who have become fat cats by rubbing elbows with the residents of Georgetown, rather than watchdogs on the establishment that historical traditions of journalism dictate. That would be too much to ask.

Perhaps it is because it is inherent in the nature of a good whore to live in the moment and focus on the next trick.


Cowboy Bob
August 22, 2009
　

"If Not Now, When?

The United States espouses a two-party political system, albeit there have been a few more from time to time throughout our history. However, the number has been limited to two viable parties, which have dominated our national political scene.

We have a system of democracy based on the Constitution, and a series of amendments to the Constitution adopted and ratified over the course of our nation’s history. The first ten amendments are referred to as The Bill of Rights.

Within the context of those documents are set forth the structure and the defined roles of each branch within the overall context of our national government:

1. The Executive Branch, which consists of the Office of the President and Vice-President, plus all administrative agencies of government headed by members of the Cabinet, appointed by and accountable to the President, and ratified by the Senate. The President and Vice-President are elected by an Electoral College, traditionally based on the results of a popular vote of the people.

2. The Legislative Branch, referred to as the Congress, which is comprised of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members of the House of Representatives are elected by the voters within defined legislative districts within each of the fifty states. The voters within each of the fifty states elect members of the Senate.

3. The Judicial Branch or the Supreme Court comprised of nine Justices appointed by the President and ratified by the Senate.

4. The roles and powers of each of the three branches of the government are clearly defined in the Constitution and Amendments thereto, properly ratified by three-fourths of the states.

Because we seem to have lost the ability to be shocked by any conduct or malfeasance, we no longer hold our public officials to absolute standards of honesty, integrity and transparency that should be inherent in the conduct of those we elect to public office. Rather, we seem to have evolved to the point where those terms have become situational and, essentially, render any meaningful standards moot.

Elected officials who serve the public and who routinely engage in conduct that is clearly contrary to the public trust, is a conflict of interest, is self-serving and compromises the standards of conduct the electorate should properly expect from them.

Elected officials pander to the influence of corporate power and money, and to the interests of the oligarchs and plutocrats, all at the expense of the common man for whom this democracy was ostensibly founded. The pernicious and pervasive dominance of special interests over our system of government runs from K Street to Wall Street to the Congress to the White House.

We have come to accept, as routine, the massive amounts of money that flow into the coffers of our political system from special interest groups in order to buy favor from those in elected office who, in reality, serve as their minions in Congress and the White House. The only time our elected representatives in Washington seem to pay any attention to the people is when they are seeking votes for their re-election or support for an agenda that predominately serves the interests of corporate America or enhances massive personal wealth.

Corruption has become a way of life within both major political parties and among our elected officials in Washington, as evidenced by lobbyists, the power of money, and the blurred distinction between the two major political parties.

For example:

1. Both parties feed from the same trough of graft and largesse provided by big money and influence.

2. The Republican Party has, historically, tended to favor big business and wealth over the welfare of the common man. Their efforts have become more blatant in recent history. For example, aborting the recount of votes in Florida in 2000 that enabled the Republican Party to steal the election for George W. Bush. We are seeing a reprise of that same tactic
with current efforts at reforming the healthcare system.

3. Massive deregulation of the economy that has led to a scale and concentration of economic and political power never before seen in the history of this country.

4. The largest transfer of wealth from the common man to the super rich in the history of this country.

5. The largest budget deficits in the history of this country, starting with the Reagan Administration and continuing to this day.

Any real distinction between the Democratic and the Republican parties became blurred with the Carter Administration and has continued to the present time.

For example:

1. The opening of the Social Security fund by President Carter to immigrants coming into the United States.

2. The Reagan Administration piling up more debt on the backs of the American people than all of the presidents combined, preceding Ronald Reagan in office.

3. The role of the Clinton Administration and Republicans in Congress in the deregulation of the financial industries that led to the current recession/depression that has taken this country to the brink of total financial ruin, largely at the expense of the common man.

4. The transfer of massive amounts of wealth through tax cuts for the top tier of the American social system by the Bush Administration.

5. An illegal war and questionable practices associated with no-bid contractors.

6. The Obama Administration coming into office promising the American people “change they can believe in,” only to embark on placing former “Clintonites” in strategic positions that have served (and continue to serve) the interests of the financial community, such as advice and counsel from Robert Rubin, the appointment of Larry Summers as the Chief Economic Advisor to the President, and the appointment of Timothy Geithner as Secretary of the Treasury.

a. The shroud of secrecy that has been placed around dealings between the Administration, the Federal Reserve and Wall Street.

b. The absence of any real accountability and transparency by the Administration, the Federal Reserve and Wall Street. The American people still have no idea as to what has really gone on, the magnitude of the financial obligation to be borne by the taxpayers, and being kept in the dark because of specious arguments such as “too big to fail,” and other forms of deception.
In the meantime, Wall Street profits handsomely while the economy falters and the common man suffers.

Clearly, the credibility and motives of Rubin, Summers and Geithner are called into question by their previous associations with the Clinton Administration and the financial houses on Wall Street.

In the meantime, pre-eminent economic minds such as Joseph Stiglitz (Nobel Laureate) at Columbia University, Nouriel Roubini at New York University, James Galbraith at the University of Texas, Paul Krugman (Nobel Laureate) at Princeton University, Robert Reich at the University of California at Berkeley, and Simon Johnson at MIT have either been marginalized or totally ignored by President Obama. Why? Where do we see evidence of the old adage that “two heads are better than one?” The combined knowledge and wisdom of those enumerated above would certainly appear to be infinitely superior to the former “Clintonites” who appear to have the President’s ear in the dealing with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The Obama Administration and Democratic leaders in Congress are clearly in bed with those who dominate the for-profit healthcare industries to the tune of billions of dollars in profits at the expense of small business, individuals and those on the lower rung of the socio-economic ladder. We get more “smoke and mirrors” while Obama has racked up 18 million dollars in contributions from the proprietary health care industries, and Max Baccus and other prominent Democrats and Republicans lace their pockets with millions of dollars in “campaign contributions” from drug companies, private hospitals, insurance companies, etc., while denying any meaningful input from those advocating a single-payer system of healthcare, all to the collective detriment of the American people.

It is interesting to note that the President nominated Kathleen Sebelius for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services. She is reputed to be a strong advocate for a private system of health care, and her behavior in the current debate would tend to confirm that observation. She was picked over a much more qualified individual in the person of Howard Dean, ostensibly because Rahm Emanuel does not “like” Dr. Dean. Is that rational and in the best interests of the country, or is it stacking the deck?

Meanwhile, President Obama back-peddles on campaign promises, engages in conduct reminiscent of his predecessor and cozies up to the very interests he vowed to challenge when he became President. He has favored corporations and big business at the expense of untold millions who have lost their homes, their jobs and access to fundamental human rights such as health care.

Barack Obama appears to be acting more like a classic Chicago politician and less like the President of the United States.

Secrecy, as we all know, does not foster trust and confidence. Contrary to my greatest hopes for this administration, it is simply no longer credible and appears to be just another dose of the Clinton “Republicans” (euphemistically called Democrats) under the guise of “inclusiveness,” “bi-partisanship,” etc.

The arrogance of power and corruption, so endemic within our national government, and the political parties of which it is comprised, is so blatant and so formidable that people are scared and utterly bewildered as to what, if anything, can be done to stem the tide of what is rapidly becoming the complete unraveling of our national fabric. They want honest government they can trust and one that genuinely cares about the people of this country, and places their welfare above corporations and big business.

If there is one aspect of our world that forever remains constant, it is that the parasite never realizes, because of his insatiable appetite, that he will eventually kill the host and ensure his own demise. I fear we, as a nation, may have reached that point. We are in desperate need of a political party that will stand on the principles which made this country great, and will set itself to the task of restoring honest government to the people, where it was intended and where it belongs.

I believe the time has come to create a political party that clearly represents the will of the people, by reigning in the sheer power and influence (both political and financial) of corporations and the vast wealth that has corrupted both major political parties. The massive corruption that has permeated our system of government needs to be routed out, integrity restored and safeguards put in place to ensure a government that is, unequivocally, based on the principle of “a government of the people, for the people and by the people.”

I believe there is fertile ground for a new political party, but not without its challenges. No matter how formidable it may appear, we no longer have the luxury of waiting for a more opportune time. There is a malaise across the land. People are losing confidence in the ability and the will of our government to help them and, as a consequence, are becoming confused and apathetic. I shall forever remember the words of wisdom imparted to me by the captain of a ship I served on in the United States Navy many years ago. He wisely observed that “As long as the crew is bitching, I don’t worry. It is when they stop that I do.” People can only go without the basic necessities of life for so long. When relief is not forthcoming, trust and confidence evaporates, and violence will surely follow.

I do not believe the people of this country are typified by the likes of Sarah Palin, Joe the Plumber, religious zealots dealing in ecclesiastical absolutes, or those who believe that their government would actually advocate active euthanasia for its senior citizens. Call them what you will, but an apt description is the lunatic fringe. They are the ones who can always be counted on to seek simple solutions to very complex problems. Most people, I believe, are doing the best they can under impossible circumstances. They are the product of a surreal society that actively shapes their perceptions of the world and creates tastes they can ill afford. They want to believe the best about their government and trust that it will, in the end do what is best for them. That just isn’t going to happen until we attack the problems head on and clean up the cesspools of Wall Street, Washington, D.C. and all the other centers of corruption and decadence that have, for much too long, set our national agenda and defined our values. We are better than that and capable of so much more that is good and decent.

The time for real change is upon us. If not now, when?

“Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.”
-- George Bernard Shaw


Cowboy Bob
August 19, 2009
　
　
　

“--------- and that’s the way it is on July 30, 2009”

Frankly, I am appalled by all the fuss being made about the incident in Cambridge, Mass. between Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley. If that isn’t an example of much ado about nothing, I don’t know what is. I don’t believe race had anything to do with the issue, nor should it. It looks to me as if the rather inflated ego of a Harvard professor came up against the rather rigid routine of the Cambridge Police Force. Better to be right than reasonable. A little humility and less confrontation would have probably put the issue to rest. We can all arm-chair about what was done vs. what should have been done, but I dare say most of us would be off base if we tried. For it to go all the way to the level of the President of the United States is nothing less than ludicrous! For Obama to have dignified it is a reflection on his judgment. The beer among the guys at the White House is, in my humble opinion, just another cheap bit of political theater. Who needs it?


Don’t you just love the way people lay in wait to pounce on anything that might be the least bit offensive? As a good friend of mine once observed, “Our relationship to life is rather like a pubic hair on the edge of a toilet. If you stay there long enough, someone is sure to come along and piss you off.” If you want to be offended, there is always someone willing to accommodate you.

We really get a lot of mileage out of the word “racist” these days. Television provides us with endless hours and days of detailed coverage and analysis of the most insignificant issues regarding race, just to keep stirring the shit. You can always count on Joan Walsh to appear, with her most pained facial expression, admonishing us as to why this is such an important issue that has to be addressed. Al Sharpton can be counted on to remind us why we are a racist society. As far as I am concerned, Al Sharpton is a racist. But, do I give a damn? Would I lose any sleep over it? Hardly. He is a free man and a free agent. If his diatribe gives meaning to his role in society, so be it.

From my perspective, I resent being portrayed as a “white” person. When I look in the mirror and the millions of others of my ilk, I don’t see “white” people, I see “pink” people. However, given our political and racial sensitivities, I have no doubt that if I referred to the likes of so-called “white” people as “pink” people, I would immediately be pounced on by the conservative right as a socialist or, worse, a communist. I shudder at the mere thought of the wrath of Sarah Palin coming down on my head. So, better to be politically correct and safe with the label “white.”

Then, there is all the smoke and mirrors over a national health plan. That the average person believes the massive numbers of lies and distortions of the issue, I am surprised it didn’t die a long time ago. But, I am reassured by some of the key players, as well, such as Mitch McConnell, who carries a perennial facial expression that looks as if he had just let a wet fart in polite company. Max Baucus is rather reminiscent of a fading Hollywood star whose face lift is dropping while he struggles in vain to look forever handsome. But, that is not all, as the hawkers on television remind us. Let us not forget the inimitable Joe Lieberman. His caricature is more akin to that of the Pillsbury Dough Boy. No one can really take him seriously. They just want to squeeze him. Every one of the heavy hitters on this issue is as crooked as a Roman Road. Why in the hell we dignify or place any stock in anything they have to say is beyond me.


I think we can do with a hell of a lot more maturity when it comes to being offended. As far as what the sleaze bags in Washington are doing to us, I think we could (and should) be far better informed and take less seriously those who are so blatantly compromised because of the total corruption of any character they might have left.

Other than that, let us all continue to play the violin while the empire burns. Life is grand!


Have a good day.

Cowboy Bob
July 30, 2009

P.S. Inspiration for the lead-in goes Walter Cronkite, one of the great journalists of our time.

"The Natives are Restless"

I would have to say that, in my lifetime, I regard the four best presidencies as those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. We started to go down hill with the imperious delusions of Lyndon Johnson and the paranoia of Richard Nixon.

Jimmy Carter was way off base when he opened the Social Security Fund to government largesse for immigrants. I can’t quite square that with the intent of the Social Security Act, not to mention how it has affected all those who have paid. and continue to pay, into that fund. He may be a good statesman, but he didn’t show me much as a president.

Ronald Regan rode into Washington like the Grade B movie actor we all knew him to be, deriding the excesses of government, admonishing us that “government is the problem,” all the while piling more debt on the backs of the American people during his administration than all of the presidents who preceded him in office. I am still suspect that the ruse deifying him was so successful that he is freeze-dried somewhere waiting to be dragged out by the Republican Party for ceremonial occasions.

George H.W. Bush? Well, he and Gerald Ford would have made good fraternity brothers, what with all their personal charisma and notable accomplishments in office.

Bill Clinton was and continues to be a national disgrace, Monica Lewinsky not with standing. Virtue of any kind is an alien concept to this man. Despite his ability to chatter in the vernacular of the African-Americans and the working class, he is no friend of either. He sold his soul to big money. It was he who signed the bill deregulating the financial industries. It was he who had insiders like Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Rahm Emanuel and the likes in key positions within his administration. It was he who was an advocate for NAFTA and who was the great champion of free trade that effectively emasculated our industrial base and competitive place in the world economy. He baited the trap as he was leaving office and ------

George W. Bush took the bait when the Supreme Court ordained him President. As Clinton gave new meaning to the term, “greed,” Bush gave new meaning to the term “Commander in Chief.” The haunting words of President Eisenhower regarding the dangers of the Military-Industrial Complex came floating back from an earlier time. I would append that term to read Military-Industrial-Intelligence Complex. Bush was the coward and the Office of President was the club that enabled him to be a bully.

We were eager for a fresh face, an honest man and a decent soul to assume the Presidency. Barack Obama gave this nation new hope and a promise for a better and more just future. Instead, he gave us a cabinet heavily weighted with re-treads from the Clinton Administration in the likes of Larry Summers, Rahm Emanuel, and others with ties and loyalties to Wall Street, all the while marginalizing superior economic and financial minds that might have helped to solve, rather than exacerbate, our economic problems. While he has pandered to Wall Street, he has promised a new future of abundance and plenty for working class America. Where is it? How can good jobs be promised to a work force whose means of labor have long ago been shipped overseas? If they are to be retrained for new, environmentally friendly jobs, how are they going to support their families while they are going to school? Where are all those “shovel-ready” jobs that are supposed to be waiting for those eager to render honest labor in exchange for a home, food on the table, education for their kids and quality healthcare? I don’t see any nor do most of those who heard and put stock in those same promises. All who have lost their jobs and their homes are still waiting for their bailout. Compared to what was so lavishly bestowed on Wall Street, the bailout simply wasn’t there for others equally or more deserving. A whole lot of people out in the hinterlands don’t see much happening. However, at the end of the day, he sure gives a good speech, doesn’t he?

I live in a rural community on the fringe of a major metropolitan area. I am retired, with friends from across the socio-economic spectrum. I can tell you, unequivocally, that they see little difference between Republicans and Democrats, except in name. Both parties are perceived as being held hostage by corporations and big money, aided and abetted by the offices they hold and the largesse that comes from their seducers. When did the social, economic and moral values that sustained our government institutions give way to those of a perversity of greed and avarice known only to Wall Street, K Street, the Military-Industrial Complex and the corporate news media? I would add, those same folks don’t place much stock in President Obama and the stuff he peddles either.

Like most of us, I never paid much attention to the professed merits of a third political party. However, I am beginning to rethink my position. A very wise man opined to me many years ago that, when we as a people are no longer shocked by anything, then the distinction between right and wrong becomes blurred, and it only becomes more so with time. We have been on a downward trajectory for a very long time that has only increased in mass and speed. We tolerate things from our political and business establishment that would have been unthinkable in the not-too-distant past.

Why do we tolerate the corrupting influence of lobbyists (both foreign and domestic) and their bulging pockets of money as a legitimate part of our government process? Aren’t the people we elect to public office there because of our votes and there, ostensibly, to serve us, the body politic? Aren’t the activities of lobbyists and the acceptance of huge sums of money by politicians clearly a conflict of interest with those of the electorate? Why do we blithely accept “pork barrel projects” as just part of doing business in Washington? Isn’t that the people’s money being garnered for pet projects by the fat cats we euphemistically refer to as “servants of the people?” Why is this regarded as “business as usual,” rather than the egregious conduct it is?

Why have we allowed corporations to continue with all of the rights and privileges of citizens just because it became precedent over the course of history, reputedly because of an “error” by a two-bit law clerk? That precedent was never legislated. Is it not time to correct one of the most deadly assaults on our democracy and the people of this country? They have finally arrived at the point where we are expected to defer to many of them as simply “too big to fail.” Too big to fail by whose measure? By those who have gone to Washington on our votes only to sell themselves to the huge sums of money and massive power of an entity that has claimed the right to be one of us, without ever having been legitimated by action of our government and the consent of the people?

Why do we tolerate the deliberative bodies sitting in the Capitol Building as representatives of the people who, in fact, behave as if they have an imperial mandate from some invisible monarch, the interests of those who put them there be damned? Their bloated salaries, benefits and perks (which they determine for themselves) would tend to underscore that perception. Why do we allow them to serve in perpetuity, often to the point of being so feeble and incapacitated they can’t function? Shouldn’t there be a retirement age for them as there is for the rest of us? But, most of all, why do we tolerate their blatant corruption, serving as the pawns of big money and corporate power to the detriment and at the expense of those who have worked so hard and paid so much to make this country what it is supposed to be?

Why do we have a Supreme Court that is regarded as a deliberative, judicial body when, in fact, it is clearly political and legislates accordingly? Why is there more concern about whether a nominee is a liberal or a conservative than there is for his/her judicial record prior to ascending to the highest court in the land?

Why have we created and supported what amounts to an imperial presidency? He is our elected Head of State, not a reincarnation of the emperors of Ancient Rome. The very trappings we have condoned for the office and the excesses we tolerate would give anyone serving in the office a swelled head and a distorted perception of reality. He works for the people of the United States, not the corporate cartels of Wall Street, the health care industries, foreign governments, etc.

Why do we allow corporate ownership of the nation’s news media that is supposed to serve as the people’s watchdog on our government? They should be telling us where our government has failed us rather than brainwashing us into believing the company line from all the putrid environs inside the Beltway!

I believe the time has come to accept the fact that both major political parties serve the same interests, just in different ways. They do not represent the interests of the American people whose labors and lives have made this country what it is. They are like the parasite that can’t see that he is killing the host. It is time for them to stop sucking the very life-blood out of this country in order to serve the masters of greed in the name of free enterprise and de-regulation. It is time to stop the hemorrhaging of our national resources by shipping our industrial base overseas and outsourcing jobs to cheaper labor markets around the world. It is time to stop giving away that which rightfully belongs to the people who have labored so hard to provide for a decent standard of living and a secure old age. Those resources belong to us, not to cheap labor pouring across our southern borders in order to feed the avarice of business interests that want to avoid paying a decent wage and providing a respectable package of benefits to those who labor on their behalf. We need to stop allowing drug dealers and criminals to freely enter this country, only to set up shop on our public lands and on our city streets. Like all of those who came before them and those who have legally followed, they haven’t earned the right to our resources, the bleeding hearts be damned. It is time for those of the cloth to tend to our spiritual needs rather than serving as advocates for plundering our resources out of some perverted notion that they have an inherent right to do so. Do you suppose God told them to?

I am all for this country being a responsible part of the world community, but I am not in favor of a pathological need to apologize for what we are because of what they are not. We are what we are because of the blood, sweat and tears shed by our ancestors. Like us, let them make the same sacrifices for democratic forms of government in their homelands that will serve the people, rather than the paragons of absolute power and corruption inherent in their government institutions, and the oppressive power of big business. Let them emulate all that we have become, rather than allowing them to emasculate us for what we are.

We sold our souls and abandoned the need to nurture those virtues that build character and responsibility in favor of the big house, the fancy cars, the pursuit of the perfect body and sexual pleasures that would have been the envy of the gods of ancient Greece. Big business interests and the political establishment that enabled them gave us the tools to live beyond our means so they could reap the vast wealth created by our overly stimulated appetites. The result has been the collapse of the house of cards, with the ill-gained spoils created by the wealthy remaining with them, while the average American descends deeper into a state of destitution brought on by their own materialistic and hedonistic pursuits. As they are responsible for their avarice, we are responsible for having abandoned the cardinal lessons of history that built and sustained our national character.

From conversations I have had with members of the intellectual community, from merchants, from professionals, from blue-collar workers, from those who work the land and labor in the fields, I am convinced the time is ripe for serious consideration of a new political party that is built on the intent and wisdom of the Founding Fathers, and as embodied in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We need a government that is truly one “of the people, for the people and by the people.” Honesty and integrity must be the hallmarks of such an endeavor. We must end self-serving practices that prostitute the foundations of our political parties, and reign in the elected representatives who profit from the largesse of those whose interests are diametrically opposed to those of the citizens of this country. Moreover, we need to stop deluding ourselves into believing that they have our interests at heart. Look at Wall Street. I always thought the fundamentals of a free market meant, if you invested wisely, you reaped the profits. On the other hand, if you invested foolishly, you took the hit for your poor judgment. That distinction has morphed into the notion that if you win, you win. However, if you lose, you still win; all at the taxpayers’ expense. Aristotle would turn over in his grave at that bit of twisted logic.

Look at all that we have reaped from being too tolerant of corrupt politics and corporate domination of our economy, and a Fourth Estate that serves the centers of power at the expense of the people. The current debate on health care reform is a good example. The massive amounts of money spent on bombarding us with lies designed to put the kiss of death on a single-payer system boggles the mind. What happened to “truth in advertising?” Truth is an absolute concept, or at least I thought it was. It is not situational. As a result, in the name of bi-partisanship and inclusiveness, we have the classic example of undermining what is best for the country. We run up the cost of healthcare so profit-making healthcare industries can continue to prosper at the expense of the taxpayer. It is reminiscent of the example of that which says, “The definition of an appeaser is one who keeps feeding the alligators hoping they will eat him last.” Consensus decision-making vs. leadership? Just look at who is defending the business interests of healthcare. It is not just Republicans or Democrats; it is both. The President is, also, doing his part by his lukewarm support of a “single-payer option,“ and behind-the-scenes politics.

We need to get over our braggadocio about being the richest nation in the world. We gave away the store eons ago. Ordaining ourselves as the protectors of the world siphoned off (and still does) billions and billions of dollars to the military-industrial complex and, just because of the nature of the beast, very little is returned to the economy. We forego desperately needed programs for the population and go, with begging bowl in hand, to rich nations around the world (even adversaries) hoping they will loan us enough to keep the ship afloat (no pun intended). Rich? Who said that? We are flat-ass broke and going deeper in the hole with each passing day as our political and corporate elites continue satiating their gluttonous appetites, while we passively feed ourselves by sweeping the crumbs off the floor. As the health care industries reap gargantuan profits, we just get sicker and sicker, and go with less and less as premiums go up and up.

We are expected to buy into the bull crap that the economy is improving, all the while feeding the bandits on Wall Street as the average family falls victim to the loss of their jobs, foreclosure on their homes, and go from the supermarket to the food bank just to stay alive. Is that what we want? Is that what we are all about? I don’t think so.

It has been said that a shrewd man never underestimates what may lie behind the eyes of the man he is looking at. That is an apt caution as to where I see this country now. There are far more people who are very well attuned to what is actually going on and how they are getting short changed by the current brand and mix of politics in Washington. They are aware of the preponderance of former members of the Clinton Administration who are particularly close to the President and hold key positions of influence in his administration, especially when it comes to dealings with Wall Street and the favors doled out to them compared to the rest of the economy. All of which is wrapped in a shroud of secrecy with scant attention being paid to the professed virtues of transparency and accountability aided, once again and contrary to his campaign rhetoric, by our President. They are much more conversant about the pernicious activities and pervasive influence of the likes of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and the Bank of America, enabled and assisted by such notables as Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Timothy Geithner, Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke. They see the sweetheart deals given to the bandits of Wall Street, what with their fat salaries and bonuses underwritten by the taxpayers of this country. All the while they go without work, see their homes repossessed and go without food and healthcare. They are well aware of who is getting the short end of the stick. More and more of these folks have come to mistrust the President, what with his talking out of both sides of his mouth when it comes to stimulus programs for middle-class working Americans, health care, etc., ad nauseum. Barack Obama is being seen more in political terms than in those of a leader who can be trusted. I predict it is only going to get worse. The dismissive arrogance of Congress is even more glaring. As for corporate news media they, too, fawn over and feed from the largesse of the rich and powerful. More and more people now depend on alternative sources for their news. Thank God for the Internet!

If we don’t seriously take stock of what we were intended to be vs. what we have become, and set ourselves to the task of cleaning up the mess and righting the wrongs of the past, we are surely destined to go the way of all great empires throughout history. We have to start by adopting a humility as to all we are and all we are not, by our very nature as mere mortals, followed by the courage and the determination to put in place institutions that will enable us to foster that which is best about us and remain vigilant against that which is the worst within us.

For too long those of us who exist at the mercy of big money, big business and a corrupt government have been content to behave as if we were a band of sheep being led to the slaughter. It is time to assert ourselves and demand all that went into our votes. We should expect and insist on integrity and openness in our government and by our government institutions. We need new leadership. Not relics, extremists or those of the lunatic fringe from the Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians or the Green Party. We need a person of strength and character, who is charismatic, articulate and independently wealthy, and supported by a political party that is genuinely dedicated to all that made this country great.

Change we can believe in? Already been there, done that. We are waiting for something more credible and tangible. Meanwhile, patience is running out. The natives are restless.


Cowboy Bob
July 27, 2009
　
　
　

"Where is the Hope?"

In the course of reflecting back on my lifetime, I vividly recall sitting in front of a Philco console radio with members of my family, listening to the haunting words of Franklin D. Roosevelt as he intoned the somber announcement of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan on December 7, 1941; “a day that will live in infamy.” That is my first clear memory of the horrors of a war that would be the focus of the United States for the next 4 years.

I can still recall the newscasts of the setbacks and triumphs of the European Theater, the African Theater and the Pacific Theater. I can still see the pennants hanging in the windows of the homes of those whose sons were serving in or who had been lost to the ravages of war. We could not pass by one of those homes without being humbled by the meaning behind each of those reminders of the sacrifice that had been brought down on this nation.

Despite our many imperfections, and there were many, we were for the most part a nation of good and decent people. To this very day, the overwhelming generosity of the American people remains unmatched by what we did for the nations that had been ravaged by the conquest of dictators and the following liberation of those so deeply affected by their evil, including our former adversaries.

From this war came the beginnings of a stark reminder of all of those who had been left behind in the wake of the pursuit of “liberty and justice for all,” and they were right in our own backyard. It was a piece of our national fabric that could no longer be ignored. Every immigrant population that ever hit the shores of this country, voluntary and forced alike, had to struggle for and earn their place in the sun, their part of the American dream. Internment camps for the Japanese Americans during World War II were but the latest reflection of that struggle. It was to be manifest in myriad ways and by many others, some of whom had a longer and more difficult road to follow towards becoming Americans. Those most forgotten were the Native Americans, long ago forced onto some of the poorest real estate and into the most remote backwaters of this country, and where they remain to this very day. Perhaps it is too much for us to be reminded of what was taken by all those “immigrants” and what rightfully belonged to an indigenous people long before this continent was known to the rest of the world.

The post war years brought a surge in economic activity in response to the pent-up demand of scarcity created by the war machine. Homes, durable goods and discretionary spending became the order of the day. However, through it all we retained a sense of decency, honor, integrity, dignity and propriety that held our social fabric together. We could count on each other and the social system for support. That is not to say we were without our faults, but some of what were regarded as flaws was an underlying hypocrisy that enabled us to carry on with some semblance of civility. I am not so sure that was altogether bad.

Then came the 60’s and the flood gates of “freedom” opened. We were engulfed by the excesses of the extreme. There was the drug culture, free love, campus revolts, etc. The mantra of “do your own thing!” carried the day. Selflessness morphed into a wave of selfishness that became instantly legitimized by having thrown off the yoke of convention. Instead of a nation of “us” we became a nation of “me.”

It would be naive to subscribe to the notion that this phenomenon reflected an “all or nothing” proposition. To be sure, there was a lot of good that resulted in this new found openness and freedom, but in many respects we threw the baby out with the bathwater. This was the time when, in my opinion, the seeds of greed as a legitimate pursuit were sown and which have taken us down the path of materialism, hedonism and depravity. We wanted it all and we were prepared to sell out everything and everybody in the pursuit of those ambitions. Greed became a noble pursuit, money became our god, and human misery was just a part of the cost of “having it all.”

We dismantled and sold off our industrial base to the new Utopian concept of globalization and free trade, never stopping to reflect on what the long-term consequences of those pursuits would be. We invested in every conceivable “get-rich” scheme imaginable. Cheap imported goods and a pocket full of plastic cards opened the world of riches to us all. We moved into our faux mansions with kitchens that would be the envy of Julia Childs, and bathrooms that would have made Polly Adler and Sally Stanford salivate at the “Romanesque” delights that could be had in such lavish surroundings. Mercedes, BMW’s, Lexus and the like became the “in” cars for those who were obsessed with keeping up appearances, and who had the means to tap into the credit pool necessary to sustain the illusion.

We managed to slip from an age of reason to an age of information. The warmth and comfort of human relationships gave way to the coldness and impersonality of communications and all the electronic gadgets that have made that possible. We no longer talk to each other. Rather, we ostensibly “communicate” by Blackberry, Face Book and Twitter. We can easily be totally alone in a crowd. We don’t need to take the time to interact with others around us. Is that healthy? I don’t think so.

We thrive on an advertising diet of “fun” in every conceivable form. Our focus is on the body beautiful and, more specifically, on those parts of the anatomy that have to do with the erotic pleasures of life. Erectile dysfunction is today’s equivalent of the bubonic plague. Nothing in life is possible without being in a semi-nude state, from the simple act of eating a hamburger to pursuing a dietary regimen that will guarantee the perfect body within a matter of weeks!

The reproductive organs haven’t changed over the course of the ages. They still remain much the same and serve the same functions. Most people know what they look like and how to use them. So, what is the big deal with showing a bit of cleavage, or sub-pubic flesh that requires waxing in order to be acceptable, and bikinis that have nothing to do with the function of swimming? I am almost convinced that, in order to be fashionable in today‘s world, there has to be a bit of the slut in every woman. The next “fashion statement” I expect to see is something on the order of a small hole in the crotch of men’s trousers so the viewing public can be titillated with a glimpse of partially exposed hairy scrota. Nothing would surprise me anymore. But, at the end of the day, it is a reflection on the minds and values of our human response to the corporate peddlers of anything that makes money. There is absolutely no dignity associated with much of anything marketed by commerce, the entertainment industry and the mass media. Vulgarity is very much “in.”

Spirituality is looked upon as something to be sold on the Internet by gurus of one ilk or another. Religion has been co-opted by those who market a “touchy-feely” brand of salvation, or a theology of absolutes and intolerance that pander to our worst instincts. They are the stuff of those who honestly believe God wants everyone to be rich, or who see themselves as the guardians and bastions of all that is good and righteous, the human cost be damned. The former gives a nobility of purpose to the pursuit of our baser side and the latter exiles from salvation anyone who dares to challenge their system of beliefs. Where, I ask you, is reason and common sense in all this?

So, what is the bottom line? Those of the current generation will never see the day when they can hold a candle to those who survived the Great Depression, those who endured the horrors of the Great War, those who survived the death camps of Nazi Germany, those who stormed the beaches at Normandy, and the countless millions of others who sacrificed, supported and stood behind them. We no longer have a sense of what is good and decent and kind and generous. Why?

• Because our moral compass is broken and we are off course.
• Because we cannot defer gratification and temper our proclivity for excesses.
• Because we either cannot or will not see that our political establishment is hopelessly corrupt and totally self-serving.
• Because we are blind to the deadly seduction and tyranny of multi-national corporations and the vast wealth created by their pursuits.
• Because we cannot feel the pain of or demonstrate a modicum of empathy for our fellow man.
• Because we simply don’t have the ability to think, question or feel anything beyond what is required in the pursuit of our own materialistic and hedonistic appetites.
• Because we are too complacent, lack the discipline and sacrifice, or simply don’t have the guts to right the wrongs of the past in order to save the future for those who will follow us.
• Because we have no sense of decency, decorum and propriety that makes for a civilized society.
• Because we have entrusted our future to the hollow promises of “change” promised by the current occupant of the White House, the dubious successes of the reconstituted Cabinet from the former Clinton Administration, and the shallow hope of a better future embodied in the likes of Sarah Palin.
• Because we are the culmination of a wayward nation that has finally arrived at a generation of our own making --- humanoids and automatons.
  

With this as our legacy, what hope is there for the future? Given the grotesque public adoration and the perverted attempt to deify Michael Jackson, I would submit, not a hell of a lot.

Cowboy Bob
July 10, 2009