Molly Ivins: Big Time Trouble

[Nancy Waterman]

snip

For those who prefer to get their economic news from a more respectable source than a cartoon, I recommend Bill Greider's op-ed article in the July 18 New York Times, "America's Truth Deficit." He begins with the startling thesis that we face structural economic problems as serious as those that destroyed the late Soviet Union and that, like the USSR before its breakup, our leaders cannot talk about these problems honestly. " weakening position in the global trading system is obvious and ominous, yet leaders in politics, business, finance and the news media are not willing to discuss candidly what is happening and why. Instead they recycle the usual bromides about the benefits of free trade and assurances that everything will work out for the best."

It is a curious thing that as the disadvantages and, indeed, perils of globalization become clearer and the subject of ever-more worried books by respected economists, the mainstream media keep treating the whole problem as though it were about a bunch of protesters in turtle costumes at the G8 summit. If it were not for Lou Dobbs on CNN, one would never even hear it mentioned on television.

snip

Forget what the Supreme Court thinks about teaching creationism in the schools: Think about what it will contribute to the spiraling disasters of globalization by dismantling the entire economic regulatory system built up over the past 100 years. As Greider notes, "Washington defines 'national interest' primarily in terms of advancing the global reach of our multinational enterprises." Problem is, our multinational corporations increasingly work against the interests of Americans themselves. In addition to outsourcing jobs, the companies locate sham headquarters in off-shore tax havens to avoid paying taxes. The only restraints we have ever had on multinational corporations are government regulation and the right to sue the bastards for the various kinds of harm they cause. It is precisely those two forms of control that are being not just undermined but tossed out entirely by an increasingly activist right-wing judiciary.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0721-33.htm

[Maple]

1. I've said many times

that there is a huge freight train heading towards the US, and nobody is paying attention.

[loudsue]

2. Some of us are...and it's very frightening.

Unfortunately, the so-called "leaders" of this country have been bought and paid for, or fraudulently elected by questionable programs hidden in the voting equipment.

These are truly pivotal times.

:kick:

[JDPriestly]

7. You are right.

And its the leaders on both sides of the aisle. Had Kerry spoken more forcefully against the "free trade" fiasco, he might have been elected. He did barely skirt the issue, but he should have focused on it. Along with immigration abuses by businesses, "free trade" is one of the sleeper issues that cross party lines.

[Kenneth ken]

8. yes we are

mostly we're thoroughly impressed by how shiny and smooth the rails are

- ooh pretty! :eyes:

Also, we're doing so well with our war of terror we don't even notice that it's working out a lot like Osama bin Forgotten wanted; he said they would bakrupt the US, pretty much the same war plan that worked against the USSR.

[geckosfeet]

12. wow ! I am mesmerized by your rotating ying and yang,,,,,,,,,

[katty]

14. the train is getting closer-been seeing this since 80's-

but more so in the last 6 years-it is best to be prepared or at least somewhat prepared. Suddenly friends,relatives are calling and asking, what the hell is going on??! feeling a bad moon rising...?
I have been an unwelcome 'Cassandra' for several years, suddenly, i'm getting calls/emails - hey, just observe, you can't miss the swirling chaos-more on the way.

[ixion]

16. there are millions paying attention...

we watch in horror as the idiots at the helm drive us right off the cliff, smirking all the way.

If ever there was a telegraphed punch in history, this is it. You don't even need to be a 'pundit' or an over-payed talk radio blowhard to see it. All you need to do is read a few newspapers from more than one country and the dots practically connect themselves.

In the last five years we've gone from the Age of Information to the Age of Terror (a.k.a. Dark Age II). The fall was breathtakingly fast. How could one miss it? Perhaps it would be easy if your only news source was FAUX-CNN-MSNBC-CBS-ABC-NBC. There is really only ONE news source in 'Murika, for all practical purposes, and that is it.

Indeed. Anyone who gets their news from this outlet can rest assured that they will be deeply misinformed about the true nature of events transpiring today. They can be sure that they will receive more information than they wanted to about missing girls in Aruba, or about Michael Jackson, or any number of errant celebs, and they can rest assured they'll receive no hint that 'Murika is anything else than the glorious saviour to the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, this is all nothing more than a heaping pile of hogslop.

You know it, I know it, but the people watching the aforementioned news outlet have not a clue.

Sadly, for those of us in the know, this number is about 85% of this countries population.

Most people don't actively seek out news. It's a passive thing. They tune in on the way to work, or check it out around dinner time, or happen to catch a story on a TV in a store somewhere throughout the day. It's a passive approach. News is what's floating around like so much trash. Some sticks, some does not.

And it will be this way until the situation turns critical, at which point it will be far too late.

And why?

Because most people don't like to read, and they don't like to hear bad news, and they never quite advanced beyond the emotional level of a junior-high school student, and they thought current events and civics classes were boring, and it's those same people who are at the helm as I write this. :-(

They just came to dance, as they saying goes.

For the millions of us who are paying attention, for those of us who see where this is going, for those of us who see the cliff coming up, this is a bitter-sweet revelation. It's something we knew long ago.
The History of Man is littered with the bodies of idiots.

Oh, we're paying attention. Much to our horror.

[JDPriestly]

3. Thanks. Great article.

[NEOBuckeye]

4. Hello People! Ever hear of Peak Oil? Peak Water? Infrastructure breakdown?

Of course not! Why? Why do you ask? You all wanted Bush and the Republicans in power, because God knows, the people who proclaim their moral righteousness the most loudly certainly ought to know what's best for America!

Ever hear of VISION? It's about looking more than 2 feet in front of your faces and figuring out what you might need to deal with down the road... in case The Rapture doesn't come? Oh, but that's blasphemy.

Reality is going to be a bitch, people. And it's coming straight at us, much sooner and with much more force than we can possibly imagine.

[NEOBuckeye]

6. Sorry, just venting. That above post was meant for Bush's ilk, not DUers.

It just makes me so angry. There are so many things we could be doing to better ourselves and fix up our nation for well into the future. But ignorance, stupidity and fear are literally destroying this country from the inside out, certainly far better than Bin Laden, perhaps the Chinese or any of our would be enemies and detractors could have ever accomplished on their own.

Why can't people see this??

[cliss]

9. I -

agree with you. And we here at the DU are not the only ones who see it clearly. I'm going to venture on a limb and say that the VAST MAJORITY sense that something is terribly wrong with the US, with out culture. With what we're doing in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gitmo, Central and South America, all over the world. What we're doing to our OWN country.

We are absolutely a train wreck in slow motion.

This ugly, shocking reality hit me like a brick on the head, about 3 years ago. I was watching Bush on TV. He was holding some news conference, for the umpteenth time. He looked unhinged. He was swiping his fist in the air, and had spit coming out of his mouth. Of course, he was ranting about the war he was so hot to initiate.

He got his war, and we are now bankrupt because of it.

It comes down to Grass Roots. What am I doing to keep my little corner of the world sane, healthy, and environmentally correct?

[Bushwick Bill]

5. Some Post-Soviet Lessons...

Funny you mention this, Nancy. A guy by the name of Dmitry Orlov recently drafted a wonderful series comparing the impending collapse of the U.S. economy as oil and natural gas production go into decline to the post-Soviet breakup collapse. The series is titled "Post-Soviet Lessons for a Post-American Century." Parts 2 and 3 flesh out the issues much more than part 1, but those are only available via subscription at this time. I will bump this thread with those articles when they become freely available.

http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/060105_soviet_lessons.shtml

[cliss]

10. Hi, Bushwick

Bill. Welcome to the DU!!!:toast:

I read your link. That was a really good article. I read From the Wilderness on a regular basis, but I missed that one.

Very apropos; very timely.

Thanks.

[sadiesworld]

11. "...a bunch of protesters in turtle costumes..."

I'm not worthy, Molly. :applause:

[geckosfeet]

13. Molly is the king of queens,,,,

[WhiteTara]

17. Molly has ovarios of steel

and is not afraid to call on them. :)

[TexasBushwhacker]

15. I still think a lot of it goes back to religious beliefs

I think we have a bunch of end-timers, not just Bush, who aren't "worried" about all the different impending crises because they don't think we'll be around to suffer through them. Even if they're "wrong" and the apocalypse isn't just around the corner, they know that their crowd, "the haves and have mores", will be able to weather any storm, and the don't care about anyone else.

[adnelson60087]

18. I agree that this has lots to do with Religious motivations

except that the vast majority of the Religious Right who support bushco are neither prepared, nor wealthy. That is the true horror for these Bush supporters, since they will be unable to leave the scene of the imminent impact of a crashing economy and shortsighted foreign policy.