Spill, Baby, Spill

I've tried to refrain from talking about the BP / Transocean / Halliburton oil spill in the Gulf until I understood it well enough to comment on it. I'm still no expert on industrial engineering and oil drilling, but I think I've finally gotten a handle on the amazing screw up that continues unabated. What I find shocking is that we're now getting reports that the spill could be ten times bigger than we thought.

I can only begin to imagine the damage this spill is going to have over the long term.  I'm sure the fishermen on the coast would be more than happy to tell us how this is destroying their lives.  I'm sure we'll even see more signs of it soon, and not just tar balls either.  

What really amazes me, although it doesn't surprise me, is that Republicans have blocked an effort to change the law to increase BP's liability for clean up and environmental damages.  After all, that would be bad for BP and that makes it bad for their graft revenue. 

The more I hear about this, the more I believe criminal charges need to be filed.  I just don't know against whom they should be filed.  There are memos and letters going back over a year discussing how dangerous the situation was.  There are reports that hours before the explosion there was notification of system failure.  Make no mistake, those men that died on that rig didn't need to.  They died because BP, Transocean, and Halliburton are greedy, evil corporations that don't give a flying crap about the lives of the people who actually do the real work.  MMS, and their criminally cozy relationship, with the oil industry needs to see some people go to jail too. 

Yeah, off-shore drilling.  What a great idea.  How much more proof do people need to know that it is time to end our addiction to oil?  It's time for an energy revolution, and that means stopping those bastards in Washington from lining their pockets with blood money.

American Democracy: Bought and Sold

The Supreme Court of the United States acted as expected.  Early today they freed corporations from restrictions limiting the amount of money they can spend to buy politicians.  This ruling wasn't unexpected, but that doesn't mean it isn't outrageous or damning.  You see, the sheer volume of money businesses have to "lobby" our elected officials far exceeds our own.  It was already bad enough.  Just look at Joe "I'm in bed with the insurance companies" Lieberman.  There is always John "I don't know anything about computers but I'm going to sell out the internet" McCain.  These men don't care what the people want.  They do what their corporate masters tell them to do.

Honestly, I'm far to angry over this to even try and be witty or funny.  I'm nearly at a loss for words.  I thought we weathered the storm of the Bush administration, even if we were hurting pretty badly.  Then, in a matter of three days we see the voters of Massachusetts reject a Democrat and the loss of the voice of the people.  It's said that terrible things happen in threes.  I'm mortified at the idea of what will come next.  After all, the third thing is always the worst.

Forgive the fact that this looks like melodrama or hyperbole.  This isn't.  You have just witnessed the death of democracy in America.  When you are old and grey, you can tell your grandkids you were there the day they were sold back into servitude to the elitist bastards who want to worshipped as gods among men.

The Maverick Now Wears Lots of Brands

I know I've been extremely quiet for a long time, and it's not for wont of things to say but due to not enough time. When I would find time, I would have said things so out of date to that it seemed pointless. Thanks to John McCain, that isn't the case today.

McCain has introduced a bill that would prevent the federal government from ensuring "net neutrality." For those who don't know, net neutrality is the idea that "all bits are created equal." (My thanks to Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing for such a great line.) The telecoms want to be able to limit your access to commercially disadvantageous content. They want to decide for you what content you should be interested in and what should matter. They want to take away your ability to publish your own content. Net neutrality means they can't do that. They provide service packages and then the speed you purchased applies to any site or point of interest you decide upon, not them.

Some of you may recall the days of AOL, CompuServe, and other content providers that provided the content and you didn't really get to decide what was available. This was back in the mid-1990s, so it wasn't all that long ago. Service was terrible and customers didn't have a choice in content or expression. This is what we'd get if the telecoms get their way, this is what we'd return to.

Think about it in terms of radio or television. With very few exceptions, where is the viewer / listener created content? It isn't there. The networks decide what is available and you just get to tune in. This is what would happen if the telecoms get their way, and that is what McCain is working to do.

I urge you to read Ms. Jardin's article at Boing Boing. She has a great summation of the issue there.

What I find so interesting is that back in 2008, when Sen. McCain was Presidential Candidate McCain, he admitted that he was completely computer illiterate. He admits to knowing nothing about computers. And now? Now he's completely bought and paid for by the telecoms. The Sunlight Foundation has identified McCain as the largest recipient of telecom lobbying money for the last two years. So, the man who knows nothing about computers and who has received an obscene amount of money from the telecoms, is now opposing net neutrality. He's selling us out on this as he has sold us out on so many other issues, including health insurance reform and Medicare for Everyone. After all, what is information and easy access to it, if not a threat to the elitist establishment? All in the name of profit, right?

Snowe Job

Olympia Snowe believes that a public option for health care is divisive. You know what, she's right. It is divisive. It divides those who want to make things better for everyone from those who want to make a buck on your back at any cost. It divides the wealthy corporate elite from the common people they abuse. It divides those with a couple of brain cells to rub together from screaming idiots who act like feces flinging monkeys at the zoo. It divides the people from their enemies, and this is a good thing.

While it has been incredibly frustrating and even infuriating watching Town Hall thugs and Tea-bagger idiots scream nonsense at elected officials, it has also proven that elitists really do want to keep us in servitude. It has shown us that they lack any other method than to scream at the top of their lungs for as long as they can. They have no substance, and now we know it from empirical evidence.

So, why does it bother Olympia Snowe that 60% of the people of Maine want a public option and serious reform? Why does it drive Joe Wilson to expulsions of idiocy during a Presidential Address? Why does it compel John Shimkus walk out of the President's speech due to frustration? Why was John Boehner so dour while Eric Cantor played away on his BlackBerry?

The answer is really as simple as it seems. They have nothing left. They've spent it all and they've been humiliated by the President for doing it. They have lied through their teeth and the people know it. Karl Rove tried like hell to revise the history of "Death Panels" because people are seeing through it. Sean Hannity immediately goes into "Lie Like a Cheap Rug" mode at the conclusion of the speech, claiming that President Obama called insurance execs "bad people," even though we just watched him do exactly the opposite.

They have been driven mad because they have lost everything. The ultra right-wing neo-fascist Christian theocratic government that they have been working for was soundly repudiated in the last election. They no longer have control of Congress or the White House. They have no active roll in legislation and they don't understand why. Fanatics never understand why people don't agree with them.

Make no mistake, they are fanatics just like Al Qaeda, Hamas, or the Taliban. They represent a great threat to American democracy. They are the domestic enemy that we refuse to see. Freedom is not something they want us to share in. They want a religious state run by corporate masters that keep us shackled their their machines of industry. They want our blood, sweat, and tears to grease their cogs. They fight us on employee fair treatment, environmental responsibility, and health care in order to grind us down. To "break" Obama is their stated goal. To return to power and continue what they started under Reagan and W. is their ultimate desire. We are expendable to them and our lives are the currency of choice.

So, why does Olympia Snowe believe it is divisive? Because it would force those who want to keep us enslaved to do something they can't abide, lessen profits in order to provide more for the people. This is the woman that has been so openly courted by the Dems that some now refer to her as Queen Olympia. It's just sad that the Democrats don't see the problem in trying to recruit this so-called moderate Republican. The problem is she has bought into her own Snowe Job.

The New American Dream?

Are you working harder for less? According to the Department of Labor, the answer is probably yes. For details on this, please read this article from MSNBC.

So, the corporate fat cats that run this country are doing their damnedest to take everything they can from us. They want us to work longer hours, do more in those hours, and receive less for our time and effort. Is this the new American Dream?