At best as the day begins I find my mood a tad on the cranky side. There’s no particular reason though it is psychotically cold out---presently 28 degrees and 21 wind chill degrees. Psychotically cold because all of last week when I was out running at o’dark early it was 72 degrees and that was as cool as the day and week would be for November 2010 until now. Days were at almost 90 degrees. The precipitous drop to 21 wind chill degrees from one day to the next is at best psychotic. A 70 degree mood swing in such a short period of time is a little more than the average human endures in good humor. It is not much different than living on the moon.
Be that as it may I find insult heaped on injury on glancing at local headlines. Have I mentioned that elections lead to public policy and vice-versa? It’s not about “values” it’s about prejudice, ignorance and intolerance.
Willie Nelson Booked On Marijuana Charge
Compassionate conservative religiosities voted into office by like minded constituents create an air of intolerance and constraint not much different than living in say, Russia, China or some other oppressive state.
That sense is made the more offensive, if not outright repugnant, by the hypocritical support by those same compassionate conservative religiosity constituents of representatives who coddle, defend and protect big tobacco and the liquor industry among so many of the poor helpless billions of dollars industries.
Big tobacco kills millions around the world and about half a million Americans every year. In exchange it gets tax credits, members of the house and senate at its beck and call and best of all American taxpayer backed indemnification (insurance). Taxpayers bear the cost (in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually) of treating through Medicare and Medicaid those injured and killed by big tobacco.
If any of us was to produce a product that killed that many people, then expected taxpayers to pay for damages created by that product we would probably be in prison. Instead big tobacco gives house leaders payoff checks to distribute on the floor of congress for a job well done.
Big tobacco also has local, state and federal law enforcement to shakedown anyone trying to cut in on its action, marijuana for example. Pretty nice set up seems like.
The liquor industry has a very similar arrangement even though a recent study finds that liquor is more lethal than heroin or cocaine. By the way, liquor is also more widely used and abused.
Those compassionate conservative religiosities---what a great bunch, no?
Meanwhile in San Antonio, Texas Red law enforcement is back to its 1960’s and 1970’s practice of shooting teenagers especially if they happen to be members of a minority.
Teen Shot By Officer In Stable Condition
14-Year-Old Shot, Killed By Police Officer Identified
http://www.ksat.com/news/25797958/detail.html
During the 60’s and 70’s Texas Red law enforcement officers were brutal at best, barbaric in practice with a strong underlying racism, homophobia and sexism. They were unbridaled and abusive---gang members. Yet again the service acting as henchmen for the majority.
I cannot too strongly restate that these are but two types of conditions which gave the founders reason to fear democracy alternatively labeled “mobocracy” and tyranny by majority.
Well at least Willie was released on bond. It’s more than I can say for one dead teen and one hospitalized.
From Texas Red: a cratered landscape of prisons, deplorable apartheid public education, lack of healthcare and politicians and majority population intent on keeping it that way…
Hasta Siempre,
Hasta Siempre,
More:
George Carlin describing facts about this plutocracy/Oligarchy
WATCH: When Sarah Palin Attacks
http://motherjones.com/media/2010/11/zina-saunders-palin-cover-animation
When Congressmen Attack!
Pistols, canes, bowie knives, and fireplace tongs: a brief history of congressional violence.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/11/when-congressmen-attack
More Marines Back "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
Seventy percent of the 400,000 active-duty and reserve troops surveyed in an upcoming Pentagon report said the effect of repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy would be positive, mixed or nonexistent.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/talk/2010/11/22/131510182/november-22nd-show?sc=nl&cc=totn-20101122#two
A People's History of the United States – Howard Zinn
http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States-P-S/dp/0061965588/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290505605&sr=1-1
Profiles in Courage
13 Bankers
Winner take all Politics
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field- keywords=winner+take+all+politics
Slavery by Another Name
Illusions of Justice
The Rope, the Chair, and the Needle: Capital Punishment in Texas, 1923-1990
“However, James W. Marquart, Sheldon Ekland-Olson, and Jonathan R. Sorensen offer a more complex thesis. In their book, The Rope, the Chair, and the Needle: Capital Punishment in Texas, 1923-1990,[5] they argue that Texas' execution rate reflects the Southern "cultural tradition of exclusion," and that "[s]uch exclusion was a basic element of the legacy of slavery."
The Powers That Be
The Best and the Brightest
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_35?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+powers+that+be+david+halberstam&sprefix=the+powers+that+be+david+halberstam#/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_46?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+best+and+the+brightest+by+david+halberstam&sprefix=the+best+and+the+brightest+by+david+halberstam&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Athe+best+and+the+brightest+by+david+halberstam
Public Policy: Are we a post-racial America? Not likely but we are busy exporting our “values”
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