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Enrique (Portland, OR)

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Old liberal/leftie BLUE COLLAR worker. Latino. History buff.

The Emasculation of America

By Enrique - Sep 22nd, 2008 at 1:36 am EDT

THE EMASCULATION OF AMERICA

So there we have it. In less than three pages, with no details, no fine print whatsoever, un unelected official of an administration that has three months to live, the same administration in charge of the economy for the last eight years and under whose watch the wild financial roulette was being played, is asking for 700 BILLION salvage plan with no strings attached. Ok, maybe a report to Congress every six months.

So, where are our Boston Tea Parties? Where is the outrage? Where are the voices of our elected officials charged by the constitution to oversee the power of the purse?

Trust us, we are the experts, they claim. But this not a technical issue, it is not even an Act of God, blind in its fury. This is man-made catastrophe, long in coming, visible at a distance like a tornado in Kansas for all interested in seeing it to see. Even if it had been an “Act of God”, the decisions who to save, what to salvage, what price to pay, are not impartial, value-neutral decisions. These are decisions, mind you again, taken by a government in its way out but that are bound to impact not just the whole population of the United States living now, but those of the next generation!

Are we talking of saving the man on the street who heard the siren songs and bought beyond his/her means a house that he/she cannot afford?

Are we talking about “arbitragers” betting both sides of a bet, making money either way? About “gears” that “flipped” a given mortage over and over and over in those allegedly sophisticated collateralized debt obligations?

Where are the advocates of the power of the marketplace, those who do not consider patriotic to pay taxes, that pledge to want government off our backs? The advocates of deregulation and of letting the fabled hidden hand of the market to play its Darwinian cleansing? Now they want the taxpayer to foot the bill for the biggest salvage of private interest in history.

And not just the taxpayer, mind you. Bad as it is, if the total amount of the bill could be footed by the taxpayer, if the government had a surplus, would be one thing. But we are talking about a government mired in a deficit of such proportions that all previous parameters are not applicable. How long until foreign investors realize that they are receiving damaged goods, empty promises of a government whose printing presses all put together cannot possibly print enough paper bills?

And where are the advocates of a more involved government, a government who should be responsible for the welfare of its citizens, not just rich mega-dealers? What assurances, what controls have they demanded? The language of politics has veered soooo much to the right that any demand of accountability is said carefully so not as to be accused of the defunct malady of statism, or worse, the also defunct malady of socialism. They seem to be acting in terms of sound-bites, image control and poll results instead of principles.

They claim that this is urgent, and promise that we will learn from mistakes?
Were the lessons of the Great Depression any different? That “enlightened self-interest” cannot be trusted? That the market has to follow rules, that one should not put wolves to care for fowl?

Now we know that Rome did not fall, it decayed from within. That those who do not concern themselves with the business of government are destined to be governed, to quote the famous quote.

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A LONG WAY FROM IOWA

By Enrique - Jul 9th, 2008 at 1:05 am EDT

This is the title of an op ed piece in "The Oregonian" by Rich Lowry, 7/8/08. I hope Mr Obama or at least his staff keeps track of it. I for one am one who wants to believe. However, as the mentioned piece points out, Barack seems to be flip-flopping big time. What about telling the truth, ending 'politics as usual'; "triangulation" etc. I would appreciate that at the very least Barack's team has filed all his public pronouncements so far in the campaign and use that as parameter for present and future pronouncements. I do not mind a REASONED explanation of why Barack has changed his position, as nothing is written in stone. But I take offense at smuggling new positions as if they had always been Mr Obama's. Case in point, public financing; case in point: what is this of advocating tax dollars to fund faith-based education initiatives? Give me a break! leave that to Mc Cain!

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