As the Empire Crumbles

Observations by Noam Chomsky:

The peak of U.S. power was after World War II, when it had literally half the world's wealth. But that naturally declined, as other industrial economies recovered from the devastation of the war and decolonization took its agonizing course. By the early 1970s, the U.S. share of global wealth had declined to about 25%

There was also a sharp change in the U.S. economy in the 1970s, towards financialization and export of production. A variety of factors converged to create a vicious cycle of radical concentration of wealth, primarily in the top fraction of 1% of the population -- mostly CEOs, hedge-fund managers, and the like. That leads to the concentration of political power, hence state policies to increase economic concentration: fiscal policies, rules of corporate governance, deregulation, and much more. Meanwhile the costs of electoral campaigns skyrocketed, driving the parties into the pockets of concentrated capital

Sources:

Is the World Too Big to Fail? The Contours of Global Order, Truthout, Noam Chomsky, April 21, 2011.

Night Before Christmas Debacle

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Senate
Evidence was mounting of democracy's limit.

The People dismayed by what they were seeing
Sixty votes it takes to do just about anything.

The Constitution took care to protect the minority
A wealthy elite exploiting the majority.

Obama a prisoner of establishment power
Claims "victory" with words that surely taste sour.

As the healthcare battle appears to be done
the people are told, "Go to sleep now, you've won!"

The dejected masses comply and act tame
While Obama unabashedly calls out some names

Now Geithner, Now Orszag, Emanual, and Baucus
On DePearle, On Lieberman, Nelson and Sebelius

A man with a smile audaciously says, "hope"
surrounded by insiders who think I'm a dope.

"We stood up to special interests," he says as he winks
But his words are cheap, this deal really stinks.

The man with a smile says "The struggle is on"
More people look askance as they detect a con.

And when the dust settles the people will see
No healthcare reform from the powers that be.

Though believers continue to heap on their praise
Their numbers dwindle with the passing of days.

The media, corporate owned, just plays along
while the people say, "something's terribly wrong."

The Empire teeters, the establishment takes fright
But with happy faces say, 'To all a good night."

Sources:

GDAEman

US Auto Industry Demise

OK. Lets face it. The US Empire is crumbling as evidenced by the business failures of GM, Ford and Chrysler. It's not as if they didn't have a warning, twice, with two gasoline price shocks in the 1970s. Big gas guzzlers are dopey.

Unfortunately, Empires are dopey, which is why history is littered with tales of their demise. But I get ahead of myself.

Just as many of us saw this bubble burst coming, we also saw the unpopularity of the Proud American gas guzzler coming. I'm convinced that picking up the phone and talking to the people in charge, if you can get thru to them, is what we need to do. They are firgg'n out of touch. Any one of us could waltz in, learn the administrivia and be 10k ahead of them on the Big Picture. So, we could call. Offer our advice. Make Friends. Influence the idiots... er, I mean, the Titans of Industry (Financial for the most part).

ERrrr..... Anger is an acceptable response in this historic moment. Now is when we must reflect on the wisdom of the Ghandis and Kings.

And now, and ad from our Sponsors: (note how I capitalize "Sponsors" because they are SOOOOOOooooo important [sic.], which is why they're being bailed out with the banks):


Sources:

Mainstream Affirmation of Empire in Decline

So today we read in the mainstream media that..

In the past, a sharp downshift in the US and Europe would decisively slow the rate of global growth. This time, emerging markets appear poised to grow collectively by 6.7 percent this year, according to recent forecasts by the International Monetary Fund.

Some might argue, "No. It's not the US empire in decline. It's a relative shift of other nations ascending, giving the appearance of the US in decline."

I don't think so. Over ten years ago economist and writer, Lester Thurow, documented a twenty-year decline in the US as I've noted before. Don't be fooled by Wall Street Economics when it's Main Street Economics that counts... at least for those who believe in democracy of the people.

It's a "new world order" that the neocons have seen coming. Their answer is to build up the US military and use violent force to cling onto empire. They fail to admit that the decline is due, in great part, to the consolidation of power and wealth in the hands of a few who claim allegiance to the flag, but who have no national allegiance. Ironically, the neocons aren't the elites consolidating power. We hear about fighting among elites, "the neocons" the "pragmatists" and then there are what I'll call "the JFK killers."

The later are the ones who currently run the White House. Nothing is black-and-white, and because they have, in times past, made alliances with "pragmatists" and "neocons" among others, e.g., "liberal bankers," to get things done... among the elite.

The point? We now see all of the elite jockying as the stallion on which they ride, the US, begins to descend on a path of no return. It happened to China, Rome, the Ottomans, Spain, Britain. Our job, as citizens of the US, other than to survive as individuals, is to assist in the transition and ensure that certain elites (the JFK killers) don't do something crazy, like go to war with China, as a desperate means of clinging to a failing empire.

Sources:

Christian Science Monitor, Amid economic slowdown, signs of new world order, June 3, 2008.

Couric: Faux Journalist Reflects Twilight of America

It is one more sign of the decline of America.

CBS News said this week the April 4 installment of "Katie Couric's Notebook" consisted mostly of passages lifted verbatim from a Wall Street Journal column by Jeffrey Zaslow that was published in March.

Rigor and professionalism has given way to false appearance and the bottom line. For a highly-paid news anchor to blunder into plagiarism is unacceptable in a first-rate nation, which is the point. The U.S. is fading in the same way Rome, Spain and Britain faded from preeminence.

Morris Berman, and others, are writing books on the decline of the American Empire. A review of Berman's "The Twilight of American Culture," sums it up:

Morris Berman discusses the decline in American life, evidenced by growing class inequities, the deterioration of literacy, and the pervasiveness of anti-intellectualism.

The deterioration of literacy is exemplified in this case by a failure to recognize plagiarism. Couric didn't even write the video essay, despite the impression given that she does.

Here's another example of the decline, a failure of accountability:

The producer responsible for Couric's piece was fired on Monday night, hours after the Journal contacted CBS News to complain.

"Couric's" piece? First, it was phony theater, foisted on the American public; Couric wasn't mouthing a memory about her library card. She was mouthing someone Else's memory about their library card, written by an as-yet nameless producer (UPDATE: Now named as Melissa McNamara).

Second, if it's truly "Couric's piece," isn't she also responsible? Apparently not in the twilight of America, where it's OK for CBS to give the impression that it is "Couric's piece." It was faked, like most of what passes for journalism on corporate media as the American Dark Ages approach.

Sources:

Reuters, April 12, 2007, CBS says Couric unaware video essay plagiarized.

Melanie Ho, Review of Berman's "The Twilight of America."

See Also:

Regret The Error, a blog that was cited in the Reuters article.

The Daily Background, a blog that was cited in the Reuters article. Raises the question of double-plagiarism. What The Daily Background calls "double-plagiarism" I call "phony theater."

High Tech Parent on Couric

On the ligher side, gotta take a look at the visual on Milk Was a Bad Choice

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Bush President's Day Propaganda Backfire

Oops! In an attempt to compare his war of terrorism with the American Revolutionary War, Bush inadvertently reversed the roles:

On the field of battle, Washington's forces were facing a mighty empire, and the odds against them were overwhelming. The ragged Continental Army lost more battles than it won, suffered waves of desertions, and stood on the brink of disaster many times.

Now, the US is the "mighty empire," and the "ragged" armies facing the mighty empire are, well, not North American. This "open-mouth-insert-foot" moment isn't Bush's fault. Clearly the speech writers goofed on this one.
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Stop the US Imperium from the Outside

Former US Special Forces member, Stan Goff, offers a 10-point plan of nonviolent action to "Break US Imperial Power." His call reflects a journal article that I think appeared in Foreign Affairs, published by the Council on Foreign Relations. The article observed that US democracy has deteriorated to a degree that the US public no longer has control over the actions of the US government, and that only external forces could bring it under control. Many believe the most likely "external force" to do the job will be a major economic collapse. But, for those who don't want to wait, Goff offers some actions to undertake now.

Below is a summary of his ten points.

(1) Expel US military bases.

(2) Boycott US companies.

(3) Default or refinance debt to the US.

(4) Boycott any American agricultural products being dumped on your national markets.

(5) Boycott American cultural products.

(6) Make these political issues at home.

(7) Nationalize your most valuable natural resources.

(8) Expose and resist projects that are run out of the US Embassy by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

(9) Expose and resist any political activity by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

(10) Mount massive political efforts directed at US Embassies everywhere to oppose the US occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and demand not only withdrawal, but that no US bases be left behind.