amacd's Comments (26)

“Obama is signaling that his paymasters have found another promising building-block for their global ruling-elite corporate/financial EMPIRE, one which they would like him to charm and incorporate.

"Yes, we can do EMPIRE bidness with China. They sure know how to manage their human cogs, and keep things going swimmingly. Bloody good show, old men."

Or as Dylan Ratigan might say beyond Keynesians, “We’re all Corporate Communists now.”

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine”

“Well, it's certainly abundantly clear today that when Obama told us, before the election, that Bill Ayers of SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) had absolutely no influence on him, that he was telling the truth ---- because Obama has sure as hell not been dong anything to fight for a 'democratic society'!

Obama never mentioned anything, before we 'gave him' our votes, about the ruling-elite corporate/financial imperialist war-machine, and racist tyranny of economic oppression that SDS fought against in the late 1960's.

Obama was being truthful with us when he totally ignored the very existence of this ruling-elite corporate/financial Empire that controls our country by hiding behind the facade of its two-party 'Vichy' sham of democracy, and he was being totally truthful when he said nothing about this Empire that he himself was about to become the best front-man for.

It's just that we were too stupid, before the election, to ask him, "Hey, what about this Empire that is killing our country and the world? Will you represent this deceitful and hidden corporate/financial Empire or or will you represent us?"

We never asked him about which side he was on in our battle with Empire --- so he wasn't lying when he said nothing, because we never asked the right question!

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine”

“Obama must have missed reading the OP-Ed section of the Times today.

If he now decides to stay in for the EMPIRE, he'll not only be rejecting the American people, but the NYT.

This unusual and unexpected 'anti-war' Op-Ed allowed by the NYT may be the 'Walter Cronkite moment' for the Afghanistan War.

Much thanks to the NYT for publishing this compelling lesson of Soviet EMPIRE history today:

Op-Ed Contributor
"Transcripts of Defeat"

By VICTOR SEBESTYEN
Published: October 28, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/opinion/29sebestyen.html?ref=opinion

Such advice and sanity today is better than waiting for the NYT to have to print the "Pentagon Papers 2.0" later --- disclosing that our deceitful ruling-elite corporate/financial EMPIRE knew the truth about the Afghanistan War's trajectory all along.

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

PS. "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." George Santayana”

“This unusual and unexpected 'anti-war' Op-Ed allowed by the NYT may be the 'Walter Cronkite moment' for the Afghanistan War.

Much thanks to the NYT for publishing this compelling lesson of Soviet EMPIRE history today:

Op-Ed Contributor
"Transcripts of Defeat"

By VICTOR SEBESTYEN
Published: October 28, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/opinion/29sebestyen.html?ref=opinion

Such advice and sanity today is better than waiting for the NYT to have to print the "Pentagon Papers 2.0" later --- disclosing that our deceitful ruling-elite corporate/financial EMPIRE knew the truth about the Afghanistan War's trajectory all along.

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

PS. "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." George Santayana”

“This unusual and unexpected 'anti-war' Op-Ed allowed by the NYT may be the 'Walter Cronkite moment' for the Afghanistan War.

Much thanks to the NYT for publishing this compelling lesson of Soviet EMPIRE history today:

Op-Ed Contributor
"Transcripts of Defeat"

By VICTOR SEBESTYEN
Published: October 28, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/opinion/29sebestyen.html?ref=opinion

Such advice and sanity today is better than waiting for the NYT to have to print the "Pentagon Papers 2.0" later --- disclosing that our deceitful ruling-elite corporate/financial EMPIRE knew the truth about the Afghanistan War's trajectory all along.

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

PS. "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." George Santayana”

“Looks like the US is well within reach of finally beating Robert Mugabe's dictatorial kleptocracy of Zimbabwe in 2010 with a higher GINI Coefficient of Income INEQUALITY of over 0.53.

Yes, the US is certainly way above all advanced social democracies in Europe and Japan --- which have low, fair and egalitarian GINI Indexss of 0.23 to 0.31.

And we've certainly beat out the former Soviet Empire's oligarchs in Russia at their middling GINI rank of 0.41, and the reformed "Corporate Communist" China at GINI 0.46.

We've even smashed through that supposed barrier that our CIA warns of at GINI 0.45, where civil disobedience and revolution set in among most country populations --- but not us.

Rather, under our new 'hope' and 'change' President Obama, we pulled together with Wall Street, and it finally looks like 2010 will be that year that America, 'our former country now controlled by a ruling-elite corporate/financial EMPIRE which hides behind the facade of its two-party 'Vichy' sham of democracy, can at last overtake Zimbabwe (currently running at 0.53) as the champion of high GINI Coefficiency of Income INEQUALITY!!

Let's really 'hope' that this 'change' that is aided by Obama, with his refusal to even whisper the word corporate EMPIRE (or as Dylan Ratigan bravely shouts on MSNBC, "Corporate Communism") will allow us in the U.S. to finally shout --- "We're number one --- in income inequality"!!!

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine”

“Professor Andrew Bacevich's excellent Boston Globe article, "Afghanistan ---- Proxy War", is on the topic of Afghanistan, but the real focus and 'Proxy' is Empire.

Bacevich outlines that if President Obama approves the McChrystal plan he will be implicitly , "Affirming that military might will remain the principal instrument for exercising American global leadership, as has been the case for decades" ---- i.e. that America will be choosing to be an EMPIRE.

Bacevich rightly senses that Obama’s decision on Afghanistan, the ‘Graveyard of Empires’, might lead us toward either publicly accepting or ending ‘The Last Empire’.

Although the Pashtun - Taliban kicked the Soviet Communist EMPIRE out in the late 1980s, but they will not so easily be able to kick-out this 'last Empire standing' on earth, the disguised "Corporate Communist" Empire without the agreement of the American people behind Obama agreeing to voluntarily renounce Empire.

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine”

“All principled progressives should heavily use Dylan's 'uncontestable concept' phrase, "Corporate Communism" and help him help US (both U.S. and us).

Here's how and why it WILL work:

http://www.opednews.com/populum/diarypage.php?did=14528

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine”

“All principled progressives need to help Dylan help US (the U.S. and us) by heavily using the uncontestable phrase "Corporate Communism"!!

Here's how, and here's why it WILL work:

http://www.opednews.com/populum/diarypage.php?did=14528

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine”

“Yes, Hadar is right that decision making is "made by members of an informal axis of players in the bureaucracy, media, interest groups and the think tanks resisting the public opposition to the war."

But it's not right to just call it a "small group", or "governing class", or "policy elite".

What needs to be exposed to the American people is that the inter-changeable "imperial presidency" of Bush, Obama et al is merely the political front-man of an entrenched ruling-elite global corporate/financial EMPIRE, which fully controls 'our' country behind the facade of its two-party, 'Vichy' sham of democracy.

What the American people need to know is that their democracy has metastasized into an EMPIRE --- and that is why they should not be surprised when the fifth faux-Emperor in a row answers their demands for universal health care, and for peace, and for economic justice with the "Drop Dead" message --- that Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama are not just being arrogant, nasty, and crude themselves --- but that this string of faux-Emperors are simply delivering the word of the ruling-elite corporate/financial EMPIRE that pulls their strings.

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine”

“Progressiveama, Why swim over to Hyannis Port?

Christ-like Obama could have easily walked over the water to Hyannis Port to see the dying man whose endorsement won him the Democratic primary and the presidency­..

But Obama, according to the Vineyard Gazette, was simply too busy playing golf both before and after his benefactor was known to be on his death-bed.

However, the real surprise is that the fawning, phony media, in its 24x7 coverage seems to have never mentioned the promising visit to old Ted that Obama's people hinted at the beginning of his vacation.

Why no mention of the snub to the dying Kennedy from the corporatist, shilling media?

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine”

“MSNBC, thank you, thank you , thank you, for bringing Dylan Ratigan back.

Dylan IS the personification of Howard Beale to the vacuous network wasteland of "cable chatter" (as President Obama famously just described it in his interview with Brian Williams).

Dylan brings incisive insight and knowledgable factual information COMBINED with emotion and empathy, as opposed to the inane and vacuous 'emotion' and content-free 'shrill' ONLY, that is the standard WWF fare of cable newsieness.

As George Lakoff reinforced in his fabulous "The Political Mind", language is the neural highway to cognitive thinking, and essential to resolving and distinguishing 'contested concepts" like democracy and Empire, and thus intelligent discourse (with words and concepts) is necessary to perfecting and protecting our democratic Republic from Empire.

I will even forgive MSNBC for appealing to the self-limiting 'twitter' un-dialogs of the new Orwellian 'double (short) speak', although I continue to consider twitter being a perfect marketing name for a communications service designed for bird-brains.

BTW, Huffington should seriously consider, in this same vein, your rather short text limit for serious political discourse --- when most serious and principled left/progressive web sites do not enforce such limits on speech.

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine”

“The only path that could justify not releasing the photos would be instead to begin prosecution immediately.

IMHO, no matter how plaintively Obama may cry “Out, damn’d spot!” —- he will not be able to walk off of this tragic ‘war crimes’ stage until this most odious crime is expunged.

So for Obama, the superficially adored hero, the role of a modern Hamlet tentatively deciding whether “to be or not to be” for the war-crimes-Empire could be the last drama on this mortal coil.

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine”

“Yes, citiznsrus, a fleeting hope -- dashed.”

“A shortened version of Creamer's fine article could simply say ---

"Obama has recognized that the US under Bush/Cheney (and most administrations in the last several decades) has operated as an EMPIRE (a global ruling-elite corporate financial Empire to be specific), and that Obama means to reject Empire and get our country back to being a democratic Republic"

As Ron Suskind very clearly stated in "One Percent Doctrine" the Bush administration bluntly admitted to "being an Empire now" and nota reality based community --- but very few Americans took this truth to heart, probably because the 'Vichy' corporatist media never discussed this reality, and continued to cover for the ruling-elite 'corporate financial Empire' that hides behind the facade of its two-party 'Vichy' sham of democracy.”

“Where, oh where, do guys like Chavez, Morales, and Ortega 'get off' with painting the US as a militarist, 'corporate­-financial Empire' that tortures powerless people in its oil territories, and economically oppresses its own 'working class' citizens?

Oh, that's right, they 'get off' with it because they see it directly and know the truth ---- of which the American people are blinded by the 'Vichy' facade of democracy that this ruling-elite global 'corporate financial Empire' hides behind (with the help of an equally 'Vichy' corporate media) while the guileful EMPIRE hides in our kitchen of faux democracy and mis-uses the US super-power military to abuse the rest of the world!

There may be some method to Obama's madness in allowing others to inform the American people about the global corporate empire in which we really live.

My bet? That not only all the other Western Hemisphere states will deliver this message today, but that all the European and other real, sustainable, and functioning 'social democracy' (post-WWII, and post-Empire) nations of Europe and Japan will start telling America this "inconvenient truth" ---- which will make Obama's job as the reforming leader of our country more possible in bringing America from EMPIRE back to the democratic Republic that 99% of Americans thought we were and want to be again.

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine”

“Even the future Republican President, Gen. Eisenhower, when he was the Supreme Allied Commander fighting the Nazi EMPIRE did not so foolishly believe in a Republican 'big tent' as to invite Nazis into negotiations about how the political economy of Europe should be arranged.

Obama is letting his concern about bipartisanship convince him to open his 'big tent' to the inexorable, implacable, ineluctable, obdurate, obstinate, remorseless, resolute, rigid, unappeasable, unbending, uncompromising, unmovable, unrelenting, and unyielding fascists sworn in blood to protect the ruling-elite 'corporate financial Empire' which controls our country behind the facade of its two-party, 'Vichy' sham of democracy.

Obama has apparently not yet learned the seminal lesson --- when you are fighting Empire for your very life, you do not compromise and let they and their dogs of war into your Commander's tent!!!

Or as Raul Julia explained to Robert Redford in the film "Havana" about why the rebels had to actually FIGHT Batista's fascist pawn regime, fronting for the US corporate and gambling EMPIRE; --- "But, they will not leave by asking NICELY".”

“In less than 200 pages, David Korten’s insightful new book, “Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth”, cuts like a hot knife through butter into the insane, dysfunctional, and destructive ruling-elite’s ‘corporate financial Empire’ that is now so obviously the cause of all our current sorrows.

Like William Greider, Ralph Nader, Joseph Stiglitz, Kevin Phillips, Paul Krugman, and thousands of other rationally unbiased insightful economists, and thinkers who are concerned with the sustainability of humane and peaceful life of people on our small threatened planet, David Korten rigorously researches, and writes about what it might take to achieve these ends.

The seminal threat to such peaceful and sustainable human survival can be summed up in one word: Empire ---- as it has been the case for the last five thousand years. Likewise, the solution can be summed up in one term: political, economic, and social democracy. This was the genius and goal of our founding fathers and it must still be the signal goal of America.

Korten compellingly brings into focus the way in which an elitist/royalist financial corporatist Empire crept back into our country through the economic ‘back-door’ and how it used the power of money to corrupt all aspects of our democracy. He very simply explains the current financial abyss, clearly defining the Ponzi scheme of negative externality costs that have been hidden in debt pyramids of our economic lungs, like the cancer of cigarette smoke hidden in smokers’ lungs.”

“Using the evasive, guileful, and even propagandistic phrase "nationalization" of the banks (or financial sector) is an extreme media disservice, distortion, and even deceit to the American people.

Instead of this fear/scare term 'nationalization' of banks, a truthful and truly democratic media would use the honest term, "democratization of the banking system".

The bottom line is that the banking system is now one of unchallenged, unelected, and ruthless EMPIRE, and it must be brought into the service of 'the people' under the control of our indivisible democracy --- just as every aspect of our political, social and economic lives, as free and voluntary members of a self-governing democracy entails of all spheres of our shared lives --- except for the separate and non-interfering sphere of religion, as defined in our Constitution.

A free and democratically representative Republic of self-governing people can not allow an uncontrolled Empire to exist within its Republic --- else Franklin's greatest concern will come true, "We have our Republic now, if we can keep it (from Empire)"”

“Krugman rhetorically asks, "Or is the plan being limited by political caution?"

To which the only honest answer is, "No, the plan is being limited by political gutlessnes­s."

And this 'political gutlessness' is more than just plain gutlessness, it's the type of 'political complicity' that we've been seeing from the Democratic Party for the past several decades.

'Political complicity' on economic oppression of our own people, at home, will soon be followed by ‘political complicity’ on wars against other innocent people abroad.

The only point that I would add to Krugman's entirely justified disappointment with Obama comes in his final conclusion about "The Obama Gap"

What we are seeing is not just "The gap between Mr. Obama’s stern economic rhetoric and his somewhat disappointing economic plan."

No, Paul, it's worse than that; you could have left out the words ‘stern’, 'economic', 'somewhat', and 'plan' and simply said this is a "gap between Mr. Obama’s rhetoric and his disappointing reality."

We've seen this gap first now in the domestic economy of our people, and we'll soon verify this “Obama Gap” in the foreign war policy of this disguised Empire.

Obama, unfortunately, like Clinton, is going to be shown to have a huge 'gap' between promising rhetoric and reality, and, like Clinton, Obama is going to try to fill that big round gap with only one thing --- triangulation.”

““An Associated Press article, published Monday, documents the refusal of the banks to reveal what they have done with the billions in taxpayer funds they have received. The AP put questionnaires to 21 banks that each received more than $1 billion in the government bailout, posing four questions: "How much has been spent? What was it spent on? How much is being held in savings, and what's the plan for the rest?"

According to the AP, not a single bank provided specific answers. A representative of JPMorgan Chase, which has received $25 billion in TARP funds, said merely, "We have not disclosed that to the public. We're declining to." Comerica, which got $2.25 billion in TARP funds, said flatly "We're not sharing any other details." A Bank of New York Mellon spokesman said, "We're choosing not to disclose that," adding, "I just would prefer if you wouldn't say that we're not going to discuss those details."

The arrogance and contemptuousness of the banks recalls nothing so much as the First Estate of pre-revolutionary France's Ancien Regime. It reflects the attitude of a financial aristocracy that operates with complete impunity and has no intention of giving up any of its spoils.” Tom Eley and Barry Grey

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/dec2008/pers-d24.shtml”

“Which ideology do WE believe in --- democracy or quiet Empire?

Norman, I find myself concluding ----- that the gutless silence on ideology by the Dems is actually 'complicit' with the ruling-elite 'corporate financial Empire' that fully controls our country behind the facade of its two-party, 'Vichy' sham of faux-democracy.

Since we are involuntarily living in a disguised ‘corporate financial Empire’, to which the hidden empire’s ‘Vichy’ parties are responsive, many aspects of this strange relationship do not treat U.S. citizens like other real democracies, in Europe and Japan do.

Japan and Europe would never let the heart and soul of their cohesive and relatively egalitarian 'social democracy economic model' push their admirably low GINI indexes of income inequality (0.23 to 0.32) up into the danger zone of the US's socially unstable 0.48 --- approaching the 0.53 level of Zimbabwe.

During this global financial crisis it has been widely reported that China is carefully considering the differing business models of Japan and the European 'social democracies', compared to the 'American model' of anything-g­oes-financ­ial-capita­lism.

Will China decide that their own laws will act to protect their citizens and their country, or will China follow the more brutal 'American model' ideology of disguised corporatist Empire.

Even Francis Fukuyama is probably watching TV to see how this upcoming ‘Ideology special series’ develops on the new; '(End of) History Channel'.”

“Here's the best comment I've seen on this hopeless flip flop:

Editorial director of Antiwar.com Justin Raimondo says that “the likely appointment of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state should disabuse even the most brain-dead of Obama’s supporters that we won’t be seeing much change in American foreign policy. If I were an Iranian, I’d start digging a bomb shelter.””

“Today Ralph Nader received the full and open endorsement of antiwar leader Justin Raimondo, editor of Antiwar.com, and a few days ago Nader received the endorsement of Howard Zinn.

Congratulations --- this is huge!! (Just as Howard Zinn's change of support to you)

The most important anti-war voices are realizing that Nader's pro-democracy advocacy and fight against the hidden 'corporatist Empire' that controls our country is the only principled choice to make against all the tyrannies of Empire.

Here's Justin's endorsement article:

http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/ralph_nader_for_president/

Nader is the 'democracy advocate' of our times, and the only candidate willing to take-on the 'corporatist Empire' which controls our country through the facade of its two-party, 'Vichy' charade of democracy.

This hidden and unmentioned 'corporatist Empire', as Hannah Arendt might say, "entails imperial wars abroad, and tyranny at home."

Nader is a pro-democr­acy/anti-e­mpire candidate -- and he's not afraid to say it, or shout it -- just like America's founding fathers.

By being anti-empire, as you note Justin, Nader is anti-war, and anti-socialized capitalist 'bailouts', and anti-fascist, and anti-spying, and anti-domestic tyranny, and, and, and anti-quiet on all the corporate empire’s oppressions that these two stooges won't even talk about.

With all this anti, some might ask, "well, what's Nader pro on?"

One word, Pro-democr­acy."”

“Fat Joe ----- "capitulat­ion-addict­ed Dems"

Precious. Absolutely precious. And absofriggin accurate.”