Politics as it should be talked about.

One step forward, two steps back. When Bob Shieffer derided the scramble to interview Paris Hilton, I applauded the man. There is so little to applaud on Sunday AM talk shows. The next Sunday he’s back in the style of all the bubble heads. Everyone’s talking about the London car incidents as cars filled with explosives. Gasoline is NOT an explosive! To create an explosive using gasoline as a part, the air/fuel ratio is critical and must be controlled. In essence, those three cars weren’t even good Molotov cocktails. Of course that label, "Three badly made Molotov Cocktails," is not as titillating or fear inducing as propaganda necessitates, which explains the terminology. Excited fear is the need Du’ Jour in order to mold public backing for bombing Iran. Funny that the same tired, talking point spouting, chicken-hawks that fed us the lies that led to the debacle that exists in Iraq, now have carte blanque credibility on their prognosis of the threat Iran poses.

I’m watching Ralf Nader, thank you Amy Goodman and Democracy Now, and I’m reminded, once again, why I voted for him every time he’s been on the ballot. Twice when he wasn’t. Did he cost Al Gore the election? No, Gore won. It was only the media and the Supreme court that thought $hrub should win and worked to give the office to him. Even the Repugs know he stole it. “Washington, DC, is Corporate occupied territory,” is a quote that is missing from all current Presidential candidates. You can’t fix anything till you know the root cause of the problem. Which leads to the next paragraph.

Two items for your consideration. Over half the budget is for the military. What, no waste or unneeded programs? How about the F-22 which has rizen in cost from $40 million to $400 million each. The US government pays more than half of all medical payments. By paying all, it would immediately reduce costs by at least 30%. A practical, radical solution towards resolving the world’s health care and the US's fiscal crisis': Stop using war to resolve political and economic problems. Not only does it not work, it is in fact, counter productive.

Now, into the circle file...

Tiptoeing around the edges of Resistance.

Deciding to relax of an evening, I tuned to the History Channel. A favorite subject, Star Wars, is being covered. Seeing in it an allegory for our times, I hear all these references to Greek and Roman mythology and even comparisons to Roman, Napoleonic, and even Nazi attempts at Empire. They even threw in Saddam Hussein as if he had actually attempted an Empire of his own. Only in the last fifteen minutes and then only lightly and fleetingly, did they dare make mention that "Star Wars" might have a possible aspiration to apply to modern times. To our own government's attempt at Empire.

The "Iliad" was not written to critique ancient history. Homer was critiquing his contemporaries. "1984" did not reference a future, it was published in 1948 and the title played on same concept that "war is peace" served in the body of the story. Only fools and illiterates were not aware that Huxley was critiquing his contemporaries. The first critiques of Nero burning Rome were written while Rome was burning. Nor did play writers wait till Germany surrendered before critiquing that attempt at Empire. Likewise, Lucas saw the truth of Nixon and his ilk, who continue now in the guise of neo-liberal neo-cons, and with his art brought forth an epic that loudly condemned the direction he saw our country was heading towards.

Sadly, the audience did as Americans have become prone to doing. Cheer the movie action, then rush out and buy a bunch of things. As a rule we have not been taught self examination. We've been taught to buy things. The History Channel had a chance to help us examine the current failing of our government in its quest for Empire and punted. Personally, I believe they did it on purpose. The History Channel serves to buttress the current attempt at Empire and thus fails to serve the public interest. Of course, being a business venture, they are in it for the money and there is more money to be made backing our current corrupted government than in questioning the status quo.

Fortunately, it did end on an encouraging note. Even an Empire of seemingly universal strength can be overcome by the actions of a few, dedicated people convincing the people in general that true power, as has actually always been, is in the hands of the people themselves. The power of the story itself overcame the efforts to minimize its current relevance.

Now, into the circle file...