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| Happy New Year: It's 1984 |
| by Jacob Levich |
| Seventeen years later than expected, 1984 has arrived. In his address to Congress Thursday, George Bush effectively declared permanent war -- war without temporal or geographic limits; war without clear goals; war against a vaguely defined and constantly shifting enemy. Today it's Al-Qaida; tomorrow it may be Afghanistan; next year, it could be Iraq or Cuba or Chechnya. No one who was forced to read 1984 in high school could fail to hear a faint bell tinkling. In George Orwell's dreary classic, the totalitarian state of Oceania is perpetually at war with either Eurasia or Eastasia. Although the enemy changes periodically, the war is permanent; its true purpose is to control dissent and sustain dictatorship by nurturing popular fear and hatred. The permanent war undergirds every aspect of Big Brother's authoritarian program, excusing censorship, propaganda, secret police, and privation. In other words, it's terribly convenient. And conveniently terrible. Bush's alarming speech pointed to a shadowy enemy that lurks in more 60 countries, including the US. He announced a policy of using maximum force against any individuals or nations he designates as our enemies, without color of international law, due process, or democratic debate. He explicitly warned that much of the war will be conducted in secret. He rejected negotiation as a tool of diplomacy. He announced starkly that any country that doesn't knuckle under to US demands will be regarded as an enemy. He heralded the creation of a powerful new cabinet-level police agency called the "Office of Homeland Security." Orwell couldn't have named it better. By turns folksy ("Ya know what?") and chillingly bellicose ("Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists"), Bush stepped comfortably into the role of Big Brother, who needs to be loved as well as feared. Meanwhile, his administration acted swiftly to realize the governing principles of Oceania: WAR IS PEACE. A reckless war that will likely bring about a deadly cycle of retaliation is being sold to us as the means to guarantee our safety. Meanwhile, we've been instructed to accept the permanent war as a fact of daily life. As the inevitable slaughter of innocents unfolds overseas, we are to "live our lives and hug our children." FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. "Freedom itself is under attack," Bush said, and he's right. Americans are about to lose many of their most cherished liberties in a frenzy of paranoid legislation. The government proposes to tap our phones, read our email and seize our credit card records without court order. It seeks authority to detain and deport immigrants without cause or trial. It proposes to use foreign agents to spy on American citizens. To save freedom, the warmongers intend to destroy it. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. America's "new war" against terrorism will be fought with unprecedented secrecy, including heavy press restrictions not seen for years, the Pentagon has advised. Meanwhile, the sorry history of American imperialism -- collaboration with terrorists, bloody proxy wars against civilians, forcible replacement of democratic governments with corrupt dictatorships -- is strictly off-limits to mainstream media. Lest it weaken our resolve, we are not to be allowed to understand the reasons underlying the horrifying crimes of September 11. The defining speech of Bush's presidency points toward an Orwellian future of endless war, expedient lies, and ubiquitous social control. But unlike 1984's doomed protagonist, we've still got plenty of space to maneuver and plenty of ways to resist. It's time to speak and to act. It falls on us now to take to the streets, bearing a clear message for the warmongers: We don't love Big Brother. The news is what we tell you, dont believe everything you read or see,for what is truth ? Time is only relative....learn enough to be dangerous, and ask better questions.. because the only stupid question there is, is the question you need to know, not asked. |
My fellow Americans,,, we all know that things are bad,
Both government and the populus have completely lost site
Americans have not saved so little since the depression of the 1930s,
down 91% a spending binge & household debt buildup well beyond
income growth, despite the economic 'boom'.
We have a system propped up by people "paying the minimum" to service their debt
same goes for the government. The trouble is this leave no room for error
Truth be told Throughout history, that's always the case.
Denial is a very strong emotion, and one has a hard time believing that things
can really change Few of you remember, how much you paid for many thing,
and as such, what it really is worth or the true cost!
In the 1990s the federal government created $2.8 trillion of new debt;
more than created in the nation's entire history prior to 1990
and another $2.7 trillion since 9/11/01.
This is now amongst the most widely forecasted housing downturn in history
U.S. builders have slashed prices by more than 10% in December in a failed
bid to boost sales, which dropped about 5% to the lowest level in nearly 13 years,
the Commerce Department reported Monday.
The grim figures show no relief in sight for a battered building sector
and are certain to be a major item on the Federal Reserves agenda
For 2007, new-home sales fell a record 26.4% to the lowest level since 1996.
A lousy end to a lousy year even though U.S. leading indicators
point to slow growth ahead
Declining U.S. oil production & reserves, soaring consumption and imports
oil & natural gas more dependent than ever on others. is A very serious issue.
exploding negative trade balance to new records, now $15 billion/week
World's largest debtor nation, yet 4 times more dependent on global trade than before
Foreign interest own increasing percentage of our marketable debt
And top top it all off the war in Iran er Iraq not only did we not find
any weapons of mass destruction and it seems that we overly exaggerated
the supply of oil there and there ability to pay for "operation enduring occupation"
what can be said oops try not to let it happen with Iran
Forget all that instead we celebrate increased life expectancy and quality care
relative to our past, but it's less than achieved by other nations
yet we spend 82% more of our economy on health care than others,
including higher government spending ratios.
And a growing number of uninsured
But what can we do about it
With a 60% decline in ratio of manufacturing jobs,
impacts median incomes and trade balances.
talking about jobs if your looking for for a job?
I might suggest the night shift somewhere in fast food
or the growing field turkey dissection.
Thanks to the current administration and its Democrat enablers,
the US has to sell $3 billion dollars a day of treasury bonds
to COVER CURRENT BILLS.
69% do not trust, a massive increase in lack of trust from 3 decades ago,
and 80% believe government has too much power.
However with recently passed legislation they will find out who you are
All this may seem troublesome for representative democracy
and legitimacy of its officials. Citizens now work more than 5 months
each year just to pay all federal, state & local taxes
many months more than prior generations.
Families paid more inflation adjusted taxes than ever before.
When the Roman Empire fell, it kicked off a period we now refer to
as the Dark Ages. World progress came to a halt for several hundred years.
The US government had set up laws to check and balance the financial system
to prevent another Great Depression and Wall Street has circumvented these laws
. A disturbing parallel can be compared to the brilliant Engineers that took
the safety controls off of the Nuclear power plant Chernobyl.
The rest is history.
Certainly, our economy now has far more differences than similarities
with the economy of 1929 or that of the Roman Empire, and few expect
a new depression for the decade ahead. But it's also worth remembering
that the best laid plans of presidents, chief executives and senators
can sometimes come to nothing.
By highlighting economic threats to our young,
actions may result such that negative trends become positive trends
and my generation can become more proud of our bequest to the next generation
In closing
This could be the most widely forecasted turnaround in history
or This may be the most widely forecasted depression in history
That my opinion, I could be, hope I'm wrong. Thank you and good luck
So I logged in to check my email and I laughed at first glance until I realized that there was someone out there that would fall for this. Maybe not you or I but someone has and will
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Inbox
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My response:
"Dear Amerca (sic),
I realize that I have disgraced myself, my family and my country. It is with an empty heart that Cheney and I tender our resignations and announce that we will be seeking asylum in Saudi Arabia with our comrades.
The only sensible conclusion is to ask former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore to step back up and work on bringing the world back to the state in which they left it. Heh heh. Sorry about that, fellas.
It's been real, it's been fun, but it ain't been real fun. Good night."
Maybe it came on after 10am. They said more emails would air letter.
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