"The wealthy, not only by private fraud but also by common laws, do every day pluck and snatch away from the people some part of their daily living. Therefore, when I consider and weigh in my mind these commonwealths which nowadays do flourish, I perceive nothing but a certain conspiracy of rich men in procuring their own commodities under the name and authority of the commonwealth.

They invent and devise all means and crafts, first how to keep safely without fear of losing that which they have unjustly gathered together, and next how to hire and abuse the work and labor of the people for as little money and effort as possible."

Thomas More, Utopia

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Empire Tricks

Everyone knows how to find the best deal at Costco or Target, but very few understand how to make contacts and politically organize in an attempt to influence policy. It is difficult even at the local level, and almost impossible when the issue is national or international in scope. Furthermore, they perceive institutions with people that have such skills as discredited, with labor unions being the most well known example. The exception is when the issue directly involves the family. The most vociferous opponents of the war in Iraq have been veterans, members of their families and families of children, with the parents fearful that their military will somehow persuade their child to volunteer when they aren't around
-American Leftist

That little quote sums up rather succinctly what's been bugging yours truly of late. Yes, I'm afraid things will have to get a lot worse for most Americans before they make substantive demands for change. I must admit, however, that I derive a small bit of consolation from how thoroughly Putin & Co. just fucked Team Bush's plans in Central Asia (at least for the time being). I guess we'll all see soon enough if the Bushistas are reckless enough to up the ante. Russia ain't Haiti.

Update: Chris Floyd has a great deal more as well on the Russia-Georgia conflict.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

"...address the urgent needs of the populace, such as, say, getting the troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, keeping them out of Iran and preventing people from being foreclosed out of their houses. Neither candidate has said anything meaningful about any of these serious issues,"

I enjoyed this part of the American Leftist blog. It is good to see liberals out there not taken in by the Obama campaign. Thanks for the link.

"leftisthebest"

Anonymous said...

Cold-type,
love the blog....Seems like the dems will have a slug fest at the convention with Hillary's refusal to withdraw from the race, remember she SUSPENDED her campaign. I tell you this country's political system is a joke! A roll call hahaha

Anonymous said...

Hello coldtype this blog is great! I am a novice when it comes to Palestine-Isreal conflict. Can you direct me to a book where I can begin to understand the conflict.
Thanks in advance,

Coldtype said...

A very good place to start for info regarding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is with the work of Norman Finkelstein and Noam Chomsky.

The following are all available on Amazon.com:

"Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict" by Norman G. Finkelstein;

"The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel & The Palestinians" by Noam Chomsky

What you will find in these two works is literally unmentionable in the US mainstream. In fact, Finkelstein lost his job as an adjunct professor of political science at DePaul after he destroyed Alan Dershowitz's "The Case for Israel" [a vulgar apologia for Israeli depredations in the Occupied Territories and beyond] with his book "Beyond Chutzpah"--a must read, also available on Amazon.com.

The Obamabots

Yes, the actual Left had Obama pegged from the get go, he's a corporate-friendly centrist and always has been. And I think you're right 7:29 pm, the Clintons aren't about to ride off into the sunset anytime soon. I don't think it's a stretch to assume that Hillary expects and will likely demand serious VP consideration or a high level cabinet post (Sec. of State?) and the influence that would goes with it.

Rue St. Michel said...

Hi Coldie!

Just came by to say hi and to say that I hope you have a great day!

Rue

Coldtype said...

Hi Rue.

Coldtype said...

I really couldn't agree more.

Anonymous said...

Obama picks joe batters, and will Mcsame pick Mitdonald ?same bat time same bat channel let the looneytoon games begin!

Coldtype said...

So utterly predictable.