Nuclear power scandal exposes a stupefied South Carolina public

"Sooner or later it will dawn on them that there is nothing they can do but violently revolt. Most likely, by the time they reach this conclusion, it will be too late. Americans are very slow to escape from the false reality in which they live. Americans are a thoroughly brainwashed people who hold tightly to their false life within The Matrix." - Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (under Reagan) Dr. Paul Craig Roberts

It was a howling hoot when Ashley Landess, president of the SC Policy Council, blabbered the ol' "contact your legislators" line as a solution to the utility company ripoff orchestrated by SC's General Assembly. Perhaps Ms. Landess is unaware of the deluge of opposition legislators have received for many years regarding their empowerment of so-called Homeowners Associations, all to no avail, Expressing your views to these special-interest-serving jerks is a waste of time, Just for grins n chuckles, I sent all of 'em a link to the latest post on my probate blog. As expected, I got nothing but automated replies.

Interestingly enough, Ms. Landess admitted that popular opposition to a gas tax did not prevent the legislature from imposing one this year. If you say it fast enough, "contact your legislator" sounds almost as good as "Free Iraq."

Someone dared to imply that politically-nonchalant South Carolinians - so permissive of corruption - are genetically disposed to be stupid. I liked that. Ms. Landess, of course, did not.

Why on earth do people participate in a pervasively corrupt electoral system? Ya gotta be pretty dumb - or willfully ignorant - not to know that elections are controlled by big-moneyed goons such as SCANA (a "hyper-secretive" 9 billion dollar holding company), funding those ultra-expensive political advertising campaigns so popular with a presstitute mainstream media whose "investigative prowess" is a national joke. Wanna be elected? Just play up to the "right" special interests, and rest assured that sufficient numbers of a media-brainwashed public - mindlessly believing that voting is their civic duty - will usher you into position. I quit voting many years ago.

The South Carolina Policy Council keeps itself politically correct by ignoring a fundamentally flawed electoral system. I got fed up with their claims to be a government watchdog when they refused to breathe a word about South Carolina's probate racket. Makes ya wonder what else they oh-so-politely decline to address.

Not that some of the Council's articles aren't pleasantly appropriate. I've even linked to several - it's a nice touch - in my blog posts. Unfortunately, their articles really don't disclose anything that a smattering of common sense wouldn't tell a person about notorious corruption in the state legislature.

The nuclear power plant ripoff will continue.

I always laugh when people express shock and dismay that "their" representatives don't care what the public thinks about anything. The self-serving slobs aren't accountable to the public - they're accountable to a slew of special interests. The Public Service Commission - a select bunch of utility company stooges - will approve the utility rate hike requests, and South Carolinians will hand over the dough, keeping their mouths shut and their tails tucked.

The most frequent comment I get regarding the SC Legislature's probate racket is, "It's all a racket." Indeed it is. America has reduced itself to a cesspool of corruption, dishonesty, and deceit. The last thing it needs is a gang of conflicted social climbers who ultimately promote the status quo.

Update 12/19/2017 - According to the SC Secretary of State, Ashley Landess' salary is a whoppin' 104,681 per year. No wonder the Council wants people to donate.

Update 9/21/2017 - My pleasure to tweet a link to this post to the South Carolina Policy Council, and just for a few more grins n chuckles, I also sent a link to all SC legislators and tweeted a link to Governor McMaster.

The joy of refusing to vote

"If Americans had any sense, no one would vote in the November election." From a 10/13/2012 article by former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Dr. Paul Craig Roberts.

Just gotta say: Refusing to participate in America's electoral system has been one of the most liberating experiences of my life. What a joy it is to be rid of Democrats, Republicans, and those would-be contenders running as Independents or - worse yet - clamoring for the "write-in" victory. Uncle Sam and the corporate thugs who call the shots in this country don't care who you vote for. Repukes and Demagogues are their puppets. Other candidates don't stand a chance. The objective is to sucker people into conforming. Get 'em to wear a red, white, and blue "I Voted" button on Election Day.

If you ever have time, read Anthony Downs' "An Economic Theory of Democracy." Ah, that beautiful touch of sarcasm in the title. Politicians don't worry about goodness or badness. They try to maximize their votes. Period. Its the only political behavior that's rational 'cause they gotta get votes to be in office. But maximizing votes takes money. And money is monopolized by about one percent of the population. Champagne sippin' bigwigs. Folks entrenched in perverse corporations that profit from stuff like American imperialism and taxpayer-financed bailouts for big banks. Crystal glasses tipped in a toast to "rich man's war - poor man's fight." Ever notice how the Repukes and the Demagogues always get together when it comes to that sort of thing? Shhh...

Grateful Dead legend Bob Weir put on a frantic effort to get folks to vote. Wonderful soundtrack. Misguided cause. I love it when people point out the role money plays in politics while simultaneously claiming they've found a candidate who'll beat the system. Win without corporate backing. Change the world. Save the planet. Happens every election. One of the best parts of the show. Twitter offered real-time feedback to Bob's effort, and I tweeted a link to my post titled "Why I don't vote."

Let's face it. America's military-industrial complex is in control. Power that ain't gonna be handed over at a ballot box. Look no further than recent legislation (NDAA) giving ol' Uncle Sam the right to incarcerate U.S. citizens for as long as he so desires without even filing charges. Wanna send a message to the warmongering thugs that run this country? Simple. Refuse to vote. Let 'em know you've caught on their two-headed one party sham.

I'm reminded of the notion that in times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. Whatever. Come Election Day, at least I'll save the gas money it would cost to get to the polls and back.

Update 3/9/2017 - Ron Paul has it right: Voting is just a means of pacifying the public, the Deep State calls the shots.

Update 11/10/2016 - Real hoot watching the Electoral College make a mockery of this year's presidential election. Kinda fun watching an outsider "win," but no candidates were worth my time, and the one with the most votes wasn't elected anyway. It was also nice to see Big Brother's mainstream media exposed as a tool of the 1%. Talk about the absence of a free press...

Update 11/13/2014 - Hooray for the LOWEST national turnout in 72 years for mid-term elections. Newsday's article offers an apt summation from the field of Political Science: "It's moving away from a worry to a crisis," said Gerald Benjamin, distinguished professor of political science at SUNY New Paltz. "We are not talking about a natural ebb and flow. We are talking about a deep dip. . . . This could be a harbinger of a fundamental shift that we need to think very hard about." Maybe - just maybe - folks are indeed waking up to the government's voting scam. 

Update 11/7/2014 - I'm delighted that South Carolina's voter turnout for mid-term elections is the lowest in four decades. Hopefully, folks are wising-up to the government's voting scam.

Occupy Wall Street wins round one

In the midst of millions unemployed, unpopular wars, and plunging house prices, America's power structure - 'bout 1% of the population - is on edge. Nowhere has this been better evidenced than by the systematic oppression directed against folks from all walks of life who came together in New York City on 9/17/2011, declaring a dug-in-for-the-long-haul protest under the banner "Occupy Wall Street." A mainstream media blackout was thrown at 'em from the get go, and peaceful protesters were arrested, pepper sprayed, and thrown to the ground. But in this age of the Internet, social media exploded. News of the blackout, videos documenting the size of the protest, and shots of police misconduct spread like wildfire. One video even documented a cop attacking a protester for simply carrying a camera. Beaten at it own game, mainstream media limped in, conspicuously late to cover the event.

Fast forward a few weeks, and Occupy Wall Street has now elbowed its way into the international spotlight. With 99% of the planet facing ruin - financial and otherwise - at the hands of governments beholden to wealthy power brokers, the "occupy" theme is ushering in protests from New York to London. The hottest hashtags on Twitter are #OccupyWallStreet and #ows.   

So round one - a battle for recognition - goes to the occupiers. The government's heavyhandedness backfired, further inflaming passions against bailed out banksters, imperialistic wars, and the corporate sponsored politicians of America's two headed one party electoral system. This past weekend there were sizeable protests in U.S. cities coast to coast, with New York drawing the biggest crowd yet.

Not bad for a freewheelin', off the cuff effort.

I'm especially pleased that so many of the occupiers have caught on to the fact that Demagogues and Repukes are equally beholden to "Wall Street," and anti-voting sentiment is makin' headlines. I quit voting years ago. Wouldn't it be great if this corrupt, warmongerin' government and its corporate cronies gave an election and nobody came?

Update 10/10/2011 - Facebook has blocked this post from appearing in real-time Public Posts.

Why I don't vote

To begin with, voting simply isn't worth the effort for a country cowardly enough to tolerate the gang-style savagery dished out to Marine recruit Jason Tharp, the teenager who wanted out of the military, then drowned during "training." Forced to tread water, Jason was surrounded by Marine swim instructors as he went under possibly six times, screamed repeatedly to be let out of the pool, finally succumbed to exhaustion and coughed, gagged, or vomitted before bobbing to the surface unresponsive.

Only one mainstream media outlet revealed these bloodcurdling facts. Democracy depends on an informed electorate, and an informed electorate depends on a free press. The Tharp case epitomizes the fact that America has neither.

When it comes to the top office in the land, the Electoral College makes a mockery of majority rule. In a real democracy, the winner is the candidate who gets the most votes. One man, one vote. And if it's not the Electoral College, it's multi-billion dollar corporations deciding who gets elected and what kind of legislation gets passed. Corporations are not people. America's two-party system is a sham.

So go get 'em, boys and girls. Cast those ballots, support those imperialistic wars, and by all means, flap those flags. As for me, I'll make a deal. I'll vote for the first candidate who screams bloody murder about the Tharp case. Fair enough?

McCain v. Obama. And the Empress' new clothes.

One thing's for sure. McCain's got the best dressed running mate, hands down. I'll bet Biden's wardrobe doesn't cost half as much as Sarah's. But the real embarassment turns out to be John Edwards. Talk about cheap. Edwards was skimping by on those $400 haircuts...

Pardon the pun, but when it comes to warmongering, McCain doesn't beat around the Bush. And if McCain gets the nod, it might be kinda fun to see folks get exactly what they asked for.

Change you can believe in? I wish Obama was a non-smoker, at least. Yessir, he sure doesn't have any of that "baggage" from back when my generation put an end to one of America's filthy wars. Obama - like McCain - is shootin' for a bigger war in Afghanistan while he makes any withdrawal from Iraq contingent on conditions on the ground. Barack even threw a tantrum when MoveOn.org dared to run the Betray Us ad questioning the integrity of America's scandal-soaked military.

Too bad our last chance for world peace, racial harmony, etc. can't even get along with his minister. If only he would direct some of that hostility toward impeaching Bush and Cheney for war crimes. With Obama and his corporate lapdog Democrat party kissin' up to the Republicans and budgeting billions for America's latest wars, a small pocketful of coins left over after taxes will be the "change you can believe in" regardless of who gets elected.

Thank goodness I no longer bother to vote. This election has been better than an afternoon soap opera, and I can set back and enjoy the show.

Bailout Blues

Let's face it. Neither Obama nor McCain have enough courage to address the cause of America's current financial woes. The chickens of "livin' beyond one's means" have come home to roost, and the response from both parties has been a rush to spend even more. 'Course, it would be politically risky to assert that Americans - borrowers, lenders, and even Joe the Plumbers - need to exercise a little good old-fashioned self-discipline and common sense.

Sadly - as the parties of Obama and McCain budget trillions for America's latest imperialistic wars - our economy is built on suckerdom. Keepin' up with the Joneses keeps the credit flowin' and everyone's fat and happy. Throw in a few fancy Wall Street shenanigans, get the rest of the world involved, and when the entire house of cards comes crashin' down, bail out the culprits with taxpayer dollars from folks who lived responsibly. Folks who didn't buy the lie. Folks who made profits before they made "payroll."

For a number of reasons, I no longer vote. But it should be obvious by now that "Change You Can Believe In" won't start with Obama or McCain. They're afraid to say so, but what we need is less lendin' and spendin' - more savin' and behavin'.

Vote... for the warmonger of your choice

Amidst rumblings of war with Iran - and even an invasion of Pakistan (just to get Bin Laden, of course) - oBOMBa and McSame have both pledged their allegiance to a troop buildup in Afghanistan. Gotta change the focus of the "War on Terror" now that Iraq has become so unpopular.

Isn't it amazing how the two "opposition" parties can always agree on more war? How the Democrats - ushered in on anti-war sentiment - always wind up joining the Republicans for war funding? Talk about a two-party "system." It lapdogs for the military-industrial complex, promotes U.S. imperialism, and refuses to impeach Bush and Cheney for war crimes. Still wanna vote? I don't. And won't. But if you still do, save youself some time and just flip a coin. And use a dime to remind yourself that it won't make a dime's worth of difference which candidate or which party gets elected.

You can say the War on Terror is all about oil. Real oil for corrupt corporate interests, and snake oil for the rest of us. Hup, two, three, four, and The Great American War Machine is on the move....