Silly Season in a World of Bullshit

As the country bakes, the candidates ramped up their campaigns. One can only imagine what the final two months will be like though I imagine it will be like television except instead of banal commercial commercials we will have the banal political ones. That we are bombarded with bullshit from the great bullshit manufactures in the hopes that the brain numbing sales pitches will entice us to part with some of our diminishing cash reserves is a sign that in the end this economy is merely an illusion propped up by those whose only purpose is to acquire vast sums of money so they can bemoan the welfare state and buy politicians who will make them more wealthy. The fact that any common man without a portfolio or Swiss bank account will sign on to the beliefs that a) capital gain taxes are bad, b) that a public health system is socialism, and c) that capitalists know what is best for the country and the economy is a testament to Menken's admonishment that no one ever went broke underestimating the stupidity of the American public. While the noise machines of the right continue to incite their lemmings to action, the country flounders in a sea of greed, theft, and incompetence. That congress is little more than house filled with elected officials whose behavior can only be classified as juvenile, though to be fair, kids often acts with some degree of ethics and morality. The house is a joke parading as a deliberative body; and, the senate has turned out to be totally ineffective institution with the requirement that anything that passes that body needs 60 votes. The lazy bastards did away with filibustering so that they can spend more time at the trough of big campaign contributors than standing in the well and defending what they believe. Forget the banks. Daimon, who the president praised as a smart banker, has lost billions on risky investments. The explanation he gives sounds those of a dude with a gambling addiction. That the person responsible for the losses earned 28 million is unfathomable. That these thieves, they being the bankers, screwed consumers and municipalities with their fast talk and rate rigging and not having been brought to justice is proof positive that in this world we are in the hands of those who don't give a shit about anything but their own greed. What makes it all the more ironic is that “they believe they deserve everything they stole.” Mort Sahl made that observation many years ago. Unfortunately, it holds true today. Now for Mitt, here is a dude that claimed he is a job creator and he points to Bain Capital. Interesting, now that it has been shown that Bain was a job destroyer, he claims he wasn't in charge, just the CEO. Only in the curious world of politics can you have it both ways. As for Obama, he cites that his biggest mistake was that he failed to tell a story of hope. I think what he meant to say a narrative. We have had enough stories. What his biggest mistake was his dreaming some phantasy about a Lincolnesque team of rivals, when he should have hit the ground and kicked ass. Listening to those republicans early on, when he had a super majority in the senate and majority in congress, was tantamount to masturbating, though that act at least has some conclusion. So, here we are facing the dog days of summer. The super rich are ponying up their large checks so that they can get the ear of candidates. A recent article in the Atlantic, showed that the only people whose income went up where those with the most. The average joe is whipsawed by prices and a diminishing economy. The banks continue to get free money, while everybody's investments deteriorate. The rich will tell us they have the answers, but only a fool would believe them because these rich people have been in control and have had the politicians in their pockets and the only thing we got for all their bullshit, is crumbling schools, roads. We have squandered treasure and lives on senseless wars. We have gotten pollution. To make matters worse, we have to listen to idiots praise the rich and redefine what is good. Zealots with no morals tell people how live. Thieves manage are money. Hacks gum up our political institutions. Bullshit remains the underlying principle of this country and its economy. The candidates will begin pumping us with their unique brand of bullshit. The irony is that they are the only ones with the dough to wast on useless crap. Don't look for the news program to help decipher the bullshit. They only repeat it.