The Feast of the Vampires

People occasionally note that the United States no longer "makes" anything. That seems a bit unfair to me. I think a very strong case indeed could be made for the United States as the leading world supplier of the empty, insultingly stupid charades typical of declining empire:

This time GM CEO Rick Wagoner, Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) CEO Alan Mulally and Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli drove fuel-efficient hybrids to Washington, rather than flying in on corporate jets as they did two weeks ago.

Ford and GM have since announced they would sell their jets. And all three CEOs have agreed to cut their pay to $1 a year if they get the federal help they are seeking.

What an abysmally idiotic nation the United States has become. Also endlessly violent, bloody and murderous, but undeniably, relentlessly idiotic. One notable result of this superficiality and stupidity is the widespread celebration attendant upon utterly empty symbolism. In fact, as discussed in, "No: There Are Many Things About It that Are Profoundly Awful," Obama's election and the meaning widely ascribed to it are much more than empty symbolism: they are profoundly damaging, since the ruling class will utilize them primarily to stop the growth of any meaningful opposition to the current trajectory of the U.S. That process is already well underway. (Also see, "Silenced: Barack Obama and the End of Struggle toward Truth and Freedom," and the essays linked there.)

I mentioned recently that, among other pieces, I am working on a more detailed analysis of the tactics of moral and psychological intimidation that are now utilized by so many people. The ongoing economic collapse provides numerous examples of this phenomenon, as I have already discussed to some extent in the second half of "Terrorist State, Abroad and at Home":

You now witness these tactics of intimidation and of the most transparently, viciously manipulative fear-mongering deployed by almost every member of the ruling class in connection with the bailout bill. I will not rehearse another time all the reasons this bill will do nothing but hasten the economic destruction of the United States, or why it is supposedly designed to solve a problem that cannot be solved: begin with my most recent essay on this subject, and follow the links (or scroll through the last few weeks of posts) for much more. (In the following, I do not even mention the cruder and more obvious methods of intimidation now so beloved by our government. See an earlier essay -- "Obey or Die" --for just one kind of example of what the cruder methods entail.)

The words speak for themselves, but the purpose of these pronouncements should be emphasized: our rulers do not want to scare you to death, although your death would hardly approach a matter of any serious concern for them. While your death is not (necessarily) required, your obedience is. You will obey them -- or else.

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Those last comments from Obama introduce another theme of this propaganda onslaught, one that should be especially offensive to any American who remains capable of thought to any extent at all. That theme is simply this: if you don't understand why we need to add an incalculable amount to the already monumental national debt, if you fail to grasp why we have to extort money from you to maintain the ruling class in its comfort and affluence, if you don't see why we need to embark on a plan that cannot possibly do what we are told it's intended to do, while it will cause untold damage in numerous other ways -- well, you're just stupid.

...

Do what they demand -- or else.

This is your government -- a terrorist state, abroad and at home. Now they've added you to their list of current targets. How does it feel? (At least, they're not shooting at you. Not just yet, anyway.)

Thus, in the latest charade, we have this:

After presenting plans to Congress Tuesday that detailed how they would use loans to return to profitability, each company warned of tremendous damage to the economy if they are forced to file for bankruptcy due to lack of help.

In prepared testimony in front of the Senate Banking Committee Thursday, Mulally quoted an estimate from Goldman Sachs that said the impact to the economy from failures could be up to $1 trillion.

Be afraid. Be very, very afraid, don't think too much (if at all) and, most critically and which is in the nature of an absolute commandment, don't trouble yourself with the long-term consequences (which is to say, more than a month or a year ahead, and certainly not beyond the next election cycle). Just print up huge bundles of new, non-existent money now (non-existent in the sense that it has no connection to anything tangible that actually exists, and represents only massive future debt), and hand it over to the latest members of the ruling class with greedy hands extended.

Always remember: in our corporatist-authoritarian system, the ruling class always wins. You, the "ordinary" American who works and pays taxes that maintain the ruling class in its immense wealth and power and expand that wealth and power still more, always lose.

Will it work? Don't be idiotic: of course it will work. There's a lot more blood remaining in your carcass. And the vampires are exceedingly hungry.

The feast of the vampires has barely begun.

P.S. In connection with, "No, You're Not Crazy" (a post from September of this year linked above), yes, I did see this week's story:

General Renuart also sought to clarify the domestic role of the U.S. Armed Forces during any catastrophic event. The Washington Post published a report Monday indicating 20,000 U.S. troops are being deployed to special domestic units to respond to potential terrorist attacks.

Civil liberties groups have expressed concern that this deployment could undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the military role in domestic law enforcement.

But General Renuart said these troops will not be involved in law enforcement and will only be used to assist other agencies in dealing with an overwhelming disaster.

Oh. My mind has been set completely at ease.

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