In Santa Barbara a couple of years ago, in conversation with a British tourist, I offered that the Brits had really screwed things up in Iraq. "Yes, probably so," he said. "But it's your problem now." He was right about that. We really stepped into it. All because the Bush people have a thing with the Saudis. Remember when it was just Arabia?
That British arrogance and use of the rod soiled the world is a given, unless one is some kind of neo-colonialist Gordon Gekko weekend softtail wannabe. In America, certainly, King George III should be the most reviled villain of all-time with a monument to his crass ignorance at Faneuil Hall or on Staten Island. Never mind. The Commodore (Vanderbilt) would be pissed.
America has never broken free of her British past. The back halls are full of loyalists still, standing in line for their royal handouts. We claim free speech as our most important 'right' (read privilege instead) yet our journalists are at risk for speaking their minds or expressing themselves with their wallets. This is almost Stalinist. In other words and in the British tradition, "If you speak your mind, watch your back."
We think the Democrats have saved us from financial ruin. Brother, the ruin keeps on happening. Look at the Internation Monetary Fund's assessment of how much everybody has to borrow just to stay afloat. It's even worse than the old days when one could only borrow money by proving not to need it. Now the government insists that you can't borrow money from a bank because you have a good idea or have something going and need money to fend off the Chinese, or, Praise Allah, some Muslim street vendor from Venezuela. And the bankers are loving it.
Have you noticed that your credit card and checking account fees keep going up, especially if you screw up and bounce a check. Of course, you can sign up for overdraft protection for a fee and an usurious interest rate. How about a pound a flesh? Sorry, there's no ETF for white meat. ETF is exchange traded fund for those of you who actually own your home. The fix is in and part of the landscape.
In Victorian British society how one looked was important. Schizophrenics never had it so good. "How's old Duckface" she inquired. "Good form, not too mad," was the chivalrous reply. Inane conversation and thought was the order of the day. Wouldn't want to offend anyone a little higher on the food chain. One had to dress right so as not to appear to be prey. God spare your ass if you had an original thought. Best keep it to yourself and preserve the status quo. Wouldn't want anyone to think there's something better in life that self-imposed misery.
Native Americans referred to this two-faced, lilly-whiteman phenomenon of utter bullshit as the forked tongue. Make my pronuniciation Shakespearean, for emphasis. Fork Ed. And fork those REMFs in the back office making up all the stupid rules.
Take a look around. This may not be the America we think it is. Take it back? We're still giving it away, a little at a time. Next time you find yourself watching MSNBC or listening to NPR, change the channel. Better yet, turn the damn thing off. Boycott the advertisers, write a letter. Tell 'em what you you think!
Maybe the British are already here, masquerading as concerned stockholders of American banks telling our stupid president we need to borrow more money to stimulate an already-dead economy.
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