On the Violence. Or the threats thereof...

Much is being made... well, some at any rate... over the violence attending the passage of the HCR (now dubbed "Health Insurance Reform" or HIR) legislation what with all the symbolism of Kristallnacht and such that went with the broken glass and yowling of the mobs.

Comes now the warnings about and the round up of some of the fringier and flakier of the lunatics on the right, those who claim the right of insurrection starting with the officers of the law.

The way this is being played out is interesting. It seems that Our Rulers are singling out certain elements on the right for close scrutiny and they are taking out certain very marginal players, and they seem to be doing it as a signal to the TeaBaggers and their sponsors that if they step out of line the man'll come and take them away.

But the line, for those on the right, seems to be set at "Pretty Much Anything Goes."

They can carry on as wildly as they like, including breaking windows, so long as... no one gets hurt? Is that the game? All good clean fun, eh?

Blowing off steam, as Rush would say. Actually, the other day -- probably yesterday -- he was going full bore against Obama, claiming Obama started it! Obama said mean things against el Rushbo, mean, mean, mean! It was quite a performance...

Ah. Key: this is all Performance. I'm sure there are folks out there eager wage something come April 19, and who knows, they might just do it.

But there is another level to all of this. Back in the day, it was critically important for Our Rulers to discredit and marginalize and co-opt the lefty insurgency, and they did so with a wide range of tactics, from the "Free Speech Zones" to the Marches in Place. And anybody who got out of line was bludgeoned, gassed, or hauled off to the pokey. Remnant Communists organized some of the biggest protest marches the nation, nay the world, had ever seen, and they were studiously ignored by the Ruling Class. Through these means and others, relentlessly and piteously applied, the Left -- so called -- became so marginalized it all but disappeared, replaced by an ersatz-left that is almost indistinguishable from Reaganism. Clever ploy, eh? The point is, it worked. There is no "Left" left in this country. And there is little or no possibility of one arising -- or re-arising -- any time soon.

Now to apply the same proven tactics to the right.

The TeaBaggers are getting lots of attention from the Republican rump party and from the media, but they come across as reactionary and insolent and deeply confused about the simplest things. There's justifiable anger of course among the People, and the TeaBaggers collect and diffuse the anger. Nobody knows what they're fighting against or fighting for, they're just fighting for the hell of it. Or something like that. The more these people are seen, the more they -- and their childish anger -- are marginalized. The more they are featured, the less their message resonates.

Ultimately Our Rulers become the Wise and Witty, Warm and Wonderful realists who are Doing the Best They Can for All of Us, and those on the Left and those on the Right can just sit down, shut up, and listen to their betters.

The Rightists have been denying there was any violence, at least that there was any violence committed by them. The bricks and the epithets either didn't happen at all or if they did, they were the product of "Leftist" provocateurs. Maybe they were, who knows? But I think the Rightists understand better what is going on than those on the so-called Left, because they've practiced these very same tactics for many years. Successfully.

Now they see they themselves being targeted. And they are worried.

Good.

Meanwhile, the Ruling Class continues on its merry way, looting, murdering, pillaging and plundering with abandon, and no one's the wiser.

Have you read Matt Taibbi's piece, or gone over to Chris Floyd's for something dismal lately? Well, there you are. We're not really making any progress at all.

Ah, but it's Spring!

A Flower:

Ah, the Pause that Refreshes!

Image: World War I Color Photos

So the Senate passed the Bailout, 74-25, their usual count on Important Issues, and this Christmas Tree of a bill will now go to the House, where something like it will be passed, and then it will go to conference committee, where something closer to the original Paulson Plan will emerge, to be quickly approved by both houses, and thence to the President's Desk, where he will sign it, and append a Signing Statement that will get it right back to the beginning and the Extortion will be paid.

Whew!

We know the way these things go.

Always.

Of course with President Barack they won't go that way, but that's different. All of a sudden, the right wing authoritarians who have been backing every Constitution shredding action of the Bushevik Regime will rediscover that tattered parchment, and amazingly will insist on Adherence ThereUnto, without let or hindrance, and the Dems, being Dems, will say "Uh, OK."

And for years nothing will really get done at all in Congress, and the Presidency will not be used in its current Autocratic Mode, but will be quiet and persusasive and try to convince recalcitrant Republicans to do what is best for the Public Interest.

So obviously, nothing will get done at all.

Despite constant and enormous crisis from every direction. If things continue on their current path, it could well be that the Natives Around the World will commence to throw off the Yoke of Hegemony, assert their own Public Interest with people like Putin and Morales and Chavez -- among many others -- to lead them on their way to Freedom, Justice and Dignity.

It would seem that Osama's Plan is working just fine.

And why in the course of these recent events was the focus once again on the Duality of either going along with the Paulson Plan or Doing Nothing? Have they learned nothing during the disasters of the past eight years? The choice is not limited to something terrible or doing nothing at all. And yet that all our Ruling Class seems to be able to see. Ever.

And so... The Decline continues.

Welcome to America.

[Followup: The House passed the Senate bill without amendment, so there was no conference committee. Bush signed it, so far without a signing statement. Clearly all that Treasury and the White House wanted was authorization to spend the money, and they got that. Everything else was just decor. Something needs to be emphasized: the process in Congress and through to the signing was just the way the legislative process is supposed to happen. Except for one thing: the People were and are deeply, fundamentally opposed to this measure. Consequently, the Congress, though following set procedure, and pretending to act in the interests of the public studiously ignored them, except on Monday when the House rejected the bill. But the conclusion was foregone. There was no chance at all that the Congress would reject the White House demands in the end. No matter what the People wanted. Which, in essence, is about as perfect a deonstration of the corruption and futility of our legislative process as you could want. -- Ché]

Fear! Terror! Pestilence! Panic! -- Holding Pattern

Have a refreshment while awaiting the Senate's pleasure.

As I have repeatedly said, there is not a whit of doubt in my mind that the extortion will be paid in full, probably with interest, and there is nothing whatsoever that the People can do to stop it.

As the WSJ econ reporter said on NPR this morning, it'll only take a call from banker or two from each district where a rep voted against the bail out to convince the obstreperous Congressmember to fall in line. There will be a bail out.

And the common wisdom is that, yes, the bad actors who have been so very bad up till now will get even richer. And there is nothing you can do about it. It's the way the world works. And if you're lucky, you'll be permitted to survive. So suck it up. Keep your trap shut.

Anti-populism is all the rage among the movers and the shakers. They were, apparently, stunned that the Rs -- their reliable servants -- went all populist on Monday and voted against paying the extortion. So now there is a full-court press throughout the media and the Ruling Class to denounce populism in all its forms and to "educate" the public about what's at stake here: your survival, in a very literal sense, not the subsidy to the rich. They're gonna get richer no matter what happens to you. But if you don't go along with the payoff, you can kiss your sorry ass good bye.

The Senate bill supposedly increases deposit insurance to $250,000 per account (for one year), extention of numerous business tax breaks, and a "fix" to the alternative minimum tax. These tweaks are intended to make the bill palatable to recalcitrant Republicans in the House. Meanwhile, Blue Dog Dems are against these proposals because they increase the deficit. So the Senate bill's provisions may force more Dems to vote against it, thus stalemating again.

At no time, whatever, is there any mention or "serious" consideration of the Progressive Caucus' proposal, nor is there any mention in the media of all the warnings and dissents from leading economists.

Our world is ruled by neo-conmen, Republicans and Blue Dogs.

Buddy, can ya spare a dime?

Pietown

The Media Narrative has suddenly and completely changed. The United States is now in a Depression. The economy is faltering and is soon to crash. Some people are daring to say that even if the "$700 Billion" extortion money is paid to the Bushevik cronies, the Crash is certain to come anyway. There is no escape.

Pietown was a response to a previous economic, environmental, and climate catastrophe. Refugees from the Great Depression and the Dustbowl, from Texas and from Oklahoma and from parts farther afield, trekked to a remote section of New Mexico, west of Soccoro, to set up a self-sufficient community of pinto-bean and corn farmers, living off the land, around Clyde Norman's pie shop on Highway 60 .

It was a rough life.



Despite all the fearmongering coming out of the corridors of power and privilege these days, I somehow doubt that most Americans are all that moved by the efforts to goad them into additional passive submission to further looting and plunder.

There are signs of fighting back against Wall Street, and other signs of endurance in the face of hardship.



It's time for the Globalist Rich to lose the Class War they have been conducting against the rest of the nation and the world for lo these many years. Time to reverse the pendulum.

The Congressional Democrats have showed us just how "efficient" they are at plundering us -- or would be if the Republicans would let them. But no, the Republicans have -- mercifully for once -- thrown some sand in the gears of the plunder machine.

There is a pause.

From this point, all hell is liable to break loose.

Batten down.

And remember Pietown.

Chickie Run

Not to be a spoilsport, but it is really over. We have reached the bottom of the cliff, and all that's left now is cleaning up the mess.

Reuters:

China banks told to halt lending to US banks-SCMP

BEIJING, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Chinese regulators have told domestic banks to stop interbank lending to U.S. financial institutions to prevent possible losses during the financial crisis, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday.

The Hong Kong newspaper cited unidentified industry sources as saying the instruction from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) applied to interbank lending of all currencies to U.S. banks but not to banks from other countries.

"The decree appears to be Beijing's first attempt to erect defences against the deepening U.S. financial meltdown after the mainland's major lenders reported billions of U.S. dollars in exposure to the credit crisis," the SCMP said.

A spokesman for the CBRC had no immediate comment. (Reporting by Alan Wheatley and Langi Chiang; editing by Ken Wills)

Seriously. This was the great fear that stalked the markets (and the Regime) during the Par-tay Time, when everybody but us poor saps were getting rich. China could pull the plug.

Well. Today they did.

It's well and truly over now.

Welcome to the Brave New World.

I say why stop with nationalizing the financial sector? Nationalize energy and transportation, nationalize health care, nationalize communications. Nationalize all natural resources. Nationalize what's left of manufacturing.

Run these markets solely for the Good of the People. Socialism for All!

If China demands payment on its debt, let them try to come collect. They won't. But our problem is, of course, that we have so little manufacturing left, having transferred most of it to... well, China! So we are dependent on Chinese products, and China will make us pay for them, a lot. "Wal-Mart! Always the High Price Leader!"

Will the People rally to clean up the monumental mess at the bottom of that cliff we were always not quite going over (except we really went over it a long time ago)? If they are called to, I think they will.

But those who profited on the way down better look to giving up their gains and then some.

There is the Devil to pay.

No, It's YOUR Fault!!!!!

Even the wingnuts seem to be recognizing that they can't escape the economic whirlwind -- or is it a hurricane -- on the prowl for its pounds of US flesh. While they are still busy claiming to be blameless, as all Republicans always are for everything, it seems to be dawning on them that they can't run from whatever consequences are on the way. And they can't tax Libruls enough to save their own behinds.

It boils down to a matter of taxation and who will be stuck with the ultimate bill and how. Because we are going into a "socialistic" phase (call it National Socialism, Nazi, if you prefer, since everything is coming from Above, nothing being generated from Below, and to date it is all a matter of fusing government and corporate interests) all these bailouts and all of them yet to come will ultimately be paid for through 1) inflation, 2) taxation, 3) continued seizures of resources domestically and overseas.

If there were any real Socialism involved, of course, the Mighty Rich would be forced to pay a punative level of taxation, basically confiscatory of everything they've gained in the last decade or so. Any income over say a million a year would be taxed at 90% or more. Capital gains over a certain amount likewise. Oh, most of the wealthy would still be wealthy, but they would not be able to profit from the economic conditions immediately preceeding the current mess, and won't be able to profit from what's to come, at least not in the short term.

If there were any real Socialism involved, then the people with mortgages scheduled to "reset" -- ie: increase interest rates -- to an unaffordable level would have their mortgage interest rates frozen until such time as the mortgage could be refinanced through a government program that stabilizes interest rates at a reasonable level (say no more than 6% or 7%) for up to 50 years, and returns up to 50% of any gains in real estate value to the government. That way, at least for the time being, most of the families living in houses which might soon be foreclosed upon will have a reprieve, and those who are able to make reasonable mortgage payments will keep their homes, thus stablilizing the housing market. (Note: It's been claimed that most of the millions of foreclosures so far have been on speculator and investor owned properties and that "real families" haven't been forced out of their homes, at least not in any great number. That's a nice claim. I'd like to see the facts.)

If there were any real Socialism involved, the banks and financial institutions who participated in the gaming of the real estate market would be forced to eat their losses, and yet they would not be allowed to fail without provision of alternative banking/financial institutions. Investors and stockholders would lose their gains over the past decade or so, but that would not necessarily mean they would "reset" to zero.

If there were any real Socialism involved, the services provided by Government (which means through general taxation) would include basics like health care and education, social welfare, utilities, clean water, healthy environment, transportation and communications infrastructure, and so on. It's not rocket science, it's all been worked out in great detail over most of the civilized world long since. Americans need to catch up.

The Masters of the Universe want to make it impossible for Americans to catch up to the rest of the world. Given what they are setting out to do right now -- to save their own asses at the expense of everyone else -- they are likely to succeed in the short term.

Americans show no sign, whatever, of bestirring themselves en masse to interfere with the secret plotting and planning going on now to saddle them with gargantuan debt for many generations to come in order to keep the best off among us in wealth and privilege forever. A permanent aristocracy to rule over them is being established as we speak, about which most Americans are completely oblivious.

What are any of us going to do about it?

Most will do nothing at all.

A few -- very few -- still have their monkeywrenches...

IT'S JAMIE GORELICK'S FAULT!!!!!!

She's a WITCH! BURN HER! BURN HER!

Jesus, people. Settle down.

I guess this latest insult to the system has actually goosed the droolies on the right to minimal comprehension that something is actually wrong, and, oh yeah, it's gonna cost them something.

It might even cost them a lot.

The latest bailout of the financial sector, details of which are not available -- and they may never be available to the public -- sounds suspiciously like an effort to suck up and hamstring every bit of slack there is left in both government and private sectors, essentially fully looting the treasury and what solvent banks there are left to prop up the teetering Big Guys at the top.

It's going to cost trillions of dollars America doesn't have any more, and for all intents and purposes may not be able to get. On the other hand, the bailout is being sold as a "profit-making" opportunity. If it pans out, in other words, Americans (exacly who is not specified) could make a handsome profit. A killing as it were. In all these derivatives that are valuless on paper but could turn out to be worth more than is being paid for them. Then again, maybe not. There, full disclosure.

Meanwhile, as always, nothing whatever is available to help the millions who are being forced out of their homes on the basis of fraudulent mortgages and lines of credit they were sold by slick operators, who only wanted to "help." The mortgage crisis has been under way for two full years, and so far, while trillions upon trillions are being pledged to keep all the banks from collapsing, nothing of any consequence can be found to help The People, nor, if the signs are correct, will there be anything whatever, for generations to come.

There will be no "rescue" of Social Security and Medicare, no infrastructure repairs, no alternative energy commitment, no mortgage relief for struggling households, no Universal Health Coverage, nothing. It will not happen; it cannot. All the money, every dime and then some, is being dedicated, bi-partisanly, to "saving" the financial sector. Nothing is left for you, and you and you, and you never deserved it, anyway, ya scum.

Illuminatingly, the People have no voice in what is going on AT ALL. Let's be blunt. Our Representatives in Congress Assembled will studiously avoid any public discussion of what's planned, they wouldn't do it even if it were possible. No, this deal is being hammered out behind closed doors in the dark, and it wouldn't be surprising if what is approved has many secret provisions that no one knows are there except the Adepts.

Many commenters are suggesting that the Deal will in essence strip the power of the purse from the Congress, though that may be a stretch. The thinking is that the banking system and the executive branch of the government (the Autocracy) will become fused, and the banks and the Treasury will operate independently of any petty "taxes" and "appropriations" the ridiculous "Congress" wishes to implement or impose. Could be. Remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, no help for the struggling masses.

You can be sure of it.

IT'S JAMIE GORELICK'S FAULT!!!!!!

OMG! Look what they've gone and done now:

I love the New Yorker, have since I was little and was stunned by those Addams Family Cartoons. In fact, before I could really read, I was captivated by all those amazingly drole cartoons that appeared throughout the magazine, and I'd save copies just for the cartoons.



I mean who wouldn't love something like the Addams Family pouring boiling oil on a group of carolers at their door?

It wasn't until I was almost out of high school before I could actually read the articles and make sense of them, and then I was startled at how good the writing was, what high calibre of wit and insight and what an abundance of information the New Yorker provided, and they did it every GD week. It was and is amazing.

So now they've gone and done this cover, provoked a full on internet hysteria episode, and have ruined, absolutely ruined their reputation among the Obamamaniacs. Ruined, I say! Cancel my subscription! NOW!

Somehow, I'm sure the New Yorker will take it in stride, and soon enough, all those who are overreacting will come to their senses and desist.

Sometimes it takes a whack upside the head from people who really know how to deliver, to defuse what a nastier than ever campaign. The hint to the Obamas here is that maybe, just maybe, mockery and derision is the appropriate response to the smears they've had to endure. Ya think? Hm.

$12 Gas? Could be...

CNBC's report from May 20 is wending its way through the usual channels, raising a few hackles and the hair on the back of more than a few necks, as people begin to ponder how they can afford $4 a gallon to their Monster Trux and SUVs on the road. They were just getting used to paying $120 to fill up, now it's $150, and at $12 a gallon, they're looking at $450 to fill their Guzzler DeLuxe tank.

Lifestyles are changing as we watch.

Well, the price of regualr gas went to $4.17.9 a gallon at the Shell station on the corner, the highest price I've seen so far anywhere in town, and there were plenty of Guzzlers filling up when I passed by this evening. My own discount station down the street is holding the line at $3.99.9 for now, but how much longer will that last? I would bet not through next week, so I'll probably fill up the van, which I only drive once or twice a month, just in case. We have a little Pontiac Sunfire for most driving needs, and I find plenty of excuses not to drive, though I have to do some driving for my job.

Many people have taken to their bikes. So many, in fact, the surface streets are becoming clogged with bicyclists who are fairly unfamiliar with the rules of the road and for the time being are hazards to themselves and others. But I suspect they will sort themselves out quickly enough.

If gas does go to $12, fueled by the collapse of the dollar, massive speculation and bubble fever (because that's what's driving so much of inflation and economic misery right now), what could happen? The strain on the already thoroughly strained economy would potentially trigger a meltdown like we haven't seen since the Great Depression.

There might be no way to prevent that anyway, but the question is, what Americans do about it? For several years now there have been rising rates of foreclosures totalling millions annually, and yet despite some news stories about the plight of foreclosed homeowners, nearly all have simply moved on to who knows where or in what condition. They aren't living on the streets in cardboard boxes or filling the highways in their jalopies. Congress has been loathe and very slow to act. The "housing crisis" gets worse, but nothing really is being done about it (except to bail out the banks) and there is no strong sense of outrage. Not yet. But people have to have some place to live, and I suspect the only thing that's keeping the ranks of the homeless from growing exponentially so far is the overabundance of housing inventory. There's a lot of shuffling going on, but so far not so much complete destitution and dispossession.

Food prices have increased dramatically and are likely to continue to spiral into the stratosphere. People cope as best they can right now by shifting to less expensive foodstuffs, but many have already reached the lower limit, and there is nowhere left to go but to cut back on quantity. That may be a good thing for some folks, but for others it could be deadly.

Household energy prices will continue to rise, squeezing already strapped households even more severely. Something will have to give.

Employment has been flat, wages and salaries flat. In certain sectors, there has been a distinct decline in both wages and employment. This does not bode well for the future.

People on fixed incomes are once again screwed as purchasing power becomes a figment of their imaginations.

Savings -- what savings? -- are wiped out.

So far, our elites have not concerned themselves with this looming crisis because they don't have to. Nothing at all is happening to make their lives any less luxe, and increase in prices so far amounts to little more than the change fallen under the cushions for the rich. Prices rise, prices fall, it makes little difference.

And some prices have fallen so much (such as for homes) that people who have plenty of money are snapping up "bargains" such as they haven't seen in years, decades. Oh joy! Oh rapture!

And the Little People?

Not their time yet.

Not their time.

UPDATE: Whoops! Too late. Went to gas up the van at the discount station down the street this morning thinking they'd still be at $3.99.9 a gallon, regular. But no!

$4.19.9! A 20 cent increase overnight.

The Shell station on the corner is still at $4.17.9 (been there for a week), and the next station down the boulevard is $4.09.9.

UPDATE, LOS DOS: Well. That didn't last long. Regular is now $4.25.9 at the Shell station. Still $4.19.9 at the discount station down the street, and it's now $4.17.9 at the next one further on.

In addition, one 76 station about a mile away is offering diesel #2 at $5.29.9 a gallon.

We're screwed. Way, way screwed.