Evolution of Consciousness

An excellent article on the Tea Party by Matt Taibbi.

Here’s my Voter Guide for a New American Century: “D” is for disappoint and “R” is for regress. Those, sadly, are the two major-party choices in this country, which is why we all need to start voting for independent, or third party, candidates in the coming elections.

The important fact is that both major parties serve the same master: Big Money. A vote down either rathole garners the same result: more of the same. That is why the ruling elite — the only ones happy with the way things currently are — would like to see you continue worrying about Ds and Rs.

It’s like professional wrestling, where the promoters care only about the take at the gate, not the outcome of the match. The “fight” is merely an act, put on to capture the crowd’s attention, to the point where they become invested in the outcome. In the long run, it doesn’t matter who wins or loses each match as long as the performers put on a good show and keep the marks coming back for more.

I don’t think Not Voting is the answer, that just makes it easier for the status quo to keep itself in power. The answer, short of actual revolution, is voting independent. Individually, it’s a small thing, but voting is where our power lies, and many of us, acting together, could make it a big thing. The freedom to do so comes from the real understanding that it doesn’t matter if a D or an R wins. That is a trap, and remains a race to the bottom. As Noam Chomsky likes to say, “voting for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil.” We can do better than that, and we should.

David Michael Green has written a lovely eulogy on the effort to reform the American health care system: Did Obama Sandbag His Own Health Care Bill?

Here’s a refreshingly candid assessment of the Republican Party, from a Republican. The worse the two parties get, the more we citizens can come together, outside their rotten tents of corruption.

If the Democratic Party were interested in surviving, it would follow the lead of Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY) in this video…

The Republican ideology is dead, it just doesn’t know it yet. The practice of the current Democratic Party (being an ever slightly more-conflicted, more-subversive version of the out-and-out Republican corruption) is also headed for extinction. Ignoring the citizenry is simply unsustainable in the long run. You can only exploit the people for so long, before they revolt or perish.

I don’t think the Republicans have any chance of surviving, long term, since representing big business is in their DNA. If the Democrats (and I realize that’s a huge “if”) were to come clean and swear off the bribery, they could hasten both their renaissance and the Republican demise. One fell swoop. But that would take courage and foresight, and I don’t see that coming from many entrenched quarters yet. It is, however, refreshing to hear it every once in a great while, so kudos to Weiner for that!