Apologies for being away from my post for much of this week. The causes were mundane -- primarily, the degrading and continual snatching after lucre.
Whenever I discuss the forecast of an attack on Chicago, readers always react uncomfortably -- for obvious reasons. Suffice it to say that if the forecast proves wrong, and if I should end up with egg on my face -- well, it'll be the finest-tasting egg dish of my life. (And that includes the omelettes at Dolores' restaurant in Santa Monica.)
As for the question of whether Bush and co. would dare to take such a step: The goal, I should think, goes far beyond the privatization of Social Security. Ending this nation's experiment in democracy requires a move so bold as to seem unimaginable. Note that blame for a nuclear incident can be determined only by "evidence" provided by this nation's intelligence agencies -- intercepts, prisoner confessions, the conveniently-captured videotape.
In that vein, the readers should be aware that a long 1994 study produced by the U.S. Army War College, titled "The Revolution in Military Affairs," predicted that videotaped "confessions" by enemy leaders would play a role in mass conditioning during future conflicts. (Although the provided link goes to a far-from-official web page, the actual hard copy report is available from the college itself.) The authors of this study, Steven Metz and James O. Kievit, discuss the use of "computer created" insurgent leaders to create a false view of the enemy.
At any rate, the Republican propaganda machine has now offered a prediction startlingly similar to the one I have outlined. Their attempt to "Call the shot" and to lay the groundwork for a blame-the-Dems strategy makes this issue one of inescapable importance.
1 comment:
I think one could argue that the experiment in democracy is long dead; the ruling elite is already getting everything it wants, and without the irritant of a genuine opposition party or an independent mass-media.
Bush & Co. could certainly get more through outright dictatorship, but the "success" of this country has always depended on a veneer of democracy and principle. I can't see the advantage to them, of trashing years of successful PR and brainwashing, for the uncertain pleasures of a state widely seen to be illegitimate, and with a likely economic depression to follow.
Of course, that's not to say these people wouldn't try.... It wouldn't be the first time they've made a grevious error. Still, more caution, please.
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