This Meme

Bush should be nominated for honorary membership in the American Communist Party. - Zizek

Uch.

Anway. The anger is good. To know how fierce it is is good. To see it flare in this particular instance and at this target is educational. But it's so easily deflected. The White House forgot to say whose evil unworthy babies they were going to kill with this money. Or so, in anger, says Chalmers Johnson. Because he too is angry, at those who are angry now about this but not angry about greater sums used in mass murder and destruction. (They are as angry about that, it's just hundreds of millions of people are difficult to coordinate and organise, and that anger hasn't been focussed temporally by a reality tv miniseries, as this has.)

I wonder if the White House had tried to sell the bailout precisely as punishment of the profligate population, taking action to punish the evildoers who defrauded investors with bogus loan applications, who cheat and chisel and are parasites on hardworking Americans, if that would have been more successful. Chalmers Johnson probably would think it might have been. And it might have been.

A bloc of the ruling class is trying to pull an inside straight. What if the population could in fact force the Congress to refuse to do anything? Henwood looks on this with horror, which is only surprising for a few seconds. We have to save the status quo or we are all thrown on the mercy of the jackals, even the privileged. But really, we know, we should refuse to do anything. The worst case scenario - global financial "meltdown" - is probably the best to be hoped for. If only we could, we should force the Congress to say: no. Not our problem. Don't bother bringing it up again, we don't care. Do your worst. This is your Katrina you (have the barbarity to) say. Well - sink or swim!

What would happen then? Either: the ruling class would solve their financial crisis, if they can, which they probably can, or Bush would declare martial law and the roundups to the KBR detention facilities would begin (if they have not already). Or so the Bush regime has very brazenly assured us all. Everyone has it in the back of the mind, if not the front. Everyone believes it's a possibility, even that the opportunity is hoped for. They would not hesitate to kill us all. Painfully. Anthrax. Radiation poisoning. If nothing else, this latest crisis shows us pretty starkly how very effectively terrorised we are.



This meme - this is communism! - has a lot to do with that.