Right Wing Radio on Katrina

[Guest aexapo]

While donating to local shelters today, I wanted to "keep up" with efforts on Katrina on the car radio. Nothing much -- the local NPR station was playing classical music, and we have no Air America affiliate. All I could listen to was "Limbaughnista Radio."

 

I could only listen to a few minutes of it -- I wanted to puke.

 

One radio personality (I didn't stay tuned long enough to hear his name) kept talking about "these people," "those people" -- it was apparent rather instantly that he was referring to American blacks. He said that all of the poverty and "entitlement" going in New Orleans was the fault of liberals who've created a "culture of dependency" in "these people." Another attempt to swipe at American social programs using race-baiting -- all during a national disaster. How patriotic!

 

First of all, blacks in our society have been relegated to the lowest social rung by the white establishment. Once freed, "we" (in the general sense) didn't want "them" at our workplace, at our worship place, in our neighborhoods, in our schools, and we sure as hell didn't want "them" marrying our daughters. As recently as a few decades ago, a wayward look by a black man toward a white woman in certain areas of the South would end with a neck-stretching.

 

Only through resistance during the civil rights era did ANYTHING change -- but a lot of it still persists, which creates a despondency and a feeling of hopelessness in those effected. How can anyone hope for better when they've never seen better?

 

Secondly, this nut blasted our safety net programs -- which is just horseshit. The vast majority of industrialized nations have the EXACT SAME programs, some of them more SOCIALIST than anything we've ever created. Guess what! None of the "same problems" that the right-wing claims; absolutely none. But, you won't hear that from them -- apparently, we're the only nation that's ever had food, housing, and education programs for the poor.

 

I really feel the tide changing -- I really feel that people are going to get tired of "taking it" and are going to start taking ownership of their society, instead of buying the establishment line. It will be "about time" when it does.

[Guest vanesa]

Well, there are three reasons why the NO disaster is so bad:

 

1. Most of the 'social programs' in America are a joke. Take a good look at Socialist Security and tell me if that's really something you would rely on, for example.

 

2. You have inept people running America, and not just the Repubs. The entire US Congress and the Oval Office are part to blame. It shouldn't be surprising that FEMA can't get shit done.

 

3. Go to New Orleans. Parts of it are like a THird World Country. Combine that with the brilliant idea of building near the coast behind 200 year old levees and you have a recipe for disaster.

 

Of course, we could listen to CNN and Fox and the globalist controlled media and blame it on Al-Qaeda.

[Guest aexapo]

Well, there are three reasons why the NO disaster is so bad:

1. Most of the 'social programs' in America are a joke. Take a good look at Socialist Security and tell me if that's really something you would rely on, for example.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

True -- they've been slashed and cut, or turned into money-siphons for big business. The governmental corruption and skyrocketing nat'l debt no longer make anyone wonder whether the USA will fall in our lifetime, but how (gov'tal bankruptcy, "insurrection," or terrorism).

 

Both parties are a joke -- granted. I won't vote Democrat in '08 unless the GOP puts up another "vote-against" candidate like GWB. There's a "progressive worker" party starting up in my region -- I'm going to check it out before then.

[spamandham]

The governmental corruption and skyrocketing nat'l debt no longer make anyone wonder whether the USA will fall in our lifetime, but how (gov'tal bankruptcy, "insurrection," or terrorism).

 

You don't have to try too hard to figure out how either, since it's already started.

 

The dollar will continue to erode in value, both in absolute terms as well as relative to other currencies. Foreign central banks will stop buying US debt, which they ahev already begun to talk about. This will cause interest rates to rise back home as well as inflation.

 

The interest rate increases will bring an end to the real estate party. As home prices begin to deflate, people with negative equity will walk away from their mortgages, leaving Fannie Mae and Freedie Mac holding the bag. This will result in tax increases and even greater attempts to float US treasuries to cover the losses.

 

The underground economy will flourish in an attempt to bypass the high taxes. The dwindling law enforcement budgets will be concentrated on tearing down the underground economy and forcing tax compliance. All other crime will increase as a result of the neglect.

 

Those who own dollar denominated assets will begin dumping them, driving the stock and bond markets down simultaneously.

 

The best case scenario is a 15 or 20 year period of economic malaise during which the US loses its worldwide domination.

 

The worst case is hyperinflation and revolution.

 

The only positive is that the federal government is already massively in debt, and so will not be able to spend sufficiently to support military ventures to solve the problem. Otherwise world war III would be likely.

[Amethyst]

The best case scenario is a 15 or 20 year period of economic malaise during which the US loses its worldwide domination.

 

The worst case is hyperinflation and revolution.

 

I've been thinking the same thing. It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion, knowing what's going to happen but fearing it anyway.

[Mike D]

I really feel that people are going to get tired of "taking it" and are going to start taking ownership of their society

In what way?

[nirrti]

True -- they've been slashed and cut, or turned into money-siphons for big business.  The governmental corruption and skyrocketing nat'l debt no longer make anyone wonder whether the USA will fall in our lifetime, but how (gov'tal bankruptcy, "insurrection," or terrorism).

 

Both parties are a joke -- granted.  I won't vote Democrat in '08 unless the GOP puts up another "vote-against" candidate like GWB.  There's a "progressive worker" party starting up in my region -- I'm going to check it out before then.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Taking a cue from one "South Park" episode, it'll, again, probably be a choice between a "turd sandwich" and a "talking douch bag".

 

As for the Limbaugh camp responding to the victims of hurricane Katrina as if they are wrong for pleading to be rescued from a natural disaster? This is the very first time, after all the natural disasters I've seen in my 30 years, that there was any such thing as survivors being wrong for wanting to be saved from starvation, drowning and death.