More analysis of Walker-Koch call

Koch: Now you’re not talking to any of these Democrat bastards, are you?

Walker: Ah, I—there’s one guy that’s actually voted with me on a bunch of things I called on Saturday for about 45 minutes, mainly to tell him that while I appreciate his friendship and he’s worked with us on other things, to tell him I wasn’t going to budge.

Koch: Goddamn right!

Walker: …his name is Tim Cullen—

Koch: All right, I’ll have to give that man a call.

Walker: Well, actually, in his case I wouldn’t call him and I’ll tell you why: he’s pretty reasonable but he’s not one of us…

That "not one of us" line is a doozy. It's disturbing. Who's the us? It has that "cult" vibe. The cult of greed.

Walker: So this is ground zero, there’s no doubt about it.

Why would you call balancing the Wisconsin budget "ground zero?" And the 9/11 imagery is impossible to ignore--they want to do to the middle class what al-Qaeda did to the World Trade Center. Because why? GREED. Insatiable greed. They are driven to own and control everything. Why? I think it's mental illness. Perhaps people like this are sociopaths. It's impossible to relate, why do they need more, more and more? Isn't more money than they could possibly ever spend enough? No, it's not. Because there is some kind of game being played by these people, and they want to win, and winning means...scorched earth? Endgame.

Koch: You’re the first domino.

Walker: Yep. This is our moment.

Another clear admission that this is not about balancing the budget but about setting a precedent so that union-busting can spread and our rights will fall like dominoes. Goodbye middle class, hello feudalism.

Koch: We’ll back you any way we can. What we were thinking about the crowd was, uh, was planting some troublemakers.

Walker: You know, well, the only problem with that —because we thought about that.

This is the bit causing the most trouble for Scott Walker. Why? Because he clearly admits to having considered doing something nefarious.

Walker: Yeah, well, thanks. This is an exciting time. This is — you know, I told my cabinet, I had a dinner the Sunday, or excuse me, the Monday right after the 6th. Came home from the Super Bowl where the Packers won, and that Monday night I had all of my cabinet over to the residence for dinner. Talked about what we were gonna do, how we were gonna do it. We’d already kinda built plans up, but it was kind of the last hurrah before we dropped the bomb. And I stood up and I pulled out a picture of Ronald Reagan, and I said, you know, this may seem a little melodramatic, but 30 years ago, Ronald Reagan, whose 100th birthday we just celebrated the day before, had one of the most defining moments of his political career, not just his presidency, when he fired the air-traffic controllers. And, uh, I said, to me that moment was more important than just for labor relations or even the federal budget, that was the first crack in the Berlin Wall and the fall of Communism because from that point forward, the Soviets and the Communists knew that Ronald Reagan wasn’t a pushover. And, uh, I said this may not have as broad of world implications, but in Wisconsin’s history — little did I know how big it would be nationally — in Wisconsin’s history, I said this is our moment, this is our time to change the course of history. And this is why it’s so important that they were all there. I had a cabinet meeting this morning and I reminded them of that and I said for those of you who thought I was being melodramatic you now know it was purely putting it in the right context.

How is balancing the 2011 budget a defining moment? They discussed what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. Do what, balance the budget? And the "dropping a bomb" analogy? Or the Reagan analogy? That was union-busting! Yes, once again on the surface it all seems to be about union-busting, but that is just step one of the plan. It's about liquidating the middle class. Regardless, Walker is openly admitting here that his intent with this bill reaches far beyond balancing any budget, that it is all part of a broader plan, a grand scheme. Feudalism.

Koch: [Laughs] Well, I tell you what, Scott: once you crush these bastards I’ll fly you out to Cali and really show you a good time.

Walker: All right, that would be outstanding.

Outstanding and illegal since Koch is a lobbyist/campaign contributor.

I'd say the thing that is made most abundantly clear by this call is that Scott Walker is a moron, but he has been indoctrinated and trained. By who and for what? I think this conversation makes that pretty clear as well. David Koch is an obscenely rich, power-hungry man without scruples, and Walker eagerly lays it all out for Koch, he won't shut up, on and on, as if he's telling his boss everything he has been up to, because Walker works for Koch, Koch and his cronies--the "us" that the "not one of us" refers to. Is that a conspiracy theory? No, because it's all right there in that phone conversation. Unfortunately it is not obvious enough to prevent those who want to be duped from remaining duped, but it's there. They are out to enslave us. They want America to one day look like this: the rich (minority, the ones who own everything) and the poor (majority, the ones who produce everything) and no in-between. Why do they want this? That's the scariest part. The only explanation is they are without conscience, incapable of empathy, just gaping jaws and gnashing teeth. Monsters, for lack of a better word. Dead would be a better word.

Phuck Philanthropists

The New Yorker article about the Koch brothers calls them philanthropists. Apparently a philanthropist is an obscenely rich person who distributes some crumbs on a whim to whatever museum or theater they'd like to be associated with in some way, because they don't have an inspired or creative bone in their bodies, so they buy whatever bullshit recognition they crave. I remember when Joan Kroc, third wife of Ray Kroc, died they were literally gushing on the nightly news about her philanthropy and it made my skin crawl. Joan Kroc married into a fortune that was made off of the backs of exploited workers who were underpaid, mistreated, with no benefits, and I am not just talking about McDonald's workers but all of the workers in the numerous industries McDonald's negatively influenced (beef, potato--read Fast Food Nation). The fortune that Joan Kroc doled out on a whim while no doubt basking in praise should never have been hers to dole out, it should have been more fairly distributed amongst all of the aforementioned workers in the form of better pay, better working conditions, and some goddamn benefits. To me this seems like common fucking sense! I don't begrudge the Krocs getting rich, but that rich? And that way? And then to be praised as a philanthropist when she mercifully croaks? It's nauseating. This is why mainstream journalism in America is such a joke, they always miss the real story and fall for the bullshit facade. So phuck philanthropists, these fortunes should not have been amassed but more evenly distributed in the first place. Call me a socialist, I'm not afraid of that label.

Scott Walker unwittingly exposes Republican conspiracy

Scott Walker (thinking he is talk to David Koch): ... Brian [Sadoval], the new Governor of Nevada, called me the last night he said-he was out in the Lincoln Day Circuit in the last two weekends and he was kidding me, he said, "Scott, don't come to Nevada because I'd be afraid you beat me running for governor." That's all they want to talk about is what are you doing to help the governor of Wisconsin. I talk to Kasich every day-John's gotta stand firm in Ohio. I think we could do the same thing with Vic Scott in Florida. I think, uh, Snyder-if he got a little more support-probably could do that in Michigan. You start going down the list there's a lot of us new governors that got elected to do something big.

Okay, if this is all just about balancing the budget in Wisconsin why would Walker care about all of these other governors doing the "same thing" in all of these other states? Obviously by "same thing" he does not mean "balancing the budget." His conversation with the fake Koch makes it abundantly clear that this has nothing to do with the Wisconsin budget, that is just the cover story, this is about a Republican conspiracy to strip workers of their rights across the country, and it is all ultimately a part of the grand plan to install an updated version of feudalism in this country. I mean, what else are they up to? You tell me.

Palin comparison

No one asked her, but Sarah Palin still had to give her two cents (literally, that's all her thoughts are worth) on what's going on in Wisconsin (what's going on is the Republican governor is using a concocted budget crisis as an excuse to break the state employee's union, and this all might just be a smokescreen to hide the privatization of state-owned power plants and other utilities).

And Palin's words of wisdom?

"Real solidarity means everyone being willing to sacrifice."

UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE. Am I the only one choking on the irony of that statement? Because she could just as easily be describing PAYING TAXES, something her teabag lemmings rail against. Here's how it works in a Democracy, if that's what this country really is, even though I would argue it is not because a two-party system does not a true Democracy make, the only system that runs this country is Capitalism, an out of control and sinister version of Capitalism, but I digress, here's how it SHOULD work in a TRUE Democracy, everyone contributes his/her FAIR SHARE, and EVERYBODY benefits. Look at it this way, if you've done well for yourself in the good old U.S. of A, consider if you had been born in, say, Bangladesh, or Haiti. How well might you have done for yourself there? You owe your good fortune to the country that afforded you the opportunities, opportunities which you then capitalized upon, and now, when it comes time for you to give back, to contribute, to help make your country a better place that can offer more and better opportunities to others, when it comes time for you to be "willing to sacrifice," you balk!? You scream MINE like a child!? And then, irony of ironies, you call yourself a PATRIOT and wrap your selfish ass in a FLAG? Right wing hypocrite motherflakers! What could be more patriotic than paying your taxes and thereby helping to make your country a better, stronger place?

"Real solidarity means everyone being willing to sacrifice."

Pay your taxes, teabaggers, and stop whining. Are you proud of your country or not? There's not much left to be proud of thanks to dolts like Palin. So prove it. Prove how goddamn patriotic you are. The cliche put your money where your mouth is has never been more apt. Let's have some goddamn solidarity!

God Don't Make Mistakes

One thing I would like to do periodically here at Chinese Colony is deconstruct contemporary country lyrics. One might ask, "But isn't this a political blog?" The answer would be well, sorta, yeah, but these lyrics are quite political. It is my contention that many contemporary country songs are full-blown propaganda for the right wing facade of the American (Christian) Dream. Propaganda is a mind game, myths are propagated and stereotypes are reinforced and hopefully the masses are kept dumb, docile, duped.

Today's song is performed by one Jamie O'Neal who was born in Sydney, Australia and got her start as a backing singer for Kylie Minogue. How she ended up being a shill for the religious right is anybody's guess.

So here are the lyrics to O'Neal's 2007 single "God Don't Make Mistakes."

It was one of those days
when she couldn't find
a single ray of sunshine
and there wasn't even
a cloud up in the sky

After 13 years at the factory
they said sorry maam but we're downsizin'
that's the way life is
good luck with the rest of it
she looked me in the eye
and said this ain't the first time
I've taken the fall
but let me tell you girl
what's gotten me through
is keepin' faith through it all

Cause there'll be dead ends and road blocks
tough times and hard knocks
seems like your always wonderin'
why you're at the right place
at the wrong time
wheels movin' but you feel stuck
like your life's spinnin' in a big mud
when you're out there runnin' around
on a wild goose chase
there's a reason to keep believin'
God don't make mistakes

Everybody said you got to give it up
you can't keep that child
It's just too tough at seventeen
you're just a baby
well she cried and she prayed
and made up her mind
said this beautiful life
that's growin' inside needs a chance
to have a hand in God's plan
well everyone told her they'd
never get by
why he just turned sixteen
made it straight to the top of his class
the captain of the football team

yeah.... there'll be dead ends and road blocks
tough times and hard knocks
seems like you're always wonderin'
why your at the right place
at the wrong time
wheels movin' but you feel stuck
like your life's spinnin' in a big mud
when your out there runnin' around
on a wild goose chase
there's a reason to keep belivin'
God don't make mistakes
oh, there'll be dead ends and road blocks
tough times and hard knocks
seems like your always wonderin' why
you're at the right place
at the wrong time
wheels movin' but you feel stuck
like your life's spinnin' in a big mud
when your out there runnin' around
on a wild goose chase
there's a reason to keep belivin'
keep belivin'
God don't make mistakes
yeah, yeah oh, God don't make mistakes

So in the first verse a woman loses her job but shrugs it off because...God don't make mistakes. Yes, God planned for this woman to lose her job and God will get her a new job...at Walmart. This woman does not resent the employer that exploited her until they found a way to replace her with a machine or a Bangladeshi juvenile. She doesn't rant about tax breaks, deregulation, stagnant wages, lack of benefits, widespread disregard for humanity, the insatiable corporate drive to wring out every last cent. Her "faith" keeps her dumb, docile, duped.

Then we get to the chorus, where the title of the song is explained. Bad things happen, but they happen for a reason, so just sit on the couch until God's plan unfolds. Whenever I hear a phrase like "God don't make mistakes" I always want to say, "Well, thanks for polio and ebola then, asshole." Thanks for the little fish that swim up people's dicks and suck their blood until they die! I mean, does God think that shit is funny?

In the second verse we are presented with a trite and simplistic anti-abortion rap. Once again it all relates back to God's plan. Even if the baby is born with its heart outside of its body or Tay-Sachs disease...God did that for a reason. All God's plan. Gee, thanks God.

This song is a grating example of why, anytime anyone says something like "everything happens for a reason," I want to waterboard them.

Bipartisanship vs. Blind Partisanship

I can't think of a better example of the stark difference between how Republicans and Democrats operate than new Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Walker, a Republican, barely took a breath before beginning to rape and pillage. He killed a high speed rail line that was virtually a done deal, put the kibosh on biofuel and wind power projects, and launched an unprecedented de-unionization attack (literally, he called up in the national guard) on state workers. Clearly he believes strongly in the Republican vision for America--a Chinese Colony. Contrast Walker's sleazy efforts with the Obama administration's apparent ineptitude. Democrats consistently appear feeble and weak, incapable of accomplishing (or unwilling to accomplish) anything of substance and easily smeared and bullied by Republican counterparts who shamelessly pursue, without hesitation, a short-sighted agenda fueled by greed and bigotry, but also enabled by what I think is a pervasive and dangerous naivete. They will make the Chinese Colony a reality.