Rule of the “Elite”

(This came up in a comment today, and I have been meaning to address it.  So, I will do so now.)

Sarah Palin makes a big deal about the “Elite.”  The Media Elite, the Washington Elite, the American Elite.  When pressed who she means, she backpeddles and says “it’s about anyone who thinks they are better than someone else.”  This is a two pronged issue.  (Really, a three pronged issue.)  The first is the implication, the second is the actual message.  I’m going to start with the second.  (And we are going to basically ignore the fact that “Elite” in political science is pretty Marxist in nature.)

Who are these people who think they are better than other people?  Are NBA players “Elites”?  What about PGA Tournament winners?  What about Jeopardy winners?  Olympic gold medalists?  I mean, they won.  Doesn’t that make them the “best”?

If someone obtains a PhD in a subject, they took more then a summer course on the topic at their local community college.  Any Doctorate requires intense years of research, study, examinations, and whatever.  (I know – “and whatever” – is such a bogus description, but I really don’t want to go into a detailed description of the Doctoral process at University.)  Shouldn’t we assume that someone with a doctorate in a subject knows the subject better than those without it?  I mean, first you need a primary education, and then throw on 3 to 6 to 8 or more years of study on top of that… intense study.  It is not just a piece of paper, it is a lot of work.

I use this example often, because I like it:

• When I need to get my car fixed, I find a mechanic.  I typically want to find a competent mechanic, one that knows how to repair cars as best they can.  I might even use a specialist.  Like if I have an accident, I go to an auto-body repair shop, instead of a break specialist.
• When I want my teeth worked on, I see a dentist.  I want a dentist that knows teeth and knows the best way to fix them.  I prefer a dentist that is focused on saving my teeth and causing me minimal amounts of pain.
• If I have a brain tumor, I want a neurologist.
• If i have a heart attack, I want a cardiologist.
• If I am a criminal defendant in court, I want a criminal defense attorney.
• If my toilet is broken, I want a plumber.

What I don’t want:

• I do not want a dentist repairing my car.
• I do not want a mechanic removing my brain tumor.
• I do not want a civil trial attorney fixing my toilet.
• I do not want a plumber giving me open heart surgery.

Why then do I want Joe the Plumber deciding economic policy over economists?  Why do I not want people who study international relations deciding foreign policy?  Why do I not want people who have advanced degrees in Constitutional studies deciding what is a violation of the Constitution and what is not?

That is what this “anti-Elite” message says… the innuendo is that these people are the “ELITES” and they are destroying us.  Are we supposed to have no specialization of services?  Everybody just do whatever you want?  I do not think anyone would agree with that.  But there are two areas that everyone feels they are an expert, and that experts are idiots… in politics and religion.

(more…)

Tags: aristocrats, Constitution, economy, elite, elitism, equal rights, Independents, Joe the Plumber, liberals, libertarians, marxist theory, neocon, neoconservative, rights, Ron Paul, sarah palin, social, Tea Party, Teabaggers, United States
Category Definitions |

The Divided States of America.

The United States population has probable not been this divided since the Civil War.  There is truly a bi-polar split in the national psyche.  There are splits and fringes on both sides, but there is still a divide right down the middle.  I recall mentioning this before, but I don’t recall how much detail it was on this site.  What I’m really pondering today, is from a comment I received this morning.  I was asked why we don’t support secession for states like Arizona.

My initial response is: “Please.”  Unfortunately, it is not that simple.  Let’s just use Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico.  (Sorry, New Mexico, if we let you stay, my hypothetical becomes even more confusing.)  In the future, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico leave the United States to form the “New Republic of America.”  The first thing we need to consider, is if they allow everyone who wants to remain in the United States to leave.  If they do not do this, it would cause a lot of tension and end up like a North Korea/South Korea situation.

So, let’s assume it is amicable.  The New Republic resents Washington D.C. so much, they want to govern themselves.  The US says, “Ok.”  And anyone in these states leaves to enter the United States… (and the companies that are in those states have to pick a side, too… but now that the Supreme Court decided companies are people, we don’t have to argue specifics.) … and these states are now the new Southern border of the United States.

I’d assume they would all enact Arizona’s “Pass Laws” and end up with an Afrikaner Apartheid system.  But they have their own Constitution, so we cannot deride them for violating out Constitution.

What I cannot figure out, is what their economy is going to be based on.  I would guess agriculture and oil.  I’m sure they would also have to purchase weapons from the United States, to maintain their border system.

So, let’s jump forward ten years.  The “New Republic of America” has been exporting beef, wheat, other agricultural products and oil for ten years.  They have a secure border on both sides and pass laws, that anyone stopped by police has to provide proof they are Citizens of the New Republic.  The average wage is equivalent to US $30 a week.  The University students in America are growing weary of this Apartheid system on their border and protest for full divestment.  Within 2 more years, the United States will no longer sell weapons to the New Republic on humanitarian grounds, or trade with them for oil and agricultural products.  China offers, though, because they could honestly care less what is happening in the Western Hemisphere, as long as it cannot cross the Pacific.  They will need these weapons because, just putting a military zone between the New Republic and Mexico, the drug cartels have completely overrun Mexico.  As the violence from the drug lords escalates, multi-national corporations leave Mexico and go to South East Asia (and maybe the New Republic.)  So, you now have a country that makes Nicaragua look peaceful on the border, you are going to need good weapons.

Now we have Chinese weapons south of the American border, with a country trading almost exclusively with China, the biggest growing threat and competition to the American government and economy.  Of course, up here in America, we also have to deal with people escaping the “New Republic” – to gain wages higher than $30 a month, where we make $300 a month in McDonald’s here.  The New Republic knows not to aggravate the United States, as the US could just send in a few dozen drones and take out the entire government.

Anyway, I’d give the New Republic 20 years.  By the end of the second decade, they will either be begging to come back, or begging to be invaded by UN Peacekeepers.  So, no, I don’t support secession by other states, it would be a travesty.  The loss and suffering on both sides would hardly be justifiable.

One could argue that there are weapons manufacturers and tech companies in the South.  Plenty in Texas alone.  Well, how many would stay and give up contracts to the United States military?  Are the Southern states going to build their own military manufacturing plants?  What is the justification for an arms buildup on the US border?  You’d have to be careful, too much Nazi-esque talk about “enemies” ‘and needs to “weapons” and internment camps for minorities, and you’d have to deal with all of Europe and the United States.  (Or do you believe that England and France would take the side of the South?)

I really don’t see this as a win for anyone.  And this wasn’t an all inclusive example.  There is plenty of contribution from Southern states that the United States utilizes.  Any secession would be detrimental.  The whole world would feel it.  It may even be worse than I had explained.  What if drug cartels or terrorist organizations overran one of the states and launched the US into a century of warfare?  What if China got sick of all the bickering and just blew everything in North America up?  What if England just said, “We gave you a few centuries and you can’t get your shit straight… you are coming back home.” ?

** update **
As per requested, spelling of secession has been corrected.  May 5, 3:00 am PST.

Tags: agriculture, aliens, apartheid, Arizona, Constitution, discrimination, economy, New Mexico, response, sarah palin, secession, Texas, United States, white dominance
Category Main category |

Arizona – Part 2

F**k Arizona.

Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, too.

Tags: aliens, anti, Burning Fence, discrimination, race, racism, racist, sarah palin, white dominance
Category news |

By The Time I Get To Arizona.

Well, the whole nation is abuzz about what Arizona did recently.  I guess I have no choice but to discuss it.

The whole issue is actually pretty complex.  On the surface, it does not seem to be.  It appears to just be a fascist attempt of fascist state control.  (Yes, I used fascist twice.)  If anyone is living in a cave or hole somewhere, and has not heard, the lawmakers in the State of Arizona have approved an anti-immigration bill that goes much farther than any previous attempts.  It makes it illegal to be illegal by state laws, imposed by fines and prison time.  It also penalizes anyone who employs an illegal immigrant.  It sounds pretty ridiculous to oppose a law to make something illegal to actually be illegal, but the way this law is stated makes it reminiscent of Apartheid South Africa or Nazi Germany.

The Economist stated that this law was “Hysterical nativism,” and claimed Arizona is on the path to becoming a police state.  I completely agree.  The problem with this type of law is the enforcement of the law.  How does law enforcement determine who “looks illegal”?  Do all Chicano Americans need to have verification that they are citizens at all times?  What about other Latino Americans?  “Latino” isn’t even a specific appearance.  There are white, black, brown, etc. Latinos.  What about Black Americans?  They could be African or Haitian immigrants.  A white person with a funny accent?  Someone with “strange clothing”?  Where does it stop?  Does it mean everyone non-white has to carry an ID card or birth certificate on them at all times?  A person could obtain a driver’s license with a work visa, which can expire before the driver’s license.  So a driver’s license is not proof of citizenship.

It all reminds me of Born in East L.A. with Cheech Marin, where he gets deported by an immigration raid in which he has no papers because he is from Los Angeles.  But it isn’t funny. It also brings to mind the events in South Africa, where Black South Africans were gunned down in the streets for not having a Pass Book.  Or in Philadelphia where Black Americans were strip searched on street corners.  Or even Nazi Germany, where Jews were forced to register with the government.  I hate the “slippery slope” argument, but it really does work.

NO DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY HAS EVER ENACTED THESE LAWS AND STAYED A DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC!

The problem with “illegal immigration” is a valid issue.  It becomes a wedge issue for a variety of reasons, but I want to look at the real situation.

The United States has two bordering neighbors.  The United States only has a problem with illegal movement across the border from one of its neighbors.  Why is this?  Is it as simple as race?  It is true that most Canadians are White.  I honestly do not believe this is the key to the issue, though.  I think that race is a great scapegoat on both sides of the argument, and ignores the nature of the real issue:  Mexico is not doing well.

What’s going on in Mexico?  Hell if I know. Well, I do have some idea, honestly.  But it does not make sense that the place on the border of the United States could be doing so poorly.   Let’s look at the numbers:
(I pulled these numbers from the CIA World Factbook for 2009.  I did not factcheck them, but if they are off, it is by minor discrepancies.)

United States:
GDP (purchasing power parity):  $14.26 trillion (2009 est.)
GDP – per capita (PPP): $46,400 (2009 est.)
Labor Force: 154.1 million (includes unemployed)

Canada:
GDP (purchasing power parity):  $1.285 trillion (2009 est.)
GDP – per capita (PPP): $38,400 (2009 est.)
Labor Force: 18.4 million (2009 est.)

Mexico:
GDP (purchasing power parity):  $1.482 trillion (2009 est.)
GDP – per capita (PPP): $13,500 (2009 est.)
Labor Force: 47 million (2009 est.)

Mexico has a higher national GDP than Canada, but the per capita GDP is less than 1/3 of Canada’s, and 1/4 that of the United States.  I could go into the Gini coefficient and all of that… but I’ll lose all but 1% of my readership… and I need all four of you that read this site.

This is also from the CIA Factbook:

major drug-producing nation; cultivation of opium poppy in 2007 rose to 6,900 hectares yielding a potential production of 18 metric tons of pure heroin, or 50 metric tons of “black tar” heroin, the dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States; marijuana cultivation increased to 8,900 hectares in 2007 and yielded a potential production of 15,800 metric tons; government conducts the largest independent illicit-crop eradication program in the world; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, with an estimated 90% of annual cocaine movements toward the US stopping in Mexico; major drug syndicates control the majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market (2007)

So, What’s going on in Mexico?  It appears there is a lot of money in drug production and distribution and a lack of distribution of wealth.  Why do people from Mexico come to the United States illegally and people from Canada do not?  I think economic factors are reasonable.  Also, don’t we pretty much know what life around drug cartels is like?  The government of Mexico has tried to fight back against the drug cartels, and the result has been assassinations of officials, included a decapitated police chief.  A mayor recently left his home in Mexico and is not staying in Florida.  Civil violence and strife are counterproductive to democracy and economic progress.  Basically, it seems to me like what happened in Sierra Leone is happening in Mexico.  Who can blame people for wanting to leave?  They want a better life.

Farther, if you try to flea the cartels, they have to chase you.  I’m sure the cartels do not want to take on the United States military, but out of principle, they cannot send a message that if you go to the US, you are safe from them.

The UN and England went into Sierra Leone and forced political stability long enough for a democratic process to re-emerge.  This has happened several times in recent history.  But when it comes to Mexico, the American government proposes solutions ranging from putting more guards on the border or building a wall.  I always think that the People’s Republic of China finds this greatly amusing.  “You want to build a wall on your border?  We tried that.”

How long do we expect these issues to continue south of our border and, yet, not have any spillover?  I mean, that is the American way.  Violence and drug epidemics occur in minority communities, and the general public could care less… until some white, suburban child gets caught up in it.  HIV/AIDS spread rampantly through gay and minority communities, until it effected white heterosexuals, the national concern was limited.

The United States has just sat around while Mexico has struggled with its emergence into the Developed World. (lacking a better term.)  I would argue, that the U.S. has done more than just sit around, but has been complicit in this destabilizing process.  Multi-national corporations, American corporations and wealthy elite have been profiting from the situation in Mexico for quite some time.  If an international force were to enter Mexico and put an end to the disparities, how would companies, such as WalMart, be able to turn such a huge profit there?  And where would we get our nannies and manual laborers that we pay below minimum wage?  How would corporations circumvent labor unions?  Produce cheap products without safety standards, equal employment, fair employment, etc… ?

The problem of “illegal immigrants” in Arizona is a by product of the wealthy people in America, and the world, becoming more wealthy on the back of countries like Mexico.  Until we are ready to help the nation of Mexico, every other solution is a band-aid on a broken leg.

I don’t really have a good solution, but turning the United States into an Apartheid regime is definitely not a positive solution.  (Ok, I have a solution, but everyone would label me a neo-marxist lunatic and call me a “commie” and threaten to eat my babies.)

What really terrifies me is how this country is following the path towards fascism more and more every day.  This is not just an issue about Mexico, or illegal immigrants, or racism, or discrimination – it is an issue of this new brand of Brown Shirts: the emergence of the Tea Party, of hate speech, platforms of white supremacy, Sarah Palin (I had to mention her) and her “reload” and “we want our country back” comments.  Back to 1810?  These people are trying to slide the United States back 2 centuries and move it forward into a state of Apartheid fascism.

Tags: aliens, anti, apartheid, Arizona, Canada, cartels, conservative, discrimination, drugs, economy, fascism, fascist, illegal, John McCain, Mexico, nazi, race, racism, racist, sarah palin, status, United States, white dominance
Category Main category |

Aliens > Flying Cats > Zombies > Werewolves > Vampires > Rabbits

Lonna:  Is there a pie chart to accompany that comment?

Aliens > Flying Cats > Zombies > Werewolves > Vampires > Rabbits > Sarah Palin

Tags: aliens, flying cats, rabbits, sarah palin, vampires, werewolves, zombies
Category Uncategorized |