Payback Will Definitely be a Bitch

OK - I've built this modest blog on the premise that the world is filled with Assholes. At first, I vented a bit about the stupid people and things I encountered in my life and, for some time now, I've wished to change the tenor of my diatribes a mite. I didn't actually want to entirely shift focus, merely broaden my outlook and take into consideration some of the first-class Assholes I don't necessarily meet in my daily life but who are, nonetheless, out there in the public such that I can't miss them unless I work real hard at it.

I don't get any of my news from the MSM (Mainstream Media, for those of you who aren't familiar with the acronym - or, as some may think of it - the epithet) any longer. I've given up on any of the standard print or broadcast media to convey the truth. Hell . . . they don't even do a very good job of covering the bullshit they do; sound bites and half-truths are all they seem to be willing or capable of providing any longer. There is one valued exception with respect to the broadcast world and that's KPFK, here in the greater Los Angeles area, one of the Pacific Network's five radio stations.

What I really like about KPFK is, with the exception of their news broadcasts, they cover stories in depth. Seldom do I listen to Democracy Now with Amy Goodman, or Uprising with Sonali Kolhatkar, or Beneath the Surface with Jerry Quickley without getting a least a half-hour of coverage of a story; frequently with many voices contributing to the discussion. Never vitriol, though they cover subjects the perpetrators of which deserve the scorn and opprobrium of all thoughtful citizens of not only the United States, but the world. Did I mention Explorations with Dr. Michio Kaku? OK - that's another story. Let's get back to first-class Assholes.

So . . . I do read the Huffington Post, along with a few other blogs, for my news and entertainment. Today it was pointed out that one of the pundits (note the definition states ". . . may be used in a derogatory manner as well - ahem) on Fox News actually conflated Barack Obama with Osama, suggesting it would be useful (and funny) if someone assassinated both of them. You can see for yourself below.



Somehow, I don't think this is terribly funny. Actually, the more I think about it the more I am looking forward to that day of reckoning, when Fox News, the people who have hijacked the Republican party, and this administration are called to task for what they've done to our country. This kind of crap just can't be allowed to stand and, I believe, won't for all that much longer. It is, perhaps, an aphorism (certainly the phrase has been used in numerous ways) that "the darkest hour is always before the dawn". I once thought that darkest hour was during the war in Vietnam, but I was obviously wrong, especially since we were treated to the machinations and despicable regimes of both Reagan and the first Bush after that misbegotten adventure was over. I am hopeful we have seen that darkest hour though, to be honest, I'm not sure things won't actually get a lot worse before they get better.

There are signs, most notably the campaign of Barack Obama, that the tide is turning; that we might wrest our government from the thieves who have usurped our power and used it to enrich their friends and cronies. We should keep in mind, however, that history is neither determined (nor made) by individuals. We have always been taught the "Hero" theory of history, and it is generally written about single, extraordinary humans doing extraordinary things. I don't believe such a viewpoint is accurate. Howard Zinn's book "A People's History of the United States" does a far better job than I can of making the point that history is made by the people. There may be individuals who are thrust into the limelight, but without the support of numerous (sometimes countless thousands) of others, their efforts would go all but unnoticed.

When we do get our country back, and I'll be quite happy just to see the trend reversed - to have our nation start the long slog back to being a country whose people try to do the right things; who aren't willing to send their children and their treasure around the globe, interfering in the affairs of other nations solely for the profit of a very few Americans (and others, we should point out, who are in league with them), perhaps we can start making those guilty of the crimes perpetrated in our name pay.

When that time comes, there are many who must pay the price for what they have wrought. Those who have profited from the war in Iraq; those who have supported and enabled them; those who have lied and cheated and foisted their hypocritical views of how and why we should engage in these atrocities; all of them deserve to be brought before a court of competent jurisdiction and tried for their crimes. Yes. I am presuming guilt, as it's clear as the nose on your face what they have done. Fortunately, more and more people are seeing this and - if we're lucky - it won't be long before justice is served.

Cranky