We Don't Need No Stenking Democracy

I argue with this guy down at the gas station about the dangers of government. He's of the view that government is always at risk of becoming too powerful, that we should be perpetually vigilant about that tendency, and nip it in the bud (to quote Barney) frequently, by nearbouts any means necessary--certainly voting among other things. I keep saying the problem we all have isn't government, but just power, and how people with power, in government or out, wield it frequently for their own self-interest, or institutional interest.

An example of this (examples abound, like mushrooms after a rain--hell, like mud after a rain in Chatham County) is surely why Mr. Greenspan shook his head sadly before Congress and admitted, after 40 years, "I was wrong." Another example--in government this time--would be the whitewashing of the John Yoo legal underpinnings of the Bush Administration's torture and generally extra legal approach to 9/11 by the current Justice Department. The institution does not want to be looking too closely at its former constituents, and Mr. Yoo was just doing his job.

My point with this gas station character--all I know about him is he's a fan of #88--is that this endless right wing radio propaganda assault on "government" is a red herring aimed at keeping a lot of folks stirred up and reacting against policies which are often in their own best interests, economic and otherwise. So I was saying the other day, democratic government is our own lever to power, dude. It might be a rotten two by four levering an oak stump, but it's all we've got. The people with real power always have better tools. But in non-democratic systems, we the people don't really have any tools at all.

And we had always better keep in mind that democracy is at best a fairly fragile reed. We're always talking about how Pakistan is a democracy--at least when the generals haven't explicitly taken over. But look how quick a democratic alternative, Ms Bhuto, was slapped down permanently. Or, to take another example--look how hard it has been for our supposedly monstrously powerful government to actually get any sort of health care reform enacted, even when everyone knows that there's a big big problem with the system we now live with.

I gotta go pick up some rocks now.

How Changes Get Made

Remember how the big deal with Nixon was, "he went to China." The background for that historic visit was twenty years of Republican gnashing about "who lost China," following Mao's seizing power, which laid the political groundwork in the United States for our Vietnam War. That is, the most liberal President we had since FDR was unable to resist the flow of events towards all out war in Vietnam primarily because he was afraid of "losing" Vietnam. This was the "domino theory," and the basis for much of our Cold War foreign policy. Nixon could turn this domestic context on it's head because Nixon possessed (at the time) unassailable right wing cred, including his pursuit of the continuing Vietnam War. He could finally break the silence between the U.S. and China.

The same situation more or less pertains with regard to Social Security. Democrats, in this case, have maintained a defense of Social Security against all Republican attacks, and Republicans have gotten no where with their various schemes to undermine the system and the safety net it provides to many millions of Americans at the lower end of the financial ladder. Following the "he went to China" principle, then, it would follow that a Democrat would have the most chance of actually changing Social Security in a significant way. In this context, consider the following analysis and discussion.

http://www.angrybearblog.com/2010/02/obama-and-social-security.html#comments

"Did you hear, the Greeks have renewed in-the-street protests against the government about something or other?"
"What?"
"They were just saying on the radio that the Greeks have renewed protests. What's the matter with folks anyways? It's like Martin Luther King always said. 'Can't we all just get along?' Really!"
"I'd like to watch some of that. What channel is it on?"
"I think it was on the radio."
"Well, that's no fun. They ought to have that on the teevee."
"Maybe it'll be on at 6, if you didn't have to watch the damn Ed Show every night. He's too angry for me, night after night."
"Well turn on Fox then, who's stopping you?"
"I hate Fox. I'm just saying."
"Saying what?"
"Nude protests. That'd be fun, doncha think?"

You Busted Jesus on Alcohol Charges???

Mypal Rodney Sutton, one of the original Green Grass Cloggers of yore, sent me the following. I'm hoping the links work:

Date: Feb 27, 2010 12:02 PM

Thought you might like to hear this. Here's the latest from one of my cousins in Duplin County who sent this about Senator Charlie Albertson's song. I've known Charlie since high school. He's a few years older than me and is the uncle of my of my closest high school friends. Here's a YouTube of the song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjsjOrFqMh4
Rumor has it that Willie has said that he will never perform in North Carolina again! Pity! You can read what went down the night of the bust at
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20100224/ARTICLES/100229835?Title=State-senator-records-song-about-canceled-Willie-Nelson-concert&tc=ar

Love,
Rodney

Hello!  I'm sure most of you saw the news articles, etc., regarding the fiasco of Willie Nelson's band when they were supposed to perform in Duplin Co. in January.  We just thought you might like to hear this song that N.C. Senator Charlie Albertson, also a musician, performer and song writer, wrote regarding the bust.  To me the sending of 13 Alcohol Law Enforcement personnel to this performance was somewhat suspicious.  Willie also canceled the performance that he was to give in Asheville in the next day or so after this.  It not only gave Duplin County a bad name but also North Carolina.  The events center was one way to draw people to this county and bring in revenue and jobs but now is having a hard time booking groups to perform because of it.  Vince Gill and Amy Grant were tentatively scheduled to perform sometime next fall but they now are not coming either.  What a shame this dama
ge has done to our county.  The Duplin County Sheriff's Dept. is noted in this e-mail as participating but they had nothing to do with the "Operation On The Road Again".  They were only at the events center, as they always are, to provide security.  Enjoy Charlie's song.  Judith  

Willie Nelson's January 28, Kenansville, NC concert was cancelled after the NC Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE), Duplin County Sheriff's Department and Kenansville Police busted members of Nelson's band and crew in what law enforcement officers called "Operation On the Road Again".
Duplin County's state Senator Charlie Albertson (910) 296-4413) has written a song about last month's aborted Willie Nelson concert at the Duplin County Events Center.  Albertson, who is a country musician and singer himself, has played at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and is locally well-known for his singing, offers his perspective on the incident.

LEAVE THE MAN ALONE
by Senator Charlie Albertson

He came from Abbott Texas all the way to Caroline
A place called Duplin County where we grow and drink the wine.
The law converged when they heard, the outlaw was in town
"Operation on the Road Again" would bring the whole thing down.

More than a dozen ALEs seems much more than enough
It was cold, guess they took turns sniffing around the bus.
Inside the people waited, some had a cool one in their hand
It was over before it started, the law had busted Willie's band.

Some say he's an icon, we've watched him make it to the top
One thing he's never tried to be is somebody that he's not.
The songs he's wrote are part of us, they'll keep living on
Why don't they leave the man alone, let him write and sing his songs.

The fans were disappointed, some say it was a shame
We lost more than the revenue, it hurt the county's name
How could a night that seemed so right, turn out oh so wrong?
They should have left the man alone, and let him play and sing his songs

He's wrote a lot of songs we love, The Night Life and Crazy come to mind
Family Bible on the Table, today songs like these are hard to find.
He sings for family farmers He's On the Road Again in a busted bus thats home
Why don't they leave the man alone, let him write and sing his songs.