Politics as usual

Anyone, right or left, Democrat or Republican (I am lifelong anti big-government Libertarian Republican. You might find that a contradiction in terms considering my firm belief that ONLY government can do anything about Climate Change. I think not. Only a moron believes in NO government) listening to the debate over Climate Change (“CC”) and the U.S. Administration’s seemingly deranged approach to the negotiation would do well to take a stroll down memory (history) lane. The political realities are such that those in power and wealth at this time in our history have never been more powerful, relative to the masses, and have been endowed with wealth beyond the wildest DREAMS of our ancestral establishment members.

The 7 original states of the Confederacy, later joined by an additional 4, made WAR with and upon the U.S. government resulting in the slaughter of over 600,000 individuals (a rather significant percentage of the free population of 27,500,000) rather than give up their position of primacy while attempting to defend the indefensible – slavery.

“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss” – from The Who’s “We won’t get fooled again”

Of course we will get fooled again. Or maybe just bullied. It is all semantics, really.

We are in a pitched battle. Unfortunately, only one side in this battle for safety of the world is armed, and it ain’t us – at least at the moment. I am hopeful for a turn for the better in this regard. Not a perfect solution, mind you, but perhaps an increasingly better operating environment over time, because this might be the very definition of the “Universal Issue”. After all, there is no wealth, no power, no sex, no influence, no sex (“you said sex twice” to which I replied “I like sex”, paraphrasing Monty Python), if there is no livable environment.

A U.N. spokesman said yesterday that the Bali negotiations "were a beginning, not an end", and when the U.S. appeared to be losing (any) control, as well as any credibility, of the outcome the U.S. delegation rolled over. What does the U.N. mean we are beginning? The end of coal usage? Because in order to meet the IPCC's final determination would mean the END of coal use, while continuing Oil and Natural Gas use with either natural depletion doing the job for us, or some kind of regulatory impediment to their use. All of which means a significant contraction in the world's aggregate wealth, and while the poor would certainly feel this most severely in real terms, the fall from power that the world's super rich fear is the primary "fly in the ointment" holding reform back. If you doubt this, let me ask you something: Do you think consideration for the world's poor is what is holding our political institutions back? Give me a break.



Yours for a better world,


Mentatt (at) yahoo (d0t) com