Rabble-Rouser on Fire: Glenn Beck, Tom Paine, and Obama's Pearl Harbor/9-11 Fascism

All of us at Enduring America are currently captivated by the comedy-horror of Fox News's Glenn Beck as he calls for a revolution void of thought, sense, and sensibility. Last Wednesday, as "Barack Obama", he pretended to douse a Fox staffer in gasoline/petrol and set him on fire:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOBGgde6mFs[/youtube]

As appalling as that was, my colleagues think Beck exceeded himself in bat-shit craziness two days later in the video below.

Beck claimed to be the great-great-grandson of the American philosopher Tom Paine. "Tom" then magically appeared, not to recite his own words from Common Sense, but to mouth Beck's uncommon nonsense comparing Obama's economic programme to the evils of Pearl Harbor and 9/11:

Your complacency will only aid and abet our national suicide. Remember, they wouldn't dare bomb Pearl Harbor, but they did. They wouldn't dare drive two planes into the World Trade Center, but they did. They wouldn't dare pilot a plane through the most sophisticated air defenses in the world and crash into the Pentagon, but they did. They wouldn't dare pass the largest spending bill in history, in open defiance of the will of the people.

Are Americans Turning Socialist?

In a survey of 1000 American citizens by Rasmussen Reports last week, 53 percent of American adults expressed confidence in capitalism, 20 percent voted for socialism, and the rest remained unsure.

Breaking down the results offers more interesting findings. Firstly, there is a significant generational split in the polling, however. For those under 30, the results are almost even: 33 percent favour socialism vs. 37 percent for capitalism.  In contrast, amongst those over 40, the margin is 40 to 13 percent in favour of capitalism.

Those Americans who grew up during the Cold War are more likely to maintain the perception of the ‘victorious’ free-market system despite recession, while the younger generation, many of whom have suffered in the recent global financial crisis, is not as happy with the idea of the capitalist system.

Secondly, by a 5 to 1 margin, investors preferred capitalism; for non-investors, the preference was only 40 to 25 percent. This also tells us that although investors have been hit badly by the recent recession, it is still the maximization of profit as the main stimulus behind their way of thinking.

Thirdly, Republicans favor capitalism by an 11 to 1 margin, but 39 percent of Democrats prefer capitalism and 30 percent side with socialism. While it would be easy to read this as an ideological division between the two groups, the better explanation is that each party is taking a political position in the face of a deep economic crisis. Republicans will frame themselves through a concern with the survival of American values whereas many Democrats are searching for a consensus on how to deal with recession and restore prosperity.

And thus the immediate paradox of "socialism", not as an economic system but as a rhetorical weapon. In the near future, the word is  most likely to be used and manipulated --- rather than considered with any thought and depth --- by a Republican opposition party as ‘the attack on financial crisis’ inevitably will brings more State involvement with the "private" sector.

That same intervention, however, will bring together various approaches in the relatively broad-based Democratic Party. It is unlikely, of course, that "mainstream" Democratic leaders will use the word "socialism", even though some of those economic, financial, and social approaches will have to move away from a mythical "laissez faire" capitalism in which the State has no significant place.

Yet, even as this verbal shadow dance over "socialism" continues, could Americans begin to consider the idea of a socialist system seriously? It is striking that the latest Rasmussen results show a signficant shift from a poll in December in which 70 percent of respondents preferred capitalism and only 15 percent socialism. The extent to which the Obama Administration is perceived as ‘successful’ in halting the recession through a well-designed stimulus plan could re-shape beliefs.

Could American youth, two-thirds of whom do not embrace " capitalism", lead that change?

Don’t Blink: Obama Administration Funds the Civil War in Palestine

Related Post: Gaza War - How the US Re-Armed Israel

On April 9, President Obama sent his 2009 supplemental budget request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to Congress. Predictably, most of the media coverage was simply carried over and adapted from the previous battle over funding for the military.

For example, some attention has centered upon the stiff opposition to Secretary of Defense Gates' decision not to order additional F-22 fighters. While this discussion is important, particularly on the usefulness of F-22 fighter planes in Iraq, there was something else in this supplemental budget that seems to have escaped notice.

We find this on page 6:

$0.8 billion to support the Palestinian people, strengthen the Palestinian Authority, and provide humanitarian assistance for the crisis in Gaza.

Even compared to the $85 billion plus total of the supplemental budget, $800 million for Palestine is nothing to sneeze at. And assuming you stop reading here, almost a billion dollars to “support the Palestinian people” actually sounds like a pretty good idea. But that’s not the entirety of it. The money is broken down into several sections scattered throughout the budget.

A section called “Migration and Refugee Assistance” has $150 million, including:

$25 million for assistance to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and $125 million to support emergency humanitarian needs in Gaza and the West Bank

Then we have a massive chunk of money in the “Economic Support Fund” section:

$556 million for West Bank/Gaza including $200 million for budget support to the Palestinian Authority; $93 million for institutional capacity building, and investments in education and social services in the West Bank; $12 million for humanitarian assistance in the West Bank; $60 million to promote West Bank economic growth; $30 million to support governance and rule of law in the West Bank; $95 million to support programs in Gaza to improve basic human needs, support economic recovery, create jobs, and restore some humanitarian essential services; $61 million for immediate humanitarian and food relief to Gazans through well-established international organizations; $5 million for contractor and locally engaged staff, program oversight, and related security and other support costs

And finally, hidden away in the “International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement” section, we find this gem:

$109 million to train and equip Palestinian security forces and to enhance security along the Gaza border [emphasis added]

What’s missing? There’s no mention of Hamas. That’s because:

This provision prohibits the use of Supplemental funds for assistance to Hamas, Hamas-controlled entities, or any power-sharing government of which Hamas is a member. Assistance may be provided to a power-sharing government acceptable to the United States if the President certifies to the standards in section 620K(b)(1)(A) and (B) of the Foreign Assistance Act. It is expected that such a power-sharing government would speak authoritatively for the entire Palestinian Authority government, including its ministries, agencies and instrumentalities. This provision also would allow the President to utilize the waiver authority provided in the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 for the purposes provided. [emphasis added]

Got that? Let’s break it down.

First off, note that only a slice of the money is even allocated to the Gaza Strip, under the control of the democratically elected Hamas government, while the majority goes to the West Bank, held in the iron grip of Fatah’s Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority. While the Palestinian Authority, like Hamas, was also democratically elected, their electoral mandate expired long ago, and by the time this money reaches them, their term limits will be ancient history. The idea of any democratic government existing in the midst of Fatah’s repressive police state is a highly dubious proposition, but contrasted with the internationally certified elections that brought Hamas to power in the Gaza Strip, the notion of democracy in the West Bank is simply laughable.

Second, the budget essentially nullifies any diplomatic efforts being carried out between the leadership of Hamas and Fatah. Perversely, it does this by ensuring that any diplomatic arrangement would have to be absurdly unacceptable to both parties. Either Hamas accepts a “power-sharing” deal in which they have no power at all over the Fatah “government, including its ministries, agencies and instrumentalities”, or Fatah agrees to share power with Hamas at the price of losing $815 million a year in US funding, not to mention whatever the International Community is paying them.

Mahmoud Abbas, President of Palestinian Authority, with Ramadan Shallah, Secretary General of Islamic Jihad

Finally, this funding ensures that there will continue to be violent confrontations in the Gaza Strip. Where does $109 million worth of paramilitary training go in Gaza if it can’t go to Hamas? It goes to Fatah, or more specifically, to their military wing. That would be the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, an internationally designated terrorist group responsible for at least 130 Israeli deaths, and that’s just counting the suicide bombings.

The Al-Aqsa brigades are also known to collaborate with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. They are the group fond of lobbing Qassam rockets at schoolchildren in southern Israel. So not only will this money provoke conflict between Hamas and these freshly equipped and trained Fatah militants, but these resources will undoubtedly be used in acts of terrorism against Israel, and we know how Israel usually responds to these things in Gaza.

There you have it: for the low price of $815 million, American tax-payers have propped up an oppressive dictatorship, intensified a Palestinian civil war, enabled acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians, and provided the excuses Israel needs to further pummel the Palestinian population.

And all this tucked away in a supplemental budget. No, not even the regular US government budget, this is the extra money they spend just on fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But hey, at least they’re not talking to Hamas. Those guys are terrorists.

Sarah Palin: I Can See North Korea (and Military $$$$) From My House

A press release from our favourite Alaska Governor, Hockey Mom, and failed Vice-Presidential candidate:

I am deeply concerned with North Korea’s development and testing program which has clear potential of impacting Alaska, a sovereign state of the United States, with a potentially nuclear armed warhead. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that we continue to develop and perfect the global missile defense network. Alaska’s strategic location and the system in place here have proven invaluable in defending the nation.

Palin was deterred in no way from her brave statement by the fact that North Korea's launch was a failure and that the satellite under development was a threat to the placid water of the Pacific Ocean rather than Wasilla or Anchorage or even Juneau. This may be due to her astute financial as well as scientific calculations:

Governor Palin stressed the importance of Fort Greely and the need for continued funding for the Missile Defense Agency. The governor is firmly against U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ proposed $1.4 billion reduction of the Missile Defense Agency....Governor Palin also requested stimulus funding for the Kodiak Launch Complex. The Kodiak Launch Complex is a commercial rocket launch facility for sub-orbital and orbital space launch vehicles owned and operated by the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation, a public corporation of the State of Alaska.

Remember, when the other guy pushes for backyard spending, it's "pork". When Sister Sarah does it, it is "to defend the critical assets of the United States and our allies in the Pacific Theater".