Wounded Knee

Today is Wednesday, 29 December 2010.

On this date in 1890, one hundred and twenty years ago, elements of the U.S. Army, in a culminating act of state-sponsored terrorism, assassinated as many as 300 Lakota at Wounded Knee.

There are those American citizens who will disclaim any responsibility: “I never killed an Indian”, just as there are those who say, “I never owned a Black slave”.

These squeal and squirm in the fashion of Margaret Thatcher, who famously and fatuously proclaimed, “There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families.”

But of course, societies exist. And in societies which claim to be democracies, such as the USA/USE, the citizens are each severally and all together responsible for the prior acts of the society from which they derive benefit, regardless of whether or not they personally committed such acts. All American citizens benefit from the conquest of the land, from the attempted genocide of Native Americans, and from the theft of labor from enslaved Blacks, the profits of which were largely responsible for building the foundations of American industrialization.

Wounded Knee is our common crime, and must never be forgotten or forgiven.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

Today is Tuesday, 28 December 2010.

“Marley was dead: to begin with.”

Sorry: wrong novel.

Re-boot.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

To begin with: the People’s Republic of China has never been a socialist experiment, but always a state capitalist dictatorship – that’s the essence of “Maoism”, which latter was merely the state capitalist extrusion of Mao’s pathetic dictatorial ego. (No wonder Mao and Nixon and Kissinger got along so swimmingly: birds of a feather! Withdrawn: birds are never fascists.)

Thus, no surprise that Liu Xiaobo, distinguished artist, intellectual, and non-violent human rights defender, born on this day in 1955, is a prisoner of conscience in China. (Oh: also recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which the Chinese state capitalist fascists allow no relative of his to accept, for the first time since Hitler did the same to the pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, in 1935.)

Along with all who have surviving a shred of decency, the Museum of the Bourgeois demands of the state capitalist dictatorship in China: free Liu Xiaobo, and all prisoners of conscience.

Such is the worst of times, repeated everywhere, every minute, on this globe on which we live.

The best of times.

It is the greatest pleasure of the Museum of the Bourgeois, and its Executive Director, to wish, to my Friend and her husband, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of their wedding, the best of times, forever.

A Republican With a Swastika

Today is Thursday, 23 December 2010.

On this date in 1913, Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act, creating the central American bank.

Of course, if one’s an anti-Semite, one claims that, on this date in 1913, Woodrow Wilson, either the unwitting dupe or the willing tool of the International Jew Conspiracy, created the Federal Reserve System, subordinating the American economy to control by the International Jew.

Regardless of one's opinion of the Federal Reserve and its actions, the fact is that the anti-Semitic notion is a lie.

In the House of Representatives, a subcommittee on domestic monetary policy oversees the Federal Reserve, the dollar’s valuation, and the currency. In the new Congress, the chair of this subcommittee will be Ron Paul (R-TX), the career anti-Semite who advocates abolition of the Federal Reserve.

Paul is also a fervent adherent of the “Austrian School” of fantasy economic “theory”, which claims that any government involvement in a nation’s economy must lead inevitably to the total enslavement of the population. (Presumably by the International Jew Conspiracy.)

Paul is also, of course, a career white supremacist racist and homophobic bigot.

Perhaps nothing could better illustrate the moral bankruptcy of the Republican leadership, than its eager promotion of one who embraces the same “values” of anti-Semitism, white supremacist racism, and homophobic bigotry as did Adolf Hitler.

"States' Rights"?

Today is Tuesday, 21 December 2010.

"mary christmas" yesterday commented: "So you are saying that because "states rights" was used as an excuse/cover to dominate the Black man and woman (back over 150 years ago) that current advocation of "state rights" will lead to similar attrocity?"

Between 1776 and 1789, the 13 former British colonies were effectively 13 independent nations, associated by the Articles of Confederation for certain limited purposes, but retaining individual sovereignty. When the Union was formed as the Constitution came into force, the national sovereignty of the several states was extinguished. The several states retained certain rights and powers, as did “the people”, but sovereignty as a nation resided only in the USA, and not in the individual states.

In the 1820s, abolition of slavery began gaining favour in public opinion. There were two main arguments. One was that ALL humans were created equal, and not just white males of a certain minimum net worth (as envisioned in the original understanding of the Constitution), and that slavery was therefore immoral. The other main argument was that slavery, as a form of social-political-economic organization, was outmoded, and retarded further development of the American nation. (Many persons, of course, advanced both these arguments.)

In response, Southern slave advocates invented the notion of “states’ rights”, arguing that the sovereignty of the several states hadn’t been extinguished in 1789, and that individual states enjoyed the right and power to pick and choose which elements of the Constitution had force within their boundaries, and which they chose to “nullify” within their boundaries. And, of course, those elements which they claimed the right to nullify were those which threatened slavery.

It was for this false notion that the traitors of the Confederacy went to war. The question was, of course, settled in 1865. Then, in 1877, the Republican Party sold out Blacks, agreeing to end Reconstruction in return for stealing the Presidential election of 1876. This resulted in the creation of segregation, which I have termed “The Second Slavery”. The ideological fig leaf for segregation was states’ rights.

After the passage of Federal civil rights legislation in 1964-1965, the legal framework of segregation began to be dismantled, and replaced by the informal vehicle of The Third Slavery, discrimination, which persists to this day. White racists then re-tooled and re-styled states’ rights ideology under the banner of “self-government”, which again meant essentially the nonexistent “right” of state and local authorities to nullify Constitutional attempts to combat discrimination and extend full rights to all. Bigots of every stripe soon adopted the ideology, using it to “justify” discrimination against females, lesbians, gay males, bi-sexuals, transgendered persons, immigrants, and anyone else they disliked.

I don’t argue that the present invocation of states’ rights will (necessarily) result in the re-imposition of slavery. However, it is historical fact that the ideology of states’ rights has never been meant to advance the causes of equity, freedom, and justice, but has always been a pretext for oppression at sub-Federal levels.

A Date of Infamy - A Saving Grace

Today is Monday, 20 December 2010.

A saving grace.

Today is the birthday of a Lady, the Princess of Seafood City. The Museum of the Bourgeois takes the greatest pleasure in wishing her the happiest of birthdays, and many happy returns of the day.

“A date which will live in infamy”.

On this date in 1860, one hundred and fifty years ago, in Charleston, South Carolina, 169 white, male, anti-American, terrorist traitors staged a coup, voting to secede from the Union, and to establish South Carolina as a rump “independent” nation.

At the “New” South, some say that the issue was “self-government” and “states’ rights”.

Of course, the issue was the “right” of rich whites in certain states to govern Blacks by enslaving them, meaning legalized theft from, rape of, and murder of Blacks. To label this an issue of “self-government” is no different than claiming that the issue in Germany after 1933 was of “self-government” by certain gentile Germans who declined to be oppressed by a mythical “International Jew Conspiracy”.

The result of the traitorous action was the American Civil War, which led to more than 620,000 combat deaths. The equivalent today would be more than 6,000,000 combat deaths.

Remember this, the next time you hear Tea Partei members and other “con-servatives” extol the “virtues” of “states’ rights”.

DADT

Today is Sunday, 19 December 2010.

On this date in 1946, the First Indochina War began, as the Indochinese struggled for their independence from the French Empire.

And yesterday, a minor Oklahoma politician, a retired light colonel, damned gays for wishing to “parade” their sexuality in the military. And this guy is a hetero, who parades his heteroness on his ring finger. Guess he’s SPECIAL.

And OK senator Tom Coburn slams repeal of DADT as “political correctness”. Bulletin to Tom: it is correct, politically and ethically, to affirm human rights.

To the 65 senators who voted for repeal of DADT: thanks. To Tom and the other 30 bigots who voted for hate: "... in the words of my generation: UP YOURS!"

World Human Rights Day

Today is Friday, 10 December 2010.

On this date in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Thus, today is World Human Rights Day.

It was thoughtfully celebrated a day early in the U.S. Senate. All Repugnicant senators, save for Susan Collins of Maine, plus Joe Manchin (D-WV), voted to block repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell”, thus striking a blow for continued legally-sanctioned bigotry against homosexuals in the military.

Perhaps today they can continue their good works, and lead the charge to ethnically cleanse the world of Blacks, Hispanics, Jews, etc. Or perhaps, they could do us all favour, and just move to China, where a cabal of state capitalists, masquerading as “Communists”, shares their taste for hate, violence, and repression.

A Working Class Hero Is Something to Be

Today is Thursday, 9 December 2010.

Obama's political genius continues to dazzle.

Dealing from the position of awesome strength his reign has created, the tax "reform" dictated to him by the Repugnicant nabobs will award at least 25% of the tax savings to the long-suffering wealthiest 1% of Americans.

Note to members of the working class who voted Repugnicant: now, will you pull your heads out?

"And you think you're so clever and classless and free,
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see..."
- "Working Class Hero" by John Lennon
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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/us/politics/08impact.html?_r=1&scp=9&sq=David%20Kocieniewski&st=cse

Get Some GRRRRR On!

Today is Friday, 3 December 2010.

When will many working class American whites pull their heads out?

They vote Repugnicant every time the Repugs shout “The coloreds are coming! The coloreds are coming!”, and then the Repugs repay them by doing everything they can to kill extended unemployment benefits for the working class, and everything they can to extend tax giveaways to the oh-so-awesomely-needy wealthiest 2%. (Repugs call the latter “responsible deficit reduction”.)

And the Repugs threaten to kill ALL legislation until the current Congressional session ends, if the butts of the 2% aren’t kissed.

How’s THIS changey-thing workin’ out for ya?

And when will Obama grow a spine? If the Repugs want to play scorched earth, burn them down first. Forget preening in front of the troops in Afghanistan: barnstorm the 50 and convince people that the interests of 98% must come first, and that the people must rise up and force the Repugs to grant tax relief only to those making $250,000 a year or less.

What a world, where Warren Buffet “gets it” and the people getting screwed don’t.

Let’s get some GRRRRR on!

Destiny manifest!

Today remains Thursday, 2 December 2010.

In 1823, President James Monroe decreed the entire Western Hemisphere to be the exclusive property of the USA/USE. This became known as the “Monroe Doctrine” (German equivalent: Lebensraum).

Among the many fruits of the Doctrine: on this date in 1980, members of the Salvadoran military (a close comprador ally of the USA/USE) raped, tortured, and murdered four female American religious workers.

Destiny manifest!

Perhaps, A Perfect Movie

Today is Thursday, 2 December 2010.

For You, Departed

Today is Wednesday, 1 December 2010.

World AIDS Day.

"O, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears..."