Thursday 3 October 2013

True Patriots


As the British government embarks on a campaign of personal smears against the long-dead relative of an opposition leader who served in WW2, one half the U.S. government seems to have decided to just shut itself down in order to make a point about Obama's promised welfare funding, and if that means a second disastrous crash for for the global economy and thousands of ordinary people out of work with no money (putting further strain on whatever welfare funding is left), then so be it.

Having just got back from a little holiday in Spain, I am now considering going straight off to the U.S.A. with an empty suitcase - I can now get 1.76 U.S. dollars for £1. That Armani suit which I bought for £176 was originally bought in New York for $4000 - there seems to be some sort of mystical correlation with these numbers.

I am witnessing the effects of the potentially catastrophic behaviour of the Republican party even over this side of the pond, right now. I have a friend who works for the U.S. government, and this morning I ran into him as he walked down the street on his way to kill time in a bookshop. For the third day in a row, he has received a call from the head of his department telling him not to go into work, because the department does not have the authorisation to pay his wages.

I will not say in what capacity my friend works, but I will say that he has saved the U.S. government an astronomical amount of money in the past two months alone, so the fall-out of the welfare spending argument is costing the American people even more money than the Republicans are trying to save and - bear this in mind - this is only one of thousands of officials put out of action by it when trying to do their job in a foreign field.

I don't pretend to know much about American politics, but even I could have predicted that the self-fulfilling prophecy that Obama would not live up to expectations might take the form in which it is now playing out.

The day that he was sworn into office, a rather tasteless British newspaper took up it's front cover with a large photo of him with a gun-target superimposed on his chest. They have been slowly squeezing the trigger ever since.

All over Europe, scum is rising to the surface as it always does in times of financial crisis, and where the crisis is worst, neo-nazis gain more and more political power, like the 'Golden Dawn' thugs in Greece.

Everyone seems to be forgetting the old maxim about 'with power comes responsibility'.

11 comments:

  1. I prefer to think of that other old maxim 'Politicians are like Monkeys; the higher they climb the ladder, the more you see their nasty bits'.

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  2. The Republicans here in the US are IDIOTS. All of this trouble is over the new Affordable Care Act. God forbid everyone should have access to medical care. The Republicans are evil. They don't care what the consequences of the shutdown are. Hey, why should they? They're still getting paid. And they've ALWAYS had great healthcare....on our (the taxpayers) dime!!

    As you can probably tell, I'm a bit pissed off about this situation. It's ridiculous.

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  3. Jennifer is absolutely right! These Republicans are dangerous and hell-bent on destroying anyone anywhere who does not fall into line. The government cannot function because the whole concept is based on the idea people work together within democratic principles. How only 10 percent of the Republican members of Congress are allowed to cause this breakdown in the government is beyond comprehension. Good luck on your trip, Tom. I hope you'll be able to get back ...

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  4. Before anyone thinks I am at all partisan, I need to tell you that I am not - just pragmatic, that's all.

    For instance, that secondary air-pump that I bout for the Volvo in the last post was very cheap, PRECISELY because it was sent from America, and I paid in dollars.

    The other thing is that I deserved to get a deal on that part, because my Volvo was designed for the Californian market, which is super-strict on emission laws, and insisted this stupidly designed part should be fitted to all import cars with these engines, at the time.

    I just picked the right time to buy from the States, but the wrong model car.

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  5. It's the old rich v. poor story. They cause a crisis. But before they do they buy gold cheap. Shortly before they end the crisis they sell the gold for maybe 30% profit. Then they wait for the price to go back to its normal level. Then what? Hey presto! Do it again. It can be war, finance, unemployment; doesn't really matter. These are only the triggers. It's one massive racket in my opinion.

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    Replies
    1. I wonder if they would buy my secondary air pump back when the dollar gets stronger again?

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  6. Thoroughly depressing post Tom and one which is sadly all too true.

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  7. This is a story about health insurance. For a time I clerked for my local fire department. They had so much business in the winter they had to hire extra EMT's. They got the business from the local ski resorts. I billed the insurance companies for the cost of the run, and the individual if there was no insurance.
    The insurance companies paid. The folks with no insurance seldom did. I began keeping track of them. Generally under thirty, not married. The more I tabulated, the angrier I became. Someone paid for those runs--our taxpayers. Our EMT's got their paychecks ($12/hour, can you believe), even if the darling young things who could blow hundreds on a ski weekend, cell phones (yes, they did not give land lines as their phone number) could not be bothered to carry health insurance or have funds banked to cover their broken bones.
    Health insurance, like car insurance, should be mandatory. If it were mandatory, it would be affordable.
    The fat rich men who run this country cannot grasp the concept.

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    1. I hear what you say and your are correct.

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    2. Joanne....I worked in pittsburgh years ago, and insurance companies didn't cover spinal injury patients going home on leave as a part of rehab(like they do in the uk)...if they are well enough for leave......they are fit enough was the mantra

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    3. It's all those spurious whiplash claims which make our premiums so high these days, and it is also the reason why there are so many terrifying/entertaining Russian videos of eventful road-trips as well.

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