Farewell, New Deal; Hello, Big Steal

First off, I admit to paranoia about the Wall Street bailout and what has prompted it. I believe Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was chosen specifically for this anticipated maneuver.

I think the BushWhackers actually wanted to wipe out the New Deal and put into its place the Big Steal. They needed a high-powered, high-knowledge money man to do it. And they wanted its good effects, in their view, to last for much of the 21st century.

They must have figured Paulson, a titan at Goldman Sachs prior to his move to government, would be Exactly the Man to help Bush and Pals put into place the FDR-style deal for themselves that they have coveted of the middle class for 75 years. For example...

Propping up banks, creating big projects with government cash (not for workers, understand, but for big owners and big investors), and getting Congress to remove or pass laws that will give top earners and monied decisionmakers gigantic advantages for several generations at a minimum.

In short, they wanted to take money off the land, away from the people, and put it into THEIR pockets, which pockets contain their wiser hands, they believe. And they wanted the advantages to last for decades. Far into the 21st century and global repositioning.

I doubt it will turn out exactly as they had wished, nor exactly as I have feared. But I think Bush's and Paulson's motives were impure from the start and had to do not only with their contempt for FDR's New Deal, but also with their wishes to implement the Big Steal. It will take at least a generation or two to overcome any measure of success they attain in Congress.

In sum, this bailout move is BIG. Really big. "Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?" time. Scares me. Scare you, too?

Meltdown! The Long View

Nearly 30 years ago, newly elected President Ronald Reagan began acquainting Americans with "trickle down" or "supply side" economics-- that which favors profit-driven producers rather than (theory goes) overpaid workers and undeserving consumers. You know, workers and consumers like Thee and Me.

Listening to the President's men discuss his plans and ideas back then, I was gripped with a realization that he and his monied backers had determined Americans were too well off and had too much money wrapped up in their paychecks and benefits. The Reagan crowd clearly had determined that the monied class had to slow down middle-class upward mobility so upper class wallets would grow fatter.

Stripped to the core, practically every word and legislative proposal from the Reagan crowd pointed to beliefs that a Great Depression style meltdown would have a salutary effect on American society. Not only would it take away high-paying jobs and end profit-reducing benefits, but also unleash creativity in the Great Unwashed who weren't pulling their weight in the first place. They would have no choice, these churlish types, but to grow more creative just to put food on the table. And their awful kids would have to stay home and stop annoying us with their drug-induced crime and unseemly public behavior.

Should all these plans succeed, God would restore America to its rightful place as The World's Leading Christian Nation--and even better, attract other Christian Democracies to develop once Americans showed them how in their own native habitats.

In short, just as in the 1930's and '40's movies, Life would be lived in black and white again. But how to get there?

Witness nearly three decades of hammering Americans into thinking all of these self-defeating things: "Taxes are Evil." "Government is Them, and They are The Enemy." "Christians are Good; Everyone Else is Bad." "Education is for The Privileged Few, not for The Needful Many." "War is Strong; Peace is Puny." "Oil is The Only Way; Alternatives are Too Expensive." "The Globe is for Exploiting, Not for Cultural Understanding, Respect and Peacemaking." "Labor is Cheap Abroad; Labor is Unaffordable in America." "Manufacturing and Vocations are Passe; Computers and Commuication are the Only Games in Town." On, on and on.

The folly of such narrow-minded, selfish, greedy thinking and activity on the part of official America has now come crashing at our feet.

Whom should we in the middle class blame? Ourselves. Period. We have not acted or voted wisely in our own self-interest for 30 years. Foolishly, falsely, we have believed our future was paved in gold if only we would trust Supply Side, Trickle Down, Free Market, Unbridled Capitalism.

Query: How do YOUR IRA and 401 (K) look this week? And your pension, if you have one. Safe? Don't be ridiculous.

The long-sought-after sequel to the Great Depression is here. Can the long-feared WWIII be far behind?

Things are ripe for global resetting, bigtime. Fasten your seatbelt, save your seeds and bury your coins in the mattress. Life just got worse for Everybody. Everywhere.

"Great Books"

Until last week, I had forgotten about the launch some 50 years ago of the nationwide "Great Books" reading and discussion series introduced by Mortimer Adler and Robert Maynard Hutchins at the University of Chicago. I had the privilege of exposure to the current year's readings at a book group in Jackson two days ago.

Now that I've had a taste of Great Books discussions, I've recalled with pleasure the related magazine ads that used to grab me in my teens and make me want to read every title listed.

The GB group I met with was halfway through the year's assigned readings. Theme: "The 7 Deadly Sins." I was lucky enough to hear the discussion of two short stories on "Anger." The titles: "Mary Postgate," by Rudyard Kipling, and "Hairball," by Margaret Atwood.

Each tale deals with a woman whose anger? rage? fury? stems from a life situation painfully undealt with. At the end of each story, the heroine commits a spectacular deed in service to her demons.

Guided by questions in the University of Chicago reader, the discussion leaves a participant wanting more--more reading, more discussion, and especially, more groups of intelligent human beings who know how to read, think, analyze, speak and agree or disagree in civility.

Query: Should we send Sarah Palin and Karl Rove a University of Chicago "Great Books" reading list?

I say yes. Surely with their communication skills, Bush's Brain and Sarah the Barracuda could absorb the lessons and apply them more cordially for the good of us all between now and November.

Eek!! Ike!!

"Hurricane Hell." Another name for any of the Gulf Coast or Eastern Seaboard states about now.

We in Mississippi were just about to relax, take a breather and congratulate ourselves on dodging Gustav and Hanna, when Ike shows up and is scaring hell out of us. He's already at Category 4. Imagine his strength if he crosses Gulf of Mexico's warm waters.

Before I retired a year ago this week, I told friends that while I was happy with my decision to move home and live closer to family, I feared living in hurricane/tornado alley. Now I remember why!

Cross your fingers and say your prayers, please. We're searching this minute for a crucifix to ward off Ike the Evil!