Deep Stupid #19 - Marxism in America

A link to the following video was sent to me by one of my relatives.  The abysmal ignorance, dishonesty and - lets call it what it is - deep, deep stupidity in this presentation is very, very depressing.  Gen Boykin, a military man with a highly distinguished career, is apparently not just some for-hire shill, spouting the tenets of one of those think tanks supported by uber-rich oil men.  It appears that he believes what he says in this video to the very core of his being.

This is tragic, since to believe this stuff you have to be mired in ignorance, blinded by ideology, or simply insane. 

I sent my relative the text that follows the video.  I guess I should thank him.  My very first blog post, just 25 months ago yesterday, was an anti-Sarah Palin rant, prompted by another ridiculous bit of nonsense he sent me.  This is Lt. General Boykin (ret.)   Hear it and weep.




My comments:

I'd like to be able to say this is the stupidist thing I've ever seen, but in a world with Sarah Palin, Christine O'Donnell, Joe Miller, and Sharon Angle, the competition is so keen, it's only about average.

I will say that Boykin is very close to being certifiably insane.

Let's go through this idiotic litany of boiler-plate right wing talking point lies, one at a time.

But first, let's just pause for a moment to remember that Marx was an economist, not an insurgent, and the most dangerous thing he ever did was predict the kind of muti-national capitalistic REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH into the hands of the already rich that we are seeing in full force today.

1) Nationalizing Major Industries.  What Boykin says is beyond stupid.  Look, frex, at the GM bail out.  The Govt. divested itself of GM shares as soon as it was reasonable to do so.  Look at TARP - a Bush program (everybody forgets that detail.)  The government stands to make many millions of dollars on it's TARP investments.  How can it do that?  On the OPEN MARKET.   The idea that the Government is nationalizing industries has no basis in reality.  A person who is both honest and grounded in some sort of reality could not possibly take this seriously.

2) Redistribute wealth.  Does Boykin realize - do you realize - that wealth disparity has never been greater in this country?  Not even in 1929!   I've blogged about this a lot.   The percentage of the population living at .5 of the poverty level - true grinding, bone crushing poverty - has never been measured at a higher level (data only goes back to the early 70's.  It was almost certainly worse in the 40's.)  Meanwhile, real median income is actually lower now than it was 35 years ago.  Every bit of wealth this nation has generated, every productivity gain - every damned penny - has gone to those who already had the most.  This is the kind of situation that ultimately leads to depression or revolution.  People will not willingly starve, and most especially while they see other people eating filet mignon and cake.  Contrary to what Boykin says, this is the path we are actually on.

This link will take you to my 20 blog posts on the subjects of income and wealth.  You'll find a lot of graphs and charts there, because, unlike cretins who just make shit up, I go out and get actual data from credible sources.

3)  Discredit opposition.  One of the many sad things about the regressive mindset is a total tone-deafness to irony.  What is Boykin's video, if not a pitifully lame attempt to discredit his opposition?  And make no mistake about it - he means that foreign-born darkie Muslim Nazi-Commie in the white house -the OTHER.
 
4)  Censorship - Oh for God's sake, get real.  Fundamentalist ministers can spout anti-gay hate-mongering from now until hell freezes over without one Government action against them.  This is more making shit up, and it's pathetic.

5) Gun ownership -  Do you have any idea what a powerful lobbying group the NRA is?  The idea that any Democrat will ever come and confiscate Boykin's collection of Uzis, AK-47s, and that Howitzer he keeps in the shed behind the barn is a delusional paranoid fantasy.   This man is nuts!

6)  Develop a constabulary force.  I almost hurt myself laughing at this one.   Prior to the election, Boykin tells us, the president said he would have a national civilian security force that would be as large and as well equipped as the U.S millitary.  It took me exactly 5 seconds with TEH Googly to discover this:

Obama was not talking about a "security force" with guns or police powers. He was talking specifically about expanding AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps and the USA Freedom Corps, which is the volunteer initiative launched by the Bush administration after the attacks of 9/11, and about increasing the number of trained Foreign Service officers who populate U.S. embassies overseas.

Oh, and -- Uhhh - if civilians can't have guns (remember point 5? It was just in front of point 6.)  How is this CIVILIAN constabulary of latte-sipping peace corps sissies going to be as well equipped as the army, anyway?  Boykin has an amazing immunity to cognitive dissonance.  Perhaps because it requires actual thought.

Did we talk about discrediting the opposition?   What about scaring people with a comparison to Hitler and the Brown Shirts?

This is what conservatism has degenerated into - lies, misrepresentations, an inability to understand or reason rationally on any issue, and no qualms at all about simply MAKING SHIT UP.

Feel free to send this note along to anyone you sent that video to.    In fact, I really want you to, so as to make some small, and ultimately futile attempt to restore at least a little bit of sanity into what has become the most insane political season in living memory.

Peace, but wow - we are really screwed!*
JzB

* Expletive deleted. Now, I must go hug a squid!
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