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On the contrary, Blum here furthers Democratic party propaganda.
Obama & the Democrats are delighted to have the TP to run
against, especially since they can get gullible liberals to condemn
the TP for being outside the political class (= "<span
style="white-space: pre;">they don't have the intellectual
competence or ideological independence" to observe the limits of
allowable debate)</span>.<br>
<br>
Having co-opted the liberal anti-war movement, the Democrats now
look for wqys to denigrte the only principled anti-war groups,
libertarians and paleoconservatives. <br>
<br>
On 12/3/10 12:09 PM, Brussel Morton K. wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:296542E3-1DED-40E8-936C-821E2401476D@comcast.net"
type="cite">I read Chomsky's description (You should say who you
are quoting), and it is not wrong, but it does not address the
character of the Tea Party, except for the last sentence of the
piece. Blum asks pertinent questions. Of course the Democratic
party doesn't like the Tea Party and who it has endorsed (no
Democrats, but backed several Repubs, but that does not mean that
if there is some mild concordance between their criticisms and
Blum's, these are ill founded. Moreover, it is the so-called
Libertarian aspect of the Tea party which Blum holds up to
ridicule, justly. --mkb
<div><br>
<div>
<div>On Dec 3, 2010, at 11:40 AM, C. G. Estabrook wrote:</div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
<blockquote type="cite">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000"> It's depressing to
see the normally insightful Blum buy the Democratic
party's mendacious construction of the tea-party.<br>
<br>
Blum seems not to notice that the tea partiers are quite
right to blame the president and his policies because
those policies are in support of the "the recklessness and
greed of Wall Street, the banks, and other financial
corporations."<br>
<br>
Here's a far better account:<br>
<br>
"...the Tea Party movement itself is maybe 15, 20 percent
of the electorate. It’s relatively affluent, white,
nativist. You know, it has rather traditional nativist
streaks to it. But what is much more important, I think,
is its outrage. I mean, over half the population says they
more or less support it or support its message. And what
people are thinking is extremely interesting. I mean,
overwhelmingly, polls reveal that people are extremely
bitter, angry, hostile, opposed to everything.<br>
"The primary cause undoubtedly is the economic
disaster. It’s not just a financial catastrophe, it’s an
economic disaster. I mean, in manufacturing industry, for
example, unemployment levels are at the level of the Great
Depression. And unlike the Great Depression, those jobs
are not coming back. U.S. owners and managers have long
ago made the decision that they can make more profit with
complicated financial deals than by production. So,
finance—this goes back to the '70s, mainly Reagan
escalated it, and onward—Clinton, too. The economy has
been financialized. Financial institutions have grown
enormously in their share of corporate profits. It may be
something like a third or something like that today. At
the same time, correspondingly, production has been
exported. So you buy some electronic device from China.
China is an assembly plant for a Northeast Asian
production center. The parts and components come from the
more advanced countries, and from the United States, and
the technology. So, yes, that’s a cheap place to assemble
things, sell them back here. And it's, you know, rather
similar in Mexico, Vietnam and so on. That’s the way to
make profits.<br>
"It destroys the society here, but that’s not the
concern of the ownership class and the managerial class.
Their concern is profit. That’s what drives the economy.
And the rest of it is a fallout. People are extremely
bitter about it but don’t seem to understand it. So, the
same people who are a majority, who say that Wall Street
is to blame for the current crisis, are voting Republican.
Both parties are deep in the pockets of Wall Street, but
the Republicans much more so than the Democrats. And the
same is true on issue after issue. So the antagonism to
everyone is extremely high. Actually, antagonism—they
don’t like—population doesn’t like Democrats, but they
hate Republicans even more. They’re against big business.
They’re against government. They’re against Congress.
They’re against science."<br>
<br>
On 12/2/10 11:32 PM, Brussel Morton K. wrote:<br>
<span style="white-space: pre;">> To Libertarians and
their<br>
defenders:<br>
<br>
> <br>
<br>
> <br>
<br>
> Some questions to ask our quaint little Teaparty
friends<br>
<br>
> <br>
<br>
> The Teaparty folks never tire of calling for
"smaller<br>
government".<br>
<br>
> How sweet. Most other Republicans repeat the same
mantra /ad<br>
nauseam/<br>
<br>
> as well, as do many liberals (not to be confused
with<br>
progressives).<br>
<br>
> So for all these individuals I have some questions:<br>
<br>
> <br>
<br>
> * When there's a plane crash the government sends<br>
investigators to<br>
<br>
> the crash site to try to determine the cause of the
accident;<br>
this is<br>
<br>
> information that can be used to make air travel
safer. But<br>
it's<br>
<br>
> really BIG GOVERNMENT, forcing the airlines to
fully<br>
cooperate,<br>
<br>
> provide all relevant information, secrecy is not
permitted,<br>
and make<br>
<br>
> changes or face severe penalties. Do you think the
government<br>
should<br>
<br>
> stop doing this? * Following this year's BP oil
spill do you<br>
think<br>
<br>
> the government was right to bully and threaten the
company<br>
for an<br>
<br>
> explanation and solution for the catastrophe, or
should it<br>
have been<br>
<br>
> "hands off" for the sake of small government? *
Following a<br>
major<br>
<br>
> earthquake there's usually a cry from many
quarters: Stores<br>
should<br>
<br>
> not be raising prices for basic necessities like
water,<br>
generators,<br>
<br>
> batteries, tree-removal services, diapers, etc.
More<br>
grievances soon<br>
<br>
> arise because landlords raise rents on vacant
apartments<br>
after many<br>
<br>
> dwellings in the city have been rendered
uninhabitable. How<br>
dare they<br>
<br>
> do that? people wail. Following the 1994 earthquake
in Los<br>
Angeles<br>
<br>
> the California Assembly proceeded to make it a
crime for<br>
merchants to<br>
<br>
> increase prices for vital goods and services by
more than ten<br>
percent<br>
<br>
> after a natural disaster.^11<br>
<br>
> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-11"><http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-11></a><br>
Following the<br>
<br>
> destruction caused by Hurricane Isabel in September
2003, the<br>
<br>
> governor and attorney general of Virginia called on
the<br>
legislature<br>
<br>
> to pass the state's first anti-price-gouging law
after<br>
receiving<br>
<br>
> about 100 complaints from residents. North Carolina
had<br>
enacted an<br>
<br>
> anti-gouging law just shortly before.^12<br>
<br>
> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-12"><http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-12></a>
Does<br>
such blatant<br>
<br>
> big-government interference in our God-given<br>
Supply-and-Demand system<br>
<br>
> bother you? Do you think that our legislators
should simply<br>
allow<br>
<br>
> "the magic of the marketplace" to do its magic? *
Do you<br>
think that<br>
<br>
> the government should continue waging war against
what they<br>
call<br>
<br>
> "terrorists" abroad, since there's no bigger or
more<br>
expensive<br>
<br>
> big-government action than this? * Do you think the<br>
government should<br>
<br>
> continue with its electronic strip searches and
body feel-ups<br>
at<br>
<br>
> airports or should we allow the risk of bombs being
brought<br>
on board<br>
<br>
> airplanes? (Or — as an alternative to either — do
you think<br>
the<br>
<br>
> government should cease its bombing, invading,
occupying,<br>
<br>
> overthrowing, killing and torturing around the
world so as to<br>
put an<br>
<br>
> end to its creating anti-American terrorists?) * If
your bank<br>
fails —<br>
<br>
> and hundreds have done so in recent years — are you
willing<br>
to accept<br>
<br>
> the loss of your life's savings? Or are you
thankful that<br>
big, big<br>
<br>
> government steps in, takes over the bank, and
protects every<br>
penny of<br>
<br>
> your savings? * Do you think that big government —
federal,<br>
state or<br>
<br>
> local — should stop haranguing the citizenry about
the<br>
environment:<br>
<br>
> recycling, air pollution, water pollution, soil
runoff, etc.,<br>
etc.,<br>
<br>
> or that people should simply be allowed to do what
is most<br>
convenient<br>
<br>
> for them, their families, and their businesses? *
Do you<br>
think that<br>
<br>
> manufacturers should have the right to run their
factories à<br>
la a<br>
<br>
> sweatshop in a Bangkok alley 50 years ago or that
big<br>
government<br>
<br>
> should throw its weight around to assure modern
working<br>
conditions,<br>
<br>
> with worker health and safety standards? * When a<br>
prescription drug<br>
<br>
> starts to kill or harm more and more people, who
should<br>
decide when<br>
<br>
> to pull it off the market: Big Government or the
drug's<br>
<br>
> manufacturer? * Are you glad that food packages
list the<br>
details of<br>
<br>
> ingredients and nutrition? Who do you think is
responsible<br>
for that? <br>
<br>
> * A huge number of Americans would be facing
serious hunger<br>
if not<br>
<br>
> for their food stamps; more than 40 million receive
them.<br>
Where do<br>
<br>
> you think food stamps come from? No, not from Sarah
Palin. *<br>
And<br>
<br>
> where, pray tell, do you think unemployment
insurance,<br>
housing<br>
<br>
> subsidies, and Medicare come from? (There were of
course,<br>
lord help<br>
<br>
> us, the Teaparty signs: "Keep your government hands
off my<br>
<br>
> Medicare,"^13<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-13"><http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-13></a><br>
<br>
> while simultaneously ridiculing Obama's push for
"socialized<br>
<br>
> medicine".) Some of you would probably rather see
widespread<br>
hunger,<br>
<br>
> poverty, homelessness, and illness in America than
have<br>
people<br>
<br>
> dependent upon the BigGovernmentMonster. * Do you
think that<br>
big<br>
<br>
> government is no match for the private sector in
efficiently<br>
getting<br>
<br>
> large and important projects done? Big government
in the<br>
United<br>
<br>
> States has created great dams, marvelous national
parks, an<br>
<br>
> interstate highway system, the peace corps, social
security,<br>
the<br>
<br>
> National Institutes of Health, and the Smithsonian<br>
Institution; it's<br>
<br>
> also landed men on the moon, wiped out polio, and
built up an<br>
<br>
> incredible military machine (ignoring for the
moment what<br>
it's used<br>
<br>
> for), and much more. * Do you know that twice in
recent years<br>
the<br>
<br>
> federal government undertook major studies of many
thousands<br>
of<br>
<br>
> federal jobs to determine whether they could be
done more<br>
efficiently<br>
<br>
> by private contractors? On one occasion the federal
employees<br>
won<br>
<br>
> more than 80% of the time; on the other occasion
91%. Both<br>
studies<br>
<br>
> took place under the Bush administration, which was
hoping<br>
for<br>
<br>
> different results. ^14<br>
<br>
> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-14"><http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-14></a><br>
<br>
> <br>
<br>
> We have to remind the American people of what they
once knew<br>
but seem<br>
<br>
> to have forgotten: that they don't want BIG
government, or<br>
SMALL<br>
<br>
> government; they don't want MORE government, or
LESS<br>
government; they<br>
<br>
> want government ON THEIR SIDE.<br>
<br>
> <br>
<br>
> I think the Teapartyers are motivated primarily by
two<br>
factors: 1)<br>
<br>
> they don't have the intellectual competence or
ideological<br>
<br>
> independence to place the blame for the sick
economy where it<br>
<br>
> belongs: the recklessness and greed of Wall Street,
the<br>
banks, and<br>
<br>
> other financial corporations; and so they blame the
president<br>
and his<br>
<br>
> "socialist" policies; 2) the president is black.<br>
<br>
> <br>
<br>
> *Mark Brzezinski, son of Zbigniew, was a post-Cold
War<br>
Fulbright<br>
<br>
> Scholar in Poland: "I asked my students to define
democracy.<br>
<br>
> Expecting a discussion on individual liberties and<br>
authentically<br>
<br>
> elected institutions, I was surprised to hear my
students<br>
respond<br>
<br>
> that to them, democracy means a government
obligation to<br>
maintain a<br>
<br>
> certain standard of living and to provide health
care,<br>
education and<br>
<br>
> housing for all. In other words, socialism." *^*15*<br>
<br>
> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-15"><http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-15></a><br>
<br>
> <br>
<br>
> <br>
<br>
> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html">http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html</a><br>
<br>
> <br>
<br>
> <br>
<br>
> <br>
<br>
> _______________________________________________
Peace-discuss<br>
mailing<br>
<br>
> list <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:Peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net">Peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net</a>
<br>
<br>
> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss">http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss</a></span><br>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
</div>
</blockquote>
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