I stumbled upon Bill O'Reilly's show last week (Friday) and could only watch in amazement as Fox News's posterboy proceeded to rail against the U.S. Government for their handling of the east coast blackout. I only continued to watch because O'Reilly brought on Greg Palast, but he didn't really get the chance to say much around Bill's incessant chatter.
It was telling chatter, though. In perhaps what is the most bizarre thing I've ever seen on television, one of the most overtly conservative neofascists in the country proceeded to lash out at, of all people, Tom Ridge, claiming that the Department of Homeland Security, instead of doing things to protect the nation, wasted time on creating color-coded warning systems and other useless things. For the life of me, I can't find the transcript, but believe me when I say it was one of the most surreal things I've ever witnessed.
It's indicative of the political climate in this country, really. Perhaps the most practical demonstration of why the Right should not be in power in this country is what happens when they actually achieve it. Since Bush took office in 2001, the Right has gone on a feeding frenzy, compromising civil rights, opening the veins of the nation and transfusing its lifeblood into the hungry mouths of corporations, taking advantage of the oh-so-convenient September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to make jingoism a valid institution...I could go on all day. The point is that the Right, with their patented short vision, gave little thought to the consequences of their actions, and now, most unexpectedly, they're beginning to feel them.
I, for one, am glad so few people died during the blackout, but I'm also glad it happened, in a way, because it showed the Right that they're not invincible, that even their own bullshit agenda can be derailed by something as simple as a power outage. It proves that, despite all the precautions the Right has taken to make the drooling masses feel that isolationism and jingoism have made America invincible again, all they've succeeded in doing is blinding themselves to the things this country really fucking needs.
So Jorge and the Junta are now echoing the sentiments of more rationally-minded folk, saying that the country needs to modernize the energy system, dropping the word "antiquated" like gangsta rappers do the word "nigga." I can only wonder how Bechtel and Halliburton can find the time to help out, given the bang-up job they're doing in Iraq.
Speaking of which, did anyone else check out the article on msn.com (was it an AP article?) in which some Iraqis gave Americans advice on how to do without power? Priceless humor, really.
I'm not entirely sure where this is going, really...I'm too much of a cynic to think it'sa good place.
25.09.2003-Epilogue.
30.08.2003-Exeunt, the Moor.
28.08.2003-why?
27.08.2003-Last night, and august in general.