Quo Vadis

Where are we going?

I think even the most casual of observers must have realized by now that life in the USA is no longer business-as-usual.

The earth is changing around us in visible ways. To offer a few examples, the Arctic ice cap is melting, the glaciers in the Andes mountains are melting, the blue fin tuna fishery is in utter collapse, and the Gulf of Mexico, which already had huge dead zones, has been given the kiss of death by BP, aided and abetted by the dithering incompetence of our beloved President. Let us just hope they have not killed the entire Atlantic Ocean.

The US economy, in spite of the grossly falsified "official" figures, continues to slowly melt down into smoking ruin, as the numbers of the unemployed, the real numbers, remain the same or increase. And the Obama administration, desperate to show improvement in exchange for billions in stimulus money poured down the toilet, resorts to publishing unemployment numbers which do not include those who have exhausted all their UI benefits.

I do believe that historians of the future, looking back upon this time, will record this as the deliberate destruction of the American Middle Class.

So where are we going?

Think back, if you will, to Inauguration Eve of 2009. We were outraged at the newly-revealed proof of torture, outraged that prisoners had been tortured into giving false confessions of Saddam-Al Qaeda connections, so that Cheney could justify the invasion of Iraq. We were eager to see those responsible prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and Eric Holder assured us he would be investigating the matter fully, (that should have been our first clue). So, a year and a half later, any progress? When was the last time you heard any mention of the torture issue in the media?

On Inauguration Eve of 2009, we were so sure Guantanamo would be closed down within a year, and all those within would either be released, or given a fair trial in a court of law. Keep in mind these people were kidnapped off the street on the mere suspicion of terrorist connections. A year and a half later, Obama is still using "extraordinary rendition" to abduct people and imprison them without trial, and most of those who have left Guantanamo have been transferred to Bagram prison instead, where we can say they're no longer in US custody.

And while we are speaking of the triumphant accomplishments of our dearly beloved Chief Executive, let us not neglect to mention al-Amrikki. In short, a US citizen turned jihadi. Perhaps a madman, perhaps a traitor, perhaps a clown, but definitely a US citizen. And not even Benedict Arnold was executed without a fair trial. Yet Obama has authorized the death of this man. Without any sort of due process, without a trial by a jury of his peers, without any of the things that the US Constitution says a citizen is entitled to.

And yet there is no protest, because after all he's a terrorist.

So, tell me, where are we going?