Just random, unrelated events transpiring? Completely lacking any coherence? No contextual similarities? Consider, if you will: 1) A 2000-5000 square mile oil slick snaking its way to shore, sure as shit to devastate the economies of several states, decimate the commercial shellfish industry, detrimentally impact eco-systems all along the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, delivering an environmental nightmare to the American people. 2) United States Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, completely oblivious to the irony, standing at the podium at the UN Nuclear Proliferation Treaty conference admonishing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his country's persistence in establishing a uranium enrichment program for peaceful use application. 3) A racist immigration bill being signed into law by the Republican Governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer. 4) Snowmaggedon? Snowpocolypse? A lot of winter snow in Washington, DC proving Climate Change isn't real; just the liberals' new religion replete with a priestly class and its own Pope, Al Gore. 5) Local Planning Boards bowing to monied corporate interests at the expense of the township they are charged with defending. 6) President Obama still auctioning off bits and pieces of his YesWeCan to bring about bi-partisanship with the No-ists as regards Financial Industry reform. 7) Supporting our troops in their occupation of Iraq after a war of convenience had been launched by the PNAC, oops, the George W. Bush Administration (a.k.a. Cheney & Rumsfeld, LLC). 8) Eighty-five percent of all human beings (Ninety-two percent of Americans) believe in G(g)od(s).
Lucky 7 plus a bonus point. Limited for the reader's benefit as item upon item could be heaped on and on and…
1) The Draft Environmental Impact Statement submitted by BP during its Deepwater Horizon permitting process states again and again that it is virtually impossible for a major oil spill/leak to occur. However, should there ever develop a leak or spill, the cutting edge technology available would allow BP to quickly and efficiently apply remediation measures so there would be zero damage to people, wildlife and environment. In fact, "The US Interior Department exempted BP's calamitous Gulf of Mexico drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year after three reviews of the area concluded that a massive oil spill was unlikely. The decision by the department's minerals management service to give BP's lease at Deepwater Horizon a 'categorical exclusion' from the National Environmental Policy Act on April 6, 2009 - and BP's lobbying efforts just 11 days before the explosion to expand those exemptions - show that neither federal regulators nor the company allowed for an accident of the scale of the one unfolding in the Gulf." Also, initially there was no doubt much emphasis on the jobs such a venture would provide. That's J-O-B-S…Jobs-JObs-JOBS!!! Now, what affect do you suppose such spiels as those above had on the local yokel members of the board/commission that would render the final decision to either go ahead and "Drill, Baby, Drill" or, turn the application down. Delusionistas, they signed off on the Deepwater Horizon project presumably for the jobs even though such ventures rarely produce the number of jobs proposed; this "white lie" a routine methodology used by entrepreneurs in order to acquire the necessary operating permit. As for the economic benefits of having an oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, numbers thrown about make such a proposal a "no-brainer" as in, that much money coming into the community? Hell, it's a no-brainer. Though, if the logic of that position escapes you, welcome to the club. Just how did that extra worker money get spent at the local café or restaurant or movie theater when they were stranded out to sea on the oil drilling platform-city? How many in the "community" have prospered? The majority? No way. Per usual, a few businesses have been making better profits by supplying the platform-city with needed provisions. Hell, Americans didn't even get the benefit of that oil as it was sold on international market like all other oil. And, of course, the local-yokel Delusionista contingent voted to allow the operating permits because, well, hell…there's absolutely no danger of a spill or leak. BP said so. Oh, yeah? Here's the payback. And, just how many pay for this breach? Compared, that is, to those profiteers? Ah, if you said, respectively, the Many and the Few, you grasp reality.
2) The recent Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Conference convened at the UN saw American, French and British diplomatic representatives and other functionaries walk out on Iranian President Ahmadinejad's speech. Apparently being reminded of America's use of nuclear weapons on civilian populations (the only nation in the world to do so) was not polite. Bringing up the point that the Obama Administration just threatened Iran with the use of nuclear arms (referring to a "U.S. Nuclear Posture Review provision retaining an option to use U.S. atomic arms against countries not in compliance with the nonproliferation pact, a charge Washington lays against Iran.") was gauche. Having the President of a nation clearly and articulately put forth the rationale for its peaceful use nuclear program is too jarringly contradictory to the propaganda America and its European allies have been incessantly spewing. But, perhaps most disturbing of all was Ahmadinejad's acquiescence to a "nuclear-free Middle East." What were the Americans, French and British, to do? They had to get up and leave in a visual snub of the Iranian leader. They walked out to add dramatic flair to their fictional storyline. After all the rhetoric/propaganda these nations have been manufacturing about stopping nuclear proliferation, having that become their raison d'état, how could they actually turn down such an offer to stop nuclear proliferation? The answer came in the form of Secretary of State Clinton when she pointed her finger across the entire UN crowd stating that not a single nation in attendance has violated the NPT parameters like Iran has. Of course, while all 189 signatories to the NPT attended the conference, absent were India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel. These nations haven't signed on. These nations all have nuclear programs with Israel having missile delivery capability and 200 or more nuclear warheads to place on those missiles. Israel, during the first Iraq war actually had nuclear tipped missiles ready to launch. A nuclear free Middle East? Fear of nuclear proliferation the motivating factor for America, France and Great Britain? Then, why isn't Hilary Clinton pointing that finger at Israel? Why isn't Obama threatening Israel? Delusionistas, they would have you believe in their delusions rather than reality. Even with unified agreement among the NPT Conference attendees on a "Nuclear-free Middle East" you can be assured that Israel will never comply, will never sign onto the NPT regimen, nor will the United States or European nations pressure it to do so
3) In Arizona, Republican Governor Jan Brewer (in yet another ploy in a long line of such ploys used by Repubs to lay ancient problems on the fresh door stoop of the Obama Administration) signed into law an illegal immigration bill that allows for police to round up, question and ask for papers of anyone suspicious; suspicious, of course, undefined. When a reporter asked the Governor what an illegal alien looks like, she shrugged her shoulders and said she didn't know. Seeing as the bulk of illegal immigrants in Arizona are Mexican then typically brown people will be considered "suspicious" by the authorities. Get caught without your papers proving you're here legally, and you can go to jail and be fined even if it turns out you're an American born citizen who just happened to forget their wallet or purse. Not to worry. Republican Brain Trust Sarah Palin insists the law won't encourage "racial profiling" because the law states no racial profiling will be allowed. [Dingbat, comes to mind…"Awwwww, AhhChee…"] In an even more bizarre turn of events, Governor Brewer wrote an op-ed piece for ESPN using sport metaphors to explain the law. One of her more intriguing statements is this one: "'Reasonable suspicion' is a well-understood concept that has been thoroughly vetted through numerous federal court cases. Many have asked: What is reasonable suspicion? Is it race, skin color or national origin? No! Racial profiling is prohibited in the new law. Examples of reasonable suspicion include: a person running away when approached by law enforcement officers, or a car failing to stop when the police turn on their lights and siren." Oh? Then why does she also go on to state: "…under SB 1070 there must first be reasonable suspicion that you are breaking some OTHER non-immigration law before an officer can ask a person about their legal status. Only then, after law enforcement officers have a "reasonable suspicion" that another law has been broken, can they inquire about immigration status -- but ONLY if that individual's behavior provides "reasonable suspicion" that the person is here illegally." You know, behaviors like wearing a cowboy hat and a Mickey Mouse shirt with soccer shorts and work boots…Oh, yeah, and carrying around that brown skin, too. Republican Delusionistas would have us believe being Mexican-American in Arizona won't be a problem at all.
4) During the worst February snow storm Washington, DC ever saw, Rush Limbaugh offered his "dittoheads" this particularly poignant, well-thought out, non-fact-based nor cited reasoning: "Now, normally the rain would be going further north and the global warming models all predict that the cold weather would be going north and it's the exact opposite. All of this is much southerly, much more southerly than it ought to be. These two storms are merging here and they're El Nino storms, Mother Nature can't do anything about that, and it's just another nail in the coffin of the whole global warming thing, and each time, you know, every day like this, where is Algore? Where is the media asking Algore what's going on with this? I mean the IPCC has been destroyed credibility-wise. It doesn't mean that the leftist goons are giving up by any stretch, but nobody's had any curiosity to go out and try to find Algore and ask him to explain this or at least comment on it. I find that fascinating." How did the "Great One" substantiate this? "…this comes from our official climatologist, Dr. Roy Spencer, University of Alabama Huntsville, UAH." So much the Delusionista, Rush Limbaugh needs to bend the reality more than a bit to get to where he wants to get to. Like claiming his source is a climatologist when actually the man is a meteorologist. No difference you say? Then you must be of the mindset that there isn't much difference between a butcher and brain surgeon (nor between ribs and sweetbread sausage). Known for his brilliant analysis, Rush goes on: "I think we all need to have a good laugh here at the expense of the environmentalist wacko communists in New York, Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, and every other snow-packed town or city whose houses are equipped with Ed Begley Jr. recommended solar panels. You got people relying on solar panels and windmills and all of these other green energy technologies. Imagine how frustrated these people are who say they're going to save the planet and they can't even save themselves. Their own technology could not get them to the grocery store during a situation like this. Their own technology would not enable them to feed themselves. They have to rely on snowplows powered by gas-guzzling combustion engines in order to get out of their driveways to drive or bike or go to a global warming protest in the middle of a blizzard." Not a fleeting thought about how the reality could be combustible engine-free, but isn't, not because of the environmentalist-wacko-communists but rather, a Delusionista culture awash in America's status quo, in Empire-ism and hoggishness that cares nothing of anything beyond its ever expanding waistlines; so, to sacrifice? A nonstarter. To educate oneself in order to make rational decisions about the shared reality we habituate with 6 Billion other humans? A pipedream.
5) Picture, if you will, a small rural township, with a once-upon-a-time thriving manufacturing sector now worn, shuttered, rotting; the town, slowly succumbing to collapse. Enter WalMart with a plan to open a supercenter on the site of a decaying mall. Townspeople rejoice. Any who attend the meetings held by the Town Board and Planning Board on the issue of Walmart opening a store vocalize their total support. Obvious to the politicos people want it because of the following points: Jobs! jobs!! jobs!!! and cheaper prices. The tax money such a venture will bring into the community is a sweet anticipation. What's not to love about Walmart opening a store which will revitalize the township? So, the Town Board lets the process slip through to the Planning Board which does the following: It holds a public hearing to hear the "people" express their feelings about the proposal; almost unanimous support for allowing the special use permit. It votes (requiring a supermajority; majority plus one) to by-pass county recommendations to do a full SEQRA [State Environmental Quality Review Act] review. In rendering its decision, the Delusionista-occupied Planning Board cites the overwhelming support from the public, it mentions that SEQRA isn't meant to be used again and again and since the site has been a shopping mall for decades, no further expensive studies are necessary to determine impacts, it mentions the positive addition of jobs, it grants the approval. However, consider the fact that there is nothing at all in the laws of New York State that allows for decisions being based upon public support. In fact, case law exists that has resulted in overthrowing Planning Board decisions primarily predicated upon public support. While "the people" are to be given the opportunity to speak at a public hearing, whether a clear majority want approval or do not, cannot be a determining factor for a Planning Board's decision. The Planning Board's refusal to do a SEQRA is completely wrong! The mall site was constructed prior to SEQRA law and has actually never had a full SEQRA review. Stormwater runoff concerns alone should have triggered a SEQRA review of the proposed Walmart project, but did not. The Planning Board should have been aware of two NYS Comptroller reports dating back a decade that found less than 20 percent of jobs promised are actually delivered and the current report finds less than one-third of the jobs promised are delivered; this in the context of lucrative State, county and local PILOT programs designed to lessen start-up costs; call them taxpayer subsidies to private investors. Lucky for town residents that a local group banded together with help from a Walmart competitor and sued the town Planning Board for not having done its job. While losing in the first round (typically the case) the appeal should render quite a different outcome. At the very least, the court will probably send word to the Planning Board that a comprehensive SEQRA review is required; which should have been the case from the beginning and which will no doubt have to include an economic impact study that can only include a ton of data regarding Walmart's devastating impacts on surrounding smaller businesses because of its siphoning of the limited disposable income available which a Walmart requires to stay in business; the fact that for every job created by Walmart three others are lost in the hosting community/area; that the supposed tax money bonanza coming to the community, not to happen as that money goes to the county via PILOT programs (Development Authority Payment In Lieu Of Taxes enticements that reduce local taxes—property, school, town and sales – for at least a decade); that the pay is minimum wage, without benefits; that Walmart turnover in jobs offered is somewhere around 300 percent (which is testament to a less than ideal workplace environment); that Walmart has been shown via court cases to be discriminatory towards women and seniors; etc etc etc. Needless to say, once the town's Planning Board conducts such a thorough SEQRA review (in order to protect the community from negative impacts), giving an okay will be quite impossible as it will be abundantly clear that such a venture is NOT in the best interests of the community as the negative impacts far outweigh the positives.
6) Congressional approval of a Financial Reform Bill had no traction for a bi-partisan vote so mostly Democrats voted to curb the excesses of Wall Street while Republicans continued their strategy of just saying "NO" to every provision. In a beautiful example of hypocrisy Republican Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and the epitome of a Delusionista, refers to the proposed Senate Financial Reform Bill as "President Obama's TARP Forever Act" attempting to force-feed Americans Frank Luntz's semantic manipulations that change reality to fiction within a few words; here attempting to link Obama and America's disfavor with the massive near-trillion dollar federal Wall Street giveaway known as TARP even though said program was a George W. Bush Administration transfer of wealth from taxpayers to top one-percenters. And then there's Senator Mitch McConnell griping about the Obama Administration coming to the table with only half the job done (meaning an unfinished bill). Of course, this is the same McConnell that griped about not being a part of the preparation work for the Health Care reform bill as he and all other Republicans refused to participate over 14 months in the bill's construction. So, now, when the Obama Administration seeks to include the Republicans at the beginning of a bill's construction, McConnell protests that the bill isn't finished. Like Goldmember's "blintz and a bong" offer, there's no pleasing the "No-ists" on Capitol Hill.
7) Operation Iraqi Freedom. A war that need not have been fought; a war of convenience; a war to establish Middle Eastern hegemony; a war to secure forward bases for foreign interventions by US troops; a war that was never so much a war as an occupation; an occupation that wasn't about democracy nor deposing an evil tyrant nor WMD but rather a war conjured up by demented Reagan-era planners/convicts (Iran-Contra Scandal) with a penchant for dramatic anti-Communist murder sprees: 1,366,350 Iraqi civilians so far converted from living beings to so much collateral damage. Delusionistas believing whole-heartedly in American exceptionalism, better than all the rest, therefore, whatever we think and/or perpetrate is God Blessed. So, support our shock troop occupiers? No, thank you.
8) Which brings us to the fact that Eighty-five percent of all human beings believe in G(g)od(s); ninety-two percent of Americans. May 6th was National Prayer Day a day where Delusionistas prostrate themselves and pray for a better world; one caution though, "Usually Satan will try to suggest to you that your prayers were not heard. He will encourage you to look to the problems again and get your eyes off God. He will try to get you to talk as if you are not sure if your prayer is answered. If he succeeds in getting you to express doubt it is likely that your mouth confession will cancel the effect of your prayer. Therefore guard your mind and heart, resist the temptation to talk negatively about the situations with others, especially with those with whom you are praying. Take firm control of your thought life. Think on positive things (Philippians 4:6-9). By praising God and confessing the relevant truths of the Word, cast down every thought that is contrary to your prayer. These thoughts many times are nothing but the suggestions of the devil, who is working to negate our faith." Ergo the most deluded of Delusionistas. God-ites relying on "faith" for their strength, on metaphors for proof of God's existence and whatever we do, do NOT talk about the negative behaviors inundating us; ignore them so that our "mouth confessions" will not be heard. (G(g)od(s) must be hard of hearing anything but positivity. This is how we do not take responsibility for being the only intelligent species in the universe (that we know of), how we murder and maim in the name of our Lord(s) and rationalize away our disgusting prejudices with ritual and prayer that reassures we are closer to G(g)od(s) than the nonbelievers. One can only wonder at the shared outpouring of outrage that will accompany the latest court ruling re National Prayer Day.
In every example above, Delusionistas have taken the easy way out: Staying on the rutted path of Status Quo out of laziness and fear, stupidity and hatred, greed and misanthropy. But, look at the Delusionistas when they are at their most deluded. You'll see a heavenly glow, a beaming quality that shouts: "I'm number one. I sitteth at the right hand of G(g)od(s)." If that doesn't put a chill up and down your spine, you're one of them.
Unfortunately, Delusionistas are not a delusion but a reality that is everywhere on this planet. The question is: Do we close our eyes and join them? Or, do we fight for the humanity imprisoned by their delusions?
