The Usual Suspects Say The Usual Things
Posted: Wednesday, February 25, 2009
by Michael Ramzy
delusionthread.com
The usual suspects, to use an old phrase, seem to be at it again. Or perhaps they never stopped.
We hear the same things from the same people on the same subjects, it kind of makes me wonder where the actual real news is on my television and computer.
We hear the following, in no particular order:
1) The stimulus bill will jump-start America
This party-line is said by the president (of course), and the ranking members of Congress (also of course). The specifics are kind of slim, but since so many people on television are saying it, it must be true. Parts of America, of course, believe.
2) The stimulus bill will make America crash and burn
This isn't the exact party line of the other party, yet this is what they mean (hey, pundits can 'paraphrase', so can I!). This is going around the Republican party because they believe anything the Democrats do will crash and burn America. Parts of America, of course, believe this with all of their hearts.
3) The President will suceed
This is said by the younger, MTV-generation a lot. Actually, there really is no MTV-generation any longer since, sadly, there is no more MTV. Oh sure, the network is still on the air, yet they play less music than a broken jukebox. This is also said by anyone and everyone of the usual suspects in the Democratic party. And since it is said by these usual suspects, parts of America believe. The usual parts, that is.
4) The President will fail This is not said aloud by anyone yet, since we Americans like to give people a chance to prove (or disprove) themselves. Talk radio might be the exception, yet I have no knowledge of talk radio. I have heard (and so it must be true!) talk radio is volatile and unforgiving, but of course I don't know since I don't listen. I tried once, yet I heard some old guy yelling and shut it off. And no, I don't know the identity of the yeller.
Actually, Ol Yeller was a dog, yet there is no connection. Nice movie, even though the tag-line 'Hey Yeller, let's go out to the barn!" never took off to become a part of Americana as 'Go ahead, make my day' or 'show me the money'.
And yet, about the president failing, you can bet there are many of the usual Republicans and Independents out there who believe this president will fail. And, since the usual suspects believe it, the usual parts of America believe as well.
5) The banks will not be nationalized
This is said by many in the Democratic party, and yet many parts of America believe nationalization is a good thing. Other parts of America say, "Wait a minute, this is America, for cryin' out loud! We don't nationalize things here." That's true, we don't. Well, except for Amtrak (which has always lost money) and the Postal Service (which has always lost money).
6) The banks will be nationalized
This is said by many in the Republican party, and many parts of America believe. This one is actually a tough one to figure out, since the banks blew through that first 35 billion pretty fast (with no accountability, of course) and now they need more money for . . . for . . . well, you get the picture. This wasn't helped when the chairman of the Fed said the banks might have to be nationalized for 'a short time'. He was not a usual suspect and he only said it one time, yet sometimes it only takes one time.
7) They won't get away with it
This is said by the usual suspects in both political parties ,and all of America believes this if the subject has to do with the government. There are no specifics necessary, no mention of what 'it' is 'they' are supposed to get away with. This is perhaps the most often-repeated saying in Washington, and yet you probably won't hear it said this way on the news. You will instead hear this: 'We have to examine the proposal more closely' or 'we will meet about that in a later session'.
So. Turn on your television news or read the news on your computer and you will get the same message, the same party-line, from the same people. This is a serious time for America (we have been told, so it must be true!) and it is comforting to know the same people say the same things about the same subjects.
Almost as though there's something we're missing . . .
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Hi Michael.Good point in #5. And one does wonder if it isn't all a smoke screen. I won't say who is doing the wondering.Anyway, great article and precisely why I pay so little attention to the news.By the way, congrats on being close to finished with your second book. Wish I could say that ... or even about a first.DianneThanks very much. I really believe many in Washington have the American public's best interest in mind, yet somehow they get 'corrupted by the system'. Too bad they never seem to realize they are the system, and they can change it at will.
You are inaccurate when it comes to the Stimulus Bill. The stimulus bill is based on the fiscal responsibility of Government, as is written by Keynesian economic theory. The purpose of the bill is to pump money into the consumers to get money circulating again. It is a stimulus because it is supposed to temporary stimulate the economy. There is no long term purpose to the bill, as the theory denotes.I agree there are no long term goals with this stimulus package. The short term goal is, as you say, to put money in people's pockets. This money will hopefully circulate and restart the economy. There is a good chance, however, that state and local governments will take this money from consumers as they have serious shortfalls of their own. Regardless, I have not stated an opinion regarding it's benefits or drawbacks, but I thank you for your comment.
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