We vote, things get worse

As was true over much of the nation last autumn, dissatisfied Minnesota voters tossed out Republicans. Unfortunately, that was a step out of the frying pan into the fire. Voters didn't like what they were getting, but it hasn't taken long for them to discover that what they got in exchange is no better, perhaps worse. Nothing about the war has changed, and government spending is going even higher.

Because the two old parties have, in power-hungry collusion, rigged all the rules of campaigns and elections, Americans are left with only two viable choices at the polls. The two major parties have so much money from people seeking legislative favors in exchange for campaign contributions that other candidates cannot come close to competing. Their huge media budgets mean that their candidates get preferential coverage, so that alternative candidates, no matter how good, remain uncovered. Strategists from both old parties predict the 2008 presidential campaigns could end up surpassing $2 billion in total spending by all candidates (of just two parties) and their allies. Alternative candidates are dismissed or simply ignored by media in favor of those with big advertising budgets.

Election after election, the voters turn out one party in favor of their only other choice, only to have to do it again next election. The Democratic and Republican parties have locked this nation into a two-party system to the point that neither of them feels responsible to the voters.

For those two parties, no matter how much they cheat the citizenry, no matter how corrupt they become, their worst case is having the majority control shift to the other party for a few years. They know that the other party will do such a terrible job that they will have control returned to them. Back and forth, in and out and back in. Very few individuals will change over the years... incumbents almost never lose, but some will retire, usually after decades in office, so there is always a new "freshman" class of legislators that determines the current "in" party.

Very little change, ever, yet to listen to media coverage, you would think that the world was being redesigned. The most insignificant of rumors and machinations are covered with such splash and dash that we're led to believe that great moves are being calculated and boldly carried out. Political spin and media manipulation are so effective that they deserve to be called artforms.

The amount of deception perpetrated by politicians is really impossible to get a handle on. There are hundreds of private watchdog organizations that do an excellent job, but they are really no match for the combined efforts of politicians, their staff members, plus lobbyists and other parties seeking legislative or regulatory changes, all producing complex text at a pace that nobody can read. Nobody knows what is being done until it's too late, including the legislators themselves, who vote on monstrous bills without reading them... sometimes without even having the chance to read them.

Our government has become a gigantic, uncontrolled (by anyone) morass of leaches sapping our national strength with insane, extravagant, unworkable programs designed only to appease those few who spend the time and money to make profit through lobbying. The rest of the American people, busy earning a living and raising families, seeking no advantage, asking for no privilege, are watching, unable to even imagine regaining control over their own government.

There is one current cable show that may epitomize the insanity... Futureweapons. The show is like a tech infomercial for the Army, showcasing all the latest in combat equipment. The weapons and systems are impressive indeed, and the Army gleefully assists in the aggrandizements, hosted by Mack, a shaved-head former Seal who presents everything with a whispery voice designed to make us feel his awe for the revolutionary tools of killing. A recent episode featured the Future Combat Systems, a long-range design program to integrate soldiers and technology like never before. The presentation bragged that some 600 defense contractors are working together on FCS. Can you even begin to imagine the lucrative contracts involved? Does the phrase "military-industrial complex" sound familiar?

It's hard for any man not to be impressed by the creativity and power of such weaponry, but the slightest rational thought produces a vision of complete insanity. The U.S. already has, far and away, the most powerful military on earth. There really is no effective competitor, because we spend more on "defense" than most other nations combined. Who then is this elaborate weaponry to be used against? Do we have any major enemies we're likely to be in combat with? We're engaged on two fronts already in Iraq and Afghanistan, and losing despite massive superiority of weaponry and other technology.

One can examine almost any part of government and find such insanity, because government is not driven by reason, common sense, or even instinct; it's driven by corruption... exchanging favors for votes and campaign contributions, and money simply passed under the table.

If one projects this insanity into the future, the picture is dismal. At some point, most Americans will be either working directly for government or working for firms prospering on government contracts. With most of us becoming dependent on government for our earnings, we will be unable, and unwilling to even complain, much less trying to slow it down.

What will the U.S. government do with an ever-more-awesome military? It certainly will not let them sit on bases practicing with no end in sight. Our overblown military, currently residing in 144 nations around the globe, is an invitation to conflict. Resentment of American policies grows steadily, for good reason. We have become the big bully of the planet, dealing with other nations using brute force and threats. We are creating enemies deliberately, and double-daring anyone to respond.

We are the ugly American Empire, and we seem unwilling to do anything about it. Empires rise, and they inevitably fall, by wasting away their economic strength on destructive conflict. Once, this nation was a good neighbor to others, but that has been destroyed by two corrupt political parties who continue to mangle everything that was once great about our nation... and they do it for no other reason than to simply feather their own nests. A vote for candidates of either old party has no effect except to encourage continuation of their greed, corruption and boldness.