Sunday, September 18, 2005
A brave new post-Katrina world
Right-wing ideologues, always out to engineer a utopian world, have set their sites on New Orleans, according the Wall Street Journal. The Journal, not exactly known for its liberal alarmism, contends that right-wingers have envisioned a new conservative civilization rising from the ashes - make that mud - of New Orleans and the Mississippi coast.
"The desire to bring conservative, free-market ideas to the Gulf Coast is white hot," said U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind, who also leads the Republican Study Group.
Said William A. Niskanen, a fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute: "Everyone is attaching their own agenda to this.... It's being seen as a test of the conservative agenda, from enterprise zones to school vouchers and the repeal of labor laws, and these ideas deserve careful thought."
Maybe they'll even change New Orleans' name to Aynrandopolis or Reagania.
Of course, this bold incubation of White House-supported rightward thinking won't come cheap to the average American. The right's vision calls for curtailing environmental laws and labor laws, as well attacking a plaintiff's right to a day in court. It's all comes under the pretext of national emergency and the need to cut through red tape to relaunch civilization where civilization currently is somewhat wanting. In fact, to hear them talk about it all, it sounds like very reasonsble responses to an extraordinary situation. And I'm sure some deregulation provisions truly are reasonable.
But knowing the Bush administration and its reliance on red herrings, trojan horses and stealth campaigns, one must always look for ulterior motives. And this time, the right's not being very secretive about its "pro-business" agenda on the Gulf. Isn't it funny how "pro-business" often translates into anti-people?
Read The Wall Street Journal's story here:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112674719461641356-43p2eR5Z9GaOg_Ub3CekoDfRpTY_20060915,00.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
NPR also reported last week on how a national emergency isn't standing in the way of right-wing ideological opportunism. Listen to it here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4848417
Quote of the Day
"I just wish Katrina had only hit the United Nations building, nothing else, just had flooded them out. And I wouldn't have rescued them."
-Bill O'Reilly
"The desire to bring conservative, free-market ideas to the Gulf Coast is white hot," said U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind, who also leads the Republican Study Group.
Said William A. Niskanen, a fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute: "Everyone is attaching their own agenda to this.... It's being seen as a test of the conservative agenda, from enterprise zones to school vouchers and the repeal of labor laws, and these ideas deserve careful thought."
Maybe they'll even change New Orleans' name to Aynrandopolis or Reagania.
Of course, this bold incubation of White House-supported rightward thinking won't come cheap to the average American. The right's vision calls for curtailing environmental laws and labor laws, as well attacking a plaintiff's right to a day in court. It's all comes under the pretext of national emergency and the need to cut through red tape to relaunch civilization where civilization currently is somewhat wanting. In fact, to hear them talk about it all, it sounds like very reasonsble responses to an extraordinary situation. And I'm sure some deregulation provisions truly are reasonable.
But knowing the Bush administration and its reliance on red herrings, trojan horses and stealth campaigns, one must always look for ulterior motives. And this time, the right's not being very secretive about its "pro-business" agenda on the Gulf. Isn't it funny how "pro-business" often translates into anti-people?
Read The Wall Street Journal's story here:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112674719461641356-43p2eR5Z9GaOg_Ub3CekoDfRpTY_20060915,00.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
NPR also reported last week on how a national emergency isn't standing in the way of right-wing ideological opportunism. Listen to it here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4848417
Quote of the Day
"I just wish Katrina had only hit the United Nations building, nothing else, just had flooded them out. And I wouldn't have rescued them."
-Bill O'Reilly
