Beware of Neocons Bearing Gifts…

The gift we’ve gotten from the Neoconservative junta in Washington just doesn’t stop giving.

Opaque, unregulated betting at the global crap tables by the economic elite has brought us to the edge of a substantial abyss.

It’s brought the global credit and financial system to its knees, and when a global superpower like General Motors is contemplating bankruptcy, one might think this is a gift we should have declined. Not that Detroit wasn’t hip deep in sowing the seeds of its own destruction, buying decades of freedom from fuel economy and emissions reduction requirements, fighting anything remotely progressive fork and tong while European and Asian competitors continued developing more efficient and cleaner vehicles. Even when Detroit gets its act together and retools for hybrids and electric vehicles, there may be some nasty surprises: lithium-ion batteries, on which the global auto industry is pinning its hopes, may become even more expensive as the proven supplies of lithium are limited, and one of the biggest supplies on the horizon is in Bolivia, where the government is none too friendly to Washington.

Even China, with it’s nova-hot growth, is being forced to inject economic stimulus into its economy. And remember, these are the guys who hold a substantail amount of OUR debt.

But if world leaders have anything to say about it, there will be some substantial changes.

For one thing, the G8 is now becoming… the G20. Does anyone think that will increase America’s influence in world affairs?

France’s Sarkozy is looking like a statesman, and George Bush is looking like a lame duck with a price on his head, or maybe the Grinch who obliterated Christmas 2008.

If this is what the proponents of The Project for a New American Century have brought us with their policies and initiatives for freedom and global influence, I wish we had just said, “No thanks!” in 2000 and 2004.  I did, and half the country did.  But there are still some slow learners out there…

As it is, let’s hope we can stand with resolution and say to the proponents of unregulated capitalism, “never again”.  However, human memory is short, and human nature is reliable and consistent.

I only hope that we can get some of this right before we start spreading humankind to other planets.  When is the Starship Enterprise set for launch?

This is when American character will be tested.  I remain optimistic that as a nation, we are up to the challenge.

May the Higher Power of your choice help restore both the nation’s confidence and sanity, and start generating some good will and compassion in the coming holiday season.