Memorial Day 2023
The Memorial Day 2023 edition of The Status Quo: An Electronic Newsletter is dedicated to those who refuse to allow the sacrifices of those who paid the ultimate price to be forgotten for the sake of political expediency. America’s enemies abroad are legion, but it is the enemy at home who must be defeated or the sacrifices of our brothers and sisters will be meaningless. As for the oath each Veteran took to defend the U.S. Constitution, it seems that promise has been relegated to the same place we threw yesterday’s paper. Only in America 2023 can Memorial Day be more about selling trucks than honoring our brothers and sisters who sacrificed so much for a nation that cares so little.
An American Oligarchy
An oligarchy is defined as Government by a few, especially by a small faction or group who exercise political power for the benefit of the few. The word is Greek in origin and was often used to describe Greek city states like Corinth and Sparta. Yet oligarchies can exist within states run by a monarch (Middle East), a dictator (Russia), a theocracy (Iran) and in failing republics (U.S.). In fact, a uniquely American Oligarchy was first identified in this Newsletter as the political-financial complex in honor of President Eisenhower’s famous warning of the dangers posed by the military-industrial complex.
Unlike the military-industrial complex, which was born out of a World War and a nuclear arms race with Josef Stalin, the political-financial complex was born out of the symbiotic relationship between the career politician (Washington D.C.) and the financial industry (New York). This relationship did not develop overnight. The military-industrial complex took the Second World War and the spread of communism to develop while the American Oligarchy took decades to develop. As for how the American Oligarchy developed, it can easily be explained when one understands how the relationship works.
Like all relationships, there is a give and take between the parties. In the case of the career politician, he or she needs a constant flow of campaign funds, inside information, and cash in order to secure re-election while Wall Street needs a guarantee that if their risky investments should result in catastrophic losses, the career politician will ensure that the taxpayer covers their losses. When a bank fails, for example, Wall Street knows the bank will either be bailed out with taxpayer dollars. Another example is playing out before our eyes. When another financial institution buys a failing bank the career politician’s role is to guarantee to backstop that bank’s losses. This is a very mature relationship, and these bailouts are not just evidence of this symbiotic relationship. They are proof of just how developed this relationship has become and if anyone doubts this assertion, they need only examine the net worth of the career politicians. These servants of the people did not make their money serving the people. They made it serving the few.
Yet before any examination of how this American Oligarchy has operated, it is imperative the reader understands 1) what had to occur before this American Oligarchy could exercise such sway over our elected officials and 2) how difficult it will be to remove this malignant tumor. Since we know a republic is a form of government based upon the rule of law, it only follows that when a republic abandons the rule of law, it is only a matter of time before another more repressive form of government takes control. As the reader reflects upon the degree to which the rule of law has been abandoned in America, it is easy to understand how the American Oligarchy has taken root in our lawless society. As for removing this American Oligarchy, the reader must also understand what makes this oligarchy so dangerous. The members of this oligarchy number in the millions. It is not some banana republic where 25 families control the country. There are 5 million American millionaires and 700 plus American billionaires who represent the power behind this political-financial complex. These 5 million or so Americans possess a net worth of about $65 trillion and as such there is no end to their ability to buy and sell career politicians especially when they come so cheap.
As for evidence that an oligarchy has been operating in Washington D.C., this article highlights four areas of our national existence. By examining these areas, the reader can understand how an oligarchy begins to exercise control behind the scenes. An oligarchy does not announce its presence but instead extends its reach into areas where the rule of law no longer exists, such as in Congress or many of the executive branch agencies including the Department of Defense. In fact, we first see the oligarchy at work in the debacle that was the War in Vietnam.
The policy decisions made in 1964 were not the result of the people’s will but were made by the few for the benefit of the few. In this case the few being a handful of men in the White House (aided by the CIA), a few senior military officers and more relevant to our discussion, a number of corporate leaders who knew billions of dollars could be made in saving Vietnam in the name of capitalism. The effect this decision has had on an emerging American Oligarchy was plain for all to see in March of 2003 when the now developed American Oligarchy (also aided by the CIA) were at work in Washington D.C. to guide America into the worst foreign policy disaster since Vietnam. The illegal invasion of Iraq is a perfect example of how the American Oligarchy works. Men never elected to office manipulate those who were and the end result is an incredibly profitable venture for the few while the many pay the ultimate sacrifice.
The second area of our national existence where the interests of the few trumped the interests of the many can be found in the catastrophic domestic policies following President Johnson’s decision to “wage” war at home. Three equally disastrous domestic “wars’ ‘ would follow the decisions regarding Vietnam and these wars would not only cause untold pain and suffering for the American people but waste trillions of taxpayer dollars as well. These social experiments were labeled as wars and were touted as Washington D.C.’s promise to reduce poverty, crime, and the nation’s growing drug problem. One coming after the other and each failing miserably, these experiments were undertaken so the career politician could argue he was making a difference in Congress. One need only observe the desperate poverty that permeates America’s rural communities and her inner cities to this day, listen to the reports of an Opioid crisis that is killing tens of thousands of young Americans every year and read about a rising crime rate that might never recede to know these experiments failed miserably. And like the invasion of Iraq in 2003, not a single person has been held to account for these failures. In fact, many career politicians have been re-elected time and time again despite their failed policies.
The third area of our national existence where we see this oligarchy at work is in the growing hatred by Americans for Americans. This fundamental change in how Americans view one another did not occur overnight. It began when left-wing members of the Democratic Party were convinced President Nixon was evil as opposed to paranoid for thinking correctly that the 1960 General Election was stolen from him. Not to be outdone, the moderate and once civil Republican Party redefined political hatred when President Clinton was elected. The hatred that Neo-Christians like Newt Gingrich spewed forth took hatred of one’s political opponent to a new level. Then, as if to remind Republicans who first transformed politics into warfare, Democrats surpassed Newt’s level of hatred when President Bush was elected. To hear moderate liberals refer to President Bush as being like Hitler made this Veteran wonder what was happening to Americans. Not to be outdone, it took only a few years for Republicans to perfect the craft. Today we are witnessing Republicans embracing hatred of their political opponents to such a degree that they would support a vile dictator and sworn enemy of America just to spite President Biden. It is hard to imagine more convincing evidence that the American Oligarchy operates to divide us. They will embrace a war criminal if doing so will secure one more seat in Congress for their side.
The fourth area of our national existence where we see the oligarchy at work involves the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few in order to dominate the many. The widening gap between the rich and the poor is a sure tale sign that the rule of law no longer protects the people. The fortunes being amassed by the 5,000 plus Americans cited above did not come from their hard work alone. Their fortunes are increasing because our government has embraced an unbridled form of capitalism that only a few decades ago would have been considered criminal. Laws are enacted to aid the wealthy in their accumulation of even greater wealth. From the tax code to the limitations of corporate and personal liability, the career politician has created an environment where all types of fraud, tax avoidance, insider trading, corporate give-a-ways, and the illegal manipulation of the financial industry are regarded as a cost of doing business in the new economy. In short, the game is rigged and no one in Washington D.C. cares.
When President Gerald R. Ford was sworn into office almost 50 years ago, he stated that our long national nightmare was over. The nation desperately needed to hear those words and to have that man as President of the United States. President Ford also spoke about our U.S. Constitution that day, and those are words all Veterans need to hear today.
“Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy.”
There is no higher power in Washington D.C. unless you consider the love of money as that higher power. There is no justice in Washington D.C. unless you consider what happens when a society values wealth above sacrifice as justice. There is no mercy in Washington D.C. unless you consider what happens when career politicians end subsidies that allow children to receive the only guaranteed meal of their day to be merciful. With that said, this Veteran issues a call to action in the name of those who gave the last full measure of devotion. It is up to us to return our society to the path of equality where the rule of law means something even if that means we must do what is necessary to uproot this American Oligarchy and restore our government to the people it was created to serve.
Our Favorite Uncle
The May 2022 edition of this Newsletter contained an article titled My Best Friend. The article was about a man who continues to disgrace the United States Supreme Court. Since then, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas has received a great deal of attention from some of the nation’s best investigative reporters and what the American people have learned is nothing short of amazing. The most recent peek into his “pay to play with Clarence” life includes direct payments for his grandnephew’s school tuition. At least one young man calls Uncle Clarence his favorite uncle.
The May 2022 article addressed the issue of who was responsible for the leak of the unpublished opinion that overruled Roe v Wade. Despite Associate Justice Alito’s assurances that it was not a conservative member of the Court, the issue of who leaked the draft opinion is now moot. The only issue that matters today is ascertaining if Uncle Clarence and his best friend are guilty of Sedition. To this end, the Department of Justice (DoJ) must initiate an investigation into what exactly transpired in the days leading up to January 6, 2021, with a focus on what Associate Justice Thomas’s wife was telling the former fake President of the United States concerning the legality of Vice President Pence refusing to certify the election results. This investigation must ascertain if Uncle Clarence was using his best friend and former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to convince the dimwitted former fake President of the United States that it was legal to order the former Vice President of the United States to refuse to certify the election results. If so, our favorite uncle must answer for his crimes.
The most recent revelations surrounding his wife, a.k.a. my best friend, and the former Chief of Staff, raised the question as to whether these two Americans were acting as conduits between an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and the President of the United States in an effort to prevent Vice President Pence from certifying the 2020 election results. Associate Justice Thomas may claim through a spokesperson that he was unaware of his wife’s communications with the former Chief of Staff but like so much that emanates from his filthy mouth that too might be a lie.
What is even more disconcerting than an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme court advising the sitting president that he has the power to overturn an election is that this same Associate Justice believes no one can or will hold him accountable. The Chief Justice and the other Associate Justices have shirked their responsibilities to the American people and to the U.S. Constitution by failing to condemn his actions. Overnight, they have destroyed the image of an impartial and upright institution and for the American people to have lost faith in the Judicial branch of our federal government means that they have lost faith in the entire federal government. How pathetic to watch as one ultra-conservative Associate Justice, cloaked in her Catholicism, sits in silence reminding us of how good Catholics keep their mouths shut in the face of injustice. As for two other conservative Associate Justices, Alito, and Gorsuch, they have already made it clear that their chosen path is not the rule of law, but political expediency.
The removal of a U.S. Supreme Court Justice can only occur in accordance with the U.S. Constitution. Article II, section 4 of the U.S. Constitution defines both the grounds for impeachment and which part of the federal government can impeach/remove a member of the U.S. Supreme Court. As such, it really does not matter what the grounds for removal are or what evidence is needed to prove those grounds. Treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors are the crimes for which removal is possible, but the Neo-Christians of the Republican Party will never allow that to occur. They cannot even gather the courage to remove Representative George Santos despite his blatant violations of the law. Yet if our republic is to survive, which is very much in doubt, Associate Justice Thomas and his best friend must be investigated in the same fashion the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers have been investigated. The fact that Uncle Clarence is black must not give him a free pass when it comes to sedition. Likewise, the fact that he is conservative must also not give him a pass. If probable cause exists that he and his best friend committed Sedition, they must take their seats in the dock so a jury of their peers can decide if they are in fact guilty of Sedition.