Money, Politics, and Forclosures

I'm posting a few links here that you may find informative. The first is an interview with Timothy Canova, law professor at Chapman U. here in So. Cal. This is an MP3 recording. Professor Canova's perspectives on the history of money are instructive here.

The second article I'll quote from and allow for you to decide whether it's worth exploring further.

The principal technique employed in the US is to get people so busy that they don't have time to think about anything, and it is important to remember that with one person, one vote, this doesn't have to be everyone, just the majority. Thus, both men and women are encouraged to work long hours and coerced into accepting work with virtually no vacation time, and a sizable proportion of their free time is eaten up by bureaucratic concerns, such as paying bills etc. With what little time they have left they are often too fatigued to do much else and end up doing something like watching a movie. The long working hours and lack of vacation time also mean more profits for the politicians' pals and associates in the business world. Another technique involves what is called atomization in order to undermine the sense of community and the empowerment that a sense of community brings. This is achieved again through distraction, the principal weapon being the television, but also trivia such as video games.

A simple example of the way this works would be a person choosing to stay home and play a video game rather than going to have a chat with a neighbour. Still another important technique employed is obfuscation - making it hard for ordinary citizens to connect them with particular actions by acting as a group or through intermediaries. Perhaps the greatest factor contributing to the concentration of power and impending end of democracy in the US however is comfort. The majority of citizens have lived comfortable, affluent lives for many decades. This has led to unquestioning trust in politicians and a "leave it to them" attitude. Many people have more important things to do than keep tabs on what their politicians are up to, such as watching the ball game, drinking with their pals or going to the racetrack. The attitude has also been cultivated amongst all classes of society that "money talks" and "might is right".

The entire article can be read here.

Finally, here's a more personal look at the impact of foreclosures here in So Cal. The foreclosed home is probably of a Korean family judging from the rice cooker and Korean ramen box filled with junk on the kitchen counter, as well as the Christian cross in the bedroom. Although those affected have been presented have having primarily black and brown faces, there's little doubt that this is an equal opportunity disaster, even for model minorities.