Shelley Powers offers compelling observations on the Bush doctrine of unrelenting fear and misery…
We now have a new government-mandated fear. This time the enemy won’t let us down: it won’t take down the walls. It will be nebulous, and undefeatable, made more so by our own actions. We, the last of the generation of ‘duck and cover’ can now rest safely at night knowing that our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren, will know fear. Every damn day of their lives.
You see, it is to our government’s advantage to have us be afraid. When we’re afraid, we don’t look around us and see how 43 million Americans still have no health care coverage; the middle class is dwindling while the ranks of the poor are increasing; there are jobs, but too many at wages that can barely cover subsistence living. You can get a happy meal for less than a gallon of gas now, and buying both feeds the same corporate machine which is raking in record profits at a time when our country is teetering on the edge of a major climate and economic shift.
You can get a happy meal for less than a gallon of gas now,
A Happy Meal is 3.29 (per my wife, I never pay attention) and a gallon of gas is 3.09 here, and lower (per gas buddy) in most of the south east.
Just sayin’.
Concepts like borders and the classical definition of war does not apply to the current context.
We are stuck in a war of metaphors and are led by a man that uses metaphors as a lever to appear to have some kind of rationale for hsi behaviors as a imperial monarch.
Sadly, he has validated a political approach that seems to work by linking fundamentalist religious values to corporatism and there’s a base that can’t see that “in the whole” thay are working against their own self-interests as their children are sent to become security forces in hostile “metaphoric” regions.
Shelley’s writing is compelling and creates a platform for intelligent discussion of these issues. Thanks for pointing out her work.
Here are the state by state averages of gas prices at the pump. I was unable to find the state by state pricing of Happy Meals — I’ll keep trying — but I do think this just goes to show that at some level everything is a matter of perspective.
[…] Frank Paynter who quotes from my State of Fear piece, leading to a state by state comparison between the price of a gallon of gas, and the cost of a happy meal. […]
I was unable to find the state by state pricing of Happy Meals — I’ll keep trying
I tried for a few minutes but my Google-fu was weak. I suspect, but don’t know, that the pricing of a Happy Meal is fairly even across the country. McDonalds depends on a fairly broad spectrum of suppliers and does not have to source hamburger from a single location. More, a cow is a cow. Crude from different fields has differing qualities which affects it’s downstream use. Variations in fodder aside, meat is meat.
Now, meat might be murder but that’s another topic.
Perspective - no kidding. Comparing Happy Meals to gasoline is apples to dump trucks.
some perspective on gasoline and the price of a happy meal at gitmo:
Miller is credited with developing a carrot-and-stick methodology that
rewards detainees who cooperate with better food, some of which is
culturally familiar — like dates and pita bread — though McDonald’s
Happy Meals procured from Camp America have also reportedly proved to
be a powerful incentive.
In 1986, Guantánamo became host to Cuba’s first and only McDonald’s restaurant, as well as a Subway.[11] These fast food
restaurants are on base, and not accessible to Cubans. It has been
reported that detainees showing good behavior have been rewarded not
only with dates, pita bread and even Twinkies, but also ‘Happy Meals‘, hamburgers or Filet-O-Fish sandwiches from the McDonald’s located near the Navy Exchange.[12]
[edit]
Ha - they hate us not for our freedoms but because our food is better.
Thanks, Madame, for the link.
I will only note that when you write “These fast food restaurants are on base, and not accessible to Cubans.” this is generally true of all fast food concessions aboard base, or at least at the bases I’ve been to overseas.
http://www.ufobreakfast.com/archive/00001122.htm
brian:
i should have italicized the whole comment save the first line. oops.
Ah. I wondered about that … but the sytle of the bit I attributed to you, Madame, seemed to be different from the rest. And to - I only know you through your blog which is pretty darn stylistic.