Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Letter from the colonies

[Thanks to oldmoderate for the great post; I couldn't resist riffing.]

Colonialism, according to Wikipedia, is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. They go on to call it (my emphasis):
". . . a set of unequal relationships between the metropole ['mother city'] and the colony and between the colonists and the indigenous population.
Here in Wisconsin, we're learning first-hand what it means to be "colonized" by a hostile power. Scott Walker is a colonial governor, placed in power by fascists running multinational corporations to control our fortunes to their best interest. We're getting the deluxe package:
  • for-profit education fed by vouchers: taxpayer money going pretty much directly into the pockets of Walker's friends in the profit education business
  • public employee unions busted, not only at the state level, but county, municipal and school district levels as well
  • legislative chambers essentially closed to the public, silent protesters routinely arrested and hauled away for (couldn't make this shit up) holding a sign or shooting a cellphone video
  • bills passed in the middle of the night, behind locked doors, with no scrutiny or input from constituents, those who, you know, might not agree with getting screwed repeatedly to profit the "job creators."
  • speaking of, where the hell ARE the jobs?
  • NRA and ALEC-driven concealed carry and castle doctrine legislation, one fatality so far
  • one of the most draconian voter ID laws in the country, currently on a fast track to the Colonial supreme court, where it will be quickly freed of pesky injunctions by the court's ethics-impaired conservative majority and allowed to become law
  • high-level civil service positions changed to gubernatorial appointments, often filled with the unqualified relatives of political donors and allies
  • and then there's Walkergate . . .
Even though he's from 'Tosa, Scott Walker is a colonist. No, actually, he's a carpetbagger, as are Kleefisch,  the Fitzgeralds and the rest of this unholy train wreck of an administration, including 4 of 7 state supreme court justices. Walker's public motives are those of his handlers; he exhibits no loyalty to the state of Wisconsin, to its erstwhile reputation for open government, the quality of its air and water, or its people. While Walker has to "dance wit those whut brung him," for his political survival, his only real loyalty is to Scott Walker.

Olbermann is right: Walker is a fascist bastard. The things he's done to my state are anti-democracy and anti-American.

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