It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.

These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread.

Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times.


 
Keeping our eye on the ball:

Within the last week, George W. Bush ordered two changes to patterns of pay given to employees of the federal government. For ordinary, rank-and-file workers, Bush made pay cuts, drastically reducing pay raises that had been promised to them long ago. He said it was necessary to do so for budgetary reasons, although Bush has turned years of huge surpluses into rapidly deepening deficits, all in order to pay for big tax cuts to the super-wealthy.

Just a few days later, George W. announced that he was re-instating a rule allowing generous cash bonuses for government workers who he has appointed as a reward for political support. These cash bonuses to political appointees were used by George W.'s father, the first President Bush, but the practice of making such payoffs was terminated by the Clinton Administration, which regarded them as a source of widespread corruption in the federal government.

So, to follow the ball, Bush won't give ordinary, hard-working federal employees the pay raises they had been promised, but he's willing to spend taxpayers' money to give big cash rewards to high-level officials as rewards for their support of his Presidential campaign.

Once again, George W. Bush steals from working families to give kickbacks to his fat-cat super rich political supporters. Following the ball through the Bush Administration, you'll find its trail leading through piles and piles of dirty money.

Posted by J. Clifford Cook at 7:25 AM. # (permalink)  




Return to the Irregular Times Main Page

Read our Blog Archives