Climate vs. Weather

Or, can't see the forest for the trees.

You know how it is, when you're lookin' around and you see little storms brewing, but you don't pay much attention because they seem isolated, they seem disparate and unconnected, and the bigger picture gets lost? I think we're on the verge of seeing them all coalesce into one, big, dark, ugly typhoon.

1. The collapse of state bonds is now being predicted within the next 12 months by a chick on Wall Street, who also happened to predict the housing and bank meltdowns of 2008. The hacks over at CNBC, according to an article over at RawStory, are completely discounting her and calling her an alarmist, as would be expected, because they're soooo good at predicting calamity themselves. 
2. The latest round of former Bush, but now Obama tax cuts, will add a sizable chunk to the massive national debt, giving a huge break to the wealthiest in this country, while raising taxes on the poorest, and which will make it impossible for the Federal government to lend any help to the states or municipalities.
3. The FCC is getting ready to vote against net neutrality, another issue tanked on by Obama, thereby ending the free and open Internet as we know it. It will be a boon to the cable and telecommunications industries, which will now be able to charge higher rates based on usage, while restricting access to those who depend on wireless networks, and which will also allow the companies providing internet services to decide what kind of content they deem appropriate for their service, which in my mind could easily amount to censorship.
4. The US, as revealed today by the NY Times, now wants to expand the war in Afghanistan into Pakistan, which would, in my thinking, be a complete war on the Muslim world, nevermind the "terrorists." Pakistan is a nuclear country, as well, and believe me, the idea of World War III is spinning in the back of my mind.
5. As the WikiLeaks document dump has proved, the United States, in all its empirical glory, is dictating actions and policies to governments and regimes all over the world, while our own country's infrastructure is collapsing, our government is going broke, and our citizenry is being bled dry, except for the top 1-2%, who have amassed the lion's share of the wealth in this country.

In my mind, when you put all of this together, it's a recipe for disaster. I don't see any good coming from this at all, and I think these five items are just the tip of the iceberg.


God, I just want to cry when I think about that vote I cast for Obama. He has been an unmitigated disaster for this country.