Total Shock

Wisconsinites woke up this morning to discover that their state assembly had just abolished their government unions. This writer woke up to discover that yesterday afternoon the House technology subcommittee voted to give the telephone and cable companies absolute, unrestricted power over the Internet. They plan to take away regulation of the Internet from the FCC.

Here's the Op Ed News article:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/House-Runs-Amok-on-FCC-by-the-web-110309-277.html

Also, both houses of the Michigan legislature have just passed legislation that would let the governor declare any town or city broken and appoint a state monitor to run the town, firing the elected officials. Ohio has just rammed through union-busting legislation by replacing members on two committees who voted against it. Koch brothers money, supporting "Big Government Republicanism" (a new Rachel Maddow phrase) is trying to kill the last major American unions. These unions are the largest donors to the Democratic Party.

This is "shock doctrine" politics. Naomi Klein wrote a book of this title to describe how we have been shocked into war, shocked into giving banks back the money that others had stolen.

And now we have been given the story that teachers and policemen are overpaid, and they are being shocked out of their unions. Lies are told and no one counters them. Then evil is done. This can't last long. As Michael Moore says, "Wisconsin isn't broke". It's all fraud and sham, and it's bound to collapse.

Every shock is wakening. A slap in the face doesn't destroy unions, it wakens them. The unions make us strong, and the Koch brothers may have reignited the union movement. The "shock doctrine" may be about to meet the "rock doctrine".

If this develops as it probably will, then Obama's re-election is assured. He will not face serious opposition in the primaries. This means that cross-over Democratic primary voters whose vote isn't needed may then be the ones who choose which Republican candidate will oppose him. A moderate Republican who could never possibly win the presidency would be an ideal candidate. Somebody sufficiently fettered by his past that his future chances are limited.

As a former lobbyist, Barbour may be the closest fit. He sits on a big pile of money, as leader of one of the three main Repub organizations. He could re-define Republicanism away from the radical. Word has it that he's working on his talking points.

I read that Obama may be coming to Jackson in May during the Freedom Rider reunion. That could coincide with Barbour's elevation to national stature.

Last December 10th, just as Mercury went retrograde, appearing from Earth to move backwards in space as it does three times yearly, Senator Bernie Sanders brought Senate progress on the tax bill to a halt with an eight and a half hour filibuster. The following 20 days while Mercury was retrograde were the Senate's most productive days of the year as legislation that had been on hold moved quickly into law.

This year, from March 30th until April 23rd, Mercury goes retrograde once again. It is slowing now. Recall petitions are in motion. Unions are wakening. Facebook is spreading the flames. These forces may seriously converge at the end of this month. Maybe good will come of it.

Return of the unions may mean return of a living wage.