Franklin: Past the Point of Recovery

By Dave Franklin - Ether Zone

There is a point at which any mechanical, biological, or political system is past the point of recovery. In machines, this occurs when forces or temperatures exceed the range at which control mechanisms function. In biological systems, the point is a death blow or fatal disease. And in politics, it happens when betrayal of the people becomes so serious that mainstream recovery is no longer possible.

By 1992, George Bush had negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. If he'd been re-elected to a second term, a Democrat-controlled Congress would have rejected legislation making NAFTA the law. In spite of his 90% approval ratings after the Gulf War, America would get a new President.

In the midst of a recession that is mild when compared to what we are actually going through today, Bill Clinton sat on Sixty Minutes with Hillary -- smirking while she said, "I'm not just gonna sit there like some Tammy Wynette who stands by her man!" An old billionaire made the 1992 election a three-way race and the Governor of the most poorly run state in our country was elected.

Clinton was the one Democrat in that party's primary who supported the free trade agreement. Without pressure on Democratic members of Congress coming from the leader of their party in the White House, NAFTA would certainly have failed. One might note as the party of JFK and Harry Truman nominated a "new democrat", Paul Tsongas was diagnosed with cancer in the middle of the primary campaign. But before Tsongas bowed out of the race, he had won the New Hampshire primary.

Less than one month after his inauguration as the 42nd President of the United States, Clinton watched with the rest of our country as radical Islamists executed the first bomb attack on the World Trade Center. Later we learned that our FBI had infiltrated the group that carried out the attack and, like Minnesota FBI agent Colleen Rowley eight years later, was told not to interfere with it.

WTC One would prove to be the first in a series of devastating attacks that culminated on 9/11. Prior to the Oklahoma City bombing, Americans could board an airplane without even showing their id.

Then, classified advertisements appeared in the Washington Post peddling tickets that had been purchased but could not be used. They identified the gender and age of the supposed passenger along with the dates and airports. Those tickets could almost always be purchased for a fraction of the cost in an act that today would result in federal prosecution.

It seems the terror of the last ten years has one advantage. It shut down the black market of airline tickets. Even before 9/11, American liberty had been sacrificed for what can only be considered insurance against the risks of empire.

But empires and government oppression are little matters compared to the decay in our nation's soul. After electing a man whose brother is recorded saying Bill's "got a nose like a vacuum cleaner", a man who cared less for the sanctity of his own marriage than he did for every one else's while members of his party promoted the idea of matrimony for "same-sex" partners, America would be treated to Hollywood's proud efforts to push the limits of decency.

By 1996, it was over. With no GOP opposition (that party had been sold to the Bush dynasty), and with a needed second term in order to push PNTR for China so that American representation on trade authority might be extracted from its Constitutional home in Congress and handed to a World Trade Organization, Americans either voted to re-elect Clinton or held their nose and voted for Dole.

Empire could build its WTO. And America would get the only elected President impeached in an affair that made the evening news sink to standards of lewdness that would have been rated "R" prior to 1992, but are regular fare for today's prime-time viewers.

While terrorists in the Afghani desert dodged cruise missiles - dogs wagged their way - they plotted their next attacks; Al Khobar towers, Embassy bombings in Africa, USS Cole, etc. At the same time, Clinton shook his finger in our face and denied having the meaning of "is" with that woman.

Bill Clinton survived impeachment as the GOP prepared its coronation of George Bush's son to take his father's second term. Hillary had stood by her man. And in 2000, Americans counted dimpled chads while they waited for the Supreme Court to appoint their next President.

Many were relieved that Clinton was gone. It seemed as though the betrayal would end. A threat of tyranny under the Arkansas Dixie-mob no longer shadowed their lives. But when "Kenny-boy" traded energy like baseball cards, the lights went out in California.

In the dark, Americans were able to see that a "brave new world" had replaced our new world order. Human beings could be dismantled after conception and the parts used for medical research.

Now that the time has come to take the money and run, Kenny's Enron has gone under along with the second largest telecommunications company in the country. The stock market has lost 40% of its value, and 401(k) accounts have dried up. Billionaires who funded the sellout are cashing in their chips. And though some take a perp-walk along with expelled Representative James Traficant, most will get off like Kenny-boy and a Democratic Senator from New Jersey who went along with the program.

As Washington insiders propose ending Posse Comitatus, one wonders if the Army will arrest the next Congressman who opposes the betrayal as an "enemy combatant". It is possible that the TIPS program will be used to gather evidence against him. And once the International Criminal Court takes jurisdiction over Americans, will members of Congress be tried as war criminals if they vote against this or that international initiative?

This month, President Bush signed a bill giving him fast track trade authority. In 1994, the ability for the President to negotiate deals with other countries without letting Congress modify them expired. And in 1997, Congress refused to renew it for Bill Clinton. Negotiations on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) began in 1998. There is no doubt; "fast track" is necessary for the implementation of FTAA.

The next impulse has already been described. President Bush promised to "extend the benefits of NAFTA to the southern tip of Argentina". It's worth noting that Argentina is in political turmoil, having already past its own threshold of betrayal.

"Published originally at EtherZone.com: republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."

About the Author
Dave Franklin is a writer for the American Reformation Project who works in telecommunications and has over ten years of experience as a technology consultant for government agencies, including the Department of State and the Joint Staff. He is a regular columnist for Ether Zone.

Published in the August 22, 2002 issue of Ether Zone. Copyright (c) 1997 - 2002 EtherZone.com.