Obama Opens With Bang: First, Rebuild US

President-elect Barack Obama is not just "hitting the ground running" - he's been getting ready for his presidency since last September, according to Time mag. And now he's unveiled how he'll tackle job one: the economy.

The President-Elect has also signaled the country what he wants to do: enact an "Economic Recovery Plan" that will mean 2.5 million more jobs by January of 2011. In his words (from Saturday's radio address) a plan "big enough to meet the challenges we face ... a two-year, nationwide effort to jumpstart job creation in America and lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy." Again, I have no inside knowledge, but I'd expect it to be about $600 to $700 billion.

Its focus will be on infrastructure of a sort that will not only put people to work but also improve the productivity of the economy. His words: "We'll put people back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing schools that are failing our children, and building wind farms and solar panels; fuel-efficient cars and the alternative energy technologies that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil and keep our economy competitive in the years ahead."

People have been complaining about lack of investment in infrastructure for years, and it's a great sign that Obama is planning to shore up the economy the old-fashioned way.

By putting his economic team in place barely three weeks after he was elected, and telling the nation what he plans to do immediately after he takes office, the President-Elect is asserting leadership at a time when the the Bush administration has all but abdicated.

Even the markets are looking to Obama now rather than the fast-fading Bush. Obama's leadership shows signs of both strength and direction/purpose. That's cause for optimism, something I didn't have during Bush's reign. Many others, I'm sure, agree.

Infrastructure, Infrastructure...wherefore art thou, Infrastructure?

When nation-building meant building our nation, not everybody else's ... when "homeland security" meant taking care of what makes a nation secure, such as investing in economic stability, peaceful relations with the rest of the world, fair and just social support systems such as health care, welfare, education and "justice" systems (aka "corrections", now simply "collective social revenge") ... when bridges were symbolic of what made our nation great ...

Ah, in those halcyon days, the days when Ike Eisenhower led a Republican Party that invested in such things, and warned against a "military-industrial complex", and actually believed the word "conservative" had some relationship with the root "conserve" ... In those days, the idea that American would invest its lion share of resources in a profligate, nation-gutting killing machine that makes mucho bucks for the ever-consolidating Executive Puppetmaster would have been inconceivable.

Now, instead of diplomacy, we have a war without borders against an enemy without a state and it feeds the bleed .. A collapsing bridge in Minnesota is a symbol in so many ways, down to the good hearts and self-sacrifice of the people it collapsed on.

The Cheney-Bush Executive Warlord Group (CBEWG) invaded Iraq - and finally Cheney admitted it was an "invasion" not a "liberation", casually to Larry King - and that Group displays a singular proficiency at destroying everything it touches, from Iraq and its neighbors to those who joined them, such as Tony Blair.

Before, Sunni and Shi'a lived together in peace - in Lebanon, where they shared a government; in Saddam-ruled Iraq before the invasion (albeit with oppression and unfairness); and between such countries as Iran and Saudi Arabia. If there was animosity, it was not widespread violence. Both groups attend the Hajj in Makkah every year without sectarian incident. This is really a card of potential division used by non-Muslims to divide Muslims when it suits their interests. And it certainly suits U.S. and Israeli interests to divide Muslims in the Middle East, both to gain a hand on oil resources and to solidify their own power/influence in the area.

And now the CBEWG killing machine has invaded the Middle East full force and set it on fire. A real damned mean conflagration, burning bodies and souls.

Halliburton wins. Cheney loses no sleep. In his world, there is no conscience for homo sapiens. He's Republican, and all's well with the world. He's comfortable. His interests are being served. Larry King asks him what about all this #%$&#^$% ??? What about all the dead people, the poisoned water supplies, the oppression? Cheney tells the world he's cool with it. And he's very, very cool indeed.

The new Republicans have redefined lots of things, among them infrastructure. It does NOT mean roads, bridges, pipelines, dams, electric grids, that sort of thing - let alone schools, hospitals, health care, a break for small businesses and free enterprise. No, those are NOT a part of Republican Infrastructure. The New Republicans have a new "road map" for Infrastructure: it means prisons, Bradley fighting vehicles, fighter planes, armored Humvees, military hardware of all kinds, and of course, guns and other weaponry, and did we forget bombs, grenades, military-grade computers, battlefield electronics, UAV's, and of course, prisons and prison complexes ... and whatever it takes to keep those warzones going, and... oh, tax breaks for Big Business ... and, uh... oil rigs, yes! That's Republican Infrastructure!

Note this Republican Redefinition for Infrastructure is applied in Iraq - talk about even-handed! Yes, they have none of "old-think liberal" infrastructure, such as power grids - theirs is shot, literally - or hospitals - what hospitals now? - or of course, clean potable water or anything that could assist in its transport. Water, electricity, health care - that's damn liberal stuff, and who needs it anyway? If we can't provide it for our own citizens, let's bomb everyone else's! That way we'll get more Republican Infrastructure. Where you have a choice between war and prison. "Go to war or go to jail!" That's the latest in recruiting bait. What a great motive! Those soldiers must be really feeling that freedom fight down to the last 130 degree F moment.

Republicans, in their war on crime (everything worth anything, they figure, must be a war on something), are busy building more and bigger prisons and prison complexes to house everyone, citizens and non-citizens. Guilty or not, here you go! Immigration used to be considered a "civil" matter - imagine the gall! People having the criminal intent of entering this country from some damn foreign country have got to be stopped! Criminalize it now! They all are criminals and want amnesty, like those jerks at Amnesty International. How are we going to fill all those prisons and create those create prison industry jobs without creating more crimes!

Instead of better power grids or telecommunications systems, let's work on surveillance because with all those wars God knows who will try to destroy us and take revenge, so we'll create a government so gigantic, so top-heavy, it will make Big Brother Watching You look like nurserycams. And all because we need more and more protection and security. We do not need freedom. It is a dangerous world, and freedom is to blame for all of that.

Republican Infrastructure means the "social infrastructure" of executive privilege taken to include martial law. And what do you know about martial law? Well, judging by Mubarak's Egypt which has run on it since he took office, it's really, really bad for infrastructure. The "liberal" kind, that is, like sewers, tap water, roads, and power grids. But the biggest casualty is freedom. Do you really want all those good-hearted heroes to live in this Republican future? Well... don't just sit there pining over it, Juliet ...