CO$T OF EMPIRE; IS THIS CONSERVATIVE CYCLE ENDING?...

Show Friday!

01/28/05 @ 8PM ET to 9PM ET: "Asia Carrera"

(AKA, Radio Talk Host Reginald Vaughn Finley, Sr.

- former "atheist in a foxhole" )

* ASIA CARRERA (See "Rev. Art's Atheist Pin-Ups" ) appears to discuss religion, politics, morality, her pregnancy, gaming, the porn industry and just about whatever comes to mind.  Don't miss this program . . .

(Click all images to view . . .)
BUT WE CAN'T SEE HER ON THE RADIO!

I understand. You can't see the Invisible Great Pink Unicorn, either, but that is no proof that he doesn't walk among us and sprinkle aphrodisiac powders on our Special K with red berries!

D.O.D. on arrival?

(Click to view Rummy's drop-dead hillarious take-off on Puxhatawnie Phil the weather-forecasting groundhog - uh, he didn't get the weather right either!)

Word on the Washington rumor mill is that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will be out of a job soon after next weekend's Iraqi elections. Candidates for Pentagon posts are being told by President Bush's second-term transition types that the situation at Defense will be sorted out by May. But don't bet big bucks on Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz to be Rummy's successor. The President has been known to refer to (the neoconservative architect of the Iraq quagmire) as "Wolfson" ... [ Lloyd Grove's "Lowdown" ]

RANT, REV, RANT!!

True patriots know that as empire expands, individual liberties and opportunities diminish. The US is looking more and more like a nation in decline - as perpetual war squanders all the capital and resources, material and human - the American way of life we have known since FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society is being marginalized by idealogue bean-counters in right-wing think tanks - as if we have nothing to say about it!

George Washington and General Eisenhower stood for making America invincible to aggression by her enemies - but surely they would be appalled by the double-speak of the current administration that seeks to mask its mission to dominate global resources and markets. The neo-cons behind the curtain seek to infect all the other cultures that cling to life on this hunk of detritus hurtling through space - with American hegemony.

"My country right or wrong" is the operative sentiment of the Third Reich in a nutshell.

Da Rev'll support a constitutional amendment that would permit a foreign-born citizen to run for the US presidency. Governors Jen Granholm of Michigan and Ah-nuld of California leap to mind. Yup, I'll vote for the amendment *IF* it does away with presidential term limits. Bubba Clinton leaps to mind, oh yeah!

IS THIS "CONSERVATIVE CYCLE" ENDING . . . ?

Well - it's just my humble opinion - and right off the top of my head (brain-fart, yeah) - but I think DUBYA is the last conservative president for a while - maybe a long while.

These progressive - conservative swings seem to hold for 20 - 40 years. The McKinley-Roosevelt-Wilson progressive era lasted from the late '90s 'til 1920. The conservatives actually gained power in Wilson's second term and then elected 3 conservative presidents. Then came the depression and FDR's New Deal - which lasted through Kennedy-Johnson's Great Society - about 40 years. Ike was a moderate conservative who sought stability over idealogy.

The conservative revolution began with Barry Goldwater's run for the presidency. He set the stage for Reagan and the Second Bush. The conservative wave has lasted 37 years to date.

Jimmy Carter was a moderate Southern Democrat who differed little in substantive policies than Ford. Bush 41 was a moderate conservative in the mold of Ike. Clinton was a moderate Democrat in the mold of, uhmm, Ike - that is, he sought stability over idealogy. He sought to conserve the progressive gains of the 20th Century and to manage the budget.

Bush 43 reminds me of LBJ somewhat - he's not as bright or as principled - but he has been swept up by forces he can't control, much like Johnson became hostage to the Vietnam mistake.

Many conservatives see Bush 43 as the progenitor of a generation of reaction against the progressive reforms of the last century - but they miss an important point. This conservative cycle has probably run its course.

Would liberals have dominated for years after LBJ if he had resisted the quagmire in 'Nam? We'll never know - just as it's too early to tell if DUBYA's wreckless foreign adventurism and his planned dismantling of entitlements will usher in a new progressive era. But it's the way I'd bet . . .

(Click)

SEEMS FAIR . . .