Biden: State of Disunion

My so-called special article has gone through various iterations – but primarily focuses on Putin's Address to the Federal Assembly—which strikes me as a visionary speech.

It's over two hours long – twice as long as Biden's March 7 State of the Union Address.

As I parsed Putin's address, I was struck by parallels in American history—principally with the tenure of FDR and his use of World War II to try to reinvent the US industrially and socially against the entrenched interests of his generation’s oligarchy— what he called “organized money”.

The six-year program that Putin outlined in his address is something like that —not only a Big Deal for the Russian people – but very much a New Deal.

Also, a New Deal for the people of the world beyond the Anglo-American Empire and its satellite states in Europe offering a practical path to realizing FDR’s “Four Freedoms” and more.

How exactly?

Well— that's the substance of the article for my coffee buyers. I hope it will be worth the wait.

One thing that has delayed that article is Biden's March 7 State of the Union address, which I knew would offer a useful comparison and which I needed for context.

I assumed that Biden’s speech would mostly lack content-- that it would be a Campaign Speech by any other name – just paid for by the taxpayer—full of the usual banalities, exaggerations, platitudes, and what is now politely called "disinformation" which campaign speeches underwritten by powerful lobbies like AIPAC contain.

It would be full of virtue signaling of all kinds, rationalizations of support for Israel, and the continuing destruction of Ukraine—not to mention increased defense spending at home—war being America's only industry.

Biden would pretend to be socially conscious and liberal – as he is always done over the years, even while gutting progressive policies.

And he would attack Trump as the Great Evil, threatening an American democracy that has never really existed.

How would he – or rather his team of writers – since Biden can barely string two words together much less write a speech— tie all this together?

Of course! He would invoke FDR—as though he were Roosevelt reborn! As Jesus was to Constantine, so FDR is to modern Democrats.

Biden began with Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" speech, in which Roosevelt announced to Americans that they were at war with Germany and Japan.

What amazing hypocrisy! The "Four Freedoms" are now the opposite of everything that the US has come to stand for. Certainly, everything Biden stands for, not that he really stands for anything.

Freedom from Want?

Those freedoms have not been American values for a long time. Nor Canadian values. Nor British values.

“Value” for us is our bank balance.

Freedom of Speech?

Freedom from Fear?

Note:

No cute photos this time. I found this article a little upsetting for tjhat.

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I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return.

Exiled Thucydides knew
All that a speech can say
About Democracy,
And what dictators do,
The elderly rubbish they talk
To an apathetic grave

September 1, 1939

WH Auden