Lunacy

Well, the Republicans (or Conservatives, depending on whether they want to distance themselves from the Right by redefining terms to their advantage) have finally gone over to the dark side--the dark side of the moon. Our word lunatic comes from the French word for moon because it was once believed that crazies were under the moon's influence (as in police blotters go nuts during a full moon). It would seem there has been a lot of full moons lately, the largest of them presiding over the apology to BP for making them set up a fund to compensate people who lives and livelihoods have been damaged by the oil spill.

Just in case someone has been lost in the woods somewhere, Representative Joe Barton of Texas apologized to BP before starting a Congressional hearing on the Gulf spill because the US Government forced the company to create an escrow account of $20 billion to compensate the damage they caused by cutting corners on safety in regard to deepwater drilling. The said Rep. Barton, a well-known stooge for the oil industry from which he has received lavish funding, is all the the more dangerous because he has been (there's a move afoot to remove him) the ranking Republican on the house energy committee. In other words, he's supposed to be protecting our national interests while being in the pockets of those he is supposed to be regulating. Apparently he sees no conflict.

The uproar over his lunacy has been ferocious, particularly from those living along the Gulf coast, and the Republican party has forced into damage control by making him aplogize for apologizing, something he did grdugingly, sort-of, and half-heartedly. He's a good little paid-for politician who knows where his bread is buttered.

I once blogged on how corporations are not governments. Corporations are for profit; governments (theoretically) are for people. This is a huge difference and one that the Republican party has long forgotten. Corporations have no memory, are incapable of gratitude or regret, and when faced with accountability are prepared to declare bankruptcy, dissolve themselves, and reform with another name. Look at what happened when the head of BP came to testify to Congress: he said he had no knowledge of anything and once the hearing was over left his job. I am left wondering why--if he knew nothing--he didn't bring someone with him who did. Answer: he was sent to stonewall before the company moved him out of harm's way. New leadership can't be held responsible, don't you know--when appointed, the new CEO can claim the same ignorance. Another definition of inanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome: did anyone really expect to get satisfaction from a corporate CEO who rakes in millions in salary for cutting corners?

As someone born outside the US I have always been fascinated by a certain group within the US (see, George, I didn't say America to mean the US) who loudly proclaim their prejudice against education (except as a route to a good job). Perhaps it's the egalitarian part of democracy that trips them up--I suspect they confuse equal rights with equal talents. These folk deny what they can't understand, and, judging from the ignorant letters to the newspapers, I'm inclined to say there is plenty they don't get or even want to. It's much easier to mouth slogans than think, and if there is a group of likeminded around, well, then prejudices and ignorance become truth.

Recently, Professor Frank Fenner, emeritus professor of microbiology at the Australian National University, and no slouch at science (he worked on eradicating smallpox) predicted that the human race will be extinct within the next 100 years, the result of overpopulation and overconsumption. Outside of adding self-centered stupidity to his causes, I would say we have brought it on ourselves. Unfortunately, when we go, we'll probably take all forms of other life with us. But then, I suppose, the planet can shake of our dust and start again.