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Clusterfuck Nation by Jim Kunstler —

April 4, 2005
     When historians come to write the history of this Republican reign, they will mark as the turning point the moment when Congressman Tom DeLay promised vengeance to the federal judges and others who allowed brain-dead Terri Schiavo to finally die. That was his Robespierre moment, when the little prick from Sugar Land, Texas, under-reached his grasp for the levers of public opinion because, it turned out, most of the American public did not approve of politicians pandering to them on behalf of the unfortunate Mrs. Schiavo.

     Meanwhile President Bush was still out on a sixty-day cross-country blitz, hustling his proposal to turn social security into a new revenue stream for Wall Street. Historians will also note that the stock markets followed a downward trend-line while Bush was out there pitching, while day-by-day the price of gasoline followed a steep trendline upward just as Americans were getting ready for their annual fiesta of summer motoring. The public was not buying the President's pitch. The younger voters didn't believe they'd ever collect social security no matter how it was rigged up. Anyway, it was hard to give a shit about something as abstract and distant as social security when all of a sudden it cost fifty bucks to fill your gas tank.

     There is something in the wind abroad in this land besides the vapors of spring.

      Last week, the International Energy Agency, after years of dithering, warned of an imminent global oil shortage and made a list of surprisingly draconian recommendations, from lowering speed limits in all the advanced industrial nations, to a reduced work week, to a ban on using privately-owned vehicles (!). Nobody in the American government dared comment on that because it might unravel the web of delusion that we can continue living as a nation of tanning hut managers who qualify to buy 3000 square foot suburban McHouses (while making monthly payments on GMC Yukons).

      But those rising prices at the gasoline pump send a message that is cutting through all the static of American Idol, Fox TV News, and the attempted panderings of vindictive little pricks such as Tom DeLay. Message: our standard of living is headed down. Fast.

      Now, there is every reason to believe that the public will come to misinterpret that message, too, because the whole nation -- including many enviro-progressives, by the way -- have bought into the notion that, whatever else reality offers, we are entitled to a life of easy motoring and Ditech Miracle Mortgages, and an awful lot of people are going to lose their personal revenue streams when that illusion falls away.

     What will remain is a continental-sized angry mob wanting to pole-axe the people who are running the show. Since the Democratic party has ceded its opposition by failing utterly to promote and alternate vision of reality, a new opposition is certain to form out of this mob. Unfortunately, it is in the nature of mobs to think not in terms of policy but of rolling heads.

      The warm part of 2005 is shaping up to be a time when the center no longer holds, or even ceases to exist.

Dispatches from the New World of Work —

In yesterday's Sunday New York Times Magazine Thomas L. Friedman wrote an interesting piece on globalization called, "It's A Flat World, After All" raising many concerns about outsourcing. It's based on his new book, being published this week by Farrar, Strauss & Giroux.

He suggests technology has leveled the playing field for bright and innovative people worldwide (especially in India and China) and America runs the risk of being left behind. Is he on to something?

Posted by Halley Suitt

CoolTools —

I've gotten more recommendations for a particular pocket knife than any other tool. Knives are the original tool; everyone has one, and after 10,000 years there's endless variety. They are intensely personal, too. I've seen and tried many of the suggested knives I've received, and I've published a few of the more well-proven ones.

So, after many trials, here is the one I actually carry: it's a dollar plastic box cutter. There is no knife lighter weight, none cheaper, few as sharp, and not very many as quick. I can open it one handed in less than a second from the moment I reach for it. It is as fast as a sheath knife. Keeping its edge a razor is as easy as nicking off the tip. This plastic snap blade is as thin as a pen and so light that I carry in my pants pocket without even knowing it is there; no special holster needed, and it won't wear the pocket out. It's cheap enough that I hide one in all the clothes I ordinarily wear. I'm not afraid to lose it, and yes, I keep it away from airports.

The cheaper the version of the box cutter the better. You don't want rugged metal ones, like those offered by respectable tool companies; they are bigger, heavier, costlier and no better. What you want is a cheap all-plastic made-in-China throw-away that should cost about a buck. Mine are day-glo orange for easy retrieval if I lay one down.

Other than it being butt-ugly I can't think of why I would want one fancier. I use this one at least 5 times a day, and its quick handiness gives me pleasure each time.

-- KK

Plastic Snap Blade Knife
$1.22
Available from Internet Trains
Also available from Amazon

MetaFilter — The UTNE Magazine Indepenent Press Awards: The 16th annual roster of the best, liveliest, wisest, most provocative periodicals we’ve seen in the past year: General Excellence: Magazine ; General Excellence: Newsletter ; General Excellence: Zines ; Best New Title; Best Essays; Design; International Coverage; Arts & Literary Coverage; Cultural/Social Coverage; Local/Regional Coverage; Spiritual Coverage; Environmental Coverage; Personal Life Coverage; Political Coverage; Science/Technology Coverage; Online Political Coverage; Online Cultural" Coverage;

The complete list of the nominees.