What we are seeing is the fall of America

Harold Bloom: "What We Are Seeing Is the Fall of America"

By Eva Sohlman, The Wip

Posted on January 15, 2008, Printed on January 15, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/73720/

Harold Bloom, Yale literature professor and cultural critic, is one of

America's most prominent and provocative intellectuals. Unabashedly,

he has always spoken up for what he calls "the fight for truth and

beauty" making a lot of foes in the process, but also some friends. As

one of the first critical voices against the Bush administration and

the war in Iraq, Bloom landed in the hot seat with the satire

"MacBush" in 2004. Lately, he sparked worldwide outrage by calling

Harry Potter "garbage." Speaking at his home in New Haven where he is

recovering from a recent health scare, a pale and weak Bloom seems to

have symbolically embodied what he calls the "poor state of the

nation."

"I am 77 years old and I have never seen this country in such a bad

state. It is madness. What we are seeing is the fall of the Roman

Empire, only now it is the fall of America, the glory of our Empire.

This war is what Parthia was to Rome.

"The horror of what is taking place in Iraq exceeds my worst fears

five or six years ago (after Bush came to power). I am horrified at

the disastrous mistake involved. Imagine the complete madness in

trying to occupy a large Arab country in the middle of the Arab world,

a culture we know precious little about, and who speaks a language

only a handful of our specialists can speak, with armed forces which

we have limited control of and with a large army of private

soldiers .... The whole thing is a scandal ... a series of lies. I

don't understand the motivation for the war, but suspect the real

reason for the war, which one would suspect of a country which is a

third oligarchy, a third plutocracy and a third theocracy, is that it

simply is a profitable machine."

Sitting in the middle of his living room and in the brown leather

armchair from which he has given most of his interviews in recent

years, Bloom sighs deeply and a sad grimace spreads over his

expressive face. It soon switches to anger, as he expands on the

consequences of the war and, ultimately, of Bush at power: a growing

national debt and a weakened dollar in tandem with a spiraling war

budget, as well as America's lost credibility on the international

stage due to the Iraq war and the situation in Afghanistan. Not to

mention Guantanamo Bay, the use of torture and humiliation at Abu

Ghraib and the CIA's rendition program.

"We have caused a monstrous mess. We don't even count killed Iraqis.

God knows how many Iraqi women, children and men have been killed by

our accidental shootings, which we are such experts at, or by other

Iraqis. No, 'Benito Bush' (Bloom's pet name for President George Bush)

deserves, if we had a functioning civil law in the world, to be

condemned for crimes against humanity. Bush is ultimately responsible

for this war," Bloom says pointing angrily with his index finger in

the air as his dark eyes burn below a pair of thick dark eyebrows and

a crown of unruly white hair.

"It is bleeding our nation, and I can't see a solution in the near

future. We are obviously so deeply involved concerning blood, money

and the situation on the ground that it will be very hard for us to

pull out."

But Bloom has no illusions that there is any real pressure from the

Democrats to pull out of Iraq at the moment.

"The truth is that Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Hoyer and the other

Democrats who lead the Congress Party in the Senate, are far too

cunning. They will talk about wanting to end the war and so on, but

the truth is that they know they can't do anything about it and it

suits them as they can blame the Republicans for the war in the

upcoming elections. But the ugly truth is that we can't stop the war

now. We are responsible for Iraq now. We have crushed it so now we own

it. I have never seen this country (America) in such a bad state. But

how big a percentage who actually cares, I don't know."

If the war in Iraq is the most palpable example of the decline of

America under Bush's reign, Bloom cites the U.S. media as another

casualty.

"'Media-ocrity' is what I call it. It is awful what kind of media we

have today. Nobody dared to stand up and criticize Bush when he

unlawfully went to war on Iraq. It is depressing, and shows what

direction this country has taken since he came to power -- a power

which did not rightfully belong to him. The media is not playing its

role. The Bushites are bullies and for a long time nobody dared

criticize them and just swallowed their propaganda and lies. People

have become scared. In this kind of climate, nobody is interested in

the critical voice. You ask about the role of the intellectual in

America today and I have to say: What role? What intellectuals? There

is no room for them in the simplified and dumbed down world of today's

media. We used to play a role, and there are still a few left, but we

are a dying breed. Nobody seems to be interested in nuance anymore."

This is where the real danger lies, he says.

"Democracy, whether in Sweden or the United States, depends on the

voter's capacity to think. If you have read the best of what has been

thought and said, then your cognition and understanding is on a much

higher level than if you have read Harry Potter or Stephen King. So

what this decline into half-literature and mediocre media really means

is de facto a self-destruction of democracy."

"Political correctness is the death for the mind, for literature. I am

terribly outspoken and don't try to hide it. I care passionately and I

say so. I want quality when it comes to everything, and insist on it.

I believe in the aesthetics, the beauty of good literature and I

believe in wisdom. People get angry because of that and think it is an

attack on them."

Harold Bloom has long been a central, yet lone, figure in the American

cultural debate.

In the 1950s, he battled T. S. Eliot, whose New Criticism then reigned

in literature classrooms. In the 1970s, he sparred with the

Deconstructionists, a group of mostly European intellectuals who

argued language was essentially devoid of meaning. In the 1990s'

Culture Wars, Bloom, who advocated an aesthetic approach to literature

against feminist, Marxist, new historicist, postmodernist, and other

new methods of academic literary criticism, found himself facing off

against feminist and multiculturalist critics after publishing "The

Western Canon," which many found too biased towards white male

writers. A great admirer of William Shakespeare and a defender of the

19th century Romantic poets, Bloom has written some 30 books, notably

the influential "The Anxiety of Influence" and "The Book of J," which

makes the unorthodox claim that parts of the Bible were written by a

woman.

"I don't think most people understand me, but that is life. I am often

portrayed as an anti-feminist. Of course, I am not against women's

equal rights in society. It would be madness and unintelligent not to

support that. What I am against is applying a political agenda to

literature. It kills it."

Contemplating his own legacy and work, Bloom describes himself an

anarchist who refuses to adhere to any school or paradigm; "an

agnostic Jew" who takes great pride in always having encouraged his

students to go their own way -- manifested by the fact that "none of

his former students' work resembles the other."

"I might be remembered as what I myself disparagingly call a 'period

piece,' a rather large period piece. One tries to justify one's

existence, one wants to believe one can do something good with a life

of teaching, writing and reading."

Once at the center of the American intellectual debate, Bloom today

considers himself a marginalized guerrilla fighter -- an old dinosaur

with the self-invented nickname "Bloom Brontosaurus."

"(Big sigh) We lost the war. What can I say? Nobody is interested in

quality any more."

But supporters and fans still write Bloom, like the teacher who

describes the discussion she has had with her students. Bloom, now

sitting at the computer in the salon, reads her email aloud:

"Some of them are quite upset with your harsh words regarding the

Harry Potter books, as you can imagine. As a teacher I love the

article and agree wholeheartedly with you, and so now we wonder if you

are still out there writing more controversial articles."

Looking up bemused, Bloom responds, "How funny!" and asks his wife,

Jeanne, to type his reply:

'As I am getting very old, I must avoid any quarrels. With best

regards, Harold Bloom.'

Bloom sighs again, puts his hand on his forehead while slowly shaking

it, and says with a resigned smile: "But you are right, Jeanne. What

is one known for? To have attacked Harry Potter and Stephen King!"

Eva Sohlman is a Swedish journalist and writer with credentials in

print, radio and TV. She is presently Editor and Producer of "The

World in Focus" ("V

Our country is a country of debtor's.

Our economy is not based on sustainable health - it is based low

interest credit to encourage compulsive spending, debt and living a

life of constant consumption with a 'disposable mentality' when it

comes to durable goods.

All the while they cry to reduce interest rates so the consumer can

buy more...then with he next breath they talk about reducing global

warming and conserving crude oil.

Are you starting to see the folly of thinking mankind can fix our woes

when our world is built on such a ludicrous foundation?

I will also say unless the brianiacs can replace crude oil with a very

close alternative we are headed for deep, deep trouble.

Peak oil, peak NG, peak food, peak water and overpopulation...those

are the basis for TEOTWAK in my scenario.

But it goes far beyond the American dream of being an energy

whore...for the American dream is a worldwide dream.

Just look at Dubai to see the American dream imported to the middle

east.

Look at CHINDIA. (China and India)

It is worldwide arrogance.

The problem of consumption is the games the Federal and World banks

play with interest rates. They manage the economies in ways to fuel

consumption and mask the real trend. Witness the recent cries for

Federal bankers to lower interest rates...so the stock market can go

up...fueled by spending of the consumer.

It is drug habit that Greenspan got us hooked on and we just can't get

away from.

The USA is built on consumer consumption to artificially fuel our

economy to make our retirement funds only go up. All this worldwide

consumption contributes to more and more global warming and the

depletion of our natural resources. 70% of the US GDP is based on

consumer spending.

Then the governments juggle the numbers to make the inflation figures

seem artificially low, so everyone's retirement portfolio will make

them happy so they will continue to buy and consume more...and on it

goes....IT IS ALL WE KNOW

Thoreau once said when people invited him to dinner they 'put their

pride' in how fancy and expensive a meal they could make. Whereas he

put his pride in how simple and inexpensive a meal he could make.

Where do we put our pride?

We surely don't put it in living within our means and in balance with

nature.

Now you can see why don't we do anything about global warming...perk

oil..overpopulation...because we can't.

To do anything substantive would cause a financial and population

backlash of unimaginable proportions.

The 'public' gets their underpants in a bind when the GNP declines at

all...even when it is still in the positive numbers.

They start a panic in the stock market when the GNP is +1%, so how can

it survive a -25% GNP drop if we wished to seriously work on global

warming and making fossil fuels last a few years longer?

And as for cutting back on our demands...well it goes against the

American dream.

There is no 'simple or easy answer' to this issue nor is there even a

'not so simple and hard answer' to our dilemma.

The world is in a death spiral. It is just how we have built our world

over the years.

Life as we know it in America is coming to an end in the not so

distant future.

I think our countries future will be that of...'America...a

Democratic, Communist Nation Under God.'

And maybe I am using the wrong word with communism?

Maybe it should be Nationalism? Socialism? I don't know since I have

little interest in politics.

As far for what I means, it could be compared somewhat to Plato's

Republic. Where the republic came first and people came second.

But with the US, the injection of Democratic values as well as a

spiritual foundation that supports our country from its earliest

beginnings would 'hopefully' separate us from the atheist based

communists that have been run as dictatorships.

Am I as Christian zealot?

No, I am an agnostic freethinker.

As for why I have come up with such a bold statement as 'America...a

Democratic, Communist Nation Under God?'

See these DVD's

1940's House PBS (albeit our enemy is not Germany...it is energy) And

witness something along the lines of a 'Democratic, Communist Nation

Under God.'

http://www.amazon.com/1940s-House-Marguerite-Patten/dp/B0000AYL47

A Crude Awakening

http://www.oilcrashmovie.com/

End of Suburbia

http://www.endofsuburbia.com/

Oil Apocalypse

http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=108290

See these books:

http://www.amazon.com/Out-Gas-End-Age-Oil/dp/0393058573

http://www.amazon.com/Hubberts-Peak-Impending-World-Shortage/dp/0691116253

http://www.lastoilshock.com/

....put it all together and you have 'America...a Democratic, Communist

Nation Under God.' as the 'best fit ' equation.

And for dessert...add 'politics as usual'

See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F

And we can see nothing substantive will or can be done in the US to

fix our woes.

BTW, do I like communism?

No, not really, I like things EXACTLY as they are. I like being an

energy whore and sucking down the crude just as you do. I like running

my dirt bikes, jet skis, RV and driving my car.

But what I like doesn't matter...neither does what you like matter.

What does matter is 'what our country likes' or more appropriately

'needs' in order to survive.

If we look at the root of communism it is that of the commune-ist. The

hippy communes and the Israeli Kibbutz's and the modern day survival

devotees that plan to buy some land and develop a 'survival community'

to live of the land all share in the same commune-ist dream.

But the point is not to persuade you to be a communist, but to foster

a realization that for the US to survive, we must put 'what matters to

our country' on the front burner...and as our country survives...so do

we survive.

Alan Watts used to say, it doesn't matter what you think, it doesn't

matter what you like, it doesn't matter what you hope for...all that

really matters is what IS.

Sure we keep our treasured paper money, our guns, and what have you.

Guns are a populations last line of defense.

Look at Afghanistan...they beat Russia and the US is still having

trouble with 'the people' there....all because of an armed

population.

BTW, whenever I think of the Afghanis I think back to the poem.

"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,

And the women come out to cut up what remains,

Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains.

And go to your Gawd like a soldier" ~ Kipling

So NEVER, NEVER give up your guns...for when the guns go, so does your

freedom. Guns are the foundation of freedom.

Money??

Well, money will not be worth much anyway. Money is nothing more than

stored energy. But since the crude dried up, the 'real energy' behind

the money has vanished...and so did private industry.

So, what is money good for nowadays...to wipe your ass?

Not really, the government supplied toilet paper works better than

that.

What about the coal mines? All government owned. If you want to eat

you work in the mines or where the gov places you...it is that

simple.

This is how our country can claim to be a 'communist democracy' We are

not a slave driven dictatorship, You still have 'some freedoms.' You

can work or not work as you please. But, don't expect a gov handout if

you do not want to contribute to the countries survival needs....and

as our country survives so do we survive.

Religion? Well, the atheists can still be atheists and the Christians,

Muslims and Jews can still worship as they like.

But the big difference in our government is; instead of the ego based

decisions that politicians and the titans of business get sucked into,

the politicians will put the long term US viability as top priority

over personal profit.

How do we accomplish this? I don't know, since politicians are

normally ego based, lying, power hungry individuals. But this is an

area that has to be perfected the best we can with accepting we deal

with imperfect humans.

If we look at the various powers the government has though executive

orders, we are pretty much there (a Democratic, Communist Nation Under

God.) without much effort.

Here are just a few of them...

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10990 allows the government to take over all modes of

transportation and control of highways and seaports.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10995 allows the government to seize and control the

communication media.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10997 allows the government to take over all

electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels and minerals.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10998 allows the government to take over all food

resources and farms.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11000 allows the government to mobilize civilians into

work brigades under government supervision.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11001 allows the government to take over all health,

education and welfare functions.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11002 designates the Postmaster General to operate a

national registration of all persons.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11003 allows the government to take over all airports

and aircraft, including commercial aircraft.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11004 allows the Housing and Finance Authority to

relocate communities, build new housing with public funds, designate

areas to be abandoned, and establish new locations for populations.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11005 allows the government to take over railroads,

inland waterways and public storage facilities.

http://sonic.net/sentinel/gvcon5.html

What happened to all our individual freedoms with these executive

orders?

It was lost long ago in the deluded American dream that believes the

individual American can survive on their own. Without a strong

government you guys would be speaking Chinese or Russian. What

happened to the personal property of Iraq when the US took it down?

Ditto for your homes and McMansions if another country decided 'to

move' here.

You think it is political biz as usual in the US in the upcoming

election?

It makes little difference.

The world is in a death spiral and politicians as well as industry are

pretending this problem does not exist. No Politician can fix our

woes. the best we can do is to make the most of our dilemma.

We can only blame ourselves, for it is just how we have built our

world over the years....too many people, living outside of natures

intended balance and not an infinite supply of energy to fuel all our

demands.

So Dem or Rep...any politician in charge had better come to terms with

how things really are and not live in dream land...we are running out

of time as our fossil fuel supplies dwindle.

You know every country will not run out of crude all at once.

Without energy our country is open for takeover ... no jets...no

tanks...no transport on the ground or in the air. Luckily we will

still have nuclear powered submarines and aircraft carriers as long as

the uranium holds out. But the jets on the flattop all use jet fuel.

All the supplies for those subs and carriers petroleum dependent.

Other countries such as Russia that have a good supply of nationally

based crude may not be so kind to keep on selling it to us, We will

need a 'local and continual' source somewhat within our borders for

national security. You see, jet fuel as well as gasoline deteriorates

and cannot be stored indefinitely. So we must always be producing some

of it to replace the stale stuff to supply the military.

So long before the crude dries up the government must 'secure a

supply' of crude for it own needs. This is what is driving the North

American Union. This is why illegal aliens are pretty much free to do

what they wish in the US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Union

NAFTA came about as a way for the US to get its hands on the energy

output of Canada and Mexico. And part of that agreement (unwritten)

was to relax the law somewhat on the illegals coming from Mexico.

In short...if you want our crude you take some of our illegals

As our world changes and our drug supply dries up, things will only

get worse. And the bigger the city - the bigger the hellhole it will

become. And this time RIGHT NOW is the defining moment as to whether

most of our population will die off or not in the crisis that awaits

us in the not so distant future.

Besides crude oil, have you ever thought about how much of our life is

dependent on natural gas for cooking, heating and hot water?

How many of our homes are set up for efficient heating with natural

methods such as wood, pellet, passive solar?

My house is not.

I never gave this subject any thought until I learned about peak

natural gas. And by then it was too late.

My house is as far as it can be from the 'ideal house' that can be

heated my natural methods. And to make maters worse, I live in the NE

US, where it gets plenty cold.

Do you know that much of your life is dependent on natural gas

outside its use as an energy source?

Natural gas is a raw material in many of our products we depend on.

Almost all the helium we produce comes from natural gas.

Propane, synthetic fertilizers, ammonia?

They are totally dependent on natural gas.

Our population boom was fueled by synthetic fertilizers made from

natural; gas. Once the gas dries up so does the fertilizer and a

shortage of fertilizer equals a shortage of food.

Natural; gas is also used as an energy source to produce steel, glass,

paper, clothing, brick, electricity

We will run out of natural gas, just as we deplete our crude supplies

in the near future.

http://www.amazon.com/High-Noon-Natural-Gas-Energy/dp/1931498539

http://www.enotes.com/how-products-encyclopedia/natural-gas

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/icm/2003/4-14-2003/natgasn.html

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/non-renewable/naturalgas.html#WHATITISUSEDFOR

Many people just think of crude oil for gasoline production.

From this list we can see that we are still massively depend on crude

for our non sustainable lifestyle. There is no replacement for

crude...crude is in the details of our life.

So even if we all stop driving we will just be postponing the

inevitable that our artificial way of living is going to change in the

not so distant future.

A partial list of products made from Petroleum (144 of over 6000

items) One 42-gallon barrel of oil creates 19.4 gallons of gasoline.

The rest (over half) is used to make things like:

Solvents Diesel Motor Oil Bearing Grease

Ink Floor Wax Ballpoint Pens Football Cleats

Upholstery Sweaters Boats Insecticides

Bicycle Tires Sports Car Bodies Nail Polish Fishing lures

Dresses Tires Golf Bags Perfumes

Cassettes Dishwasher Tool Boxes Shoe Polish

Motorcycle Helmet Caulking Petroleum Jelly Transparent Tape

CD Player Faucet Washers Antiseptics Clothesline

Curtains Food Preservatives Basketballs Soap

Vitamin Capsules Antihistamines Purses Shoes

Dashboards Cortisone Deodorant Footballs

Putty Dyes Panty Hose Refrigerant

Percolators Life Jackets Rubbing Alcohol Linings

Skis TV Cabinets Shag Rugs Electrician's Tape

Tool Racks Car Battery Cases Epoxy Paint

Mops Slacks Insect Repellent Oil Filters

Umbrellas Yarn Fertilizers Hair Coloring

Roofing Toilet Seats Fishing Rods Lipstick

Denture Adhesive Linoleum Ice Cube Trays Synthetic Rubber

Speakers Plastic Wood Electric Blankets Glycerin

Tennis Rackets Rubber Cement Fishing Boots Dice

Nylon Rope Candles Trash Bags House Paint

Water Pipes Hand Lotion Roller Skates Surf Boards

Shampoo Wheels Paint Rollers Shower Curtains

Guitar Strings Luggage Aspirin Safety Glasses

Antifreeze Football Helmets Awnings Eyeglasses

Clothes Toothbrushes Ice Chests Footballs

Combs CD's Paint Brushes Detergents

Vaporizers Balloons Sun Glasses Tents

Heart Valves Crayons Parachutes Telephones

Enamel Pillows Dishes Cameras

Anesthetics Artificial Turf Artificial limbs Bandages

Dentures Model Cars Folding Doors Hair Curlers

Cold cream Movie film Soft Contact lenses Drinking Cups

Fan Belts Car Enamel Shaving Cream Ammonia

Refrigerators Golf Balls Toothpaste Gasoline

Americans consume petroleum products at a rate of three-and-a-half

gallons of oil and more than 250 cubic feet of natural gas per day

each!

http://www.beloit.edu/~SEPM/Geology_and_the_enviro/Petroleum_need.html

Realize this, throughout history many great nations that once were are

not around any longer.

Hopefully the US will understand this and start accepting the truth

that something has to give and it can't be business as usual.

Always remember, none of us will be ultimate survivors, we all have to

die one day. But the successful survivor extends his or her life

beyond an earlier death...a death that was caused by ignorance of how

to make that life last longer.

You still have some valuable time left to prepare for what awaits you

down the road.

We are in the 'Indian Summer' of a carbon based world. Don't wait

until the winter sets in to start work on your preparedness efforts.

Also see:

Beyond Civilization: humanity's next great adventure

by Quinn, Daniel

Beyond Oil: the view from Hubbert's Peak

by Deffeyes, Kenneth S.

http://www.princeton.edu/hubbert/

Bowling Alone: the collapse and revival of American community

by Putnam, Robert D.

Breathe No Evil

Safe-Tek Publishers

Collapse

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse_(book

The Coming Economic Collapse - how you can thrive when oil costs $200

a barrel

by Leeb, Stephen

Crossing the Rubicon: the decline of the American empire at the end of

the age of oil

by Ruppert, Michael C.

Dancing at Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times

by Richard G. Mitchell Jr

The Long Emergency: surviving the converging catastrophes of the

twenty-first century

by Kunstler, James Howard

The Oil Depletion Protocol : a plan to avert oil wars, terrorism and

economic collapse

by Heinberg, Richard

Peak Oil Survival: preparation for life after gridcrash

by McBay, Aric

Powerdown: options and actions for a post-carbon world

by Heinberg, Richard

Resource Wars: the new landscape of global conflict

by Klare, Michael T

http://www.amazon.com/Resource-Wars-Landscape-Conflict-Introduction/dp/0805055762

A Thousand Barrels a Second: the coming oil break point and the

challenges facing an energy dependent world

by Tertzakian, Peter

Twilight in the Desert: the coming Saudi oil shock and the world

economy

by Simmons, Matthew R.

Zoom:the global race to fuel the car of the future

by Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran.

Take care,

V (Male)

Agnostic Freethinker

Practical Philosopher

Futurist

Urban Homesteader

Agnostic minister of secular humanism to the mind-

manacled...spiritually sick...defiance based atheist.

AA#2

'Honor dies where interest lies.'

People like to talk about how to fix global warming and peak oil.

Well, nothing can be done about either of these topics.

Humans are too invested is delusion and money to do a damn thing. And

to do anything substantive would cause a financial and population

backlash of unimaginable proportions.

Lets look at just 'a token move' in the right direction...a move that

wont fix a thing, but would buy us a little more time.

Can we cut back on GNP by 25%?

Cut back on utility use at home by 25%

Cut back on driving by 25%?

Cut back on consumption whether it be food or hard goods by 25%?

Cut back on interstate trucking by 25%?

Cut back on air travel by 25%

And cut back in all related areas that use energy or petrochemicals by

25%?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

The 'public' gets their underpants in a bind when the GNP declines at

all...even when it is still in the positive numbers.

They start a panic in the stock market when the GNP is +1%, so how can

it survive a -25% GNP drop?.

And as for cutting back on our demands...well it goes against the

American dream.

And even if America decided to cut back 25%, that is only a drop in

the bucket, as the rest of the world is ever increasing their demands

on the environment and would soon make up for such a small decrease in

greenhouse gas and fossil fuel depletion.

In addition, if we cut back 100% on the burning of fossil fuels, the

petrochemical business would still deplete our crude oil, albeit on a

longer time scale.

Petrochemicals make up a large portion of crude's importance to

mankind.

A partial list of some of the products made from crude oil.

Solvents Diesel Motor Oil Bearing Grease Ink Floor Wax Ballpoint Pens

Football Cleats Upholstery Sweaters Boats Insecticides Bicycle Tires

Sports Car Bodies Nail Polish Fishing lures Dresses Tires Golf Bags

Perfumes Cassettes Dishwasher Tool Boxes Shoe Polish Motorcycle Helmet

Caulking Petroleum Jelly Transparent Tape CD Player Faucet Washers

Antiseptics Clothesline Curtains Food Preservatives Basketballs Soap

Vitamin Capsules Antihistamines Purses Shoes Dashboards Cortisone

Deodorant Footballs Putty Dyes Panty Hose Refrigerant Percolators Life

Jackets Rubbing Alcohol Linings Skis TV Cabinets Shag Rugs

Electrician's Tape Tool Racks Car Battery Cases Epoxy Paint Mops

Slacks Insect Repellent Oil Filters Umbrellas Yarn Fertilizers Hair

Coloring Roofing Toilet Seats Fishing Rods Lipstick Denture Adhesive

Linoleum Ice Cube Trays Synthetic Rubber Speakers Plastic Wood

Electric Blankets Glycerin Tennis Rackets Rubber Cement Fishing Boots

Dice Nylon Rope Candles Trash Bags House Paint Water Pipes Hand Lotion

Roller Skates Surf Boards Shampoo Wheels Paint Rollers Shower Curtains

Guitar Strings Luggage Aspirin Safety Glasses Antifreeze Football

Helmets Awnings Eyeglasses Clothes Toothbrushes Ice Chests Footballs

Combs CD's Paint Brushes Detergents Vaporizers Balloons Sun Glasses

Tents Heart Valves Crayons Parachutes Telephones Enamel Pillows Dishes

Cameras Anesthetics Artificial Turf Artificial limbs Bandages Dentures

Model Cars Folding Doors Hair Curlers Cold cream Movie film Soft

Contact lenses Drinking Cups Fan Belts Car Enamel Shaving Cream

Ammonia Refrigerators Golf Balls Toothpaste Gasoline

http://www.beloit.edu/~SEPM/Geology_and_the_enviro/Petroleum_need.html

Are you starting to see the folly of thinking mankind can stop global

warming or fix our peak oil woes, when our world is built on such a

ludicrous foundation?

But, lets forget the public for a moment and look at someone in the

know.

Matt Savinar is one of the well known names in peak oil circles and

runs the 'Life After the Oil Crash' website and was interviewed in the

movie 'A Crude Awakening.'

In the movie Matt Savinar said he would probably not vote for a

president that would adopt strong peak oil measures, giving an example

of cutting back on auto production which in turn would cut back on

Americas GNP.

So if someone in the know cannot stomach what needs to be done how on

earth could an everyday Joe or Jane do it?

When it comes down to the tough decisions it is always a case

of...honor dies where the interest lies

Matt Savinar may not have been exactly right when he said "oil is our

god" in the movie Crude Awakening - our real god is CONSUMPTION.

We consume our planet whether it be animal, mineral or even its

environment.

I guess it is just how we humans are.

Mankind is just a little 'too smart' for his environment and learned

to live beyond natures intended means - on 'steroids of crude' so to

speak. But mankind does not seem 'smart enough' to fix the mess that

it has created for itself.

Yes, mankind has done great things over their reign on earth, but we

must always remember nature does not bow to man...it is man that

always bows to nature.

Humans need 'moral guidance' or a moral conscience since they have a

'free will' of sorts or they will self-destruct from wrong actions if

left to their own 'freedom of choice' without this moral conscience.

Actually it is like this.

We are free to do what we want -- but are not free to want what we

want. As all our actions have consequences, and many of our actions

produce consequences that end up destroying peace. (both ours and

other's peace).

This is what separates us from the animals that run solely on

instinct. Humans run by instinct as well as moral guidance.

Sure, most humans try to do good, but when decisions have to be made,

mistakes can and will happen.

And sometime these mistakes lead to ends that just cannot be fixed and

we must accept responsibility for our actions. Once we accept

responsibility, we can at least be at a semblance peace with the

outcome of our actions and recover a modicum of honor in the process.

Take care,

V (Male)

Agnostic Freethinker

Practical Philosopher

Futurist

Urban Homesteader

On Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:31:14 -0800 (PST), "Kickin' Ass and Takin'

Names" <PopUlist349@hotmail.com> wrote:

>Harold Bloom: "What We Are Seeing Is the Fall of America"

>By Eva Sohlman, The Wip

>Posted on January 15, 2008, Printed on January 15, 2008

>http://www.alternet.org/story/73720/

>Harold Bloom, Yale literature professor and cultural critic, is one of

The sky is falling, the sky is falling. Squawk, squawk.

In article <388ab787-60e5-4eed-8c28-e69f14cc31b9

@i3g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>, PopUlist349@hotmail.com says...

> Harold Bloom: "What We Are Seeing Is the Fall of America"

> By Eva Sohlman, The Wip

> Posted on January 15, 2008, Printed on January 15, 2008

> http://www.alternet.org/story/73720/

> Harold Bloom, Yale literature professor and cultural critic, is one of

> America's most prominent and provocative intellectuals. Unabashedly,

> he has always spoken up for what he calls "the fight for truth and

> beauty" making a lot of foes in the process, but also some friends. As

> one of the first critical voices against the Bush administration and

> the war in Iraq, Bloom landed in the hot seat with the satire

> "MacBush" in 2004. Lately, he sparked worldwide outrage by calling

> Harry Potter "garbage." Speaking at his home in New Haven where he is

> recovering from a recent health scare, a pale and weak Bloom seems to

> have symbolically embodied what he calls the "poor state of the

> nation."

>

> "I am 77 years old and I have never seen this country in such a bad

> state. It is madness. What we are seeing is the fall of the Roman

> Empire, only now it is the fall of America, the glory of our Empire.

> This war is what Parthia was to Rome.

>

> "The horror of what is taking place in Iraq exceeds my worst fears

> five or six years ago (after Bush came to power). I am horrified at

> the disastrous mistake involved. Imagine the complete madness in

> trying to occupy a large Arab country in the middle of the Arab world,

> a culture we know precious little about, and who speaks a language

> only a handful of our specialists can speak, with armed forces which

> we have limited control of and with a large army of private

> soldiers .... The whole thing is a scandal ... a series of lies. I

> don't understand the motivation for the war, but suspect the real

> reason for the war, which one would suspect of a country which is a

> third oligarchy, a third plutocracy and a third theocracy, is that it

> simply is a profitable machine."

>

> Sitting in the middle of his living room and in the brown leather

> armchair from which he has given most of his interviews in recent

> years, Bloom sighs deeply and a sad grimace spreads over his

> expressive face. It soon switches to anger, as he expands on the

> consequences of the war and, ultimately, of Bush at power: a growing

> national debt and a weakened dollar in tandem with a spiraling war

> budget, as well as America's lost credibility on the international

> stage due to the Iraq war and the situation in Afghanistan. Not to

> mention Guantanamo Bay, the use of torture and humiliation at Abu

> Ghraib and the CIA's rendition program.

>

> "We have caused a monstrous mess. We don't even count killed Iraqis.

> God knows how many Iraqi women, children and men have been killed by

> our accidental shootings, which we are such experts at, or by other

> Iraqis. No, 'Benito Bush' (Bloom's pet name for President George Bush)

> deserves, if we had a functioning civil law in the world, to be

Maybe I'm wrong, but I find it very hard to believe that Bush is not

doing what he is doing on purpose. You don't ruin a country like the US

due to a few simple errors in judgement. Someone is profiting, or

planning to profit from the ruination of your country. It's sad when a

movie like "Death of a President" comes out and you hear people saying

"Why can't it be real?".