Detroit And The Death Of Capitalism

The creation of a work of art, like an act of love, is our one small "yes" at the center of a vast "no".
Gore Vidal, The Selected Essays Of Gore Vidal, p. 14 

Detroit is not very far from the Oracle of Ottawa's bunker in south-end Ottawa. Why it is just a drive down the 416, a right onto the 401 to Windsor and then cross the bridge. Why even the two biggest local Detroit TV stations are included in the Oracles TV cable package, it is darn near like being there! In another Black Day In July, this time on July 18, 2013, Detroit has filed for Chapter 9 Bankruptcy, the largest filing of its type in the history of the United States (so far). 

Joe Louis Monument - Detroit

How in hell can the thirteenth largest city in the United States of America go bankrupt? And Detroit is not just another City, it was and still is to some extent, the Motor City, the Arsenal of Democracy, the Mother F*cking Big 'D'! In 1950 there were 1,850,000 in Detroit, as of 2013 there are 701,000.  You hear all kinds of causes, the most often heard is "white flight" caused by "deindustrialization". But if you dig into the nut of the matter you will soon discover that the real cause of the decline of Detroit is the charter townships!

It is impossible in Detroit to start up a Regional Municipality of Detroit! Although there is "only" 701,000 people in the old core of Detroit now, there is at present, over 5,000,000 people in the Detroit Metro Area! Now the Detroit Metro Area consists of 330 local governments (!) which by the 1947 legislation can never be annexed into an efficient administrative body! The Oracle can hear all the people in Canada and the European Union saying the same thing; How nuts is that?

At the time of this writing in Detroit there are 90,000 abandoned lots, 70,000 abandoned buildings, and 31,000 abandoned houses! The word is that you could place Paris and Bremen in the empty parts of Detroit and still have room left over! If you don't believe the Oracle of Ottawa just check out Google Earth and go for a street view walk in Detroit, or enter Detroit on You Tube and you can watch for hours in utter amazement and horror at how insane the whole mess really is. Why even the pigeons and shit hawks have given up on Detroit!  It is truly just about beyond comprehension! Is this the efficient result of Adam Smith's invisible hand?
 

Another favorite excuse of the right wing wack balls in the United States is that it is all the fault of Detroit being strongly Democrat for the last 50 years! But if that is indeed true why can't the Oracle of Ottawa find at least one small Detroit in the European Union or in Canada? And there are many cities in the European Union and Canada that are as old or much more older than Detroit! You will be able to come only to one conclusion, Detroit is not a disaster of circumstance, it is simply a disaster of governance.

Where The Words Come From

A baser meaning has been read into these characters the literal sense of which decency can safely scarcely hint.
James Joyce, Finnegans Wake, p. 33

I know that this will come as a real shock to my Dear Readers of the world, but being Canadian can be really weird! As per North America in general Canada is not an ethnic nation state, as say Germany which contains over 90% German people. Or Russia which has mostly Russians. Or Poland, which has I hear, a lot of Polish people. Canada especially in Nova Scotia and Eastern and Southern Ontario has a bit, hit or trace of everything from all over the world. Not to forget to mention the peoples that were here way before us European Johnny come lately's!

The Oracle of Ottawa has concluded from long life experience this can make for interesting outcomes and some really weird Thanksgiving dinners! And totally obscure obsessions and pursuits, which rise up from deep in the ancient DNA of the family tree. The Oracle of Ottawa has to fight it most all the time, the piles of books in the secure bunker are always on the verge of nearly taking over. The long suffering wife pleading for some floor space and a general sort and stack. The constant ascensions and de-ascensions of volumes numerous. And that un-killable urge to write things so that they sound right. It all doesn't have to say anything on the surface, the message is in the rythm. Where the hell does this all come from?

The Oracle of Ottawas make up is French, Anglo Saxon, on my fathers side and Irish, French with a 1/8th twist of Aboriginal on my mothers fathers side. The inevitable fallout of chasing those stupid fur bearing animals all those years ago... Pondering this for a moment can make for some very strange thought chains and philisophical twists and turns. But it truly has its advantages also. A well written legal text is as fascinating as an old master drawing! And when ever I hear an Aboriginal drum circle the hair on the back of my neck stands right up. It took some questions and answers to my Mom to figure all this out, but I,m good with it...

Now my Mothers Mom was Irish, and Lord she was truly Irish. Now imagine ramming all this together into one person and you can see where all the weirdness comes from. And in closing, I heard that!, it is truly fascinating being in my head!

"And my one eyed mongrel twice run over..."