Today’s uproar – How many more dominoes will fall after Egypt?

There is a great deal of speculation this weekend, after the successful protests against Egypt’s Mubarak government, that many other vulnerable governments may fall in a similar way. Three indicators:

1. Iran’s green opposition calls rally despite government ban
2. Algeria set for weekly protests Also: Algeria shuts down internet and Facebook as protest mounts
3. Gaddafi tells Palestinians: revolt against Israel
4. Libya may have its own problems because it too is ruled by a dictatorship:

Could something like this happen in the United States? At the moment it may seem unlikely. However, there are enough people feeling enough pain that it is not beyond the realm of possibility:

When Democracy Weakens

So what we get in this democracy of ours are astounding and increasingly obscene tax breaks and other windfall benefits for the wealthiest, while the bought-and-paid-for politicians hack away at essential public services and the social safety net, saying we can’t afford them. One state after another is reporting that it cannot pay its bills. Public employees across the country are walking the plank by the tens of thousands. Camden, N.J., a stricken city with a serious crime problem, laid off nearly half of its police force. Medicaid, the program that provides health benefits to the poor, is under savage assault from nearly all quarters.

The poor, who are suffering from an all-out depression, are never heard from. In terms of their clout, they might as well not exist. The Obama forces reportedly want to raise a billion dollars or more for the president’s re-election bid. Politicians in search of that kind of cash won’t be talking much about the wants and needs of the poor. They’ll be genuflecting before the very rich.

That’s in the New York Times this weekend. At some point, do enough people get fed up with the genuflecting?

See also: Today’s Uproar – Egypt cuts off the Internet and Cell Phones

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