It's more about thought than action, although plenty of people are shot and beat-up.

But it all comes down to this...do you want to be a cog in the system or control the system?

This is the issue confronting America today. Used to be the cogs were well-taken care of. They had high-paying jobs for life. With good health care. A line worker for GM could own a boat and go on vacation.

Not anymore.

Now no one believes the corporation is on their side. And the biggest winners are thieves, even though they're lionized.

Like Bill Gates.

He charged for Windows even if you didn't put it on the machine. Which dented Linux. Which ensured Windows' triumph in the marketplace. But now he is lauded as a humanitarian.

What is that aphorism, "behind every great fortune lies a great crime"?

The only difference between Mexico and the U.S. is that in the U.S. it's done under the appearance of legality, whereas in Mexico the corruption is visible right up front.

So, Felix Gallardo has a plan. He wants to unite the plazas and then stand up to the Colombian cocaine cartel. He wants to end internecine warfare and then stick it to the man.

The only problem is he can't keep the plazas (i.e. regional cartels), in line. They're all cowboys. Fighting each other. Like in the Democratic primary.

And one of Gallardo's lieutenants ultimately says the price Felix extracts is too high.

So, you need to pay off the police. Pretty easy to do. Actually, Felix Gallardo started out as a policeman. You ultimately give them no choice. Corruption is better than death.

And then you pay off the politicians.

Gallardo is stumped when the new candidate won't take his money. EVERYBODY needs his money.

Finally the real story outs. The new President plans to privatize much of the nation's industry and the people he's delivering for are fronting his campaign. AND IT HAPPENED! Before there were only three Mexicans on the Forbes list, after there were double-digits.

And you wonder how everybody got so rich.

The public has had enough. So a clean candidate is drafted and then the PRI, the party in control, rigs the election. It's Felix's idea. The key is to promote false results from Mexico City initially, so the voters in the rest of the country will become demoralized and not even bother to vote and the PRI candidate will win legally. When the subterfuge surfaces, the cartels just change the results, ensuring the new regime's fealty to Felix.

Sound far-fetched?

Can you say "hanging chads"?

Can you say "voter suppression"?

Can you say "Iowa caucus"?

Forever America has convinced itself that it is the best, that it can't happen here, but it has and continues to do so.

Kinda like the Donald last night. Stopping the coronavirus through his voice. And then, today, a whistleblower came out and said that the possibly infected returnees were greeted by government workers sans protection, who subsequently flew on planes all over the country: wapo.st/32vXW8X When she raised her hand, she was reassigned! And why would anybody be a whistleblower anymore anyway, after impeachment. Trump was exonerated and then cleaned house, just like a drug lord. You can no longer rely on the rule of law.

Now if you want the definitive story of the Mexican drug war, read Don Winslow's "Power of the Dog" trilogy. It's fiction, but it nails it.

But "Narcos Mexico" is essentially true. You keep pinching yourself. Can this really happen?

And you recognize some of the names, like El Chapo.

And the elite of our government are in cahoots with the Mexicans, undercutting the agents in the field. And the DEA and the FBI are at war.

And it's all about loyalty, just like with Trump.

And everyone needs to be taught a lesson, to stay in line, which is where Trump's purge comes in.

Now I see these Mexicans in Vail, the resort is famous for it. They're all wearing the latest fashions, even the children are wearing Bogner. And there are stories how some fly home and leave the clothing behind, the money doesn't matter! Corruption sowed so many of those fortunes.

And there's corruption here. It's rampant. But the IRS has been hampered and it seems like almost all of the Wall Streeters get off while they extract cash from our economy and give nothing back. Wall Street used to build things, now it's a business unto itself.

But in a country where we're all in our own silos, we can't unite and stand up to the man and the corruption.

Meanwhile, the news is a disinformation machine. Trump and Fox have made facts fungible, while decimating the reputations of other media, which rarely stand up to the man, they print false equivalencies.

And just like Trump is a vapid TV star, whose CV is shaky, what about all those people on TV news? Tune in. There's no reporting, just bloviating. All the reporting is done by the NYT and the WaPo, which are quoted constantly.

As for the NYT...it's on a single-minded mission to prevent Bernie Sanders from winning the nomination. Believing that the media can sway the mind-set of the people. But less than ever before. Bloomberg is spending all that money and he hasn't won yet.

But he might.

And if he does, it'll be just like Felix Gallardo. The strongman keeps the peace, the man with the money does it his way.

If Bloomberg wins it'll be because people want protection, not because they believe in him. After all, he's really a Republican.

Now the cartels are run like Mafia families, you don't cross 'em and you can never get out. Which is why Trump's cronies pledge fealty...they want the spoils and they're afraid of what will happen to them if they go against the grain, I mean look at Vindman.

Everybody knows the story of Pablo Escobar, but he's dead.

Once you move on to the Mexican drug-lords the story is more murky, if for no other reason than it's still going on. We hear all about the opioid manufacturers. What we don't hear is the Mexicans move in and sell cheap heroin to help the addicted with their fix, they'll even deliver it to your house!

But most people don't know this.

Most people don't know much, and they're susceptible to lies.

So, "Narcos Mexico" is a learning experience. Only one man (or woman) can be on top. It's a fight for that spot. And you always have to be on guard, you can never relax. And keeping your organization in line is a full-time job, and you do it via violence, no one wants to die, then it's over, done deal.

This is business today. All over the world. One person's will herded over others, squeezing out the competition.

But they cover it up with their philanthropy, just like Pablo Escobar and these drug-lords.

So in Mexico you can't stand up to the man. You literally get shot. You read the news, don't you?

But it's turning out that way in America too. You may not get shot, but they want to make sure you get no power. This is Bernie's mission. Who cares what he'll do in office, we want one of ours in there, who hopefully won't be corrupted.

Because we've lost faith.

America is run by drug-lords just like Mexico. Only they hide behind names like Facebook and GM and...play your cards wrong and you lose power, like GE.

And there's only one metric, MONEY!

Which is what the Dow is all about.

Come on, it doesn't mean anything to you, right?

But to the big swinging dicks it does, this is how the keep score, this is how they gain entrance, this is how they raise money at low rates.

So, we've got a lack of sophistication crossed with strongmen, and they are mostly men.

Education is given lip service, but there's no money for it.

Taxes have to be lowered so money can trickle down like a drug-lord builds a soccer field.

We were supposed to be different.

I'm not sure we are anymore.

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