For many years, as I mulled over what was wrong with our country, I have always tended to buy into the standard themes. These are the theories that characterize Americans as stupid, lazy, and apathetic. If those themes were true, how then does the rest of the world measure up? Do they have superior intelligence and robot like work ethics? Do they participate in their government to some degree beyond that which we are inclined to? No, clearly they don't. In fact, many European countries have jobs that offer months, not weeks, of vacation time. I can't imagine European people being any smarter or more educated than our people- although I have tried to find a credible and comparative resource to prove my suspicions. Very generally speaking, I don't think that other countries take a more active role in their government nor are they less apathetic about it than Americans. All in all, I think that the standard judgements that we use to describe Americans must be inaccurate or simply wrong.
If we can't blame our national malaise on stupid, lazy, and apathetic Americans- what then is the problem? Maybe there is something else that is the root cause. Perhaps there is some practice that we all engage in daily because we have found it to be the most expedient choice as we go about our daily lives.
Brace yourself.
Maybe we simply engage in dishonest conduct. Perhaps we are emotionally dishonest with ourselves, dishonest in a lot of our dealings, at our work, and with our families. Does dishonesty create emotional distress in us? That's the case I am making here. We don't like dishonesty but we have been taught that it is some necessary evil. So I thought I'd touch on three giant areas of dishonesty. The workplace, relationships, and our world in general.
I don't care whether you work on a car lot, as a lawyer overcharging people, as a banker sitting on your ass all day charging folks ridiculous interest rates, or a doctor over prescribing tests not because they are necessary- but because you are trying to bolster your defense for a potential malpractice suit. We live in a very dishonest world where dishonest conduct is seen as good- so long as we can justify engaging in it and it provides a measurable positive result for the entity we work for and in turn, ourselves. I like to think of it as capitalism on steroids- with only outrageous and provable misconduct as a boundary.
I want you to stop and think. How many dishonest activities does your employer ask you to engage in?
I have a good friend who is an insurance adjuster. His sole purpose in life is to be the front man for the fine print. That dishonest and undisclosed fine print that comes to light only after you file a damage claim with an insurance company. The adjuster's key role is to reduce the company's liabilities by whatever means is marginally legal. Translated that means- you are going to get the worst settlement conceivable. Adjusters don't go to any length to tell you that their findings are arbitrary and appeal able- in fact they go to great lengths to make you believe that their offer is exactly the opposite- non negotiable.
Now I could go on and on about workplace dishonesty- but I'd be wasting time. Nobody knows workplace dishonesty better than than the people engaging in it. So let's move on to something else. Let's touch on emotional dishonesty.
Nowhere in my life have I personally been more dishonest about my feelings- than when it comes to relationships. Intimate relationships are extremely fertile ground for dishonest feelings or non disclosed feelings, particularly in matters revolving around sex. In fact very often, I like to think of intimate relationships as the "Miracle Gro" for dishonesty. My relationships, intimate and otherwise, are very often predicated on my willingness not to disclose how I am actually feeling. Millions upon millions of people do this. In fact, we probably all do this. People might tell the truth about how they are feeling if they thought some solution was possible. However, with no solution on the horizon, people see no reason to discuss their feelings when the only likely outcome is more grief or that the problem actually gets worse. So non disclosure becomes a very common form of dishonesty.
We are bombarded by dishonesty everywhere. From the non stop marketing by corporate America selling us cars and insurance, to diet pills and larger penis pills, or 4 hour erections. You ever wonder how many people actually experience a four hour erection? Have you? Marketing and advertising is all predicated on dishonesty.
The last bastion of dishonesty I want to touch on is our country and government. Nobody engages in more lies and deception than the government of the United States. To understand this, all you have to do is read. The more you read and educate yourself, the worse it gets. I have written nearly 1800 blogs detailing it quite nicely. Let's just say if you are shopping for role models for honest behavior- don't stop at the government store.
So I've extended my premise to you that dishonesty in virtually all facets of our lives- greatly contributes to our national depression.
La Conclusion
How could any person short of a sociopath, engage in the levels of dishonest behavior that this country does without getting frustrated, cynical, and angry?
People aren't stupid, lazy, or apathetic. In fact, they are simply responding to the world as they see it. If they are not required to think- they won't. If they are not required to work- they won't. If they see no reason to vote because one vote will not make a difference- they won't. That doesn't mean that they can't do those things- but that they have simply chosen not to.
That is an opportunity cost. Given no superior choice, people have no reason to believe that anything they engage in will make any kind of positive difference. So they don't.
Our national depression has been brought about by decades of dishonest behavior. Dishonest behavior is not diminished simply because we refuse to acknowledge it. It does not fail to exist merely because we say so. Dishonest behavior is not something we can tolerate or engage in and then go home at night and feel good about ourselves. I know I can't. In fact, I won't take a job where I am exploiting others or engaging in dishonest practices. I want to sleep well and that doesn't include 4 or 5 drinks to erase whatever recurring thoughts I am having brought about by any given day's events.
Years ago, I worked for ITT Financial Services in Las Vegas. Our lowest interest rate on a small consumer loan was 39% per year. We were prohibited by policy from disclosing that truth. When potential customers called and asked what the interest rate on a loan was we were instructed to say, "It depends on the size and the length of the loan." This dishonest behavior was so rigidly enforced that it was a termination offense to violate that policy. So one day, a caller called and asked about our interest rates and I told him the truth. I guess I had a case of the "f**k its." The branch manager heard me tell the guy 39% and he very nearly had a stroke. The tongue lashing I received in front of my co-workers was embarrassing. Secretly, I wanted to kick his ass.
We as a country, are simply saturated with dishonest, misleading, and disingenuous behavior at all levels and we know it. We also know it's wrong. We also know that we can't possibly hope to control or change the world as it bombards us with all that dishonesty. The good news is- we don't have to.
Remember in the beginning of this piece when I quoted Gandhi? That part about truth and love always winning out over tyrants and despair?
I have seen people do all kinds of selfless acts. I have seen people drown trying to save a family pet or even strangers from drowning. That is love. People want to be good, they just don't know where to begin. I believe that and I also believe that people are not always fully conscious of what ails them.
Our soldiers don't feel good about themselves either. They question the morality or the honesty of killing people and watching their own get maimed and killed. Most of us have been taught from day one that it is ok to defend ourselves and that it's not ok to attack others. There is an internal conflict in all of us when we begin to question the integrity of trying to distinguish whether or not we are attackers or defenders. And where there is no bright line, there is confusion and depression.
I am not surprised by rising suicide rates among our returning soldiers. I am pissed off that our government so cavalierly and dishonestly uses our soldiers like cattle and then wonders why they can't cope with life when they get back home. I think I get angry because these are kids. Kids who were taught the difference between right and wrong. Kids who find out in some nasty way that their potential sacrifices were for naught. There are no victories, no ticker tape parades, no public accolades. Instead they are asked to come home and act like nothing happened. That dishonest behavior once again.
I can't change any of that. But...
I can accept the world at it is. I accept all of the dishonesty that the world rains down on me but I refuse to engage in it. I am also aware that all of that dishonesty contributes to my frustration and depression. I am fully aware of the negative effects of all of that and I am going to make a conscious decision not to participate, contribute, or support it. I am going to minimize the negative effects of dishonesty.
If we engage in esteemable acts then perhaps by extension, we will all gain higher levels of self esteem. When we feel good about our conduct and ourselves- then there is no need for us to change the way we feel when we arrive home at night. We have not deluded, cheated, mis represented, or lied to anyone including ourselves. We may actually feel good about ourselves. When we feel good, there's no reason to change the way we feel. No reason to drink or drug ourselves to sleep, no reason to commit suicide.
When this nation once again begins to act responsibly and honestly, like we once did, then I think that our national depression will lift. Opportunity and hope will return. I am not going to try to forecast which way it will turn or whether I will live to see it or not, but that's just the optimist in me.
Until then, we all get to pick what kind of people we are going to be. Choose wisely.
*This evening while reading about Seymour Hersh, I stumbled into this gem. Hersh believes everything is a lie right now. Pretty interesting observation. However, I disagree that Bin Laden wasn't killed when and where our government stated. Too much at stake- too many witnesses on both sides.
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2013/09/27/seymour-hersh-says-killing-bin-laden-one-big-lie/
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
How To Cure Our National Depression- Part One
I am having a profound kind of week. One of those weeks when problems- and then solutions- to vast mysteries appear with crystal clarity. I think I stumbled onto something worthy of passing along.
But first, I want to use a quote someone left on my "American Enlightenment" blog. It seems quite fitting here.
This is a fantastic article and I encourage you to read it because it really strikes to the heart of what I'm about to say. This article is well written, well researched, and though there are pinpoints of truth in it- I believe that it completely misdiagnoses the underlying problem.
But first, I want to use a quote someone left on my "American Enlightenment" blog. It seems quite fitting here.
Many years ago, as I was about to begin my law enforcement career, nobody told me the range or the depth of mental illness that I was about to run into. I think that happened for a number of reasons. I think mental illness was seen as something that was not really law enforcement related- it was just something we tried to contain. Bi-polar disorder or depression was rarely diagnosed accurately- and although schizophrenia tended to be the mental illness that gave us most of our violent outbursts, problems, and calls to 911- depression was an entirely different animal. It didn't manifest itself in some outrageous or violent conduct and so it was never really placed on the front burner. We dealt with it in small doses or on suicide calls.
We didn't understand dual diagnosis back then either. That mentally ill people, without a proper diagnosis or prescriptions that worked, would simply self medicate with any booze or illicit drugs that they could find.
Depressed people will always try to find a way to change how they feel. That is absolutely key to what I am about to say. People suffering from depression are either going to seek a chemical solution, a spiritual solution, or a radical solution like suicide. There are 100 different shades of depression.
Very often the first responders to any mental illness, crisis, or emergency call were either family members, police, or paramedic firefighter types. All of us were largely and sadly, unprepared to deal with mental illness. I received 2 hours of law enforcement training in mental illness, zero hours in Advanced EMT A-D training. Most family members, if they are lucky enough to diagnose mental illness in their family members, still tended to hide or downplay the effects of because it is so highly and negatively stigmatized. Yet...
Most of us have suffered transient bouts of depression. We all apply solutions. If that is true then....
The problem is enormous and because of a lack of honesty and disclosure among the patients, I am not sure that anybody realizes the epidemic proportions of mental illness, primarily depression, in this country. It manifests itself in literally hundreds of ways. Alcohol, drugs, fits of anger and rage. Do you know anybody that enjoys driving in heavy traffic? Of course not. We all hate it.
If we all hate driving in heavy traffic, but we are forced to do it, how do we cope with that? Do we really forget about it every night? Do any of us enjoy doing things we hate every day?
If we all hate the fact that our government is broke, our paychecks and our buying power are getting smaller- yet taxes are getting larger- we are beginning to get frustrated and pissed off, aren't we? What if our government lies to us about all of those things? Does that make us happy?
What if we hate our jobs? Our marriages? Our spouses who change for the worse? What if we have kids only to find out that children are a giant responsibility that we weren't really prepared for?
What if we never live up to our expectations? What if we, heaven forbid, disappoint loved ones with a less than average career?
What if we have to lie about all of this or at the very least- keep it bottled up for years because we are too afraid to tell anyone? What if we have dying parents or children, serious illnesses, or we are continually in financial distress month after month or taking bankruptcy because the cost of living is insane? If we live in a world where we are exposed to all of this, perhaps several of these things daily or weekly, how do we cope with that?
If we are doing emotionally unhealthy things, forced to or not, how are we supposed to stay away from depression and anger? In fact, how can we pretend that it doesn't effect us?
The answer is simple. We can't. You can't lie to yourself. Yet I see people who lie about their depression and their problems every day. They lie about it because they know that's what society expects of them.
If we are doing things that we hate or that depress us, how can we possibly feel good about ourselves? By lying to ourselves? Is that going to work?
World War II, Korean, and Vietnam veterans all have suicide rates far below that of Gulf War veterans. Why? Isn't our health care, drugs, and therapy better now days? Aren't we more aware, better at diagnosing depression? Isn't our education better? Stop and think about that for a moment. I will supply this bit of information while you do. I am going to use this to jump into the real problem in the United States. I kind of consider the armed services as our canary in the coal mine and a very good indicator about how we feel about ourselves.
A 2009 U.S. Army report indicates military veterans have double the suicide rate of non-veterans, and more active-dutysoldiers are dying from suicide than in combat in the Iraq War (2003-2011) and War in Afghanistan (2001–present).[10]Colonel Carl Castro, director of military operational medical research for the Army noted "there needs to be a cultural shift in the military to get people to focus more on mental health and fitness."[11]
Suicide rates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and adults in the U.S. are three times higher than national averages.
We have a moral problem in this country. We have an integrity problem. We've been lying to ourselves and to others for so incredibly long, that we have mis-diagnosed our own problem. The kids today aren't any less capable of dealing with stress than WWII, Korean, or Vietnam vets. If anything, they should have better access to education, therapy, groups, and doctors than any of their predecessors. Their suicide rates should be lower. So no, I don't believe much of this article as it applies to today's higher suicide rates nor do I believe some of the very logical points it touches on.
Because if I believed that- I'd have to ignore what I have seen. I'd have to ignore the skyrocketing suicide rates for people in the youth, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities which this article doesn't touch on. I'd have to ignore millions of unemployed, angry people. I'd have to ignore mass murderers that seem to go on rampages once every week or two. I'd have to ignore the 150 million people using anti-depressants, alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, and suicide to change the way that they feel about themselves.
Our nation is stressed out, angry, and depressed. We are tired of living paycheck to paycheck, living our miserable little lives, simultaneously being lied to and taxed to death by a government that we all know couldn't give a shit less about any of us. We sit mired in traffic, going to some miserable job or interview which will supply us with chump change, no benefits, and a crappy boss. Coming home at night and hearing more depressing shit on the nightly news or reading online stories about Warren Buffett and Kim Kardashian.
It's no wonder the nation checks out on booze, drugs, or Dancing With the Stars. It's the only relief they can find. Except that- they have to do it day after day after day.
“I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.”
― Hunter S. Thompson
― Hunter S. Thompson
So yes, we have a collective national malaise which begins in the heart and souls of individuals- of people that know the truth but deny it for any number of reasons. I think this lack of integrity is biting us in the ass. In fact, it is causing a national depression. So that is the statement of the problem. We simply don't feel good about ourselves because we don't do good things anymore and we don't tell the truth about it. Gandhi was right. The ways of love and truth will win.
This lack of honesty or in some cases- our willingness to punish people for speaking the truth because it is inconvenient or embarrassing- is a huge part of our problem. Problems and issues don't get resolved until the correct diagnosis is applied. Lying about things is no way to live your life.
There's a reason that our national depression is getting worse and not better. I don't think it has any thing to do with "this generation was tougher than the current one." Statements like that are designed to make some people feel good, while others feel worse about themselves. That's not very honest either, is it?
If we want to start feeling good about ourselves- to gather self esteem- well then I think it's time we started doing some esteem able acts.
That's what I want to talk about in part two which I will have up by Friday.
This lack of honesty or in some cases- our willingness to punish people for speaking the truth because it is inconvenient or embarrassing- is a huge part of our problem. Problems and issues don't get resolved until the correct diagnosis is applied. Lying about things is no way to live your life.
There's a reason that our national depression is getting worse and not better. I don't think it has any thing to do with "this generation was tougher than the current one." Statements like that are designed to make some people feel good, while others feel worse about themselves. That's not very honest either, is it?
If we want to start feeling good about ourselves- to gather self esteem- well then I think it's time we started doing some esteem able acts.
That's what I want to talk about in part two which I will have up by Friday.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
The Renaissance of American Enlightenment- The Sunday Collage
Today, I want to talk a little bit about "civil disobedience" under the current regime.
I have been a law abiding citizen most of my life- with the possible exception of a few misdemeanors in my youth. From age 20 until age 52, all I have been guilty of is breaking a few unbelievably restrictive traffic laws. Like Oregon's ridiculously low speed limits on the most desolate highways in the west. So there's that. Guilty your honor. My penance has been fines and my forced participation in some of the finest insurance price gouging ever.
I spent my lifetime in small town America. I was a policeman first and then ultimately, a Police Chief. I believed in the mission of law enforcement and I also believed that without cops- the predators would most certainly have their way with the sheep.
Unfortunately, our government has become a predatory government. Instead of a government consisting of "We the people" we have an elitist government that has morphed into a government that caters to the aristocracy or the wealthy 1% of America. This government takes every opportunity to steal middle class money and tells us it is for our collective benefit. It passes laws that are clearly in violation of the Constitution of the United States and then asks the Supreme Court to rubber stamp them. I suppose this is done to convince "We the people" that this government is behaving lawfully and responsibly. I call it the theater of the absurd. That is the same crap that King George III tried to pull on us. He wanted to control us and steal our money. He was willing to send troops to threaten and then kill us over the issue and so it was. We had us a war with some bloodshed.
It's always about money. The absolute root of all evil.
In America, our government has a long standing tradition of labeling immoral or criminal acts with palatable terms so that they can behave like criminals without public retribution or outcry. They do the exact opposite when some other entity engages in the same behavior. Sometimes Americans sign onto this madness as long as there is something in it for them. Like killing native Americans because it was "God's manifest destiny" for us. Sorry Indians, God doesn't like you. Citizens who worked hard and saved gold in 1933 were labeled "gold hoarders" about the time that FDR issued an executive order- no law was passed- authorizing the government to seize gold without a warrant to prevent "gold hoarding." If the government doesn't like the negative connotations of a term such as "kidnapping" they substitute that term for "relocation" as was the case of WWII era Japanese Americans. If the government and the elite don't like the term "counterfeiting" because that denotes precisely what it is- they use the term "quantitative easing" instead. They tell us that they are diluting our money supply for our own good. When the government gets caught violating the law, they label the whistleblower(s) a "traitor" rather than a hero as was the case of Edward Snowden. People are not murdered by drones- they are "victims" or "casualties" or "enemy combatants" or "collateral damage."
We allow the government to essentially violate any law it wants to- just so long as they can find some innocuous term for their immoral conduct that sits well with us.
Well, most of us.
Of all the flawed character traits that I possess, and there are many, my ability to see through all of this bullshit like a laser beam is probably my worst. It has cost me dearly. But I have never let the consequences of my actions get in the way of what I know is morally right.
In other words, I am weary of this government bully.
So what term did Americans employ when we wanted to quit paying taxes, commit treason, and eliminate King George III? Well, we called that the period of "American Enlightenment." Ah yes, American Enlightenment.
The American Enlightenment is a period of intellectual ferment in thirteen American colonies in the period 1715–1800, which culminated in the American Revolution, American Independence, and the creation of the American Republic under the Constitution of 1787. Influenced by the 18th-century European Enlightenment, the American Enlightenment applied scientific reasoning to politics, science and religion. The foremost representatives of the American Enlightenment include religious leaders Jonathan Edwards and Ezra Stiles, political thinkers John Adams, James Madison, James Wilson, and Alexander Hamilton, and polymaths Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
Let's shift gears here for just a minute. If our government is going to compel us to buy insurance and then allow the Supreme Court to call Obamacare a legally mandated tax- then by logical extension- all of my other compulsory insurance must also be a tax. My car insurance is a tax, my force placed mortgage insurance is a tax, my homeowners insurance is a tax. If the government requires my compliance and removes my choice to purchase these products then by law- it's not insurance, it's a tax. Right? I mean how am I supposed to distinguish the difference between insurance and a tax if the terms are interchangeable depending on how the Supreme Court feels on any given day?
The truth is, it's all bullshit dressed up to steal our money. King George tried the same tactics. Perhaps...
I might be able and willing to buy Obamacare just so long as the government allows me to write off all of the other compulsory insurance I am required by law to purchase. Or allows me the choice to quit purchasing it. I have never made one homeowners claim in 30 years. I have never defaulted on a mortgage payment. Yet I pay 1500.00 a year and in the case of mortgage insurance- I will never EVER receive a benefit despite the fact that I am required by law to pay 1100.00 a year for it.
My life and my health are far more important to me than insuring someone else's investment. Yet oddly, the government doesn't give me a choice. I have to buy everything the tell me to buy. I no longer have a choice what I can buy. Apparently the government will decide what I spend my money on- irrespective of what is important to me. Government is indifferent to my needs just so long as I do what they tell me. Is it a wonder that people have quit working or work for cash instead?
This has become the national insanity. Government seizing our money and telling us how to spend it.
Ultimately, all of this compulsory stealing of our money boils down to one immutable truth. Sooner or later, law or no law, label or no label, it matters not- we are going to run out of money. You can pass all of the laws that you want, fill all of our courts and prisons but ultimately, you can't squeeze blood out of turnips. Each one of us will have to decide whether or not we can continue to comply with the law. It's not a matter of if- it's a matter of when.
I am on the short side of when.
If I were wealthy, I wouldn't be here writing this nor would I be bothered by a little margin pressure from Obamacare when I have gobs of disposable income. But I do not. I have already arrived at that point in time when I am going to have to make decisions about what I spend my money on and then suffer the consequences of my decisions. Make no mistake about it- there are at least 200 million Americans stuck between poor (free Obamacare) and wealthy (can easily afford Obamacare) and so the middle class once again, will feel the boot of government on their throats.
To survive financially, many of us opted out of health care. All Obamacare is- is a law that compels healthy people back into a system where the corporate kleptocracy and the unhealthy benefit. That's all this is. Nobody gives two shits about our individual well being.
I hate to sound like a victim. But I'm not sure I can wait for the renaissance of American Enlightenment. I am going to have to make some decisions or die a slow and lingering financial death. Our government is sure to try and find some method of forcing us all into Obamacare compliance. They will start first with the palatable labeling of non compliant people. (In fact, I have been hearing this from the liberals already) In the beginning, the non compliant will be taxed, penalized, assets lien ed upon or seized, or failing that- persons non compliant will be subjected to prison. It's kind of like quadruple jeopardy. The government's penalties for non compliance start easy at first, then ratchet up quickly. That is how they always operate. If you aren't a criminal now just wait a little bit longer.
I am not advocating civil disobedience for anyone but that's what many of us will face.
Picking on 200 million broke "irresponsible and tax dodging" Americans isn't exactly a prescription for success but that appears to be the course of action of this government. Warren Buffett once said that the elite waged a war on the middle class in our country and that the elite have won.
Winning? That's just a label too. I'm not sure what Warren means by that but I do know this. When they raid the house they get everyone. Including the wealthy. The most fearless people I have ever known- were the ones with nothing left to lose. I am one of those folks. It appears that our ranks are swelling.
I have been a law abiding citizen most of my life- with the possible exception of a few misdemeanors in my youth. From age 20 until age 52, all I have been guilty of is breaking a few unbelievably restrictive traffic laws. Like Oregon's ridiculously low speed limits on the most desolate highways in the west. So there's that. Guilty your honor. My penance has been fines and my forced participation in some of the finest insurance price gouging ever.
I spent my lifetime in small town America. I was a policeman first and then ultimately, a Police Chief. I believed in the mission of law enforcement and I also believed that without cops- the predators would most certainly have their way with the sheep.
Unfortunately, our government has become a predatory government. Instead of a government consisting of "We the people" we have an elitist government that has morphed into a government that caters to the aristocracy or the wealthy 1% of America. This government takes every opportunity to steal middle class money and tells us it is for our collective benefit. It passes laws that are clearly in violation of the Constitution of the United States and then asks the Supreme Court to rubber stamp them. I suppose this is done to convince "We the people" that this government is behaving lawfully and responsibly. I call it the theater of the absurd. That is the same crap that King George III tried to pull on us. He wanted to control us and steal our money. He was willing to send troops to threaten and then kill us over the issue and so it was. We had us a war with some bloodshed.
It's always about money. The absolute root of all evil.
In America, our government has a long standing tradition of labeling immoral or criminal acts with palatable terms so that they can behave like criminals without public retribution or outcry. They do the exact opposite when some other entity engages in the same behavior. Sometimes Americans sign onto this madness as long as there is something in it for them. Like killing native Americans because it was "God's manifest destiny" for us. Sorry Indians, God doesn't like you. Citizens who worked hard and saved gold in 1933 were labeled "gold hoarders" about the time that FDR issued an executive order- no law was passed- authorizing the government to seize gold without a warrant to prevent "gold hoarding." If the government doesn't like the negative connotations of a term such as "kidnapping" they substitute that term for "relocation" as was the case of WWII era Japanese Americans. If the government and the elite don't like the term "counterfeiting" because that denotes precisely what it is- they use the term "quantitative easing" instead. They tell us that they are diluting our money supply for our own good. When the government gets caught violating the law, they label the whistleblower(s) a "traitor" rather than a hero as was the case of Edward Snowden. People are not murdered by drones- they are "victims" or "casualties" or "enemy combatants" or "collateral damage."
We allow the government to essentially violate any law it wants to- just so long as they can find some innocuous term for their immoral conduct that sits well with us.
Well, most of us.
Of all the flawed character traits that I possess, and there are many, my ability to see through all of this bullshit like a laser beam is probably my worst. It has cost me dearly. But I have never let the consequences of my actions get in the way of what I know is morally right.
In other words, I am weary of this government bully.
So what term did Americans employ when we wanted to quit paying taxes, commit treason, and eliminate King George III? Well, we called that the period of "American Enlightenment." Ah yes, American Enlightenment.
The American Enlightenment is a period of intellectual ferment in thirteen American colonies in the period 1715–1800, which culminated in the American Revolution, American Independence, and the creation of the American Republic under the Constitution of 1787. Influenced by the 18th-century European Enlightenment, the American Enlightenment applied scientific reasoning to politics, science and religion. The foremost representatives of the American Enlightenment include religious leaders Jonathan Edwards and Ezra Stiles, political thinkers John Adams, James Madison, James Wilson, and Alexander Hamilton, and polymaths Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
Let's shift gears here for just a minute. If our government is going to compel us to buy insurance and then allow the Supreme Court to call Obamacare a legally mandated tax- then by logical extension- all of my other compulsory insurance must also be a tax. My car insurance is a tax, my force placed mortgage insurance is a tax, my homeowners insurance is a tax. If the government requires my compliance and removes my choice to purchase these products then by law- it's not insurance, it's a tax. Right? I mean how am I supposed to distinguish the difference between insurance and a tax if the terms are interchangeable depending on how the Supreme Court feels on any given day?
The truth is, it's all bullshit dressed up to steal our money. King George tried the same tactics. Perhaps...
I might be able and willing to buy Obamacare just so long as the government allows me to write off all of the other compulsory insurance I am required by law to purchase. Or allows me the choice to quit purchasing it. I have never made one homeowners claim in 30 years. I have never defaulted on a mortgage payment. Yet I pay 1500.00 a year and in the case of mortgage insurance- I will never EVER receive a benefit despite the fact that I am required by law to pay 1100.00 a year for it.
My life and my health are far more important to me than insuring someone else's investment. Yet oddly, the government doesn't give me a choice. I have to buy everything the tell me to buy. I no longer have a choice what I can buy. Apparently the government will decide what I spend my money on- irrespective of what is important to me. Government is indifferent to my needs just so long as I do what they tell me. Is it a wonder that people have quit working or work for cash instead?
This has become the national insanity. Government seizing our money and telling us how to spend it.
Ultimately, all of this compulsory stealing of our money boils down to one immutable truth. Sooner or later, law or no law, label or no label, it matters not- we are going to run out of money. You can pass all of the laws that you want, fill all of our courts and prisons but ultimately, you can't squeeze blood out of turnips. Each one of us will have to decide whether or not we can continue to comply with the law. It's not a matter of if- it's a matter of when.
I am on the short side of when.
If I were wealthy, I wouldn't be here writing this nor would I be bothered by a little margin pressure from Obamacare when I have gobs of disposable income. But I do not. I have already arrived at that point in time when I am going to have to make decisions about what I spend my money on and then suffer the consequences of my decisions. Make no mistake about it- there are at least 200 million Americans stuck between poor (free Obamacare) and wealthy (can easily afford Obamacare) and so the middle class once again, will feel the boot of government on their throats.
To survive financially, many of us opted out of health care. All Obamacare is- is a law that compels healthy people back into a system where the corporate kleptocracy and the unhealthy benefit. That's all this is. Nobody gives two shits about our individual well being.
I hate to sound like a victim. But I'm not sure I can wait for the renaissance of American Enlightenment. I am going to have to make some decisions or die a slow and lingering financial death. Our government is sure to try and find some method of forcing us all into Obamacare compliance. They will start first with the palatable labeling of non compliant people. (In fact, I have been hearing this from the liberals already) In the beginning, the non compliant will be taxed, penalized, assets lien ed upon or seized, or failing that- persons non compliant will be subjected to prison. It's kind of like quadruple jeopardy. The government's penalties for non compliance start easy at first, then ratchet up quickly. That is how they always operate. If you aren't a criminal now just wait a little bit longer.
I am not advocating civil disobedience for anyone but that's what many of us will face.
Picking on 200 million broke "irresponsible and tax dodging" Americans isn't exactly a prescription for success but that appears to be the course of action of this government. Warren Buffett once said that the elite waged a war on the middle class in our country and that the elite have won.
Winning? That's just a label too. I'm not sure what Warren means by that but I do know this. When they raid the house they get everyone. Including the wealthy. The most fearless people I have ever known- were the ones with nothing left to lose. I am one of those folks. It appears that our ranks are swelling.
Monday, September 16, 2013
The FG Line- Will The FED Begin to Taper QE? The Smart Money Says "No"
After the collapse of financial markets in 2008, American government officials began triaging a financial system in desperate need of death.
The problem with QE is that they have been doing it so for so long- that the vast majority of Americans have forgotten (if they ever knew or cared to begin with) that QE is 100% responsible for the stock market rise and the illusion of an economic recovery. Without QE- we are living in a depression brought about by the simple expansion of credit. Just like 1929. No different.
By March of '09, after hijacking trillions of dollars of taxpayer money, Wall Street's bankers and the Federal Reserve embarked on the greatest counterfeiting scheme of all time. They call it "quantitative easing."
In America, if you don't like the negative connotations that go along with using a term such as counterfeiting, you simply call it something else. Thus we have the phrase "quantitative easing." It was probably the Japanese who invented the term QE and who also added that it doesn't work.
By working, that means re-installing a vibrant economy.
By working, that means re-installing a vibrant economy.
QE is a desperate act. In essence- all it does is simply prolong the inevitable collapse of the monetary system brought about by tremendous credit expansion and leveraging. Collapsing monetary systems are usually brought about by greedy bankers and by complicit politcians. Here's a decent history of QE since 2008.
United States QE1, QE2, and QE3
The US Federal Reserve held between $700 billion and $800 billion of Treasury notes on its balance sheet before the recession. In late November 2008, the Federal Reserve started buying $600 billion in mortgage-backed securities.[38] By March 2009, it held $1.75 trillion of bank debt, mortgage-backed securities, and Treasury notes, and reached a peak of $2.1 trillion in June 2010. Further purchases were halted as the economy had started to improve, but resumed in August 2010 when the Fed decided the economy was not growing robustly. After the halt in June, holdings started falling naturally as debt matured and were projected to fall to $1.7 trillion by 2012. The Fed's revised goal became to keep holdings at $2.054 trillion. To maintain that level, the Fed bought $30 billion in two- to ten-year Treasury notes every month.
In November 2010, the Fed announced a second round of quantitative easing, buying $600 billion of Treasury securities by the end of the second quarter of 2011.[39][40] The expression "QE2" became a ubiquitous nickname in 2010, used to refer to this second round of quantitative easing by US central banks.[41] Retrospectively, the round of quantitative easing preceding QE2 was called "QE1". Similarly, "QE3" refers to the third round of quantitative easing following QE2.[42][43]
A third round of quantitative easing, QE3, was announced on 13 September 2012. In an 11–1 vote, the Federal Reserve decided to launch a new $40 billion per month, open-ended bond purchasing program of agency mortgage-backed securities. Additionally, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced that it would likely maintain the federal funds rate near zero "at least through 2015."[44][45] According to NASDAQ.com, this is effectively a stimulus program that allows the Federal Reserve to relieve $40 billion per month of commercial housing market debt risk.[46] Because of its open-ended nature, QE3 has earned the popular nickname of "QE-Infinity."[47] On 12 December 2012, the FOMC announced an increase in the amount of open-ended purchases from $40 billion to $85 billion per month.[48]
On June 19, 2013, Ben Bernanke announced a "tapering" of some of its QE policies contingent upon continued positive economic data. Specifically, he said that the Fed would scale back its bond purchases from $85 billion to $65 billion a month during the upcoming September 2013 policy meeting.[49] He also suggested that the bond buying program could wrap up by mid-2014.[50] While Bernanke did not announce an interest rate hike, he suggested that if inflation follows a 2% target rate and unemployment decreases to 6.5%, the Fed would likely start raising rates. The stock markets dropped approximately 4.3% over the three trading days following Bernanke's announcement, with the Dow Jones dropping 659 points between June 19 and 24, closing at 14,660 at the end of the day on June 24.[51]
Who benefits from QE? Anybody receiving freshly minted money and using it first. After that- it simply dilutes the existing money supply for the rest of us. So who gets first run? Bankers and other wealthy folks. By the time all that freshly minted fiat ends up in the money supply- it simply reduces our buying power.
Witness oil, priced in American petro dollars, doubling in price in five short years. It is not a coincidence.
Gold would have gone supernova had the government and bankers not manipulated it for years- desperately trying to keep the price down and contain inflation.
The problem in 1929 was that we had a gold standard which prevented bankers from printing their way out of the Great Depression which they had caused. In 1933- FDR essentially seized Americas gold without due process and in violation of the the 4th amendment. Once he and the bankers had it all, they fixed the price of gold by almost doubling it and then they began to print away. There was a secondary recession/depression which ran up to World War 2.
Ben Bernanke's brainchild, QE in all of it's forms, is scheduled to begin to wind down in two days. There has been tremendous speculation by some pretty intelligent people that they can't end QE without collapsing markets. http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/real-money-with-alivelshi/Real-Money-Blog/2013/9/17/ben-bernanke-taperingoffquantitativeeasingprogram.html
So the question is, can the FED end QE? We're going to find out in just a couple of days, Sept. 18. My personal guess is that they cannot. Nor do they have the political will although they might continue to talk tough until Bernanke leaves.
Paul Craig Roberts doesn't think so either and he is a helluva lot smarter than I am. Here's a link to PCR's site and although the clip is some 28 mins....PCR only talks for about 12 minutes. http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2013/08/10/paul-craig-roberts-on-the-myth-of-gdp-and-tyranny-of-the-elite-prime-interest-71/
Predicting, like Larry Summers, is hard. Especially about the future- which gets here in two days.
Predicting, like Larry Summers, is hard. Especially about the future- which gets here in two days.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Predicting Is Hard, Especially About the Future
I love the fall. I love moderating temperatures, the leaves turning color, and football. Especially football.
My mother has had a year long battle with cancer which she is winning. It requires a lot of maintenance and vigilance but at some point, mom would just like her life to return to normal. She's been a good soldier, battle weary, but still doing the things that are important.
My mother has had a year long battle with cancer which she is winning. It requires a lot of maintenance and vigilance but at some point, mom would just like her life to return to normal. She's been a good soldier, battle weary, but still doing the things that are important.
So this week, mom asked one of her doctors how many more visits she was going to have to make to the hospital. The doctor said anywhere from 5, to maybe 7 visits. He then patted her on the leg and said, "Predicting is hard, especially about the future." He turned and walked out of the room.
I giggled about that all day. I even looked that phrase up- it sounded so Yogi Berra. But I think the credit actually should go to an old time physicist, Niels Bohr.
Predicting, as it turns out, is really not that difficult at all. Doing it accurately, well that's a whole different story. Here then are some of my random, very random, thoughts and predictions this week.
10. Do not get in a head butting competition with John Kerry. Can you imagine Kerry stumbling out of some S. American jungle into a headhunter village? Kerry (first I hated war and now I love war) has been in the news all week. Obama's "airstrikes for peace" program has been averted by the inadvertent actions of his Secretary ofWar State. So that is good.
9. Boise St v. Air Force tonight. This is the story of two formerly good programs going mediocre. I see BSU winning by 21. If AF manages to stay closer, the fans in Boise are in for a long season.
8. Gold and silver. Absolute screaming buys at 1300 and 20 bucks. Buy some and lock it up.
7. Quantitative easing or QE will end. The FED will begin to taper this month. The wild card is the new chairman.
6. Obama will appoint Larry Summers as FED chairman although he is pretending not to have made his mind up. It's the good ol boys club, and Janet Yellen ain't in it.
5. Bond yields will continue their ascent. Once the 10 year yield breaches 3.5%, things are going to get really interesting. Despite rising yields, banks will continue to screw depositors.
4. Congress will raise the debt ceiling this fall by an amount not likely to trigger another fight until after the 2016 elections.
3. Oil prices are going down. Big time. The world is decelerating and we are awash in supply. Would not be surprised to see oil sub 80 bucks a barrel before Christmas or a 30 dollar decline from here.
2. The only people signing up for Obamacare this fall will be the poor and uninsured. Premiums on the exchanges will rise by at least 20% in 2014.
1. I have this odd feeling, like some giant-leviathan sized event is about to take place. This would be a re-tracement or repeat of the period following the 1929 Great Depression and the economical nadir that took place from 1934 to 1939- about five years after the initial shock.
Gamblers love to make predictions. We will bet on anything. From football to horse racing, I am forever trying to predict the outcome of some event. I will never forget a t-shirt I saw once at a horse racing tournament in Las Vegas that read, "Often wrong, never in doubt." Gawd, if that ain't the truth.
Predicting, as it turns out, is really not that difficult at all. Doing it accurately, well that's a whole different story. Here then are some of my random, very random, thoughts and predictions this week.
10. Do not get in a head butting competition with John Kerry. Can you imagine Kerry stumbling out of some S. American jungle into a headhunter village? Kerry (first I hated war and now I love war) has been in the news all week. Obama's "airstrikes for peace" program has been averted by the inadvertent actions of his Secretary of
9. Boise St v. Air Force tonight. This is the story of two formerly good programs going mediocre. I see BSU winning by 21. If AF manages to stay closer, the fans in Boise are in for a long season.
8. Gold and silver. Absolute screaming buys at 1300 and 20 bucks. Buy some and lock it up.
7. Quantitative easing or QE will end. The FED will begin to taper this month. The wild card is the new chairman.
6. Obama will appoint Larry Summers as FED chairman although he is pretending not to have made his mind up. It's the good ol boys club, and Janet Yellen ain't in it.
5. Bond yields will continue their ascent. Once the 10 year yield breaches 3.5%, things are going to get really interesting. Despite rising yields, banks will continue to screw depositors.
4. Congress will raise the debt ceiling this fall by an amount not likely to trigger another fight until after the 2016 elections.
3. Oil prices are going down. Big time. The world is decelerating and we are awash in supply. Would not be surprised to see oil sub 80 bucks a barrel before Christmas or a 30 dollar decline from here.
2. The only people signing up for Obamacare this fall will be the poor and uninsured. Premiums on the exchanges will rise by at least 20% in 2014.
1. I have this odd feeling, like some giant-leviathan sized event is about to take place. This would be a re-tracement or repeat of the period following the 1929 Great Depression and the economical nadir that took place from 1934 to 1939- about five years after the initial shock.
Gamblers love to make predictions. We will bet on anything. From football to horse racing, I am forever trying to predict the outcome of some event. I will never forget a t-shirt I saw once at a horse racing tournament in Las Vegas that read, "Often wrong, never in doubt." Gawd, if that ain't the truth.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
The 90 Day, Same As Cash War- The Sunday Collage
Our 90 day war, financed as usual, without a credit app. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/03/exclusive-senate-s-war-resolution-gives-obama-90-days-to-strike-syria.html
This morning I just finished reading an excellent piece of writing on the Syrian war effort. It wasn't written by some obedient media lackey. It was written by a real person with critical thinking skills and...
It was written by a patriot, Norma Brown. Norma Brown shares the sentiments of most of us on this Syrian war bullshit. I am going to link that piece here via my good friend Jim's blog, Asylum Watch.
Oddly, Norma entitled it "Dying For Peace" http://conservativesonfire.wordpress.com/2013/09/07/dying-for-peace-an-essay-by-norma-brown/
Norma's piece caused me to reflect on something I had witnessed long ago. It's a true story from my childhood which was well documented by hundreds of people and passed down to us as children and in turn accepted as fact. The facts support it.
Turn of the century (1900) Butte, Montana was a very rough and tumble mining town. It was dubbed the "Richest Hill On Earth." The rights to mine that "hill" were eventually sold by their respective claim owners to three "Copper Kings." The copper kings made vast fortunes in Butte. Eventually as they died out, they sold their mining interests to the Anaconda Copper Mining Company or just the "Company" as everybody in Butte referred to it. The "Company" was the subject of at least one conversation per day, every day, that I ever lived in Butte. That's how I remember it. The "Company"was a very dominant part of our lives.
While we knew the "Company" controlled the mine and thus thousands of miners- what many people failed to understand is that the "Company" had become the original Montana media monopoly. They owned every newspaper in every major city in Montana at one time.
The Company's tentacles stretched everywhere. Television, radio, and print media outlets were bought or controlled by the Company. The Company clearly understood that if you owned and controlled the means of communication, then not only could you advance your mining interests ad nauseum- but you also had the means of publicly ruining anybody who opposed your efforts.
If you can hijack and control the media- you can control the conversation and crush your enemies- and dumb down your regular readership by feeding them whatever fluff you choose. So media capture was not some impossible or unprecedented event. Capitalists have been doing it for centuries.
So the Anaconda Copper Mining Company was able to hijack the truth. The truth as I define it here, is the whole truth. Not convenient truths, or partial truths- but the whole, unvarnished truth. A good example of that occurred when miners died in the pit while working for the Company- their obituaries would often appear without a cause of death in the local newspapers. The Company was also very good at keeping miners unions at bay by never reporting on or writing anything inflammatory with respect to the Company's positions. Politicians were well aware of the statewide clout of the Anaconda Company's media empire. They could make or break a political career- often the politicians simply jumped in bed with the Company rather than confront them on wages, safety concerns, pollutants, or remediation. It is hard to resist an entity that holds all of the cards.
Traditionally, I think that many Americans believe that the press has some "watchdog or vigilant" function. This was never really true nor does the media have some honor code where they must investigate and deliver the whole truth. All they really want to do is turn a profit by generating the maximum amount of views which in turn will allow them to demand higher advertising pricing. They don't care about investigative journalism and even if they did- it would often not serve elite interests by finding the truth or reporting it. Instead they focus on some bimbo's dress at the Oscars. This type of story generates millions of hits and it fully exposes us for the superficial and unintelligent voyeurs that we truly are.
America is in the hands of the aristocracy, the oligarchy. The 1%. The oligarchy owns and controls corporate America, the media, the politicians. They have complete capture. You want absolute proof? The tax code. The tax code benefits the aristocracy. It is corporate welfare. Congress could change the tax structure in one day to a flat tax with no deductions- a system far simpler and much more fair to everyone. It will never happen. The rich would get fiscally slaughtered. The aristocracy worked very hard to buy the very best politicians and thus, the very best tax code. There are people out here who still cannot understand or accept the fact that politicians represent 1% of our population rather than the vast majority of us- despite mountains of evidence.
Think about the banker bailout, the trillions we lost. Who advanced that agenda? The oligarchy did by convincing all of us that the world would come to an end. How did they advance that agenda? With the media. Who benefitted? The aristocracy of course.
The current day aristocracy owns the media just like the Anaconda Company owned Montana media 60 years ago. Virtually everything you hear, read, or see is generated by one of these 6 companies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_conglomerate
They have a purpose, a business plan. It is simple. To enrich themselves and their fellow members of the oligarchy by advancing any agenda which gains more power and wealth. Politicians are part of the oligarchy. Which brings me back to Norma Brown's piece, a quote from her, and the big finish.
You will probably have noticed that, unlike the BBC, neither the USG nor the US media refer to the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons asalleged, but instead follow Vladimir Lenin’s maxim that if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth. Hence you will hear from every side that “Assad’s brutal use of chemical weapons against small children and old ladies” demands a military response. Well of course, if your objective is to get an excuse for bombing the hell out of Syria, you’re not going to admit that your claim is only an unproven allegation and not even a very convincing allegation at that. I’m going to give Meat-Head Hagel a break here and make an assumption of my own: he’s being fed the same disinformation from the same agencies as John Kerry (my face! my face! I can’t feel my face!). Neither of them has the native intelligence to sniff out cooked intel.
The oligarchy wants war. It is good for business. Corporate America sells armament, tanks, planes, munitions. War expands power and creates wealth for the aristocracy. Big oil likes war, bankers like war, media likes war, even soldiers like war. Politicians can bully people, award contracts to cronies, and get additional financial support from the oligarchy which for all practical purposes, are their real employers. If we get rid of Assad, Qatar can finally build that giant natural gas pipeline through Syria and make Qatar's allies and business partners happy.
On Tuesday, President Five Iron is going to take time out from his busy golfing schedule to try and sell the 60 day war on television (with an option for 30 more days) using the media. We may have reached the absolute zenith of arrogance when we presume that we can control the amount of time and the outcome of any war.
Today with time running short and lives on the line, President Five Iron went golfing again.
Byron York @ByronYork
Facing sternest test of his presidency, struggling to persuade Congress to OK military intervention in Syria, President Obama...plays golf!
The 90 day, same as cash war. Financed by treasury bonds which we are hoping to sell to our enemies who are Syria's allies. Countries like Russia and China. What could possibly go wrong with that plan?
This morning I just finished reading an excellent piece of writing on the Syrian war effort. It wasn't written by some obedient media lackey. It was written by a real person with critical thinking skills and...
It was written by a patriot, Norma Brown. Norma Brown shares the sentiments of most of us on this Syrian war bullshit. I am going to link that piece here via my good friend Jim's blog, Asylum Watch.
Oddly, Norma entitled it "Dying For Peace" http://conservativesonfire.wordpress.com/2013/09/07/dying-for-peace-an-essay-by-norma-brown/
Norma's piece caused me to reflect on something I had witnessed long ago. It's a true story from my childhood which was well documented by hundreds of people and passed down to us as children and in turn accepted as fact. The facts support it.
Turn of the century (1900) Butte, Montana was a very rough and tumble mining town. It was dubbed the "Richest Hill On Earth." The rights to mine that "hill" were eventually sold by their respective claim owners to three "Copper Kings." The copper kings made vast fortunes in Butte. Eventually as they died out, they sold their mining interests to the Anaconda Copper Mining Company or just the "Company" as everybody in Butte referred to it. The "Company" was the subject of at least one conversation per day, every day, that I ever lived in Butte. That's how I remember it. The "Company"was a very dominant part of our lives.
While we knew the "Company" controlled the mine and thus thousands of miners- what many people failed to understand is that the "Company" had become the original Montana media monopoly. They owned every newspaper in every major city in Montana at one time.
The Company's tentacles stretched everywhere. Television, radio, and print media outlets were bought or controlled by the Company. The Company clearly understood that if you owned and controlled the means of communication, then not only could you advance your mining interests ad nauseum- but you also had the means of publicly ruining anybody who opposed your efforts.
If you can hijack and control the media- you can control the conversation and crush your enemies- and dumb down your regular readership by feeding them whatever fluff you choose. So media capture was not some impossible or unprecedented event. Capitalists have been doing it for centuries.
So the Anaconda Copper Mining Company was able to hijack the truth. The truth as I define it here, is the whole truth. Not convenient truths, or partial truths- but the whole, unvarnished truth. A good example of that occurred when miners died in the pit while working for the Company- their obituaries would often appear without a cause of death in the local newspapers. The Company was also very good at keeping miners unions at bay by never reporting on or writing anything inflammatory with respect to the Company's positions. Politicians were well aware of the statewide clout of the Anaconda Company's media empire. They could make or break a political career- often the politicians simply jumped in bed with the Company rather than confront them on wages, safety concerns, pollutants, or remediation. It is hard to resist an entity that holds all of the cards.
Traditionally, I think that many Americans believe that the press has some "watchdog or vigilant" function. This was never really true nor does the media have some honor code where they must investigate and deliver the whole truth. All they really want to do is turn a profit by generating the maximum amount of views which in turn will allow them to demand higher advertising pricing. They don't care about investigative journalism and even if they did- it would often not serve elite interests by finding the truth or reporting it. Instead they focus on some bimbo's dress at the Oscars. This type of story generates millions of hits and it fully exposes us for the superficial and unintelligent voyeurs that we truly are.
America is in the hands of the aristocracy, the oligarchy. The 1%. The oligarchy owns and controls corporate America, the media, the politicians. They have complete capture. You want absolute proof? The tax code. The tax code benefits the aristocracy. It is corporate welfare. Congress could change the tax structure in one day to a flat tax with no deductions- a system far simpler and much more fair to everyone. It will never happen. The rich would get fiscally slaughtered. The aristocracy worked very hard to buy the very best politicians and thus, the very best tax code. There are people out here who still cannot understand or accept the fact that politicians represent 1% of our population rather than the vast majority of us- despite mountains of evidence.
Think about the banker bailout, the trillions we lost. Who advanced that agenda? The oligarchy did by convincing all of us that the world would come to an end. How did they advance that agenda? With the media. Who benefitted? The aristocracy of course.
The current day aristocracy owns the media just like the Anaconda Company owned Montana media 60 years ago. Virtually everything you hear, read, or see is generated by one of these 6 companies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_conglomerate
They have a purpose, a business plan. It is simple. To enrich themselves and their fellow members of the oligarchy by advancing any agenda which gains more power and wealth. Politicians are part of the oligarchy. Which brings me back to Norma Brown's piece, a quote from her, and the big finish.
You will probably have noticed that, unlike the BBC, neither the USG nor the US media refer to the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons asalleged, but instead follow Vladimir Lenin’s maxim that if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth. Hence you will hear from every side that “Assad’s brutal use of chemical weapons against small children and old ladies” demands a military response. Well of course, if your objective is to get an excuse for bombing the hell out of Syria, you’re not going to admit that your claim is only an unproven allegation and not even a very convincing allegation at that. I’m going to give Meat-Head Hagel a break here and make an assumption of my own: he’s being fed the same disinformation from the same agencies as John Kerry (my face! my face! I can’t feel my face!). Neither of them has the native intelligence to sniff out cooked intel.
The oligarchy wants war. It is good for business. Corporate America sells armament, tanks, planes, munitions. War expands power and creates wealth for the aristocracy. Big oil likes war, bankers like war, media likes war, even soldiers like war. Politicians can bully people, award contracts to cronies, and get additional financial support from the oligarchy which for all practical purposes, are their real employers. If we get rid of Assad, Qatar can finally build that giant natural gas pipeline through Syria and make Qatar's allies and business partners happy.
On Tuesday, President Five Iron is going to take time out from his busy golfing schedule to try and sell the 60 day war on television (with an option for 30 more days) using the media. We may have reached the absolute zenith of arrogance when we presume that we can control the amount of time and the outcome of any war.
Today with time running short and lives on the line, President Five Iron went golfing again.
Byron York @ByronYork
Facing sternest test of his presidency, struggling to persuade Congress to OK military intervention in Syria, President Obama...plays golf!
The 90 day, same as cash war. Financed by treasury bonds which we are hoping to sell to our enemies who are Syria's allies. Countries like Russia and China. What could possibly go wrong with that plan?
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Warning! Very Graphic: This Is Who Your Government Wants Us To Fight For
Disgusting. Muslim. Al Qaeda supporters.
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Mohandas K. Gandhi