Andrew Napolitano - author of one of my favorite books, The Constitution in Exile - had a great column this week in the Wall Street Journal. Here's an excerpt:
In virtually every generation and during virtually every presidency (Jefferson, Jackson and Cleveland are exceptions that come to mind) the popular branches of government have expanded their power. The air you breathe, the water you drink, the size of your toilet tank, the water pressure in your shower, the words you can speak under oath and in private, how your physician treats your illness, what your children study in grade school, how fast you can drive your car, and what you can drink before you drive it are all regulated by federal law.
Congress has enacted over 4,000 federal crimes and written or authorized over one million pages of laws and regulations. Worse, we are expected by law to understand all of it.
More than two thousand years ago A Celebration for the Dead, Returning The Night before the Celtic New Year With Costumes and Sacrificial Burning.
With a Celebration of the Harvest And to Honor one's Dead Ancestry It spread across all of Europe In the Seventh Century.
"All Hallows Eve", "Night Of The Dead" "All Souls Day", for the Christians Nobody really knows for sure Where each of those Beliefs begins.
The first lighted fruit was gourds and turnips With Scary Faces carved, embers inside To ward off all of the Evil Spirits Who roamed the streets and countryside.
The Irish brought America this Tradition Of carving turnips and even potatoes But quickly learned Pumpkins were better Being bigger, wherein the garden it grows.
Bobbing for apples once was popular Dating back to ancient Roman days To honor Pomona, Goddess of fruits As just one of their many Holidays.
"Trick Or Treat" was for the Spirits To leave them a "Treat" outside your door If not they would play "Tricks" on you With all kinds of Evil held in store.
All Cats were thought of as Spiritual But the Black Cat was the very worst Some thought them Incarnated Humans And many felt that they were Cursed.
Beeswax candles were colored "Orange" And "Black" draped Caskets were the way Colors for those Masses for the Dead Back there in that Ancient day.
"Fires" where Druids Sacrificed life Burned to the skeletal "bone" Formed what we now call "bonfires" A "new" word we thought we've always known.
Worshipers danced 'round those fires Wearing disguises on head and skin And throughout the years Halloween Has become steeped in Paganism.
And today we spend fourteen billion And most people don't even know, "Why?" Except for all those Ghosts and Goblins And fake Witches flying 'cross the Sky.
What Stephen Lendman's recent article is telling us is that we as a nation very well may be in for a financial/economic downturn unlike any most of us have seen in our lifetimes. That we may very well may be headed for a financial/economic disaster comparable to the 1930's depression, or possibly worse.
Therefore, in my opinion, the great burning questions of the hour are:
(1) Will this financial/economic crisis create the sort of civil and political unrest that will be viewed by the extremely insecure pro-fascist capitalist power structure as threatening to the present economic and political order?
(2) Will the extremely insecure pro-fascist power structure respond to this civil and political unrest by imposing a fascist military/police state to crush this unrest in order to preserve their economic/political power?
(3) Will the American people that have been so completely dumbed-down by the news media, the education system, the war machine and the churches be so fearful and desperate that they will accept the simplistic solutions to America's problems offered by a fascist military/police state?
Pete Seeger sings Tom Paxton's song live on the "Tonight In Person" Show (1964).
Here's some of the "best" lyrics:
I learned that Washington never told a lie. I learned that soldiers seldom die. I learned that everybody's free. And that's what the teacher said to me. That's what I learned in school today. That's what I learned in school.
I've often lamented the fact that most people are more persuaded by the glitz and polish of a presentation than they are by whether the underlying message is true or makes any sense. So the bad news is, instead of just using evidence and logic, people who like freedom are going to also have to use better salesmanship and production skills, if they expect to persuade anyone of anything.
The good news is, regarding the Second Amendment, there now is such a thing: something that is true AND looks good. I won't bother going on and on about it, since the thing speaks for itself. What I will say is that, when someone in the freedom "movement" makes something this professional, the least the rest of us can do is spread it far and wide. So do.
Ron Paul campaigned to Repeal the Income Tax - and dramatically shrink the size and power of government. Now you have the opportunity to take the first step to make Ron Paul's dream a reality - by helping us to repeal the income tax in Massachusetts this November 4th.
We are co-sponsors of Ballot Question 1, the legally-binding ballot measure that will END the Massachusetts state income tax.
Maybe you've read articles about our ballot initiative in the ?Wall Street Journal,' ?the New York Times,' ?the Boston Globe,' ?National Review,' ?Reason,' ?CATO,' ?the National Taxpayers Union,' or at LewRockwell.com. Or seen us on CNN or Fox News.
Do we really have a reasonable chance to win? Or is this just another fantasy?
Four different polls show us dead even. One poll shows support for ENDing the income tax at 45% - with 45% against. 9% undecided. Two other polls show 45% For and 45% Against - with 10% undecided. One strange poll showed 37% For and 37% Against - with 26% undecided.
A comparison of James Madison and his war to George Bush and his war
Full Names
James Madison, Jr.
George W Bush
Also Known As
Father of the Constitution, Father of the Bill of Rights, Co-Author of the Federalist Papers, Author of the Virginia Resolution, 4th President of the United States, Closest confidant of Thomas Jefferson
W, Bush 43, 43rd President of the United States, Neocon
Other Names For Their War
War of 1812, the Second War of Independence, the Forgotten War
War on Terror, War Against Afghanistan, War Against Iraq, War in the Middle East and/or Central Asia
U.S Combat Deaths
Between 1500 to 2300
Over 4000 and counting
Length of War
Two years and eight months
Seven years and counting
War Declared by Congress, as Required by the Constitution?
Yes
No
War Started by a Deception?
No, James Madison clearly stated the causes for war in his war message, which included impressments of U.S. seamen by the British, British failure to abandon forts in North American as required by treaty, and decades of general meddling by a strong world power (Great Britain) against a weaker nation (United States)
Yes, 9/11 was a false-flag military attack orchestrated by the Bush Administration.
Enemies
The British Empire
Terrorists, the Taliban, Osama bin Laden, bin Laden's driver, Saddam Hussein, KSM, Arabs, Muslims, Liberals, Traitors, Unpatriotic people, Peace Activists, Left-wingers, Democrats, Civil Libertarians, 9/11 Truthers
Enemy's Navy
The world's largest
None
Direct Threats to the United States
Atlantic coast blockaded, Detroit captured, Washington DC occupied, trashed and burned, Baltimore laid siege upon, New Orleans attacked
None from terrorists. The Bush Administration orchestrated the 9/11 and Anthrax Attacks.
Federal Government Powers
No standing army, no central bank, no income tax, no military draft
Standing army, central bank, income tax, potential military draft
Worst Abuses of Constitution
James Madison declared a national day of prayer. Madison was also upset by some excesses of General Andrew Jackson
Bill of Rights shredded, Habeas Corpus nixed, Constitution ignored, Torture
"War Powers"
James Madison never declared that the Constitution granted him special war powers
George Bush claimed the Constitution granted him special war powers
Negotiations To Prevent War?
Yes, The Jefferson and Madison Administrations struggled for over ten years to work out a peaceful solution with the British
No, The Bush Administration made no attempt to honestly negotiate with either the Taliban or Saddam Hussein
Strategic Value of War
Conquest of Canada would have kicked British Empire out of our backyard, and increased the number of free states, perhaps leading to quicker an end to slavery
None that benefits the American people
Results of the War
The Era of Good Feelings, a decade mostly free of partisan diatribe, 45 years of peace and prosperity, interrupted only by the panic of 1819, the panic of 1837, and the Mexican War. James Madison ended his second term in 1817 as the most popular President in the history of the United States.
Bad economy, high gas prices, worldwide shame upon the United States, and other unforeseen effects in the future
Conclusion
George Santyana said that those who do not learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat them. James Madison proved that you could win a war and preserve the U.S. Constitution at the same time, even when facing a military power stronger than you own. It's disgraceful that anyone would think that we have to throw out our rights to win the war on terror.
Say Yes to indigenous power and individual sovereignty!
Check out COMMON SENSE; Revisited, a short pamphlet written with one purpose in mind: to light the fire of liberty that burns within every human heart. It explains how a return to founding principles can help us solve the many problems that face our country today.
We believe it does justice to its predecessor, Common Sense, written by Thomas Paine in 1776, which changed the course of the world. You can download the entire PDF for any price you choose (or purchase physical copies) here.
The New York Times reported last week, "Bush adopted the view of his most hawkish advisers that closing Guantanamo would involve too many legal and political risks to be acceptable, now or any time soon". News here.
Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files and a regular contributor to the World Can't Wait website, recently gave a seminar at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture in London. This foundation has four centers in the U.K., and in the past 23 years has had referrals from 45,000 victims of torture in over 100 countries.
As Andy wrote on his website, "The topic of the seminar was 'Stories from Guantánamo,' and it gave me the opportunity to run through a condensed history of Guantánamo, as related in my book
The Guantánamo Files, specifically looking at how it came about that a regime of torture was introduced at Guantánamo. Primarily, this was because those who ended up there - mainly a mix of innocent men and Taliban foot soldiers - had no "intelligence" to provide, but were regarded as having been trained to resist interrogation by al-Qaeda.
The full talk, which was filmed, was about 45 minutes in length, and a short excerpt, dealing with an allied topic, the CIA's program of "extraordinary rendition" and torture in secret prisons, which led to the transfer into Guantánamo of between 60 and 80 of the 779 prisoners who have been held at the prison throughout its history, is available on the front page of the Medical Foundation's website".
If you haven't watched Torturing Democracy on PBS yet, you can see it online.
John Stossel on 20/20 - Politically Incorrect Guide To Politics. Originally aired on Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 9pm CST. Here you'll get a far different perspective on what the rebuilding has been like in New Orleans...
I've been watching the search terms, 'derivatives', 'lehman October-21', and 'cds-market', over the past several days.
There were just little tid-bits here and there -- mostly CON-GAME pooh-poohing any surprises happening with the Lehman-related settlement payments due 21 October, that is, yesterday -- until the blizzard hit Monday morning.
It was bound to happen.
There were too many "counterparties" doing too much greed-selling of mostly "naked" CDS contracts in Lehman's last year or so. And the greed-selling was globally epidemic. Next potential disaster waves after the potential disaster from Lehman on 21 October are from Washington Mutual settlements and the three Icelandic banks settlements.
Even if the Bush nazis shore up the Lehman toxic paper, we already know that there is not enough money in the world to cover the $55-$60 trillion outstanding CDS market. And even if the nazis hush that one up enough, there's no possible way for them to hush up the $677 trillion outstanding global derivatives market. Just not enough money in the world.
All CDS contacts are problems -- because of their being private, secret, and unregulated -- regardless of whether they are naked bets regarding defaults generally or fully clothed bets saying that some specific bond will or will not be defaulted. But the naked ones are by far the worst news possible.
Naked CDS contracts -- and, in fact, all unregulated derivatives contracts -- are nothing more than fraudlent, and illegal.
There'll be a lot of talk about such things off in the future, after we're raked into the depression. However, until then, the topic simply cannot be ripe. Until then, the Bush nazis -- and especially the money guys -- live way above the law. They're a true zero-accountability, anti-American, greed-driven, globalality. Any talk now about their lives of fraud is auto-marginalized. Nobody -- not the criminal govt, not the criminal congress, and not the criminal federal bench -- will do anthing about the fraud.
Later, after we start hunting them down and lynching them, they'll get real earnest about talking turkey.
Out of Lehman's approx 1.5 million CDS contracts, nobody is saying how many are naked. And nobody is saying how many financial institutions and hedge funds are up to their eyeballs in that toxic paper.
I'm sure that the con-game guys (consumer confidence is all the hell it takes to sell anything--forget all unpinning realities) will be preaching confidence right down to three years after the beginning of this depresssion, just as the con-game guys did from 1930-1933.
But, as of Monday, the con-game fringe is loaded with those who are nervous about the coming depression.
My pick for the nervous best -- short piece on the Financial Times (UK) blog, "Alphaville" -- consider the blog for your list of "Favorites" -- "CDS Report: 'potentially the worst economic outlook we've had since the Depression' ".
Every day people call me to ask me two questions: Question one is always, Clyde, what should I do with my money? Question two is always some version of "I am a pretty smart person but I just don't understand all of this monetary and economic stuff, how does this work?
For me the answer to #1 is pretty easy. Buy gold and silver and other currencies, however, that is not my focus in this week's blog. So here is my answer to the second question. I usually start with some basic facts about the Federal Reserve and how it works. I explain why it is not constitutional and why it has been so destructive to our country and especially to the middle class.
I then do whatever I can do to inspire them to gain a basic understanding of economics and to start immediately on a self-education program. It is clear to me now, more than ever before, that we have the power to change the system, but only if we exercise our power to create our own government and monetary system.
If we are passive and ignorant we will have a new system forced upon us that will be much worse than what we have now. Our liberties will be systematically destroyed and we will be in a state of perpetual war. We will answer to the world government more and more and will have less and less national sovereignty.
On the other hand if we have knowledge, we have power. We do have the power to create whatever reality we want. Understanding that point is critical so the first thing to do is read Common Sense; Revisited at http://www.commonsenserevisited.org/ That will explain how it is that we have the power and that government really is our servant.
Start reading and you will enjoy it so much. If you don't already have a study group or network of friends you are learning with then create a group.
And remember, the thought for the day is: We create our own reality and there is only one true source of power on earth - it is called indigenous power and only individual human beings have it. All surrogates have only the power that we assign to them. We have the power to take that assigned power back any time we want. We never give up our indigenous power. We can always take back what we have assigned to any surrogate.
India is running six terrorist training camps inside Afghanistan for subversive activities and attacks on Pakistani territory, Islamabad says.
Federal interior minister Faisal Saleh Hayat said the camps had been set up by Indian consulates functioning in Herat, Kandahar and Jalalabad. According to this Google map, these camps dotted the Durand Line:
Notice the nearly symmetrical row of pins on either side of the border that designate the fake Taliban training camps on the Afghan side, and Predator strike sites and Pakistani bases that have allowed American aircraft activity.
"There are six terrorist camps where Indian intelligence agency the Research and Analysis Wing trains Pakistani dissidents and like-minded Afghans to stir ethnic and sectarian unrest and carry out attacks in Pakistan," Mr Hayat said.
The interior minister said investigators had found evidence of an "Indian hand" in the July 4 massacre of more than 50 Shias at a mosque in Quetta.
Further south in the Kurram Agency, interfaith warfare is being promoted by terror attacks upon Shia by mysterious forces allied with Sunni interests.
All the necessary plans have been made to cause a violent eruption in the Western Provinces, the proposed building site for the American oil and gas pipelines that will save the world. Thanks to the new US/India nuclear deal, Bush now has available 150,000 Indian troops to clear-out Pakistani opposition.
The only remaining obstacle is the ongoing battle being fought at Bejaur by Pakistan, against US/Indian fake taliban. This is why the US is against Pakistan's approach to eliminating the fake Taliban and fake al Qaida, Pakistan is eliminating the US's henchmen.
If Pakistan refuses to submit to Bush's demands then there will be outright war. If Pakistan submits to Bush's demands then there will be no more Pakistan, and then no more Iran, and then who knows?
MORE Secret Memos: Bush Regime Advocated, Endorsed Torture: An article in last Wednesday's Washington Postreveals that, in 2003 and 2004, Bush Regime officials issued a pair of memos to the CIA that explicitly and categorically advocated the use of torture on "suspected terrorists".
Two developments ensued the memos:
One - countless bodies and minds were destroyed by the systematic use of water boarding, crushing testicles, sleep deprivation, bodies smeared with dog shit and set upon by German shepherds, savage beatings, and other unimaginably barbaric torments carried out by U.S. intelligence and military officials - in the name of the American people.
Two - an endless stream of evasions, distortions, cheap "justifications", equivocations, and of course outright lies by every significant representative of the Bush Regime, starting with Bush himself, from day one right down to today.
Torturing Democracy: This film was shown on PBS WNET in New York last week, but PBS has delayed showing it nationally until after January 21. You can see it anytime online, and it's well worth the time. Watch the documentary, narrated by Peter Coyote, read the key documents, and see a timeline of US sponsored torture at http://www.torturingdemocracy.org/
Patrick Buchanan, in his recent article - Liquidating the Empire, very correctly understands that America's present financial/economic crisis is so serious that we can expect its creditors will no longer loan America enough money to finance all of its current operations. That there will have to be severe cuts somewhere in the federal budget to accommodate America's severely reduced circumstances.
Buchanan expects that it will have to be our foreign military commitments and wars that will have to be severely curtailed in order to save America from insolvency.
Of course he is correct, but he probably has not gone nearly far enough. I expect a far more comprehensive federal military belt tightening will be required. This military belt tightening will include downsizing all branches of the military, the elimination of most weapons development programs and the cancellation of all contracts with paramilitary contractors. More accurately, the cancellation of all contracts with the extremely expensive private fascist armies.
The problem with all of the aforementioned is that these very prudent measures to save America financially and economically run counter to the global commercial/military ambitions of the elite in power today.
Therefore, though Buchanan does not expect severe cuts in social programs by the power structure, the first attempts to make severe cuts in the federal budget may very well take place there.
Attempts to cut social service budgets most likely will result in extreme civil and political unrest. The direct consequence of this unrest may very well be that our de facto fascist state declares martial law which will be the degeneration into a fascist military/police state.
I have been against the "Bailout" from the beginning. Using your tax dollars (actually your children's tax dollars since this is all borrowed money) to bail out Wall St has always been a horrible idea.
Even worse, the problem was created by Washington in the first place. They artificially increased the value of homes and stocks by inflating their values through the sequential lowering and lowering of interest rates. The home and stock markets need the correction they are getting. Some businesses need to fail.
While it is unfortunate that some people have to lose money in market corrections, it is terrible to think that everyone has to lose money instead. It is even more deplorable to think that we are asking our children to lose money for our sake. Just think of it. Since when have business failures been unacceptable in a free society?
As the White House was (and is) selling the bailout we've heard:
Lie #1- Buying up bad debt will make bankers ease up on credit and take on even more debt. When I heard this the first time weeks ago, I thought - "This is utter nonsense!" I couldn't believe that our best and brightest would actually believe this. When you have taken on bad debt - you don't open your pocketbooks just because some of the bad debt has been wiped clean. A business will change its policies so that it doesn't take on more bad debt in the future! It will hoard cash because all of the years of loans in the pipeline that were made under the original formula that produced a lot of bad debt are still out there. They don't know how many more are going to go bad that is still out there. No amount of buying bad debt is going to be like "Fairy Godmother" poofing away all of your worries. A smart business will change it's lending practices - probably forever - and they will minimize taking on new debt until their balance sheets are stronger. The only thing that will ease the credit crunch is time - time for the balance sheets to shore up and time for the bad loans to work their way through.
Lie #2 - Our Congressmen are representing We the People. If 95% of the people didn't want the bailout, why did so many vote Yes? It should have been defeated 435 to 0 if the will of the people was really being served. Something is coercing them to change their minds. So much for that!
Lie #3 - Now that it passed, maybe - just maybe - buying up all that bad debt will at least do a little bit to help the balance sheets get stronger. The first $250 Billion - yes billion - of the bailout money isn't being used to buy up bad debts at all. Nor is it being used to buy up banks who are failing. Hard to believe, but they are actually using it to buy stakes in all of the largest and strongest banks of the country. "The action represents a remarkable turnaround for a rescue program that was already the largest bailout in U.S. history. As the plan sped through Congress, the administration said the money was needed to purchase bad mortgage-related assets that are weighing on the books of financial institutions, never mentioning direct stock purchases.""The nine initial banks participating are Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America Corp, including the soon-to-acquired Merrill Lynch, Citgroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co, Bank of New York Mellon and State Street Corp" These are "healthy institutions that did not need capital from the government". It is "As Clear as Day" now that this was the plan all along. Simply put, this was the plan for the Feds to gain control of the private banking enterprise so they have greater control of all of our lives and have even more access to all of our private information.
Lie #4 - Paulson said that they are buying stakes in big banks purely to "remove any stigma that might be associated with banks getting bailouts". You have got to be kidding if you think that anyone with half a mind would actually believe that he has to spend $250 Billion of our tax dollars just to remove stigma with the other banks that really need the help? Why would anyone care about a stigma at this point? Who cares what banks they buy up or buy bad debt from. Even more distressing is that these banks didn't even want to be bought out by the government. "Some of the nation's largest banks had to be pressured by to participate by Paulson". What type of pressure is being exerted? How the heck did they threaten huge businesses to force them to sell stock to the Federal Government? Why didn't they just say no? Why won't they tell us?
Lie #5 - If they can figure out how to answer any of the above questions, we should just assume that this is the next lie(s). Whatever Mafia-like measures they used to force our biggest banks into selling part of themselves to the Feds - I can only imagine - and I'm sure you can too. They simply aren't spending the money the way the law was written - unless it was in the fine print that they could buy "anyone" and "anything" without any justification.
Lie #6 - Equal protection under the law. Those who are in power will not be prosecuted. Yet, those who are almost defenseless in our central cities (think drug "war") are rounded up by the thousands.
In closing, I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised about anything anymore. Our government lies and lies to us in order to get us to go to war and take over other countries. Why should I be so surprised when they lie and lie to us in order to take over our own formerly-private banks?
You know what's worse? This is only the beginning. I have no idea what is coming next.
"...According to the most recent data for June 30, 2008 released today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the three largest American bank holding companies, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citicorp, had current outstanding derivatives contracts totaling $179.4 trillion dollars. The three banks combined have total assets of just under $5.6 trillion!
Now do you see why the bail-out is not working? And can not work - there isn't enough money in the world to cover all these virtual bets, and the efforts by the central banks to print that money, is fuelling a hyperinflationary bomb which will wipe out not only the remnants of the global financial system, but also the governments, national economies and the means of existence for most of the world's population. Hyperinflation will destroy the value of the US dollar itself, wiping out pensions, savings, bank accounts, stock portfolios, and all other monetary values, bankrupting households, businesses and governments, leaving all the nation-states destroyed, and, effectively, no longer nation-states..."
As pointed out in a recent blog post, Judge Andrew Napolitano was right on target about the bailout.
He noted that the constitution prohibits Government behavior such as the bailout. The Fifth Amendment guaranteed the rights of citizen against illegal seizures and defined the taking of property for the public good (Imminent Domain) very narrowly. To take one's property, there must be a public use and benefit and the person who had their property taken must receive just compensation. As the country aged, this provision came under attack continuously from the rich and powerful most often in league with corrupt Government officials and Judges.
Finally until today, a person's property may be taken with no public use involved but still, just compensation used to be required. That last bastion of the Fifth Amendment has been swept away when the government took our future income, our private property, without any compensation, to bail out private citizens.
Such action is not only against the spirit, but against every word originally written in the Constitution.
Not only is the taxpayer not compensated, he has been handed the bill - to either pay forthwith or to pass it on to his children and their children. And look who is eligible to receive the money forcibility taken from the citizen...Basically the rich and the powerful (are you surprised) and not only American citizens but foreigners can get their hands in the booty.
Sadly, people will tell you there is not a damn thing you can do about it. But they are wrong. There is something you can do about it. You can vote every incumbent out of office next month. And you can continue to do that every election until we have brought into office someone who will prosecute the thieves who stole our money.
That's what is missing in all this talk about the bailout; the only victim is the defenseless citizen. Those that did the crime ain't gonna do the time; as long as you keep voting those corrupt officials who robbed you back in office.
Just a few short facts about this Administration.
Since Bush came into office the long-term liabilities of the United States has increased $40 Trillion - That's 40,000 Billion.
Since Bush came into office the Short-term debt has increased by $8 Trillion. That's 8,000 Billion.
Since Bush started the Iraqi war $3 Trillion has been spent to enrich the War Machine that's 3,000 Billion.
Since Bush came into Office the top five U S Oil Companies have collected $464 Billion - In profits and that is thru 2007, their profits this year alone have averaged around $42 Billion per quarter. That's $168 Billion this year alone.
This year alone we have lost over 750,000 jobs thru September. Probably will go over one million before Jan 1.
Shame on you if you vote for a Republican (editor: or an incumbent other than Dennis Kucinich or Ron Paul) this election. This country needs change. It's time to start while you can. There comes a time when all free men must rise up and reclaim their freedom. That time is here.
I also agree that McCain and Palin are the greater threat when it comes to imposing a fascist military/police state.
Conversely, the threat of a fascist military/police state is only modestly diminished if Obama and Biden win.
If you doubt this, then recall the very modest differences between the police state tactics at the Democratic National Convention in Denver and the police state tactics at the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul.
Also, recall that Congress financed these demonstrations of police state tactics with one hundred million dollars. Fifty million dollars for the more reserved demonstration of fascist police state tactics in Denver and fifty million dollars for the more blatant demonstration of police state tactics in Saint Paul.
"Superstar Investor" Jim Rogers warns us what might be coming as a result of the fed printing up nearly a trillion dollars for "bailouts." It's not pretty.
Secret Bush Administration Plan to Suspend US Constitution
Ten months before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved an updated version of the U.S. Army's secret operational Continuity of Government (COG) plans.
A draft document published by the whistleblowing website Wikileaks entitled, "Army Regulation 500-3, Emergency Employment of Army and Other Resources. Army Continuity of Operations (COOP) Program," dated 19 January 2001, spells out changes in Army doctrine.
Issued by Headquarters, Department of the Army and signed off by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the Secretary of the Army, the document is affixed with a warning: "Destruction Notice: Destroy by any method that will prevent disclosure of contents or reconstruction of the document."
The current financial crisis is widely perceived as the greatest threat to the stability of the USA. This threat was
Not caused by radical Islamic terrorists
Not by Colombian drug lords
Not by organized crime
Not by radical right-wingers
Not by radical left wingers
Not by inner-city street gangs
This crisis was created by the best and the brightest Americans
Educated at our finest universities
The elite of our society by virtue of talent and riches
The leading donors to our most deserving charities
With the blessing of government leaders of both parties
Am I playing the blame game? You bet I am. The best and the brightest profited with enormous salaries, the adoration of the media, the perks accruing to the leaders of society. But they have failed and must step aside for new leaders. David Halberstam warned us that the best and the brightest would fight displacement by blaming others and impersonal forces for their failures as they did in the fiascos of Vietnam and Iraq. We must not allow that to happen.
I was listening to the news, both American and Canadian, on my way home recently. It seems that, now that the wealthy gamblers have had their bad bets covered by $850 billion out of the pockets of We the Taxpayers, the stock markets have been plunging through world-wide to record losses. I guess this is probably so the recipients of the bail-out can use the money to buy low, to sell high after the next manufactured bubble.
Meanwhile, We the People are no better off than we were before, with jobs continuing to be outsourced, homes being foreclosed, social services being curtailed or eliminated at record rates.
If you go to the PNAC site, http://www.newamericancentury.org/ you will see that this all fits right in with the plan for world hegemony and control that the neocons put forward quite a few years ago.
Meanwhile, the filthy rich stay filthy in their hears and souls, and rich in property and money, able to buy and ensure increasing power though that wealth.
Before the days of political correctness uber alles, the phrase for hopeless was that "He didn't stand a Chinaman's chance." Now, I think that "Chinaman" has the best chance of anybody, since BushCo has sold the US to China. If they ever foreclose, we'll all have to learn Mandarin and our pensions (if any) will be paid in Yuan.
(1) The fascist Bush regime and its supporters in both major political parties in Congress are engaged in an extremely high stakes bail-out of the most pro-fascist factions
(2) Point number one is based on the assumption that saving the most pro-fascist faction will save the economy from a depression at least as severe, possibly more severe, than the 1930s depression.
(3) There is considerable debate about the effectiveness of this bail-out, and its negative impact on the ability of the American government to service its colossal debt.
(4) There is considerable debate about what the fascist Bush regime's options are if this bail-out is not effective in saving the American economy from a depression that very well may precipitate a global depression.
(5) There is considerable debate on whether the de facto fascist American state can maintain its global military supremacy in this economic/financial crisis.
(6) There is considerable debate on whether the de facto fascist American state can maintain its position as the world's dominant economic power in this economic/financial crisis.
(7) If the de facto American state is not able to prevent a national/global depression there will be enormous political and civil unrest right here in America.
(8) There is considerable debate on how the de facto American state will cope with the next national/global depression. In the 1930s Franklin D. Roosevelt could incur debt to prime the American economy. FDR could do this because compared to today the American government was debt free. Today, the government is so burdened with debt it is debatable if it can even service the present debt, not to mention the debt required to revive the American economic system in the throes of a national/global depression.
(9) The fascist Bush regime is showing signs of desperation. Preparing to use the war machine to suppress civil and political unrest here in America is one sign of desperation. The use of militarized police to suppress peaceful political dissent at the Republican and Democratic national conventions was another sign of desperation.
(10) The American war machine is thoroughly brainwashed from the very highest officers to the lowest ranks to follow orders from the commander-in-chief even if those orders are unconstitutional and violate international law. In this respect they aren't any different from the officers and soldiers in the fascist Nazi German war machine.
(11) The American war machine has been thoroughly brutalized by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
(12) When the American war machine is ordered to suppress civil and political unrest here in America we can be certain that it will be, at the minimum, at least as brutal as the militarized police at the Republican and Democratic national conventions.
(13) If the desperate fascist Bush regime, or its equally desperate fascist Republican or fascist Democratic successor, are not confident about the reliability of the their fascist war machine in suppressing civil and political unrest they do have a fallback position. That fallback position of course is using private fascist armies manned with foreign mercenaries and American sociopaths. The private fascist armies are DynCorp, Intercom, Blackwater USA, American Security Group, Blackhawk, Wackenhut, Bodyguard and Tactical Security (BATS) and the Israeli company Instinctive Shooting International (ISI).
(14) You can be certain that from the time I started writing this commentary to the time I finished it our national financial/economic situation has worsened, and thepower structure has grown even more desperate.
I got to thinking about something that needs to be done. The verse carved at the base of the Statue of Liberty needs to be changed. I am sure they can find some skilled chiselers erase the old and add the new.
From
"Give me your tired, your poor Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
To
"Give me your magnates, your tycoons, your CEO's in travail, Your gamblers and grifters who play with other peoples lives, The speculators, who rob the people, their savings to avail. Bring me their bad debts and worthless paper that dives, I will buy it all to stake them once again!"
Seems much more realistic to me, as we no longer want any poor except those that will do stoop labor for pennies.
The economic illiterates in Washington threw a small cake of economic ice called an income tax rebate at a self-inflicted economic problem. Like a chunk of ice thrown to a drowning man it melted only making the rising price problem worse.
Being economic illiterates they honestly believe that a bigger piece of economic ice will do the job. A larger cake of ice will take a bit longer to melt which will only make the economic lake bigger and deeper.
It should not take a great deal of imagination to know that if you have people out of work that the sensible thing to do is put them to work building something needed by all the people.
The recent storms prove that all power lines should be put under ground. The price of gasoline proves that thousands of people need rapid rail to get to work.
Giving money to rescue the stock market will not produce either of these critically needed utilities.
Just got this the other day, Army to Test Air Burst Weapon for Joes:
For once it seems the Army is actually turning fiction into science.
After nearly a decade in the shadows -- with billions spent on earlier versions long since abandoned -- the Army is moving quickly to field a revolutionary new weapon to Joes a lot sooner than anyone had ever imagined.
It's a weapon that can take out a bad guy behind a wall, beyond a hill or below a trench, and do it more accurately and with less collateral damage than anything on the battlefield today, officials say. It's called the XM25 Individual Air Burst Weapon, and by next month the service will have three prototypes of the precision-guided 25mm rifle ready for testing.
A 'leap ahead' in lethality
"We've done a lot of testing with this, and what we're seeing is the estimated increase in effectiveness is six times what we'd be getting with a 5.56mm carbine or a grenade launcher," said Rich Audette, Army Deputy Project Manager for Soldier weapons.
"What we're talking about is a true 'leap ahead' in lethality, here. This is a huge step," Audette added during a phone interview with Military.com from his office at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey.
Shame on them (the politicians) and shame on us (the public). We live in the United States of Shame. Why? Because everywhere we see nothing but disgrace, dishonor and infamy, yet a complete absence of shame. In a nation where religion supposedly plays such a big role, people seem to have used it to suppress shame and avoid blame.
Republicans should feel nothing but shame over the worst presidency in American history. Democrats should feel utter shame for a Congress that has sold out ordinary citizens. Lesser evil voters should feel heart-attack pain for their shameful behavior in maintaining the status quo two-party plutocracy. All those millionaires and billionaires that made it big in corporate America should have SHAME tattooed on their foreheads.
I have been thinking about shame as I reflect on how our nation has sunk so low and how little confidence I have that any Democrat or Republican - not Barack Obama or John McCain - will truly reform a totally corrupt and dysfunctional political system. I keep waiting to hear either of these two or any of the so-called leaders in Congress say something as simple as "As an American and an elected public official I feel nothing but shame for being part of this awful political system that has let you down."
When those with power feel no shame over their incompetence and ineptitude they clearly have no ability to own up to it. Without the expression of shame there is no genuine apology.
I do not want to keep seeing a grinning John McCain and a smiling Barack Obama. I want to see them and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and all the other losers in Congress plea publicly for forgiveness from the nation they have shamed. This is what we all should demand of them. Say this clearly; say it every freaking day every time you get in front of a microphone and camera: "I am ashamed to be part of this system. Forgive me. I will set aside all my ambitions and excuses and try to earn your forgiveness." Write it 1,000 times every damn day. Make it your mantra. Say it every time you shake the hand of an American.
When you automatically say yet another lie to the public stop yourself, pause and say "Forgive me, bad habits are so hard to break. What I just said is really a lie. I am ashamed. Here is the truth."
Until all those with power in the public and private sectors totally recognize, accept and proclaim their shame there is no hope for returning our nation to greatness.
Until ordinary people also accept their shame for their cowardly behavior in supporting our shameful two-party plutocracy that has given us nothing but a fake democracy, there is no way that we will vote our way out of this awful mess.
Where there is no shame there is no acceptance of blame. And we know who to blame.
I guess the only reason the first bailout bill went down is that it wasn't big enough or vague enough. The new one was loaded with pork and has another $150 Billion in giveaways. A shoo in!
One of my alleged "representatives" in the Senate wrote me a smarmy form letter. In it, she said:
"People want to know if this crisis is real. I have asked the same question of Treasury Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke. I have spoken with economic experts and Washington state business leaders. Companies like Weyerhaeuser and Microsoft have made it clear that something must be done. Power utilities such as Avista and the farm groups such as the Farm Bureau have told me that the government's proposal to stabilize our financial markets is critically needed."
If that is how they garner their information, and from whom, for critical decision making, they must ask the wolves how to guard the sheep. Every one of the above is a special interest tied to wealth and the Oligarchy.
I remember one of James Thurber's Fables, He mentioned that the foxes were off civilizing the rabbits. When there was nothing left to eat, they decided to civilize the geese.
The goats are now assigned to guard the cabbage patch. But will We the Sheeple wake up? Hell, no. We'll just follow the nice goat with the bell right through the door.
I was listening to my favorite leftie, Pete Seeger, on Pandora.com yesterday, and it recommended a song by Arlo Guthrie (written by Tom Paxton) - "I'm Changing my Name to Chrysler" I believe it came about around 1980 - and it seems to me that the lyrics fit perfect in today's corporatist/fascist/bailout culture:
Oh the price of gold is rising out of sight And the dollar is in sorry shape tonight What the dollar used to get us now won't buy a head of lettuce No the economic forecast isn't right But amidst the clouds I spot a shining ray I can even glimpse a new and better way And I've devised a plan of action worked it down to the last fraction And I'm going into action here today
CHORUS: I am changing my name to Chrysler I am going down to Washington D.C. I will tell some power broker What they did for Iacocca Will be perfectly acceptable to me I am changing my name to Chrysler I am headed for that great receiving line So when they hand a million grand out I'll be standing with my hand out Yes sire I'll get mine
When my creditors are screaming for their dough I'll be proud to tell them all where they can all go They won't have to scream and holler They'll be paid to the last dollar Where the endless streams of money seem to flow I'll be glad to tell them what they can do It's a matter of a simple form or two It's not just renumeration it's a liberal education Ain't you kind of glad that I'm in debt to you
CHORUS
Since the first amphibians crawled out of the slime We've been struggling in an unrelenting climb We were hardly up and walking before money started talking And it's sad that failure is an awful crime Well it's been that way for a millenium or two But now it seems that there's a different point of view If you're a corporate titanic and your failure is gigantic Down in congress there's a safety net for you
CHORUS
Found a pretty decent YouTube video of with this song too. Watch it here:
I got this from a friend and thought it worth passing on. Food for thought, perhaps.
Statement of Ralph Nader September 16, 2008 Before the Constitution Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee on "Restoring the Rule of Law"
When the President beats the drums of war, the dictatorial side of American politics begins to rear its ugly head. Forget democratic processes, Congressional and judicial restraints, media challenges, and the facts. All of that goes out the door. Dissenting Americans may hold rallies in the streets, but their voices are drowned out by the President speaking from the bully pulpit.
The invasion and occupation of Iraq, and the resulting quagmire, is Bush's most egregious foreign policy folly, but reflects a broader dynamic. Remember retired General Wesley Clark's stinging indictment of the administration: "President Bush plays politics with national security. Cowboy talk. The administration is a threat to domestic liberty."
President George W. Bush often uses the words and terms, "freedom," "liberty," and "our way of life" to mask his unbridled and largely unchallenged jingoism. The politics of fear sells. Cold war politics sold. The war on terrorism sells. But it's a very expensive sale for the American people. Even with the Soviet Union long gone, America's military budget amounts to half the operating federal budget. While vast resources and specialized skills are sucked into developing and producing redundant and exotic weapons of mass destruction, America's economy suffers and its infrastructure crumbles.
Right now, it seems to me that we have a choice of voting for war and giveaways to the rich and powerful, or voting for war and giveaways to the rich and powerful. One in a velvet glove and the other a mailed fist. Not much of a choice, sadly enough.
The world financial markets were rocked to their foundation recently by the news of the collapse of one of the oldest Wall Street Investment firms in American history, preceded by two of the largest bailouts in American history. If that was not news enough, the market was then knocked around again in round two when American Insurance Group (AIG) was given a 24 hours notice to raise $85 billion dollars to cover debt tied to the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
Once again, the federal treasury decided to bail out another corporation in the name of the American people and the "stability" of the marketplace. Then the mother of all bailouts was announced just before the close of business two weeks ago when Secretary of the Treasury announced a $700 billion dollar bailout of all remaining investment firms, banks and insurance groups.
President Bush proudly proclaimed that the American people had been saved by the quick thinking and decisive actions of the US Treasury and anticipated quick passage of the trillion-dollar bailout by the House and Senate the following week.
The reality of the situation is that the American taxpayers are being held responsible for the irresponsible investment decisions and speculative actions of private corporations and private investors. In addition to the $650 billion dollars the federal treasury is paying annually for the defense budget plus the costs of the war in Iraq, the general public is now expected to foot a trillion dollar bill based on speculation.
Americans do not understand what the cost of the proposed bailout is in real terms, and many Americans do not realize the amount of debt that the federal government has already accrued, which is a burden to be passed on to our future generations.
In real dollars, the proposal by the treasury department will cost the average taxpayer five thousand dollars and ten thousand dollars for a household of four. That is ten thousand dollars of debt that President Bush and his cabinet will leave as a legacy to compete with the shared cost of the war in Iraq, which will cost the average household nearly an additional ten thousand dollars in debt.
That is a total of twenty thousand dollars in debt per household multiplied by millions of Americans equals nearly two trillion dollars that we are deeper in debt as a result of the war in Iraq and the recent proposed bailout which will in all likelihood sail through Congress.
There are many reasons given to support the bailout - It is intended to protect Main street America from being impoverished by a credit crunch - if the bill is not passed millions of jobs might be lost, no one can buy a car, or a home, life savings will be lost - you've heard all these and many more claims. But are they true?
I've heard that the credit merchants are afraid to loan money so they're just sitting on it! You've also heard that too. Really, I was wondering where all the money had gone because, well money doesn't stop existing does it? Once a dollar is placed into circulation it remains there no matter where its location is at any given moment, it still exists. Where are my dollars? In that bank, in a Financial Institution? Are they afraid to extend credit or are they playing a shell game waiting for a higher interest rate and less regulation? The money still exists somewhere.
Let me pose a reason to reject the bailout. Only one, although there are many. But this one is sufficient to stop any bailout as long as the bill contains this provision:
It provides bailouts to foreign investors too. I repeat, It provides bailouts to foreign investors also, I repeat one more time, It provides bailouts to foreign investors as well as American investors.
"The bill clearly states that foreign Financial Firms can sell "troubled Assets" to the United States Treasury. Assets now held in China and/or London or anywhere else can be sold to US Companies one day and then be sold to the Treasury on the next day. Paulson, our appointed Financial Dictator, has made it clear he will recommend a veto of any bill, I repeat any bill, that contains a clear provision that says that if Americans do not own an asset prior to a stipulated day that it can't be sold to the Treasury."
This means that Foreign Investors with a Sub in America, or as a Sub of an American Firm can pass their losses on to the lowly American Taxpayer. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) reported this facet of the bill when expressing why he was opposed to the bailout.
I am asking any reader of this article to consider the ramifications of such a provision when the average American taxpayer is coerced to pony up $700 Billion to "Save our Economy". Please note that we might have to bail out foreign investors as well if this is passed with that provision in it. Remember that commercial "What's in your wallet?"
I submit that what the deceitful politico's would like to have in your wallet is their greedy hands and those of their Foreign Banker Friends. There is no shame in our Government anymore.
Yesterday's historic 777 point plunge was the largest single day point drop in the history of Wall St. While it wasn't the largest on a percentage basis, it was the largest on a point by point basis.
Those in Washington DC state that this is yet another reason why the bailout is necessary. But, Washington caused the drop in the first place! ...really, you say? So then, why did the market crash today? It is not because the financial markets are in ruin. It is because Washington is ruining them!
I read that 1.3% of loans, on average, are bad right now about 2-3 times the historical average. That is not good, but far from financial ruin. Many banks are in position to whether this storm. Banks that took on too much risk on loans for assets with inflated values, like WaMu and Wachovia, are failing. But, there are plenty of suitors of good banks to buy up the bad ones. Chase bought WaMu. CitiGroup ate up Wachovia. More will come to follow. It is how the economy is supposed to work. Survival of the fittest - no bail out is necessary!
There was no talk of any bailout until the last few weeks and the market wasn't dropping. It has had fairly stable prices for months. It is only when all of this talk of the feds taking over assets has Wall St gotten ichy. It is only because Washington has overblown this crisis upon us, saying we will be in certain peril if the bill fails, and then no doubt when the bill failed did this sell off occur.
I believe that this panic sell off would never have happened if all of this bailout rehtoric wouldn't have been transposing these last few weeks. Thus, the drop in the Dow has been caused by Washington. Why isn't anyone angry about this?
I hate to say this folks, but this is really starting to look like a re-run. Remember back before the Iraq war started? At first, their was little public support for attacking Iraq. Then, after months of propoganda from the White House, proliferated through the nightly news media, did public support reach the level to give them a go. I see the exact thing happening again. Another stupid idea with little public support.
I now see relentless pressure from the White House talking about how important this is, or everything will collapse, and now all the news agencies are giving the same message. I rarely see any news agency with the counterpoints of how horrible this bailout idea is. Congress is going to try to pass this Bailout bill - again.
You have to call and email your congressman - Again. It is the only thing keeping them from passing it now. Do not let the news of Wall St dropping stop your resolve. It should give you stronger resolve to tell them again to vote NO! If they don't keep hearing from you, they will change their votes!
If Pakistan refuses to submit to Bush's demands then there will be outright war. If Pakistan submits to Bush's demands then there will be no more Pakistan, and then no more Iran, and then who knows?
