December 12, 2006
by John De Herrera

I've been hanging out over at Daily Kos, and recently there were two diaries that if placed side by side produce an interesting idea.

The first is about K Street, the sad reality that never goes away. Have you heard Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi say they are going to propose legislation to blow up K Street? Oh, they might title some nonsense with the assurances of reform, but change is unlikely.

The K Street piece was written by David Sirota, the best DKos diarist these days. It would be great if David Sirota heads a news department at a broadcast network one day.

The second diary has a 1995 documentary, that if you watch, you're initiated into an aspect of reality rarely talked about.

"Politicians & Lobbyists Gone Wild - D.C.'s New Reality TV" by David Sirota
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/12/7/11170/4733

"I killed the bank" by Quequeg
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/12/7/221733/660

Politics as usual: that's what it looks like we're about to break open or be overtaken by for the rest of our lives.

Overtaken? The rest of our lives? What are you talking about?!

If the electoral process and broadcast media are not reformed America will suffocate and die. It will still be called America come 2008, but it will not be what it's been for over two hundred years. The Status Quo is threatening not only to doom the way we hold and carry out elections, but how much Americans are allowed to know about their government.

The Status Quo though.... What is it? What best represents the SQ?

Is it the advertisements "Presidency 2008: Next Economic Leader" showing Kerry, Giuliani, Rice and Clinton?

Is the SQ the debate about whether to impeach or not? Should Democrats move to impeach quickly? Is the SQ what the L.A. Times had as headline: "Bush Not Swayed By Findings In Iraq Study."

Maybe that's just what the SQ gives rise to, because in the real world (a better one than the one we're living in now), it wouldn't matter what Bush thought; because as chief executive he vacationed for a month leading up to 9/11, invaded Iraq, mismanaged Katrina, etc., so it wouldn't matter if he were swayed or not about anything because he would already have been impeached. The SQ has prevented proper governance from taking place. Some say the SQ came into being in 2000, when the Supreme Court told a state to stop counting votes in a close presidential election. Is the Supreme Court the SQ? What is the SQ?! If it's a multifaceted thing--corporate media, K Street, and the Supreme Court all rolled into one--then what holds it together? How does the narrative hang in place where we have ridiculous things in our lives that nobody ever seems to really do anything about?

(Article Continues Below)

A CENTRALIZED BANK

If you wanted to pin the SQ to its single most definitive thing--it and all it gives rise to--you'd stick it to the Federal Reserve.

Imagine the letters F.E.D.E.R.A.L. R.E.S.E.R.V.E. tattooed on the foreheads of John Kerry and George Bush, Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, Tim Russert, Brian Williams and Katie Couric--pick your favorite politician or political talking head. That would be a pretty cool art piece, a frame and Federal Reserve tattooed in bold black across their foreheads. Some American artist has probably already done it; probably more than one artist from different regions...

But that which keeps the SQ in place will never allow Katie Couric to discuss the Federal Reserve, it's history, and why it's the end of the line. There is no discussion beyond a discussion about the Federal Reserve. It's not a Conspiracy Theory either, the facts are out there in the open. The documentary "Money Masters" found on Google video, is fascinating. It's a documentary made back in 1995, and it is done well. This may be news to some, but if you control the banks, you control everything. You decide where money will go, and where it will not. But if we dismantle the Federal Reserve wouldn't everything burst into flames?

If you don't have the time or don't feel like watching the documentary, briefly, back in 1913, while most of Congress was away on Christmas break, the Federal Reserve became a fact of American history. It's a private bank that acts like it's a governmental agency. It is not and it's been with us all this time.

It's not K Street that's the problem, it's not the endless stream of half-truths broadcast by corporate media, it's not tattooed politicians, it's the central bank of the U.S. and it is controlled by private interests. America is about to perish because of the Federal Reserve. Which doesn't bother the private interests helming the Federal Reserve one bit. A constitutional amendment could take the powers of the Federal Reserve and place them back where they belong, the U.S. Treasury. It most certainly should be enshrined in the Constitution, to lock out for good that which will be prey once the public is again distracted. Only a constitutional amendment has the political weight necessary to break the SQ.

No amount of legislation coming out of a corrupt congress is going to restore order out of the chaos created by private monies treated as free speech. As someone great once said, the 1st Amendment does not guarantee the right for men to say what some private interest pays them to say for its own private advantage, it's only to afford the freedom to say what they think as citizens. But if money is considered speech, and your the bank which controls all other banks, then with some time, you would end up controlling everything that is said. So all our favorites on the Sunday morning news shows, it's none of their faults, many may not even grasp the importance of the Federal Reserve. No it's just the way something has become since going back to 1913.

STRIKE THE ROOT

So, newsflash, if you want the SQ to be broken so it can be reformed into a world of proper governance, peaceable solutions and sustainability, we're going to have to break the bank. If you are one who believes it is already too late, that a crash is coming, hope to see you on the other side and all that? I for one would like to be caught working for justice.

Now, we know that talking about the Federal Reserve in the open is not going to get us anywhere. It's just too much for most people to get their head around, so we'll keep that a secret between us. For now let's put our imaginations to staging an act of civil disobedience in the capitol which raises awareness of what more than 3/4 of all Americans would love to see: a national convention.

Still working on ArticleV.org, but will have text up soon. Until then, for those who are so moved, please start thinking about whether you will be able to participate in a ceremony in the capitol sometime before next summer; and if you are not able, please consider what you may have to volunteer towards ArticleV.org, and/or what funds you can contribute. It might not be clear now, but things may dawn on us sometime after New Year's.

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John De Herrera [send him email] is an activist, writer, and proponent of an Article V Constitutional Convention.  Find more of John's work at http://www.article5.org/ and http://www.cc2.org/