Truth and Reconciliation

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission serves as a model for reform and societal healing. We need to create a similar movement here in the USA so that we may learn the truth concerning the corruption of our polity and to enact effective reforms. I doubt we can do it any other way.

war and profit

War sucks and that's all there is to it. Check this production from the 1930's.

There's a war against the middle class right now. Try not to support the bad guys.

Taxes and wealth

The concept of a wealth tax is new to me. I like it. Here is Bernie Sanders' list of top ten tax dodgers.

The death of the middle class isn't something that just happened with the aid of some invisible hand of the market, it's been a failure of design.

Here's a little something about payroll taxes.

Anarchists

This morning ABC's Good Morning America covered a piece about the massive protests in England where an estimated 500,000 people gathered in opposition to proposed austerity measures. There was footage of violence and a banner about Anarchists. I found the story disturbing on multiple levels.

I'm hardly surprised that public violence erupted in the hooligan country and that didn't disturb me. Use of anarchist as descriptor disturbed me. Anarchists? Protesting more economic anarchy?

I remember the structural adjustments that the IMF and World Bank imposed on many countries and their reputably tragic consequences. I think of the difficulty of integrating poor nations with tribal cultures into The Free Market Beast.

I reflect on Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and interviews with Perkins. I imagine how unprepared populations in undeveloped countries must be for the arrivals of suits and ties. How difficult it may be for good men and how easy for the corrupt entertains my imagination. Order and chaos are mutually dependent in the weave of creation.
It can be difficult to discern the good from the bad in these most interesting times.

Protesters of union busting in the UK are labeled anarchists. I don't know if they think of themselves as anarchists. I do know that I think of free-market fundamentalists as economic anarchists. Regulations are parameters of law and order.

At least I'm a little more educated about fiat money and Nixon-shock within the Web of Debt. I pray for a future like Star Trek, but it's going to take an apocalypse to see the Death of Money. Let's not forget, JFK was the last guy to try to mess with the Banksters scheme and we saw what that got him. How do you fight against people controlling trillions of dollars? While Ben Bernanke seems pretty skanky, at least Bernie has some balls. I appreciate the irony that Congress's only democratic socialist is The People's greatest present hero, if I understand this correctly.

Let's see if I've got this right....the Fed gives Wall Street a 12+ trillion dollar bailout and then refuses to give a mere 2% of that amount to state and municipal which would solve all of the budget crises that are used for an excuse to implement austerity programs that undermine democrats?

Confucius said in Analects, "The great person understands Yi, morality, duty to one's neighbor, altruism, and politeness. The small man understands Li, profit and personal advantage".

I suspect that Confucius would appreciate P2P and the Wiki sites that are oh so Yi.

The aduacity of Obama

That's it, I've lost what little faith I had in the goodness of our president, President Obama. So have other liberals and progressives like Blake and Leslie.

As the new Republicans have tipped their hands and overstepped the bounds of decency, President Obama is beginning to show his true colors. Today the NY Times published an article about GE which exposes the company's insidious and corrupt practices that have made them leaders in the field of corporate-welfare fraud. How else could a corporation with billions of dollars in profit collect billions more in tax refunds while shipping jobs overseas? That would be both criminal and seditious if GE were a person, but GE is a transnational corporation and therefore has no allegiance to any country, only to profit.

President Obama promised to keep his administration free from lobbyists, yet he has hired at least 45 former lobbyists to fill positions within his administration. The President has appointed Jeffery R. Immelt, Mr. ship our jobs to China, as chairman of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

Okay, I get it. The Great Recession was just the opening act preceding the second Great Depression. Our President did hire the same criminal Wall Street Banksters that engineered the economic meltdown of 2008 to "fix" the game. They are back at it, finding new ways to screw The People for the benefit of the new Oligarchs.

Who will stand and lead us from the tyranny of the kleptocrats? There aren't many people I trust anymore. Perhaps we could convince Bernie Sanders or Thom Hartmann to run for President. I trust Thom, he's been telling the truth for a long time now. I'm sure Denis Kucinich will make a run, God bless him.

How do you think can lead us from the brink of disaster?

Winning the wars

We must fight to win our wars. We are a nation at war, we are a nation of war.
We have more wars going on than you can shake a stick at; Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Drugs, Crime, Terrorism, Class, Culture, etc.

We can win them all, but we must fight. There is one front where we can marshal our forces and tip the balance to create a domino effect that will save the very soul of our democracy and lead to victory in all these wars. That front is the present political battle that threatens the very fabric of the American Dream.

There is systematic class warfare in this country where a well informed, determined and organized progressive base is the only hope against a corrupt and oppressive political machine that aims to strengthen a victorious kleptocracy that rules our country.

If you are reading this I don't need to inform you about what is really going on. We will not win this war with compromise. The truth will not be found between lies and half-truths.

The sad truth is that the next election cycle may be the final battle. We know that the Republicans, on the whole with few exceptions, are the enemies of The People. We know that a large number of Democrats have been corrupted and that the Democratic Party must be reformed to maintain any validity as a party for the people. True Progressives are our last good hope.

It's time to take off the gloves and fight dirty. It's time to take some pages from the conservative handbook as unsavory as that may sound to you. It's time to get off the high horse and into the scrum. Let us shame the opposition into submission. Fight the Radical Regressive Right. Brand the Enemies of The People and expose them for what they really are, Traitors.

This is a holy war, a war for the soul of a country. One cannot serve two masters. Either stand with The People or with the moneyed interests. The GOP worships the golden calf disguised as the Wall Street Bull and we must bring the sinners back into the righteous fold.

Our actions cannot be too bold nor our words too strong. This is the final battle and the last chance to defeat The Beast before it brings Armageddon. Make no mistake about it, the United Citizens ruling makes our last stand difficult, but the Republican executives and legislators have tipped their hand and shown their true colors as servants of tyrants.

We must act quickly and brand them for what they are; Traitors to The People, GOP=greedy obscene plunderers, the Regressive Right, The Flock of Mammon.

If we win this battle, the rest will be easy.

Reviving the Militias

It may be time to revive the militias. The US military is experiencing some difficulties in the recruitment of properly qualified personal. It's little wonder considering the unpopularity of our current wars and the over-deployment of troops that weren't really intended to part of overseas operations.

Thomas Jefferson wanted this country to be free from the burden of a standing army. Ambrose Bierce wrote a great definition of ARMY is The Devil's Dictionary (which I can't find at the moment so the following isn't an exact quote, but..) as a body of men designed to protect a land from invaders by devouring all of the resources that would make that country desirable for invasion.

Today's military is far to complicated and technologically reliant to make Jefferson's hope even close to a reality, but we can still honor the spirit of that visionary founding father. I propose to make that possible with The Militia Restoration Act.

The Militia Restoration Act would create a new branch of military or quasi-military to fill the gap that lies between the National Guard and the civilian populace. This organization would empower most US citizens to receive free military training without any obligation of service in the military.

Law enforcement and the NRA could also participate to help the general populace of the US to become more proficient and responsible; in use of weaponry, self-defense and hand-to-hand combat, comfortable and compatible in highly structured hierarchies, etc.

Citizens in good standing could qualify for advanced training in use of ordinance and military equipment operations. Convicted criminals, especially those convicted of violent crimes, would not be eligible to participate. This would help to create a safer society in which the general populace was decidedly more proficient in managing violence than the criminal class while nurturing superior relations and collaboration with law enforcement.

This Act could also help to promote physical fitness of the populace which may help to mitigate the obesity epidemic and lower health care costs.

Wealth money and politics

There seems to be a lot of confusion about wealth and money. The two have become conflated. Perhaps we all need to revisit history and take another look at Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations. It would also be wise to read some Jared Diamond. Guns Germs and Steel provides us with an even deeper perspective of the historical creation of wealth, while Collapse reveals how the gains of history can be lost or preserved.

There is also widespread confusion about the financial state of the United States. The USA is still the richest nation on the planet and, believe it or not, we still manufacture more goods than any other country. The big problem is with the distribution of wealth.

More than half of the world's largest economies are now corporations, not countries. Transnational corporations have no allegiances to countries, only to profits. The US Supreme Court ruled that profits were to be the primary concern of corporations. Over the last decade investments in foreign markets increased five-fold. IN 2010 GE finally made more money overseas than it did here in the States. It looks more like trickle-across economics than trickle-on. The race to the bottom is in high gear.

It is important to remember that corporations, in and of themselves, are not evil nor are the vast majority of people who work for them. It is the structure and scale of these artificial entities along with their legal and political leverage that makes them so insidious. The left hands seldom knows what the right hands are doing and there are myriads of hands within corporations.

Over the last thirty plus years there has been a massive redistribution of money in the USA. Many refer to this as the death of the middle class. Ronald Reagan ran a campaign based on a morning for America. There seems to have been a typo on that one, it should have been mourning for America. The top 1% of wealth holders now have more money than the poorest 150 million people. It's morally reprehensible and so bad that many millionaires don't even feel wealthy while billionaires feel that they have more in common with billionaires in other countries than they have with the vast majority of their fellow countrymen. So who cares about those strangers? Let them starve at the legislators expense.

How did this happen? The answer is long and complicated, but there are some events that are more significant than others. History can be seen as continuous struggle and conflict for wealth and power. The USA was born from a rebellion against an oppressive collusion between a monarchy and the worlds first real transnational corporation. Modern democracy around the globe was established through a struggle between haves and have-nots.

One of the most significant and subtle tipping points was the institution of a doctrine of corporate personhood in 1886. Understanding the significance of Unequal Protection is profoundly important and remains a key leverage point in the modern struggle for the integrity of modern democracy.

The campaign to pillage the commons through privatization along with a dramatic shift in tax laws is also highly significant. It is important to review the history of taxation to fully appreciate that what is being promoted as a spending or budget crisis is in reality a revenue crisis. The reality is that if the government spends less, we'll slow growth. A massive conspiracy to redistribute wealth from the many to the few has been wildly successful and has created the greatest income inequality the world has ever had. Plutocracy has been reborn and here's a nice chart depicting it. Income or wealth inequalities are unhealthy for any society.

The unprecedented theft, fraud and corruption of today's Calvinist selection would not have been possible without an effective propaganda machine. The repeal of the fairness doctrine and the permission of media consolidation have brainwashed millions into voting against their own best interests. There seems to be some confusion about the politics of Robin Hood, but we can be sure he wasn't a republican.

The influence of non-democratic global regulatory agencies such as the World Bank and the IMF have also played significant roles in creating our current dilemma. New democratic institutions need to be established and strengthened to labor for the interests of the many against the tyranny of the few.

Republican Governors and legislators are pushing a radical agenda of disaster capitalism to further tyranny. Beware the Ides of March.

Jan Schalowsky has introduced a new higher end income taxation scheme that is a very small step in the right direction, but ignores other important taxes such as capital gains, estate and corporate taxes.

There are some countries that utilize a wealth tax which seems like a damn good idea.

The Flock of Mammon

The Christian right, on the whole, is oh so wrong. They might have some Christian cultural heritage, but they hardly practice what they preach. Jesus was a big time liberal after all.

It is written that one cannot serve two masters. The GOP is the political arm of the new oligarchs. They worship the golden calf which is the bull of Wall Street. If you voted for them then it is time to repent.

All those who voted for conservative candidates voted against their own self-interests. Except for those rich voters. It's funny though, 19% of Americans think that they are in the top 1% of income "earners". That's a lot of delusional people. They are probably also the people who think they'll go directly to heaven. Maybe they've never seen how big a camel is and how small an eye of a needle is.

Take a look at this graph. Stealing from the poor and giving to the rich has never been easier.

Repent! Before it's too late, repent! When Judgment Day comes and all the morally correct atheists ascend to heaven in the Rapture, all of those who think they are Christians will remain on earth to suffer through the trials and tribulations because their true love is for the golden cow, money, Wall Street and intolerance.

Robin Meyers is a good Christian in my opinion. He wrote a book on the subject and created ProgressiveChristianity.org.

Here's a spot where you can find links to lots of liberal Christians.

Traitors to The People

The GOP has shown what it stands for, GREEDY OBSCENE POLITICIANS. They are traitors to The People.

G is for; greedy, ghouls, gargoyles,

O is for; obscene, obsolete, obstinate, Occident, offensive, old, obsessive, oblivious

P is for; Pig, plunderers, philistines, phyria, pejoratives,

GOP = Greedy Obsolete Plunderers or Ghoulish Obstinate Plunderers

I don't really have the words to adequately condemn the republicans, the greedy obstinate pigs. We the people who are not brainwashed by corporate infotainment and propaganda must do everything we are able to brand the oligarchs and their mindless minions for what they are, traitors to We The People.

The GOP are traitors and we must save the mindless minions who foolishly vote for them against their own interests. That's going to be the real hard work. The big money has the big voice. They own big corporate media that continually work to pollute the minds of the people.

We can print bumper stickers, but we can't force idiots to read the likes of Robert Reich or Michael Moore.

Republicans like child labor. Republicans are pro-cruelty to animals.

The Koch brothers seem like domestic enemies. Check out what the boys have to say on Thom Hartmann show, The Big Picture.
Climate denial may be the most insipid crime in history. Koch brothers exposed sounds like an interesting site.

Good News

A report from the UN says that we could double food crops with sound ecological farming techniques. Can we get of the oil teat now?

Did you know?

Check out Sony's take on the crazy acceleration of these times.

Meanwhile there's a dramatic redistribution of wealth occurring in the US. Republicans are stealing from the poor so they can give to the rich.

I didn't realize that over half the deaths of children came from suicide. I did know that there are a bunch of Republicans fighting against anti-bullying legislation.

I heard that the US Chamber of Commerce had right wing ties, but I could have known that they are this bad.

I did know that the Koch brothers seem to be dicks and Walker appears to their bitch.

It's nice to get new figures like this, "Columnist Sebastian Mallaby^{[dead link]} of the Washington Post reacted sharply to Perkins' book^[6]: "This man is a frothing conspiracy theorist, a vainglorious peddler of nonsense, and yet his book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, is a runaway bestseller." Mallaby, who spent 13 years writing for the London Economist and wrote a critically well-received biography of World Bank chief James Wolfensohn,^[7] holds that Perkins' conception of international finance is "largely a dream" and that his "basic contentions are flat wrong."^[6] For instance he points out that Indonesia reduced its infant mortality and illiteracy rates by two-thirds after economists persuaded its leaders to borrow money in 1970. He also disputes Perkins' claim that 51 of the top 100 world economies belong to companies. A value-added comparison done by the UN, he says, shows the number to be 29. (The 51 of 100 data comes from an Institute for Policy Studies Dec, 2000 Report on the Top 200 corporations; using 2010 data from The CIA World Factbookand The Fortune 500 list the current ratio is 114 corporations in the top 200 global economies.)

Humm...114 of 200