Grappa
Your second option was the reason behind the second amendment to the Constitution. Those same right wing reactionaries probably never thought about the consequences of the availability of guns in society. The same people who were pushing these liberal gun rules are the same ones calling the authorities about you suggesting that these same weapons could be used to protect them from a government thereat. They may think a little different now that you were so forthright in your article.

Quoting from a recent article by Donna Volatile, entitled, "The Obama Construct" --

"McCain is a war mongering bully who is in your face. Obama, on the other hand, is a smooth talker, whose own foreign policy positions aren't too far removed from McCain's; and one has to wonder which is worse, or indeed if there really is any difference at all.

"(The idea of voting for the lesser of two evils, McCain being the more evil, according to Obama supporters, seems ludicrous given that both of these candidates will ultimately do the bidding of their masters and the master plan is the same for both parties. This should be quite apparent by now and if it isn't, well, by all means vote for Obama and reap your just rewards. ...Do you really think 'Obomba's' idea of war will be kinder and gentler than McCain's?)

"Obama supporters will tell you 'but he's honest and so sincere', and 'he's run a clean campaign' or 'he's one of us' (that one always gets me) but they remain blinded to what is obvious to many on the radical left and many on the traditional conservative/libertarian right: Obama is a player and he is playing the game of the global elitists.

"Since he has all but secured his party's nomination, he's becoming more militaristic by the minute, in both tone and by his stance on several key Foreign policy issues.

"Obama and his VP Choice, Senator Biden, however, are not the crux of the problem, but rather the mainstream voters are the problem as they continue to enable the corrupt two party system by consistently supporting the candidates being foisted upon them by controllers who select them in the first place and who are reinforced by the mainstream media machine in the second. These are not choices, these are lack of choices and if voters continue to participate in this sham, then they truly get what they deserve!

"With Obama supporters, the phrase 'blinded by the light' takes on a whole new meaning. What part don't you get?! (This is the party threatening to place demonstrators at the DNC in recently erected detention camps and the party whose House majority leader, Nancy Pelosi, ridicules the anti-war movement and the homeless: 'If they were poor and they were sleeping on my sidewalk, they'd be arrested for loitering but because they have 'Impeach Bush' across their chest, it's the First Amendment.' Funny how both parties get upset over that whole free speech thing...)

"What is most stunning about delusional Obama supporters is, when confronted by the aforementioned facts about Obama, they counter with this inane idea that Obama is only 'saying' these things, he doesn't really mean them, it's only to get elected and once he gets elected the true altruistic essence of the man will save us all from tyranny! (Can we say reality check?!)

"Their indefensible support of this double talker is beyond comprehension. ...

"If you want to help put a stop to the rigged election game, if you really want to make a difference and you want your voice of disapproval to be heard, then do VOTE! Vote for ANYBODY but the two buffoons, who have been pre-selected for you by the global elitist machine. Send a message, loud and clear: We refuse your choices.

"Vote Nader, vote McKinney, vote Ron Paul, vote Bob Barr, write in a vote, do whatever but don't support the corrupt system. Commit to a protest vote. Vote your conscience, do not vote under the 'lesser of two-evils' threat because then YOU are part of the problem, not part of the possible solution. (We've been on this trip too many times before. ... From 'hope and help is on the way' Kerry to Obama's constant harping on 'Change We Can Believe In', you have been sold a bill of goods from first to last. For all of Obama's talk of change, his words and actions show quite clearly, he means more of the same...)

"For those diehard Obama supporters who refuse to see the hand writing on the wall ... YOU are the problem. ... For those die-hard Hillary Clinton supporters, promising to vote for McCain because your war-monger wasn't the chosen one, seek psychiatric help immediately.

"And one more thing. ... Evil is evil, bad is bad, wrong is wrong regardless of sex, race, creed or color.

"And another thing ... If you vote for Obama, you are neither liberal nor are you progressive, so let's get that straight. If you vote for Obama, you are a neoliberal, so get use to it.

"Stop making excuses, there are none and time is running out as an even larger war may be in the making.

"Get those blinders off!

"This is your wake up call!"

(Words in parenthesis Ms. Volatile's)

Click here for the entire article -- http://www.counterpunch.org/volatile08282008.html

It's amazing that nowhere in this article is it suggested that, other than impeachment or revolution, there is, in fact, the alternative of voting for a progressive third party candidate.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm all but certain that "The Huffington Post" will, or already has, come out for Barack Obama. Yet they run an article that offers two possibilities -- impeachment or revolution -- but not the option of supporting a third party movement.

Don't kid yourself: to support Barack Obama or John McCain, is to support the Democratic/Republican duopoly, the mouthpiece of the economic elite -- with the greed and criminality of the economic elite being the cause of the problem in the first place!

It would be quite significant if Arianna Huffington and the powers-that-be over at The Huffington Post said "Enough!" ... Enough of the two-party duopoly.

-- The Democrats have been complicitous in the War.

-- The Democrats have been complicitous in the current financial meltdown, the worse since 1929!

-- The Democrats have been complicitous in warring against the middle class; "enabling" the Bush Administration to do whatever they damn well please.

-- Obama and the Democratic Party have voted to approve every war appropriation the Republicans have put forward, now totaling over $500 billion.

-- The Pentagon budget is over $500 billion dollars a year. Both Obama and McCain want to *increase* that budget.

-- The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are currently costing the US taxpayer
$15 billion per month. See http://www.costofwar.com/

Note: The vast majority of the $15 billion per month is going into the hands of the economic elite, those who profit *obscenely* from America's military-industrial complex.

-- Over 1 million Iraqis have died as a result of Gulf War II. See the following http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/01/31/6768/

And in case you think Obama is a peace candidate, here's what "Peace Candidate Obama" had to say about Iraq *after* he captured the nomination from Hillary Clinton and lurched to the right:

"I have always said I would listen to the commanders on the ground. I have always said that the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability.”

In other words, unless there are commanders in Iraq who are doves (about as likely as Obama giving back all the corporate money he's been given) -- unless there are commanders in Iraq who are doves, peacemakers, the US is going to stay in Iraq for as long as the military says the US should stay in Iraq.

-- Afghanistan is the 20th country the US has bombed since the end of WWII. Both Obama and McCain want to escalate the war there.

-- Obama and the Democrats voted to confirm Condeleeeza Rice, as well as a host of other Bush nominees.

-- Obama and the Democrats voted to re-authorize the Patriot Act.

-- Obama voted for the F.I.S.A. bill – after vowing not to.

-- Corporate America has given the Obama campaign more money than it's given the McCain campaign -- see the following http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/sep2008/obam-s19.shtml

-- The Democrats have done nothing about impeachment.

Enough!

Are the only alternatives, Ms. Alexandrovna, revolution or impeachment? It's amazing that the possibility of supporting a third party movement, especially now when an endorsement of a third party movement would be so timely -- it's amazing that this *still* doesn't occur to soft-left strongholds such as "The Huffington Post" and their contributors.

Just about every other advanced industrial country has a strong third party movement. Several advanced industrial countries have coalition governments.

But not the United States.

The vast majority of modern Americans are too soft for any kind of general strike, much less a revolution. People are too far in debt, too unwilling to sacrifice. Just read some of these comments - do they sound like revolutionaries? "There should be some mechanism under the law to stop this..."

The time is not yet right - and I truly hope it never is. Revolution is always a bloody affair - always. Until the military drag your family into the yard and shoot them in front of you, until some bureaucrat denies your sick child critical medical care, until people disappear and show up weeks later, beaten but afraid to say what happened - then you might begin to see the dedication necessary on the part of the populace. Until then, I'd recommend you arm yourselves and keep and a low profile. Six months ago, who would have thought we would be speaking openly of revolution? Who knows what the next six will bring!

POET POSTED THIS-

"Larissa has accurately stated the problems we face. to me the most important statement made in this article was:

"You are no longer Republicans, Democrats, or any shade of voter. You do not live in a swing state or a solid colored state. You are simply this: an American."

******************

To me the essence of the choice we all have to make is this: Will we allow "business as usual" or will we get in the way of such conditions. Non-violent resistance alternatives include:

Protest sick-outs:

Protest vigils:

Turn off TV:

Refuse to give pollsters information:

Documentary night--
Invite a group of friends and neighbors over to watch and discuss a documentary like: Why We Fight, A Force More Powerful, The Power of Community, Sicko, and other such educational experiences.

As long as we remain divided into 300 million separate egos all going our own separate ways we will be easy pickings for the organized fascist totalitarians in our midst.

Poet"

I wholeheartedly agree with his or her statement.

The fact is that MCCAIN would be worse than OBAMA, maybe not on every issue, but enough to make a difference. We are not looking for a SAVIOUR, but only a window of opportunity after staring at brick walls for 8 years.

If you listen to what LARISSA is saying I think you can agree that the REPUBLICANS under most of their guises are the worst offenders in the assault on freedom and democracy.

I am all for third parties but wouldn't our time be better served by thinking of ways to enact change once OBAMA or MCCAIN is elected?

Can anyone tell me why voting for NADER OR MCKINNEY NOW would be better than voting for OBAMA to make sure MCCAIN/PALIN does not get in?

I AM SORRY BUT IT IS AS IF MANY PROGRESSIVES HERE HAVE THEIR NOSES SO FAR INTO THEIR POLITICAL HISTORY AND IDEOLOGY BOOKS THAT THEY FORGET ABOUT THE REAL WORLD AND THE PEOPLE THAT EXIST IN IT.

LET US TRY AND MAKE SOME REAL WORLD CHANGE INSTEAD OF PRACTICING OUR INDIVIDUAL EULOGIES FOR THE DEATH OF AMERICA AND HER FREEDOMS.

"We have too many high sounding words,
and too few actions that correspond with them."

Abagail Adams

When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.

EDMUND BURKE

.

Nader can win....... The voters will decide.

Nader will change things.
Nader is our only hope.
Nader is the only choice.
Fight the Two-party system.

VOTE NADER 2008… You’ll be glad you did and so will I…

http://www.votenader.org/index.html

.

A true revolution in this country cannot be won with weapons and armies. We may have our second amendment still but how many of us carry M-16s, grenades, or have military training? The only revolution that would make any difference is a political one, one that must start from the lowest levels of government and works its way up. But where are these candidates? We are a country who looks down upon those who have not been in the political arena for long, yet those who have have fallen to the ways of the system. Is this not an endless process? How can we actually make the changes that need to be made? Has anyone heard of what is happening with Cindy Sheehan lately? I have heard nothing, and she was the only signs I had seen about a progressive movement from below.

"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts."
-- John Keats

LUVJA-

NICE. THANK YOU. For people here to say that progressives are voting for OBAMA because they are supporting the DEMOCRATIC parties platform is disingenuous and absurd. We have no choice right now and are just crossing our fingers that we will be able to do something under his administration.

I agree with the dialogue and tone of most of the posters but what they hell are we supposed to do? No one can tell me how a vote for a third party is going to change things one iota. And if things are going down even faster than we think, how is 4 years of MCCAIN/PALIN going to help?

The progressive movement has had 8 years of BUSH911 and has had no chance to move forward with their agenda on a national level. Look what they were going to do with the DIXIE CHICKS, imagine what they would have done to us? Did anyone order the TASER SANDWHICH with the side of PAVEMENT FRIED FACE?

Is this the left as it truly exists? Tons of great information and eloquent outrage at the status quo but with no organization and nowhere to go. I think and choose to believe that things can be different NOW, but only if we organize.

And only if we have some friends in the administration. Many of these people talk as if OBAMA is the only one in the administration, as if he will not be appointing people who will then be appointing people who may actually be PROGRESSIVE. If MCAIN/PALIN get in there will be no progressives from the CABINET to the janitor in the basement.

So, OBAMA is not great, right now he does not even seem that good, but what other choice do we have right now?

And if we are talking about revolution now or in the near future we will all need all the help we can get. Believe me the grassroots and people of color are not going to be happy just to see OBAMA in office. They are going to be petitioning him for grievances and trying to move the agenda forward.

This is not CLINTON after REAGAN. Many more people have become awakened now and young people are always ready for a revolution.

But we must be their leaders and guides, not angry arm-chair quarterbacks who don't know how to scramble.

The second option will never happen, not in this country, not with this people. (Insert your own modifiers in front of country and people).

Have you ever thought that it is not only the civilian government, but also the military that is responsible and is feeding at the trough?

"The other option, the one I have long prayed we would never need to even consider, is a total revolution."

During the turmoil of the 1960's many people thought the U.S. would undergo a "revolution". We did; but it was a cultural one, not a political one. Many friends of mine believed political revolution was just around the corner and when I told them America was too comfortable and it would never happen here, they said I was full of it.

America, even in the obvious and severe decline we are now in, is still too comfortable. In any case, a poltical revolution here would go the same way as the Bolshevik Revolution, the National Socialist Revolution, etc. Power would be seized by those with the most and biggest weapons and the most malevolent minds, i.e., the military, and they would gun down anyone, in any numbers, to keep things the way they are.

Someone once described Hitler as a comet who briefly and destructively lit up the sky for a few moments. That too is the post-World War II history of this country. That we have destroyed ourselves in the matter of a few decades should come as no surprise to anyone.

REVOLUTION is something that happens in far away lands or a long time ago. It's never going to happen here and today. As long as we're sipping our frothy grande lattes from Starbucks, driving around in our air-conditioned SUVs, and watching Mon night football on our plasmas - a revolution will never happen in this nation. Did you see the goon squad work over the peaceful protesters at the RNC? We are living in a POLICE STATE now. It's probably for the better. Our complacency prevents us from getting off our couches in gathering in the streets.

The "Business Plot" that the author alludes to only failed because their "selected" leader of it, Smeadly Butler, blew the whistle on them. The plotters had failed to notice that the "gangster for capitalism" had turned against after the Bonus March of 1932. Of course, the following Congressional investigation pretty much buried the whole thing years later and only recently has the whole sordid thing slowly come out (though it is still a deliberately forgotten and generally unmentioned part of American history along with the Labor struggle). The Bush's are truly America's first family of fascism.

Prior to the coup attempt of '33, the oligarchs tried the lone assassin routine by sending in Giuseppe Zangara, an Italian immigrant, to shoot FDR. He killed Anton Cermak, the mayor of Chicago instead.

The long cold war against the American people that began with the election of Ronald Reagan became hot on 9/11/01. The American people have been betrayed by the progressive descendants of FDR who, from Noam Chomsky down to the rank and file, have carried on a campaign of denial.

The privatized monetary system is the Trojan horse of the oligarchs and their corporate fascist Forth Reich.

The solution is to deprivatize the monetary system at once, initiate impeachment against the anti-democratic criminals in office, and civil charges once they leave office, and begin a genuine investigation of the 911 terror against the American people.

These people, these oligarchs, better organized than ever before, will stop at nothing. Assassinations, false flag terror. Saving the republic is first of all a matter of getting one's head straight, which means a willingness to give up fairy tails of political pendulums, the resilience of "democracy", the good intent of those in power, and the nonsense of American exceptionalism.

Stop thinking in terms of horse races and process. The only candidate who understands the crisis is Ralph Nader. Do you get what you want by voting against your own interests in the name of expedience?

"I can't believe that anyone is actually still talking about how Obama "might surprise us". I can well understand why people are asked not to be abusive on a discussion board. But, this being the case, why are Obama supporters allowed to speak as though they have some insight into the political questions that confront this society as though they're talking to senile children?"

Don't get so upset. I'm a Democrat but I'm with you. Every third party candidate in this country (including Bob Barr's libertarians) is more in tune to the issues than either the rethug or the dem party. But until this country has instant run off elections and a real 4th estate (pray for the day), third parties will never be viable. We live in a bi-polar world - like it or not. The democrats haven't been in a possition of strength since they lost the south. So, they tend to triagulate and cave on core issues where they should know better. Give them back the power and they'll do the right thing. There are a lot of progressives in the democratic party, and it's our only chance at this time.

And no, I'm not oblivious to the "coup." I read Shock Doctrine, and the coup is a very real happening. Milton Friedman's ideology has plundered the world, and now we're all upset because they've fattened us up for the kill and the chickens are coming home to roost!

Because progressives/independents don't have access to the mass "corporate" media alternative ideas to the Bush/Paulson bailout/robbery will never be heard.

If you had your radio or t.v. on this weekend there was a 24/7 bi-partisan chorus singing that the Bush/Paulson plan MUST BE PASSED IMMEDIATELY, to protect "the people" from further harm.

IMMEDIATELY?

Remind anyone of the Patriot Act.

If we still had the Fairness Doctrine people might've been able to hear Nader's, McKinney's or Barr's positions.

But we don't, so they won't.

We've just bought ourselves trillions of dollars worth of debt, and didn't even get a side order of fries.

But then again if we had the Fairness Doctrine we wouldn't be in Iraq, Bush would've been impeached, the Constitution would still be the law of the land and we would'nt be 11 trillion dollars in debt.

*** Whoever controls the media controls the country. Period.

The statement that a revolution may be our hope, is in fact a statement that we actually have no hope. For one, the people of our country are too self-involved to organize into a meaningful movement let alone a full blown revolution. Now with that taken into account, lets just say we could get a large percentage of our populace to organize and begin a revolution... theres still a slight problem:
The Government has been preparing to deal with such a movement. There have been Internment Camps built in every state. Blackwater "Training" sites in nearly every state. Laws providing that the government can find and easily eliminate any person involved with this revolution. Face it people we live in 1984.

‘Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’
--George Orwell

The sad truth is that I agree with this guy:
One small question - what on earth are they planning to
revolt with? Lawsuits? Scurrilous MSM Op-Eds? Platoons of
giant puppets?

These guys know that the so called progressives in the US are nothing but toothless paper tigers. 8 years of Bush is the proof of it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Farhad Abdolian Antibes-France Home page http://www.abdolian.com/thoughts
"Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it" Albert Einstein
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I can't believe that anyone is actually still talking about how Obama "might surprise us". I can well understand why people are asked not to be abusive on a discussion board. But, this being the case, why are Obama supporters allowed to speak as though they have some insight into the political questions that confront this society as though they're talking to senile children? This is not just about Barack Obama. This is about the political institution which he has decided to run, the "democratic" party. This is about the running mate he chose, one of the biggest and most shameless warmongers, corporate thieves and political hacks ever to walk in the halls of congress. What in the world makes reasonable people believe that a man who insulates himself with the military, mainstream oldline "democrats" and the very people who led us into this shithole os going to stand back while we punch our way out of it? Why in the world do you let a clear class enemy consolidate his troops, and then ask him to support you?

"Oh, he's just wearing a mask. After January, he'll call the masses into the streets."

News flash, Obama people: The time to move a fighting caucus when you actually believe you have a majority is not when the trappings of power "allow" it. You encourage such a faction to be articulate, persuasive, and grounded in a reality that people understand. No such conditions exist in the U.S. today. If you hear Obama saying what you think needs to be said, and if you really believe he's going to "co-opt" a power structure as violent and as venal as this one is using a game of subterfuge, it is you who will be surprised. Moreover, it is you who has been co-opted. We'll see who's surprised if and when he takes power. It won't be those of us who are actually opposed to plutocracy and empire.

Perhaps the "Confederate Yankee" (oxymoron or simply moronic?) shouldn't be so confident about the left being bad shots. As a US Army infantryman, I qualified as an expert marksman with the old blunderbuss M-14 rifle, which was a lot bigger and heavier, with a recoil to match, than the M-16.

Besides, Republicans, thanks to their...girth...usually present themselves as bigger targets. Speaking of which, anybody seen Karl Rove?

Praise the Lord and pass the ammo.

Steve

This is somewhat off-topic, but I suppose the connection might be that a country that embraces a fascist mentality does things like execute the innocent.

Please note the Friday article by David Fathi entitled "Executing the Innocent?"
Every one of us should be willing to raise our voice.

The State of Georgia Board of Paroles and Pardons phone number is 1-404-651-6671.

Thank you for your attention.

So Bush wants to nullify Congressional powers permanently? Democratic voters have already accomplished that in 2006 when they put Democrats in charge. Bush whore, Nancy Pelosi, must be jubilant.

Nader has been right all along, hasn't he? When are Democrats apologizing?

Never. The idiots are ready to line up behind yet another corporate mobster, Obama, whose economic advisers are former managers of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. How dumb can Democratic voters be?

I got news for ya. This country has been fascist since the Reagan administration(Nah, even before that!) "What a long strange trip it's been." I see posts quoting Huey Long and calls to vote Nader. Ok, vote Nader and see a repeat of the 2000 election. Take it to the streets, and see the most highly trained goon squad in the world kick your butt. You guys need to calm down, vote Obama and come out in mass. At least - like Huey Long - Obama speaks the proper rethoric. Hopefully, he won't go the way of All the Kings Men - the King being in this case that ugly Mammon creature.

Besides, the current pillage of a trillion or so, just adds another tril to our already obscene 10 trillion National debt.

Relax, take a breath, vote Obama.... I'm thinking he may suprise you.

"Better to die on your feet than live on your knees" That is what they used to say in the Spanish Civil War.

This "bailout" is an outrageous scam. This is from the same folks who claimed to believe in mantras such as "let the market decide"; "throwing money at the problem won't solve anything"; "we must have accountability before any new money is spent". That' what they said about education and public schools.

Now that some fat-cats have driven companies into the ground and scooped up money for themselves before doing so, they cry for government intervention. Yeah, the same ones who claimed to want no government regulation.

This problem has been a long time coming and it's worse than they are letting on.
Revolution? Hell, yeah! It's a mild reaction considering what these criminal bastards in government and corporations have done. Tar and feather wouldn't be enough. Haul them out into the street and let them go dumpster diving for the rest of their lives.

"Socialism or barbarism!". What we are seeing is a re-run of the savings and loan bailout but on a massive scale and a new twist in the 9/11 mentality-the continuing seizing of more power by the executive branch of Government. Let the crooks fall, seize what assets we have to establish health care for all, put everyone to work planting trees, cleaning our rivers, learning new skills to benefit the earth and, by extension, all of us for we depend on nature-not finance-to survive.

Revolution-wise, in the small town where I live, we could count on maybe three people to help storm the barricades. As of noon today the folks on my part of Main Street were praying for the troops, watching the ball game, getting ready for deer season. If there is a problem in Teletubbyland it doesn't seem to be worrying anybody. Just another abstract television news story that comes along and goes away. The people have made their choice: they don't care. The vox populi has chosen to go out with a whimper, or perhaps a short yelp of surprise. Tragically, that is still democracy.

RichM's comment is particularly salient and I agree with him wholeheartedly. However besides expecting a spineless Congress to act or having a bloody overthrow, a third option exists; elect Nader. the statement...

"However, the US population in its current state lacks the political consciousness and readiness to conduct a revolution"

...is spot on and is also the root cause of why a hundred million or so Americans this Fall will actually come out and vote in favour of the status quo. The charade, known as 'exercising your Constitutional right to vote', is only absurd because it is so effective at leading the public by the nose. Yet I sense that even with die-hard Republicans people are figuring out that whether the Dems or Reps get elected, it will be business as usual. We need to start an immediate grass rots campaign in each and every neighbourhood educating the people that a vote for Obama or McCain is tantamount to throwing away your ballot rather than the MSM's version that a vote for anyone else is a wasted vote.
We must walk down the streets of our neighbourhood with large placards and bullhorns imploring people to vote for anyone EXCEPT a Democrat or Republican. This kind of peaceful revolution could still be come ugly if it succeeded, but at least the public would have a clarity of purpose and finally recognize the true culprits who have high jacked the public interest.

"Fascists" put people in concentration camps.

Why is this author still walking around free?

Joe Biden said on September 3 that he and Barack Obama will pursue criminal charges against the Bush administration.

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/news/16917#comment-129791

Contact the Obama/Biden campaign and tell them that unless there is repeated, emphatic commitment on this issue you aren't going to vote for them and you're going to encourage others to refuse to vote for them also.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/contact2

FREE AMERICA

REVOLUTIONARY (DIRECT) DEMOCRACY

Here in Canuckistan, our leader tells us that our economy is healthy, and he encourages us to spend our money freely. Need I say more..?

most americans don't get the basic notion that the world is sick of your consumer capitalism

the world is sick of your murderous governments, one after another

we're sick of your bombs

we are sick of your ignorance

and we are sick of your relentless fascism

we are sick of your interventionism

we are sick of the way you glorify death

you fucking lunatics are bringing the situation to a head and there is nothing but war everywhere your smelly presence is felt

the russians have had enough and are ready to go nuclear

south america - god bless them - are finally throwing off your stranglehold after three hundred years

the afghans will be bleeding you like stuck pigs

the chinese hold so much of your debt they can sink you anytime they want to

yes we are sick of you

the revolution this article talks about is not one for the sheeple of the imperial us - it is for the rest of the world to finally send you all home - never to return

and to quote vince gill:

"take your memories with you when you go......."

cheers, b

This is Financial Terrorism. Give me the money, now. No questions, just do it, or we will melt down your financial system so you will look like Zimbabwe and starve.

Declare all involved enemy combatants, round up Greenspan, Paulsen, Wall Street CEO's, send them to GITMO for interrogation.

Serve notice to the Cayman Islands that we will invade if hostilities do not cease. Park a couple of aircraft carriers near Britain and warn the London bankers as well. Send federal agents and troops into Wall Street as a reminder not to destabilize the markets with their naked shorts, puts, or derivatives of mass destruction, or they will join their CEO's at GITMO.

Declare a Jubilee, eliminating all domestic US and private debt. Take over the money creation from the Fed and issue debt free money to pay our bills. Settle our foreign debt with our new currency, we can give China our new steel coin worth 1 trillion (keep it dry so it won't rust).

Seriously though, in biblical times, elimination of debt was considered a good thing and necessary to wring out the excesses.

Fascinating article here:

http://www.michael-hudson.com/articles/debt/Hudson,LostTradition.pdf

The Liberty Bell is inscribed with a quotation from Leviticus 25:10: "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, and to all the inhabitants thereof." Over the years these words have suggested to visitors such diverse ideas as our democratic freedom to vote and the American Revolution's slogan of no taxation without representation.

But the full verse in Leviticus speaks of freeing debt bondsmen. It exhorts the Israelites to "hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land and to all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a Jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his family." (And also every woman, child and servant, it may be added.)

Lands were restored to their traditional holders or cleared of all debt encumbrances. With the symbolic sounding of the ram's horn on the Day of Atonement of this fiftieth year, the Jubilee renewed an equitable economic balance by undoing the adverse cumulative effects of indebtedness......

What is not in doubt is that amargi and cognate Near Eastern terms for freedom and order all were based on the idea of freedom from debt and its worst consequences - debt servitude and the loss of one's customary land-tenure rights."......

"The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799 by members of Napoleon's expedition to Egypt, made possible the deciphering of hieroglyphics in 1822 by JeanFrancois Champollion. What is less well known is that the inscription commemorates a debt cancellation by Ptolemy V (204-180 BC) in 196 BC.

Following ancient tradition, the 13-year-old Pharaoh was crowned at Memphis and pro claimed a general amnesty on the occasion of his coming of age and accession to the throne.

The basalt stone has three parallel texts. Egyptian hieroglyphics (archaic official script) are on top, and Egyptian demotic (a popular script) is in the middle. On the bottom is Greek text, reflecting the fact that the dynasty was founded by Alexander the Great's general, Ptolemy, who seized Egypt in 305 BC after Alexander's death.

Ptolemy V's debt cancellation reflects a declining economy plagued by "pressure of taxes, rapid accumulation of arrears and ... confiscations, prisons full of criminals and public and private debtors ... fugitives scattered all over the country and living by robbery, [and] compulsion applied in every sphere of life," including military conscription. "

Cameiros

Who are the 'peaceful people' this twit refers to?
The American people who colonized this land through plunder and genocide...
or the ones who have fought a war for each of the 200+ years of the founding of this criminal enterprise?
Please...
You reap what you sow.

What was that Grover Norquist promised? To drown government in the bathtub? These guys move fast, as Naomi Klein can tell you. The MO has 911 written all over it. What scares me is that BushCo still has more than six weeks to find a reason to cancel the election. Oh wait. That's crazy. That's paranoid.

Larissa has accurately stated the problems we face. to me the most important statement made in this article was:

"You are no longer Republicans, Democrats, or any shade of voter. You do not live in a swing state or a solid colored state. You are simply this: an American."

******************

To me the essence of the choice we all have to make is this: Will we allow "business as usual" or will we get in the way of such conditions. Non-violent resistence alternatives include:

Protest sick-outs:

Protest vigils:

Turn off TV:

Refuse to give pollsters information:

Documentary night--
Invite a group of friends and neighbors over to watch and discuss a documentary like: Why We Fight, A Force More Powerful, The Power of Community, Sicko, and other such educational experiences.

As long as we remain divided into 300 million seperate egos all going our own seperate ways we will be easy pickings for the organized fascist totalitarians in our midst.

Poet

If you're a bank robber by profession, make sure you don't leave a single dollar in the vault. We're now seeing the Barbarians at the Gate's endgame.

Charlie Jackson
Texans for Peace
http://www.texansforpeace.org

To all the people that kept saying, "Oh, I would never be dumb enough to get one of those loans, those people sre so dumb, blah blah"

Well, guess waht you just did! For $700 billion At 3%, its better then the lenders who ended up with subprime got.

In 1934, Marine Corp Major General Smedley Butler, the most decorated US Marine ever and author of the isolationist book War is a Racket, reported to Congress that a group of men had approached him as part of a plot to overthrow President Roosevelt in a military coup. His allegations were supported by an independent assessment of the House Un-American Activities Committee. However, no action was taken and the story suppressed by a compliant media who were involved. It is believed that Roosevelt made a deal with Wall Street, that in return for Wall Street dropping its opposition to the proposed New Deal, he would not pursue charges. Wall Street's pushback to the New Deal stopped immediately, and the New Deal entered law, much to the heavy sigh of relief by Americans at large.

Fast-forward to the neo-con ascension to the throne in 1980 with President Regan, culminating with the Bush Regime. Fascism, that doctrine wherein government and private interests dance a secretive waltz of give and take (privatize profits, socialize losses), has finally taken solid footing in the US. With the selection of McCain/Palin, theocracy will be a joint partner in the new US doctrine.

Ghandi's revolution was peaceful non-cooperation.

Ms Alexandrovna has identified several crucial points with admirable precision. First, she nails the essential nature of what's happening: "....first create a crisis, then under the guise of addressing that crisis, overthrow democracy. .....You do see how this is blackmail, do you not? You do see how this is a manufactured crisis precisely designed to be used as blackmail, do you not?..."

She then proposes 2 courses of action:
1) "...The first and frankly most preferable option is for Congress to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against the members of this latest Business Plot... (or)
2) The other option....is a total revolution."

Both these proposals have pluses & minuses. The biggest plus is that they are at the right level of seriousness, & the right order of magnitude -- appropriate to the crisis at hand.

The drawback of proposal #1 is that it would be somewhat sticky to determine just who are the "members of this latest Business Plot." In many ways, Congress itself is a member. Literally 99% of Congress has helped lead us to where we are today. That's not just current members of Congress -- it includes 99% of recent ex-congresspersons, such as DeLay, Gramm, Tauzin, Breaux, & many others. // But, to return to practical matters -- needless to say, Congress doesn't have the spine to impeach any members of the ruling elite, since they themselves are nothing more than agents of the ruling elite. And they aren't about to impeach themselves.

It would be nice to believe that Congress was capable of "impeaching" the bad guys, but they're not. Another nice idea would be if Congress decided to seize the yachts, mansions, estates in the Hamptons, & excessive bonuses & salaries of the Wall St banksters who led us into this mess, and to use THEIR ill-gotten assets to fund the purchase of the toxic mortgage-backed debt. However, Congress is not capable even of considering such a proposal -- so that's out, too.

Proposal #2 is at the right level of seriousness, and fully warranted by the criminality of those to whom we've entrusted our government. However, the US population in its current state lacks the political consciousness and readiness to conduct a revolution. If a population tries to overthrow a corrupt & hated government without the proper consciousness & preparation, you merely open the door to complete chaos. Chaotic situations will be resolved by crude power-grabs by those best equipped to take advantage of them, and to put it mildly, this process cannot possibly improve the situation. Before launching any such ambitious undertaking (and I'm one who's convinced that a total revolution is needed, fully warranted, & in fact the only real solution), you need to have a prepared population. We're nowhere near that.

A key point that must be resolved before people attempt to devise revolutionary solutions is whether the society should move towards socialism or merely back to "regulated" capitalism. Most Americans are not even prepared to have this discussion, since most don't even really understand what socialism is. I'm not going to try to make the case, here, but my feeling is that today's crisis is the inevitable state that capitalism relentlessly drives towards. Even if the financial industry were re-regulated, a la The New Deal, it would be only a matter of time before the banksters regrouped, & mounted a new drive to de-regulate, pushing us once again to where we stand today.

One significant benefit of the current crisis may accrue in just the next few days: all the naive simpletons who think the Democratic Party is anything other than the servant of Wall St, will see just how much the Dems stand up against this power grab. I predict their opposition will be close to zero. At most, they'll extract some kind of vague assurance from the nice Mr Paulson, that he will try to "protect taxpayers" as much as conditions permit. And then they'll happily fork over the trillion -- and with it, our future.

"When you make peaceful revolution impossible, you make violent revolution inevitable." -JFK

A revolution is the only thing that will save us.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

The would-be dictators are about to use the law to overthrow our constitution, while stealing a whole lot of tax dollars. This is Disaster Capitalism in which our financial house of cards is the disaster to be exploited. A massive end-of-term heist, in broad daylight. What else do these proto-fascists have in mind for the next few months?

What is the big deal here.......it is only funny money borrowed from the Chinese!! This nation attacked Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with 911, and which had no WMD. As a result, over 4160 Americans have died, with tens of thousands wounded, and, ultimately about $2 TRILLION spent, not to mention the deaths and injuries to hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis.
Since the scam collapsed, Americans have CONTINUED to fund the unnecessary war of choice for Israel. Evil Cheney and the Smirking Chimp Bush are still free, although they are war criminals. Now, you can not whine about bailing out the crook buddies of Paulson and Bernanke on Wall St. If you are willing to BORROW money from foreigners to finance this unnecessary war of choice, what is a TRILLION?? After all, the fiscal 2008 deficit will ONLY be over $400 BILLION, with the projected 2009 deficit over $500 BILLION. Gee, get a grip, and vote Republican. That will ensure your children and grandchildren live in POVERTY, while the Wall St crooks move their tens and hundreds of MILLIONS offshore....or, in some cases, BILLIONS. Be a FOOL and vote for McCain.

NO one needs to be "sorry for confusion". These bloviators do this al the time.
If they really wanted to "fight", they'd join Blackwater.

I went to the ridiculous "Confederate Yankee". LOL!!!!! They are apparently under the impresion that "progressives" are still a bunch of pacifists. I am peaceful--but i do believe in self defense. They go on and on on the blog, about how "they dont know how to shoot" and it wil be "merry".

For one thing, I'm pretty sure the military would be on the progresive's side now.

Boner , note to self (Damn@! We shouldnt have voted down that 3.9% raise for the military!!)
For another, some of us grew up in the country.(To locate said "country", just start diggin underneath your local mall) Dont flatter yourself, or I'll field dress you.

(I wouldve posted to the site, but I did that yesterday with some website about money--and--I had to chase a Trojan horse off.They are such cowards. These guys wil stop at nothing to keep their money. And that IS al they care about)

If I sound angry--go check out this website. I know that they want to get us going--but, someone needs to. The very fact that saw the need to "rationalize" her comments were ubsurd. She was obviously rferring o the coup tha Bush et al is pulling and the Bush fanmily has tried to pull off in the past.

Do we have the guts to stop them, as peoel did in the 30s?

I keep meaning to try to make some noise about the billions of dollars that went "missing" in Iraq, but I keep getting sidetracked by the latest maneuvers of the regime.

Too bad the majority of Americans are clueless, and the fascist propaganda machine is more pervasive and powerful than ever.

Ekaton: why on Earth do you think voting will make everything OK? Is this sarcasm?

Who are we going to vote FOR? Obama & Biden are both "Congressional Democrats," deeply in collusion with the Bush powergrab. Are they calling for a halt? Introducing bills to reverse it? Opposing this Wall Street giveaway? I don't see it in the news - can someone please enlighten me?

Frankly, Larisa, I see why the wing-nuts are foaming at the mouth: revolution in some form really is the next step. I hate it: the right-wingers have us way outgunned, I'm too damn old for this, & I don't want my son involved in it, either. But the wingers can smell it, just as we can.

Our best shot, if it comes to this: Stay Home. A general strike and boycott is hard to break with violence. Wouldn't want to be the one who called for it, though. Got your plane tickets, Larisa? You'll have to move fast if it happens. Do you know where Naomi Wolf is? (If you do, don't tell.) She said she would shut up if she saw it coming down - and presumably leave the country. Heard from her lately?

Oregoncharles

People are busy enjoying their football games, and other pursuits - my mother says this is not as bad as the great depression so no worries. The revolution I want is for people to accept that we need to get rid of our addictions (such as fossil fuels), live our lives much more simply, and to make sure there is a safety net before all other concerns (this would include single payer healthcare system). I know many pessimists feel that the elites will prefer fascism to hold on to their dwindling power and resources rather than make real sacrifices. But we certainly owe it to ourselves, to each other, and to the planet, to at least try.

If "the taxpayers" knew the numbers, they'd be rioting in the streets.

Every $1 trillion "our" government "spends" to "save" their friends translates to $8000 per taxpayer (rounded up, based on 130 million taxpayers. Ignore the 'per citizen" numbers - non-taxpayers are not relevant.)

So far, just this year, "our" government has promised their friends over $3 trillion of taxpayer money (that we actually know of) in return for, what everyone from the NYT to the WSJ refers to as "toxic assets."

That's $24,000 per taxpayer, whose average income is $32,000/year - leaving the average taxpayer with a net-of-gross of $8000K for 08. Minus taxes at, say, a medium 25% (of $32K=$7000,) and, this year, the average taxpayer will take home an astounding $1000, or about 80 bucks a month. (And a handful of toxic assets!)

How many taxpayers voted to give AIG, Fannie, Fredie, and the rest basically their entire year's earnings as a thank you for robbing us blind?

Of course, add in another $8K for the Pentagon ($1 trillion budget,) another $8K for Iraq/Afghanistan ($1 trillion spent so far,) and another $24K to cover the $3 trillion 08 Fed budget...

And every taxpayer is on the hook - this year only, remember - for at least $64,000 apiece, or twice the average income.

Toss in each taxpayer's share of the National Debt, now approaching $10 trillion, or another $80,000 per tp... for a total of $144,000, or nearly 5 years worth of the average taxpayer's income.

These are the real, raw painful numbers that need to be shouted to every sucker - er, I mean taxpayer - in America RIGHT NOW. Maybe, just maybe, We The People will wake the f**k up and, you know, revolt or something...

We are no longer sheep. 90% are now officially serfs.

There is at least one member of Congress who has stood up: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/09/21-1

At the very least, this so called "bailout" is a scam to prevent a crash before the (s)elections.

Alexandrovna is correct in her assessment that this "bailout" will destroy what's left of the middleclass and leave those even lower in an even worse shitpuddle.

On top of everything else, if I understand the words, Paulsen will have absolute control over the better parat of a trillion dollars -- he can use it for anything! What if he uses it to pay Blackwater (or a surrogate) to put down riots????
_______
There's a glory in the morning because the earth turns 'round and a promise in the evening when the sun goes down

Lies to the Eleventh

It seems to me that truth is looking a bit spotty these days
The lies are piling up faster than flies on a Johnny squatter
the songbird flier of suffering

There’s lies of not lying,
then there’s historical lies, interpretive lies,
well intentioned lies, out of context lies,
reframing lies, bating lies,
prophet prediction lies, hiding profit lies,
and ambiguous ties lies

Aint that at least lies to the eleventh power
don’t even mention it ain’t preceeded by a nine
like the twin towered shredded lies

America is embedded in lies

It’s pre-emptive wars are lies
It’s treading on lies
It’s leveraged on lies
It’s bailed out on lies
It’s media spreads lies

It’s democracy is a lie

‘It is the duty of the people to alter or abolish the government when it’s ends have been perverted’

Just go to the polls and vote. Everything will be okay.

-- EKATON --

I've been trying to tell people about what is happening now for about 5 years, and I always get dismissed and called a conspiracy theorist. I get no pleasure now in sticking out my tongue and doing the schoolyard chant "na-na-na-na-na - told you so!"

I've also called and emailed my so-called "representatives" in the Senate and House on numerous occasions - always receiving form letters filled with platitudinus crap in return. So, much for doing the will of the people.

Maybe when Nancy Pelosi gets a gander at her portfolio statement she'll forget about whatever Bush has been blackmailing her with, change her mind, and put Impeachment front and center. I'm not holding my breath. And besides, there's a couple really good NFL games on the tube later......

I'm starting to feel like the proverbial deer stuck in rapidly approaching headlights.

There should be some mechanism under the law to stop this unchecked and criminal abuse of power.

Oh, wait. There is, but it's "off the table." Now count the minutes (or seconds) before someone scolds progressives that "off the table" is the best we can get, and therefore that party owns our votes.

To elaborate the Caesar metaphor, the neocons have crossed the Rubicon, but we're too enthralled by our panem et circem to notice.