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TechnoratiA Plague Upon the White House
I am not a conventionally religious man, or even a very superstitious one, but I do wish George Bush would stop asking God to bless America. Every time he does, we seem to be visited with another plague, suggesting divine wrath over our president's evil ways. How else to explain the persistent calamity that has marked this administration: a pointless but very costly war over nonexistent Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the devastating New Orleans flood, the betrayal of the nation by the money-changers-from Enron to Goldman Sachs-that Bush welcomed into the temple of the White House?
What's next? Pestilence, frogs, locusts or incurable boils? Dare we risk four more years of catastrophic misrule by a "W" alter ego? For those indifferent to the serious implications of that question, I recommend Oliver Stone's new bio-flick, which brilliantly captures the "banality of evil" that has controlled our political life these past eight years. This phrase from Hannah Arendt's characterization of the mundane cruelty that so marked the daily experience of European fascism has a frightening applicability to the Republican leadership that has done so much damage to this nation's reputation for democratic integrity.
Cynicism rules even as ritualistic prayer breaks, as depicted in the film "W," abound. The pretense of piety earns the president and his accomplices a get-out-of-jail-free card; at no point in the film do any in the top ranks of this administration-captured so accurately and depressingly-accept one iota of accountability for how much damage they have wrought. Unrepentant, the same Republican apparatchiks are employing the familiar Rovian tactic of divide and conquer in seeking to continue their hold on power. Once again, they seek to focus attention on hot-button social issues and patriotic litmus tests to draw attention from the fact that family values are being destroyed by the loss of job and home.
Perhaps John McCain is not a perfect replica of George W. Bush, but the parallels go beyond the senator's enthusiastic support for the toxic mix of Bush's imperial foreign policy and his arrogant indifference to the travails of our domestic existence. Neither man seems to have any sense of how we actually live or what we need from government. How else to explain their common antipathy to Social Security and Medicare, which, after public education, represent the nation's most successful programs? Can you imagine the panic today if McCain and Bush had succeeded in tying Social Security to investments in the stock market? They view government as nothing more than a proud sponsor of the military-industrial complex while ignoring the threat to homeland security from corporate pirates.
Don't say we weren't warned. Bush came into office believing fervently that what was good for Enron and its CEO, Kenneth "Kenny Boy" Lay, Bush's top financial sponsor, was good for the country. So, too, McCain, who chose Phil Gramm as co-chair of his presidential campaign, ignoring the huge loophole in Gramm's Commodity Futures Trading Act, which allowed Enron, where his wife, Wendy Gramm, was on the board of directors, to so shamelessly game the energy market.
Trumpeting the benefits of the legislation he tacked onto an omnibus spending bill the day before the 2000 Christmas recess, then-Sen. Gramm stated: "It protects financial institutions from over-regulation. It provides legal certainty for the $60 billion market in swaps." Those swaps created the toxic investments that U.S. taxpayers are now stuck with as the nation struggles to save those unregulated financial institutions from bankruptcy.
McCain, who should have learned the cost of radical deregulation from his own involvement in the savings and loan scandal as one of the infamous "Keating Five," totally bought Gramm's line. McCain was the chair of Gramm's 1996 presidential bid and up until major Wall Street firms collapsed continued to echo the insistence of the former-Texas-senator-turned-banker that there was no real crisis in the financial markets.
McCain evidences the underlying motivator attributed to Bush in Stone's movie: the distorted priorities of a son of privilege doing battle with the legacy of more gifted and responsible family ancestors. Both grew up as spoiled screw-ups repeatedly bailed out of trouble by their highly accomplished fathers, in McCain's case an admiral, and both assume, as a matter of legacy, that they have a right to rule. What they ignored in their legacy was a Christian's obligation to make the economic system that handsomely rewarded their kin at least minimally responsive to the needs of ordinary folk.
86 Comments so far
Show AllThis is a good example of the old maxim, "Be careful what you wish for because you may get it." George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and the folks from The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) forced their way into positions of power in this country to actualize their own grandiose dreams of wealth, power and privilege. Unfortunately, their dreams were too small, mean and self-serving. As a result, public sentiment has turned against them. Not only have they beat themselves up, they've beat the entire world up as well.
Garbage in, garbage out (GIGO). Instead of simply asking themselves "What's going to work best for me?", they should have asked, what's going to work best for ALL of us, in personal terms, and in terms of business, education, the environment and peace? In serving everyone, they serve themselves. So much for the wisdom taught in our families and educational institutions!
Pete
http://diaryofamystic.com
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Thank you _ G H O S T W R I T E R _,
Of course, what is best for _ A _ L _ L _ is also < ultimately >
[_____ B E S T _ for each of _ U _ S _____]
.
[___ A S __ S P I R I T __ I S __ O N E ___]
[_____ A S __ W E _ A L L __ A R E _____]
Namaste
The Three Clueless Comrades, Bush, Bernanke, and Paulson, are banging and clanging in confused hilarity, sprinkling fairy dust (money) with reckless abandon on a conclave of American scrooges all singing, " well everythang's gonna' be allright right now!" If there's a silver lining in this tragedy it's humor.
Not to worry - time, and tide will take care of everything.
And Russia is revving up their military 50% by '09-'10.
Sioux Rose
DAVID G: Impressive website. Thanks for inviting me over (LOL). I cannot take issue with anything I read in the first 4 articles, except that there is a reality that supercedes that of the apparent physical universe and its operations. I have faith in THAT set of powers to intercede when mankind goes too far off track. There are of course both physical laws--water freezes at 32 degrees, and spiritual laws, like karma; and occasionally there is Grace... if enough people pray, and by prayer not ask for a change in conditions, but as Christ and other Master taught, SEE the matter already done (i.e. visualize what we HOPE to see to replace the awful things before us) it can in fact manifest a miracle. Author Gregg Braden explains that ours is a responsive universe, and thoughts hold power. Particularly now at the fledgling opening stages of the Aquarian Age, this murky, confusing time when all our paradigms are radically altering or being altered, the power of mind, what we envision IF it works for the greater good is exponentially enhanced. I'm sure ENLIVEN and some others on this site GET what I mean, and if not, may the eternal gods and goddesses speed your enlightenment process.
Thoughts on the "power of mind", gods and goddesses, religion, and religious exploitation.
"Be the change you envision" works for me. I consider it very important to "get your head straight" on what you believe in and why you believe in it. Using the "power of mind", we project millions of non-verbal "transactions" to those around us. These non-verbal transactions can be a powerful form of influence. Also, in deepening our insights into our own beliefs, we deepen our commitment to our own values and hopefully this leads to actions consistent with those beliefs. So, I see the "power of mind" as a huge force in the world.
Where I differ with those who invest in gods and goddesses is that the purpose of the transactions should be to make us more responsible for OUR OWN VALUES and OUR OWN ACTIONS and OUR OWN FATE and not more responsible to unseen "external" forces, i.e. gods and goddesses, that some accept on faith. When I speak, here, of "our own fate", I'm speaking about all life on the planet (i.e. not just the individual).
It's interesting for me to hear those who believe in god or religion explain that they find some sort of humility in "believing in something greater than themselves." No sooner do they make this point then they go on to explain that, through prayer and through living according to the teachings of their religion, they hope to have some degree of influence on how their god will treat them either in this life or in an assumed afterlife. So much for humility.
I see no serious harm for those who choose to invest in unseen gods and in religious teachings as long as these beliefs are not imposed on others. When one says "I will live this way or that way because I believe that is what my god desires or my religion teaches", I have no quibble. While I disagree with such views, I think tolerance and respect are warranted. When the line is crossed into the political arena, however, I have major quibbles and so called "people of faith" who push their views into civil governance often become enemies.
Exploitation of religion occurs when religion violates freedom of choice. It occurs when "their religion" must be taught in public schools on the taxpayers' dime. It occurs when wars are waged against the "heathen infidels." Atheists and other non-believers should distinguish between "personal faith" and "imposed values." The former should be treated with respect; the latter, in many cases, should be treated with disdain.
This is not to say that civil society will always disagree with one religious teaching or another. Nevertheless, there is a certain undemocratic rigidity to plucking society's rule book out of a bible or out of "what god said." If there's no room for civil discourse and political compromise and reaction to current events, democracy dies. In this sense, adherence to religious teachings coupled with their imposition on civil society is inherently evil even in cases where those teachings may be consistent with the prevailing preferences of society.
Hi __ S I O U X R O S E,
My abilities to manifest a more pleasant reality are improving everyday.
One's power of intention ( consciousness / awareness & allowing ) is the Universe's most unlimited ( and untapped ) energy source.
The reality we create can either be of our dreams or our nightmares, each of us gets to chose.
Namaste
In regards to the plague,
may I recommend the BBC series 'Planet Earth', specifically the show about the tropical rain forests. There You will be introduced to the fact, that this planet is not a piece of rock flying through space, but an organism, aware and conscious about every sub atomic particle. The surface of our planet is a fungus. From the highest mountains to the deepest ocean floors, fungi are necessary to keep everything going and growing. Whenever one species (through excess biomass) is able to outgrow its 'natural' limitations in size, the fungus kicks in. The population in question is stopped from growing out hand by its own fungus. That's right, every species has its own fungus, that is activated through rogue multiplication. Then the individual in question falls into a cataclysm and while still 'alive', the fungus grows out of the head, because it eats up the brain first. Through movies like 'The Bleep' we know now that we are all but energy. That energy is a product of our mindset. Great mindset, great energy and vice versa. With unchecked growth and the ensuing problems like aggression, stress or fear, every species will have its mushroom growing out of the head. Don't be surprised when republicans all over the world become stiff in an instant and then have a shroom growing out of their skull. Don't touch them, because as we all have our own fungus and if Yours isn't growing You don't want to pick up somebody else's, that might.
In the documentary the ants are feverishly removing contaminated individuals and dump them far away from the colony.
Imagine Cush/Beney, McCane/Phallin getting stiff and growing mushrooms. What a beautiful sight that would be, as the shrooms will be quite large...
Forget about elections - the only vote You have is at the register
Nice one! Gaia, is dying. And the politicos see it in terms of maximizing energy despite the inimical cost via nuclear, bio, and coal. Whatever gains through solar or wind energy will certainly be off set by those sources contributing to our problems. And given the latest Bush, McCain, Obama, Biden giveaway to the elites one wonders where the money will come from to address climate issues? The more things change, the more they stay the same. It makes you wonder if we will ever truly get CHANGE that actually CHANGES something?
we won't get it until we chose it. How sad that when it comes to politics, more of us aren't pro-choice
Gaia isn't dying. Torn and tattered, but she'll outlive all us nasty organisms she can't kick off, and then she'll replenish herself. (Gaia is "she" isn't she?)
LEAKED! Questions that got banned from the town hall "debate"...
"Senator McCain, regarding our hostages in Guantanamo, in your opinion does their experience being tortured by us for the last five years qualify them to be presidents of their respective countries?"
More banned questions at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuQDTjx-ygM
YAHHHH Kill the swine pigs!!!
DWriter
Religion is based . . . mainly on fear . . . fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand. My own view on religion is that of Lucretius: I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race. --Bertrand Russell
There are always in any situation three motivators, greed, fear and sex.Sometimes it is blatantly obvious and in other instances you have to look a little harder but they are always there.
As usual, Robert Scheer nails it. Bush and McCain are both products of a lousy upbringing, where accountability and responsibility were replaced by indulgence and bailouts by parents who shouldn't have behaved the way they did - and now America suffers because the Bushes and the McCains failed to do a decent job with their kids. Nice work, ladies and gentlemen.
What our nation has been experiencing is the effects of a long term politically Conservative Movement of the minority to control the United States and the World through the Republican Party via the Democratic Party. If Obama gets into office, the conservative movement is so well entrenched that it will be difficult for Obama not to be used by them to continue their conservative movement toward world domination, unless he is extremely strong.
Making liberal a dirty word was a part of the process toward the conservative movement's domination. It is now too easy for them because the people all want to think of themselves as being politically conservative, even though they are on Social Security or using FREE government health care facilities, that the conservatives will gladly take away. Thanks to the FOX Network, Christian conservative talk radio and conservative talk radio, the people blame the liberals for everything the conservative movement does, and the conservatives rob the bank in plain site.
Conservative means encourage and use the government in power to allow the powerful and domineering to keep all the money of the nation to wage war for profit. Liberal means encourage and use the government in power to allow the money of the nation to help the people of the nation, who aren't powerful and domineering, find jobs, build houses, go to college, maintain a clean environment, etc. and not wage war except in defense of the nation.
Obama, being from the Left, appears to be a moderate from the non-powerful and non-domineering part of society and should be less domineering of the people than McCain, who is of the conservative far Right extreme, another George W. Bush. George W. Bush is a conservative far Right extremist and it is highly possible that he and his administration have brought a plague upon our nation through their deceit, lies and murder, but he couldn't have done it without the conservative Democratic Leadership Council, DLC, movement's help from the left, or at least what appeared to be the left. The conservative extremist movement through the Clinton administration put through all the deregulation that was needed to change the laws so that all the powerful CEO's could become multi-millionaires and accomplish the destruction of the economy in order to drown the economy in the bath tub, which is what was said.
A liberal cares about the welfare of the majority population, whereas a conservative doesn't care about anything except war and their minority. Obama is a moderate liberal, therefore he will do all possible to help our country get back on track.
.
Liberal is a dirty word in a lot of places. Its just defined differently here. In most of the world, a 'liberal' is a center-left person who serves power and money by proposing minor reforms that deflect real attempts at change.
That's what a liberal is here too. Its just that there's also the media myth that liberals are the far left of the political spectrum.
BTW, you say Obama is from the Left. How in the world do you reach that conclusion? I've been fortunate to know people on the left in my life, and my friend, Obama is most certainly not from the left. Do you not notice that from the bailout to the wars to trade to the economy, Obama's positions are almost identical to McCain's? From this, one can draw only two possible conclusions. Either Obama is not on the Left, or McCain is really a secret lefty. Since the positions they share are a militant, aggressive, pro-war, pro-corporate philosophy, it doesn't seem likely they are both on the left.
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"To know, and not to do, is not to know"
www.samsonsworld.blogspot.com
"BTW, you say Obama is from the Left. How in the world do you reach that conclusion?"
How many in the Senate or House can you name that are further left based on positions and voting across all issues?
Kennedy. Sanders. Feingold. Wyden (sometimes). I know I could think of more. It ias difficult to assess Obama's "voting record", since he only voted a few times, before he went off to run tfor president. If you thihnk taht he is progressive, you are just wrong. He is a neo-liberal.
In teh House, DeFazio. Sherman, Kaptur, Kucinich, i could think of alot more here, too.
In the debate last night, I watched it on the pc on c-dpan. The president of the college came out before it was on regular tv, and said, "We would like to thank ...blah, blah..corporate (you DO know these debates are a money making ventures, dont you?), and thanks to the Democratic Leadership Council."
As a fellow traveler of Samson, let me answer you, jakenewton, without taking even a second to think... Dennis Kucinich in the House and Bernie Sanders in the Senate. Your next question, jakenewton?
David Brookbank -- "Hasta donde debemos practicar las verdades?"
Actually, besides NAFTA and a few other things, I think that Clinton might have actualy been more progresive in other ways than Obama. In any case, the results for the commmon person wil be the same.
This article reminds me of the Stalinist era photographs from which people have been whited out to change the recordings of history.
For instance, Mr. Scheer is eloquent about Sen. Gramm and the Republicans role in destroying the Depression era banking laws. But, when you examine the photo Mr. Scheer sketches closely, you notice that some people seem to have been whited out from the image.
And when you check other sources and find the real images, what you see is Bill Clinton and Joe Biden and other leading Democrats right there in the picture helping Gramm destroy those rules that were put there to protect us.
Mr. Scheer is quite correct in suggesting that the citizens of this country have been cursed by the rulers we've had lately. The mistake is the assumption that this is all the fault of the Republicans. Or perhaps its just the lie. Because from this springs the myth that replacing the Republicans with Democrats is the solution to the problem.
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"To know, and not to do, is not to know"
www.samsonsworld.blogspot.com
Biden has been a complete disaster!!! for the common person, almost the entire the he has been in DC!! I was amazed that Obama chose him! Of course, although I had doubts about Obama, I was unaware of how "corporate" he had actually become.
The "creditors bil of rights " (credit card bil that let the cos. and "banks" change your contract, even on the balance you already owe, for ANY reason, at ANY time--you cant change shit!); the bankruptcy bill (uhmmm..you cant file for bankruptcy, if you own anything); as Obaam said last night (again--i was AMAZED!! I said it here last week, folksa!), "Why do you think alot of yur credit cards have moved to DELAWARE!!!LOL!!! CRY!!LOL@!!!)
Does anyone remember in the primaries , when Biden said that Obama was a different kind of Af. Am. candiate , he was "Clean, well-spoken, etc".?????? And they called Hillary racist! Maybe she was (I dont really think so--not sure she wouldve been better than Obama--but she did propose to freeze interest rates about 2 yrs ago), but how can you ignore Biden';s remarks??
No. its only racist if it is said by someone that YOU, personally dont want to see get elected.
Scheer asks: What's next? Pestilence, frogs, locusts or incurable boils?
How about bees? The little mite that kills bees is spreading rapidly. No bees, about half of our agri crops won't be pollinated -- cannot ripen.
How about global warming -- we were too busy for worrying much about that
Or how about rising ocean levels, hurricanes fiercer and perhaps more or at different times than expected
and so on....
Regarding Bees,
EPA has approved Bayers 'Nicotin Based Pesticides' after Europe banned it, because it kills the bee larvae, the bee hive dies off. The label on the poison states to not use it when there are flowers around. Mites are not the end of the bees, Bayer is. Those guys were very busy in Germany during the Führer times. At that time they were called IG Farben. Bayer is the follow up of the poison mixers for cyclon b. You may want to look that up. Bayer has developed crop that doesn't need bees anymore. So the farmers only need Bayer, not bees. As with all deluded and greedy corporations, they don't care about the consequences to the environment or to human mankind per se. Mites have always been around, as long as the bees.
Forget about elections - the only vote You have is at the register
How about being forced to fund extreme gamblers (a.k.a., the bailout).
How about a Plague of Hemorrhoids?
No, next is a plague of 'liberals'.
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"To know, and not to do, is not to know"
www.samsonsworld.blogspot.com
LOL!!
roger
When the screens go blank
Intro
Countdown to meltdown
We are at crisis point
Countdown to meltdown
Time to leave this joint
V1
Outside your window
Can you hear those rolling tanks
Don’t be too surprised if
Your screen goes blank
V2
We got a state of emergency
The crap has hit the fan
And now the authorities
Apply their martial plan
Chorus
When they roll out the tanks
Then the screens go blank,
Yeah, that’s when the screens go blank
V3
No more communication
No more programmes on TV
You can’t have comedy
In this dire emergency
V4
Then, when you wake up
And you boot up your pc
Looking for your messages
Your files are all empty
Outro
When they roll out the tanks
And the troops are on the street
You’ll hear the sound of steel capped boots
The sound of running feet
Then the crack yeah, they are firing blanks
That’s when the screens go blank
Yeah, that’s when the screens go blank
© roger antony carter 2008
O10/7
Siouxrose, sadly you'll need more than Karma to help you through what's coming. I will however visit your site and read your post.
Will you read my latest post? It details why I think that most Americans are suffering from delusions. The debate yesterday clearly revealed it.
Keep up your good work.
www.dangerouscreation.com
I went to your site, DavidG., and though it was short (and well said), it pointed to a very problematic stance that many outside the US have seen and experienced for decades -- American exceptionalism. It would be nice if Americans saw themselves more as part of humanity as a whole than as apart from it. That is not socialism, it is admitting to being a part of the imperfect whole. Individualism is good to a certain point, but it does not make one better than any other, regardless of nation, state or ethnicity. Not that you or many Americans do not understand this as is obvious from many comments I have read. Human solidarity is required at this time and epoch.
Please, America, do not continue the Bush, "W," administration so as to spare the rest of the world the pain of a McCain/Palin continuance of death and destruction. We have had enough!
Thanks for visiting, A Voice Apart. It must be frustrating for those Americans who can see what the problems are to have to contend with the apathy and blindness and wishful thinking of the majority of American citizens.
If Americans can't solve their own problems, then I guess the rest of the world will have to do it for them.
That would bring about an unfortunate reality.
Cheers.
I wish people would see the Bush Administration's for what it is--the almost complete success of the Protestant "ethic" of "wealth follows virtue", and "invade the HOly Land" to bring about the apocolypse.Unregulated "free market" (have to go throw up--I'm back), the poor fight the idiotic wars and pay for them. Drain the wealth from the working classes, by denying health care, offering to pay for it, with an equity loan, de-funding public pension systems, like social security, so taht the working classes are forced into roullette style "free mkt",through schemes like IRAs and 401ks. If all else fails, give granny a reverse moprtgage. If she doestn die soon enough, dont let her get out of her misery. Put her in a Medicaid nursing home, where someon will surely make a "mistake".
I just dont think that Bush thought the apocolypse would be man made.Maybe he still doesnt think it is! Who knows what that fucker thinks!
Honestly, though, I really dont think he cares much. As long as the haves and have mores staAY that way--
Sick of capitalism yet? Capitalism kills.
A plague on BOTH their houses! Unfortunately , not ALL are punished!
Does it ever amaze you that the people who encourage capitalism seem to have no regard for their children and subsequent generations ? It's just take it all now, extreme greed, no concern for the mess that their offspring will have to deal with.
It doesn't surprise me that capitalists have no regard for their children or for subsequent generations. Capitalisism is a cold, cruel philosophy. Any philosophy that justifies leaving people behind to die of starvation or lack of water or the lack of other basic needs just because they don't help someone else make money is a very cold and cruel philosophy. Thus, there is no surprise the capitalist would have a 'grab it all now' philosophy.
What does always surprise me is when Christians have this same philosophy. Christ's message was all about helping those less fortunate. Not to mention the bit about the chances of a rich man getting into heaven.
No, I'm not shocked that capitalists would do this. But it seems to be largely impossible to be both a capitalist and a christian. When people define themselves with a contradiction, its always interesting to see what side they come down on when push really comes to shove. The capitalists that are stealing everything might call themselves Christians, but it becomes obvious which they choose, and its evil, not good.
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"To know, and not to do, is not to know"
www.samsonsworld.blogspot.com
These are very good points--although I am not a christian--I love his work (as Hedwig said)
I have no kids at all in my family. I guess, it was a rough childhood and we didnt want to pass it along. I mean, all cousins--everything. My mom was from a very fucked up family.But, it is never too late to have a happy childhood!
BUT, that being said, I care alot about future generationa,. I care about the future of the human species. I think it is part of our communal nature. People are not meant to be "lone wolves". Look at our relatives.
Capitalism doesnt work.
Accepting responsibility is not a deficit specific to this administration. It has been characteristic of politics probably since before I started paying attention to it. Did big George and Reagan ever state and accept any responsibility for their part in Iran-Contra? I wasn't alive long enough to remember Nixon's disgraceful exit from the White House, but I don't recall him ever taking responsibility for any part of Watergate. I do remember reading about him saying he wasn't a crook. The CIA has never, admitted any culpability for any of their operations, even just the ones that are beyond a mere suspicion, where convictions could have been had in an open court. And then there's the ridiculously easy ones, simple mistakes, or dumb errors: Clinton's “I did not have sex with that woman.” The only thing I can recall from my history lessons about a politician accepting responsibility was something about Harry Truman having a sign on his desk that said, “The buck stops here.” The only official I can recall that admitted the government erred was Robert Clarke when he said, “Your government failed you.”
hoodeet October 8th, 2008 2:35 pm:
The “material success” you ascribe to the Chinese is just another variation of “He who has the most toys...” which is capitalism personified.
itsjustkarma October 8th, 2008 4:39 pm:
That's a really interesting idea, parliamentary duty. Please hurry with your website, I want to read more.
Scheer is right. God is punishing us for the 8 awful years of war,pestilence and despair brought on by the BushTeam. George W. Bush-the ultimate Weapon of Mass Destruction.
And while I am at it, who not celebrate the demise of one awful economist and the resurrection of another:
Milton Friedman, aka, Bush's Godfather (markets can do no wrong; only governments do wrong) is officially dead. Maynard Keynes (the deficit spending British economist) is back for a second time. He worked his magic for the New Deal and helped save capitalism, for a while. Once the capitalists got back in the saddle they reverted to their old rape sand pillage ways. Now Keynes is back for New Deal: Part 2.
How many time do we need to bring Keynes back before we put a stake in Friedman's heart
Dr Wu, the last of the big-time thinkers
He was also Clintons godfather... and Obama is an acolyte of Clinton.
Sorry for the double post, my pc is acting weird.
Forget about elections - the only vote You have is at the register
Forget the vests, what we need is a bunker to protect ourselves from our ungovernment. In regards of the pressing question what we can do about all this, I humbly reiterate an idea that I published more than two decades ago in Germany, where a deluded conservative chancellor 'was re-elected' to run the BRD for sixteen (16) years.
Pondering about a festering democracy that employed only a minority of eligible voters, as the majority did not see any sense in voting, because the results were always detrimental opposite from the promises the poli-thugs made before any election, I realized that the whole filth of lobbyism and partisanship could only be uprooted through an entirely new 'democratic' system, one that is not based on capital.
The US is not the only country in the world that sends out 'invitation' letters to its citizens to partake dutifully in the judiciary as a juror. Judging over another fellow country wo/man should imply that any citizen that matches the requirements for jury duty has the capacity to do so. Realizing that a government can entrust its citizens to judge itself, the idea was born for 'Parliamentary Duty'. So in my version of government the citizen will receive a letter for invitation to parliamentary duty. Setting aside details, the goal would be to fill the 'house' with randomly picked citizens, from the youngest possible to the oldest possible. No preferences in the color of Your skin or Your economical status, employed or unemployed, laborer or business owner. You get the idea. The result would be a parliament, filled with all walks of life and ideologies (if any), but no lobbyism and partisanship. As I realized that political parties are the biggest obstacle for progress by preventing such through nepotism and cronyism, the parliamentary duty was the all out fix. Imagine a parliament without majorities implied through an 'electoral' process that caters to the powerful through fear mongering of the voters. The argument against my idea that surfaced most frequently, was based on the doubt, that 'ordinary' people would not have enough knowledge to perform as randomly picked lawmakers. Fortunately though the recent developments world wide in terms of the peoples prosperity make clear that the status quo is obviously created by 'professional' politicians that follow their own little agenda. A fact that doesn't quite work that well with a randomly selected citizenry representation. I believe that the biggest lie of two centuries was the little angry man's promise to reduce government size. The US gov has become a state within the state and it is no longer the people's state. Therefore I have way more faith in the 'ordinary' people, than in their elected representatives, corrupted by a bankrupt political system. Without the political filth the chances grow that the country returns into its original state, the one that says "By the people, of the people, for the people" nothing gets closer to that than my system of self rule. Ponder that for a possible solution. Maybe not achievable in a few weeks, but certainly inevitable if mankind intends to survive the age of the military industrial world.
The complete dissertation will be available on my web site soon.
Forget about elections - the only vote You have is at the register
Forget the vests, what we need is a bunker to protect ourselves from our ungovernment. In regards of the pressing question what we can do about all this, I humbly reiterate an idea that I published more than two decades ago in Germany, where a deluded conservative chancellor 'was re-elected' to run the BRD for sixteen (16) years.
Pondering about a festering democracy that employed only a minority of eligible voters, as the majority did not see any sense in voting, as the results were always detrimental opposite from the promises the poli-thugs made before any election. Therefor I realized that the whole filth of lobbyism and partisanship could only be uprooted through an entirely new 'democratic' system, one that is not based on capital.
The US is not the only country in the world that sends out 'invitation' letters to its citizens to partake dutifully in the judiciary as a juror. Judging over another fellow country wo/man should imply that any citizen that matches the requirements for jury duty has the capacity to do so. Realizing that a government can entrust its citizens to judge itself, the idea was born for 'Parliamentary Duty'. So in my version of government the citizen will receive a letter for invitation to parliamentary duty. Setting aside details, the goal would be to fill the 'house' with randomly picked citizens, from the youngest possible to the oldest possible. No preferences in the color of Your skin or Your economical status, employed or unemployed, laborer or business owner. You get the idea. The result would be a parliament, filled with all walks of life and ideologies (if any), but no lobbyism and partisanship. As I realized that political parties are the biggest obstacle for progress by preventing such through nepotism and cronyism, the parliamentary duty was the all out fix. Imagine a parliament without majorities implied through an 'electoral' process that caters to the powerful through fear mongering of the voters. The argument against my idea that surfaced most frequently, was based on the doubt, that 'ordinary' people would not have enough knowledge to perform as randomly picked lawmaker. Fortunately though the recent developments world wide in terms of the peoples prosperity make clear that the status quo is obviously created by 'professional' politicians that follow their own little agenda. A fact that doesn't quite work that well with a randomly selected citizenry representation. As I believe that the biggest lie of two centuries was the little angry man's promise to reduce government size. The US gov has become a state within the state and it is no longer the people's state. I have way more faith in 'ordinary' people, than in their elected representatives, corrupted by a bankrupt political system. Without the political filth the chances grow that the country returns into its original state, the one that says "By the people, of the people, for the people" nothing gets closer to that than my system of self rule. Ponder that for a possible solution. Maybe not achievable in a few weeks, but certainly inevitable if mankind intends to survive the age of the military industrial world.
The complete dissertation will be available on my web site soon.
Forget about elections - the only vote You have is at the register
Educated men of civilizations long ago learned how to manipulate people into every manner of darkness by using the name of God. Jesus told the Political Religious Factions of Israel their father was the devil. He told them they would travel a 100 miles to seek one convert & then turn him into a child of Hell 100 times worse than themselves.
Jesus stated his Kingdom is not of this world, nor worldly things so it isn't about America or any other Nation upon the earth, but America is quite possibly a Beast Kingdom in the Book of Revelation or Mystery Babylon that builds the globalist system of the Beast some refer to as the New World Order as Mystery Babylon fornicates with the Kings of the Earth possibly through the U.N.
Jesus did not teach religion, nor gave any indication he came to start a new religion. All man did was take Jesus & turn him back into a religion & Political State Religion that began murdering, torturing, & thieving in Jesus's name instead of Caesar's name.
Your Nation was founded by mostly Freemason's & Deists who stated they patterned your Nation after the Roman Republic that would become a warmongering Empire.
Obama is far more god-deluded than McCain is.
McCain probably figured it out when he was a POW. Nothing fails like prayer. Nobody's listening. God doesn't exist.
If Scheer is going to criticize Bush for invoking God, then he'd better be prepared to do so for another 4 years if Obama wins in November.
I like to suggest to my atheist friends to spend a little time researching the complex and baffling findings of quantum physics and what they suggest about a creative force underlying the universe. While it my not change your beliefs entirely, it may give you moment for pause.
You can find the book/dvd titled "What the Bleep Do We Know" in almost any library, it's a good primer
You can also find it on You-Tube.
You can start with this short clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPeprQ7oGc
Very well made video. Thank you.
___ " The obsever collapsed the wave function
___ simply by observing "
Namaste
Why do you assume I know little or nothing about physics ? I'm actually very well educated in the physical sciences and math. As you were, I was an atheist at birth. My science knowledge is what protected me from being brainwashed by religious fairy tales.
There are no gods, spirits, forces, or whatever the hell you wish to call them. We're on our own, baby. >:-) You can either enjoy your insignificance or you can get paranoid about it. I prefer the former.
If so [ " You can either enjoy your insignificance, … " ],
___ Will you please do tell your face ? ___
It appears that your zero-point energy, is always being multiplied by ( your intention of ) ZERO -- and that's kind of sad. How is that working out for you ?
Humankind is a social being -- is that not part of your perceptual universe -- as you were born alone, and therefore that silliness of interacting with friends is just pathetic, right ?
Actually, I have no animosity toward you, and your existence and beliefs are a perfect match for who you are, right now. It just occurs to most that there is more in this universe, and "things" like LOVE, JOY, PEACE, BEAUTY, STILLNESS, SPACIOUSNESS, CONSCIOUSNESS, PRESENCE, and AWARENESS OF BEING AWARE -- are really not things ( forms ) at all -- they are ALL FORMLESS ( without physical attribute ).
I suppose since you have no scientific manner to measure the same, categorize it, nor proof of their existence, that they must therefore not exist, or simply be part of the collective insanity we tend to call REALITY ?
The biggest non-thing of ALL is LIFE itself, that the doctors only can determine if you possess it or not, and have little else to explain what it is ( most likely because it is NOT an "IT" or thing at all ). Since you cannot prove that you have LIFE, does that influence your opinion of actually being ALIVE ? Wow, that's a gnarly Gordian Knot to cut into, if you might wish to discover what it is ( "within" you ) that IS interested in discovery and being aware of being aware ?
Perhaps REALITY IS ONLY ONE OF THE MANY POSSIBLE ILLUSIONS ?
Namaste
I want to add that science knowledge appears to be inversely correlated with god belief. Here's a nice survey from 1998, the elite scientists who are members of the National Academy of Sciences were asked if they believe in god. Of all who responded, only 7% expressed belief.
http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/news/file002.html
… Elite members, have no need for humility. Many of them are blessed with the MDiety complex.
Your arrogance of the combination of intellect and lack of any belief of the spiritual sides to LIFE -- is perhaps too strong of a protest -- me thinks.
Very few really BIG and useful scientific discoveries have ever come from people of C.E.R.T.A.I.N.T.Y, most have come from the inspired and inquisitive minds that mark their lives by challenging the envelope of existing paradigms and thought ( the consensus ). C.R.E.A.T.I.V.I.T.Y is a much bigger game ( within one's LIFE ) than certainty.
Namaste « Presence »
« We must be the change we wish to see in the world » — Gandhi
« There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed » — Gandhi
« We adopt the means of nonviolence because our end is a community at peace with itself » — ML King
I once read quite a bit on string theory. Fascinating stuff, and I suspect the solutions physicists are looking for will be down that road. As for the god thing, I like John Lennon's take: Imagine no religion.
How so? McCain is 100% prolife and buddy buddy with Bush's religious advisors.
Taking the anti-abortion position doesn't mean one is god-deluded.
It is true. Alot of atheists are libertarian. (I think you may be?? But, I'm guessing). They are very diverse. I call myself an agnostic, as I feel that there is no reasonable way to KNOW if there is a god--but i'm pretty damn sure there isnt!
I saw the stuff on string theory and the "anti-matter" or black matter stuff--I do not see how that implies that there is a force for good or evil in the universe.
Its not a cop-out. I watched a seminar given by Am. Atheits, and I thought it was kindve sily to "have a group about it". I read Reason sometimes. I like sam.But I disagree with him sometimes
Atheists are of all stripes. I am pro-choice. I guess I am of the socialist atheist variety, which is descended from , Europe, mostly. My father was born in Denmark. But he was a GOP--my mom was stricly so. My dad left eh GOP when Bush Sr. "went to war for oil" he said. I registered as a democrat at 18, as did both sisters. I think my dad was the bigtger influence on us.
Do you belong to an organized group of athists? Just wondering. None of this is either here nor there, so I wil stop now. Sorry that I got off topic
"I've known Nancy Pelosi for many years; I consider her an admirable person. I think she is fighting the good fight." Comments by Robert Sheer - Nation Magazine's 2007 Nader/Sheer debate.
Robert Sheer has very low standards - imo.
In an Asia Times interview this year, Howard Zinn said that the Republicans are only slightly to the right of Obama. Robert Sheer emphatically disagrees with Zinn on this point:
Responding to Nader's comments that the similarities between the two parties are far greater than the differences:
"So instead of saying, a pox on both their houses, which is basically what your argument is, that the similarities tower over the differences. No, they don’t."
Bush's connection to the true God, God the father of Jesus of Nazareth, is about as real as the connection between adultery and chastity. Satan is the one Bush worships. You can tell that by the ease with which he has people killed and tortured.
My sentiments exactly. He must have been praying to Satan.
Bush has said that God told him to…. He then must be a prophet. It would be blasphemous to talk disrespectfully about this 20th Century messenger of God. Therefore, I will only talk about the Plague.
What did they do in the old times when they wanted to get rid of someone afflicted with plague? On land, they burned them; on ships, they threw them overboard. I may be wrong.
Just go ahead and do it, but be careful that he may become the second George W. the Christ. You just don’t impale a prophet. He may have a second coming in the carcass of McBomb.
Mixing movies and real life. How many people mix up fiction from movies into thinking it's history, but it's only "reel" life? I'm thinking of how so many of us think the circle the wagons thing from movies of my childhood (long long ago,but sound was already invented,and color) really existed? It didn't happen except in movies. It's such a pervasive myth that it's used in "circle the wagons" in political talk.
The Bushs have been a PLAGUE upon the country for three generations.
Many CD'ers may not know that grandpappy Bush, Prescott, was involved in a Fascist coup to overthrow the government of FDR.
This is one of the most fascinating political stories of the 20th century and should be taught to all schoolchildren.
Only with a media under 100% control of the White House could this story have been suppressed for 12 years of Bush presidencies.
The full story is here:
http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/53/53-index.html
is it any wonder the country is headed toward a fascist state? Now I know where he gets his business sense.
But I could be wrong !
Don't forget that the Walker bank was representative of 3rd Reich companies until '42 or '43 and gave it up only when threatened by the US gov't takeover of their holdings if they did not cease and desist from 'trading with the enemy' - Nazi Germany.
Hey Penelope October 8th, 2008 2:33 pm
That therapy you're looking for is called JUSTICE.
A couple of thoughts:
for M. Shiblikov and Sioux Rose: you'll need flak jackets PLUS helmets because it makes more sense to shoot at the head. Besides, poison or heart attacks, car accidents, falls from high windows, and fast-acting cancer are probably the methods of choice. Have been for 50 years.
for Mr. Scheer: The Christian values those people claim to espouse are a perversion of the Capitalist Protestant values (see Max Weber) of material success and accumulation of wealth as proof of grace. Ironically, the usury of the current system and of the banks in countries dominated by so-called Christians and Jews is proving disastrous to our societies, whereas Sharia banks and ethical funds have been on a fairly steady course.
The rising tide,unfortunately, is not the Muslim system or Judeo-Christian ethical investment, but rather the Chinese economy, with such a strong value attached to material success ("luck" rather than the Christian "grace") that it can be just as ruthless as our "Masters of the Universe" have been on Wall Street and the Wal-Mart empire against Main Street.
So where do we run to?
True: the question IS, what are we going to do about it?
People are so stunned by years of never-ending, endlessly repeating, shocking events- it would not be an exaggeration to say that a significant number of Americans (USAns) may be nearly immobilized by PTSD.
Beheadings, downed towers, torture, sky high gas, food and housing prices, job losses, witnesses to unspeakable cruelties that we've visited on other nations, polar bears without habitat, clear cuts in our forests, and the ugly list goes on. Trouble is: what "therapy" will get us out of this stupor & into action?
sierra7
Robert Scheer nails it to the wall as usual. It is also instructive to pay heed to the comment of, "...what are we going to do about it?" Well, I'm sure you're all aware of the shift in a "brigade" of Iraqi vets back to the US attached to the "Northern Command." The NC is indirectly linked to "civil unrest" episode(s) in the US. (What Posse Commitatus Law?). The government is getting ready for civil unrest which may be precipitated by this financial mess that will inevitably, this time, not like some of the past "recessions" lead to civil unrest....Our lifestyles are about to be rudely interrupted with higher food and energy prices, lower wages, or outright job losses, pensions being slashed, possible cuts in SS for retirees, out of sight medical costs which will throw thousands off of the "insured" rolls.....
This mess is very different than any of the other "recessions." It will be very, very deep and will last for a decade if not longer.
What do I base my scenario on? I remember the Great Depression......I remember the life my parents led to survive....with two children.....Ever have a sack of walnuts dumped on your kitchen table after you eat (if you can eat), crack the nuts, bag them and then lump them back to the "nut factory" the next day.....that's just for "after dinner work."
We have led profligate lives for decades...time to pay the piper.....
Sheer is censoring himself to protect the policies and votes of Obama. That's crappy journalism and he knows it - or he should. He's no better than the worst journalism of the right. He's a cheerleader and a hypocrite, not a journalist in the best sense.
In a debate with Ralph Nader a couple of years ago, Sheer was asked a question concerning his staunch support of Democrats:
"Where will you draw the line, Robert?" Robert said, "The war." But Obama does not promise to remove all troops and bases and end the war on Iraqis. Not only that, Obama says he will increase troops levels in Afghanistan and be at the ready to militarily go into Pakistan. So what does Sheer do, he moves back the line to accommodate more killings. I'm convinced that if Obama proposed chopping the legs off "terrorists," Sheer would still support him. How much different is that than blowing up innocent people, something Sheer tacitly approves of by his one sided pieces.
Some journalist, eh?
Chris Hedges is far the better writer and he is not a whimp.
Mr. Sheer is a respected and an accomplished journalist whose column is read in all the world’s continents. His wit and judgment about Middle East and its conflicts has been honest and prophetic. He is not your typical MSM journalist who waits to see which way the wind blows. We probably would not be at the abyss of economic collapse if our "objective" stenographers did their job. Part of the problem with most American journalists is the constant need to be balanced to a point of being ambiguous. What we need from journalists is the truth instead trying to balance truth with lies. Yes, good Journalists can tell the truth even after divulging their affiliation.
I agree that Mr. Sheer's assessment of the Rep. establishment is a good one, but he tells only half the story. Where is Robert Rubin in all of this? Rubin, likewise out of Goldman-Sachs and now out of Citigroup, two of not only the biggest miscreants but of the biggest beneficiaries of this mess. Rubin, Clinton's Sec. of the Treasury and one of the most ardent supporters of the repeal of the Glass-Steagall firewall between commercial and investment banks which removal made this disaster possible. Rubin, economic advisor to Barack Obama.
It is interesting that so much of the "progressive" media fails to indict Rubin as well as Paulson. I suspect that someday when the dust settles a bit we will be told how the Wall Street mucky mucks of both parties screwed us royally. What a shame that even these intrepid reporters become lesser evilists .....
This is a tragedy, because with either "major" party, the system will continue its depredations. I find it more amazing everyday that we haven't figured that out by now.
Very well written. And although Bush and McCain are both puppets, we as a people have a hand in the mess. We’ve allowed our elected officials to sell the Constitution to corporate America. Who now uses it to make us pay for their financial losses. Corporate America is now treating Americans the way it has treated foreign companies – with ignorance and contempt. This bailout only delays the inevitable. More war on the middle class. With our government in bed with our corporate bosses, Americans in the middle class are being told to pay the losses and suffer the consequences of corporate greed and corruption. They took away the corner store and the corner gas station and gave us imported materials with which we were supposed to make our lives better and more enjoyable. They outsourced jobs while recruiting foreign workers who would gladly undercut local salaries. They played monopoly with the American middle class. You can see it every night on American television. You can vote with your dollars and stop buying and stop paying taxes or you can vote with your feet and leave. But voting in the ballot box is ratifying the status quo.
Hoa binh
Amen.
Joe Sixpack will determine the outcome of this election and he is still bought in to supply-side economic myths. Until he views those myths with the same disdain he views Bin Laden there will not be enough upward pressure in the US to make any positive changes.
Didn't he already ( long ago ) deal with the FROG thing
¿ ___ explosively ___ ?
.
( I suspect a plague of blue whales would raise a really nasty cloud )
Namaste
Sioux Rose
Excellent commentary by Scheer who I once personally wrote to suggesting he wear a bullet proof vest.
Very soon we will all need bullet proof vests.
no, head gear or helmets.
For those who haven't read the article yet, don't bother. I'll summarize it for you: "Republicans are bad."
OK, great. Now that we've settled that, let's move on to the next question.
I wish I had read your posting first.
Would that question be: "How bad are the Republicans?"
If that's the question, we can all probably agree that they are "very, very bad."
Yet I still somehow feel that resolving this matter does not exhaust the supply of fascinating questions. For instance, we could ask, "Well, if the R's are very, very bad, then what should we do about it?"
Or, "Does the R's being bad imply that the D's are good?"
Pondering metaphysical stuff like that can keep you awake all night!
Or, "Does the R's being bad imply that the D's are good?"
I like that one. Of course the answer's no, they most certainly are not. From a foreign perspective the D's are further to the right than are most 'conservative' parties in the world that have functioning democracies. Wasn't it a dem gov't that escalated the war in 'Nam? A diff D gov't that sent transports to France to enable them to re-occupy their old colony of Indochina?
As for what you should do about it, I'd argue that the states should reorganise their electoral system. Your House of Reps has one member for every 700,000 people, yet your gov't still claims that's good enough to represent the population at large. In the UK an MP represents about 70,000 people, in Canada an MP reps 30-40,000 people. There's no way that there can be an excuse not to allow people to register to vote on the day of the election, in the states however you have to have registered a month before the vote. Failing a movement to hold another constitutional convention, you should get rid of both the repukes and the dems. But to prevent the disaster of a mccain presiduncy, get rid of the pukes first. Then dispose of the dems, and find new parties.
A lot of Americans are not as centrist as our "leaders".
They are centrists because the US only has one party: the corporate bozos party.
I like your comments.
Sioux Rose
Excellent commentary by Scheer who I once personally wrote to suggesting he wear a bullet proof vest. (I know Rich M and others will see the above article as a subtle endorsement of Obama and the Democrats; but that hardly diminishes from the facts of his assessments.)
A few years ago seeing the calamity in slow motion I wrote a piece no one would publish entitled, "Why I'm Glad I Believe in Karma." If anyone would care to read it, it's published on my website: www.siouxrose.com
Sioux Rose,
Hi, and thanks for your take on Sheer's article. I went to your site and read with interest the piece you wrote. May I please print it out to share with a friend whose computer is on the fritz?
Thanks, kissykat