A call to the American people

"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" If only it were that simple, to be heard by so many at once...

What in the name of capitalism's going on here? As our economy continues to consume itself to the benefit and delight of our morally corrupt ruling class, I would like to call attention to the absurdity this bailout package is in light of all the anti-socialist propaganda that has brainwashed this country during and since the Red Scare. And you were afraid of Socialists! This is the government controlling the free market, is it not? This is our government encroaching upon our freedom, no? It's not the absurdity of the bailout package that bothers me most, but fact that our government has simply dictated it's need. See that's the problem; there isn't one. It's the rich who are faltering, not you and I, as this is simply an example of rich, powerful people lobbying for the interests of rich, powerful people. In fact this reaction by our government is the very opposite of what logically should happen, but the elitist capitalists running this show are directing the money towards the upper class and away from the poor, surprise, rewarding failed institutions, which by no coincidence generated enormous profits for the parasites that fed off them as they were driven into the ground. There are no get out of jail free cards in free market capitalism, but our government is now printing them up by the billions and that should infuriate and enrage every single American.

Think about it, the logical solution here that would make the most sense and help the greatest amount of people would be to pump that money into the poor, out of work, starving families that make up the most basic levels of our economy and society. Pump that money into the basic infrastructure of our lower classes and allow that money to trickle up, which makes much more sense than trickle down economics as it has to trickle up (as trickle down economics is dependent on the actions and interests of the rich, not on the certainty inherent in the trickle up concept). Give a greater amount of people a greater amount of purchasing power and allow the companies that failed to actually fail and assume the debt. By bailing out these irresponsible companies such destructive capitalistic tendencies will only be reinforced. The public has been brainwashed to believe that without investments by the rich and powerful our economy cannot survive ,but this, in fact, is false. The rich used to become poor when they mismanaged their business, as the capitalist market consumed them, but now that the rich have in fact taken to congressionally protecting their own asses, they have in essence altered the rules of capitalism to favor one class, their own, and are now attempting to pocket taxpayer money using pure political rhetoric. Make no mistake, Congress is stealing from us, this bailout is just a facade. But then again, so is this whole “election”!

Voting Republican or Democrat; now that's wasting a vote

A rounded view of the whole

It's been a little while but I have many good excuses. I married the most beautiful women in the world in July and we are now in the process of buying our first home. I'm deep into my novel and softball is just entering playoffs, but alas, the world still sucks and the system of global-political capitalism has only grown more corrupt.

On August 12th, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that 2/3 of U.S. corporations from 1998 to 2005 paid no federal income taxes, despite recording over $2.5 trillion in sales during that time. I also read recently in Playboy that in 1990 72% of large U.S. corporations were audited by the IRS, while in 2007 only 26% of the same class of corporations received a similar treatment. Fannie Mae reported a $2.1 billion loss in 2007 yet CEO Daniel Mudd earned over $13 million in compensation, including roughly $10 million in company stock and option grants. And our government is in a record deficit fighting imperialistic wars driven by a number of lie ridden propagandized hoaxes while our economy continues to falter, while those who have administered this chaotic reality continue to go unpunished. This is class warfare people not international politics or wars of terror, and we are all players in their game, they being predator capitalists.

So what? Why bring this up? Why hem and haw over something the divided masses have no control over? (divided by the individuality and competition this predatory capitalism has brought about). And not that I'm against individuality, the opposite couldn't be truer, it's the self important individuality this twisted system of predatory capitalism has produced, or better said, has allowed the wealthy to facilitate in order to produce a dependent stream of consumers. And while many conceive individuality and freedom within this system, the opposite is in fact true. The free are the ones who do not have to labor for a living, who pay others to labor for them, who possess the fortune to be independently wealthy. Those are the free; the ones who can drive a company into the ground and earn absurd amounts of compensation all the while. Freedom isn't working to pay off material debt, that's indebtedness.

Let me continue further. predatory capitalism exists in the the very real world of the Playstation 2 (PS2). Coltan is a metallic ore used in a myriad of modern technological applications, most notably in the PS2. After processing, coltan is turned in a powder called tantalum which the PS2 uses in it's design. It uses so much of it that with the release of the Playstation 2, world prices of tantalum surged from $49/pound to $275/pound, leaving a wake of untold blood in it's path. You see, colton is plentiful in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where capitalism is completely unregulated. Children work in unsafe conditions amounting equivocally to slave labor, who, were they on a different continent a bit further westward, would be looked upon completely differently. In the words of Ex-British Parliament Member Oona King, "Kids in Congo were being sent down mines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginary aliens in their living rooms." And while Sony now claims that all their current Playstation components are built with Conga free coltan there is simply no way to assure this. Like any other material good there is a black market, and an ore demanding those types of returns will find a way into the marketplace. Colton has actually been named in a United Nations report, cited for inciting the Second Conga War, the world's greatest war since World War II, resulting in roughly 5 1/2 million deaths, which began in 1998. Sony released the PS2 in 1999. And it's not that simple to blame the Conganese.

Colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, it's all the same thing; the use of force/wealth to accrue more wealth which buys greater force. European and French colonialism completely destabilized this region of the world, creating dependence upon a system there was never a need for, while exploiting not only natural resources but human resources as well. How much wealth driving our country today from the confederate south was earned off the blood of this very slave trade years ago? People this is the reality of capitalism and as long as we continue to allow the super elite to accumulated disproportionate fortunes, this cycle of servitude will not only continue unfettered but lead to far greater crimes against humanity. This isn't about preaching doom and gloom, it's about calling awareness to what has become of the global economy and the connection that the American lifestyle has in preserving this unsustainable cycle. There is a connection between the Enron's of the world and the Haliburton's. There is a connection between excessive CEO payoffs and the wars of the Conganese. There is a connection between the IRS laxing on the elite and two-thirds of U.S. corporations avoiding taxation. Though the wealthy won't let it be heard. Why should they? It's they who own the media.

Tim Donaghy, Capitalism, Politics and the world we know

I see the legitimacy of the NBA unraveling before my eyes amid allegations of gambling and cheating by league referees and top brass, and I think to myself is there no greater microcosm of the deception that our country is ruled by than through the distanced hand of the dollar here at work? Look how much money is at stake in the NBA arena then consider how greater the stakes are in the political arena and you will see this lurid connection for all of its greedy worth. There is no escaping the fact that money has a great controlling force over every aspect of society, that there is no denying these types of special interests, upheld by this unregulated capitalist system empowering the elite to the dominant levels they now encompass, affect everything you and I do on a level that at first is not always perceivable, but is evermore so the foundation of our lives. But for those who haven't heard.

Tim Donaghy is a former NBA ref who pled guilty in 2007 to partaking in a gambling ring that involved fixing numerous games over the course of several seasons. It called the legitimacy of the NBA into doubt but was adamantly denounced by commissioner David Stern as an isolated incident from one bad seed. But come yesterday the whole story changed and everything now I seen different.

Donaghy gave a deposition to his lawyer claiming that the fixing goes far beyond him, that certain players were ordered to be called differently, that the outcomes of a number of games were fixed for rating and revenue purposes, and that referees, get this, received special interest perks from NBA owners and coaches. Look at this quote from this Fox Sports article:

"The document also described other alleged infractions, including league officials telling referees that they should withhold calling technical fouls on certain star players because doing so hurt ticket sales and television ratings."

"Donaghy also said refs broke league rules by routinely fraternizing with players, coaches and team management and that the resulting inappropriate relationships may have influenced the outcomes of games. He claims one general manager in 2004 made a game-day phone call to referees to encourage them to call more personal fouls against an opponent."

"Donaghy claims referees have accepted autographs, merchandise and meals from team representatives. He said one official used a team's facility to exercise and another played tennis with an NBA coach."

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8231176/Donaghy:-Refs-fixed-playoff-series,-other-games

This country needs to wake up and realize this is not an isolated incident, that in the far greater arena of politics this is our unruly reality. And for those who see Donaghy as nothing more than an opportunist, is what he's saying really that hard to believe? There is too much money at stake for there not to be manipulation and there is some horrible officiating that has occurred over the years that can now be explained. Fixing a game isn't a new phenomenon, dating back ot at least 1919 among notable scandals. The game six everyone is now talking about from 2002 between the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers does fit the profile for what Donaghy describes in his deposition, but my eyes are suspicious of other games now as well as there have been some whoppers over the years, in the NFL included, where you can't help but wonder if there's a higher force at work. The tuck rule anyone? Everyone immediately denounced Jose Canseco as an opportunist and it turns out he's been fairly accurate with most of everything he's said that is now verifiable. The opportunists are the ones with the ability to create their own opportunities: yes the same lurid elite class that is derailing our country. This is what you get with unregulated capitalism once it has evolved to the level it's at, with the wealth only concentrated in a few. It's also known as the final rung of capitalism, as the rich will eventually undermine themselves. That'll be whenever everyone realizes they're being screwed supporting their system, one thats corrupted by profit.

How do you like your police officers with machine guns?

This past month on the 24th of April, the New York police department began patrolling the New York City transit system armed with 9mm machine guns, rifles and bomb sniffing dogs. This increased "security" is part of a 50% increase in a homeland security grant, but I beg to differ this makes anyone more secure.

First off, machine guns don't mix well with crowded settings, that is if you're actually trying to protect people, and then you're trusting the judgment of the officer. Do you trust the NYPD to act with caution, when time and again the police are cited for brutality? Look not further back than to the 2006 shooting of Sean Bell, the 23 year old groom to be, who, upon exiting a strip club was shot dead by three undercover police officers who'd been investigating an underground prostitution ring, claiming they thought that Bell had a gun. Bell was unarmed. The officers unloaded fifty rounds. All three officers involved in the shooting were just found not guilty by the way. These type of acts are condoned.

And this is just one example of police brutality. What we're really experiencing here is the formation of a police state, as our rights have already been eroded. We don't need police officers patrolling the streets with submachine guns. In fact, all this will serve to do is further desensitize the public to such types of "precautionary" enforcement. I mean why not militarize the whole of society? I'm sure we can find potential threats anywhere.

What I'm saying is that we're not that far away from a militarized existence, that were the class structures to break down from, I don't know, the collapse of the dollar, I could see this unaccountable government resorting to militarism. I mean, what would stop it?

What's to stop a submachine gun carrying police officer from misidentifying a potential threat? I know what the true threat is.

The reasons behind all the problems we have: The collapse of America in a nutshell

Never before have our lives moved so quickly, the earth been so highly populated, the rich been this powerful and the world so small. Never before have the stakes been greater for our immediate future and never before has our democratic society been as powerless. We live in a two party system which is a result of a number of factors, but two stand out more than others: Money and Media. And don’t take this lightly; it’s this power structure, the two party system, which is literally leading our country straight to its demise, serving the interests of only a few. Now money and media, what does that mean? Well if you haven’t noticed, the privately owned media outlets in this country, which are nearly all of them, really only cover the two main political parties, save for the occasional brief mention of a third party candidate. And this is intentional, it isn’t by chance. There are vast amounts of wealth concentrated in the hands of a small minority of this country’s population, who have economic and political interests in seeing the republicans and democrats in office, who are really one party, but I’ll get to that in a bit, and neither represents the majority of the people who vote for them. Unsurprisingly some of the wealthiest people on this planet are American media moguls. And just so it’s said, political favor is a two way street, and it’s no coincidence that the wealthiest members of this society have received the greatest in tax breaks over the last 30 years, while capitalism has been almost completely deregulated in that time. You’ve heard of media bias? Well there’s your bias.

The world has become a very hostile place. Some would say it’s always been that way, and for the most part they’d be right. Others might claim that it’s all that ever will be. One thing we can all agree on is the world doesn’t have to be this way, not if we went about things a bit differently. We tend not to tell our stories from the beginning and there are great misconceptions out there on a number of issues where a great deal of life is at stake.

I’m talking of course about issues such as imperialistic warfare, environmental degradation, climate change, special interests, campaign financing, political corruption, the two party system, the rich getting richer while the poor, well, you know. I’m talking about the whole picture, not just bits and pieces, and there is a common thread that ties all these issues together.

At the forefront of all our problems is the economic structure of this country, and I’m not talking capitalism here. Capitalism is different than what we are currently experiencing. We have now entered a state of fascism, it’s just that the current players are different from their historical counterparts. Go Wiki the term when we’re done and you’ll see the correlation.

We don’t live in a complete dictatorship, but as citizens we don’t really have any power.

We elect politicians into office who promise to fight for the man, only to stick it to him once there.

Further our President, while not officially a dictator, has effectively operated as one internationally and domestically, waging an imperialistic war without required congressional declaration, using fear and deception to get his way and infringing on the privacy of our citizens through such unpatriotic acts as the patriot act. We live in a very controlling society, and that’s mostly because our political options are greatly limited.

The American democratic system is broken. Dominated by a two party structure of wealthy elite our system of politics has been overcome by the rich. There are more than two points of view to every argument, but that’s no longer true in this country, not when there are only two dominate political parties in possession of any real power. And what really separates the republicans in office from the democrats? There are a few talking point issues which rarely come into play, but by and large these are wealthy individual politicians who receive lavish fringe benefits in their elected positions, who talk a good game but put profit over social responsibility time and again, looking out for the interests of businesses who contribute to their campaigns and members of their fellow social class, not the interests of you and I. Make no mistake, politics is economics, and everything in this world revolves around money. We American people are not being represented by our politicians, we are being exploited, and the future of our society lies dangerously in the balance.

Back to the economic factors contributing to our democracy’s demise. This fascist capitalism which has driven our economy into this recession, which will most likely lead to an economic depression, nearly 10 trillion dollars in debt already against the gold standard due to an exploitative Federal Reserve, growing at nearly a billion and a half dollars in debt per day, this type of irresponsible controlling fascist capitalism by some of the wealthiest members of our society threatens more than democracy.

Now for a brief examination of the Federal Reserve, how the wealthy are made and who holds the ability to shape politics in this country.

Now why is our economy in so much trouble and what factors are contributing to this? Well to begin with, the Federal Reserve is a network of privately owned banks which run the centralized banking system, which our government has put in charge of creating currency, albeit that wasn’t the original intent of the Federal Reserve act of 1913. The Federal Reserve was originally created as a safety defense mechanism against bank runs, which occur when too many people at once wish to exchange hard currency for gold, a problem only because banks lend out much more money than they actually possess, and currency we tend to forget is based off gold reserves. By creating an interlinking network of banks which could cover for one another in the event of a run, unless all banks are run simultaneously, the centralized banking system essentially insures itself against being run. However there is an offshoot effect to this. Because of this network an economic loophole was created. The Federal Reserve serves as an economic safety net for all banks to pool from, but at the same time, since bank runs are a rarity, banks have exploited this resource and used it to loan out many more times the amount of money they can actually account for, banking on the fact they won’t all be run at once. Think of it this way: The dollars you and I trade in the marketplace are worth only as much gold as there is to back them with. There isn’t enough gold in the Federal Reserve to account for the cash in the marketplace.

So where does money come from and why are we in so much debt? Well prepare for a shocker. Money is created whenever a person takes out a loan from a bank. You’re not actually borrowing money from the bank per se, but are borrowing it against the national debt. This is because banks lend out much more money than they actually have, a la the Federal Reserve. Let’s say you get approved for a loan to buy a house. After being approved the bank literally creates this money out of thin air and charges you with the responsibility of repaying it to the government. The bank keeps the free interest it did nothing to earn, other than being well connected, and most of the money is eventually repaid back to the government, save for the $10 trillion or so that hasn’t been. That’s $10 trillion dollars more in currency than we have gold to back it with, because banks have exploited the system and put the worth of the dollar in peril.

Now let’s take it a step further, just what does all this mean, besides an enormous debt which threatens literally to destroy our economy? Well by having a system which for all practical purposes creates free fortunes for those fortunate enough to be born into wealthy banking families, there is a small portion of this society that is doing nothing to earn their keep, simply given a free ride through life along with the power to shape politics, leeching off the backs of the masses. You’ve heard of money as power? Money is power and the system is set up to keep the rich wealthy. These super powerful Americans are then able to take their free wealth and use it shape politics, assuring that the democrats and republicans in Washington are well kept for preserving their fortunes and the system which sustains this.

What we have here is an unsustainable economy run by the wealthy, supporting a two party system which assures the wealthy continuous wealth. It’s like we’re at a ball or some fancy dinner left on the outside looking in, or worse yet, charged with making the meal, and blamed whenever something goes wrong, despite the fact we wanted nothing to do with the stupid ball in the first place.

That is the reason America we have so many problems. The rich have exploited our economy and driven it to the brink of ruin. And the ignorant label me a communist or socialist for such sentiment without understanding the power of the propaganda they’re coming to that conclusion through. Most are headed for a rude awakening. Not me though, I’ve seen this train wreck coming for a while.

Voting for a democrat or republican is voting for the rich. Now that is throwing a vote away.

Shifting gears

I would like to call attention to the first posting I made for this site defining my overall objective. From June of 2007:

I envision this blog to be a series of essays and commentaries on matters of grave importance affecting the present and future state of the economical machine America. I am fascinated with the concept of the American Dream in regards to the nightmare it has become for the ones who support it's existence, and furthermore for how real of a dream it may actually be for the ones who do currently prosper. I do not see our position as the leading global power lasting forever, and feel that our time at the top may be nearer than further to an end, especially with the abuses that occur globally and nationally to support the pursuit of the American Dream. I will delve into accepted thought and offer a revisionist's view on the current state of affairs, highlighting the wrongs that come from the unchecked pursuit of wealth and material gain. This blog will serve as a watchdog over the abuses that stem from the elite, and in general, as a watchdog over the under reported issues normally ignored by the rating inspired media conglomerates. I will hold those accountable whose pursuits encroach upon the personal liberties of others, and illustrate the interconnectivity of the seemingly separate issues affecting our society. I invite you to become a part of a revolution and help push money aside in pursuit of the truth. Education is our only hope.

I recognize the value of journalism, the process of informing the public what is occurring in the surrounding world through objective reporting, and when I began this site I envisioned this form of journalism as being a way to affect change by looking at issues from a revisionist perspective. But I have recently come to the conclusion that calling for change and making change happen are two entirely different things, and we are much more in need of the latter.

I will continue to post from time and again on here, when something strikes me as essential to revise, but for the time being my twice a week pace will more than likely be reduced to once per month. I am undertaking a new project, one involving a series of documentaries surrounding a revolutionary concept I will discuss on here once the project in further along.

I bring up my first posting because of the following line from above:

"I will hold those accountable whose pursuits encroach upon the personal liberties of others"

That is the overall plan.

Check back once per month. I'll shoot for the first.

Knowing this can't go on forever

What troubles me most about the world we live in, particularly in regards to consumerism and the driving force behind this of capitalism, is that we are on a one way road to our end in regards to what this planet can sustain, and we are doing it at breakneck speeds. Start crunching some numbers and it becomes painfully obvious that consumerist capitalism will bring about our end. To begin with scientists have estimated that the earth can sustainably support 1.5 billion people, and while we're at roughly 6.5 billion people worldwide today, the Earth's population will hit 7 billion people sometime around 2012. Doing some basic math we will be just under 5 times the sustainable limit come 2012, and that number will only continue to increase at a continually greater pace as more human beings are born and continue to breed. And with this increased population comes increased consumption.

So knowing that we're already overpopulating the planet and living beyond our means, you'd think the accepted wisdom would be to scale back our consumption and live sustainably, but the opposite is true and it's capitalism which is driving this. Look no further than the amount of aluminum cans consumed in this country. Americans consume 106,000 aluminum cans every 30 seconds, coming out to 305,280,000 every day, which taking it one step further equates to 111,427,200,000 aluminum cans every year. That's 111 billion per year, of which only a fraction of the aluminum used comes from recycling, and this is only counting the consumption in the United States. Currently less than 50% of aluminum cans are recycled after consumption.

http://www.container-recycling.org/images/alum/graphs/recrate-percent-96-06.gif

Now where does capitalism come into the equation? Not long ago mankind lived without Mountain Dew. We didn't have Pepsi and Coke invading our living rooms and intruding every second of the living day into our lives, urging us to buy and consume more and more, altering the markets demand. We didn't have marketing teams brainstorming ways into subliminally manipulating consumers into purchasing their products, brainwashing by another name, but business as usual in modern capitalist America. We once had a system that worked on supply and demand, though with the societal changes we have undergone through this wasteful consumerism we have culturally embraced, now, essentially, the market supplies the demand! And that is where wasteful products like soda, which make up most of the aluminum can consumption, conflicts with our better interests.

And why is it wasteful you ask? Soda isn't a beneficial product. Not to be the fun police but soda is one of the main reasons behind American obesity, which is mainly due to high fructose corn syrup used in producing it. I once saw a graph which showed the sharp increase in obesity in this country during the 1980's coincide perfectly with another line which charted the introduction of high fructose corn syrup into our diet. And while soda may be something to sip on, there are other alternatives which are not as commercially driven or commercially available, which do not come onto us as forcibly as socially acceptable. Soda is everywhere. It's what many people drink because it's what they always have, introduced to it early in childhood and used to it ever since. It's what they see other people drinking through images on TV and in print which create a sense of normalcy in the consumerist mindset, and it's this which pushes people to consume. People drink so much soda because there is so much soda available, as it's cheap and profitable, and therefor plentiful. They drink it not so much because they like it, but because they've been conditioned to use it. And the end effect is we wastefully consume this product, while mankind survived contented for ages on non-commercialized beverages.

My point isn't to outlaw soda but to point out how much of a consumerist product it is and why it's become that way. There is a very deceptive connection between over consumption and capitalism, and 106,000 cans every 30 seconds says enough. That's more than a soda per day for every American, though I recognize that not every aluminum can accounts for a soda, though not every American uses a can, meaning many are using more than one. That's excessive, not the way it was and not the way it should be, but is the result of commercial capitalism and the excessive amounts of products it produces. And just to tie it all together all those cans have to go somewhere, and aluminum cans are the tip of the capitalist landfill. We have a very serious garbage problem on this planet, and it's only going to get worse if we continue to embrace this consumerist capitalist system. This can't go on forever. Somebody is going to have to deal with it. That's why revolution is inevitable. The question is how long should we allow this to drag out?

Bankruptcy law and the system which condones it

To say that I am opposed to the interests of Business and Industry is to phrase it lightly, that I'm in the favor of equality and justice would be to phrase it better. One mustn't look hard into the corporate world to find corruption and deception in action, to find rules that favor the interests of the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the rest. Corruption is everywhere though in many cases what should be constituted as illegal is in fact legal on the books, and few places is this more apparent than in the world of bankruptcy.

I've been devoting a lot of my time recently to studying the W.R. Grace-Libby, Montana story, and the ways that the executives at W.R. Grace were able to divest their holdings into the pockets of shareholders and smaller companies they spun themselves off into is absolutely appalling. The year W.R. Grace declared bankruptcy Grace CEO Paul Norris earn $3.4 million. Before that Grace spun their assets off into two subsidiaries: the National Medical Care company and Cryovac, freeing themselves of assets that would be seized in the event of an expansive lawsuit, should they be found guilty. Thus what was left of Grace from the billions earned off the health of those miners amounted to a pittance to help clean up the town and aid the health of the victims they effectively assaulted. And then there's the millions bled to the shareholders, who put their own financial interests above the very families and town they used to profit off of, who as victims are the ones in real need of financial dividends.

These executives deserved to be jailed and all their assets sold to cover the destruction they wrought. The shareholders should be forced to repay what they bled, and if it means garnishing their assets then so be it. Don't forget W.R. Grace and all those involved at the management level knew exactly what they were doing and intentionally, deceptively exposed their workers and their workers' families to what they knew was a deadly substance, and there is a paper trail a mile long to confirm this, which is quite blatant throughout in how they went about discussing what they knew and what they could do to circumvent the law. My point is this is absurd! This company has ruined so many lives, brought billions of dollars in damage to a town they profited handsomely off of and their response has been to take the money and run. But to blame the company is shortsighted, it's the system which has allowed them to get away with this. If we lived in any type of a just society, bad businesses like this would be driven out of existence and the employees would be criminally held liable for intentionally disregarding public welfare in favor of profit, but here in the United States the accepted practice heralded by the elite is to do whatever is possible to keep such businesses in operation because they are capable of generating large amounts of cash. Thus money reigns supreme, which ultimately is the cause of our problems. The only solution is to completely overhaul the system through a more liberal economic stance. We'd have a little less money but a whole lot more.

Nearly 20 years later Exxon Valdez heads to Supreme Court

After 19 years of bureaucratic finagling, one of the largest environmental disasters in modern history will finally get it's day in the highest court. I'm of course referring to Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, the Exxon Valdez oil spill case which happened all the way back in 1989, when I was in first grade. To date Exxon Mobil has pulled in hundreds of billions of dollars in profit since that time, roughly $40 billion alone in 2007, yet they have been successful avoiding payment of the $5 billion in punitive damages levied against them in 1994. Since that time the fine has been cut in half to 2.5 billion after bouncing back and forth between court systems. The disaster created irreparable damage to both industry and the environment alike. The operator of the tanker was intoxicated at the time.

I'm at a point now where I'm less troubled by the actual act than I am by the bureaucratic and fascist institutions which have allowed it to go this long unpunished. If we lived in any type of a just society, negligent companies like Exxon Mobil would atone for their mistakes, and if the economic costs were too high, they would simply be put out of business, their assets sold to cover the damages, like we do to the poor in this country who default on loans. But instead in our backwards, pro-business society, such companies use the legal system and their manipulative know-how to circumvent such justice, and we are left with for-profit institutions who do as they please without any serious legal ramifications hanging overhead, for their precious capital is protected by a like minded government. And even if Exxon ends up paying out here, the fine will not take into account the 19 years of lost interest the victims in Alaska have experienced, 19 years of interest Exxon Mobil managed to turn into hundreds of billions of dollars. America, this is fascism, and it's our economy which has led us to here.

Worthless American values and other complaints

There are few greater indications of how backwards our society has become, with misplaced values both socially and economically, than in the fortunes spent and made photographing and capitalizing off the children of celebrities. I fail to see why such photographs should or could matter to anybody, but I'm apparently in the minority here with such lucrative deals being struck.

It's being reported that Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have worked out a deal in the area of a $6 million contract to give People magazine exclusive rights to publish photos of their recently born twins. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt secured $4 million from People in 2006 to photograph their child, and Christina Aguilera recently secured $1.5 million from People to run a cover photo of her son. What extremely worthless wastes of resources, both human and economic! It's beyond troubling that our society is fascinated and drawn in by such trivial and worthless forms of entertainment, if that's what it's to be called, what with the numerous global and social concerns that should be occupying our collective conscious. Think of how many people worldwide those millions of dollars could feed, but that is not the direction of American capitalism.

Not to be such a downer but I just don't get it. There are real life atrocities occurring out there, real human beings dying from the lack of basic medical treatment worldwide, millions starving to death, an ignorant public unwilling to react to a factually changing global climate, millions more dying in imperialistic wars driven by morally corrupt governments, and here in America we give a shit what the children of celebrities look like and spend our resources here. We put our attention here, our values here, and pretend that we live worthwhile existences. I may be American but I don't identify with this culture. It's just sad that such children are exploited for millions of dollars in this country, and the masses gobble it up, seemingly unaware or unconcerned with what it all means.

Sustaining a ruling class: the Federal Reserve and our economic collapse

For those unaware, which included me up until recently, the Federal Reserve is the United States central banking system, a private for profit creation which literally makes money out of thin air, sustaining and creating the wealthy who shape and control the policies and direction of this country.

In 1913 Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Federal Reserve Act, which at the time was intended to ensure that enough money was always available through a centralized banking system to prevent runs on the banks, runs meaning when more money was taken out of a particular bank than it actually possessed, due to the fact that all banks loan out money they don't have, money that doesn't even exist for that matter!

Banks make money on the governments behalf. That's right, this money is brought into existence with the creation of a loan, a few simple strokes with a pen, it's that simple and that's where we get inflation from. The government simply issues the currency while the banks effortlessly rake in the interest, never even possessing the money they loan out. As such, money is actually debt borrowed against gold reserves that do not exist. We are staring disaster in the face and doing nothing, but there will come a time when the debt far exceeds a sustainable level and the currency system you and I know as the dollar will collapse, at which point we'll be on the barter system.

Fortunes are made through this, and people empowered, the very same people who have the funds to shape the laws that govern this society. By having a centralized banking system the banks have enabled themselves to loan out many more times the amount of money they actually possess. Since bank runs are rare and unlikely to occur simultaneously, banks are ensured of having the resources to cover many more times their actual reserves. As such the debt in this country has grown to an inconceivable $9 trillion, and it's actually 300 billion greater than that total but I didn't feel like counting out all the zero's. Given the current banking system, it is impossible to ever recover from the debt, as the system is currently operating to create debt not reduce it. All signs point towards a collapse as the debt cannot continue to grow forever, and at a certain point we'll wake up one day to find out that we have no currency, as all of our currency will have been borrowed against money that never existed. Our money is not based on gold, or should I say we have issued $9 trillion more in currency than we can account for in gold, which is the basis of all currency.

So there you have it, capitalism at it's darkest, deceptive hour, enabling the well connected to profit off debt, and this the system that "answers needs" and leads to "freedom" and "innovation". What's innovative is how efficient capitalists have become at turning a profit without any actual societal contribution, making money off money without actually doing anything to make the fortunes they have. While you and I work multiple jobs and 40-60 hour weeks to pay off the debt we as American's have accumulated, there are wealthy bankers literally doing nothing to earn their fortunes, earning our interest, enjoying a free ride on behalf of the government and a corrupt system which is akin to stealing, and it's all working towards our own downfall, the complete collapse of the United States dollar. Just don't say you never knew. It's time to think outside the mainstream. Speak out, these are the public discussions we need to initiate to educate the uneducated if change is ever to occur. To hell with political correctness.

http://brillig.com/debt_clock/

A conservative (capitalist) attack on PBS

I look at PBS as a great educational tool, a non-profit media outlet in a day of for-profit media. The network is uncorrupted by the for-profit capitalist structure, a structure that places advertising revenue above all, including programming and ethics. PBS was perhaps the largest media outlet that remained objective to the Bush administration in the run up to the Iraq war, challenging the president's claims and rhetoric on weapons of mass destruction, while the for-profit media outlets beat the drums of war. PBS is a wonderfully liberating tool, which is why it should be no surprise that the neo-conservative Bush administration is out to eliminate federal funding for the network by 2011, and has proposed slashing it's budget by half in the yet to be approved 2009 budget.

Bush has called for roughly $400 million in funding to be cut off from PBS starting in 2009. That would be a critical blow to a system whose focus is actually on media and proper journalism, not on the almighty dollar. For-profit media does not educate, it entertains, and journalism was always meant to be an educational tool first before entertainment. Is it any surprise that a neo-conservative would work to eliminate an educational tool in favor of profit?

We are dreadfully misinformed in this nation and that begins with for-profit media. Americans no longer think for themselves, the TV thinks for them, and tools like PBS are needed now more than ever, which is why it is greatly alarming to hear of such a harmful threat to such a valuable tool. This isn't the first time Bush has tried to faze PBS out of his budget, as in years past congress has stepped in to restore the funds which will hopefully happen again, but it's a pattern from the conservative right that needs to be confronted and openly discussed, that the basic tenants of democracy are being fazed out in favor of profit. These are the neo-conservatives, who recognize that an educated public is dangerous to their cause, that a liberating tool like PBS is no good for conservativism. Simply stated, this is why certain industries have no business being for-profit.

e-mails, corruption, accountability, revolution

For too long ignorance has been an acceptable "excuse" within Washington, where an environment has been fostered where wrongdoers are not held accountable for their actions, or little guys take the fall for the big ones. We as citizens of the United States hold on to the deluded hope that our system of checks and balances actually holds violators in check, but when was the last time a wealthy criminal served any hard time? As long as Americans remain pacified by their televisions and their false sense of security, the politicians of this country will continue driving this once proud nation into the ground, and it's going to be a hell of an awakening when this country gets it.

Today I happen to be talking about the "faulty" archival system in place in the White House, in which legally required documentation of the President's actions and conversations "may have been lost". Tomorrow it will more than likely be some completely new form of corruption we'll be talking about with the same distanced cynicism.

For those unaware, the White House is required to document official dialogue for historical and legal reasons by law, meaning all official forms of communication need to be archived, and now it has come to light that administration officials recorded over backup tapes during the run up to the wars in the middle east, and that numerous e-mails may have been lost in the process, coinciding with several other key time periods of political doubt within this administration. A similar breach of conduct during the Clinton administration landed those officials in legal trouble, but apparently not enough legal trouble for the Bush administration to be thwarted from repeating history. This is a huge issue, but where does one begin to file it away among the many corruptions emanating from Washington over the past several years? We're talking about documentation which would reveal what was being said in Washington during the run up to the wars, wars which have since proven to be illegitimately driven. The fact that this evidence is missing is too convenient to be anything other than a conspiracy, that is if you're a reasoning cynic like myself. What to do?

So I say to the American people, Washington has failed us, corruption is the norm, and we as the ununified powerless peasants that we are continue to call for heads to spin, while little is done. We continue to show our displeasure in polls, but no reform is ever realized. Asking for change is not enough. Change will only come when the people unite, all displeased people of this country, who believe in a democracy and want to see justice actually served in this land. This is not a talking point, it's a real call to action. If such corruption is not enough to bring about a revolution, than I don't know if one can be had in a democratically civilized manner, which is a better alternative than the revolutions written in blood. And there will be a revolution, hopefully internally, because such breaches of ethics and illegal actions will eventually piss off the wrong person(s), or right person(s) depending how you look at it, as for too lopng the masses have been taken by the few. We have been had by fascists and the only way to gain any legitimacy among the global community is to hold these criminals accountable. If the current structure of power cannot rectify the problem, then it needs to be seen that this structure is the problem. Talking is not enough, we must begin to agitate. The time is now to become politically incorrect.

The revolution will not be televised!

Climate change: the worst case scenario our government covers up

It scares the hell out of me because I am certain society as we know it will not exist even 20 years from now. The writing is on the wall, yet the masses remain blind to it. I'm talking about climate change and not whether it is caused by man or nature, but the fact that it is happening and that we as powerless peasants to the elite continue supporting the machine, waiting for the last hour before mobilizing. It's just not bad enough now for the people to smell death. It is very understandable to me why this has occurred. CO2 emission increased 3 times that of the 1990's in a four year span from 2000-20004, coinciding very much with the economic boom of numerous developing countries, not to mention our own growing output. Seeing as this was a far greater rate of CO2 consumption than every scientific model used, it just shows that science is modeled after a very conservative approach, and conservatism is something we can ill afford in reaction.

http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=75951

Being as frank as possible, here is what this means, brought to you by a report our United States government commissioned through the Pentagon, then covered up, surprise, by our government in 2004.

"Climate change over the next 20 years could result in a global catastrophe costing millions of lives in wars and natural disasters.

"A secret report, suppressed by US defense chiefs and obtained by The Observer, warns that major European cities will be sunk beneath rising seas as Britain is plunged into a 'Siberian' climate by 2020. Nuclear conflict, mega-droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world.

"The document predicts that abrupt climate change could bring the planet to the edge of anarchy as countries develop a nuclear threat to defend and secure dwindling food, water and energy supplies. The threat to global stability vastly eclipses that of terrorism, say the few experts privy to its contents.

'Disruption and conflict will be endemic features of life,' concludes the Pentagon analysis. 'Once again, warfare would define human life.' "

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1153513,00.html

Understand where we are going. The ice caps are melting, the glaciers receding and all of that water is going into the oceans, which is beyond dispute. In the not too distant future unfathomable amounts of coastline will be swallowed whole by the sea, meaning millions of people worldwide will be displaced, forcing massive migrations inland where the infrastructure doesn't exist. That's New Orleans the world over. And if you thought the response to that was bad, imagine this response occurring as the human population continues to rise unsustainably upwards, as our economy absolutely collapses beyond anything even comparable to the 1930's, as how do you replace such financial cogs as New York City, Boston, coastal California etc... Everything will stop, our economy is interconnected globally and our needs are going to change from consumerism to survivalism, meanings millions will go jobless as the industry's of gluttony will collapse overnight. There will be widespread famine, yes here in America, where we will experience the new definition of a dust bowl. Higher global temperatures mean greater occurrences of droughts, and it will only be a matter of time before our ground water sources are exhausted. Water will become our new currency and survival our sole purpose. Everything we currently enjoy and value in our society will be inexistent, and we are beyond ill prepared for this scenario. My fiancé and I recently shared the discussion that having a child is akin to a death sentence, as it is very likely we will be experiencing anarchy in the course of our lifetime. We've in effect had that right taken from us.

Yet it's happening because of global capitalism on two parts: One in actually causing it by fostering a world of materialism and consumerism and the CO2 emissions needed to support this, (need I mention American's dispose of over 4,000 cell phones every day, consider the resources spent here in creation and disposal) and two by these very same elitists who dictate this production intentionally suppressing this information from the public and intentionally not responding to it, i.e. the Bush administration and this report they suppressed, not to mention the lack of attention and initiative from the media.

This machine needs to be brought to a halt, and the only way to do this is to form solidarity among the masses and restructure the direction of the economy, to stand as one and choose a more ascetic lifestyle. We as a people are under the control of the system, but we outnumber those in charge and have real power should we choose to confront the status quo. It's not a matter of if, but when we imagine this scenario and at that time it will be too late to do anything meaningful. The hour is late now, and perhaps the best thing to do is to prepare for our demise. The worst thing to do is to continue living as if nothing is wrong.

Below is a comment I found, left on a blog which shares similar concerns as my own. The poster is a 63 year old disabled man named Joe, who I didn't even know existed until this morning, who in my opinion illustrates the proper call to action. It is written to the blogs creator.

Dear Glen,

A couple of things: first, each time I visit one of your Ecological
Internet web sites, I see (understandably) "Noting you regularly use
this site, I want to ask you in particular to please donate..." Y'know,
I'd love to, your energetic work is awesome. I live on a $700 a month
disability allowance, so don't have much to spare for donations, in fact
my single indulgence is a high-speed internet connection, otherwise I
live a subsistence existence (and have an ecological footprint close to 1).

If 'information is power' then anyone reading your work should feel
empowered. However, the opposite can happen; in my case, having an
extensive background in sociology of a kind I think allows me to see the
hidden mechanisms behind major human social trends, I more often than
not come away from my reading of your stuff with a painful sense of
futility. It is not because you relentlessly uncover the full picture of
the horror facing humanity under current practices, that is an essential
piece of understanding.

So, I have also read over your blog, which I truly appreciate for your
unflinching honesty and passion. All the while, somewhere in the back of
my mind is something like 'okay, this is how bad it really is, and how
phony and ineffectual most government and elite/entertainer initiatives
are.' In the blog you lament "Horrendous imbalances in income
distribution lead to much of the world living in miserable conditions
while the relatively few consume and pollute excessively -- this is
unacceptable. As conditions worsen and if these fundamental steps listed
here are not taken, having a child may become a privilege, not a right."
and "What is clear is there is no future for the Hollywood, super-sized
American lifestyle. These fundamental changes must be made now or being
as we know it is over." and lastly "The ecological imperative to cut
emissions is so immense, and the costs of failure so dire, that if
political and economic resistance and gridlock continues, there may be
no alternative but global political revolution -- overthrowing the whole
rotten polluting economic and political system in order to save the
climate, humanity, global ecological system and all creatures with whom
we share Gaia."

I couldn't agree with you more; the trouble is, how do we get there from
here? You seem to vacillate between the possibility of reform and the
need to overthrow the extant system. Your own relentless documentation
seems to lead to the conclusion that reform efforts are for the most
part too compromised to be of any real effect, yet except for that one
passage on overthrowing the system, your arguments seem to hinge on the
possibilities of reform, which by your own implicit admission, are
unlikely to be enough.

There have to be some preconditions for reform to happen: an informed
polity and genuine democratic governance, neither of which your country
or mine presently have. I think that most even mildly aware people are
beginning to understand that the old verities of that 'worst of all
systems but better than the alternatives' [I think a quote from
Churchill on democracy] have gone past a point of no-return (witness the
timid Democratic majority in Congress in the US, the juggernaut of a
minority government in Canada, the petty ineffectualness of the European
Community [all capitalist]). In globalism, the interests of the state
and corporatocracy are essentially fused. The enforcement of this fusion
is military, in the larger sense that includes 'security' agencies and
unaccountable treaties and bodies that govern world trade in the service
of the boundless appetites of the ruling class. Oh, oh, when you see a
phrase like 'ruling class' you may think me 'just another Marxist' --
not entirely, I am greatly informed by Marx and equally dismayed at what
has followed from his work; it is a class situation though, for sure,
and any revolt such as you suggest will be a class war, there's no
getting around it.

Whatever hope the US and like countries ever had for democratic
governance with capitalism has been dashed in the military metaphysic.
Here's a no-mincing of words quote from a classic sociologist, a Pole
who wasn't particularly Marxian:
from Stanislav Andreski’s _Military Organization and Society_:
"The technico-military circumstances make world hegemony fully possible.
The improvements in transport and communication and the increasing
preponderance of organized armed forces over the unarmed population . .
. render the task of keeping down the population of the world fairly
easy. . . Let us suppose that a state like the U.S.A., where liberalism
and democracy are deeply rooted in the tradition, establishes world
hegemony. Would it be likely to continue to adhere to these traditions?
It does not seem so." And so it has in fact become, with certain dire
consequences for Gaia and humanity.

So, where am I going here? I don't think all is lost, but future chances
for humanity are slim indeed. I think the place to concentrate is on
those who will suffer most grievously as a result of the accelerating
trends to doom, that is, the people born after about 1975. They are the
ones who are almost guaranteed not to have any prospect of living a
normal life span, and what life experience they have will become
increasingly grim and miserable, *but only if they drift along with the
status quo*. Somehow, it is the 'young' that need to get the message
that the game is up, they have *no* chance of living a 'normal' life
such as their parents and their only possibility is how to respond to
the situation while they have the energy, anger and personal resources
to fight it. It seems to me there are 3 possible outcomes: (1) do
nothing and die early following a short lifetime of misery, with final
days a testament to a life betrayed and wasted (2) do whatever it takes
to turn things around, though that means forfeiting short term 'normal'
life stages such as seeing through a career, having a family, etc., and
even then the results might be the same, except that one would die
knowing they put up the good fight, or (3) if in opposing the master
trends enough become inspired and work together, these people may
actually do something unprecedented and heroic in advancing the
evolution of the human species and the planet that gives them life, and
some may actually survive the ordeal and come out of the other end of it
and live both meaningful, full lives encompassing a normal span.
Admittedly the 3rd option is the most difficult and probably least
likely, but either (2) or (3) allow for a life lived with dignity and
meaning.

I think people like you need to be more clear on what is unworkable, and
by this I mean the capitalist system and the way it brings out the worst
in the repertoire of human nature. Basically, the attributes of human
nature can be classified as "atavistic" -- those that once served a
small and vulnerable species to gain a foothold on an evolving planet,
such as territoriality, predation, in-group/out-group enmity, hoarding,
impulse gratification of drives, etc.; there is a whole set of more
recently acquired attributes that I call "nascent" in that they have not
been around as long, and crucially, they depend on human knowledge and
morality for their fostering, since they are a result of the symbolic
thought processes that are not passed on through natural selection in
genes but by knowledge, such that humans have become the volitional
agents of their own selection. Yes, I know that is Lamarckian, but it is
true, just look at all the actions that humans have taken in 10,000
years to go from scattered hunter-gatherer tribes to the dominant
species so elaborated that the activities have accumulated to the point
of destruction of everything; that isn't the gradualism of all other
life forms. Humans have been unconscious agents of their continued
evolution, time they became conscious agents instead. This requires
junking capitalism or any form of the hoarding of riches, large forms of
private property, and all superstitious belief systems like religions
(save a reverent attitude towards nature). This can't be done half-way,
any more than one can be 'a little pregnant'. You, Glen, have been
implying as much. I hope you can frame your work to appeal more to the
young, tell it like it is, and what they must do not just to survive,
but survive with self-respect and as part of the long unfolding of the
species.

I'm too old too do much more than sign petitions, etc., Glen, I'm 63 and
in chronic pain. But you are 41, you have the energy and the
sensibilities, and an evolving vision -- I think what you are doing is
great, and I'd like you to consider being more explicitly oriented to
challenging the young while they still have a chance to fight back. As
soon as they realize how badly they've been 'had', that in the current
game they are slated for premature and miserable death, they will figure
out a way to fight back.

Joe

http://www.climateark.org/blog/2007/06/worse_than_worst_case_climate.asp

Special interests in poetry: The Rhymed Revolution

This is a little journalistic experiment. Before I began American Whistle Blower I had originally envisioned a project of verse journalism based off my unpublished Empirical Tales verse novel, with the news being reported by the political personalities of my 8 diverse characters. The project was to be called the Empirical News. I wrote about 35 articles, and although I enjoyed it, it often took me 1-2 days to research and write within this rhyme scheme, whereas on this site, excluding research, I can normally complete a blog in 1-5 hours. It's just too time consuming. There are a few that are not specifically time sensitive that I will post here and there. Depending on feedback, I might write a new one now and again.

The rhyme scheme is stonerian, it runs in an AABC CCDE EEFG GGHI indefinite pattern and Connie P., in fact, is one of it's originators.

The Uncontrolled Market Diseases Our Land
By Connie P.

I continue to think of the problems we face
As a nation, who’s quickly become a disgrace
In the eyes of the world, for many good reasons
Of social and global issue.

The one thing in common I hold to be true
Is money is power and held by a few.
It’s a fact that our nation’s run by the Elite,
Whose money has tainted the law.

Consider how Bush came to power and all
The donations that Oil’s held over his jaw.
Consider the war that we find ourselves in
And the ones who have profited most.

Consider the profits that Mobil does boast
Then think of the war that does rage ‘cross the coast.
It’s a fact, and we all are responsible seeing
That justice is served in our land.

We have as American’s greatly been scammed
By Elitist interests which have left the rest damned.
And still this continues in numerous ways
In other extremes than the war.

A privatized market has no moral core
Leaving Man to their greed with themselves put before
The welfare of others, who too share the earth.
There is a problem with this.

Our market’s self centered and truly does miss
The goals of cohesive, societal bliss.
Since this all is our land, we need to prevent
The Elite from assaulting Our poor.

As if sick Oil profits in light of the War
Weren’t enough (as our gas prices endlessly soar),
Consider the profit the privatized market
Has stolen from students in need.

Financial aid should be free of such greed
But that isn’t the case, as it’s now come to feed
The pockets of those who are turning a profit,
Who’ve deceived to bring fortune their way.

There have been great admissions where companies pay
School loan officers off with gifts to display
Their name as a lender who has been preferred.
This is a special interest.

Some students, therefore, have been greedily pressed
To take private loans that were not in the best
Of their interests, but were of the private lender‘s,
When federal funds did exist.

So trusting, poor students, green under the wrist,
Do fall to the greed of the Capitalist,
Who haven’t provided a worth or a cause
Besides their own selfish pursuit.

We need an economy functioned to suit
The good of us all, not the ones with the loot.
Where is the sense in allowing this practice
When so many lose in the end?

Is it only the rich who are meant to contend
In this equal society, so many pretend?
What is so great of our capitalism
When deception is guiding our way?

We need regulation, at least to allay
The threat the Elite do continue to play.
We cannot allow those with money to pay off
Another for personal cause.

We need to reform the breadth of our laws
And account for the numerous, obvious flaws
Our current lax system allows the Elite
And make special interests a crime.

We need rethink how we come to assign
What business is fair with what crosses the line
As acceptable standards for turning a profit.
Money’s not reason enough.

We need to realize that without getting tough
The Elite will systemically make it more rough
On the ones who support their Elitist lifestyle.
We need to take back what was Ours.

I wrote this on 8 July 2007, one of my last completed. There was a report that had come out around that time about private lenders offering special perks and gifts to student loan officers, who would then push private loans onto naive students, when federal funds, which were better loans for the students interests, were available. And this was reported to be occurring on a widespread basis.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/SavingForCollege/HowDidStudentLoansGetSoSleazy.aspx

I heard someone recently refer to this class of elitists as the predator class and I don't think a better term could be coined. This is unregulated capitalism. This is the rich all out exploiting the poor. It's what will continue happening as long as we don't change the rules.

Such predatory parasites.

935 false statements for the whole world to see

In a two year period following the events of 9/11 leading up to the invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration knowingly issued 935 false statements intentionally meant to mislead the public into supporting the war in Iraq, a recent study by the Center for Public Integrity concluded. The study was a joint non-profit venture with The Fund for Independence in Journalism, which tangibly offers us proof of this greatest deception.

http://www.publicintegrity.org/warcard/?source=c0107e3a

The study reported that on at least 532 occasions, high ranking members of the Bush administration including president Bush, vice president Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld factually claimed to have unequivocal proof of the existence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and/or a link between Al-Qaeda and Iraq. Both claims have since been debunked, but it was these very falsely stated claims which galvanized public support for our current invasion.

These elite politicians lied to us and have murdered millions in the process. They have mismanaged this country and abused their positions of power. And they have not been held accountable for any of this, nor will they so long as they remain wealthy and well connected in this current elitist led system. In this greatest American crime, if the system won't reform the problem, we must reform the system.

Revolutions happen when too few alienate too many, and we are on the verge of this among the global community, where we have created great instability. And now it is out in the open, for the whole World to see, that we lied and misled them all into such for profit carnage. We are not merely as invincible as too many think, never experiencing war on our soil. It is imperative that we account for these crimes to the global community, and begin by spending our resources rebuilding what we have destroyed. It all begins by holding these criminals accountable, condemning them to the greatest of sentences for the war crimes they're guilty of. I would much rather see this crime handled internally rather than the alternative. They're guilty. It's all there. Speak out. The rest of the world is.

Bush's proposed tax cut is a long term nightmare

President Bush has proposed a $150 billion tax break, currently being debated by Congress, which he claims will give our economy a shot in the arm in light of the impending/current economic recession. The problem is that such a move is shortsighted, favors the elite and Big Business and will do more long term damage than short term good.

This new tax proposal is reminiscent of the one he enacted in 2001 shortly after taking office, in which individual tax payers received a $300 refund, while married couples received $600. The problem is that this money has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere currently is the national deficit. In short, Bush is proposing simply putting more money into circulation that doesn't exist. We're borrowing from our future.

This is shortsighted and slanted towards the favor of the elite. By simply dumping new money into the economy, the dollar will undergo further inflation, lessening our spending power and overall social standing. Think about it, if new money is just given away into circulation to consumers, nobody has gained anything regarding purchasing power or social standing. Every one's share will increase the same so there is no real gain. We simply will have more money to spend which is worth less than it was before, which invariably will end up in the hands of Big Business, which stands to benefit the most.

It is imperative that such trickle down economic schemes are exposed as the societal frauds that they are. The $300 and $600 rebates issued in 2001 had a minimal, almost non-existent impact on the economic health of the average American taxpayer. At the end of the year, an extra $300-$600 probably isn't going to save the mortgage. However that money will eventually enter the market, which is designed to consume consumers, meaning Big Business stands to earn greater profits by having greater financial capital available for consumers to purchase their consumer goods. See no one gains here except for wealthy businesses, unless you consider extra materials a gain. That is the essence of trickle down economics. A shot in the arm for Big Business. One reason the rich get richer.

A rational examination of the 9/11 conspiracy

The Japanese Parliament formally began calling for an investigation into the 9/11 terrorist attacks, questioning the dubious findings of the official U.S. report, citing numerous inconsistencies that point towards an active U.S. role in the attacks. Knowing full well how absurd such a notion is to someone who hasn't fully realized the evidence and inconsistencies, consider the following facts before drawing conclusions:

To begin with, one would have to consider the questioning of the official United States report on the 9/11 attacks by an allied power like the Japanese to be major news. You're talking about a major foreign power implying that 9/11 was of our own creation. Such a story should be front page news, yet Google this topic in Google News or search in Yahoo News and you will find not even one single AP report covering this. Search the web though and you will find blog after blog reporting on this event. This happened on the 10th of January and by now should definitely have been picked up by the American media. After all, the bloggers have. It's not that the American media doesn't know about it, they just choose not to cover. This is evidence of an active conspiracy. It's just too perfect that not one major United States media outlet has picked up on this story. It's simple, they don't want it known. Below is a link to the actual Japanese parliamentary session, translated into English of course. This is major news.

http://www.chycho.com/?q=node/1551#comment_form

Now to some solid evidence and inconsistencies from the 9/11 conspiracy that need to be investigated by an outside, non-government agency.

1. There was no plane found at the Pentagon where flight 77 supposedly impacted. The official report claims the intense heat disintegrated the plane and the debris, but credible scientists have come forward and determined that the maximum output of heat generated by that plane with the amount of fuel known to have been on board would not have been enough to do what the report claims.

Furthermore, of the debris found at the site, some of the wreckage was not consistent with a Boeing 757. In the link below, head half to three quarters of the way down the page and notice the comparison between the engine of a 757 and the engine found at the crash site. You will notice that the engine of a 757 has a turban with a grooved center plate. The turbine found at the crash site has a smooth center plate, with a completely different pattern at the end.

http://judicial-inc.biz/pentagon_flight.htm

The engine found at the site has since been positively identified as that of a 737. That's a huge problem. We know that flight 77 was a 757, and that some identification of the passengers from that flight were found at crash site (being paper and plastic id's it's difficult to imagine these things surviving the crash seeing as little of the metal from the plane survived?) So how is this explained? It hasn't been, the report didn't address it. And if that weren't enough, roughly 80 surveillance cameras keep watch over the Pentagon, but only one video has been released. Little can be discerned from the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZpXvCqjemI

There are many more inconsistencies. Yukihisa Fujita of the Democratic Party of Japan during the aforementioned parliamentary sessions questions the unexplainable collapse of WTC building 7, which wasn't hit during the attacks. This too was left out of the official 9/11 commissioned report. Steel buildings don't succumb to fire, not the structure and foundation.

The conspiracy theorists believe that this was an inside government job, so it would stand to reason that a government led investigation wouldn't hold much weight. If the government were telling the truth, why all the secrecy and concealment of footage? The evidence doesn't add up. None of this means anything right now other than the official conclusions our government has drawn do not add up. This is why an official investigation from an outside source needs to be commissioned.

Sizing up the Democratic race

I'm not one of those "anybody but Bush people". Electing a President is far more complex than that, or at least should be. I'm also not the type of person who would rather see any Democrat in the White House rather than a Republican. I want to see the candidate who addresses the most pressing issues progressively, who has an actual plan in place rather than good sounding rhetoric, a person who is sincere and honest in their campaign. I feel that John Edwards fits this description the best but odds are he won't be on the ballot come the Presidential election.

I like both Edwards and Obama. I like what Obama says, how says it and the revolutionist tone of his speeches, though I feel that Edwards has a much more solid plan in place towards economic reform. Both Obama and Edwards have built their campaigns around change, and in fact when compared between the two of them, both candidates express similar desires. Both want to overhaul the tax codes, eliminating unfair tax breaks given to the elite while shifting the burden away from the middle class. Both further express similar distaste with Washington politics, in particular towards special interests, and seem intent on change there as well. While I will vote for either candidate should they make onto the 2008 Democratic Presidential election ballot, Hillary Clinton will not get my vote should they fail in the primaries.

We need a fresh approach to politics and Hillary is part of the old elitist vanguard, a politician's politician who sidesteps issues to avoid saying the wrong thing. She is better at pointing out the flaws in others rather than the strengths in herself. She has taken to low ball attacks on Obama ever since losing the Iowa primary, a sign of her political immaturity and divisive campaign strategy. Her economic policies are weak, amounting to nothing more than a band aid on a gaping wound, and out of all the Democratic hopefuls, I have seen her interviewed the most and she consistently sidesteps the toughest questions. She doesn't talk straight. She's very cautious and wary, seeking the fine line, and those aren't the qualities I want in a leader. I want a leader who calls a spade a spade, who isn't afraid to piss off a few in order to do what is right. Those are the qualities of a leader. Hillary has the qualities of a politician.

To me this election comes down to getting away from the Washington establishment which is run by special interests and corruption, while combating the destructive fascism that has swept in from the political right and overtaken our economy and political process. Both Edwards and Obama seem to share this concern. Hillary Clinton was raised in the Washington mindset. Out with the old, in with the new. Hillary Clinton will not liberalize this country.

Now if only Edwards would become Obama's running mate...

What the Iowa caucuses really told us

The 2008 Iowa caucuses had the obvious effect of propelling Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee off to a quick start towards each party's candidacy, but the less obvious, more disturbing ramification lay in the decisions by presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and Chris Dodd to drop out of the race altogether. That's the reality of economics in politics. Mind you, only 236,000 democrats cast a vote out of a state of roughly 3 million, which, by the way, set a new all time high. 116,000 republicans voted, meaning only 352,000 residents voted statewide. That's too few of votes having too big an impact.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17831592&ft=1&f=1001

We are stronger as a society when we have greater options to choose from, in especial regards to politics. Greater minds bring varied views. That's why the current system is so detrimental to our well being. By allowing campaigns and campaign financing to exploit the free market, as with the rest of society, those with the most cash fair the best, but by far are no means the best. We're allowing economic might to determine our leaders, the very reason the system is so corrupt. Hillary Clinton could have afforded a few more losses outside of New Hampshire had she not won. Dodd and Biden could not. That's not reason enough to be excluded from the race, but with such poor showings, it was far too expensive for the two to continue to burn cash in light of such gloomy outlooks. The problem is 236,000 Iowans represent such a small percentage of the U.S population and it would stand to reason had another state Biden or Dodd fared better in led off in the primaries, either could have continued in the race with a better showing, or even garnered momentum by winning as Obama did in Iowa. Why not look at the entire situation in a whole new light?

Throw the current system into the trash and start afresh. Set a spending limit restriction on each candidates' overall campaign. Outlaw third party endorsement propaganda and forcibly keep the advertised campaigning to actual candidates. Most importantly, use television for the tool it can be. This is what C-SPAN is for. Televise numerous debates including all the candidates running, (there would have to be a public support cutoff as in a petition, but such logistics can be hashed out) and hold round table discussions grilling the candidates to actually answer real questions that matter, instead of allowing political speak. Let the candidates bark it out and actually act like one would expect a president to act when met with confrontation, no holds barred. This would serve our society well, judging candidates by their ability to tackle issues instead of judging their ability to avoid controversy. There is no reason that 236,00 voters should have such a large impact on such a large society. That's reason enough to seek real change.

A call to outlaw private energy trading

The business of energy trading is one currently being ambushed by the private sector, where speculators have manipulated the natural balance between supply and demand. It is what capitalism has evolved to in recent years due to the vast consolidation of wealth among the ruling elite, and the reason that certain sectors of the economy need to be taken out of the for profit private sector. The cost of energy forms the very basis of our economic underpinnings, fueling the production and cost of production our nation realizes profit off of. Since everything begins with energy, it is inexcusable to allow this market to be manipulated by the wealthy.

So how exactly is the oil market driven, and what factors ultimately influence the price of gasoline? Well the answer used to be supply and demand, but that was before the days when investment firms thought about storing oil. The strategy currently in place which has catalyzed the upward drive of American gas prices to the benefit of these wealthy investors has been to buy the oil and put it into storage in large tanks to sell it later at a higher price than it was bought, never having to process the crude oil in order to earn a profit. Thus oil is traded much like a stock, except their truly is no reason that oil prices ever will come down. Think about it, just by purchasing the oil and keeping it out of the hands of the public, the supply is artificially driven down. Demand is guaranteed to increase for the foreseeable future by the very nature of human dependence coupled with a growing human population, so there is nothing to hold this market in check. It's nothing short of racketeering, save for the fact it's a legal practice in American capitalism.

The whole process is one giant manipulation which favors those with large amounts of capital to invest at the expense of the rest, and there's absolutely nothing positive gained by society in the process, only harm caused, unless you happen to be the wealthy investor that is. Energy speculators amount to nothing more than intrusive middlemen, who get a seat at the ballgame simply because they can afford one. This is the free market as it has become in this society, and there is no reason the masses should have to pick up the tab for a system that disfavors them. Capitalism is supposed to be a problem solving economic system, one that works towards solutions, but clearly here and in other sectors that should be non-profit governmental entities, it is the cause of problems, further burdening the working class with a direct impact on a higher national cost of living as fuel prices rise. This country needs to outlaw such practices and assure that capitalism truly rewards those making a contribution, not those looking for a free lunch!

The self proclaimed hero Giuliani at work

No man has attempted to capitalize off the events of 9/11 more than Rudy Giuliani. In the words of democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, "Rudy Giuliani, there's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11". While comical, in reality the approach that Giuliani has taken to his campaign is highly immoral and a reminder of the fear used to rule this country for a little over six years now, since the event Giuliani continues to credit himself a hero of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ7-3M-YrdA

The fear I mention refers to an ad set to air on FOX News Channel and locally in New Hampshire and Florida. It's an illustration of the governing through fear approach the current administration has taken onto the third world, and an example of how more extreme this approach would grow under Rudy Giuliani. The link to the commercial is below.

http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/23304-rudy-the-next-crisis-is-a-moment-away?play=1

The transcript states:

"An enemy without borders. Hate without boundaries. A people perverted. A religion betrayed. A nuclear power in chaos. Madmen bent on creating it. Leaders assassinated. Democracy attacked. And Osama Bin Laden still making threats. In a world where the next crisis is a moment away, America needs a leader who is ready."

"I'm Rudy Giuliani and I approve this message."

If I were just to read the transcript without the knowledge it was a Giuliani advertisement, I would think, "Yep, that's America under the neoconservatives." Seriously consider the following:

"An enemy without borders."- This easily refers to U.S. global imperialism and the enemy we are to the third world countries we destabilize and rob of resources.

"Hate without boundaries."- Same as above

"A people perverted."- The war wagers currently in the White House and the one trying to get in.

"A religion betrayed." That would be the Christians who put Bush into office twice, who've seen nothing productive for their cause since the elections.

"A nuclear power in chaos." Again, us.

"Madmen bent on creating it."- I think I've made my point.

Though my favorite is, "Democracy attacked.", as if the neoconservatives are taking credit.

The scariest line of them all though is the teaser, "In a world where the next crisis is a moment away, America needs a leader who is ready." How appalling to approach on the offensive instead of recognizing the cause of the problem. For all that Giuliani mentions 9/11, he is seriously inept in understanding what happened that day. I've written articles on it and will continue to echo this truth until it becomes culturally known, but we created this problem in 1979, ravaging a region with a war they thought we were coming in aid to, unbeknownst we caused it by intentionally drawing the Soviets off sides into "their own Vietnam." The goal wasn't to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan, it was to string them out as long as we could in a war they couldn't win, and we took millions of Afghanistan lives with us. There would have been nowhere near the fatalities incurred had we not intervened and brought destruction to foreign soil. A bit of a tangent perhaps, but it really shows you how sick Rudy Giuliani is with his pro-active, neoconservative approach to global affairs. The masses in this country have been ruled by fear too long. Understand Rudy Giuliani and the neoconservatives before heading to the polls.

http://americanwhistleblower.blogspot.com/2007/07/we-are-to-blame-for-creating-terror-us.html