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The Trigger?
Submitted by James H. Kunstler via Kunstler.com,
The futility of politics in America these days has driven the public into exactly the dream-state of zombie blood-lust depicted in so many popular video fantasies, a nightmare of decay, powerlessness, and degeneracy matching the actual condition of a disintegrating polity that has lost collective consciousness and seeks only to infect the dwindling numbers of the still-sentient. Almost nobody in this country believes we can manage our affairs anymore.
Well, can we? One of the hallmarks of an imploding culture is that people lose a sense of consequence. Things just seem to happen and unhappen, and nobody really cares about chains of decision and event. Anything goes and nothing matters.
One reason this is happening to us is that we allowed reality to be divorced from truth. Karl Rove wasn’t kidding back in the Bush-2 days when he quipped that “we create our own reality.” The part old Karl left out is that there’s a price for doing that. In the short run, it allows you to pretend that you have superpowers and can act in defiance of the way things really are. In the longer run, your view of the world comports so poorly with the facts of the world that things stop working.
The tragedy of Barack Obama is that he continued the basic Karl Rove doctrine only without bragging about it. I don’t know whether Mr. Obama was a hostage, an empty suit, or a fool, but he broadened and deepened the acquiescence to lying about just about everything. Did criminal misconduct run rampant in banking for years? Oh, nevermind. Is the US economy actually contracting instead of recovering? We’ll just make up better numbers. Did US officials act like Nazi war criminals in torturing prisoners? Well, yeah, but so what? Did the State Department and the CIA scuttle the elected Ukrainian government in order to start an unnecessary new conflict with Russia? Maybe so, but who cares? Was the Affordable Care Act a swindle in the service of insurance and pharmaceutical racketeering? Oh, we’ll read the bill after we pass it. Shale oil will make us “energy independent.” (Not.)
Has anyone noticed the way these incongruities percolate into the public attention and then get dismissed, like daydreams, with no resolution. I’ve harped on this one before because it was, to my mind, Obama’s greatest failure: When the Supreme Court decided in the Citizens United case that corporations were entitled to express their political convictions by buying off politicians, why didn’t the President join with his then-Democratic majority congress to propose legislation, or a constitutional amendment, more clearly redefining the difference between corporate “personhood” and the condition of citizenship? How could this constitutional lawyer miss the reality that corporations legally and explicitly do not have obligations, duties, and responsibilities to the public interest but only to their shareholders? How was this not obvious? And why was there not a rush to correct it?
Of course, this only begs the question: where are the opponents to the ethos that anything goes and nothing matters? Where are the political figures who can sustain a complaint long enough, and loudly enough, to keep it in the public consciousness clearly enough to make a difference? The more conspiracy-minded might say that the security apparatus (the NSA and its servelings) or Wall Street actually run the country and somehow suppress opposition. I don’t believe that. I do believe that cultures go through tragic periods when they lose their bearings and the will to be truthful to themselves.
The latest news is that Mr. Jeb Bush is way ahead among his Republican rivals for the presidential nomination, leading to a beautiful setup for the battle of the dynasties: Bush versus Clinton in 2016. I believe that insulting prospect would be the wake-up call that will hit the American people upside the head and wake them out of their zombie rapture. A third party will arise. It may be a good one or a bad one, but it will blow the existing order of things apart, as it should.
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I want my 2 minutes back after reading this.
Right!
Did it matter when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor!?
You obviously have a Colege degree.
Why the fuck does Tyler run this clueless idiot's rants?
As always, this kid is still a suffering statist, having voted for Obama twice. He has absolutely no idea what he talks about, because he still views the world through the fiction instilled in childhood.
When one cannot understand the past, or properly view the present, their ideas of the future have NO BASIS IN REALITY.
Maybe after a few more years when he eventually kicks the Kool-Aid will his articles be worth reading, but now, it's like listening to a small child ponder exactly how Santa made it to his house last week.
Every rant he writes only further empowers the evil that is "the system." And I despise him (and whichever Tyler likes him) for it.
I like his rants. I could not care less if he is a "statist" (care to define who isn't, at least in part?) and I could not care less who he votes for, particularly not in America, while I often read about rants if it matters, there, or not
I particularly like this part: "Obama’s greatest failure: When the Supreme Court decided in the Citizens United case that corporations were entitled to express their political convictions by buying off politicians, why didn’t the President join with his then-Democratic majority congress to propose legislation, or a constitutional amendment, more clearly redefining the difference between corporate “personhood” and the condition of citizenship? How could this constitutional lawyer miss the reality that corporations legally and explicitly do not have obligations, duties, and responsibilities to the public interest but only to their shareholders? How was this not obvious? And why was there not a rush to correct it?"
what is, in your opinion, "the system"? what is not? the US Citizens United case is anyway something spectacular, unique and exceptional. The whole world is watching amazed
Central banks are a global mafia. As long as they have the power to issue currency, then they have ultimate power over everyone and everything on the planet.
In comparison, governments are moot, being nothing but puppets to obscure the true power over us all. It is but a Grand Facade.
too simple. if it was so, where do you put the Russian Central Bank? or the Chinese one?
btw, in your country, both the Central Bank and the government end up doing whatever four megabanks want them to do
keep your Grand Facade. cherish it. lots of people have invested lots of time and effort and money to make you fervently believe in it
“when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor”
..in the movie “Animal House” postscript, Bluto went on to become a U.S. Senator.
..very apropos
Courtesy of RT:
· "Syria is Iran's route to the sea," came the ominous warning from Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
· Senator John McCain, followed suit by admitting that the situation on the Iraq-Pakistan border will indeed require America's thorough assistance.
· Former Vice-President Dick Cheney confuses countries on a neighboring continent where the US has been involved for decades: "The people of Peru, I think, deserve better," he said of the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez
· Mitt, again, with the Middle East: the West Bank borders "Syria or Jordan."
· The following happened first to George W. Bush, then to Sarah Palin, and then, Rick Santorum. Africa is a country, and that's the end of it!
· The possibility of islands tipping over and capsizing had to be included as a bonus. Courtesy of Congressman Hank Johnson
· A top US official said on Wednesday.. that "Saudi Arabia and Syria share an extensive border."
RT can add this to the list: "One reason this is happening to us is that we allowed reality to be divorced from truth."
Reality is truth, our problem is that we trust in lies about the reality.
If there are lies, there need to be lyars...
Seems Kunstler doesnt want us to hunt them down...
"The more conspiracy-minded might say that the security apparatus (the NSA and its servelings) or Wall Street actually run the country and somehow suppress opposition. I don’t believe that."
Same game, no rule of law, no justice needed.
Some managed to produce seven bad years, now they send you a "third party saviour"?
Nice try! :)
It is not an impossible scenario that eventually Iran has a stable trade route to the Med. The band where ISIS currently lives is pretty low population density. Shia friendlies could link that up, which is the main thing the Saudis fear.
Its not the saudis... Hear your masters voice! :)
"Interdict the supply lines to terrorist organizations, including but not limited to those between Damascus and Beirut that permit Iran to use Lebanon as a terrorist base."
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jinsa-this-goes-beyond-bin-laden...
I find the claim that ALL national elites are united globally simply incredible. Simple "conspiracy theories" for simple minds perhaps?
or The Search for The Ultimate Answer* To The Ultimate Question**
(**) why can humans be so nasty to each other?
A clue to your Q Ghord -
Why would anyone keep a dog knowing they bite, claw, and tear?
...bitchez!
Ghordius - I like his rants too. On the whole they are far better reasoned than most (but by no means all) of the rants posted as comments here.
And I always look forward to your take on whatever topic is under discussion. Thank you.
JHK's rants are disliked here because his insights into reality don't align with the cognitive dissonance run rampant on here daily.
Cog runs rampant here? I thought he just posted nice appropriate comments and the occasional thought-provoking article.
Ghordius, we have private property rights. Our shares in companies are part of our property, and government taxes it, mandates it do a lot of things and prohibits it from doing a lot of things and somewhat capriciously interferes with our customers and suppliers. Should owners have less voice than private sector labor unions do, here and all over the world? How about public sector unions? They are enormously influential and horribly damaging to the republic and the general welfare.
the question was not should we give corporations unlimited advertising for their favorite pol as a balance to unions having unlimited advertising.
the question should have been is there any reason not to take away the unions' ability to spend on politics with no limit?
but the question was moot to begin with, because a bought off court was told how to decide on the matter.
agree with the question
the european answer, so far, is terribly... european
regulations, free time for politicians on state media paid by the taxpayer, more regulations, and more regulations like forbidding negative ads the way most US political campaign are made, focusing on the negative sides of the opponents
though for the last part, political parties here have several opponents. they have to sharply deliniate themselves in the liberal, conservative and socialist spheres of thought, and more. and they have the clear and distinct possibility of... dying
that's what I would like to have as additional regulation: mandated death of political parties and corporations
100 years after the IPO, any corporation has to be broken up and sold in pieces, and capital returned to stock owners. just thinking out with the fingers
Let's just make it three score and ten.
Public sector unions, in any case, are Allies of government, which is the largest organisation in the USA, dwarfing any business, and which is a monopoly, and one that forces it's will using force of arms, ubiquitously, even beyond the borders. Public sector unions shouldn't be permitted much scope of activity at all, nevermind being permitted to spend a dime on elections. But they do, massively, and to the Democrat party in huge proportion. Cry me river about the libertarian Koch brothers having a tiny voice amidst the bowling maelstrom of public sector money.
extremely interesting comment. roots of feudal thinking, I'd say
the state as a socialist feudal system and megacorps as private feudal systems?
what happens to the little man? The Citizen? The Poor?
A quiet takeover of their country on 12/24/1913, by the FED. Be thankful they haven't reinstated the draft. I could see the fed. gov. offering 'service' in exchange for student loans, at some point, under the next Bush.
"One reason this is happening to us is that we allowed reality to be divorced from truth."
Once one understands the arguments of the architects and engineers for 9/11 truth for the controlled demoliotion of 3 towers on 9/11 then reading this plea for reality is more absurd than poor Kuntsler is able to imagine.
How can I be so certain? Because what arguments of the A & Es are scientific, and hence falsifiable: if we are wrong then it can be proven that we're wrong. And for the skeptics we say "OK, build a steel frame high rise structure of the same or similar characteristics of, say, WTC7 and see if by minor damage and fire alone you can bring it down symetrically and at absolute free fall acceleration across the entire structure." And while you're at it, could you please build for me a perpetual motion machine 'cause I think it would be great and a real money maker. /s
Somewhat off topic but I agree that once I looked at the WTC7 collapse it was the definitive straw that broke the camel's back of my congnitive dissonance.
.. So it wan't the space lizards with micronukes?
Kunstler is either ignorant of the "chosen" influence over Western govt's in general and America in particular or he is disingenuous. How can anybody not see that in this day and age?
Less than 2% of the population yet they have almost 100% of Western media under their thumb. Watch Inside Job to see the power over the financial sector that special group enjoys. Actually there is only one person in that entire movie (aside from the narrator) who is not one of them.
How many US gov't agencies are headed by this bunch? What about the nonsense that comes from various think tanks that becomes official policy much to the detriment of America and its people. It seems that corruption is ubiquitous where they are to be found in positions of power.
This issue will be addressed by a third party and it will make the National Socialists of 1930's Germany look like a picnic for that special group. As the late Edgar Steele used to say;" they better have a new planet picked out".
Kunstler is full of shit and not relevant in any way concerning present issues.
Kid? The man is in his sixties now.
"still a suffering statist, having voted for Obama twice."
That's ironic. So if he vote for the other dummy it would have made a difference?
"He has absolutely no idea what he talks about"
Oh but you do.
"he still views the world through the fiction instilled in childhood."
What drugs are you on that imagine you know how he views the world? You haven't even read any of this books.
"it's like listening to a small child ponder exactly how Santa made it to his house last week."
And your posts, we'll you just came from 4chan or Infowars, didn't you broke, nobody? Really, where do you, an absolute nobody in every sense get off commenting on this guy? Dumb American peasant. Go count your couple of silver coins you fucking hick. I don't know why trash like you is even on this site. You have NOTHING to do with the financial industry. You have no idea what any of this is and the proof for that asshole, is in your foreclose shed and empty bank account. I know, it's all Obongo's fault.
I have a Collage degree from the Art Institute...
A masters from the University of Phoenix would really open doors...........................
And that loan is not dischargable so work, work, work if you can find it!
I have a collage degree. It required cut and paste.
Learn to spell. It's collage.
http://epicdemotivational.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/demotivational-...
"the battle of the dynasties" really?
the real dynasties? look at the guys who fund the puppets ... low level BS at this age of the internet and sofistication of society.
Same here, order666. Snappy headline; vapid substance.
ZH seems to be posting a number of self-referential articles. This article itself is a prime example of what it discusses: The cultural and intellectual rot permeating our society. Back in the day when conservatism held strong sway and Progressives were shunned because they fucking should be, no way could an article like this get published. First, of course, there was no rot, but, second, most writers who earned an airing on sites like ZH were intellectually and culturally rock solid. The author of this piece isn't. Rather than a rock, the author is shit.
Obummer should correctly be called an "anti-constitutional lawyer." And what happened to his college transcript and LSAT score? Unless you have New World Order (the new name for corrupt pedophile oligarchs) backing, you don't get into Harvard with a B average.
Hell, how did he -transfer- into Columbia, an ivy league type school, from fucking occidental? He and Michelle have had red carpets laid in front of them their whole lives and their records airbrushed by the left and the media just as comprehensively. Hence public information about the Palin family exceeds what is documented about the transformer of our republic.
No NWO backing is required if you've got affirmative action.
Kuntsler sometimes seems more or less compos mentis, but did he just say he believes a Bush v Clinton ticket in 2016 would wake up the people? A new political party? What a maroon!
Nothing will happen, except decline, until there is disaster.
Elected by the people!
for the people!
and doesn't care about the people
Speaking of Crude (cruel?) intentions:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/fannie-med-implodes-1419812352
Note, the subprime credit cycle started with the good intention to make housing affordable to all. Which led to a frothy bubble in homebuilding, speculation on land and a shift in the mix of employable skills towards general contractors.
Compare and contrast. Or wait for the SanFran Fed paper in 3 years. Your call.
Why are you parroting lies of the Kool-Aid? Subprime started for the exact reason every other scam started before it. To further the ponzi in progress and keeping those in power, in power.
The idea of your good intention is nothing but politicized BS, designed as cover for evil. Congratulations in further promoting it.
Diebold.
Still too many variables to write the algos.
I believe that insulting prospect would be the wake-up call that will hit the American people upside the head and wake them out of their zombie rapture. A third party will arise. It may be a good one or a bad one, but it will blow the existing order of things apart, as it should.
Dream on.
They will dream on. The allusion to Zombies in the article could be correct. They can inflict pain and destruction without ever waking up until everyone else wakes up dead.
maybe they will wake up in 2036 when it's Chelsea vs. the hispanic Bush kid
Ha! Yes, 20 years later, we will be saying "wait a minute..."
At the end of the current POTUS 5 th term.........
Before the Reichstag fire Hitler was a minor politician with a pretty good but still nascent organization. Within two weeks after the fire he was in complete control of Germany. That quick. Let's not underestimate the speed with which our society could be turned into a concentration camp by some despot that most of us haven't even heard of - yet.
Still buying and selling that "allied" propaganda give it a rest and get your head out of your ass and change your tag to what you really mean "israelispirit"
The Occupy Wall Street movement and the Tea Party are simply the birth pangs of new political factions forming up in the country. I don’t know what form these factions will take, but there is a general consensus among those of us who are awake that the only people that matter are the corporate sponsors of Congress and the petty tyrants that run our big cities. Nullification movements are springing up all over. Sheriffs are refusing to enforce magazine bans. Armed militia stood down federal forces in Nevada. Ferguson protesters are currently calling for the death of cops. Racial tensions have not been this high since the 1960s. And, we are in the greatest economic contraction since the Great Depression.
Either we sort this mess out politically and the people we elect start telling the truth and some folks go to jail or we continue to close off all options to reform and the system breaks. We are either going to get a new deal or a civil war.
War may not be avoidable. The system is so complex and so interdependent that as entropy nibbles away at vital components the whole thing may implode into some kind of radioactive fire storm. At this point, who is President is irrelevant. What matters are current trends.
All any of us can do is to try and anticipate what is coming and do our best to
This is a MUST WATCH to understand : The Century of the Self
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkohEoc69og&list=PLsxoED9biTsnCqWyPqpKTV...
The days of "MOAR" are numbered
It's a big club and you ain't in it BITCHEZ
When we finally way up from our dreams, we will find ourselves
in a living nightmare.
That's the part that has me scared, and excited at the same time. America has the chance to once again be free of the prison. But surely we will leave more than a pound of flesh stuck to the barbed wire if we are to get out alive. The other option is straight totalitarianism, with it's sub options of Communist Diktat or Fascist Dictator.
You don't think the enslavers of the world won't be running the next scam of an "alternative party?" As long as there are central banks, there will be slaves, as there's no escape from their predation.
Novus Ordo Seclorum, bitches!
Exactly, NA!! Thank you!
Fuck political parties, which are just different brands of slave-masters. Just end The Fed and repeal the 16th amendment! Congress could do it tomorrow if they weren't bought and paid for. So, basically, what I'm trying to say is We're Screwed.
The Republican party is obviously suicidal if they are looking at Jeb....
Why do you talk of collectives as if they're human? Can't "look," nor "suicide."
Collectives are but means to an end. As long as they work, they'll be worked, and the instant they don't, they're discarded.
IOW, whatever it takes to divide and conquer.
Because corporations are people too, my friend!
-- Mittens
What's with all the third party circlejerking lately? Do people still think we can vote our way out of these problems? The system needs to crash and burn and it will.
http://www.newworldeconomics.com/archives/2014/092814_files/TheFateofEmp...
Powerlessness so the people delude themselves.
Third Party, Jesus, Ron Paul…. Xanax.
Kunstler seems determined to try every flavor of evil so he doesn't have to admit his own complicity in supporting it. Even when it stares him directly in the eye.
Yes, explosivo, you're right: The system needs to crash. A question, though: Which side is better prepared to take advantage of the crash? I think the brutal dictatorial side is. Post-crash, we might suffer misery for decades before a new synthesis occurs.
Every side is a "brutal dictatorial side." Desperate times...
Funny, but, now that you mention it, true, too.
Sharpton seems to be a natural choice of the peeps for a third party candidate..
Needs only small tweeks to the image.
(where is the sarcasm font button on this stupid tablet?)
On the subject of the TRIGGER to present OIL PRICE collapse and the AMendment of Dodd Frank (hotly contested by Liz Warren) to allow TBTF to bail in creditors as their derivative bets go sour on Shale type oil plays.
Here at the Hedge we have often asked ourselves what motivated the sudden Oil price slide ?
1° Was it US/Saud collusion against Putin?
2° Was it Saud playing it alone to squash all rivals in Oil patch, including shale and Iran ?
We may now have the answer to that; according to this article :
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-brown/russian-roulette-taxpayer_b_63...
As this article explains :
1° The main aim of the Kerry Saud deal was to strip Putin Naked.
2° To protect the banks hocked up in hi-yield junk bonds and derivative bets on shale, Congress passed a Dodd Frank amendment to allow banks to bail in creditors; aka to use fiscal and bail-in tactics to stay afloat.
Awesome sleght of hand if true. Pax Americana will do anything to keep the banksta ship on an even keel.
Falak,
Another possibility is Saudi is colluding with the Russians and Chinese.
The first casualty has been the petrodollar, next the US oil industry.
Two big prizes in the Great Game.
Its Machievellian enough to be very possible.
...
With China definitely, as its a big client.
With Putin ? Who supports both Assad and Iran ?
These latter are two local rivals that Saud cannot stomach. An infidel/apostate state and a Heretic state.
Saud is first and foremost Wahhabist in the Moslem world, seen as nation protecting Mecca and Medina and the TRUE faith. For keeping that faith of Umma they will never compromise.
Putin is seen as Shaitan. Like in Afghanistan invasion days.
Saud is being tried by ISIS on its right, By Erdogan and Sissi on his left, by Qatar at the center, in Islamic Sunni world.
It has to try and keep its pre-eminence; or the kingdom falls. If the Saud claim to Mecca becomes illegitimate they suffer what the Pope suffered in 1527 ! The Caliphate invades --all paid for by some rabid Saudi elements, if we believe what the alternate press proclaims-- and without US support they are toast !
In the final analysis, on the military guarantee front (legacy of FDR's handshake), the Sauds are married (in the infidel camp) to USa and EU; in that order.
Putin is not a friend, never was.
Friendship is not a requirement in geopolitics, so much so ,it does not exist.
There are only interests, which sometimes align.
What appears obvious, is seldom the reality.
or colluding with Wall Street for short terms (gobbling up all those juicy small and marginal oil producers) and playing a long term game with China (petroYuan)
meanwhile, the House of Saud is in turmoil. because of IS and the succession rules to the throne. too many partisans of IS in northern Iraq from Saudi Arabia and the prospect of having a new King every three weeks
Bail in might just be what the doctor ordered. If an elderly person gets Corzined, and has nothing left to lose, maybe then they'll do their civic duty and terminate a corrupt politician of their choice. Then, and only then, politicians will begin to listen to their constituents.
And the criminals will escape and then be hunted down by neocon hunters.
I'm voting for open source software representatives next election. People are useless and dangerous in political positions.
ZZzzzzzzz.... more of the same. A few will wake up, but nothing more than a minor ripple.
I'm to the point of only caring about myself. I'm putting my money (and a lot of it) where my mouth is. When this pig blows, I will get my satisfaction.
...and I can't wait to say "I told you so" to all the asshats who have marginalized me(us).
At Christmas this year my son got a toy that included some plastic coins. My brother, who is a financial planner, and invested 100% long in the S&P, quipped, "Hey, you got some coins just like your Daddy! Now go bury them in the backyard."
Everyone had a good chuckle at my expense.
I think I would've slugged him out of principle.
That's the same exact herd mentality that always heats up before the collapse(s). I haven't had cab drivers talking their stocks yet, so maybe we have a little ways to go.
Credit is wobbly and there are no bids when shit gets sloppy (mid-October & mid-Dec, most recently). There is a frightening lack of liquidity in the markets.... and that can only spell disaster when there's a real reason to panic.
When he asks for your help you'll have to tell him to ask S&P instead.
What a small minded statement to make. The chaos that will consume this nation will steam roll you and the asshats you revel in tellin, as you both get flattened, "see told you so".
Lose their bearings and will? No -- countries and peoples don't collapse because of those things -- they collapse because they go to a 'war' that they cannot win; or when the government is no longer able to feed the people; or when a strong leader passes on and the heirs no longer can hold together disparate regions or peoples within that country.
Sounds like a call for a Hitler 3rd party to emerge.
History repeats.
Funny how that shit ALWAYS works. It's the one true disadvantage that individuals always have against collectives. While we grow old and wise to their games, we will die eventually while the collective continues on with whatever con that empowered it.
You got a point there. Can't get the kids to listen. I didn't at thier age.
kids don't even listen to something as simple as 'get off of my lawn, ya hoodlums!'
It ain't the banksters, It ain't the Military, It ain't the Fed Money machine, It ain't the Congress and Scotus, It ain't the Administration...
It's me for not smiting the evildoers with my mighty pen and my righteous wrath.
Gotcha.
Glad we cleared that one up.
A third party.... yeah right. keep dreaming pal. The iZombies will fall in line and keep voting for the demicans and republicrats until the whole fucking thing comes tumbling down around them.
The MIC, MSM will relegate any third party to the terrorist list, IRS audit.
LMFAO third party this whole shit show is a "unicycle" so what you really mean to say is that you want to add a second wheel... anyone still believing the bullshit about this government being salvaged in any way shape or form is fucking either totally stupid or drunk on the "kool-aid" there is no turning this shit show back in time ...besides that what "glorious" year would you have it turned back to?
I'd be happy with a second party..
The US is yearning for a Hitler or Stalin type.
A facist dictator would be beloved by the liberals.
Obama set the stage.
History, doomed to repeat itself.
All hail Hitlery!
Or Jebediah?
I don't agree at all. Each side will hate the other's candidate so much that they'll vote for their own candidate that they hate.
Thank you for pointing out the realities of a corporate conglomerate controlled media.
Political ideologies are allocated by the oligarchs to the media outlets. SHEER PROPAGANDA.
THE RULING IDEOLOGY IS GREED, MOAR, MOAR, MOAR TO INFINITY.
Each side could get smaller. One could hope.
Just shut off the million of EBT cards and all the trillions of words typed over the last 6 years would be meaningless. .....that's how simple and close we are to REAL change of system.
"I do believe that cultures go through tragic periods when they lose their bearings and the will to be truthful to themselves."
NOW
The majority continues to go through the motions trusting in "elected leaders" convincing themselves that everything is getting better.
ITS NOT
Too bad individuals such as Kunstler know nothing but to further promote lies. I wouldn't mind him so much if he'd keep his fucking mouth shut, but NOOOOO, he's gotta act like his foolish ideology is enlightenment.
He's part of the problem while believing he's part of the solution. In short, just a fool.
I would very much like to be part of the solution, but there is no solution to be had right now. There can be no solutions until this whole shitshow collapses under it own weight. Just look out for you and yours until then, its all we can do.
An honest producer cannot see the rightful fruits of his labor in today's world. As many here agree, non-participation is the only solution in which you don't totally lose.
Systemic breakdown from debt load will be the only change.
The takers outnumber the makers, so elections will never again change anything.
One "alternative" party won't work. The country needs at least 4 parties. The "Democratic Wing" of the Democratic Party, and the "Tea-Party" wing of the Republican party, must each spilt off from the status quo, in order to sustain a true debate, a true conflict of ideas about government and values.
These spin offs would have very different approaches toward governance; but they would share a common enemy: the status quo. At various times and over various issues they could vote on the same side.
Sounds like another failed divide and conquer adventure if you ask me.
Why does everyone insist that we must be ruled by evil?
There is no viable "tea party". There was a bunch of people upset. Some nutty people came forward to lead them. The nutty people were marginalized and the "tea party" was destroyed by the propaganda machine.
Okay! There is no point in arguing the history, nature, and components of the Tea Party movement. Would you feel better about a 4-party system, if it were the "Ron Paul" or "Libertarian Wing" of the Republican Party that splits from the Status Quo?
End The Fed and perp-walk the bankers & their political puppets.
He writes like a mean old man with a hangover
Yeh, tell him to stop yelling at the kids for spilling the kool aid all over the carpet. The toys are unwrapped and the PS4's and XBOX's are back online. Merry Christmas!
Yet he's a thirty-something wet-behind-the-ears kid.
I keep hoping he'll mature, but I've seen NO evidence of it yet. So far, it's nothing but childish, wishful-thinking.
Yeah, that's why I like him. Like a "mean old man with a hangover", he knows what needs to be said and he says it. No pussyfooting around.
This report was uncomfortable. A sure sign that something important was said.
Only uncomfortable for those that have not cognitively decoupled.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/29/politics/poll-clinton-admired/index.html?u...
(CNN) -- Hillary Clinton takes the top spot on a list of admired living women for the 13th year in a row, according to an annual survey released by Gallup on Monday.
President Barack Obama, meanwhile, is considered the most admired living man in any part of the world.
When asked to name a woman they've heard or read about and admire, 12% mentioned Clinton, the former secretary of state, New York senator and first lady.
Eight percent said Oprah Winfrey, 5% said Nobel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai, and 4% said first lady Michelle Obama.
Other names mentioned included actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie (2%), former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (2%), Princess Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge (2%), Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts (1%), and former first lady Laura Bush (1%).
Clinton, who's considered the Democratic frontrunner if she runs for president in 2016, has also held the top spot in 17 of the past 18 years. Laura Bush was considered the most admired woman in 2001, not long after the 9/11 attacks.
In the seven decades that Gallup has been asking the question, Clinton has won the designation more than any other woman, including six times more than former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Obama is also continuing a streak, with this year marking his seventh year in a row as the most frequently mentioned man who people admire most. He was given the designation in 2008 shortly after winning election to his first term.
According to Gallup, the U.S. president is almost always mentioned as the most admired man, with only 12 exceptions in the past 68 years.
This year 19% said the president's name, while 6% said Pope Francis. Also on the list was former President Bill Clinton (3%), Rev. Billy Graham (2%), former President George W. Bush (2%), renowned neurosurgeon and conservative activist Ben Carson (1%), Stephen Hawking (1%), Bill Gates (1%), Fox News host Bill O'Reilly (1%), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (1%) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (1%).
EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO VOMIT
Here's the woman I most admire - Inna Shevschenko. She has figured out how to get even the most evil, clueless assholes to hear what she has to say.
http://vimeo.com/101652794
Hint - just imagine Inna and her group on the steps of the US Capitol and the photo is of Obama.
Very nice, the Itty Bitty Titty Committee ...
Wait, did they have something they wanted to say?
I guess she hasn't figured out how to get every clueless asshole to hear what she is saying. My bad.
I don't beleive anything Gallup presents. They are just not credible in the least.
Ovomit is the most hated man alive right now. Does not take a degree in rocket science to figure that out.
Grimaldus
I hate to beat a dead horse but a large part of the system is based on force and theft, the polar opposite of volutarism and property rights. When the money itself is a form of wealth transfer the system institutionalizes immorality. Even the most remote transaction in in dollars in the farthest reaches of the globe between two friends is being manipulated through the expansion of the monetary base. The more money printed, the more immoral the entire system becomes.
http://www.shadowstats.com/charts/monetary-base-money-supply
Not the $1.7 Quadrillion created?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_position_of_the_United_States
The financial position of the United States as of Q4 2012 included household and not-for-profit net worth of $66.07 trillion,
[1] non-financial corporate business net worth of $17.59 trillion[2] and non-financial non-corporate business net worth of
$8.06 trillion, for a total of $91.72 trillion.[3]
As of 2009, there was $50.7 trillion of debt owed by US households, businesses, and governments, representing more than
3.5 times the annual gross domestic product of the United States.[5] As of the first quarter of 2010, domestic financial
assetsA totaled $131 trillion and domestic financial liabilities $106 trillion.[6] Tangible assets in 2008
(such as real estate and equipment) for selected sectorsB totaled an additional $56.3 trillion.[7]
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- How can US Derivatives created out of thin air, Totallying over $1.7 Quadrillion USD... Not be a concern
- DTCC. Through its subsidiaries, DTCC provides clearance, settlement, and information services for equities, corporate and municipal bonds, unit investment trusts, government and mortgage-backed securities, money market instruments, and over-the-counter derivatives. It also manages transactions between mutual funds and insurance carriers and their respective investors.
- In 2011, DTCC settled the vast majority of securities transactions in the United States and close to $1.7 quadrillion in value worldwide. DTCC operates facilities in the New York metropolitan area, and at multiple locations in and outside the U.S.
(reminds me of a lot of politicians these days) --
"El General no se inmuto ante las habladurias, confiado in que las acusaciones de abuso y corrupcion solidificaron su prestigio."
The General didn't change in the face of all the rumors, confident that the accusations of abuse and corruption solidified his prestige.
-- from "Eva Luna" Isabel Allende
"Where are the political figures who can sustain a complaint long enough, and loudly enough, to keep it in the public consciousness clearly enough to make a difference?"
On the left is Dennis Kucinich. On the right is Ron Paul. Both make noise but both have been marginalized and pushed aside - the "lunatic fringe." Historians will later say both were correct to sound a warning but tragically were ignored.
Rather like the Roman philosophers and historians who said alas for the republic. Nobody listened then, either.
one big fat fucking political party - it's called Washington DC
the ends are rationalized by the fabrications
When you ask why Obama and the Dems didn't do more after the 2008 crisis you appear to think that they SHOULD have...
But since there is in fact ONE party in control, consisting of both Dems and Repubs, it doesn't surprise me in the least.
Democrat and Republican are terms used to make the sheeple believe there is a choice, when in fact all roads lead directly to Rome.
“The more conspiracy-minded might say that the security apparatus (the NSA and its serveilings) or Wall Street actually run the country and somehow suppress opposition. I don’t believe that.”
Wow! Did you ever go off base with that.
Perhaps you went off base because you have no experience on the front line?
Almost 40 years ago I established a gold-based banking service that created an alternative to the money of cannibalism that most people call the dollar.
I also wrote several essays and books detailing lost history and law pertaining to the American Revolution.
The Federal Reserve, the IRS, the Department of Justice (and a few others) didn’t like it that I gave people the option to quit supporting a system that guarantees the cannibalization of following generations of Americans (our children and grandchildren) (see ‘money of cannibalism’).
They then conducted a classic inquisition against my customers and me; most people gently refer to such as a “show trial”. The charges were: organizing fraudulent tax shelters and preparing fraudulent tax returns. The problem here was manifold: no witnesses, no victims, no evidence; there was a complaint, yes; but no discovery, no examination of non-existent evidence or witnesses, no jury, no trial – just a summary judgment for a crime that never happened. Oh, and a seizure of all resources BEFORE the non-existent trial, which left me unable to defend myself. In the meantime, I spent 5 months in jail for refusing to turn over records. Oh yes, there is much more.
And you say the government does not suppress opponents? Well, actually, you are right… of sorts. The cabal sitting at the top of criminal and useless classes is known today as Judeo-Bolsheviks.
Now, what is the government trying to tell you? At the time I was a fairly significant character in the so-called freedom movement. If my actions or writings were groundless, the government would have been delighted to take me thru a normal trial and make a three-ring circus of it and a damn fool of me. It didn’t happen.
What more could they have done to demonstrate how much they felt threatened by my writings?
Since then, I have gone well beyond what frightened them a mere ten years ago.
"A third party will arise."
Not likely. Let me list the reasons in no particular order:
1. Average American too lazy/apathetic to educate him/herself in the real issues and goings on in the world.
2. MSM would completely ignore candidate http://gawker.com/5831167/jon-stewart-why-is-the-media-ignoring-ron-paul
3. Americans vote for names they recognize (hence the Bush.Clinton names will be front runners). www.youtube.com/embed/-KMVp93yV08
4. Candidate would have unfortunate nail gun accident.
I would keep my eyes on the Greek election- if it appears the opposition is going to win on January 25 (a big if), I bet the elections are cancelled in what will be a coup for all intents and purposes. This could trigger a tsunami.
I nominate the Black Flag Party.
Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.
~H. L. Mencken
What a fucktard Kuntsler is when he states that he does not believe
that censorship exists. Try reading Noam Chomsky sometime fuckwad.
Chomskyian themata include the concept of 'concision in the media' reporting. MSM works within a window of concision that is designed to limit any and all discourse to micromanaged, and controlled, windows of opportunity, and sound bites. Freedom of discourse is held up at knifepoint by the Corporatists that controll print media, and televised or
radio. A tripartite architecture and a multinational controll what is said everywhere in media with the exception of Internet and we both know that the motherfuckers are working on that too. ERGO, Kuntsler is full of shit and a Goddamn apologist wanker IMHO.
up yours, Kuntsler.
Nothing changes until some Banksters get shot in the face.
Three letter agency owns CONgress, POTUS and SCROTUS - get used to it. Welcome to United States of Stasi America.
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I believe that insulting prospect would be the wake-up call that will hit the American people upside the head and wake them out of their zombie rapture.
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No it won't. Not 2020 either. 2024. That's when things are going to be really bad.
Mark. My. Words.
•J•
V-V