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Jimmy Carter Rages At What The U.S. Has Become: "Just An Oligarchy With Unlimited Political Bribery"
Submitted by Eric Zeusse,
On July 28th, Thom Hartmann interviewed former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and, at the very end of his show (as if this massive question were merely an aftethought), asked him his opinion of the 2010 Citizens United decision and the 2014McCutcheon decision, both decisions by the five Republican judges on the U.S. Supreme Court. These two historic decisions enable unlimited secret money (including foreign money) now to pour into U.S. political and judicial campaigns. Carter answered:
“It violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it’s just an oligarchy with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for President or being elected President. And the same thing applies to governors, and U.S. Senators and congress members. So, now we’ve just seen a subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect, and sometimes get, favors for themselves after the election is over. …
At the present time the incumbents, Democrats and Republicans, look upon this unlimited money as a great benefit to themselves. Somebody that is already in Congress has a great deal more to sell.”
He was then cut off by the program, though that statement by Carter should have been the start of the program, not its end. (And the program didn’t end with an invitation for him to return to discuss this crucial matter in depth — something for which he’s qualified.)
So: was this former President’s provocative allegation merely his opinion? Or was it actually lots more than that? It was lotsmore than that.
Only a single empirical study has actually been done in the social sciences regarding whether the historical record shows that the United States has been, during the survey’s period, which in that case was between 1981 and 2002, a democracy (a nation whose leaders represent the public-at-large), or instead an aristocracy (or ‘oligarchy’) — a nation in which only the desires of the richest citizens end up being reflected in governmental actions. This study was titled “Testing Theories of American Politics,” and it was published by Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page in the journal Perspectives on Politics, issued by the American Political Science Association in September 2014. I had summarized it earlier, on 14 April 2014, while the article was still awaiting its publication.
The headline of my summary-article was “U.S. Is an Oligarchy Not a Democracy Says Scientific Study.” I reported: "The clear finding is that the U.S. is an oligarchy, no democratic country, at all. American democracy is a sham, no matter how much it's pumped by the oligarchs who run the country (and who control the nation's 'news' media).” I then quoted the authors’ own summary: “The preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.”
The scientific study closed by saying: “In the United States, our findings indicate, the majority does not rule—at least not in the causal sense of actually determining policy outcomes.” A few other tolerably clear sentences managed to make their ways into this well-researched, but, sadly, atrociously written, paper, such as: “The preferences of economic elites (as measured by our proxy, the preferences of ‘affluent’ citizens) have far more independent impact upon policy change than the preferences of average citizens do.” In other words, they found: The rich rule the U.S.
Their study investigated specifically “1,779 instances between 1981 and 2002 in which a national survey of the general public asked a favor/oppose question about a proposed policy change,” and then the policy-follow-ups, of whether or not the polled public preferences had been turned into polices, or, alternatively, whether the relevant corporate-lobbied positions had instead become public policy on the given matter, irrespective of what the public had wanted concerning it.
The study period, 1981-2002, covered the wake of the landmark 1976 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Buckley v. Valeo, which had started the aristocratic assault on American democracy, and which seminal (and bipartisan) pro-aristocratic court decision is described as follows by wikipedia: It “struck down on First Amendment grounds several provisions in the 1974 Amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act. The most prominent portions of the case struck down limits on spending in campaigns, but upheld the provision limiting the size of individual contributions to campaigns. The Court also narrowed, and then upheld, the Act's disclosure provisions, and struck down (on separation of powers grounds) the make-up of the Federal Election Commission, which as written allowed Congress to directly appoint members of the Commission, an executive agency.”
Basically, the Buckley decision, and subsequent (increasingly partisan Republican) Supreme Court decisions, have allowed aristocrats to buy and control politicians.
Already, the major ‘news’ media were owned and controlled by the aristocracy, and ‘freedom of the press’ was really just freedom of aristocrats to control the ‘news’ — to frame public issues in the ways the owners want. The media managers who are appointed by those owners select, in turn, the editors who, in their turn, hire only reporters who produce the propaganda that’s within the acceptable range for the owners, to be ‘the news’ as the public comes to know it.
But, now, in the post-Buckley-v.-Valeo world, from Reagan on (and the resulting study-period of 1981-2002), aristocrats became almost totally free to buy also the political candidates they wanted. The ‘right’ candidates, plus the ‘right’ ‘news’-reporting about them, has thus bought the ‘right’ people to ‘represent’ the public, in the new American ‘democracy,’ which Jimmy Carter now aptly calls “subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors.”
Carter — who had entered office in 1976, at the very start of that entire era of transition into an aristocratically controlled United States (and he left office in 1981, just as the study-period was starting) — expressed his opinion that, in the wake now of the two most extreme pro-aristocratic U.S. Supreme Court decisions ever (which are Citizens United in 2010, andMcCutcheon in 2014), American democracy is really only past tense, not present tense at all — no longer a reality.
He is saying, in effect, that, no matter how much the U.S. was a dictatorship by the rich during 1981-2002 (the Gilens-Page study era), it’s far worse now.
Apparently, Carter is correct: The New York Times front page on Sunday 2 August 2015 bannered, "Small Pool of Rich Donors Dominates Election Giving,” and reported that:
"A New York Times analysis of Federal Election Commission reports and Internal Revenue Service records shows that the fund-raising arms race has made most of the presidential hopefuls deeply dependent on a small pool of the richest Americans. The concentration of donors is greatest on the Republican side, according to the Times analysis, where consultants and lawyers have pushed more aggressively to exploit the looser fund-raising rules that have fueled the rise of super PACs. Just 130 or so families and their businesses provided more than half the money raised through June by Republican candidates and their super PACs.”
The Times study shows that the Republican Party is overwhelmingly advantaged by the recent unleashing of big-corporate money power. All of the evidence suggests that though different aristocrats compete against each other for the biggest chunks of whatever the given nation has to offer, they all compete on the same side against the public, in order to lower the wages of their workers, and to lower the standards for consumers’ safety and welfare so as to increase their own profits (transfer their costs and investment-losses onto others); and, so, now, the U.S. is soaring again toward Gilded Age economic inequality, perhaps to surpass the earlier era of unrestrained robber barons. And, the Times study shows: even in the Democratic Party, the mega-donations are going to only the most conservative (pro-corporate, anti-public) Democrats. Grass-roots politics could be vestigial, or even dead, in the new America.
The question has become whether the unrestrained power of the aristocracy is locked in this time even more permanently than it was in that earlier era. Or: will there be yet another FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) to restore a democracy that once was? Or: is a President like that any longer even possible in America?
As for today’s political incumbents: they now have their careers for as long as they want and are willing to do the biddings of their masters. And, then, they retire to become, themselves, new members of the aristocracy, such as the Clintons have done, and such as the Obamas will do. (Of course, the Bushes have been aristocrats since early in the last century.)
Furthermore, the new age of aristocratic control is not merely national but international in scope; so, the global aristocracy have probably found the formula that will keep them in control until they destroy the entire world. What’s especially interesting is that, with all of the many tax-exempt, ‘non-profit’ ‘charities,’ which aristocrats have established, none of them is warring to defeat the aristocracy itself — to defeat the aristocrats’ system of exploitation of the public. It’s the one thing they won’t create a ‘charity’ for; none of them will go to war against the expoitative interests of themselves and of their own exploitative peers. They’re all in this together, even though they do compete amongst themselves for dominance, as to which ones of them will lead against the public. And the public seem to accept this modern form of debt-bondage, perhaps because of the ‘news’ they see, and because of the news they don’t see (such as this).
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i wonder if they can build a HH house in seatle now. single family homes are against the agenda and kickoff has happened there
It's like Greenspan critizing the FED. Do everybody a favor Jimmy and go step in front of a bus.
Carter is a Christer.. At least he tries to live like one, instead of all the other hypocrites.
Fuck Jimmy and the peanut he rode in on. And while we're at it fuck his jewish god too. If he's so righteous, what did he do when in power? *crickets*. This is exactly the kind of bullshit we can expect from Obama in the coming years...."but but but I tried to change the system" . They whine about money in politics in one breath then go to fundraisers in the next breath and cash a big fat check from moneyed interests. Get fucked douche nozzle.
Just say it as it is little Jimmy - Israel got US by the balls
interesting country, Israel
first, it has only one chamber of parliament, with a proportional electoral system, with one and only one district... the whole of the Republic
second, this means that it has plenty of political parties, some small, some smallest, some crazy, some crazier
third, this makes the "forging" of a european-style cabinet (read: executive branch of government) an exercise of alliance building, pre- and post-election
if you are indeed moaning that Israel is acting like the "Master" in the "Master-Blaster" pair, then perhaps you might want to note that Israel's "political brain" is structured differently
as far as I remember, many things are still forbidden, in Israel, while now allowed, in the US. wonder why?
Israel is a gang of thugs , recycling them over and over.
And here I thought you couldn't get any more pathetic.
Israel is the shithole, and USA is the Ass - yes, Master and Blaster
Without a hole, USA would just be an ass, and without an ass, Israel would just be a shithole.
Their mutual relationship, makes for a good BS factory.
Uh No, Luciferian Globalists have both Israel and the US under their boot. They control the "deep states" in both countries.
He's giddy with the prospect of being replaced by Obama .... as the worst President ever .... he's timidly exploring the possibilities of having a legacy face lift .... cutting out the rotten flesh of the BCCI scandal !
the problem is corruption. most of the time, the problem is corruption anyway
but corruption has many forms. at the end, it just means: "it's not the way it was meant to be"
specifically, the biggest problem is how little the US public notes major policy changes
one of them was "unlimited money for campaigns", through the lens of "corporations are people", birthing the phenomenon of the Super-PACs
which mean "unlimited money for secret campaign funding"
other countries have campaigns that are only a few weeks long. campaign lenght is a wonderful way to measure how much money is spent for campaigning
another sign of corruption is the choice the American voter has: either Coke or Pepsi. the stranglehold of a two-party system
No offense to the rest of the world, but everything you just mentioned highlights one fact: The rest of the world, for the time being, does not matter.
"Most" people in power under the current paradigm obviously have an interest in keeping it that way.
so have your fun little, short, clean elections.
Ghordius you be right about america, yet so wrong about Ur EU..most of your posts still enjoyable to read, but that's why you got selected ..a "gray man" of the EU..you get alot of up arrows from me even though we are often worlds apart.
People say a lot of mean things about former President Carter but honestly, he was a faithful servant to the people of the United States. He did have the best interests of America in his heart. TOTALLY unlike the current occupant of the White House.
And funny how all of that "worst US President ever" stuff segued us right into...Ronnie Reagan's 'morning in America'...
WAS he the 'worst President ever'? Or was he the target of an "advertising campaign" designed to foam the runway for his successor, who would enact the legislations needed for a successful power-grab?
Strange how things so often look very different in the rear-view mirror.
Maybe I'm an outlier here, but I don't believe that political spending is necessarily a problem. My view is that government has too much power, period.
You cannot have your donations pay off if corrupt law wasn't tolerated in the first place. The biggest cause of this is the expansion and abuse of the commerce clause to literally justify everything the Federal Government does, effectively removing any sense of limited government.
The view that campaign spending has a big impact on elections is about as condescending as telling people that advertising makes people buy prodcuts. My view is advertising is a PSA and my purchase process revolves around "do I want/need this thing that does X?" not "Saw an ad, muuuuust buuuuuuy." which is basically the equivalent of "Saw a political ad for/against so and so. Muuuuust vooooote."
Yes, the US is an oligarchy, but I seriously doubt it would be if we had adhered to limited government long ago (thanks, FDR, you fuck) that favored industries/companies (fuck you Ex-Im Boeing) would not be able to garner favors because the government shouldn't have the power to grant them in the first place (see also: Obamacare handout to the insurance industry).
goverment becomes a problem whenever those who govern aren't afraid of losing their handle on power
a political party in Israel faces extinction every time people go to vote. and this sharpens their thoughts
now tell me that unlimited secret money for campaigns has made the Republican or the Democratic party less entrenched
what is the third party that might win the next presidential elections again?
Ghordius - I upvoted this and your previous comment about political structure. Such helps as a brake on corruption. Your describing system design. I have my own ideas on this but am powerless to implement them though a couple of powerbrokers saw some merit in the ideas. At least a seed was planted.
By any measure available, Jimmy Carter is at the very least the 3rd or 4th worst President. Obama and FDR get the top honors.
bravo for FDR; that really comes from your avatar's looney heart.
lunaticfringe, falak,
Would you care to elaborate on the measure that you are basing your opinions?
I am very curious.
Wondering why?
Food for Thought:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States#Liberal_and_conservative_raters
Very often I get in debates over the FDR thing. I consider his two greatest achievments as the seizure of all American's gold without due process in violation of the 4th amendment- but all my all time favorite was rounding up Japanese Americans, denying them due process, stripping them of everything they owned and their lives- and sticking them in relocation camps.
I shit you not- I have had full blown fuck you matches with people who defend this asshole and his executive orders. Thankfully the Irish did not attack us or my parents might have found theselves in a relocation camp.
I agree but ...
Where do people get their political information, you know, the information they need to choose a candidate? 1) media 2) candidate propaganda mostly through snail mail. What money buys is the latter. It gives candidate the opportunity to target potential voters with their stilted message.
I'm looking at a palm card for a local candidate right now. It's full of BS with little real information. "He's a fighter for you ..." "He's a champion for open and honest government" .... "He's for Honoring and supporting our country's veterans," ... "He's leading from the front for business." I happen to know this guy. He's a crooked lawyer who works for the local developers and spent the last 8 years in the state house. Now he wants a state senate seat. A "lifer" in state government and exactly the sort of person we DO NOT WANT. But you'd never know this from his palm card.
I feel sorry for voters. The media are in cahoots with the establishment -- can't trust them. The propaganda bought by candidates is just that. Unless you happen to be "in the know," there isn't any information out there.
So, I agree that the government is just too big. You betcha. Its not just big, but it doles out too much money for its favorites. Take away gov money, and you'll take away lobbyists, expensive campaigns, etc.
Money owns the former as well so they have a lock on the info 99% of the sheeple will hear...
Amen brother...
FUCK THIS COUNTRY
Fuck the crooks in charge, yes. Fuck this country, no dumbass.
Amen Bloodstock. I am a patriot of America. Now trying to honor what is right labels me a dissident and potential criminal label. All by criminals. What nasty irony...
Yes but of course!... This coming from the man who made it to the White House as a Trilateral Commission wonk that started a conflict in Afghanistan courtesy of that other "Trilateral Commission" appointee that just happened to be his Secretary of Defense who was instrumental in isolating Iran when the U.S. was kicked out and sanctioned the overthrow of East Timor's leaders that resulted in a few hundred thousand civilian deaths!...
Look Ma "No Blood on these hands"!!!
Sometimes they see the light and repent.
Sorry I said that the "Zbig" was his Sec Def when he was his National Security Advisor...
The Global aristocracy is drunk on the souls of civilizaton, but the hangover will prove to be too much for them, and their progeny, after they figure out that there is no more money in the bank to buy bromides.
So merika's previous "Worst President" gets it... Still too many sheeple don't or the revolt would have started by now.
I assume Carter will criticize the involvement of the Clintons in this - especially as they owned 8 of the years he studied!
Take it easy on Jimmy Kennedy. He's got his shit together.
Have we ever had more living presidents than at this moment. Seems like some of these fuckers sure live way too long ....,
In a free market society assets should go to the highest bidder, to ensure that, that bidder remains the highest bidder for perpetuity
and that the market remains "free". Sometimes you just gotta kill something to keep it from getting hurt.
Oh can't ya see, can't ya see, what those shekels been doin' to me.
When they don't mention the tribe, it's just politics as usual.
What a bunch of bullshit and backwards thinking. 1) the little people never mattered. 2) why is an aristocracy led by the newspapers and their owners and backers any better than what we have now. Remember the Maine.
as to the second point, at least these decisions make it more democratic and if someone were to challenge the status quo they would not be hamstrung by BS elections laws that only benefit the incumbency.
If you want to take the benefits of money out of politics you need to look at the policies that roll up all of the world's money into a top 1%/.1%/.01% etc, oh and hold these political fuckers accountable . . . even if that means beating them with a switch in the street.
Carter was the last President to even make a half hearted effort at balancing the national budget. Of course, his policies didn't help much.
Carter inherited the karmic payback for the Vietnam War.
Bitch Boy .... Viet Namese naval officers .... are guests in the bridge .... of our Navy ships in the South China Sea .... that's Karmann Ghia !
Hey Jimmy,
YOU can fix it, please do so!
Just get this to public attention:
"Stop Whoring for Wall Street"
http://www.showrealhist.com/yTRIAL.html
http://patrick.net/?p=1223928
I never thought I'd agree with Jimmy Carter about anything.
This must be the Twilight Zone.
He was the man who lost Iran for the Empire and I guess that is what his presidency will be most remembered about.
Get your history straight.
Per "Rejected": Quite smug when one considers the u.f.s.a funded the coup to overthrow Iran's elected government back in 1953. The Shaw was a corrupt u.s puppet that disappeared thousands/millions of Iranian plebs. And Lord forbid another nation wanting a government of their choosing.... apparently needs approval by the exceptionals first.
The embassy takeover was another one of Langley's plans to eliminate Carter from a second term. That is what happens when a President actually thinks he is the President. I offer as proof,,, one of Langley's own was Reagan's VP. The spooks have had direct control since. They own the u.s lock stock (you) and barrel.
Oh,,, and let's see what happens down the road with the u.s newest plaything, Ukraine. The u.f.s.a ousted their elected government and installed Nazi stooges. Somewhere down the road they'll figure out we didn't have their best interest at heart now that we have destroyed their brand new nation. Thousands dead, millions displaced, and the country in ruins,,, all so we could piss off Russia's President Putin.
And siding with Nazi's! That shows just how far down the shithole the u.s has gone.
Falak - Except Iran kept selling oil on the global market alluding to the real game of politics.
"The clear finding is that the U.S. is an oligarchy, no democratic country, at all."
What Carter leaves out is that the U.S. is supposed to be a constitutional republic.
But they supposedly have democratic elections.
For the first time in my life, I agree with Jimmy Carter.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day..
"Jimmy Carter Rages.."
Funniest three words to start an article ever.
Nothing like the truth to bring out the regime's trolls. LOL
Fuck Jimmy Carter!
That son of a bitch called us all racists for calling out Obama on this shit in his first year in office after the bank bail outs and porkulus. Obama is a way worse president than Carter and no one thought that was possible, even Carter.
As if this fool hasn't always been an oligarch gate-keeper.
It's sad that anyone would take two seconds to listen to him.
This country has been fucked ever since 1789 when the Articles of Confederation convention was hijacked by sociopathic Federalists who created the "Federal Government"....
That's the first thing Jimmy ever said that makes sense . . . better late than never
If business is more important than family, and the law "lawyers, police, and judges" are not accountable for their prisoners to the public. Indeed informants/felons are working against the public inside and outside the law. Business are now to be considered equal in "rights" to citizens recognized by the legislative and executive as such by their weight in non taxed control of the system via political "contribution". Gangsters have told me outright that they run the system while in prison providing police, lawyers, and judges with what the really want/need a THUG. As it appears to me brainwashed pariahs are sending organized monsters from prison into society to gain our personal information and use their friends/relationships to surround and extort control of business/money/labor.
.
While we dance in the streets to mix up a long tradition of marriage as sounded out by our creator or god family's chose in their dignity to protect themselves, now recognized by lifetime appointments of the supreme court set to monitor separation of powers including church and state for the public. As the government benefits legislated recognize "classic" marriage so to can it be regulated into whatever the social pariah's want for your kids, equality with parents and protectors.
.
Do we even choose how to get taxed anymore, or just celebrate/worship our regulations.
Thank you Jimmah for the Khomeni, he was such an improvement over the Shah with all of his 20th century ideas. Things are just peachy there now. Go away azzhat.
I guess you prefer murdering Dicktastors like the Shah,
Quite smug when one considers the u.f.s.a funded the coup to overthrow Iran's elected government back in 1953. The Shaw was a corrupt u.s puppet that disappeared thousands/millions of Iranian plebs. And Lord forbid another nation wanting a government of their choosing.... apparently needs approval by the exceptionals first.
The embassy takeover was another one of Langley's plans to eliminate Carter from a second term. That is what happens when a President actually thinks he is the President. I offer as proof,,, one of Langley's own was Reagan's VP. The spooks have had direct control since. They own the u.s lock stock (you) and barrel.
Oh,,, and let's see what happens down the road with the u.s newest plaything, Ukraine. The u.f.s.a ousted their elected government and installed Nazi stooges. Somewhere down the road they'll figure out we didn't have their best interest at heart now that we have destroyed their brand new nation. Thousands dead, millions displaced, and the country in ruins,,, all so we could piss off Russia's President Putin.
And siding with Nazi's! That shows just how far down the shithole the u.s has gone.
Absolutely correct! But I wonder at the mindset of the assholes who down-vote you. Just ignorant and misinformed?-- or CIA tools on the job, dissembling to protect our freedoms?
Rats! I had to work hard for contributions and you guys just find it laying out on the street!
You could have dented the Oligarchy, Jimmah. Fuck You.
Nothing beats the ROI of buying a Congress critter.
Democracy is a crap form of government. Our republic ensured that minority rights were protected as we had popular (universal) sovereignty. Under a democracy, only the majority is sovereign. I'm convinced that the groups pushing the democracy meme are actively seeking the division that democracy brings.
See also, 78% of MSNBC viewers agree with a policy of targeted killing of American citizens. (Google it)
Elections are advanced auctions on stolen goods. HL Mencken.
True as it was 80 years ago.
FUCK OFF AND DIE CARTER - COMMUNIST PIECE OF SHIT!!!
Communist? Please explain in detail what you mean.
We will be waiting for your retarded bullshit
Or not waiting
I'm sure orangegeek meant 'progressive'...synonyms...
There is a reason Jimmy kept his distance from the other Presidents in the group photo. They stank.
Agreeing with that fool Carter on anything gives me an ulcer. Why is he doing this to me?
Yeah, I guess you prefer fucking warmongering lying psychopaths like Bush Sr. and Jr. and Clinton and that goddam mulatto monkey Obomber.
Lifelong tool.
Putin will lead the Free World! There's now more free press, putinists, human rights, vodka, life expectancy, democracy, matryoska, and little to no private bankers (gone bankrupt with the ruble) in Russia than in USSA!
...said the commie.
Article looking for a hero president like FDR??? WTF!!
His brother went swimming in a simming pool of beer.
Crony Socialism exploded under Reagan, a direct result of Carter's immigration non-enforcement cheap labor policies
USG cant find an American - have to choose a dumb black muslim
Zionist KIKES run the USA, they make or break candidates .
Bibi .... Bitch Boy is on to you !
Really, you think the founding fathers...all rich land owners...were that altruistic to care about the general population and their welfare. Let's see...if you were white, a land owner, and a man you could vote. So they paired down any semblance of a democratic vote to just those like them. And to make sure no vote could ever not go the way of the power elite..they created the electoral college. So from the beginning this game was rigged , as it is today, and as it has always been. Nothing new here. Money rules, as it always has. And he who has the most money, or gold, or Fucken sea shells or pepper when they had value....rules the most. There is no...I repeat...no democracy...there never ever was...and there never will be so long as there is any value placed on any item used for exchange that one person can accumulate more than another.
Jimmy is pissed because Obama has taken Jimmy's claim to being the worst U.S. president ever.
So Jimmy I guess you weren't a corporate tool in your day huh? Uh huh, I thought so.
as I recall, Zbig Brzenski (Trilateral Commission) brought him in. As he did Rhodes Scholar bill clinton.
still paying taxes? if you doubt a rate hike, check out PMF and MVF right now at 6.9% fed tax free. that is my tax revolt. with upside, as I doubt taxes are going down. possible long term holding.
this also explains why the repukes are so upset about talk of a 3d Party. which we desperately need.
"Or: will there be yet another FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) to restore a democracy that once was? Or: is a President like that any longer even possible in America?
Please, what hopeless Progressive garbage. Was Zerohedge hacked by Mother Jones? As if democracy could be anything other than a war of special interest groups, with the most influential rising to the top.
Carter, Clinton, Bush, Obama .... I miss Ronnie and Maggie .... I (pardon my Ebonix brain fart!) so glad Trump is shaking things up .... Hitlery and Joad Bush are so booring !
You're putting your hopes on an egocentric racist moronic Billionaire? (He'll take his orders or they will bury him)
You think Obozo was bad, the next will be worse, no matter who gets in. The President is immaterial, it's the Ruling Elite behind him (who control his teleprompter, the agenda) who have been eroding democracy all these decades in small doses (don't boil the frog) so the average citizen doesn't notice (if Nixon would have gone from Johnson to Obama in one shot, the frog jumps), that are emboldened by the lack of restraints to carry on the wealth transfer, the crony capitalism, Global Imperialism, police state and lock on power.
Sad and disappointing that many of the more recent members of ZH don't seem to recognize the absolute truth of your statement.
Look what they did to Kennedy for actually thinking he was President.
The nation is now an Obamination!
Obamination .... better get that copyrighted ! LOL
The same Jimmy that gave us ZB?
Go to hell Jimmy.
He never did anything.
He did was he was told to do.
Nothing.
"The same Jimmy that gave us ZB?"
"He did was he was told to do."
so he was told to give you ZB, it wasn't by himself
Even Ike had to wait until his term was up to warn the American people of the MIC.
If you fuck with the MIC, you die.
You know things have completely hit the fan when Jimmy Carter starts making sense.
You've been duped into that snark.
Jimmy Carter always made sense, and tried to bring his Christian values to government-- but was treasonoously sabotaged and broadly demonized in the media by the lying, cheating right wing elitists in the Reagan administration, who served the same crony capitalist predators who control our gov today.
A tax revolt might unwind their grip or do we have to break a few eggs? Omelette anyone?
and then he will vote line item Democrat...LOL
I realize USA is not heaven on Earth. But what is an alternative? If there is one, name it, please. I see the point in getting upset with developments there: USSA and stuff. But the problem is not with it, the problem is with humans: their greed, lust for power etc. IMO those unpleasant things have been best controlled and contained in the USA, throughout recent 150 years, though it is decaying too of course. I don't think you'd like it there in China, Russia, Venezuella or whatever other place.
Let's clean/tidy up our home here, shall we?
There's that exceptionalism again.
Get over yourselves, you're not endearing at all to the rest of the World, 6,000 million vs 300 million. Nobody wants to live like Americans (those that immigrate do to get back the wealth that the USA stole from them). Nobody wants their country to be transformed to something like the USA, the horror, the horror. Yet Americans are on a quest to do just that, what arrogance.
I-Am-Not:
Tough discussion. We Americans became empire. All empires are dirty. However, we are the most benevolent empire in history.
We tried fo pass the torch to China but there leadership is falling to absolute power/hubris. I am not completely sure who is right or wrong anymore. This all of course bodes ill for the short term towards global violence.
As for tri-laterals. Mostly well intentioned but they were wrong on timing to try and build a global Republic. "We" as a species are not ready for that yet. They miscaluated by 70 or so years in my estimation. We need to get to know each other better, The global majority must agree on a few but important basic rules.
"tri" a pyramid or triangulation is a recognition of how we tend to think. Actually our evolutionary stage is between 'tri' and 'quad'. The last part is circular. A pre-school mind understands the difference between a triangle, square or circle. So those that thought they were brilliant recognizing a portion of our evolution and thought patterns were not as brilliant as a 6 year old in regards to system structures and goals.
The good news is we seem to be near the end of our evolution and accelerating quickly. The bad news is overcoming those that think like six year olds is a common evolutionary hurdle but a big one near the end of our evolution. I suppose it is intended to work that way in nature just want to say it sometimes really SUCKS.
you have murdered 50 million people in the last 70 years, benevolent my ass
bombing wedding parties, because best chance of killing MAMs, because you're invading or occupying someone's country and you want to eliminate resistance
double taps
School of the Americas, the Phoenix program.
torture by the tens of thousands, all over the World, by proxy and on NAVY ships, Diego Garcia, Guantanamo, Iraq, Afghanistan, the horror, the horror
murdering journalists because they report your atrocities
My Lai makes you naive, murdering whole villages filled with women, children and babies as policy to empty areas of humans
the CIA and Navy Seal assassins
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only country to ever use nuclear bombs on people/civilians
Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, murdering maybe 4 million, then creating the Khamer Rouge to cover up how many you murdered in Cambodia
using proxy murdering bands of mercenaries like Al Qaeda, ISIS to covertly murder civilians for effect and excuse to bomb infrastructure and overthrow Governments a la ruse
kidnapping children on the coast to bring them near Damascus to murder them and try to blame Syria for gassing them
Darfur, Rwanda, Congo massacres, strife in all of Africa so you can extract the wealth
East Timor, Papua and Sumatra
it goes on and on and on
you're barbarians, benevolent my ass
I-Am-Not:
My point may have over your head. In regards to benevolence and empires. We are willing to share absolute power. The British finay awoke to the benefits of this also. Empire, is dirty in general. The reserve currency peg is where it begins. Milton Friedman was a big advocate of floating currencies. I don't subscribe to all his economic theories though.
Where do you get 50 million casualties stat from? Not that any casualties are a good thing just making a comparison to the Romans crucifying thousands at a time and the Soviet Gulags as my gauge of empirical
Nastiness. I am not condoning it just trying to putting it into context.
I lived 35 years in the USA> Have been to 73 countries and lived in 5 of them.
The last place I would ever want to live again , is the USA.
''Coming from Northern Europe back to the USA is like leaving the Jetsons and returning to the Flintstones'' --NYT reporter in 2011.
If airports say anything, the airports in the USA say: 'we are near the worst.'
If more Americans were able to travel they'd see just how far the US has fallen behind in infrastructure. It is not all just collapsing freeways.
Your just pissed because in the USA pedophilia is against the law.
"The last place I would ever want to live again , is the USA."
I count that as a big plus for the USA.
Says the slimey Limey where the UK is becoming a shithole just like the USA>
Sorry, not British, but anyplace you won't go is a good place in my book.
Yeah, I was never a lazy leech like you and worked my whole life. Never took unemployment.
I was talking about USA, China and Russia. How many people live there in your "Northern Europe", dude? I doubt you can provide for 7 biliion people to live like those in Norway. Let's stay real? :)
FXD - I believe I remember Dutchboy being or living i Germany. Facism is on the rise again there as well as USA. From what I see the German people are trying to oppose it. Remember what Hermann Goring stated at Nuremberg trials about leadership bringing the people to war, by telling them they were being attacked.
True - but that exact attitude is enabling the incrementalism of the leftist/communists ideology creep into our lives and government.
That is why people need to be upset.
A gilded prison is still prison, albeit the nicest prison available.
"True - but that exact attitude is enabling the incrementalism of the leftist/communists ideology creep into our lives and government."
More accurate if you wrote enabling the incrementalism of the rightist/fascist ideology --
and no longer incremental either.
Fascism is the hallmark of the left and in particular this current administration.
While you are at it you can blame the historical "left" to have spawned every dictator since Caesar and every king, forgetting it was the lefty revolution that beheaded a king and created the republic, in Greece, in Rome, in France, in US, in Russia. Didn't always work out as planned I grant you. But to pretend all sin is woman...all evil is left...
Its like saying every dick also has a clitoris-- just to make sure IT (left leaning dickie of course) can be blamed for ALL SIN.
So in your world what would a woman have ? Immaculate conception and nothing else ?
Sounds like the very virtuous right ! They NEVER bite anybody.
You can make words feel like a boneless man....Pity reality proves it different.
Headhunt - Yes and to put it into this brand of fascism I would say it is neoliberalism. Neoconservatist brand would be far more nationalistic. It is the same old story. Labels aside, I think like this: A community hires a security guard (government) but that security guard with the bigger gun eventually takes over and robs the household.
You don't have to live in a McMansion, drive a BMW, have a pocket full of fiat, or eat GMO food to be happy. There are plenty places to go. Russia actually controls their immigration so I wouldn't be allowed to go there (too old, littly money),,, Samo with China,,, and Venezuela,,, well the u.s would be in the same situation and will be when the dollar finally falls....... and it will.
Love the Flag ZH.... Does more to describe fascist amerika than anything out there.
"Read what the founding fathers wrote. Most of them were very well read and knew much more about government than the average person does today."
Indeed, that is true. And not only the Average Person Today, but the Average Congressman today, the Average Congresswoman today, the Average Senator today, and the average President today. And I am not especially picking on any one political party or President ... because this has been true for a while now.
ex-President Carter makes a GOOD POINT !!
Even Jimmy fckin-peanut-farmer gets it.
Obama has failed
The worst President ever
Jimmy Carter smiles!
Obama is getting his 'fundamental transformation' though...
...so that's a success...
More likely, he cries.
JImmy C has been a pariah since he dared to invoke Apartheid to Israel. Another victim of the Zio's
This government has become a religion/cult, of whores.
All one needs to see who gets what is the list of those sleeping in the Lincoln bedroom. All the 'high tech' guys snooze there. Cooperate and you are in, we'll give you a monopoly, just support us...we are doing god's work so you'll be helping in that effort as well as becoming very very rich.
I despised him 40 years ago because he was a commie democrat and I saw myself as a republican and that was that. But I can't argue with anything he says in this interview. He knows how corrupt the system is and is speaking out about it. (Might be planning to run for his second term)
Isn't that jackass Carter dead yet? Only idiots buy this kind blather from his ilk about "campaign contributions." That's not the problem. The problem is the trillions in .gov bennies that the policos on both sides use to buy off the electorate that have shot the government's debt beyond Pluto. But go ahead, stupid. Watch the little birdie while they keep picking your pockets.
Mr. Carter, this is the result of liberal thinking and it's "living document" crap when it comes to the Constitution.
If the Constitution was strictly applied as written, those avenues for graft and corporate welfare wouldn't exist, and neither would most federal govt agencies.
It's similar to all griping about capitalism.
The main problem with capitalism is we haven't tried it lately. Liberals have polluted the system with Euro-style social democracy (socialism-lite). The result is a stagnant Euro-style economy full of corruption. Nice work, assholes.
Yes Jimmy... the South was right!
Once I saw Thom Hartmann's name, I stopped reading.
Hands up all those who did not know the New World Order has been moving ahead just as planned by the "Coincidence of Interests" that coalesces around the notion that democratic rule is terribly inefficient? Who gather at various expensive enclaves around the world, at least a half dozen times a year to make sure that the 'metrics' are being, well.... met?
#
Thanks ZH for finally getting that truth here too.
"Very good, Mr. Placeholder-In-Chief"
Carter is still pissed-off by Paul [Chirman FRBs] Volcker raising the Fed'Rates weeks before his second term-- basically handing him a defeat to Reagan {whom, btw... Carter had already arranged/ negotiated the release of the Iranian [1979 Iranian Revolution]hostages in which Reagan got the credit} who was a rock hard -old school - neo`con 'Cold War Warrior'!
Carter gives Brzezinski [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Brzezinski ] the power of the old containment czar, Sir George Kennan,... to do whatever it takes to destroy the USSR!?!
This is the very moment of inception [birthing] of a clandestine program to arm Pakistan with their very own 'Nuclear Program' [a faux naif embicile was running the WH?!?]! Reagan signs the Carter directive once president and the balls in the court of a unsuspecting A.Q. Khan,actually thinking he had out foxed the 'Irish`Wolfhound' of foggy-bottom!
Needless to say, on May 28, 1998 Pakistan is now an 'Untouchable', having married into the exclusive family of the 'Nuclear's'! All because one asshole thought it prudent! Brzezinski has been instrumental in all USSA Foreign Policy since LBJ. Period!
He came into the country like Kissinger? Another unknown foreignor that controls USSA foreign policy! WTF!!!
Quote:: Nov. 5, 1979--- " After the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Brezezinski wrote to Carter: We will require a review of our policy towards Pakistan, moar guarantees to it, moar arms and aid, and, alas a decision that our security policy towards Pakistan cannot be dictated by our Non-Proliferation Policy"
And, there you have it! Ref: Deception: Pakistan, US, and Secret trade in Nukes -- Ghost [*Coll] Wars-- Pepe Escobars' "Empire of Chaos" [All]-- Chalmers Johnson's 'Blowback/ The Sorrows of Empire',... etc.,to just get a flavor of what the CIA has caused the USA in prestige!
Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Barlow
Summary: Carter is a crybaby that made a lot of fuckups! He was elected without no real challenge, seeing/ knowing Ford [Nixon's messenger?] could never win.
Note: Eisenhower [8yrs], Nixon[~6yrs], Ford[~2yrs], Reagan [8yrs], Bush #41[4yrs], Bush #43[8yrs]...since Jan/1953 {*36 yrs GOPv. 26 Yrs Dem's} can someone tell the difference today in ideologies[?]
OhYeah....
Fuck You Carter
its become a ZIONIST controlled society [media/politics/banking]... and the propgangada reflects this - as in France:
http://thesaker.is/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Blic_amis_de_la_republique...
And just like in France - "free speech" is encouraged in terms of criticizing the white majority, or Islam - but certainly NOT Jewish power, privilege, or warmongering.
http://thesaker.is/frances-crif-run-regime-has-unleashed-a-vicious-perse...
[p.s. if you search youtube for 'Alain Soral and CRIF' one of his talks is subtitled in english. He's a very smart, reasonable, softly French nationalist sort - but because he's discussed disproportionate Jewish/Zionist power, no lies, no discussion of violence or promotion of any of same - he is being sued for in essence insulting Jewish myths and discussing their power].
coming soon to the US, UK, and Canada unless people start standing up for truly free free speech.
Everyone thought carter was a bad President. I supported him in 76-met him and his wife on the campaign trail -but I was redy for Regan after 4 years of carter. He would have been the ideal post-Cold War president, but was weak or perceived weak when it came to dealing with the Soviet Empire.
That being said, compared to the Bush's, Clinton and Obama, and the Bush or Clinton to likely come in 2016 - -he looks like George Washington. I would vote for him in a minute. He's not owned by the Oligarchy and is honest and intelligent. That's really all I care about. An honest independent president knows what to do -it's obvious. However, even idf an honest President got in, you still have the crooked Congress owned by the criminal Oligarchy.
He's pretty much looked like a weak clown in his roles as ambassador and treaty negotiator.
He may be "honest" but that doesn't mean good. He's the second worst president ever. Only eclipsed by Obama, who is also the most morally corrupt president ever. Carter was incompetent. Obama is deliberate.
" honest" but that doesn't mean good."
Notice haw everything relates to strength in the usa. You must look strong and bomb the shit out of everyone. If that's the rule then Obama must be the greatest ever!
I don't know, Reagen was a good figurehead at the time, started out strong and withered on the vine from Alzheimer's or something, but I think it was Bush Sr. that was the Dick Cheney of his day, mostly from '84 to '88. Until he took the podium and shit got realer.
Amen to that!
Sounds like he is getting ready to vote for Trump