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Where Candidates Fear To Tread - Pervasive Racketeering Is Destroying America
Submitted by James Kunstler via Kunstler.com,
That the snarkier circles of political commentary thrill to the elephantine bellowings of Donald J. Trump only shows the pathetic limitations of the snarkists. They enjoy Trump’s filterless mouth, his harsh goadings of the other presidential wannabes, and his supposed telepathic empathy for the suffering public outside the magic kingdom of DC.
Trump has one legitimate issue, immigration, plus a brief against the general incompetence of professional politicians, and a pocketful of grandiose claims about his majestic skills in business and deal-making. As business goes in this huckster’s paradise, being a real estate developer is perhaps one click above being a car-dealer, and the fact that some of Trump’s artful deals end up in bankruptcy court might argue against his self-proclaimed mastery. Hence, his relegation to the clown category.
What Trump represents most vividly in this moment of history is the astounding lack of seriousness among people who pretend to be political heavyweights. No one so far, including the lovable Bernie Sanders, has nailed a proper bill of grievances to the White House gate. A broad roster of dire issues facing this society ought to be self-evident. But since they are absent so far in the public discussion, here is my list of matters that serious candidates should dare to talk about (all things that a sitting president could take action on):
The security state. America has developed the most horrifying state security apparatus that the world has ever seen in its NSA and associated agencies. It has become the sugar tit for some of the most malevolent enterprises of the corporatocracy — the black ops companies and the weapons dealers. The growth of this monster was not mandated by heaven. A president could lead the move to deconstruct it. A candidate with a decent respect for our heritage would make this a major campaign issue.
Related to this is the disgusting militarization of the police. Police forces in small towns have no business owning MRAP vehicles, tanks, and heavy weaponry. The federal government gave a lot of this stuff to them. Guess what? It can take the stuff back. Serious candidates should propose this.
There is a more general militarization of national life that ought to be disturbing to thoughtful citizens. I live near a US Naval base. I see enlisted men in town wearing desert camo uniforms on their time off. I resent this hugely. Military personnel at home have no business wearing war theater garb in a place where they are not at war. Historically, it was never before the case that US soldiers went about in battle dress at home. This disgusting trend has even been adopted in major league baseball. The New York Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates have gone on TV wearing camo baseball uniforms. What are they trying to prove? That we are all at war all the time?
The pervasive racketeering in American life is destroying the country. Medical racketeering leads the way. Be very clear: it is a hostage racket. You are the hostage when you are sick or in need of treatment. You will probably agree to anything that will save your life. The medical racketeers know this. Hence, we live under the tyranny of the “Charge-master” pricing system that assigns ludicrous costs to everything doled out as “medicine,” with the pharmaceutical industry creaming off whatever remains. A trip to the ER with a broken arm can easily propel a household into financial ruin. A president could apply the antitrust laws to many of these rackets and practices. There is no excuse for failing to take a stand.
The most dangerous rackets of our time are those running through banking and finance. The superficially genial President Obama has done absolutely nothing to defend the public against gross financial misconduct and pervasive accounting fraud. His justice department has failed to prosecute widespread criminality in banking and his regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies have sat on their hands for six years while markets are hijacked and manipulated. This behavior gives credence to a greater conspiracy between the governments, the “systemically important” banks, and the Federal Reserve to prop up a Potemkin financialized economy for political cover and favor at the expense of crumbling real economy. A potential president has got to swear to defend the public against these institutional turpitudes. A president can lead the way by proposing to reinstate the Glass-Steagall act and by directing the justice department to break up the “systemically important” banks before they implode the entire operating system of the global economy.
President Obama didn’t do a damn thing in the wake of the 2010 Citizens United decision issued by the Supreme Court. This decision endowed the alleged “personhood” of corporations with a “right” to express their political opinions by giving money in unlimited amounts to candidates. The decision has been a disaster, since it amounted to a “right” to buy elections. The “personhood” of corporations has evolved during the industrial age from a very circumscribed set of chartered practices to the very dubious realm of “personhood” privileges. The basic truth is that corporations do not have duties, obligations, or responsibilities to the public interest; only to their shareholders and boards of directors; and this condition should be self-evident to jurists. Hence, it is necessary to directly address by statute or constitutional amendment the limitations on the personhood of corporations. A president can lead the effort to do this via his party allies in congress.
Why has the foreign policy apparatus of the USA gone into the business of antagonizing Russia? How does it benefit the American people for its government to finance and direct a coup d’é·tat in Ukraine? Why did the Senate Foreign Relations Committee cease to function. Some of the GOP candidates for president are sitting senators. Why doesn’t press inquire of their failure? Why is there no public discussion of this very disturbing policy?
President Obama promised in 2009 to put an end to the revolving door between government regulators and the entities they were regulating, banks in particular. He did absolutely nothing about it. In fact, he installed a revolving door at the White House, allowing the free movement of such rogues as Robert Rubin, Gary Gensler, Mary Jo White, and Larry Summers in and out of government. Such villains are destroying the nation. Any president with a shred of common decency could put an end to this practice.
There you have a few choice things to chew on. They go beyond mere inchoate rage and revulsion against politicians. They represent a very rich agenda of matters the country must attend to if it is going to survive. I wonder if the major media grandees who make up the debate questions will even think of these things.
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the political system is now nothing more than a charade
Hello!!!
and.... revolutions get started by the young urged by their mentors, professors and writters. Do you think that the youth of this age will abandon the social media and self indulgence to revolt about anything?
We are dead meat.
We should be jumping the fences outwards volks. No hope and change here.
The Constitution and the small government Republic were designed for a moral people with the solid civil society that result from that. We now live in an age where "everybody does it" and anyone isn't playing the game is a loser etc. Further, as much as I dislike Sanctorum for other reasons he's right to point out you could never have a government big enough to handle the social catastrophe that destruction of the family brings. That's why Dem welfare programs are designed the way they are, to replace family with government.
Not one mention of ZOG. Kunstler is only attacking the very same symptoms that were placed there to fracture the opposition.
both parties are guilty of creating every mess we have, so nothing can be done in terms of pointing at the blame, and developing a solution starting with eradicating the cause.
They're not parties - they're political crime syndiacates, bought and paid for by the jumbo insolvent CRIMINAL banks, the war machine, big oil, big medical, all supposedly legitimized by the sock puppet media. They're fucking whores, cheap two bit whores owned and operated by "K" Street.
a perfect example of this is when gb1 was smuggling drugs into bill clinton's arkansas aided by oliver north and barry seal working for the cia during the iran contra drugs for cash for weapons for iran for hostages deal. the clintons were gifted the presidency by the one term bush for their silence on the matter of the drug smuggling into their state. and boy did that cost the american people with clinton being the worst president in modern history and coverups up the ass. the media is still silent on the matter of course.
nice thought-except the "racketeers" have a little tool they've heavily invested in called "NSA";
If you don't do as they tell you to-then all your best buddies, wife, kids and employer find out who in the neighborhood you played doctor with in the backyard at age 5-and that's the nicest part.
You could ask Michael Hastings and Andrew Brietbart what happens next if you don't listen...oops you cant!1
don't forget the militarized police---their other little tool
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-i-pay-as-little-as-possible-in-...
Trump is a side show, but he is an intersting side show. If nothing else he is a breath as fresh air.
You know how eveyone jokes here about boat accidents, check this out and watch the video.
Man climbs aboard boat where man's body found; claims 'salvage rights'http://www.wcvb.com/news/sailboat-washes-ashore-near-beverly-park/34471456
Beachgoers said they watched the sailboat slowly drift toward shore near Lynch Park before running aground.
"People were on the beach, and they said they could hear it," Jessica Edwards said. "When the boat was coming towards the beach, they couldn't really see anybody."
It quickly became clear that something was wrong. Witnesses said two lifeguards discovered the man's body and called 911.
The man was identified Saturday as Alexander Sachs, 76, of Gloucester. Officials said the sailboat, named Etoile, was registered to Sachs.
Investigators said initial information incidents Sachs suffered a medical event while sailing. Foul play is not suspected in the death.
Officials quickly cleared the crowded beach and part of the park while they investigated the discovery.
They said the man had no identification on the boat with him but don't suspect foul play.
While the incident was being investigated, police said they questioned a man who climbed aboard the boat and claimed salvage rights.
It's unknown if that man will face charges.
Trump Supports Assault Weapons Ban and Longer Waiting Periods http://tomremington.com/2015/06/24/trump-supports-assault-weapons-ban-an... http://12160.info/video/you-ve-been-trumped-trailer http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/2/donald-trump-edward-snowd...Fleas-Ticks 2016...parasites you can live with
Like I said, he's a side show. He's also a good friend of the Clinton's, but he is still saying what most Americans are thinking.
There are no heroes to save us.
Trump is valuable as a lesson.
The lesson being that to retreat under fire is defeat. There will be no battle tomorrow to reclaim lost ground because in our defeat there is also destruction. This is not a honorable battle where victor and vanquished stand proud. This is a war where the opposition is destroyed, left unable to stand or present any future opposition. The press, has effectively silenced any who would stand against them until Trump. Trump has responded to every attack, not with apology or regret, but with further attack, and this has set them back on their heels. Each attack they confront him with somehow seems to disappear, because everyone knows he is right including the press and especially the progressives, but more importantly because he does not retreat. His failure to do so leaves them with a situation where they must counter or quit, and as they arguments are empty of facts, they evaporate. They do not admit defeat, they just fade it out.
Trump is a lesson to all of us, without regard to ideology. If we are to hold our beliefs we must be wiling to stand for them and not cut and run when challenged. Liberty has never come cheaply and while everyone thinks they can get something for nothing, the costs only escalate by the day.
We don't need heroes, we need true grit.
Trump is a lesson to all of us -- on how most effective to be a shill. Ask Trump about 9/11, and he plays the party line (both parties). That's no hero. Trump is native to NYC. I figure of all people, he would be at the top of the list to want to understand why the footprints of WTC 1 and WTC2 is termed -- ground zero. But alas he doesn't care (or dare we say, is PAID to not care.)
Now to be a [national] hero is not necessarily to be a messiah. Simply to be a patriot and model citizen that is living testimony to personal sacrifice ..
If you have not been so informed, and are inclined to perform the following action.
1) Print a hard copy of the the Wanta Plan. Put it in a nice cover if you like.
2) Confront a representative of the Free Press (including the alternative media).
3) Hand him said hard copy.
It may well take 100+ copies, distributed via 100+ agents, in 100+ locals/cities to get needed mindshare. We think the internet is enough. Apparently it is not. We cannot force people (especially the free press) to read something. But, we must try to encourage them strongly to do so, and reiterate to them that their posterity depends on it ..
Yes, I get it. You don't like Trump.
Not my point.
We have been retreating for years. Allowing the progressive voices intimidate us, especially when to do so would submit us to devastating attacks...not on our perspective but on our very person. Destroy the messenger IS the MESSAGE.
Trump shows us that to resist is not futile...it is the only thing that is not. I agree with much of what Trump has said and it may be completely devoid of substance. But what Trump shows is that you can resist, fight back. Simply showing backbone is the one thing they really are not equipped to manage. Republicans have shown zero backbone in any real contest of wills for decades. For progressives it has been easy to appear strong because the press has always had their back, but this is also their weakness because they have enjoyed decades without having to present an argument, much less actually win a debate. They clearly believe "the debate is over" as even without proof, consensus is deemed more important than anything else. Intimidation goes far in adapting public consensus on issues and the press is their enforcer. Trump says NO and so should we. This is in no way an endorsement of Trump or anyone else, only our right and ability to stand up for ourselves.
Dr., it's Trump's way of saying we're all over taxed to a 18T bloated government. See through the rainbow colored MSM haloglasses.
Abortion and taxation are safe areas for debate.
Always have been.
Oblivious to the real problems, like bribery.
Kunstler, you disqualified yourself from speaking about racketeering with your false, misleading comments about 9/11. It is liars like you that are destroying America. You are less than worthless:
I regard the 9/11 conspiracy theories as a fantasy and a distraction from the real problems we face. It is especially unfortunate that they became associated with the Peak Oil issue, and that was obviously a result of Mike Ruppert's elaboration of them in his book Across the Rubicon, which brought discredit to his otherwise good reporting on the global oil situation, and tainted others like myself who regard energy as the crucial geopolitical and economic issue of our time. There is enough confusion in this nation without conflating the real concerns over energy with paranoid fantasies about government plots. Kunstler
Ex-Italian President: Intel Agencies Know 9/11 An Inside Job
Man who blew the whistle on Gladio tells Italy's largest newspaper attacks were run by CIA, MossadFormer Italian President and the man who revealed the existence of Operation Gladio, Francesco Cossiga, has gone public on 9/11, telling Italy’s most respected newspaper that the attacks were run by the CIA and Mossad and that this was common knowledge amongst global intelligence agencies.
Cossiga was elected President of Italian Senate in July 1983 before being winning a landslide 1985 election to become President of the country in 1985.
Cossiga gained respect from opposition parties as one of a rare breed – an honest politician – and led the country for seven years until April 1992.
Cossiga’s tendency to be outspoken upset the Italian political establishment and he was forced to resign after revealing the existence of, and his part in setting up, Operation Gladio – a rogue intelligence network under NATO auspices that carried out bombings across Europe in the 60?s, 70?s and 80?s.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/ex-italian-president-intel-agencies-know-9-...
Why does JHK rant against 9/11 truth? One word: Pogrom. Even if his cognitive dissonance has overwhelmed his conscious mind, deep in his bones, he KNOWS. He also knows that TRUTH would lead to the destruction of his tribe. His hysterical denials are squeals of existential terror.
http://news.yahoo.com/sen-schumer-comedian-amy-schumer-call-more-gun-142234127.html#
Stand-up comedian and actress Amy Schumer is teaming up with New York Sen. Charles Schumer to call for tighter gun control.
She joined the senator Monday as he unveiled a three-part plan that would make it harder for violent criminals and the mentally ill to obtain guns.
They cited the recent shooting in a Louisiana movie theater that killed two women and injured nine others during a screening of the movie "Trainwreck" starring Amy Schumer.
Amy Schumer is the senator's cousin.
The senator's legislation would create monetary rewards for states that submit all necessary records into the background check system and penalize states that do not. He also will call on Congress to preserve mental health funding and substance abuse programs.
POS and here I thought she was funny during some of her stand ups, now all I see is a scum bag tramp climbing her way to fame. I hope her 15 minutes stops right here.
Two no-talent cunts out polishing their fascist credentials...this is news?
nah, Schumer is funny.
the 12 angry men parody was gold, Jerry - gold!
We should all be afraid. So many think guns are the threat but our founders understood that our primary threat would come from government. The very idea that we should surrender our right and responsibility for self defense to a higher power is just plain stupid and our capitulation to it only reinforces their belief in our stupidity...the very excuse they use for doing it in the first place. Highly rewarded "parents" that act in our own best interest, even to the extent of being against our will.
White America and western Europe are the poster children for this capitulation as we are continually indoctrinated and preached to of our sins, our very success as all the proof they need of our evil. As they cannot outright defeat us, they require for us to voluntarily surrender, to retreat from our successes, to submit and beg forgiveness.
As always, we will deserve everything we get.
i agree with you. The only thing is that whatever weapons you and the public amass will be akin to throwing rocks compared to the most sophisticated (in weapons and tactics) military in the world. Be sure that civil unrest has been well planned for.
GUbmint: ctrl-alt-del
"Govenment isnt' the solution to our problem. Government is the problem." Ronald Reagan, President who cleaned up the mess left by the second worst President...
"comfortable inaction"
- John F. Kennedy
"comfortably numb"
- Pink F. Loyde
I would like to see any candidate discuss nuclear waste disposal / nuclear power generation safety plans to protect this country from nuclear hazards following extended unplanned powerdowns -- like Fukushima. I would be heavily inclined to vote for anyone who said the word "Thorium".
A broad roster of dire issues facing this society ought to be self-evident.
I would have thought the 9/11 inside job incident (as evidenced by WTC7 and the non-coverage of it) that proves we are an occupied country ... I would think that should head any list of dire issues.
Doesn't even get mentioned in this article.
I like to think i dont fear much. But a few FBI jobs I have learned about instill paranoia deep.
one in particular - 2009 Bronx Terrorism Plot
Police have started using "sound cannons" or LRAD against crowds. I used to think I had guts to stand up for whats right. But nowadays that'll just get ya killed.
do you support terrorism withglee?
https://youtu.be/M9mB0OGWkYE
do you support terrorism withglee?
Yes. I pay taxes.
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.
Economic Mobility & National Security
Economic mobility is something you build as you go along, not something you vote in a click to establish, like national security. The majority occupies the stepping stones left behind, jockeying for position, until they collapse. Replacing highly advanced, unique ac computational devices – humans, with stupid, redundant dc machines, which cannot tolerate an unknown, makes the process of incorporating false assumptions more efficient, but is only a path to increasing climate variability, as all the data demonstrates.
Employing a machine programmed by others with false assumptions is like learning math with a calculator. You end up with a hammer looking for nails, a supply-side economy, destroying what works to replace it with what doesn't work, as a means of generating economic activity. Creating deserts faster, with real estate inflation and artificial scarcity, leveraged up in every layer, is not the path to the future; it's History, a prison from which no social class has ever escaped.
The American middle class is simply being sucked back into its likeness, the global middle class, as it too consumes what remains of its natural resources without replenishment. Like all the other nation/state cultures, it has devolved to the point where it can only confirm its own biases. Paying people to disable themselves so government can rest atop an inverted financial pyramid is obviously going to end badly, but even now they struggle to grow special interest groups, to fight over what remains.
University is like high school on steroids and corporation is a level beyond that, crediting arbitrary skills up and penalizing real skills out from below, becoming increasingly desperate to maintain the status quo. You can't stop the critters from feeding themselves and their children crap, and waiting for them to get out of the way is a waste of time, your primary resource, which empire media is determined to consume.
Jobs are certified now, government is helpless accordingly, and the majority is still demanding jobs, to feed the RE ponzi. Warren Buffet is the 1%, Frank-Dodd is bailing out Wells Fargo by an order of magnitude beyond TARP, and the majority is still clamoring for more legislation, to hunt you down and force you to pay for it all, employing 'revolutionaries' as a means of expanding homeland security, to completely eliminate anonymous money.
Meanwhile, the empire is trapped in global demographic collapse, and the answer is to create more debt to pay entitlement inflation, on the assumption of Fed control. Join the crowd or rebel, but don't expect to find labor, which certification rules out by design. If you don't want to work, get in line to bill those who do, like everyone else complaining about the outcome of automation, falling living standards and increasing income inequality, while demanding more of it.
Watching machines churn out cheaper crap at increasing cost, to cover trade extortion and feed apes that cannot feed themselves, is not work. And, oh by the way, any chip can be accessed; external security from internal insecurity is an illusion, just another 'economic' activity. Labor has much better things to do than bring down a jet, send a train off its rails, or strap a bomb to one of its children.
The majority in every generation wants the benefit of children, the future, without the responsibility, and legislates accordingly, telling you how to raise yours, for its benefit, the only possible outcome of which is natural resource exploitation. Family Law just cuts off the non-complying head, replaces it with government, and places the body on welfare, to maintain the status quo. Big surprise.
Homemaking is a full-time occupation. Empire housing is a part-time snow job, working overtime at playing make-believe. You are better off owning stock in Disney than working at Disney, and the insiders leverage both against each other, another big surprise.
The Fed is a symptomatic scapegoat, not a cause, and increasing density in the port cities, with growing leverage on the margin, is its own worst enemy, carving out the real economy. The middle class is always at war, with itself, expecting someone else to pay the bill. My standard response is to get in line with everyone else expecting something for nothing, bill me, and wonder why nothing changes, for the majority.
You cannot un-choose the poverty mentality, associated hoarding and resulting viral economic activity, for others, which the growing duration mismatch with nature solves automatically, distilling DNA, in a quantum economy. You shouldn't be surprised that its ruling class, with the same poverty mentality, pays itself to feed and starve the virus counter-cyclically, and that it is always up to you to decide whether the system works or not, because no real work is done in the empire.
Silicon Valley operates as a virtual nation/state, embedding self-serving laws into the code, but is just as irrelevant. The more control applied, the greater the debt, and the less the critters believe debt matters, because, after all, they are in control, not even of themselves. Don't give up on physics just because others employ it to do stupid. Sooner or later, you reap what you sow.
Jesus H. Kunstler
" If you folks will help get me elected I solemnly promise to do my best to address the eight issues outlined in James Kunstler's article
so help me god; something has got to be done for the sake of our cildren's future!!!" "Oh, I've won, are you sure?" "OK, fuck y'all!!"
Are RINO GOP is now Koch'ed up on new weekend donations.
Go Trump 2016
Is America.
Reuters has this...
What everyone with a Top Secret security clearance knows – or should knowhttp://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/08/03/what-everyone-with-a-to...
In the world of handling America’s secrets, words – classified, secure, retroactive – have special meanings. I held a Top Secret clearance at the State Department for 24 years and was regularly trained in protecting information as part of that privilege. Here is what some of those words mean in the context of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails.
The Inspectors General for the State Department and the intelligence community issued astatement saying Clinton’s personal email system contained classified information. This information, they said, “should never have been transmitted via an unclassified personal system.” The same statement voiced concern that a thumb drive held by Clinton’s lawyer also contains this same secret data. Another report claims the U.S. intelligence community is bracing for the possibility that Clinton’s private email account contains multiple instances of classified information, with some data originating at the CIA and NSA.
A Clinton spokesperson responded that “Any released emails deemed classified by the administration have been done so after the fact, and not at the time they were transmitted.” Clinton claims unequivocally her email contained no classified information, and that no message carried any security marking, such as Confidential or Top Secret.
The key issue in play with Clinton is that it is a violation of national security to maintain classified information on an unclassified system.
Classified, secure, computer systems use a variety of electronic (often generically called TEMPESTed) measures coupled with physical security (special locks, shielded conduits for cabling, armed guards) that differentiate them from an unclassified system. Some of the protections are themselves classified, and unavailable in the private sector. Such standards of protection are highly unlikely to be fulfilled outside a specially designed government facility.
Yet even if retroactive classification was applied only after Clinton hit “send” (and State’s own Inspector General says it wasn’t), she is not off the hook.
What matters in the world of secrets is the information itself, which may or may not be marked “classified.” Employees at the highest levels of access are expected to apply the highest levels of judgment, based on the standards in Executive Order 13526. The government’s basicnondisclosure agreement makes clear the rule is “marked or unmarked classified information.”...
...The problem for Clinton may be particularly damaging. Every email sent within the State Department’s own systems contains a classification; an employee technically cannot hit “send” without one being applied. Just because Clinton chose to use her own hardware does not relieve her or her staff of this requirement.
Some may say even if Clinton committed security violations, there is no evidence the material got into the wrong hands – no blood, no foul. Legally that is irrelevant. Failing to safeguard information is the issue. It is not necessary to prove the information reached an adversary, or that an adversary did anything harmful with the information for a crime to have occurred. See the cases of Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, Jeff Sterling, Thomas Drake, John Kiriakou or even David Petraeus. The standard is “failure to protect” by itself.
None of these laws, rules, regulations or standards fall under the rubric of obscure legalities; they are drilled into persons holding a security clearance via formal training (mandatory yearly for State Department employees), and are common knowledge for the men and women who handle America’s most sensitive information. For those who use government computer systems, electronic tools enforce compliance and security personnel are quick to zero in on violations.
A mantra inside government is that protecting America’s secrets is everyone’s job. That was the standard against which I was measured throughout my career and the standard that should apply to everyone entrusted with classified information.
Purty good, James. But don't go on about Citizens United, that's mostly harmless on its own, the real problem is McCain-Feingold. The individual giving limits of individuals needs to be $100k or $1m - or unlimited. Then it would all be open and aboveboard, not hidden like with super-pacs.
But the institutional capture of national, state, and local governments by both business and unions, such that the interests of 95% of the citizens are ignored and rampant corruption is considered normal, goes unaddressed. Virtually no candidate of either party is pro-liberty. Nor honest.
Is Trump even honest? Dunno. His hair sure isn't, or if it is, I wish it wasn't.
I don't think you have been fully informed on CU. And yes, Son of Cain is a major problem ..
the only slight point I'd take exception w/is military wearing uniforms off-base. that's gone on since dawn of time - my gradfather was a major at benning (among biggest military bases in world)/both parents born/raised in columbus, ga & in my 45 yrs I don't recall NOT seeing people in uniform around town & thinking nothing of it. also, living/working near dobbins/lockheed outside atlanta it's been common to see pilots/ground crews at lunch in local restaurants for 20+ yrs. understand the sentiment behind it but the average enlisted shlub grabbing a burger is just trying to save time/$, not intimidate anyone into compliance...
otherwise nail away!
....sounds like Kunstler hasn't figured out the two party fraud yet.
I guess he's a slow learner.
This business of Russia vs the United States (or rather the Jews of the United States) goes back to the 1910’s and President Taft vs Jacob Schiff.
Without going into the entire matter here, search Russian Trade Treaty + Taft.
The issue was that Jews from Russia came to America to become citizens and then returned to Russia as US Citizens hoping to circumvent the Russian Laws regarding Jews. Russia did not accept them as US Citizens, but as Jews returned to Russia under false circumstances. To punish Russia, the Jews in the US wanted the treaty rescinded. Taft refused.
Jacob Schiff declared “war” on the President Of The United States and won in Congress a reversal of the Treaty which had been in effect for 80 years.
Only by reading the truth behind this “overthrow” of American Foreign Policy can you begin to comprehend the length of time and scope of influence people of money have controlled the US both in Foreign Policy and now domestic issues as well.
Without taking sides in the debate, it demonstrates the power of money and moneyed people in small groups of closely knit societal governance and goals.
To think in terms of escape velocity, it is unattainable. We must revert to where we once were before we opened the gates to immigrants of tribal and racial societies without asking them to assimilate into our system of social acceptance – yes, even with its prejudices and imperfections. Trading our imperfections for someone else’s does not improve our lot, and possibly not even theirs.
These are what we call Bolsheviks (aka Rothschild Khazarian Mafia [RKM])
However, even more disturbing is the DVD (Deutsche Verteidigungs Dienst) ..
I've just about had it with the sense of entitlement that goes with today's military employment. Here's a live conversation that I had THIS MORNING with a military guy who came to me for advice.
“... yes ... but … I’m a logistic specialist with XX years of service.”
“That’s great. What about UPS and Federal Express. Did you apply there?
“Yes, they don’t have anything open that I want to do.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
“Okay, well, how about starting your own company based on whatever you do that is unique and marketable?”
Long pause. “I’m not sure there’s enough people out there that want what I do.”
“Look, if you’re great at something but no one wants to buy your product or service you’ve got to find something else. I may be the best at weaving baskets out of grass, but if no one wants my little creations, I can’t expect to be paid. If you have a skill that no one wants enough to pay for, you’ll have to find something else you can do.”
Angrily, “I spent my life learning this and I deserve to make money.”
“Sorry. You don’t deserve anything. No one does. You have to earn your keep, just like the rest of us. If you think you deserve to be paid without doing something someone wants to pay for, get a government job.”
( After I spoke with him, I realized he always had a government job; he knows nothing else. His life has been, essentially, communistic -- he was provided with everything needed (food, shelter, medical/dental/psych care, pension, education funding, etc.) in exchange for working in a military cubicle. Like most military guys and gals, he never saw combat. He gave up free association, free speech, and all the Amendments you and I want so he could have this government job. For him, this was a worthwhile trade. No wonder he doesn't get the free market! In fact, I wonder if the ex-military sorts really understand -- respect and value -- the society and political culture that the rest of us cherish. )
Really now?
I guess in addition to email recipients, nailing the 95 Theses to the White House Gate is now in order?
You had better choices and treated them like shit or sat back and watched others treat them like shit.
James Traficant, RIP
Ron Paul
Pat Buchannan
Dennis Kucinich
I'll even go one step further: CARTER.
Jimmy Carter graduated from the Naval Academy, was not only a nuclear technician but once acually physically took part in the decommissioning of an experimental reactor that had melted down.
He swung a hammer for years after leaving the WH building homes for poor people like the Christian he claims he is.
This hard working, well educated, skilled and brave, honest and charitable man has already been President once and is arguably more qualified than the Globalist shill Hillary or the Unionist Sanders; but, the Democrats can stand him for his stance on Israel.
Everything he's done has been quite transparent. There are no sealed records ala Hillary or missing documents ala Obama..
Carter would never again seek office; but, he would SERVE if pressed into service.
America had and has better -and has been pissing them away and pushing them aside.
Trump? Hillary? Sanders? Jeb?
You people are all fucked in the head...
+100100
I went to Florida 2 years back on holiday and forget my subscritpion pills so I went to the local hospital to get some more.
I had to see a Doctor of course but my ailment and pills were routine so there was no problem getting the prescription, it all took about 5 mins. Go pay over there the Doctor said.
$825 was the charge!
I could not believe it, I thought it would be around $50, $100 tops. There was really nothing I could do so I paid up. Kunstler is spot on about it being a medical racket.
Had you asked how much it would cost; they could not tell you. The Medical profession is the only place I know where you can't get a price before you receive the service. Believe me; a dumb programmer could have a program locked and loaded for the Medical information plugged in and spit out to answer a fair question; how much will this cost? Like going to a car mechanic and asking the price of an oil change and they say they can't tell you.
Ten and more candidates on one side and six or so on the other and not one up to the job. We are fucked.
You're WRONG Sanders wiith Grayson as VP and Warren as Attorney General and America with the guns and we CAN make a change! Go Bernie!
Remy: 5 Things You Didn't Know About Citizens United
http://reason.com/blog/2014/01/22/remy-5-things-you-didnt-know-about-citiz
"....the 2010 Citizens United decision issued by the Supreme Court. This decision endowed the alleged “personhood” of corporations with a “right” to express their political opinions by giving money in unlimited amounts to candidates."
For fuck's sake.
No - it did not endow corporations with personhood. It also didn't say corporations {like private individuals not beholden to shareholders, a board, or consumers} can give unlimited amounts of money to candidates.
It also didn't say money = speech.
-----------------------
The United States Supreme Court held that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by a nonprofit corporation. The principles articulated by the Supreme Court in the case have also been extended to for-profit corporations, labor unions and other associations.
In the case the conservative lobbying group Citizens United wanted to air a film critical of Hillary Clinton and to advertise the film during television broadcasts in apparent violation of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or "BCRA").[2] Section 203 of BCRA defined an "electioneering communication" as a broadcast, cable, or satellite communication that mentioned a candidate within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary, and prohibited such expenditures by corporations and unions. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia held that §203 of BCRA applied and prohibited Citizens United from advertising the film Hillary: The Movie in broadcasts or paying to have it shown on television within 30 days of the 2008 Democratic primaries.[1][3] The Supreme Court reversed this decision, striking down those provisions of BCRA that prohibited corporations (including nonprofit corporations) and unions from making independent expenditures and "electioneering communications".[2] The majority decision overruled Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990) and partially overruled McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003).[4] The Court, however, upheld requirements for public disclosure by sponsors of advertisements (BCRA §201 and §311). The case did not involve the federal ban on direct contributions from corporations or unions to candidate campaigns or political parties, which remain illegal in races for federal office.[5]....
...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC
In other words, at issue was whether the First Amendment allows the Congres to pass a law allowing the Executive Branch to {selectively??} fine and or jail people for making a political documentary that was to be aired on pay per view - because they formed a corporate entity to do it.
The New York Times, this webpage, etc etc are corporations.
Apart from being against the plain language of the 1st, apart from inviting red Team/Blue Team selective prosecution, apart from inviting the government to pubnish speech at news magazines, news papers, and blogs...
At root, the danger seems to be that someone might get so much money from eeeevil right wingers that...gasp... someone might CHANGE THEIR MIND and vote for a candidate the Left doesnt like.
So the NY Times - a corporation {and no, "the press" did not mean newspapers or media but printed word -the guy making pamphlets in his barn} basically wanted it so that they could continue to promote Hillary, yet wanted to punish anyone who made a movie villifying her in the name of fairness.
Cute.
New York Times Opposes Corporate Speech in Citizens United, Cheers Corporate Speech Against Indiana RFRA
http://reason.com/blog/2015/04/03/new-york-times-opposes-corporate-speech
Hillary Clinton’s Supreme Court Litmus Test: Overturn the Case That Legalized Anti-Hillary Documentaries
Democratic frontrunner says her judicial nominees must be against Citizens United
http://reason.com/blog/2015/05/15/hillary-clintons-supreme-court-litmus-te
Citizens United Decision Fulfilled Earl Warren's First Amendment Vision
He and two likeminded justices saw no room for muzzling speech.
http://reason.com/archives/2014/01/22/citizens-united-decision-fulfilled...
By by all means Kuntsler - dont bother reading the fucking case you cite as the reason for all the evils in the world [Haim Saban and Sheldon Adelson trying to buy the presidency for Likud is still cool though, right?]
Citizens United allowed oligarchs to fund our elections and buy our representatives through super PACs. Its not about "evil right wingers", since the Democrats are just as owned as the Republicans. They write the laws that benefit the oligarchs, while the voters are increasingly disenfranchised from the political process. Less than two evils voting perpetuates the lock they have our political freedom.
"For the first time in more than a century, the majority of funding for a presidential election is coming in six-figure or larger checks from corporations and the wealthiest Americans. The presidential campaigns, limited to a maximum of $5,400 from a single donor, raised a combined $128 million. Super PACs supporting those candidates pulled in $260 million, with $208 million from those giving $100,000 or more."
http://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2015/08/03/step-aside-peasants-the-...
No they did not; this has been happening before you were born and before "Citizens United" existed...there is nothing new under the sun here.
In the Citizens United ruling, the court overturned a century of campaign finance law, overruling two existing Supreme Court decisions. Austin v. Michigan State Chamber of Commerce (1990) and McConnell v Federal Election Commission (2003). As Justice Stevens opined in his dissent, legal entities [corporations] are not "We the People" for whom our Constitution was established and should not be given speech protections under the First Amendment, and so Buckley v Valeo (which held that political spending was protected as free speech) should not have been applied to corporations and Unions. Corporate spending should be considered business transactions made for no purpose other than profit-making. Corporate bottom lines should not be the determining factor in our political system. The vast sums of money corporations can use to unfairly influence the political process can't be matched by average citizens and ends up marginalizing voters.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/19/us/politics/0120-scotus-ca...
In any case, the amount of money spent to influence our elections has ballooned since the ruling, making our elections a rich person's game and undermining our political system. The fact that foreign corporations are able to spend freely by disguising themselves as trade associations could be one of the reasons we got stuck with TPP.
" In 2008, PhRMA spent less than $200,000 on federal elections, using only money bundled from transparent individual contributions, mostly from drug company executives. The following election cycle, after Citizens United, PhRMA spent $10.36 million on federal elections, 98 percent of it from undisclosed corporate sources."
http://www.thenation.com/article/never-mind-super-pacs-how-big-business-...
This is so frustrating - over and over people who havent read the fucking case parrot from other left wing statists who also didn't read it.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
also see
http://www.learnliberty.org/videos/what-you-probably-havent-heard-about-...
a longer discussion of the cases leading up to Citizens
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/campaign-finance-overview
Super PACs are a new kind of political action committee created in July 2010 following the outcome of a federal court case known as SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission.
For an example of someone who still blames Citizens:
http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2012/02/27/yes-virginia-and-dan-and-w...
you can contrast the above with another attempt to reply to the top link and another
note how they MOSTLY ARE DISCUSSING OTHER CASES. I include it to be fair - and also, to show, if you read the case, or at least the wiki, and the above links, you can see how what happens is the First Amendment's plain language is avoided, and a bunch of cases are combined. The author is disingenuous - and also makes the mistake common not only to non-lawyers and non-Constitutional scholars, but to many left wing analysts:
Lets say a ruling DID "open the floodgates" or do something else you dont like.......
that would not mean that the ruling was incorrect as to the Constitution!!!!
I can agree that corporate money is a problem, but so is the fact billionares like Sheldon Adelson were and are unencumbered as "natural persons" - in his case a revolting warminger and fucktard loyal primarily to Israel and Likud.
I have the ability to separate the legal analysis from how I think things ought to be. Just because the result might not be what you'd like does NOT MEAN the result is 'wrong'. The left wants to rewrite the 1st because they think people might vote gop if the koch brothers run a bunch of ads.
Citizens was rightly decided if you think the First Amendment means what it says or close. It is also the case that had the decision gone the other way there would be no principle by which the government would be precluded from fining or jailing editorial board members or selectively prosecuting only red or blue team.
"If the First Amendment means anything, it means that a state has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his house, what books he may read or what films he may watch." - Thurgood Marshall
"If the First Amendment has any force, it prohibits Congress from fining or jailing citizens, or associations of citizens, for simply engaging in political speech.
- Justice Kennedy- majority opinion, Citizens United.
And that's all I have to say about that.
"If the First Amendment does not protect the right of a graduate of Harvard Law School to spend his own money to support the candidate of his choice simply because his Canadian citizenship deprives him of the right to participate in our elections [Bluman v FEC], the fact that corporations may be owned or controlled by Canadians -- indeed, in my judgment, the fact that corporations have no right to vote -- should give Congress the power to exclude them from direct participation in the electoral process,"
-retired Justice John Paul Stevens
Nope - you're wrong.
Re your second paragraph - post hoc ergo propter hoc much?
I take it you never read the case?
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf
the wiki description is prety good - you could at least read that rather than rely on the understanding of some left wing journalism major.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, No. 08-205, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), is a U.S. constitutional law case dealing with the regulation of campaign spending by organizations. The United States Supreme Court held that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by a nonprofit corporation. The principles articulated by the Supreme Court in the case have also been extended to for-profit corporations, labor unions and other associations.
Even this is a little inexact. What it said is that the particular LAW which prohibitedusing funds for 'electioneering' meaning CU could not make a movie or face a fine and/or jail.
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (known as BCRA or McCain–Feingold Act)—specifically §203, which modified the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, 2 U.S.C. § 441b—prohibited corporations and unions from using their general treasury to fund "electioneering communications" (broadcast advertisements mentioning a candidate) within 30 days before a primary or 60 days before a general election. During the 2004 presidential campaign, a conservative nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization named Citizens United filed a complaint before the Federal Election Commission (FEC) charging that advertisements for Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11, a documentary critical of the Bush administration's response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, constituted political advertising and thus could not be aired within the 30 days before a primary election or 60 days before a general election. The FEC dismissed the complaint after finding no evidence that broadcast advertisements for the movie and featuring a candidate within the proscribed time limits had actually been made.[6] The FEC later dismissed a second complaint which argued that the movie itself constituted illegal corporate spending advocating the election or defeat of a candidate, which was illegal under the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974. In dismissing that complaint, the FEC found that:
In the wake of these decisions, Citizens United sought to establish itself as a bona fide commercial film maker, producing several documentary films between 2005 and 2007. By early 2008, it sought to run television commercials to promote its latest political documentary Hillary: The Movie and to air the movie on DirecTV.[8] The movie was highly critical of then-Senator Hillary Clinton, with the District Court describing the movie as an elongated version of a negative 30-second television spot. In January 2008, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the television advertisements for Hillary: The Movie violated the BCRA restrictions of "electioneering communications" within 30 days of a primary. Though the political action committee claimed that the film was fact-based and nonpartisan, the lower court found that the film had no purpose other than to discredit Clinton's candidacy for president.[9] The Supreme Court docketed the case on August 18, 2008,[10] and heard oral argument on March 24, 2009.[8][11][12]
The first amendment reads:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
If you think that allows the government to fine or jail people for making a political documentary - on the thin premise that they lose their speech rights when they form a corporation to make speech - good for you. THing is, the First Amendment plainly doesn't say that. What it does is restrict government power - it doesn't dispense a "right" that {left out of the text} applies only to people individually, but is lost, when they form a corporation...like the ny times or zerohedge, say.
Try reading the case.,
The FACT remains that they can and do and have been donating as much as they need to; why do you think the President and Congressman are selected? Congress is just for show, in that it gives the illusion that a US Constitution actually exits anymore. In a nutshell; they involve themselves in the name of a NFL football team calling it "insensitive:, while they fund to produce killing machines called Apache's. Another, the Republicans have controlled both houses; yet not one veto to my knowledge; why? The Dems & repubs are for show-n-tell.
Wow! Someone with objectivity and the ability to comprehend what you read. But I do agree that a constitutional amendment is and always was necessary.
agreed, i see the problem with corp. [and billionaire] $ - but as a matter of LAW and the Constitution it was rightly decided.
The Left, in their hatred of "corporations" and their fear that Koch Bros money would turn blue states red by concinving people to vote gop, forgot that their beloved left wing statist rags are corporations too.
there's also a deep misapprehension of the 1st. It is an explicit removal of government power to regulate - hence it doesn't give you a "right" but an immunity from government coercion,. The Left wing idea that the first only applied to humans, not groups of humans who file paperwork to incorportate, is not in the text or legistlative history at all -why would it be. The plain text simply says the government lacks the power to abrudge the spoken or printed word.
you want a carve out for corps, fine - but let's not pretend that it's in the Constitution - that's the Left once again "interpreting" to get to a result they want.
They're too goddamned stupid right now to appreciate the slippery slope, however, that letting government regulate non-individual speech would bring. or rather,they only fantasize about using government power to shut up the tea party.
the left would be the first to burn books and open political re-education camps if they could. so far they are limited to p.c. speech codes and thought policing.
Summary: Bath House Barry, the insipid maggot, is a total asshole, liar, faggot and traitor, and... Kunt-Kunstler is a cretin and douchebag. Next?
Don't hate the Puppet, look up and see whose controlling the strings. He's going to get the blame for what's coming.
America was hoodwinked by the criminal black bush! America needs to defeat the next annointed destructor of America and it's either another worthless bush or the queen traitor to America bitch, uh....wat's her name?
Honestly, did you vote for Obama twice or are you old enough to vote; I was shocked that people could not see through him while running for office like crystal clear glass. I am just asking and not being critical;many people were "blinded"; my father-in-law has a picture next to his desk of the President - disgusts me every time I see it, but he is in his 80's.
-----------
Then again, we are under Gods judgment as described in Romans 1:18-32 and there is no turning back. God has given U.S. many blessing and much time to repent, but we just kept pushing His moral values, designed for our good (just look at them) and now we are Abandoned by God and left to ourselves and that is always self-destruction...All will be judged by perfect morality and ALL will be found guilty.
Crocodile, wait until the end of September - the US should get the message by then since it has ignored the previous ones.
"Not by works are ye saved, but by the Grace of God."
Ummm...RON PAUL? Hasn't he talked about all this stuff?
Ben Carson is by far the most moral candidate and he actually gives a damn about America and is a "thinking person". It is the very reason he won't have a snow-ball's chance in hell of getting any real "face-time". So you will get Busch or Clinton, for there is only one other choice, I mean selection, and that is a king Obummer....that, I believe, is what will happen because the financial wrecking ball will fall before the election cycle unless the US Murder Cabal can intervene in the Chinese-Russian economic platforms they have built.
On a side note; funny how people will get damn mad over the death of a Lion and want to literally kill the man who did; while we slaughter a million people in the womb and do it carefully to harvest and profit from the organs. Now you know what human depravity looks like in full view.
"Where Candidates Fear To Tread - Pervasive Racketeering Is Destroying America"
Did "racketeering" destroy colonial India? Did "racketeering in India produce the poverty, misery, and ignorance that was colonial India for the masses? No, England's colonial occupation and plundering did.
Zionism is a fifth-column colonial like system of organized plunder and murder that operates on a national and international level via fraudulent-reserve banks, dependent governments, and connected and derivative firms.
Did "racketeering" destroy America? Did "racketeering in America produce the poverty, misery, and ignorance that is the American country's condition of today? No. Zion's colonial occupation and plundering did.
Liberty is a demand. Tyranny is submission..
It is time they "return"--go. Be fruitful in the country they have stolen, and leave our country to us.
That is just a list of things that make politicians very rich. There is no surprise a politician is not coming out against them. They are scumbags but not dumb.
The 2 party system and the illusion of choice it offers, and the entrenched heavily Zionist and otherwise militarist/MIC-allied Deep State is a big part of the problem - goes without saying.
So are lobby groups from the Jewish/Israel lobby to big pharma, the aarp - even the NRA, which has done a good job of making 2nd amendment advocates look like unreasonable fuckwits over and over.
The problem is not that the feds can no longer fine or jail people who form small corporations to make documentaries saying a candidate sucks.
The rot is now so pervasive, so insidious, that Revolution is - to judge from history - inevitable. Entrenched power generally will go to war and result to martial law and/or false flags to protect that power and further their goals.
9/11 was such a case, an inside/israeli job with Arab Muslim patsies.
If the deep state is allowed to call the shots, and remain above the law, the next new pearl harbor may be nuclear.
So much great material here, today. Fact always out-runs fiction. Every time.
Right ! And let's not forget the persecution of lions by vacationing American doctors.
Let's forget about the 1 million plus children who die in the womb and carefully removed to profit from the organs; human depravity n a world go down. Does prove that evolution is false since the devolving is mainstream.
bill clinton and hill and even the brat gets nice speaking fees and great book deals making over 100 million in a few years..never saw a pay off did you america, in your face MSM and as al gore said:"No controlling legal authority"..here come da judge NOT.
Someone woke up from theor nap feeling cranky? Good lord, talk about pathtic snarks...
60% of gummint spending is on ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM VOTE BUYING FOR THE PROLETARIAT HORDES - WHICH THE REGIME IS IMPORTING BY THE MILLIONS FROM LATIN AMERICA
THEREFORE
CLEARLY + OBVIOUSLY
THE SINGLE BIGGEST THING DESTROYING AMERICA MUST BE
THE SINGLE BIGGEST THING THAT THE REGIME SPENDS MONEY ON
I.E.
ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM VOTE BUYING FOR THE PROLETARIAT HORDES.
WAKE UP DUMB ASSES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!