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Guest Post: America: The List

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Submitted by Brian Rogers

America: The List

If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘ Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.

   - Proud To Be An American, Lee Greenwood

America, F*CK YEAH!
Coming again, to save the mother f*cking day yeah,
America, F*CK YEAH!
What you going to do when we come for you now,
it’s the dream that we all share; it’s the hope for tomorrow

F*CK YEAH!

McDonalds, F*CK YEAH!
Wal-Mart, F*CK YEAH!
The Gap, F*CK YEAH!
Baseball, F*CK YEAH!
NFL, F*CK, YEAH!
Rock and roll, F*CK YEAH!
The Internet, F*CK YEAH!
Slavery, F*CK YEAH!

   - America, F*ck Yeah,
   Trey Parker (of South Park)

Coffee Shop at Union Square

I was out having drinks the other night with brilliant financial mind and Wall Street veteran Paulo Pereira.  Paulo is a Brazilian-American who's worked on both the buy and sell-side for years and has a long track record covering many of the large natural resource exporting countries.  A Yale grad with a degree in music, Paulo brings a unique perspective to finance and economics to say the least.

We decided to meet up at a great restaurant/bar on Manhattan's Union Square called Coffee Shop.  Next time you're in NY, I highly recommend you add this cool spot to your agenda.  The food is great, a mix of Brazilian and American fare, and you always have a real diverse crowd of folks to mingle with. 

But it's the hostesses, waitresses and barmaids that bring in the crowds.  You see, Coffee Shop, tends to employ many of Manhattan's aspiring super models and actresses.  Let's just say the scenery is impressive and distracting.  But I digress.  Oh man, do I digress...

Anywho, Paulo and I started tilting back the Stellas and proceeded down the rabbit hole that is modern finance and politics.  The usual topics came up that would be familiar to any regular Zero Hedge reader: the Bernank, gold, ZIRP, TBTF, silver price manipulation, BLS data manipulation, China, Brazil, Europe, Australia housing bubble, the upcoming sovereign debt crisis, the hypocrisy of my former idol Warren Buffett, the eloquence of Jim Rickards, the death of the 30-year bond bubble, blah, blah, blah...  The list goes on.

But at some point in the evening we started focusing (to the extent that you can focus with 4 beers and 1 very distracting barmaid in the mix) on the way that the very words we use to think about ourselves as Americans have become somewhat, well, meaningless.

For example, Capitalism

First, a definition from the good folks at merriam-webster.comCapitalism - an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decisions, and by prices, production and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.  (emphasis mine)

A couple of things should instantly jump out when applying even the most basic of critical thinking skills to the definition above. 

First, as Martin Armstrong likes to frequently highlight, we now live in a political-economy.  Precisely the opposite of a so-called free market.  A true match made in hell.

Second, our economic system is currently characterized by a situation where 50% of every business transaction involves the use of a government granted monopoly currency controlled by a private consortium of banks.  The good ol' USD. 

So far we're falling a bit short on merriam-webster's standard.

Was Adam Smith wrong?

Remember the English dude Adam Smith?  Adam was a pretty bright guy and expressed some really novel ideas (novel at the time anyway) which helped usher in a new way of commerce that would help raise millions of people globally out of abject poverty and serfdom.

But remember this, when ol' Adam was scratching out his notes, you had a choice on not only the good or service you purchased or sold, but also the currency or method of payment you could offer or receive.  Both sides of the deal had to match or no go. 

Today, the government, via the private consortium of banks, aka the Fed, control the currency side of every transaction with an iron fist. 

At least they try to.  What is the typical result when government tries to control the price of anything?  Disruption, confusion, corruption, malinvestment,  etc.  And yet these guys think controlling the price of money is a good thing or even possible. 

Best of luck with that cat-herding exercise.  The chart of the USD over the last 100 years speaks volumes more than I could on the subject of currency stability.

Legal tender laws date back to the Civil War.  Lincoln implemented them as an "emergency measure" (sound familiar in our post-911 world).  He pinky swore that it was only temporary.  Fast  forward 150 years and we're still wearing that albatross around our neck.

Private decisions indeed.

Back to Coffee Shop, barmaids and "The List"

So besides the basic definition of capitalism, Paulo and I started chatting about other subjects in this country of ours where our perceptions and realities don't quite align.

In this spirit, I'm starting The List. 

Let's get it all out there.  America's dirty laundry that is.  Our family secrets.  The skeletons in the closet. 

The goal is to create a list of the many and numerous ways in which our country is deluding itself into believing we are the greatest, smartest, most innovative, freedom loving country that ever was.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some unpatriotic ne'er do well.  I love what the Founding Fathers of our country set out to accomplish, faults and all.  I love it so much, I was willing to put my life on the line for this country by serving in a US Marine Corps special forces unit for 8 years (your move armchair patriot).

But we have drifted so far from the original concepts, I believe our current central planning apparatus more closely resembles the USSR than what most people think is the USA.

So I'm going to kick this list off but in no way do I intend this to be exhaustive. 

Please, add your own comments and thoughts.  Take the list and grow it.  Spread it around.  Repost it, tweet it, facebook it (whatever that means) and let's start the healing process by admitting what's wrong.

Sort of like a political and economic 12-step program.  Hi, my name is Brian Rogers and I'm an asset of the state. 

And I want to quit.

The List

1.  Money - The US dollar is a currency controlled by a private consortium of banks under the Federal Reserve System.  There is nothing "Federal" about the Federal Reserve, it is owned and absolutely controlled by bankers.  Sound free? 

2.  The Federal Reserve System - The Fed is neither under the auspices of Executive, Legislative nor Judicial branches of government.  The most important and largest decisions they make cannot be audited by any branch of the US government.  Sound free?

3.  Presidential authority - The POTUS can these days declare martial law and based on the language of the recently passed NDAA, arrest any US citizen he wants, anywhere he wants and hold them without due process for as long as he wants.  All the POTUS has to say is that the person is a terrorist.  Sound free? 

4.  Federal judges - Even in during Rome's imperial years, about half of the federal judges were voted by the people.  Today, all Federal judges are political appointment.  Sound free?

5.  Electoral college - We do not have a popular vote.  The masses just simply can't be trusted.  We choose special delegates to enact the "final solution" (pun intended).  Sound free?

6.  Campaign finance - Corporations are people.  Seriously.  Mitt Romney was right.  As long as national elections have an essentially uncapped spending limit, the game of politics will always be about money and who has the most.  Those monied interests then become the only real constituent.  Everyone else just gets lip service.  In the meantime, average citizens everywhere are priced out of even trying to run for office given the exorbitant costs to participate in the system.  Read my lips, sound free?

7.  Term limits - Nope.  We seem to like our political class and want to make sure that we can get the same old idiots year in and year out.  They have no incentive to make hard choices, only political choices to keep their career feeding at the government trough.  And the good ones, meaning the most political and successful at money raising, become furniture and stay for decades.  Sound free?

8.  Income taxes (or direct taxation) - You no longer have the right to 100% of the result of your hard work aka wages.  The government has decreed that you must share your income with everyone else or go to jail.  Ayn Rand once said that the basis for every totalitarian dictatorship was altruism.  Sacrifice for the state.  I certainly don't blindly follow Ms. Rand like Alan Greenspan did, but on this point I agree entirely.  Sound free?

9.  Legal tender laws - Don't like the dollar?  Wish you could simply eject yourself out of the Federal Reserve System by buying some gold and silver coins and using them to make payment for goods and services?  While some merchants may gladly do business with you, the transaction is very much illegal.  You MUST use the FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES controlled and priced by the Oracles of Delphi at the Fed.  Sound free?

10.  "Cost" of money - Modern finance values assets using various pricing methods.  All of these, however, share a common theme, they all discount future cash flows using the Risk Free rate which is normally defined as US Treasuries.  The Fed is artificially controlling and manipulating US Treasuries.  Therefore, every asset on the planet has a price that is artificial as the rates implicit in its price are not market rates.  They are what the Bernank and the Oracles of Delphi think they should be.  Sound free?

11.  Two-party political system - Seriously, do I really need to break down the hypocrisy exhibited on a daily basis by team red and team blue?  As Zero Hedge pointed out recently, 50% of the American public votes.  About 50% of the public is politically active in the two major parties.  Therefore, in any given election, the winner will only represent about 25% of the population.  And we wonder why special interests get all the attention.  Sound free?

What else? 

Like I said, this list isn't meant to be exhaustive, in fact just the beginning.  Please add your own ideas, improve on mine and pass this along.

In the meantime, it's a beautiful day here in Manhattan and I'm about to take a walk and enjoy it.  I can still do that without asking permission or paying a tax so I'm going to take advantage. 

Perhaps I'll stroll over to Coffee Shop again at Union Square. 

On the way, perhaps I'll run into The Occupy Wall Street Movement at Union Square. 

We can heckle the police about how they are working for the "man" while secretly justifying their thug tactics by thinking about the nice pension plan waiting for them at the end of their career rainbow. 

The same pension plan that is rapidly becoming insolvent under the Bernank's ZIRP.

America.  F*ck yeah.

 

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Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:02 | 2317291 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/29/killed_at_home_white_plains_ny

another Marine Murdered!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCgWwnr7Kiw

they are NOT ALONE!!

http://www.cato.org/raidmap/

Botched Paramilitary Police Raids: An Epidemic of "Isolated Incidents"

"If a widespread pattern of [knock-and-announce] violations were shown . . . there would be reason for grave concern."

—Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in Hudson v. Michigan, June 15, 2006.

An interactive map of botched SWAT and paramilitary police raids, released in conjunction with the Cato policy paper "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids," by Radley Balko.

What does this map mean?

The proliferation of SWAT teams, police militarization, and the Drug War have given rise to a dramatic increase in the number of "no-knock" or "quick-knock" raids on suspected drug offenders. Because these raids are often conducted based on tips from notoriously unreliable confidential informants, police sometimes conduct SWAT-style raids on the wrong home, or on the homes of nonviolent, misdemeanor drug users. Such highly-volatile, overly confrontational tactics are bad enough when no one is hurt -- it's difficult to imagine the terror an innocent suspect or family faces when a SWAT team mistakenly breaks down their door in the middle of the night.

But even more disturbing are the number of times such "wrong door" raids unnecessarily lead to the injury or death of suspects, bystanders, and police officers. Defenders of SWAT teams and paramilitary tactics say such incidents are isolated and rare. The map below aims to refute that notion.

 

How to use this map

Click on each marker on the map for a description of the incident and sources. Markers are precise in cases where the address of an incident was reported. Where media reports indicate only a town or neighborhood, markers are located at the closest post office, city hall, or landmark. Incident descriptions and outcomes are kept as current as possible.

Other map features:

--Using the "plus" and "minus" buttons in the map's upper left-hand corner, users can zoom in on the map to street-level, as well as switch between street map and satellite views. In some large metropolitan areas, there are so many incidents in such close proximity that they tend to overlap unless viewed on a small scale (try zooming in on New York City, for example).

--Users may isolate the incidents by type by clicking on the colored markers in the key (see only "death of an innocent" markers, for example).

--The search function just below the map produces printable descriptions of the raids plotted on the map, and is sortable by state, year, and type of incident.

Embed this map on your blog or website, or view it in Google Maps

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:31 | 2316983 Henry Chinaski
Henry Chinaski's picture

+ 1.  Not sticky worthy.

Semper fi

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:08 | 2316889 cossack55
cossack55's picture

Monsanto, Cargill, ADM, FDA, CFTC, SEC, CFR, ICG, Brookings, Big Pharma, USDA, CIA, NSA, NRO, DHS, FBI, Google, Facebook........I'm tired now. Someone please continue.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:49 | 2317261 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

http://naturalsociety.com/monsanto-biotechnology-book-for-kids-caught-brainwashing-children/

GMO's! are whats for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oza03d4HCK0&feature=fvst

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYO2k_o16E0

 

Corporations Own the Lobby!

The Lobby Owns the Government!

Law Enforcement works for the Duly Elected Lobby Whores!

Thusly, We the People are Screwed!

 

He with the Biggest Lobby Wins!

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 18:43 | 2317843 Cathartes Aura
Cathartes Aura's picture

(grabs baton) Raytheon, HAARP, Blackwater/Xe/Academi, Zionists, FED, NDAA, D.of C., GMO, AAPL, QE1-?, NYSE, SLV, GLD, Gold Mansacks, GE, GM, Bush Crime Family, Arkancide, left/right/left/right. . .

next?

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:10 | 2316896 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

Wall Street needs more Freedom and Stimulus and Tax Credits and Tax Loop Holes and Subsidies and Hookers and Cocaine and Legislative Ability and...

AIPAC The Israeli Lobby pt 1 of 5

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

Israel.. with its $70 Billion in Aide from America.. is now going to buy U.S. Equities.. with the Federal Reserve Funding the purchases.. to continue the Spending Spree!

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/next-leg-ponzi-revealed-central-banks-begin-buying-us-stocks-outright-starting-today

The Largest Lobby in America is Wall Street..

The Second Largest Lobby in America is the Jewish Lobby!

The Largest Lobby’s receive the Largest bailouts, Subsidies and Foreign Aide..

All while American Children go Hungry.

Of course this behavior.. these NUMERICAL FACTS! will somehow will be twisted or SPUN! gotta LOVE the Spin Machine! to a personal attack on myself.

Thusly the Worst Kept Secret in the World.. stays out of public discussion and out of the public’s eye.. for that much longer.

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:54 | 2317080 harmonymonkey
harmonymonkey's picture

Are you implying there's a problem with the chosen people?

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:33 | 2317194 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

I would never!

the Fact really is..

if it was a group of people from China.. people would say.. HEY! those guys from China have fucked everything up!

and becuase China has NO! AIPAC! to make sure Members of Congress are NOT! re-elected for speaking out! or the Senate...

and how about England? same problem! NO TRUTH when it is in any way less than flatering to the Jews!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pVN16IX0K0

Lib Dems Eject Baroness Jenny Tonge for Criticising Israel about treatment of the Palestinians

 

Any where in the World where Money is used.. the Jews buy the Lobby Whores and take over!

where is the IAEA inspection of Israel?

where??????

The FACT! that ISRAEL has NEVER!! had an IAEA Inspection?? http://www.iaea.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikgLMm-iKqM

But!!

BUT!!!

BUT!!!!!!

America should go to war with Iran??

the IAEA ia ALWAYS IN IRAN!

but we need Israel for the Pipe Line out of Iraq? for our Oil supply?

 

NO WONDER ALL THE SOLAR PLANTS ARE GOING BROKE!

 

No one cuts in on the JEWS and thier Oil / Blood Money!

 

America being FREE of Oil.. is Good for us and bad for Israel..

who will protect Israel as they Murder or to be even more accurate.. commit Genocide in Palestine?

 

Maybe if Israel losses its Grip on Wall Street which controls TV / Media  maybe We the Sheepeople would see what is REALLY happening in Palestine!

How about a Report from Palestine?

Some TRUTH?!!?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqGOikJlDn4 <--- American Hero! telling the TRUTH about Palestine!

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:11 | 2317292 j.tennquist
j.tennquist's picture

JW in FL:

"The Second Largest Lobby in America is the Jewish Lobby!"

You argue about "what if" it was the Chinese or another foreign power, indeed, a breach of sovereign independence.   Failing to grasp the obvious, I will point it out to your narrow mind.

Jews are American citizens and have every right to participate in the political process.

Your poorly phrased anti-Semitic argument is undone.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 16:40 | 2317526 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

AIPAC? the American Citizens of AIPAC?

well.. lets see what the TRUTH is..

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/israel-lobbyist-abraham-feinbergs-fbi-file-released-117526018.html

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy:

FBI files released under the Freedom of Information Act unveil new details about the life of influential lobbyist Abraham Feinberg (1908-1998).

Feinberg is best known for funding President Harry S Truman's "whistle stop" campaign, saving Truman's 1948 election campaign from almost certain defeat. In an interview, Feinberg summarized his long success in Democratic Party politics: "My path to power was cooperation in terms of what they needed—campaign money."

According to new histories of Israel's clandestine nuclear weapons program including "Israel and the Bomb" by Avner Cohen (1998), Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion secretly named Feinberg his chief nuclear weapons fundraising coordinator in 1958. According to Michael Karpin's "The Bomb in the Basement" (2007) Feinberg and 25 others contributed $40 million to the Israeli nuclear weapons program against opposition from presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy.

A newly released 1952 file reveals the FBI's early awareness of Feinberg's many secret meetings with Israeli foreign agents: "Feinberg has been in contact with Colonel Ephraim Ben-Arazi, former Israeli Military Attache to the United States; Theodore H. Kollek, Israeli Minister in Washington; Reuben Shiloah [founder of Mossad], personal advisor to the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs; Nahum Bernstein, Secretary of Israel Speaks. All of these individuals are known to have been active in the Israeli Intelligence Service."

In 1952 Feinberg was ordered to register as an Israeli agent conducting foreign propaganda through a bimonthly publication called Israel Speaks the successor to Haganah Speaks. Feinberg briefly considered selling Israel Speaks to the Jerusalem Post before shutting it down to avoid registration under the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act.

The FBI files also document meetings between Abraham Feinberg and Rudolph Sonneborn. Sonneborn organized a massive clandestine smuggling network to purchase or steal U.S. WWII surplus armaments for Jewish fighters in Palestine in violation of arms export controls and the Neutrality Act. The Israeli government tasked Feinberg to intervene in the criminal prosecutions of apprehended U.S. members of the smuggling network. The FBI file notes, "There were 70 people involved on the West Coast….On April 1, 1949 Eliahu Elath, Israeli Ambassador to the United States, was advised by his government that it was agreed that the matter relating to Schwimmer and other people under indictment should be taken to the 'highest level' in order to 'squash it once and forever'....one of several courses of action suggested...was to have Abe...take it up with his friends..." In the end few members of the network were ever arrested, prosecuted or convicted of arms smuggling. Those that were (Adolph Schwimmer, Hank Greenspun, and Charles Winters) later received presidential pardons.

All released documents are now available in PDF format from the Israel Lobby Archive at: http://www.irmep.org/ila/feinberg . The Feinberg section of the archive cross-references a separate Senate investigation archive revealing Feinberg's year 1960 financial contributions to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Simultaneously, the Near East Report (now affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC) released stories into the U.S. media such as "No Bombs Possible" that denied Israel had a secret nuclear weapons program even as AIPAC's founder closely tracked U.S. news coverage of the issue.

The Israel Lobby Archive, http://IRmep.org/ila, is a unit of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington.

 

The United States Government.. says that AIPAC needed to register as a??? American Citizen?

So.. the Truth would be closer to.. Israel is a VERY SAVY Foriegn Power with DECADES of Practice Circumventing America's Laws!

The Largest Lobby is still Wall Street!

The Second Largest Lobby is still the Jewish Lobby!!

and the Largest Lobby's STILL! get the Most Money out of Washington DC.

 

Here is a LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGG list of AIPAC PLUS! http://irmep.org/ila/About/news.htm so much for being Americans!

 

I am waiting for anyone to show me numbers to the contrary!

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:51 | 2316902 bobola
bobola's picture

Craigslist FREE. 

Their FREE STUFF section is awesome.

Just looked at a FREE ad giving away severl boxes of books and CD's near where I work.

Could go there now on the bike and get some, but would have to hide it from wife when hauling the stuff into the house.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:12 | 2316903 WAMO556
WAMO556's picture

East coast or West Coast??????    F@#$ the Bullsh!T, when you went on libo, what was the game plan - drink beer and get laid!!!! Here is what I would say - bring 1st, 5th, 7th and 11th Marine Regiments (minus the hq fags) to New York and let these young barbarians do GOD'S WORK - for real. Not like that pussy Blankfield or whatever his name is... Having those 4 Regiments of babyfaced heartbrakers and lifetakers would go over like a ATOMIC BOMB in the city. Probably why they keep these men locked away in some of the worst shitholes anyone can think of - LSA MATILDA comes to my mind!

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:11 | 2316905 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-august-18-2011/world-of-class-warfare---the-poor-s-free-ride-is-over

 

2.5% of the Wealth of America.. Represents the Total WEALTH of America's Poor.. Poor is being defined as; a Family of 4 that lives on $20,000 (and some change) a year. The Idea is to TAX! this Family of 4 by 50%.. 50% of the total income. which equates to $700 billion Dollars.. (the Poor of America have a total of $1.4 Trillion)..

The reason behind Taxing the Poor for 50% of their Total income.. is because the Richest of the Rich do NOT! want to pay and extra 2% in Taxes..

So the Poor of America.. defined as a Family of 4 Living on $20,000 and change a year.. should now live on $10k and change a year.. so that the Richest of the Rich don’t have a 2% Increase in their Tax Rate... baring in Mind that the Richest of the Rich pay 5% - 10% - 14% (in Romneys case and he has a $40m - $60m yearly income)..

While the working class pay closer to 30%..

So the Working Class! gets stuck, AGAIN! and the Poor! who are already suffering should Bleed from their eyes! all so the Richest of the Rich don’t have to pay and extra 2%..

Please.. when everyone wakes up and is ready to EAT! THE!! RICH!!! because there is Nothing left for the Working Class and the Poor to Eat! let me know.. I want to record it.. document.. what happens when 100,000 people .. screw over 300,000,000 so bad that they have to exact Justice outside of the Lobby Whores Judicial.. that says! Money is Free Speech and Corporations are People!

Everyone is about to start getting more hungry! while the Rich move their money off shore (more than they already have) and move to New Zealand!

 

When the We the People take back America and re-instate the Constitution.. I will be lobbying NIGHT! AND!! DAY!!  To use our New Super Carriers and Cruise Missiles to exact Justice on the Rich who have Robbed America Blind!

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:30 | 2316982 lazarus
lazarus's picture

Please quiet down, I'm watching Dancing With the Stars.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:53 | 2317068 Beam Me Up Scotty
Beam Me Up Scotty's picture

Why are there families of 4 making $20,000?  If you and your wife can only pull down $20k you shouldnt be having any fucking kids for starters, you can't afford them.  Where do people get off thinking it is their god given right to procreate if they can afford to take care of their kids?  Kids are expensive.  I have my hands full taking care of the 2 I have.  Don't worry, you won't have to pay a cent for my kids.  My wife and I waited until we were financially stable to have kids and stopped at two.  Most people don't give one thought to the financial ramifications of children, mommy just decides she wants a baby and what mommy wants mommy gets, money be damned.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:33 | 2317210 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

first.. I agree..

second.. and WAYYYY! more important!

Children in America should not go Hungry becuase they have STUPID Parents!

and considering America has Trillions to give away to Wall Street!

I think we can EASILY! feed the Children here..

or!!

the Veterans that the Military has shit out!

LIKE!! ------ >  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU_4X1MudMY

 

So.. taking care of our own.. instead of the Highest Bidding Lobby Group on Wall Street? or is that not capitalist enough for you.. is that to, too Commie for ya?

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:57 | 2317277 Beam Me Up Scotty
Beam Me Up Scotty's picture

Too commie for me.  Whats the highest bidding lobby group on wall street have to do with people taking some personal responsibility and not having kids if they can't afford them.?  This is exactly the kind of shit that causes our big fat grossly obese gubbamint to think that it should get even bigger and even fatter.  No one wants to tell mommy that she shouldnt be having kids when she is making $10k/year.  They just want to pad her fat ass with a check for her vote.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:15 | 2317322 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

you..

Rockefeller... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClqUcScwnn8

and!

Bill Gates! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syHdzFVaSz8

should have a cricle jerk.

maybe you are a Billionaire? and thats the problem? or could it be working class brain washed envy?

answer these questions..

is Financial Regulation bad or good? or other.

is Money Free Speech?

should the top 1% pay the percentage that the working class pays? or should everyone pay the same percentage amount? like 5% / 10% / 30%..

and if you dont think taxes should be paid.. and that austerity is the way to go!

go to africa and live with your fellow animals! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iivVKJbtTgs&feature=plcp&context=C43b20afVDvjVQa1PpcFOBY1dfiWeDzSpsaRVjk5-iMyBNDmMldlc%3D

all the Tax Free, Austerity and Law of the Jungle Shit you want!

But you will not turn my Country into any more of a thrid world shit hole that has already been allowed to happen!

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:32 | 2317366 Beam Me Up Scotty
Beam Me Up Scotty's picture

Oh I am no billionaire dont worry.  I go to work every fucking day.  If you think I am advocating for TBTF and all the shit that entails, you are wrong.  The banks can all go down in flames, I could care less.  Same goes for any big business that is poorly run.  But there are also a bunch of fat assed losers in the bottom 50% of this country that vote for me to pay more taxes so they can have more babies.  Thats the problem I have with your line of thinking.  You think all problems will be solved by jacking up the taxes on the rich.  Take everything they have dude, take it all.  It won't run your beloved bloated governement for one year.  Then what?  Couples making $250k/year aren't living like Bill Gates or the Rockefellers.  But you want to tax them like they do. 

There are rich parasites and there are poor parasites.   There are one hell of alot more poor parasites than rich ones, but they are parasites none the less.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 16:27 | 2317498 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

There are rich parasites and there are poor parasites. There are one hell of alot more poor parasites than rich ones, but they are parasites none the less.

The Rich Welfare Types cost America 4 times more than the U.S. Military.

It looks like you have the desire to know the truth.. so I will share the FACTS.. Numerical.. Facts..

My favorite.. is TARP.. which was $800 billion (I am not going to start off in the $16 trillion dollars that Wall Street gobbled up in 2 years).

Un-employment costs America $1 Billion dolar per 10% of un-employed collecting benefits.

so with a 20% (which is now 30% or better I am sure) it would be a $2 Billion dollar a month tab for all of those LOSERS! withiout a Job!

so.. $2 Billion Dollars.. multiplied by 12 months.. equals.. $24 Billion dollars a Year..

So.. how many years could America carry its un-emploed workers.. just using the first bank bailout, TARP.. of $800 Billion?

24 divided into 800? ='s 33.33 Years of coverage for America's unemployed.

Now lets move on to some BIG Numbers.. enough of these small numbers!

$16 trillion in Printing.. over a 2 year span.. Congress MADE the Federal Reserve open its books!

I know he is a silly Liberal.. but you will find all the sourced and sited material you need to justify in your own mind.. how the Federal Reserve provided $16 trillion in 2 years to Wall Street!

Now this is NOT! the National Debt! that took decades to get to $15 trillion.. this is ONLY! two (2) years of printing for Wall Street..

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=9e2a4ea8-6e73-4be2-a753-62060dcbb3c3

here is the PDF with all the numbers for you.. http://www.sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/GAO%20Fed%20Investigation.pdf

 

So.. the Poor of America.. who have been sucking America dry of its wealth for generation upon generation.. or so you have been dumbed down with.. by corporate owned media.. are really not costing America very much at all.. in comparison to say.. General Electric.. they bring good things to life!

 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2011/03/25/ge-pays-no-taxes.html

 

Not only did General Electric pay NO Taxes!!

G.E. collected on how many Billions in Tax Credits?? While they paid no taxes?? Plus subsidies.. plus a Government Guarantee for the Bonds they were selling? WOW!! Tax Payer Backed Bond Sales.. and the tax Payer Participation for shouldering that responsibility was? 

https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=Xw#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=general+electric+Federal+30%25+Investment+Tax+Credit+and+Monetized+Grant+(USA)

 

I could go on to describe the matching Federal Dollars.. for Community sized projects.. but I don’t want to get stuck on something that is not the point..

 

The Trillions.. tens of trillions.. a hundred trillions PLUS dollars! Has been poured into Wall Street.. all for 0.25% interest rates.. and with the Tax Incentive.. it actually pays to barrow the money.. so! SUB zero actual rate.. that Pays you! To barrow..

 

But it is the poor people? Food stamps??

Do you know why food stamps or the program is around?

Do you think a group of people from public housing got together and passed the  hat? And then consensus built to govern the lobby?

 

How about JP Morgan makes money creating debt out of thin air for the food stamp program? Does it make more sense that one of the largest lobbying banks wants to make money giving debt away..

 

The Poor have NO POWER!

The POOR have NOTHING!

The Poor represent 2.5% of the Wealth in America! So where is the GREAT BIG WEALTH TRANSFER?? It does not exist.. except in a Bunch of Sheepeoples heads! Who want real bad to blame it on the Poor people! Those Welfare Types who don’t have a past, a future and or a pot to piss in or a window to through it out of!

 

Wall Street.. General Electric.. who owns.. NBC, CNBC, MSNBC and the list of Corporate owned Media could go on and on..

 

Wall Street has sold you the idea that the POOR! Did it! And the POOR! Did not!

I will say this again.. and see if it makes more sense now..

 

The Largest Lobby’s get the Most Money!! From the Federal Government!

 

Do you see it better now?

 

The ideas that Madison Ave. Via Corporate Owned Media Sell the Sheepeople is a LIE!

 

You have been lied too! And because you would rather blame the POOR! For fucking you over and holding you back than the People in Charge! You believed it.. it is an easy lie to buy into! For Everyone! ‘

 

I was once just like you..

 

So, be fore warned.. Ignorance is Bliss! And the Truth is Ugly!

 

At the end of the day.. the powerful people.. are the people robbing you blind.. the poor people who don’t have shit.. including power. Poor people have no power over you.. but maybe you can go and participate in the poor killing the poor plan for the rich! You are using to many natural resources! LOL

 

 

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 17:06 | 2317616 Beam Me Up Scotty
Beam Me Up Scotty's picture

You must be one of the unemployed, you post these amazingly long posts, and you have littered this thread with them.  I am not absolving Wall Street of anything by pointing out that there shouldnt be ANY such thing as a family of 4 making $20,000/year.  The fact of the matter is, poor people do have the ability and the right to vote.  And you know who they vote for by and large?  The people that are going to keep the handouts coming.  Those happen to be the very same people that keep the handouts going to Wall Street.  All I am saying is quit making excuses for the so called poor.  Most people end up where they are in life because of POOR decision making.  This is a prime example.  You make 20k/year and have 2 kids.  Now you have no job mobility, because you can't afford to move.  You just put yourself into a paycheck to paycheck situation.  Thats POOR decision making.

Quit exempting the poor from personal responsiblity because you are out to rant about the rich.  You really think the top 1% is the problem?  Its more like the top .001%.  Couples making $250K/year aren't the top 1% either, but you think their taxes should be jacked up too.

So, lets stick to the facts, and the fact is, if you and your wife are only making $20k/year, hold off on the kids.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 17:18 | 2317641 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

There are rich parasites and there are poor parasites. There are one hell of alot more poor parasites than rich ones, but they are parasites none the less.

This is what YOU siad. I was trying to help you not be so fucking stupid.

as far as being un-employed.. I will go K-1 for K-1 with anyone you personaly know.

and then to the end of your deciding to stay in the Follow Your Feelings Camp.. yes, poor people should plan ahead.. minus an educaton I dont see it happening..

maybe we can take 1% or 2% from the $100 Trillion Pissed away on Wall Street to educate the poor in America.. and feed them.. and take care of the Vet's! too!!

but.. I know.. you are happier in that special place where numerical facts dont matter.. just your being right!

WAKE UP!

Stupid People are the FUCKING Problem in this Country!

and those who decide to stay stupid? are even worse!

 

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 05:33 | 2318757 Havana White
Havana White's picture

Beam... Your thinking -- and a great many share it -- is very saddening.  It's a view seen through a singular lens -- your own experience.  There are only so many good jobs available.  It should be mentioned in this discussion that the middle class began shrinking rapidly when so many of their jobs were sent overseas.  It used to be that in America most men willing to work could support a family of four.  Not so much anymore.  People of average intellgence or below, who may have been raised poor and had to work in order to eat rather than receive the benefits of higher education.  Marriage and raising children are amongst the most beautiful, loving and rewarding elements of life.  To say that a couple who can't get better than near minimum wage jobs but who work hard and do their best to build a future on what they earn, should absolutely not be placed at the mercy of those who think like you do.  How dare you presume that you're free to raise a family and they're not.  I'm not arguing for the freeloaders here.  I'm defending those who do their very best with what they're capable of doing, in the best jobs they can find, those who DO pull themselves up by their bootstraps, set the alarm early, wait for a bus, work a long day at what may be a difficult, dirty job, for 8 or 9 dollars an hour, maybe even less, often without healthcare or any other benefits. $320 a week before payroll and other taxes.  $250 takehome, maybe?  Do you know what these people are?  They're heroes, goddamit, for working as hjard as anyone else but earning less, having less, and getting the least respect, all things considered from the smarter, the more fortunate.  This very scenario is the heart of the 1% problem.  They're doing better than ever while the poor are getting squeezed worse than ever.  Squeezed so bad that many couples, both working full-time, can't support a family.  And you put the blame on them?  Fault them for having two kids?  Come on, recognize the real problem take an honorable stand.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 18:50 | 2317867 Cathartes Aura
Cathartes Aura's picture

while I'm in agreement that people need to think before breeding - unless "mommy" is the virgin mary, "daddy" parked some sperm where the sun don't shine, and needs to be factored into the creation process dude.

and if "daddy" can't say no to "mommy" then daddy needs to stop fck'g around.

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 05:37 | 2318759 Havana White
Havana White's picture

Spare us the idiocy.

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 16:27 | 2320380 Cathartes Aura
Cathartes Aura's picture

dude, it's not MY sperm being spread like johnny's appleseeds. . .

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:16 | 2317149 SWCroaker
SWCroaker's picture

You really need to work on your Venn Diagrams exercises.  That or I really need to polish my /sarc detectors.

 

I'll go over it again, as you seem to keep missing the point.  When two circles, A and B, overlap in a lens shaped intersection, it means that SOME of the members of A are also members of B.   Only when one circle (say B) is contained in another (say A) can you conclude that all members of B are also members of A.

I am one of your "Rich".  I can certainly see there is a group out there best described as "evil elites who have been bending the mass over a barrel for generations".  I am a member of the first circle, but I am not in any fashion near the intersection of that circle with the one you wish to have nuked.  If you can in any way conceive that it is possible for an individual in our country to become "rich" without arriving at that state through being an evil opportunistic elite, then you would do everyone a favor by better focusing your ire in future tirades.

 

Do I want the masses to pay taxes?  Um, yes.  I hate taxes; abhor them.  I think the country should up and rebel and demand that government cease and desist rampant profligate spending on things that are none of their business, to the benefit of themselves and their connected friends.  I think a legally mandated cap on taxes of about 10% would be a lovely start that would really force government to learn to live with limited power and within a limited budget.  I've arrived at a position supporting an across the board flat tax because I a) have ample "skin in the game" through my copious contributions, and b) asses that I am getting extremely shafted when it comes to "return on my money", and c) as an extreme numerical minority I have no support in my attempts to enact change. 

Right now the "progressive" nature of our tax system, where half the population ultimately pays nothing in, is being used by the elites you detest to ensure a massive voting block of receivers of state handouts who will support any elite who promises to increase the number of chickens in every pot, by the simple expedient of abusing some group that is a numerical minority.  America no longer stands for the rights of individuals to their freedom and property; we now exemplify the greed of a mob that recognizes they outnumber some few, and can make their theft from those few "legal" by popular acclaim.

 

Desiring to "eat the rich" is merely pushing the already broken system to be even more extremely broken.  You decry that they are rich by being connected, and yet want to give the importance of that very same influential connectedness even more power.  This is one of the few items that make me suspect you were in fact hoping the /sarc tags would be perhaps obvious.

 

But if *everyone* paid in, if *everyone* felt my pain, then I'd have plenty of people with me sharing utter disgust at the perpetual shafting by corrupt and bloated governance.  Maybe then I'd enjoy the numerical power to effect actual change.  I think "America: live here, pay to make it work, take a freakin' serious interest in what your government is up to" is a nice national motto.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:20 | 2317180 WAMO556
WAMO556's picture

I wonder if the rich taste lick CHICKEN or BEEF. Stewed, Fricaseed, boiled, fried, baked, broiled, BBQ'ed over a slow fire - Who wants the leg??? Do I really need to put the SARC tags for you to figure out that it is SARC??? Just saying! Pass the Old Bay Seasoning!

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:35 | 2317216 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

I Love You Bro!! and lets go out to Dinner! I am feeling like a Big Texas Steak! maybe some back strap from ALL! of the Bush's?

Who wants to drive to Texas and eat some Bush?

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:23 | 2317345 maximin thrax
maximin thrax's picture

Re-instate the Constitution? Where in the Constitution does it rquire direct money transfer from the haves to the have nots? Where in the Constitution are the poor guaranteed a free ride while at the same time getting to vote in politicians promising to increase largess?

The poor can't pay what they don't have, so a tax on the poor is pointless. Whatever they need to survive will be provided by some government program, which will alway make the poorest net takers. And any money that the rich are asked to pay in additional taxes - please pay particular attention to this - will be recaptured when their bought-and-paid-for government turns its back on their criminal activity designed to liberate even more money from the poor and middle classes for the benefit of the rich. Government makes its money off the rich, and being reluctant to tax the middle class and unable to tax the poor, devises indirect taxes in the form of increased debt servitude by the lower classes for the wealthiest, and thus for government's, benefit.

The wealthiest 1 percent of Americans claim 20% of adjusted gross income but pay 38% of federal income taxes, or 180% of their share. The poorest 50% claim 12.5% of income but pay only 2.5% of income taxes, or 20% of their share. It behoves the federal government that those in the highest tax brackets make as much money as possible, as often as possible, and by any means possible. And that income comes from you.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:12 | 2316907 TheMuppet
TheMuppet's picture

"Corporations are people".  Well if you believe that, you lost me there.

You'll change my mind when I see this "corporation-person" on Death Row, awaiting lethal injection.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:33 | 2316992 Goner
Goner's picture

He talking about campaign finance reform (or lack of) and the courts decision that corporations are people. He is not advocating that corporations are people but I agree its not very clear.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_personhood

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:42 | 2317236 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

TheMuppet

Yes.. I am sorry Muppet.. I should have been more clear.. I want to carve up the to big to fails.. and claw back everything the powers that be have stole and re-invest it in America..

I want to hang the Exectuives, the Board Members and the Majority Share Holders on the Whote House Lawn for TREASON! not only against America.. but against Humanity!

I want the Truth! out in the open! on ALL things.. except Military keeping America safe type stuff!

I want the Consitution re-Instated.. considering you can NOT! protest the government! LOL on Government Property! http://www.inquisitr.com/206017/president-obama-signs-anti-protest-bill-h-r-347/

King Obama says NO PROTESTING where he can see it! or you go to jail!

dont worry! Trayvon is coming back from the Grave for your guns!

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:26 | 2316912 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

 

The Majority of Wall Street Corporations are Managed by Jews!

The Jews! on Wall Street are going to get MORE! FREE!! MONEY!!

You Goy Slaves will get the Tab for ANYTHING!! that does NOT! Make Money!

The JEWS! socialize Losses! and Privatize Profits!

Now if anyone would like to Prove to me that Wall Street is NOT! MOJORITY (by a LONG SHOT! not even close.) of JEWS! who are once again getting FREE MONEY!!

and that this some how has NOTHING! to do with the Amount of Lobby Dollars poured into the Lobby Whores Pockets in Washington DC? I am all ears.

But the TRUTH! whether AIPAC http://www.aipac.org/en likes for the MASSES to KNOW the TRUTH or NOT!

is that the Jewish Lobby is the 2nd Largest Lobby behind ONLY! Wall Street which is in FACT! Majority Managed by JEWS!

http://www.opensecrets.org/usearch/index.php?q=financial

http://www.opensecrets.org/usearch/index.php?q=jewish

The FACT that the JEWS LOBBY MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE IN AMERICA!! BY A LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG SHOT!

and then are SHOWERED with FREE MONEY!! that WE the Sheepeople are responsible for! (in case of a loss ONLY!)

Should not make me anything except someone who is POINTING OUT THE TRUTH!

But the TRUTH in America.. is Un-Wanted! only Corruption and LIES!! will be placed in the Spot Light Only!!

Heavy Rotation! is where the LIES need to be!

Truth and or Numerical FACTS! are NOT! desirable!

 

The FACT! that ISRAEL has NEVER!! had an IAEA Inspection?? http://www.iaea.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikgLMm-iKqM

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:28 | 2316972 Judge Arrow
Judge Arrow's picture

I think it is spelled Joos - do that and re-read your post - won't be a dry eye in the place. Drinks all around!

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 16:43 | 2317024 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

Silence!

There will be NO! Truth!! allowed from You Goy Slave!

You can speak when you develop a Multi-Billion Dollar Lobby that Controls Washington DC!

Until then! NOTHING FROM YOU will be Televised in Heavy Rotation! thusly the Blissfully Ignorant Masses will remain Truth Free!

Know Your Place!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNQtQk6jw6U

No Vactions for you either!

You and Jimmy Carter are NAZI's! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBJgaBe5NgM&feature=related / http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDKw0f95k7Q&feature=related

Free Palestine!

Israel was given Land by England! NOT! God!

Israel does NOT! Like American Jews! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BchPYHxClbQ Where is AIPAC! Oops! AIPAC ONLY RAIDS Memembers of Congress or the Senate!

Oops! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BZ-Ye0nTGo not the National Press Club! they are ALL! NAZI's! But for $3 Trilion in Aide I would consider being Jewish too!

 

http://mearsheimer.uchicago.edu/pdfs/A0040.pdf

The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy[1] is the title of a book by John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, published in late August 2007. It was a New York Times Best Seller.[2]

The book describes the lobby as a "loose coalition of individuals and organizations who actively work to steer U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction".[3] The book "focuses primarily on the lobby's influence on U.S. foreign policy and its negative effect on American interests".[4] The authors also argue that "the lobby's impact has been unintentionally harmful to Israel as well".[5]

The authors argue that although "the boundaries of the Israel lobby cannot be identified precisely", it "has a core consisting of organizations whose declared purpose is to encourage the U.S. government and the American public to provide material aid to Israel and to support its government's policies, as well as influential individuals for whom these goals are also a top priority".[6] They note that "not..every American with a favorable attitude to Israel is part of the lobby",[6] and that although "the bulk of the lobby is comprised of Jewish Americans",[7] there are many American Jews who are not part of the lobby, and the lobby also includes Christian Zionists.[8] They also claim a drift of important groups in "the lobby" to the right,[9] and overlap with the neoconservatives.[10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Israel_Lobby_and_U.S._Foreign_Policy

 

hows that for some SECRET AMERICAN DIRTY LAUNDRY?? Israel Lobby Archive News http://irmep.org/ila/About/news.htm

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:14 | 2316914 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

Free Speech is Money!

 

Corporations are People!!

 

ALL of the above is CLEARLY SPELLED OUT IN THE Constitution.

 

Lets ALL! HOPE! and Pray that Procedural Law Continues to Privatize America for the Rich!

 

Who needs the Constitution? it is not very profitable to follow the Higher Laws. Procedural Law is so MUCH! more Flexible.. thusly so very much more Profitable for the Justices old Law Offices and their Off Shore Trusts! Shhhhhh! don’t tell anyone.

 

Conservative Justices who Swore before Congress that they would LEAD! The Court ONLY in Strict interpretations of the Constitution.. have Thrown out the Constitution in Favor! of the Multi – Billion Dollar Lobby Efforts! of Big Business..

Thank God the Sheepeople are too busy letting Corporate owned media wash over them repeatedly! On subjects honed by Madison Ave, multi-market tested Meme’s that reach the masses way down in the pits of their stomachs! The Masses are to be lead around by their feelings!  Thusly ignorant of the World around them.. blissfully ignorant of the world around them.

 

How many times have the Justices sided with their Old Law Firm.. or for a Group who had consulted with the Justices old Law Group?

Those Numbers will NEVER! EVER!! see the light of day, let alone heavy rotation on media channels owed by General Electric.. or other Corporate owned media conglomerate.

But I am sure there are so very many “Official” news releases that NEED! To be in Heavy Rotation!

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:34 | 2317375 maximin thrax
maximin thrax's picture

You'd better be happy that, when it comes to a Constitutional issue like free speech, corporations are people. Without that, the Bill of Rights would not apply to corporations, and in a corporate culture such as we have it would be impossible to reign in Federal power. What good is having the right to vote if the corporation you work for is told to fire anyone who doesn't vote for a particular candidate? What good is free speech for the individual if the government can sanction a corporation for something you said or wrote and will only lift said sanction once you are no longer employed? What if the Federal government slapped fees, taxes and fines willy-nilly on corporations, which hurting their bottom line result in smaller paychecks for their employees? There are many ways a government can have full control of the population indirectly by exercising power over the corporations that employ them. Without corporate personhood you will get a full-on fascist state.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 16:53 | 2317585 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

The Constitution is DEAD!

Obama is finishing off what Bush, I mean Clinton, I mean Bush.. well all the way back to Tricky DICK! started!

The War for America's Soul is coming..

I woud encourage all instead of killing your fellow poor, non-lucky sperm club brothers and sisters.. that you concentrate your fire power on those who have really held you down.

 

poor People dont have the poor to hold you down. they never did! and they never will! they dont know how too!

 

President Obama Signs “Anti-Protest” Bill H.R. 347


Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/206017/president-obama-signs-anti-protest-bill-h-r-347/#vFSDkb9iRKB10rIl.99

“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.”

The American Constitution is DEAD! Procedural Law now Fully and Publicly over rides Higher Law!

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 20:40 | 2318080 maximin thrax
maximin thrax's picture

"poor People dont have the poor to hold you down. they never did! and they never will! they dont know how too!"

Just wrong. We are all slaves whose labor is transferred via government to those who didn't earn it. That's the definition of slavery. And who populated that government with politicians who believe wealth distribution a fundamental federal function? The poor, and those middle class who are concerned for their own ability to provide for themselves.

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:44 | 2316915 Mercury
Mercury's picture

12. "Environmental" rent-seeking and regulatory overreach - especially at the "retail" level of the individual citizen.

Pretty much everything you might want to do “outside” these days is a potential criminal offense – as determined by laws and regulations created out of thin air by unaccountable bureaucrats that no one ever elected. 

Want to pile one rock on top of another in your own backyard? – better get a permit for that and an environmental impact study, red tape, time, hassle, fees etc. and hope to God that nothing is “wet” because that’s a whole ‘nuther circle of hell.

 
Someone with money to burn can (sometimes) lawyer or pay his way through this crap easily enough but these same hurdles are a bigger deal for the less well-off so its effectively a regressive tax on the pursuit of happiness. 

Anti-terrorism authority is starting to overlap with environmental crime authority too.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:17 | 2316925 KickIce
KickIce's picture

Laws not applied uniformly

Bailouts

Government programs designed to create bubbles

 

*  McCarthy was right.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:18 | 2316928 zuuma
zuuma's picture

The USA is like a ship, steaming through the ether of time. We - its passengers of this moment - fall into three groups:

Propellers; Passengers; & Anchors. (wish I could remember the 90's business guru who came up with that. oh well)

I work in private-sector manufacturing. I make stuff from raw materials. I am a Propeller.

A small one, maybe, but still adding to GDP.

I get no government checks whatsoever, thus, I am supporting several Anchors.

 

I'm not an economist, but I do know this, If we encourage too many Anchors, we will get nowhere.

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:19 | 2317175 Beam Me Up Scotty
Beam Me Up Scotty's picture

What is going to happen to the wagon when the horses decide they want to ride in the wagon too?

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:18 | 2316932 eddiebe
eddiebe's picture

 The fraud and deceit and greed is so pervasive, it would considerably shorten the list to just post what is right about America anymore. So sad.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:24 | 2316934 Wakanda
Wakanda's picture

Smells like the Second American Revolution - coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

Imposing a fascist regime upon a populace that was "taught" it was free, and "taught" that the founding principal of the US is individual liberty, is a really bad idea.

Lots of angry folks out here...

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 18:56 | 2317878 Cathartes Aura
Cathartes Aura's picture

history (past century kind) says people will just turn on each other, good citizens that they are. . .

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:19 | 2316936 Bob Sacamano
Bob Sacamano's picture

Re:  "I love what the Founding Fathers of our country set out to accomplish........ 5. Electoral college - We do not have a popular vote.  The masses just simply can't be trusted."

 

Those two conflict.  The Founders clearly thought democracy was akin to mob rule by the masses hence they set up a republic as a check on such.  But we are slowly transforming into a democracy (e.g., which is why we now individually vote for US Senators rather than State Legislatures voting for US Senators as they did 100 years ago).  The rush to "democracy" will make it more fun when a clear majority are takers from the federal government coffers and the givers are in the clear minority - we are pretty much there.  Let the mob rule begin. 

 

Re: "6. Campaign finance - Corporations are people.  Seriously."   Let's make a deal.  Stop taxing corporations and take away their free speech rights.  They will not want the same level of influence if they paid no taxes.  More importantly, the corporate tax just hides the taxes individuals pay in the price of their products / services (in the end corporations don't pay taxes).   All taxes should be paid at the individual level -- then we would better appreciate the cost of this government (more transparency) and maybe a few more people would think the government takes too much.  

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:20 | 2316937 carbonmutant
carbonmutant's picture

John Q Public is not allowed to be in control because he doesn't know what the "real issues" are.

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:21 | 2316941 Turin Turambar
Turin Turambar's picture

People believe in the illusion of freedom here in the US because they think they have freedom of choice, but if the government is deciding what the options are from which you can choose, are you really free?

I would hope the answer to the question would be obvious, but alas, I wouldn't bet my life on it.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:22 | 2316943 peekcrackers
peekcrackers's picture

as i read that post I could hear the racking of millons shotgun's acorss the states

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:51 | 2317062 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

No that was the sound my AR charging handle being pulled back.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:35 | 2317217 KickIce
KickIce's picture

FEMA, Homeland Security and foreign troops perparing to deploy.  :)

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:07 | 2317306 TheFourthStooge-ing
TheFourthStooge-ing's picture

.

FEMA, Homeland Security and foreign troops

Also known as "red shirts". (Based on the original Star Trek TV series, wherein the expendable characters that beamed down to the planet with Kirk and were invariably killed off, wore red shirts.)

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:24 | 2316946 CH1
CH1's picture

Umm.. hello...

"Sacrifice for the collective."

"Die for your country."

"Our legitimate rulers."  (This one is more or less the root of all evil.)

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:33 | 2316988 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

 

 

The substitution of leaders for representatives was a big turn for the worse in this nation.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:25 | 2316958 Money_for_Nothing
Money_for_Nothing's picture

After the election Obama comes out of the closet.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:26 | 2316962 whirlybird rules
whirlybird rules's picture

R.M. - you rock.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:26 | 2316964 Dicite justitiam
Dicite justitiam's picture

Concise, brutal summation.

The dirty laundry that is bugging me these days is that I cannot escape the conclusion that the fiscal plumbing itself is disintigrating.

Consider:

1) The premise of monetary settlement is trust.  For example, if I am the person responsible to settle an exchange between banks of $100M, both banks must trust that I will deliver the promised amount.  Both counterparties must trust each other that the pledged collateral or principal is valid.

2) Settlements are becoming less trustworthy except among an inner circle with access, authority, and control.  Examples: Lehman last minute settlements before bankruptcy, MF Global.

3) Those responsible for settlements are becoming less trustworthy.  Corzine is the most recent and striking example.  He was 'the smartest guy in the room' with unfettered access, authority, and control.  The most reliable fiscal plumbing system is premised on the integrity of the person in the role of trustee who has access and authority to conduct equitable settlements.

Point: despite the obvious systemic issues of unsustainable deficit, exponentiating debt, declining revenue, and sliding productivity, there is a yet graver immediate concern.  That concern is that the circle of trust must now begin to shrink, and alternate forms of settlement are imperative for those outside of that inner circle.

Some new form of fiscal plumbing will emerge, it must.  Transfers and exchanges of value cannot be denied, they will only localize as a function of trust and confidence.  Until the next confidence lattice emerges, counterparties will be increasingly paralyzed until that trust is restored.

It will be a transitory era marked by two frames of wealth/value ideation: localized value and fictive value.  The great surplusage of fiat will continue to somewhat bolster the illusion required for confidence in the disintigrating fiscal system that relies on increasing fictive value; however, fewer participants will rely on it.  OTOH, more and more individuals will determine themselves far enough outside the circle of trust to justify more localized value lattices.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 20:05 | 2318019 Raging Debate
Raging Debate's picture

Cojent argument Decite. In your pondering have you considered the outcome like the Soviet Union? Eventually, competition is permitted then encouraged. Until then I do believe Americans will grow poorer through inflation.

Is there a breaking point? Sure, but it could be several years away and a few more years afterward until recovery. I put my marbles of 2021. Geopolitics could change the timing and delay a competetive environment.

Point: At the core the problem with America is bribing the legislative to lock out competition. The heavy hand of the Judiciary and Executive punatively punish those that are bright and just MAY give a run for the money.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:27 | 2316970 Lord Blankcheck
Lord Blankcheck's picture

12.You have the right to assemble peacefully. Only if you apply and recieve a permit from the Government.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:25 | 2317184 DosZap
DosZap's picture

You have the right to assemble peacefully. Only if you apply and recieve a permit from the Government.

No, you USED to without a permit, now with a Permit, if a Secret Service agent decides he/she does not like what you are saying, its an automatic FELONY 1yr in prison....................

So there goes your right of redress, and assembly.

You can still assemble, you just cannot say anything to a Rep, if SS is present.

Thanks OBlameO........

Another Bill passed murdering the BOR's, and in secret.................we learn of it after the fact.

Bottom line,you shut up period, or get arrested, or go down in a hail of gunfire.

Then you shall surely be free.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 16:49 | 2317570 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

President Obama Signs “Anti-Protest” Bill H.R. 347


Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/206017/president-obama-signs-anti-protest-bill-h-r-347/#vFSDkb9iRKB10rIl.99

“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.”

The American Constitution is DEAD! Procedural Law now Fully and Publicly over rides Higher Law!

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:28 | 2316971 sschu
sschu's picture

 Electoral college - We do not have a popular vote.

This is indeed a good thing and was a major point of the founders.  Pure democracy is not the right approach, I would submit that the problem we face is often our representatives are too responsive.  The "do something" mentality where we now have permanent administrative functions, professional legislatures and endless laws is a major problem.

Give me far less government, let the people figure out how to solve their problems or let state/local governments try different things.  

sschu

 


Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:43 | 2317022 Beam Me Up Scotty
Beam Me Up Scotty's picture

Glad you brought up the Electoral college.  If we didn't have that, then the POTUS would be elected, and controlled by the big states/populous states at the expense of the smaller states.   Its already that way to a certain extent, but if you eliminated it,  if you lived in a small state, you would have no voice, let alone a small voice. 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:29 | 2316977 wisefool
wisefool's picture

Hopefully, all the Jewish mothers will protect our #1 retard that we named Timmay. And I will not stand in the waylon.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:31 | 2316984 monopoly
monopoly's picture

We are so screwed.

And off topic, this market starting to make sense. But at 3:30, We all know what will happen.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:33 | 2316987 monopoly
monopoly's picture

We are going to need more I pads and bigger Burritos. Help.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:33 | 2316994 Sophist Economicus
Sophist Economicus's picture

Roger, you are misinformed about currency use. Except for taxes or any other dealing with government agencies, private transactions can occur in any currency, including precious metals

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:39 | 2317001 Paul451
Paul451's picture

Two items on "the list": [1] Follow the Constitution and [2] See Rule 1.

 

Do that, and the rest follows. The Old Dead White Guys got it right the first time.

 The Electoral College is just fine as it is. We are NOT a Democracy. We're a Democracy in a Republic. Or, at least, that's what we used to be.

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch." -Benjamin Franklin

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:59 | 2317435 forexskin
forexskin's picture

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch." -Benjamin Franklin

yup, i use that one all the time.

another handy turn of phrase for the red state / blue state clones:

"why would you want bigger government when someone with whom you disagree gets in control of it four years from now?"

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:36 | 2317007 blu
blu's picture

The Romans probably had a similar list going into the end. A long list of all the things that were broke. They stood around on street corners and discussed the broken things, argued about them, had some wine, went to the baths.

Well those things stayed broke, didn't they. There is no "Empire of Rome" now.

Because the list didn't matter, nor did the arguments about it. What was broken was their empire. All of it, all through and all the way down. Not part of it, not a bit of it, not some institution or even a lot of institutions.

Their empire was broken.

So too the USofA.

We are the new Ozymandius. Look upon our works, and despair.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:04 | 2317295 skepticCarl
skepticCarl's picture

The citizens of modern Rome don't give a fig about the fact that the ancient Roman empire didn't survive.  Life goes on for the 99%, maybe even better, in a non-empire.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:37 | 2317010 WhyDoesItHurtWh...
WhyDoesItHurtWhen iPee's picture

 

 

"government is the entertainment branch of the Miltary Industrial Complex"

FZ

The Bernank can go .......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfE_98yy2iw&feature=related

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:40 | 2317020 Zymurguy
Zymurguy's picture

I think your list is dead on... let's start with just numbers one and two.  A lot of the other issues will fall into place after.

My fear is that the only way we'll get the first or second changed is by spilling blood.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:51 | 2317070 OutLookingIn
OutLookingIn's picture

Agree.

Whole heartedly.

I'm now out looking in and what I see scares the buhjebus outta me! And glad I'm out.

USA = Totalitarian, fascist, oligarchal, elitist, military industrial controlled 'democratic experiment' gone horribly wrong. It will not end well. Change will be bloody and VERY painful. The only major unknown at this time is, will this change be for the better or for the worse?  

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:45 | 2317040 nameless narrator
nameless narrator's picture

capitalism is a myth used to control sheep.

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:25 | 2317190 Beam Me Up Scotty
Beam Me Up Scotty's picture

You think we are living in a capitalist society right now?  I've got 3 words for you:

LOL!!

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 03:32 | 2318705 Incubus
Incubus's picture

Capitalism is a fantasy concept.   People are the weakest link in any system. Take communism, or socialism--or whatever -ism.  People just ruin everything.

 

People's stupid visions of their fantasy societies are just that--delusions. 

 

Count on inevitable failure with anything involving humans.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:46 | 2317041 The Beam
The Beam's picture

1st: Dude, I can down combinations Irish Car Bombs, Bottles of Champagne, Jack, Jim, Crown, etc etc etc..... have people flirting, kissing on me, showing tits, AND WHEN I NEED TO FOCUS....I STILL FOCUS!

Priorities and the ability to multitask.

That said, I know where I have to check out my next time in NYC!!!

2nd: Joking a side, I have the inability to put into words how muh I agree with this. So I just have to say, "WELL SAID"!!!

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:46 | 2317043 boogerbently
boogerbently's picture

20- (because the 2 12's and the 13 are duplicates and some entries aren't numbered)

News media- biased and paid for by the same corporations that buy the politicians. Americans vote on what they "think" they know! It could be the ONE AND ONLY way Americans could communicate and change the system. THEY communicate to us, but WE have no method of communicating with each other. The HUGE majority of responses to articles here or on Yahoo want to VOTE THEM ALL OUT, but the same morons keep getting elected.

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:00 | 2317074 Dicite justitiam
Dicite justitiam's picture

A journalist buddy of mine, great writer, told me he detected no bias in AP reporting.

Individual newspapers, channels, and so on?  Sure.  But the entire AP college of news reporters?  No way.

I shared this with him.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 17:10 | 2317624 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

here.. let me help you make your point.. even that much more sharply!

http://irmep.org/ila/About/news.htm

Israel Lobby Archive News

 

how many media outlets spew nothing but LOVE for AIPAC?? ALL DAY EVERY DAY??

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:48 | 2317047 The Alarmist
The Alarmist's picture

My government insists it owns me by asserting the right to tax me regardless of where in the world I live and earn my income, and asserts its right to tax me above and beyond what my host nation takes with little to no regard to treaties that, although deemed to be effected to prevent "double-taxation," always contain "savings clauses" that essentially render many provisions moot for the average American citizen.

6 year AF CCT ... Hoorah!

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:53 | 2317073 wisefool
wisefool's picture

I really am going to go out on the basis that Timmy does not have the right to rule. Einstien is fine. Teleprompter in cheif would work. But when the curcle of violence comes back you are going to find timmay, a,ka, masteblaster.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:50 | 2317053 marcusfenix
marcusfenix's picture

you have the right to assemble en mass, in a public place, to petition the government for a redress of grievances...

so long as the government trained, equipped and funded thugs standing across from you, with guns and riot gear, allow you to gather, occupy or protest.

you see they now absolutely tell us what we can do, what we can't do, when we can do it, for how long we can do it and how much it will cost us, in money and/or blood to do it. 

whoever said "freedom isn't free" was right, just not in the way the statement was originally intended.

we have been slowly transformed from free people to serfs and it started in...

oh, I'd say 1913?

 

 

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:58 | 2317094 Silver Dreamer
Silver Dreamer's picture

Don't forget to get your permit either! har har

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 19:51 | 2317984 psychobilly
psychobilly's picture

It started the second the ink was dry on the Constitution, which was the enabling document.  What a mistake that was.

It didn't take long at all before the tax burden on the newly "free" Americans exceeded that imposed on them by the crown.  The US federal government quickly morphed into a tyranny.

The federal government is the problem and cannot be reformed.  Personally, I have no use for it whatsoever.  If a hole were to open up in the earth and suck everything inside the DC beltway down into its bowels it would be a day of global liberation and celebration.  The "collateral damage" incurred would be a small price to pay in comparison.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:50 | 2317054 Encroaching Darkness
Encroaching Darkness's picture

List away! a) The legal concept of “standing” – usually interpreted as, “You’re not hurt yet (or not likely to be hurt), so you can’t challenge this law in court until you have been. The legal concept of “you are not entitled to self-defense before someone damages you”. b) The selective enforcement of law – anyone who robs a 7-11 has their face (security video) put on TV until they are caught, usually in a few days. John Corzine steals $1.3B from customers and is still walking around free. c) Government as a RICO organization – pick any department, they all are. DOE (Solyndra, Solar Trust) , CFTC (FM Global, JPM shorting silver), USDA (Pigford Farmers settlements, Pink Slime sales) – how long before you can say “It’s all a corrupt show made up of corrupt sideshows”? Oh, wait, the government gets to decide if you can sue it or not…. d) Kelo cratering of property ownership rights by individuals in favor of political entities with a “redevelopment plan”; yeah, that worked out great, didn’t it? More to come when my blood pressure drops back a bit….

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:01 | 2317057 bluebare
bluebare's picture

12. We the Sheeple. Whiny blamers who don’t take the personal and collective responsibility required to control our common destiny by resolving some of these legitimate complaints.

 

13. Unsustainable Debt. Taxation without representation is illegal. But, Congress shows no qualms about stealing the treasure and freedoms of unborn generations and non-voting children and saddling them with excessive burdens tomorrow to coddle themselves and their crybaby friends today.

 

14. War Powers Act. The President has usurped Congress' responsibility to declare war. Thousands of lives and trillions of dollars are now routinely risked in foreign adventures that have not been properly authorized by the American people.

 

15. Military (Political Media Congressional) Industrial Complex. Costs about as much to run as the defense expenditures of all the other nations of the world combined. Diverts a huge share of the GDP into a highly wasteful enterprise of destruction so grand that it is able to perpetuate itself using the enormous largesse of the government subsidies it receives.  The ordinary unsubsidized citizen defenseless from its own Department of Defense.

 

16. Corporate Welfare. Taking taxpayer dollars from lowly you’s and me’s to subsidize big banks, big oil, big pharma, big ag, big auto, and big brother. The current rationalized euphemisms for this are "fair sharing" (Democratic version) and "free enterprise" (Republican version).

 

I could go on but I'm confident that the many more important grievances not listed here will be added others.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:08 | 2317140 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

Corporations Own the Lobby!

The Lobby Owns the Government!

Law Enforcement works for the Duly Elected Lobby Whores!

Thusly, We the People are Screwed!

 

He with the Biggest Lobby Wins!

 

‘Regulatory Discretion’

“Some might claim that the Fed was picking winners and losers, but what the Fed was doing was exercising its professional regulatory discretion,” says John Dearie, a former speechwriter at the New York Fed who’s now executive vice president for policy at the Financial Services Forum, a Washington-based group consisting of the CEOs of 20 of the world’s biggest financial firms. “The Fed clearly felt it had what it needed within the requirements of the law to continue to lend to Bear and Wachovia.”

The bill introduced by Brown and Kaufman in April 2010 would have mandated shrinking the six largest firms.

“When a few banks have advantages, the little guys get squeezed,” Brown says. “That, to me, is not what capitalism should be.”

Kaufman says he’s passionate about curbing too-big-to-fail banks because he fears another crisis.

‘Can We Survive?’

“The amount of pain that people, through no fault of their own, had to endure -- and the prospect of putting them through it again -- is appalling,” Kaufman says. “The public has no more appetite for bailouts. What would happen tomorrow if one of these big banks got in trouble? Can we survive that?”

Lobbying expenditures by the six banks that would have been affected by the legislation rose to $29.4 million in 2010 compared with $22.1 million in 2006, the last full year before credit markets seized up -- a gain of 33 percent, according toOpenSecrets.org, a research group that tracks money in U.S. politics. Lobbying by the American Bankers Association, a trade organization, increased at about the same rate, OpenSecrets.org reported.

Lobbyists argued the virtues of bigger banks. They’re more stable, better able to serve large companies and more competitive internationally, and breaking them up would cost jobs and cause “long-term damage to the U.S. economy,”according to a Nov. 13, 2009, letter to members of Congress from the FSF.

The group’s website cites Nobel Prize-winning economist Oliver E. Williamson, a professor emeritus at the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, for demonstrating the greater efficiency of large companies.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-28/secret-fed-loans-undisclosed-to-congress-gave-banks-13-billion-in-income.html

Once Again!!

He with the Biggest Lobby Wins!

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:50 | 2317059 SmittyinLA
SmittyinLA's picture

Damn, I thought you were going to post a kill list, not some leftist Occupier manifesto.

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 03:33 | 2318707 Incubus
Incubus's picture

Why don't you post a kill list and see how long it'll take you to wind up in a free government cell.

 

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:50 | 2317060 mholzman
mholzman's picture

Tyler, you ask "what else?"

Think metaphorically as you "stroll over to Coffee Shop, " about the fact that caffeine is simply a very addictive drug/substance. If you read the label on most beverages/foods, you will see certain common ingredients such as caffeine. There is a reason. You know as everyone knows yet claims that they simply enjoy the taste.

I use caffeine; however, I will only use it in pill form to control and limit the dosage. 

And, no to any inquiries, this is not about coffee.



Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:56 | 2317086 wisefool
wisefool's picture

Have you ever considered a pathway in taxation?

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:49 | 2317221 mholzman
mholzman's picture

Yes.

NOTE: I do not understand the thumbs down (nor care) because how could anyone perceive anything I stated as a for OR an against anything including the Guest Tyler. Why waste the energy to make a response? I guess I will now get more ???

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 19:49 | 2317987 wisefool
wisefool's picture

How would it make you fee,l that if by this very post, we together added a page to the tax code? That people you dont even know would suffer violence or boon from?

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:53 | 2317076 Silver Dreamer
Silver Dreamer's picture

Please do not confuse our country with the empire.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:02 | 2317117 ebworthen
ebworthen's picture

"All hail Caesar".

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:59 | 2317284 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

though part of the empire is us the allies

don't throw the baby with the water!  don't throw the baby with the water!  ;-)

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:54 | 2317077 blindman
blindman's picture

http://www.veteranstoday.com/
.
skeletons in the closet? there are vampires in the streets!
what is in the closet doesn't scare me, it is the stuff in plain
sight that makes me tremble, the ambitions of the un-dead and
deluded; the experts and professionals who run the shows oblivious
to the effects, when will they comprehend what they do not know but
continue to espouse, when we stand amidst our rubble bubble?
.
" if you're born with a better brain in a fascist country you
become a fascist, faster."
http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.com/2012/03/paradise-or-oblivion-by...

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:54 | 2317083 justsayin2u
justsayin2u's picture

A nation of laws - not men.  That's a effin joke.  If you're anything TBTF or even close - there is no law that applies to you.  If you are small, weak, and defenseless - you will be punished severely for the smallest of effoenses.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 13:55 | 2317085 loveyajimbo
loveyajimbo's picture

Service is ok, voluntary and well paid, great benefits, so don't go too far with that "putting your life on the line for your country" stuff... service in charity or actually helping the sick and poor in our country is far more honorable... defending us against the Vietnamese, the Iraquis, the taliban is a political game of the Mil/Ind complex and the elites... not much honor there... our enemies now are Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, the fed, and the corrupt politicians, etc... so do your special forces thing on them, THAT would be meaningful and worthy of praise.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:01 | 2317107 ebworthen
ebworthen's picture

Great thoughts and list, thank you for your service.

I'll add some:

Journalism: - what used to be somewhat objective reporting has become open propoganda, with networks actively shilling for one side or another and creating fake 911 calls to support their viewpoint.  Doctored pictures and video next.

Individuality: - what used to be viewed as a character strength is slowly morphing into a defect, something to be afraid of.  Conformity to a stereotype such as a hoodie wearing gangster or suit wearing "capitalist" is somehow seen as individuality while being broad minded, introspective, and vocal about the loss of freedom and liberty makes you a dangerous nut-job.

Justice: - Guilty until proven innocent, a police state progressing forward, doors kicked in with no warrant or cause, equivocation and shophistry used to justify abuse of power, ignoring the fourth amendment, and stealing property to enrich the city-state while not thumping the real criminals. 

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:26 | 2317197 Dicite justitiam
Dicite justitiam's picture

Individuality: - what used to be viewed as a character strength is slowly morphing into a defect, something to be afraid of.  Conformity to a stereotype such as a hoodie wearing gangster or suit wearing "capitalist" is somehow seen as individuality while being broad minded, introspective, and vocal about the loss of freedom and liberty makes you a dangerous nut-job.

Echoes of Deresiewicz's excellent 2009 address to West Point.

American Scholar: Solitude and Leadership

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:03 | 2317120 sablya
sablya's picture

Welfare - If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. (2 Thess 3:10)

Immorality - An immoral people cannot be free and a free people cannot be immoral.  Sooner or later immorality will lead to the destruction of freedom and America is already past that point.  

Ignorance - An ignorant people cannot be free but is only suitable for enslavement.  The deliberate dumbing down of America is a prelude to the enslavement of her people.  Americans are, in general, among the dumbest people on the face of the earth.  We spend more money on education than any other country but are among the weakest in math and science.

America is being destroyed from the inside out, just as the Roman Empire was destroyed.  Government control of markets is not the cause but the effect.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:54 | 2317268 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

 

 

Corporations Own the Lobby!

The Lobby Owns the Government!

Law Enforcement works for the Duly Elected Lobby Whores!

Thusly, We the People are Screwed!

What the Lobby wants! the Lobby gets!

JP Morgan makes a LOT! of money printing, creating money out of thin air for the Poor!

But not as much as We the Sheepoeple give them..

 

‘Regulatory Discretion’

“Some might claim that the Fed was picking winners and losers, but what the Fed was doing was exercising its professional regulatory discretion,” says John Dearie, a former speechwriter at the New York Fed who’s now executive vice president for policy at the Financial Services Forum, a Washington-based group consisting of the CEOs of 20 of the world’s biggest financial firms. “The Fed clearly felt it had what it needed within the requirements of the law to continue to lend to Bear and Wachovia.”

The bill introduced by Brown and Kaufman in April 2010 would have mandated shrinking the six largest firms.

“When a few banks have advantages, the little guys get squeezed,” Brown says. “That, to me, is not what capitalism should be.”

Kaufman says he’s passionate about curbing too-big-to-fail banks because he fears another crisis.

‘Can We Survive?’

“The amount of pain that people, through no fault of their own, had to endure -- and the prospect of putting them through it again -- is appalling,” Kaufman says. “The public has no more appetite for bailouts. What would happen tomorrow if one of these big banks got in trouble? Can we survive that?”

Lobbying expenditures by the six banks that would have been affected by the legislation rose to $29.4 million in 2010 compared with $22.1 million in 2006, the last full year before credit markets seized up -- a gain of 33 percent, according toOpenSecrets.org, a research group that tracks money in U.S. politics. Lobbying by the American Bankers Association, a trade organization, increased at about the same rate, OpenSecrets.org reported.

Lobbyists argued the virtues of bigger banks. They’re more stable, better able to serve large companies and more competitive internationally, and breaking them up would cost jobs and cause “long-term damage to the U.S. economy,”according to a Nov. 13, 2009, letter to members of Congress from the FSF.

The group’s website cites Nobel Prize-winning economist Oliver E. Williamson, a professor emeritus at the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, for demonstrating the greater efficiency of large companies.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-28/secret-fed-loans-undisclosed-to-congress-gave-banks-13-billion-in-income.html

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:07 | 2317138 LivermoreJim
LivermoreJim's picture

Benedict Arnold also 'served' in the military.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:08 | 2317141 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

This is the "dirty laundry list"? Ooooookay! "let's start with the Mongolian hoard of skeletons" that the media has and go from there folks. There's not a single actual PERSON named other then Paulo...who I'm sure's a good guy too. This ain't the Rabbit Hole folks. YOU are the rabbit hole. "and you go from there" as they say. And to think people still wonder why the longs still have the advantage "even in a downtrend." it starts with an informational advantage folks! "and we give it away for free" here...which is okay to me actually. "it's what they steal from you" that really matters. "and for that you need a lawyer bitch."

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:11 | 2317148 boogerbently
boogerbently's picture

SOOO,

 

Other than VENTING, and promoting this "defeatist" attitude, what can we do to fix the situation.

With all the great minds on this blog we could eliminate these problems with reasonable solutions. History will show where a noble group of posters on ZeroHedge united on this site to end the tyranny that has enslaved America for generations.......

I know......but it could make a great movie!

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:17 | 2317170 wisefool
wisefool's picture

The answer is going to scare you, but not on racist grounds. Or anti Fed grounds.

9 9 9. The fed and the IRS are both evil but atleast Ben got 1600 on a standardized test. If the fed put Herman up against timmay we would have somebody smarter than timmay. And the 'bammers could just raise some good kids.

If the internet does anything, they should look to the prophesies of Einstine and put a mark on timmy.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 18:21 | 2317795 sgt_doom
sgt_doom's picture

"but atleast Ben got 1600 on a standardized test"

So I keep hearing just as once I heard that Marily vos Savant claimed to be the human with the world's highest IQ (her record claim later withdraw by that Guiness Book of Records, etc. --- turns out she scored only 132 on the Stanford-Binet).

I also recalled hearing that John Lilly had a degree from Cal Tech, then later turned out his daddy bought that degree from Cal Tech, and every other institution he was supposed to have a degree from.

Now, I've met plenty of douchebaggers from MIT, Harvard, Princeton and Yale, so those days of believing them other than joints are long over.

What I want to know, and have never been able to find out:  what was George W. Bush's AFQT scores?  He took that test --- so his scores are supposed to appear somewhere (I aced it, 'natch).

What was Bernanke's scores on the CEEBs (the old college boards no longer used, as they were too difficult for the majority of test takers)?

And did he ever take the Math Achievement Test on the CEEBs (I aced that, 'natch, placing me in the smallest minority in North America).

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:55 | 2317272 skepticCarl
skepticCarl's picture

"great minds on this blog"....."noble group of posters on ZeroHedge united on this site"...

Please provide a link to that mythical web site...

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:14 | 2317317 SWCroaker
SWCroaker's picture

Sound currency *forces* the end of many, many shenanigans.  It puts a stop to wars we can't afford, ends unsustainable flows of trade imbalances, forces the Emperor at the top to live within a budget or blatantly shake wealth out of his own people, which in turn is a marvelous motivator for a modest level of government.

Just start with sound currency, and let us see first hand what few egregious situations remain...

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:12 | 2317152 Spaceman Spiff
Spaceman Spiff's picture

College/University:   It shouldn't be necessry.  If the politicians start claiming that it is,  there is a combination of these variables 1) too much of an educational lobby 2) too much regulation of profession entry 3) too much regulation on businesses making it cheaper for manufacturers to move over seas 4) Too easy for businesses to move jobs over seas.

 

Immigration:   It doesn't pay to come here legally.   Enforcing the law will be brutal and deemed cruel.   Illegal immigration has kept low paying job wages artifically depressed.  Thus welfare is an attractive proposition for our poor over menial work.  

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:14 | 2317157 The Count
The Count's picture

The list is very long...

Government decreed assasinations

The truth about JFK and Marylin

Area 51 and similar

Why we stopped going to the moon

etc etc etc

The fact is, most secrets the CIA, NSA and others keep are in the vault to prevent the US population to know whats really going on, not so much to prevent other governments from knowing. Most of which they know anyway. But all countries are keeping the lid on the biggest secrets of our time because they don't want their people to know anything either. As the German saying goes... Wissen ist Macht. Keep the sheeple clueless with idiotic TV, sports, drugs and food stamps.

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:39 | 2317188 NuYawkFrankie
NuYawkFrankie's picture

Tilting back a few Stellas with a brilliant financial mind (Yale Grad - OMG!!!).... in a cool spot... waited on by aspiring supermodels...

Who is this jerk?  LOL!!! What a prick!

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:26 | 2317192 LarryDavis
LarryDavis's picture

Always some model bitches at Coffee Shop especially late night holler.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:32 | 2317204 10mm
10mm's picture

The only person who served in the military who had a true awakeing was Smedly Butler[USMC].And from Kissinger himself,"Soilders are pawns for foreign policy".

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:06 | 2317297 Dicite justitiam
Dicite justitiam's picture

This chap?  Funny how much things have changed.

 

The Banana Wars

Butler participated in a series of occupations, police actions, and interventions by the United States in Central America and the Caribbean, commonly called the Banana Wars because their goal was to protect American commercial interests in the region, particularly those of the United Fruit Company. This company had significant financial stakes in the production of bananas, tobacco, sugar cane, and other products throughout the Caribbean, Central America and the northern portions of South America. The U.S. was also trying to advance its own political interests by maintaining its influence in the region and especially its control of the Panama Canal. These interventions started with the Spanish–American War in 1898 and ended with the withdrawal of troops from Haiti and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy in 1934.[12] After his retirement, Butler became an outspoken critic of the business interests in the Caribbean, criticizing the ways in which U.S. businesses and Wall Street bankers imposed their agenda on United States foreign policy during this period.[13]

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 05:14 | 2318748 10mm
10mm's picture

Thanks Mate.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:33 | 2317209 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

11.  Two-party political system. America, fix this

                                                                   and you have a chance to fix the rest

                                       with love, a friend and ally

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:35 | 2317215 Zola
Zola's picture

@Croaker you are right. Moreover people with capital will be essential if there is to be a real change of the top 1%.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:39 | 2317223 headless blogger
headless blogger's picture

Don't forget to mention who controls Bernanke and company. Do you know who does that? It's kind of obscure when you look into it, but one thing is certain, he shows up at all Bilderberg annual meetings; where policy is made by a handful of people, in secret, and the rest of us are enslaved by.

To find real solutions you need to know the entire beast. You can't fight it and defeat it when their are still doors closed and we don't know exactly what is behind them (although we have good ideas on what is).

Being still a somewhat "free" nation, our dirty laundry is free for the world to see. No other country in the world has their "culture" so Out There for anyone to smear.

So, we are all in agreement; we have a disgracefull society, full of ignorant, obese, self-absorbed people.  But we still have quite a bit of "free-speech" leverage and boy aren't we all taking advantage of that. But even so, we will NEVER be able to get all 300 Million Americans to get their heads out of their asses. This is one of the advantages the Elites have: the size of the population is so big it becomes actually easy to control by splintering the culture and society into hundreds of sub-cultural and sub-political ideologies.  No organization has affective chance with Centrally controlled Police State apparatus such as FBI, NSA, CIA....And now they can use drones (we're just one incident away from fully armed drones....it will only take one gun incident by some government declared rogue group).

Meanwhile, individuals are still saying "I'm protected, I've got my guns". There are millions of people who actually think they can withstand an assault by the government because they have guns. Obviously, this "war" needs to be fought in other ways.

Its the problem, reaction, solution over and over again. It is being played out in America once again. They create the entire system. They manipulate something to cause something else. There is a reaction. They save the day with a pre-planned solution. In a snap, they've changed the entire geo-political landscape....

Start focusing on the British more. You don't hear much about them, as if the City of London did not exist?

A personal experiment to try at home and in your car:

For a week or more, everytime you are in your car turn on NPR. At home, keep all TV's off and only listen to NPR. At bedtime, turn on NPR late at night. You will see the pattern. I'm serious....two things will jump out over and over:  British, Jewish opinion, British, Jewish Opinion, British, Jewish Opinion, British, Jewish opinion................................and a few items on gays and immigrants. Then check out some popular "alternative" websites. It's all smears on the fat dumb Americans. Do you see what they are doing? Granted, they use the masses ignorance and truth for their deceipt.

There were two major  groups standing in way of Elite's agenda: Middle eastern values, and American Values. Both are being destroyed. The easiest way to destroy is to get the masses on board to their own demise. I think it was Supreme Court Justice Ginzberg who recently was blabbing that the South African constitution is superior to the US constitution. This woman was sworn into her position of power.

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 18:16 | 2317779 sgt_doom
sgt_doom's picture

Well, I can't better headless blogger's outstanding comments, so I'll just humbly add one more addendum:

"Its the problem, reaction, solution over and over again.."

And those who create the problem -- always are the ones who directly profit from the problem --- then profit from their very own solution to their very own problem of creation!

NPR super sux, and anyone who is that brain dead to believe there IS ANY difference between FoxFiction-CNN-ABC-CBS-PBS and NPR are truly lost souls, incapable of intelligent reason....

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 19:34 | 2317955 Cathartes Aura
Cathartes Aura's picture

yours is a considered post, headless, much there I agree with.

many years ago, over a decade, I listened to NPR because I had spent years living in Britain, and amrkn "news" was demonstrably shallow, worthless. . . but even I could see the spin, and the endless propping up of "foundations" who "support" their programs. . . thankful for the internet, where real information can be found, should one choose to seek it.

your points about "self absorbed people" just paint a picture of a populace lulled into believing they are being provided for, that the rest of the world is envious of them, hate them for their "freedoms" - heads down, engaged in their gadgetry, or parked in recliners watching TeeVee, giving them something to discuss the following day with FaceBookPals, dutifully taking their Pharma without questioning WHY they're not feeling so good, or just wanting to get "out of it" to escape their sad routines.

I'd love to hear someone talk honestly about "American Values" or "Middle Eastern Values" - not ideals, what should be valued, but real honest thought provoking discussion about what it is that is valued nowadays. . .I know what "they" value, those who mind the memes - but what do "the people" value?  are there common values any more?  or is it all "individual" wants and needs?

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 00:48 | 2318583 headless blogger
headless blogger's picture

Cathartes Aura,

 

To have common values you have to have communities where everyone has a stake in that community. This was destroyed since the Great Depression in US.  "They" are breaking down all borders, all sovereign states, to impose a uniform authoritarian world, based on destroying all diversity (hence the destruction of community, borders, and the public thrashing of anyone who says they don't agree).

The Elites had to have a way to fund all this enterprising World government installation, so what better target than the Americans after WWII? Build up a Middle class and you have a cash cow in the way of tax revenues, etc, and a huge consumer base to sell corporate goodies.

People become more self-absorbed due to insecurity. Just like kids that grow up neglected, will oftentimes be more selfish as adults... a form of self-preservation.

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 16:41 | 2320419 Cathartes Aura
Cathartes Aura's picture

again, absolutely agree with you - community is a favoured topic of mine.

I currently live in amrka, and "community" exists in patches, but overall people are wary of each other, don't "trust" neighbours, and often compete rather than engage with each other.  for many years I traveled around, various states, different towns/cities, and met lots of different folks - the lack of willingness to build up trustworthy relationships amongst locals was a feature wherever I went. . .

though I will say the tide is shifting a bit, and some people are beginning to see the value in building networks, rather than seeing each individual as something to measure self against - this has come through necessity, as the perceived wealth dwindles, and showing off "new stuff" happens less often.

using the word "insecurity" really resonates with me - there is a lot of individual insecurity in this country, even masked with bravado. . . still a ways to "fall" before learning that self-reliance can be extended within strong networks for a better outcome overall.

best wishes.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:47 | 2317250 Kobe Beef
Kobe Beef's picture

"And I'm proud to be an American,

Cause I don't know I'm not free.

And I forgot all the men who died,

So they could take my rights from me.

And I'll meekly SIT DOWN, next to you,

And believe in my TeeVee.

Cause there ain't no doubt I'm an ignorant sheeeeeep,

God help the USA."

Cheers,

Beef

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:47 | 2317251 skepticCarl
skepticCarl's picture

On my dirty laundry list is

1.  name dropping trendy places, and trendy coffee shops

2.  paying too much attention to people's sex appeal

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 18:11 | 2317768 sgt_doom
sgt_doom's picture

Now skepticCarl makes a great blog post here!

+1,000

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:51 | 2317264 Fix It Again Timmy
Fix It Again Timmy's picture

TPTB are FREE to F*ck over the common man in the streets [TCMITS] without fear of reprisal - that's the extent of our freeeeedom.........

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:52 | 2317266 bidaskspread
bidaskspread's picture

We have to pay into a welfare system called "Social Security" to guarantee lower future purchasing power. Sound free?

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:52 | 2317267 bidaskspread
bidaskspread's picture

We have to pay into a welfare system called "Social Security" to guarantee lower future purchasing power. Sound free?

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:53 | 2317269 hermes trismegistos
hermes trismegistos's picture

Do not confuse faith taht you will prevail  in the end ( which you cannot afford to loose ) with the discipline to confront  the most brutal facts of your current reality, what ever they might be.

 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 14:55 | 2317271 Tator
Tator's picture

Property Taxes-You are free to "own" your property as long as you pay the government "rent(tax)"...

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:05 | 2317296 LarryDavis
LarryDavis's picture

I would love to see Mandy and Bartiromo go at it and take turns with a room full of black guys in basketball jerseys.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 19:37 | 2317958 Cathartes Aura
Cathartes Aura's picture

maybe just go have a wank.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 20:34 | 2318070 LarryDavis
LarryDavis's picture

Do you think Maria or Mandy has ever banged an African-American? If so, how di oyu think they described the experience to friends?

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:10 | 2317308 besnook
besnook's picture

even though 50% of the people eligible to vote vote only 1 in 50 actually have a reality based clue about how the system works. the intellectual, free thinking class has effectively been eliminated. there is no opposition.

kinda friendly in a perverse sense. the intelligentsia used to be summarily murdered when someone wanted to sieze power. now they just marginalize any smart person with name calling(extreme,conspiratorial, antisemitic) and career destruction(helen thomas). the rest of the people are easily managed in their blind ignorance(gen x,y,z).

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 18:10 | 2317765 sgt_doom
sgt_doom's picture

".. only 1 in 50 actually have a reality based clue about how the system works."

Actually, from people I've heard comment over the past one, I believe a sizable number, if not the majority today, fully realize that so-called "system" is nothing more than a completely fraud-based society....

Care to differ, sonny????

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:11 | 2317315 mikesswimn
mikesswimn's picture

In general, I agree with this guy's sentiment, but these complaints seems like they're written by a petulant grad student working on their MA in political science.  While some of these points seem to be well thought out, others are just ridiculous in their logical construction.

1.  Money - I'm with you here. 

2.  The Federal Reserve System - Okay, you're losing me a little.  The GAO does perform a limited scope audit of the Fed.  But, all in all, more oversight and better governance (or preferrably, a superior system) would certainly be better.

3.  Presidential authority - Close enough.  Although I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that a lot of the authority you mentioned was given to the president by our duly elected congress. 

4.  Federal judges - This is ridiculous.  Really?  So, of the 3 branches of government, you think the supreme court (all unelected appointments) is the worst and least ethical?  That's insane.

5.  Electoral college - The electoral college very rarely differs from the popular vote, and when electors do, it's usually by mistake and completely immaterial to the outcome of the election.

6.  Campaign finance - You couldn't have this more backwards.  So long as the federal government has a $3.6 trillion dollar budget (and rising), broad regulatory powers (and growing), and the ability to pick and choose winners, there will be money in politics.  The bigger the budget, the greater the regulatory power, and the more vast the ability to pick and choose winners, the more money that will enter into politics.  There is no way to stop it under these circumstances.  You want less money in national politics?  Cut the buget down to $10 and strip all regulatory power away and watch the money disappear.

7.  Term limits - Except for, you know, the President.  Sure, some term limits on Congress would be nice, but I hardly think it's an anathema to freedom.

8.  Income taxes (or direct taxation) - Ah, I'm back with you here.

9.  Legal tender laws - Ever thought about buying gold then using credit for everything?  Once the bill comes due, simply sell the requisite amount of gold to cover your debt.  Sure, you'll incur quite a few transaction costs, but that's a pretty good proxy for escaping the dollar.

10.  "Cost" of money - Surely you mean "many pricing methods utilize the risk free rate in the determination of the appropriate discount rate", right?  Otherwise, that's an idiotic statement.

11.  Two-party political system - I don't think anyone is stopping you from voting for the Libertarian Party or the Green Party.  Special interests have the power they do because of strict campaign laws.  Allow every American to donate as much money as they want to whomever they want for whatever political purpose suits their needs and watch the influence of special interests wane.  See #6.

The problems facing the country are complicated, and causality isn't always clear.  Making a list of glib rants punctuated with a smug "sound free?" makes the process of fixing these issues that much harder.  Mr. Rogers, despite how much we agree at a high level, you're part of the problem.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:14 | 2317318 semperfi
semperfi's picture

- That we have a govt and a citizenry that believes in and practices 'the rule of law'.  How many people even care about whether the Constitution is followed or not.  Or that immigration law is followed or not.  How many people are even aware that much of the Constitution is simply being ignored.

- That the govt is telling the truth about 911.  How many officials involved with the 911 investigation say the Saudis were involved, or that it was a false flag attack - several. 

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:26 | 2317347 illyia
illyia's picture

My top ten.

In no particular order.

 

1. Usury.

2. Conceit.

3. Denial.

4. Inattention Blindness.

5. Stupidity.

6. Information manipulation.

7. Theft.

8. Graft.

9. Extortion.

10. Exceptionalism.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:38 | 2317386 Anarchyteez
Anarchyteez's picture

July 5th, John Galt day!

Nobody goes to work or spends any money!

Equals no taxes paid.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 16:00 | 2317440 JohnFrodo
JohnFrodo's picture

It all come down to corruption. Proportional representation, voting on Sundays, might solve the problems.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 16:08 | 2317456 undercover brother
undercover brother's picture

I agree with every point you've made save for two of them.  The electoral college is needed to protect the interests of states in the country that aren't well represented by population.   Imagine if 90% of the liberals lived in the major cities in the country like NY, LA, Chicago,  Philly, and Boston and those cities comprised 50% of the entire population of the country, each and every law enacted by popular vote would be won by that particular liberal voting block and legislation for all 50 states would simply be controlled by the whims of the states with the largest voting block.   This is totally unfair and it's why the founding fathers created the electoral college.

Also, as much as i dislike paying taxes, I do find them necessary on various levels to pay for public services.  However, I agree there isn't much happening today to control or curtail the size and scope of gov't and their ability to tax.   This I see as a huge danger to the stability of the nation.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 16:11 | 2317463 MagicHandPuppet
MagicHandPuppet's picture

I'd like to add to the list (a good start by the way) the fact that there are so many Morons who enlist in the marines for 8 years. Please note that enlisting and empowering politicians to invade other sovereign nations based on lies on order for the corporations who own the Gubment to rob those nations of their resources and install their own chosen and corrupt politicians to do the bidding of said corporations IS NOT PATRIOTIC, fuck nuts. There is nothing about a standing army that is patriotic or in the spirit of the founding fathers who were against such global tyranny, hegemony and empire building. Admit that you fell for the lies and brainwashing rather than brag about doing something so misguided.

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 19:40 | 2317967 Cathartes Aura
Cathartes Aura's picture

*yikes*

cue much applause!!

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