Filibustered...It’s a dangerous, and heartless political game
By louisehartmann
Filibustered. Last night – Republicans proved they’d rather protect billionaires from a one-half of one percent tax increase rather than keep 400,000 teachers, firefighters, and cops on the job. Despite once again acquiring enough votes to pass a portion of President Obama’s American Jobs Act under normal procedure – the legislation fell short of receiving the 60 votes needed to overcome a unified Republican filibuster. A handful of “Conserva-Dems” – including Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman - also sided with Millionaires in the vote, but the Democrats still had a majority.
After his bill was blocked – President Obama slammed Republicans, saying, “For the second time in two weeks, every single Republican in the United States Senate has chosen to obstruct a bill that would create jobs and get our economy going again…Every American deserves an explanation as to why Republicans refuse…to do what's necessary to create jobs.” The explanation is fairly clear though – they’re trying to crash the economy. Yesterday – it was discovered that a Tea Party Nation activist wrote to members begging them NOT to hire anybody until President Obama is out of office. And then there’s what Moody’s said about the Congressional Republicans own job creation plan – that it will “likely push the economy back into recession.”
The writing is all over the wall – Republicans are playing politics with the economic well being of all of us – hoping that if we all lose our jobs, our homes, our pensions, our healthcare, our livelihoods – then they might win the White House in 2012.
It’s a dangerous, and heartless political game.
Comments
#2
Clearly, they followed the orders of their masters. We need a powerful new slogan here. To oust the New World Order, we need The New Wealth Order. Rather than wealth in the hands of the ages-old oligarchs, wealth into the new and many hands of the people. Real wealth created by the thought and toil of working people rather than the artificial wealth of bankers that serves to impoverish nations. Finally, the true restoration of ORDER as it should and must be for the billions here today, and for the restoration of the planet.
#3
The party system under the 1% will always ying-yang back and forth and continue to be a nest of vipers, each side lunging for each other's throats, and the worst of this always happens near the preparation for election time. It is not good to change our focus back into that cesspool but rather we should continue in focusing upon a transition into a system which is for the people in all areas of their lives and not for the people in only a few areas in their lives. With the money system gone there will then be no more separation between the people and their education, health care, jobs nor any other situation.
#4
I think this marine should be given more publicity and since this was posted at the bottom of the last forum many may not have seen it. There is a lesson to learn here and that is: What made this marine so effective in the face of police action and their intimidation?
But first let us again for some, look at the video:
One Brave Marine vs. A Platoon of 30 Cops
"United States Marine Corps. Sgt. Shamar Thomas from Roosevelt, NY went toe to toe with the New York Police Department. An activist in the Occupy Wall Street movement, Thomas voiced his opinions of the NYPD police brutality that had and has been plaguing the #OWS movement."
THINK OF ALL THE MARINES AND U.S. MILITARY COMING HOME AND FIGHTING TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE! THIS IS WHERE THE MARINES SHOULD BE. THIS MARINE IS INDEED A HERO!
FIGHTING OTHER NATIONS WHO ARE NO THREAT TO YOU DOES NOT MAKE YOU A HERO. FIGHTING TO PROTECT YOUR OWN PEOPLE ON YOUR OWN HOME TERRITORY CERTAINLY DOES.
This marine appealing to their 'SENSE OF HONOR' and as a true marine was trained to yell at them that same slogan OVER and OVER again. The marine was an enormous man but the Revolutionaries coming together in one large mass can be likened to one ENORMOUS MAN. The marine INTIMIDATED THROUGH HIS WORDS AND HIS SIZE OVER 30 small stick policemen, WHOM HE COULD HAVE THROWN LIKE PUTTY AGAINST THE WALL.
In addition to this a marine is taught to lay down his life for his country WITH HONOR, even though he or she may be persuaded into wars which should not exist. So here this marine comes home and finds that his very brothers in the police force are ABUSING AND HARRASSING THEIR OWN AMERICAN PEOPLE, the VERY PEOPLE the MARINE is told HE IS TO DEFEND!
THE MARINE IS SWORN TO DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION WHICH CONTAINS A RIGHT TO PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY AND DEMONSTRATIONS.
THIS MARINE DOES NOT EVEN HAVE AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT WHO UPHOLDS THESE TENETS OF THE CONSTITUTION OR DEMANDS THE RELEASE OF THE PROTESTERS.
SO HE DEFENDS HIS AMERICAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND THE AMERICAN NATION AGAINST THE police who work for Wall Street and the 1% BECAUSE UNLIKE THE POLICE, HE LOVES HIS COUNTRY AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!
As this marine has appealed to the sense of honor of the policemen and their police chiefs so have his words we can be sure touched the hearts and minds of his fellow marines whose time must surely come to PROTECT THE PEOPLE.
#5
HOW ARE REGULATORS AND REFERRES ALIKE?
Think of attending a NFL or a NBA game without a referree, fun? Think about it! The analogy is the same for regulations - human nature is the same off or on the field/court - we thrive with rules and regulations!!!
#6
We, the people, should not look for referees for Congress and the Senate any more. Both houses are hopelessly defunct. All we get from them is legislation which makes the rich even richer, and lets them get away with looting the public purse without being arrested.
Today I overheard a report on satellite in which the interviewed person estimates that the rich have absconded with roughly 47 trillion dollars wafted away into their secret offshore bank accounts, and all of these funds are believed to be in one way or another from taxpayers, leaked to the rich through politicians betraying the public trust of the people as they make laws with loopholes for the wealthy.
To stop this transfer of public wealth is not to give these 2 institutions a referee, but to disband them by shutting them down and permit a small group of appointed people take over the White House, which have integrity, a heart for the people, and a love for a United States that is not warmongering all over the world. They also need to understand the flaws of the money system and begin to monetize funds into circulation which benefit the people, INTEREST FREE!
These measures must also include erasing all national public debts, regardless whether incurred by the national or state governments. Such moves would tremendously ease the debt taxation load on the incomes of the people, and eventually no one would fall between the cracks.
What you people need is a leader to guide you, one you have empowered to decree what may remain standing, and what must fall.
#7
It is a very bad day for most americans,watching as the two political parties do their distruction to the americas and the people.
It is fully understood that they are not here to help the people of this land anymore. Therefore not being Americans, I wish for them to be removed out of their jobs and replaced with people of the US who care about this country. Yes fired, and removed they are not doing the job we voted them to do they are not working at all for the voters.
We need to demand term limits for all posts including the Supreme Court this would stop much of the repeated nightmares.
#8
This is a video of the U.S. Embassy in Iraq taken when built in 2008, April 18th when the Bush regime was in the White House, a legacy which when passed over to President Obama, he "obliged."
Fortress America: The US Embassy in Iraq - YouTube
THIS IS AN OCCUPATION. THIS EMBASSY STRONGLY SUGGESTS THAT THE WHITE HOUSE GOVERNS IRAQ AND NOT THE IRAQI PARLIAMENT.
PRESIDENT OBAMA SAYS HE IS BRINGING THE TROOPS HOME. HE HAS WAITED UNTIL HIS POLLS HAVE FALLEN DRAMATICALLY AND THE NEW ELECTION TERM IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. MORE GRANDSTANDING. BUT WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ALL THE AMERICAN MILITARY BASES IN IRAQ? WILL THOSE BASES THEN BE DISMANTLED? I HIGHLY DOUBT IT. AND EXACTLY WHO ARE ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE U.S. EMBASSY IN IRAQ OTHER THAN U.S. DIPLOMATS AND THE MILITARY? WHAT DO U.S. DIPLOMATS HAVE TO DO IN IRAQ? INTERFERE IN THE PLANS OF THE U.S. PLACED PUPPET GOVERNMENT IN IRAQ? THE FORMER BUSH REGIME PROMISED TO ORDER DIPLOMATIC STAFF INTO THE IRAQ EMBASSY IN CASE EMPLOYEES WERE UNWILLING TO GO. THE U.S. MILITARY DOES THE SAME WITH THEIR SOLDIERS.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE U.S. VETERANS WHEN THEY RETURN HOME FROM IRAQ? THERE IS NO MONEY FOR THEM, THEY WHO HAVE BEEN MAIMED, EMOTIONALLY, PSYCHOLOGICALLY, AND PHYSICALLY. THERE ARE NO JOBS. AND LOOK WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION.
SO, SAYING THE U.S. TROOPS ARE COMING HOME DOES NOT MEAN THAT IRAQ IS NO LONGER OCCUPIED, NOR GOVERNED BY THE LONG ARM OF THE U.S. EMBASSY INSIDE OF BAGHDAD, IRAQ. THE SHEER SIZE OF THE EMBASSY GIVES THE IMPRESSION THAT IRAQ IS RULED FROM WASHINGTON INSTEAD OF BY ITS OWN GOVERNMENT.
IT DOES MEAN THAT NOW PRESIDENT OBAMA CAN APPEASE ISRAEL BY SAYING THAT HE TRIED TO KEEP SOLDIERS IN IRAQ BUT THE U.S. PLACED PUPPET GOVERNMENT IN IRAQ WOULDN'T GO FOR IT.
THAT THE IRAQIS WERE TRYING TO RID IRAQ OF AMERICAN TROOPS HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR YEARS WHEN THE DISSIDENT IRAQI GOVERNMENT TRIED TO MAKE THE U.S. TROOPS GO HOME.
IN 2011, THE PENTAGON AND THE WHITE HOUSE WILL HAVE FOR THEMSELVES A BACK-UP PLAN BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS DO.
THERE ARE STILL THE CIA AND THEIR BLACKWATER THUGS AND ASSASSINS (THOUGH BLACKWATER CHANGED IT'S NAME INSIDE OF IRAQ) AND YOU BETTER BELIEVE THIS, THOSE THUGS WILL BE CHANNELING THEIR EFFORTS SECRETLY BACK INSIDE OF IRAN AS WELL AS IRAQ.
IF PRESIDENT OBAMA WERE IN THE LEAST SYMPATHETIC TO THE WALL STREET PROTESTERS, THEN HE WOULD ORDER ALL ARRESTED PROTESTERS RELEASED FROM CAPTIVITY IMMEDIATELY.
#9
Term limits are not the answer. Many of these people are first-timers. How would term limits affect what they can do in the next 2 years?. There is a method though: vote them out of office.
#10
The republicans will wake up after they've been voted out of office and are sitting at home twiddling their thumbs and wondering what they can mess up next.
#11
This lobbyist infested DC ..the crooked politicians , very con judges took many years to develop Reaganomics Bush 1-2 GOP gave corps Wall ST incredible power with huge corp cuts- con laws, fat cat policies, that drove our wages down..and good jobs sent overseas with big Bush tax cuts Reward for votes ? Bush admin Lied into Iraq based on fear and massive profits Iraq was a huge gift to Al Quada../ Bin laden....Killing maimimg . making more enemies than ever after Bushs preemptive war . Wasted 2+ trillion 1000's of lives lost Kids lost dads . How can anyone still vote GOP ? Based o n what success or even decency ? NO more GOP They are devious and to me vile
#12
#13
You need to oust out the Judges who work for the 1% and place in an entirely different Judicial system. You do not want to keep poison in the soup for term limits.
Let me explain it this way: You, the people, have placed on the bench, a Judge whom you, the people thought would be honest, wise, and just, toward the people. After a month or two, you, the people, find that this Judge works in just the opposite manner. But you have placed a 'term limit' on his post. So that means, that while the police working for the 1% continue arresting people, and the court brings them before this Judge who then fines them or sends them to jail for a period of more days, you, the people, will need to just wait until his or her term is up. This is completely flawed and will never work within a paradisical system the people, themselves, are trying once again to build.
Voting them out of office and then voting others back in will do no earthly good. Many of the voters would not know which man or woman of the Bench, to be wise, just and honest. And those Judges whom are appointed, are usually appointed by those who work for the 1% and their own agenda, of which is working against the people of the land. Where there are flaws in a good opinion, you will never get it to work in the long run.
#14
Don't need term limits- just to keep bring the audacity of these folks to the public- so we can vote them OUT. That is the kind of change we need- not what we got in 2010.
#15
Republicans in Congress hate Obama more than they love America. They prefer to destroy American families because they believe they will have an even greater victory if Obama is defeated in 2012 then they will have all the power they need to hand the government over to the Wall Street Gang. They are not stupid. They know who their masters are. They are hiding behind the flag but they detest the United States Constitution and they detest those who are not already millionaires or better.
They will pay the price for the insolence at the November elections. The progessives and people who care about America and really love this country, will send them packing.
#16
It's not a question of when or whether the republicans will realize that they are harming America and all of us. They do not care if their actions turn America into a third-world hell-hole. They would not care if half of all Americans die as a direct result of what they are doing. In fact, they probably would not care if half of all humanity dies as a result of their actions. I would guess that a fair percentage of them would not care if their actions turn this planet into a smoking cinder, as long as they get what they want: more money for themselves.
Republicans are like cats (no insult intended to cats), in that you can say whatever you want and all they hear is, "Blah-blah-blah-blah." You could fall off a cliff and half of them wouldn't even notice; the other half, who actively enjoy seeing people suffer, would stare at you without helping you.
If you shut off congress's supply of booze, illegal drugs, and hookers, you'd get the attention of most of the republicans- and most of the democrats, too. But there is only one way to get the attention of all republicans: shut off their money supply. That they will notice. Do that, and they will leap to attention and say anything you want them to say, and do anything you want them to do, even including- GASP!- voting in favor of humanity.
I know, it seems amazing that republicans would be capable of voting in favor of humanity, but seriously, look at the reason they always vote against humanity: for the money the Koch brothers and others of the 1% give to them. These are people who have no conscience, no honesty, no compassion, no beliefs other than liking money and booze and drugs and hookers, and no concern for anyone but themselves. They know they're driving America into a ditch. They just don't care. They're animals. Well, that's not really true, because animals are capable of more compassion than republicans.
I would now like to paraphrase a prayer I read about: Every day I thank God that I am not a republican, and I pray that in my next life I will not be a republican.
#17
The Republicans know exactly what they are doing. They want total control of the government, including the Presidency and are following instructions outlined by A.L.E.C. They have picked 2012 as their best ever chance to realize their dream of total domination of the U.S. political and economic systems and will simply do anything to accomplish this end. It is the American people who are not brain dead against Corporate America and those who are brain dead Face it. There are a lot of awful dumb people in this country who are easy to lead by the nose with such comments as they are taking from the white man and giving it to the people of color. We are going to find out just how dumb Americans are in 2012. I doubt if any country in the history of mankind voted against their own interests more than in this country. Another fact is that the average American doesn't have a clue to what is going to happen to him if the Republicans do win in 2012. If you think there has been a shift in wealth from the middle class and poor to the rich, wait until after the 2012 elections. If you think racial issues are behind us, wait until after the 2012 elections and states are given the right to make their own laws without fear of retribution from the federal government, if you think a lot of poor die now from lack of medical care, wait until after the 2012 elections. If you don't think minimum wage jobs will become the norm in the future, wait until after the 2012 elections. If you think you have issues now about pollution of the air, land, and water, wait until after the 2012 elections. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until after the 2012 elections.
#18
The Republican party should be dissolved along with the Demoncratic party. Whether it is a two party system to keep each other in check or a multi-party system such as exists in other countries, the one characteristic of them all is this: A multi-party system, for example is a multi-divided system where unity cannot exist and only chaos emerges. The same can be said of a two-party system.
Nothing can be changed short of changing the entire system. Changing the party system will not do it for whichever party gets elected, that party will still be under the hand and thumb of the 1%..
#19
jstrahan: I support everything you say. However, I believe the problem is bigger than we know. The closer you look at this almost cartoon-style of politics, the sooner you realize that none of this can possibly BE real politics. These people are all in the positions they are in BECAUSE they will follow orders from the top. "The top" has nothing to do with Americans -- republican or democrat. The top is the class of people you never see or hear about. There are no democratic voting processes anymore; everything is pure theatre and a lie. There is no way left but revolution.
#20
Any hope of these republican scoundrels waking up was lost to THE NORQUIST NO TAX PLEDGE induced coma. Time for "WE THE PEOPLE" to pull their plug. GROVER NORQUIST has described himself as a boring white bread methodist who wants to shrink govt. to a size he can drag into a bathroom and drown in the tub. So at least he's honest about his hatred of Democracy and expression of psychopathic thoughts.
Is this pious conservative on the no fly list? I wonder if it has ever occured to him just how much pain and suffering his ECONOMIC TERRORISM has caused the muti-millions out of work. Many of these good people are paralyzed in tear-filled silence as they lose their homes, hopes and dreams, while familys are ripped apart, all due to the blind and uncontrollable thirst for greed and power by a few 1% ers!
Grover may be a Harvard Grad, but I sure as hell know he must be sleeping through all of the Sunday sermons!
IN A TRUE DEMOCRACY, NORQUIST SHOULD NOT BE THE DECIDER! ...THE 99% WILL PREVAIL!
#21
I agree that Obama is only trying to sound like he is finally doing some of the things he hinted at when he was running for President the first time. It is only now, after 3 years of giving in to the Republicans and acting more like GWBush that he is "pulling out of Iraq". Uh, yeah, like sure..I'm sure! How about pulling out of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and everywhere else where our US trained terrorists are currently murdering innocent civilians. Maybe, if they are really serious about pulling out of Iraq, it is because they are contemplating having to use the military against the 99% who are rebelling against the corrupt system that we currently have. Like, I watched Bill Maher tonight and he had on head of the EPA, Lisa Jackson, who tended to present a positive, supportive tone toward Obama. She said that one of Obama's goals was to do such and such by the year 2025 and Bill Maher flew off the handle and said that 2025 was too far down the road and that other countries are more pro-active. Lisa kept backing Obama.
Well, it wasn't long ago that Lisa Jackson was going to resign because she was not happy with Obama's position on her major proposal for stricter air pollution regulations. That's Obama, again, bending over for the Republicans.
http://atlantapost.com/2011/09/19/epa-head-contemplates-quitting-decides...
It's like when Obama dropped Elizabeth Warren for the Consumer Protection post. He again took it in the @$$ for the Republicans.
Obama is a Republican who says he is a Democrat and some people still believe him. Re-electing Obama will only get us more of the same Republican policy. And Obama will no longer even have to pretend sometimes that he is a Democrat. He's telling the same kind of lies that he told the first time when he wanted fools to vote for him. I was such a fool and believed in him....but his actions over the last 3 years..shows that he is not worthy of my vote again. Obama is owned by Wall Street...they are his true base...not us.
And let's not forget that there are just about as many Blackwater terrorists (now call themselves Xe, I believe) over there that will likely remain. We didn't build all those compounds and fortresses for nothing. And they'll continue to be utilized to do our bidding..but without the overt seal of the US Military. If you really think we are getting out of Iraq...you're just being suckered by political rhetoric.
#22
Thom, at the end of your post, you said "It’s a dangerous, and heartless political game." Yes, it is and Obama is playing it, too. Fool me once.....
#23
Don't set your iphone on your desk next to your computer....
"Researchers at Georgia Tech and MIT have developed a proof of concept to demonstrate that it is possible to record a computer user's keystrokes using an iPhone 4's accelerometer. The researchers developed a method to accurately translate the vibrations from typing on a keyboard picked up by the device's accelerometer when placed on a desk near a PC. Though they warn that hackers could potentially use their method to eavesdrop on a user's keystrokes..."
"...the method is 80 percent accurate with a 58,000 word dictionary. Even that accuracy, though, requires thoroughly modern equipment. “We first tried our experiments with an iPhone 3GS, and the results were difficult to read,” Traynor said in a statement. “But then we tried an iPhone 4, which has an added gyroscope to clean up the accelerometer noise, and the results were much better. We believe that most smartphones made in the past two years are sophisticated enough to launch this attack.”
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/10/researchers-can-keylog-your-pc...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Germany. Calls for "Less Democracy": Police Caught Planting Spyware on Personal Computers"
"German secret state agencies installing spyware capable of transforming PC webcam and microphone into listening device.."
"As I have written many times, the secret state is bound by their own set of "laws." Normal rules and procedures which are supposed to protect citizens from unwarranted government intrusions are deemed inoperative for reasons of "national security."
"In the United States, constitutional protections designed to guarantee the right of citizens to protest, enjoy a modicum of privacy in their daily lives or, at the most basic level, have their day in court before being executed, have been overthrown by two successive administrations (Bush and Obama-my comments) who assert the right to conduct the affairs of state in secret, according to a set of legal guidelines which are unreviewable by any court."
"It would appear that similar moves are underway in Germany."
"...the trojan's developers never even tried to put in technical safeguards to make sure the malware can exclusively be used for wiretapping internet telephony, as set forth by the constitution court. On the contrary, the design included functionality to clandestinely add more components over the network right from the start, making it a bridge-head to further infiltrate the computer."
"The government malware can," analysts noted, "unchecked by a judge, load extensions by remote control, to use the trojan for other functions, including but not limited to eavesdropping."
"This complete control over the infected PC, is open not just to the agency that put it there, but to everyone. It could even be used to upload falsified 'evidence' against the PC's owner, or to delete files, which puts the whole rationale for this method of investigation into question."
"Their study also "revealed serious security holes that the trojan is tearing into infected systems. The screenshots and audio files it sends out are encrypted in an incompetent way, the commands from the control software to the trojan are even completely unencrypted. Neither the commands to the trojan nor its replies are authenticated or have their integrity protected."
"There are glaring similarities between the "R2D2" package deployed by German police and "Magic Lantern" software used by the FBI. As with Bureau spyware, the German program is a keystroke logging virus installed via a malicious email attachment or by exploiting operating system vulnerabilities."
"..."the remote-control function could be used to load and execute malicious software, and to plant bogus digital evidence on the computer, which can then be detected if the computer was seized. A suspect would have no way of proving that this had happened."
This would certainly be a convenient way to "neutralize" a troublesome politician, journalist or over-eager anticorporate campaigner."
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=27107
I had also read that the government spyware is commonly being put into a traveler's laptop as he/she passes through Customs.
#24
It was pointed out on your show, Thom..I believe..that Rick Perry's "job creation" in Texas was merely shifting jobs from another state...so no actual job creation was really done at all. I agree, but can't that thinking be also applied to Obama's assertions that he is "removing all the troops out of Iraq" (and not mentioning the fact that they will merely be shifted to other locations...like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen..or even Syria or Iran)? Or maybe he thinks that he will need more troops in the US to assist those jelly-bellied, white-shirted, gestapo mace-sprayers against the Occupy Wall Street patriots? Other than the obvious pretensions preceding the 2012 elections, is there not possibly another reason why troops will leave Iraq? Like Rick Perry's "job creation" in Texas, Obama has his "out of Iraq" smoke and mirrors all set to beguile the voters once again. And if they do come back to the US...how long will it be before they are redeployed to any other those places I mentioned before?
#25
Parts from an article by Alternet:
How Can We Rouse Police and Other Protectors of the Corporatocracy - "Guards" of the Status Quo - to Join the OWS Rebellion?
“In a highly developed society, the Establishment cannot survive without the obedience and loyalty of millions of people who are given small rewards to keep the system going: the soldiers and police, teachers and ministers, administrators and social workers, technicians and production workers, doctors, lawyers. . . . They become the guards of the system, buffers between the upper and lower classes. If they stop obeying, the system falls.” —Howard Zinn, from “The Coming Revolt of the Guards,” A People’s History of the United States
Howard Zinn predicted the revolt of the guards would occur when guards recognize that they are “expendable.”
How to Accelerate the Revolt of the Guards
For guards, it is not easy coming out of denial of our role and our fate. As Upton Sinclair observed, “It is difficult to make a man understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
To accelerate the revolt of obedient guards, I recommend two strategies: (1) create unpleasant dissonance about their role as guards; in other words, put guards in some pain for their unquestioning obedience that maintains the system. (2) offer encouragement for even small acts of rebellion against their guard role; small acts of rebellion may well be major financial risks.
It is my experience that guards are far less defensive when they are “off-duty.” So, if you are at protest demonstration, don’t try to lecture police about their role as a guard for the system or stroke them for any act of humanity. When we guards we are on duty, we are extremely vigilant about being manipulated. Off-duty, we are more receptive.
If you have social contact with off-duty law enforcement officers, you might ask them “Wouldn’t it be more satisfying putting the handcuffs on some billionaire tax dodger than arresting some small-time pot user?” I’ve asked police officers if they’ve heard of Jonathan Swift’s quote, “Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.” On-duty police will respond with “no comment” or a blank stare, but some off-duty cops will smile and even agree. And should off-duty police ever tell you an anecdote in which they ignored a law designed to catch a small fly, give them encouragement.
For off-duty corporate journalists, you might talk to them about how much you admire journalists such as Bill Moyers, former press secretary of Lyndon Johnson, and Chris Hedges, former New York Times reporter, for their rebellion from the their guard role. Remind journalists of their expendability, as the corporate media is increasingly eliminating reporters for the sake of profitability. And if they give you anecdotes in which they created tension with their editor by challenging the system, be encouraging.
http://www.alternet.org/world/152802/how_can_we_rouse_police_and_other_p...
#26
I live in South Africa which has a young democracy and the behaviour I observe from the US congress horrifies me because it sets such a bad example. Come on work together it is ultimately in all your interests to do so!
#27
At the beginning of the most current session, Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico did introduce legislation to change the filibuster, but President Obama and Harry Reid opposed Senator Udall's plan. I believe that Senator Reid made a deal with Senate Republicans not to change the filibuster. We can now see what a great deal that was.
#28
Guessing game ---- .
Pondering whether the GOP will bait and switch if they win the White House or follow through with deregulation , cuts in social services and further corporate tax breaks. If they bait and switch they will change the language as camouflage , undo their obstruction and attempt to take credit for Obamas vision.
If they dare to follow through with deregulation, reducing taxes, and cutting social services to shreds the working class will wind up with a $200 tax rebate as compensation while the buzzards pick their carcass clean and leave their bones to blanch while the elite prosper and seek further fortunes in more lucrative markets abroad.
#29
Talk about bait-and-switch...seems to me that's just what Obama did. He baited us with progressive campaign talk and then switched to his true Republican self after he was elected. Let's not let that happen again. I'd rather have my enemies in front of me than stabbing me in the back. If you still think voting is even worth while anymore...then vote Green. If we can oust both the Republicans and the Democrats out of office then it will show them both that WE DO HAVE OTHER CHOICES. If either Democrat or Republican retain control then we still have the streets to obstruct the fascist tricksters.
So, Obama is finally moving to remove the troops out of Iraq (didn't say anything about removing the other troops out of all those other places that are just as, or even more so, futile wastes of money and lives). The goals of the ruling elite is to get Obama re-elected because they believe that he will continue to pretend to be OUR President and not the ruling elite's...the 1%. The ruling elite knows that if one of their clown Republicans are put into office that the 99% will riot in the streets. They know they have a much better chance of continuing to exploit us if we, again, put our futile hope with someone who is pretending to be sympathetic to OUR goals.
How many lives (both Iraqi civilians and our US troops) have been lost in the 3 years that Obama did nothing to cut off that ridiculous and criminal war in Iraq. And now, at the end of his term, seeking re-election, he decides to bring the troops home as a campaign ploy? There is absolutely nothing (contrary to what they will have you believe) that we have accomplished in Iraq that will make the outcome any different. The Arabic factions in Iraq will continue to bash heads in a civil war until one side wins and puts in another Saddam Husein. All we manage to do is to murder a lot of innocent civilians and have blood on our hands which creates anger and hatreds magnified against the US. And the US well deserves those hatreds. Wouldn't you hate anyone who bullies their way into your home...murders all your family...steals what wealth and humanity you have left? What would you do under such circumstances if you had no police or rule of law that would allow you redress? Hide you head in the sand?
When American and Iraqi lives are sacrificed for no real reason except to make lots of money for 3 years, since Obama took office, and in the 5 years of Baby Bush's reign, and now, in order to use it as a political campaign ploy to further beguile the voters Obama finally announces a pull out from Iraq, then I'd say that Obama (right along with the Republicans) are willing to see people die in order to make financial and political gains for themselves.
Vote for the party that has the least amount of backing from Wall Street because if you vote for the one who has the most backing (Obama) you will only wind up with a President that is owned by Wall Street..and you are merely voting for a President that will not act in your best interests. And if the Green party accepts a lot of money then I wouldn't even bother voting at all.
#30
If you keep voting for the candidate, or in this case re-election, that is most funded by the ruling elite then quit b!tching! You have no one to blame but yourselves for being useful idiots for the ruling elite. If you vote for either the Republican candidate or the Democratic one, you are voting for the ruling elite. So bend over, all you gullible automatons, and keep playing their game in a crooked and corrupt system that is rigged to give the ruling elite what they want.
#31
Pat Prachter, I have been busy recently with my own affairs, and not been able to read every single post for the last few days, I however read yours, and am beginning to notice a unity (or oneness) developing on this forum which includes yourself, palindromedary, cygnus1 myself, as well as a few others. This unity now needs to spread into the millions all over the net. I see it as a developing oneness of mind whereby we can steer the global discontent among the downtrodden in a way where, before they even realize it, they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, when they find themselves rewarded beyond expectation in a newly created paradisiacal global world order, where ALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE can enjoy living in harmony and comfort.
So much for an introduction in passing. Coming back to the topic under discussion, I strongly suggest that we begin calling the two parties (Democrats and Republicans) the "SEE-SAW" Parties, for neither of them will effectively address the concerns of the people as their policies and laws are dictated to them by the unseen hand of the few super rich fleecers of this world. We, the people, have for a long time now observed that it makes no difference any more which of the two are in power. Therefore I agree with one of your friends who suggested to not give their vote for any candidate running under our (newly created) See-Saw label, but let the people find a credible alternative when they vote.
Having said so, it must be understood by all, that toppling the See-Sawers will still not provide a cure to the problem of Washington elite subservience, because all new "arrivals" there will be approached with blackmail and threats to work for them and not for the people. Resistance to their established order of control will be met with either character assassination in the least, or concrete boots in the worst of cases.
#32
Finding a real alternative to the Repubs and the Dems is what we need alright but don't be fooled by a movement called Americans Elect. Americans Elect was founded by Peter Ackerman. And if you do a little bit of searching you will discover that you would not want anything to do with Americans Elect. They say that they are going to let the people decide, via the internet, who they will run as their Presidential candidate. It sounds nice but, again, look into the background of Americans Elect...Peter Ackerman..and you will realize that they have been deceiving the people...pretending to be a viable alternative to people who are ticked off at the current two party system. These right wing sleaze-bags are sneaky as the devil.
#33
One thing I noticed on main stream media...they are now playing over and over again the brutal attack on Qadaffi...bloody head...and now dead bodies lying on the floor. They are playing this up as if Qaddafi was ripped apart by wild animals who don't have the humanity to be worthy of respect. Well, that may very well be true. Of course, if you ignore what kind of animal Qaddafi was and the horrible criminal things he did then one may not be too critical.
But what I am getting at is that the media showed those bloody videos while they have not shown the videos of what our troops did when they murdered Osama bin (ibn) Laden in the face and shot Bin Laden's wife being shot for trying to protect her husband. Only certain high-up officials were able to see that carnage. Why did they not show these to the American public? They seem to have no problem showing Qaddafi's murder....over and over again.
One thing should be made quite clear to the ruling regimes everywhere...and pay attention American politicians....this is what happens when you really p!$$ off the people. You think it won't happen here? How many people, here, would love to see what happened to bin Laden and to Qaddafi..or even Saddam Hussein or Mubarak happen to the Wall Street criminals and banksters and politicians who have been waging war against us...letting us, or our families, suffer and die without healthcare, starve, have our homes stolen from us turning us out into the cold?
Could the pulling of troops out of Iraq and sending them back to the US be an indication that some ruling elites are getting a little nervous and think that they might use these troops to keep Americans from doing the same things they are doing in ...say Libya?
If we peter out on rebelling against the criminal system then the ruling elite will continue to turn us all into rubbish.
#34
Heads up on a new movie coming out you might enjoy(?) seeing. That is if you can still afford the Senior Discounted or Pre-matinee prices.
"Margin Call". Set in the high-stakes world of the financial industry, a thriller entangling the key players at an investment firm during one perilous 24-hour period in the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis.
Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore and other top stars.
#35
Palindromedary ---- Talk -----
I agree that corruption had Obama in chains before he ever took office, I disagree that this was or is or will be his intent. Corruption would prefer a Civil War, left against right , one citizen against the other based on ideologies at the level of political radio talk shows
,rather than face a Revolution with the working class united against corruption
as opposed to being divided one against the other.
If you truly believe Obama sides with corruption, don't vote for him, other wise support what he is trying to do regardless of the battles he has lost.
#36
So what IS he trying to do? What he has said he wanted to do or what he has shown us that he is willing to do...which is let Wall Street and the banksters get away with ripping off the people.So what IS he trying to do? What he says now? When he wants his jilted voters to forget about all those times he gave away the store? Didn't even try to start the "bargaining process" with progressive agendas but right off the bat said we'd give up the very things we needed to have. When you are bought and paid for by Wall Street and corporate interests and then act in their behalf against the voters then one has to hold very dubious ANYTHING he has to say about ANYTHING anymore. He has proven himself to his real base...corporate and derivative junkies in Wall Street and proven to the rest of us that he is not worthy of our vote again.
When he campaigned the first time, it sounded like he was going to really help defend us in the economic war against us. What we got was either a coward who didn't have the guts to fight for us or we got a collaborator to further undermine us. The only way I could envision forgiving him is if he was either being blackmailed or threatened by a ruthless criminal organization that has already assassinated at least one other President. Some organizations exist across generations and its members are held together by the same goals and beliefs especially in economic dominance.
For all I know, Obama was freaked out when he was told in no uncertain terms that the earth is being dominated by alien giant ant-like creatures with technology far surpassing ours and telepathic abilities who are temporarily kidnapping earth women...creating hybrids...and have made a deal with our leaders in order to get some of their technology.....and they eat rats....and love strawberry ice cream. Ok, maybe I need to cut back on a little of the V-series and stop reading all those UFO books.
But, some of these rulers may not be much different than giant alien ants. Some of them are giant Koch-roaches ...for sure. And they all act like giant leeches sucking the life's blood out of mankind. They are certainly giant parasites that falsely believe of themselves as being harder working, more dedicated, and more deserving than anyone else. But in most cases they are merely very lucky and/or inherited a lot of their wealth that they use to continue to leverage against everyone else. And in some cases they have gotten their wealth through criminal actions.(Isn't that right...Daryl Issa?) And if their money did not buy the politicians and lawmakers they would be considered by our legal system as law breakers...criminals. But they have bought and corrupted our legal and political system. Their money buys the major news media that portrays them in high esteem....someone to aspire to be like...if we only work harder. And the result is that the people are psychologically deadened to that sucking sound of people's veins (retirement and/or bank accounts) being emptied by those parasites that are not satisfied with most of the money...they want it all. They want us all to bow down before their eminence and plead for alms for slaving away in their sweat shops and kiss their feet for it.
#37
#OCCUPYMARINES Are Preparing To Occupy America NATIONWIDE
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&add...
#38
Basically your asking the administration to stick its chin out , blunder in like a senseless enraged bull swinging like a barn door rather than roll with the punches and hook and jab.
"Fly like a butter fly and sting like a bee."
Mohamed Alie
#39
stick ones chin out? blunder in like a senseless enraged bull swinging like a barn door?
Seems to have worked quite nicely for the Republicans!
Rather than roll with the punches?
Seems like what the Democrats have been doing for 30 years!
Punch and jab? Are you kidding? What punch and jab have the Democrats been doing? All they've been doing is rolling over and taking it in the....well you get my meaning.
This, of course, is giving the Democrats too much credit and letting them off the hook because what they have really been doing is a lot more sinister. They are, many of them, bought and paid for by Wall Street...they only pretend they are, or would be, if they had the chance (yeah, right!), to be on our side. Nope! It has devolved into a corrupt system where the Democrats are playing a game of smoke and mirrors, bait and switch, good cop bad cop and they are working for the ruling elite and not for main-stream hard working Americans...the majority. Everyone is grabbing what they can because they all realize that their laisez faire capitalism that the Republicans pushed for, and weak and meek (roll with the punches) Democrats that did not fight back..or even assisted in creating giant bubbles that pop..as if the Wall Street gang wasn't knowingly and artificially creating these bubbles....doesn't work in the interests of everyone.
Well, it looks like the people have had enough of the current one-party Wall Street party (with two factions: Republicans and Democrats) system and are fighting back in the streets. They realize that we will get nowhere with the current corrupt system of voting for the person who best lies to us, then screws us anyway.
It's like 911...the Bush government tried to tell us that the reason why it happened was because of ineffective communications and collaboration between the institutions that were supposed to prevent it. They are claiming bumbling and mistakes. No one got demoted except those who tried to ring the alarm bell. In fact all those who were supposedly inept or bumbling were actually promoted. That's all total Bull Sh__! For one thing...911 was an inside job..and when all Americans stop being so gullible about the official government conspiracy theory and see all of the glaring lies, inconsistencies in the government's story, and just common sense. Buildings don't fall free-fall speed unless the underlying support structure is removed and no longer presenting a resistance to gravity. This only occurs if a demolition takes place. And if a demolition...then inside job!
We are constantly being propagandized through our main stream media (owned by the ruling elite). We have all been propagandized from birth that the US stands for law and order, fair play, freedoms, mom and apple pie. We are told that God is on our side because we are magnanimous and true. We are also sheltered from the harsh realities of all of the atrocities and murder we commit in the name of "preserving our way of life" (yeah, like oil and controlling others).
"In our interest of national security"...or just "In our interest" we use as excuses to bully other countries and murdering their citizens. We are also propagandized into believing that if we all work hard enough and save for the long term that we too can make it. We are taught that all of the institutions like banking, government, our legal system, and all the others are responsible and worthy of our trust. But, it appears that the ones that have really "made it" are the ones who created devious financial instruments to cheat everyone else and sold us short by selling short in a collaborative effort among the wealthy Wall Street gamblers, using everyone elses retirement funds, and sliced and diced CDOs, and derivatives.
No, I don't think we can excuse Obama or the Democrats for "rolling with the punches" and waiting for a jab here and there. And the only ones stinging like a bee is the ruling elite who uses the Republican party as the bad cop and the Democratic party as the good cop and they use this to get what they want no matter who is in office. They use the Democratic party to feed us false hope which buys them time to put into play what they want anyway. It keeps the people hopeful for change and out of the streets obstructing business as usual. Thank the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators that they are not all content to "roll with the punches" anymore.
#40
teneraansis: It is such a pleasure to have an intelligent discourse with kindred spirits, and to derive a much-needed boost in morale when so much evil is being perpetrated. I look forward to reading these posts so much because I learn something important every time, and I get to "talk" to like-minded individuals who seek truth, justice and planetary health. When enough of us unite in this type of global consciousness, we are empowered in ways that are superior to material wealth and power.
#41
Pat Prachter,I am delighted to have you for a friend in the spirit of universal oneness of the mind. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement in our struggle to make this world a better place for all of us to live in. As we intellectually interact with our thoughts and ideas, we elevate the level of our thinking. That is important for a successful reunification with the universal mind, and what is the universal mind if not that element which connects us to all higher evolved societies, here, as well as those beyond our own celestial backyard. "Elevated thinking" is always connected with truth, ethics, and morality as the foundation of how we interact with each other. Here on earth thinking is often primitive, and therefore we find ourselves at times in conflict with those who hold power, yet do their thinking with the aim of taking unfair advantage of others, and such misconduct I call "primitive thinking." It destroys the oneness we are striving for and fosters fragmentation, creating wars, poverty, and stress for the people, and we don't like that, for we don't like to volunteer for victimhood. Thank you again for your kind words.
#42
It is up to us to see that Democrats give Republicans the same treatment they have given Obama and the Democrats if they win in 2012. We must put all Democrats in the Senate that if they do not support a filibuster of every action on the part of the Republicans in the future, we will do everything to see they are not re-elected. The message must be sent to the Republicans that you will get back what you do in the future and discourage shutting down the legislative process. I think it is time to find out which of the Democrats are willing to really support the Democratic agenda and platform. If you are interested, I am trying to get a petition signed to see who would support a pledge I have come up with to request all of the Democratic legislators to sign to establish their level of support. If you are interested send me a email and I will send you a copy of the petition and pledge I have set up with MoveOn.Org for you to review and see if you agree.
#43
they won't get it! they are not republicans they are...re-dumb-licans and remember forest said, "stupid is as stupid does....AMERICA IS GOING DOWN IN FLAMES OF OBSTRUCTIONISM!!!
#44
I wonder why there has not been a lawsuity to decide whether abuse of the filibuster is unconstitutional. If the constitution says 51 votes but Republicans use a Senate rule to make it 60 then that is in direct opposition to the Constitution. I know the Constitution also allows the Senate to make it's opwn rules but at some point, if we can never get below 60 votes on substantive matters, then citizens are deprived of majority rule.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
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Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
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Why has there been no move to change the Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster? I seem to remember the Republicans threatening to do so a few years back. It is time for the Democrats to give the Republicans a dose of their own medicine, don't you think?