The Cancer-stage of Capitalism.
By louisehartmann
Unregulated capitalism is cancer on our nation. Like tumors, greed has metastasized, strangling once-healthy parts of our economy, and our social safety net. A new piece on Alternet lists several ways this cancer capitalism has taken hold. For starters, the hoarding of wealth by the banksters and the 1% has diverted resources away from nutritional aid programs. Twenty people in our country collected a whopping $73 billion in investment income – all taxed at a lower rate than working Americans. Compare that with the fact that President Obama couldn't even get $1 billion to improve childhood nutrition in our schools.
And, while cancer capitalism has lead to higher-than-ever corporate profits, it hasn't translated into good jobs for college grads. Because of rising tuition costs, the average student graduates with $26,000 of student loan debt, and adding to that burden, high-unemployment allows the corporate elite to underpay workers, and hoard a larger share of profits.
In addition, tax-dodging corporations have drained much-needed revenue out of our society like a tumor choking off the blood supply to our economy. According to Alternet, tax exemptions and corporate loopholes drain nearly a trillion dollars from “the body of our society” every year.
And, the worst parasite of all is the unrestrained corporate purchase of our politicians. Cancer capitalism has left voters feeling weak and powerless, while Congress repeatedly represents only the will of the corporate elite. We must stop this cancer before it spreads into every last inch of our national body.
Just like conquering any type of cancer, we must attack this problem from all sides, from getting money out of politics, to regulating Wall Street, to breaking up the monopolies that have too much power over our government. We can do all this, and we must.
Comments
#2
DAnnemarc: Have you ever read any books by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh and/or Henry Lincoln? I have read several starting with "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", "The Messianic Legacy", and the "Dead Sea Scrolls Deception". And another one by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince called "The Templar Revelation". There have been all kinds of secret societies and religions based on various themes...one about a "Black Madonna"..another about how this cult in France, I believe..could have been Spain..believed that Mary, Jesus' wife escaped with Jesus' infant child by boat and landed in one of those countries. And along with her and her baby came a treasure. Both the treasure and bloodline was kept secret.
It has been many years since I've read these books...still have them though..anyway, here is an interesting web site that talks about what is largely written about in "Holy Blood, Holy Grail"..the story of the young (33years old) Father Berenger Sauniere who, in 1885, was sent to this out of the way tiny village called Rennes Le Chateau on top of a hill in the south of France. In this church, which had been built dedicated to Mary Magdeline, he finds clues to an ancient treasure and secret information about Christianity that Rome may have paid him to keep secret. He went from a dirt poor parish priest to a very wealthy and prominent priest.
Quote the web site:
As Sauniere lay on his deathbed, a priest was called from a neighboring parish to administer last rights. After Sauniere's final confession, the priest emerged visably shaken and refused to administer Extreme Unction. He fell into an acute depression that lasted months and according to one source : "never smiled again".
What was it that Father Sauniere told the priest that would affect him so?
#3
Palindromedary ~ You shouldn't have to play anything backwards on this concert to get the message I'm talking about. But, if you want to, that's fine.
#4
Palindromedary ~ Very interesting. I'll have to read it later. Need to run a quick errand now. Thanks. I'll post my reponse later.
#5
DAnnemarc: Ok, I give up...give me a hint! I'm very obtuse when it comes to understanding the lyrics in music. I can't even stand it when they play music in the background during documentaries. I wish the producers of documentaries would just knock off all those irrelevant, noisy, distractions. The important thing is the spoken words in the documentaries not all that racket. Maybe it isn't irritating to some people but to me, at least, it is very irritating. And it is very difficult, sometimes impossible, to understand what is being said. I wish there was a program..that would filter out all but the spoken word. I have tried to do it using various filters in Audacity and can get some of it out but usually the quality of the spoken words suffers.
And so, trying to listen to most music with words in it is not enjoyable unless I just ignore all the words. The melodies may be very enjoyable but the words are garbled garbage and have no meaning to me.
I have the same problem when trying to listen to idiots babbling all at the same time. Some panel discussions or debates are just frustrating...even Bill Maher....I like to watch..but when they start talking over one another it is just unintelligible and frustrating. I wish they'd put each panelist in a closed, sound-proof booth with a microphone that the moderator can control. That way no one could possibly talk over one another like that.
#6
Palindromedary ~ That "greyfalcon" link was extraordinary. I haven't had a chance yet to read more than 60% of the post. I feel I have heard most of this research before when I read "The DeVinchi Code".
Being of French ancestry I find this history particularly compelling. Did you know that Nostradamus, a French Prophet, in his legacy in Century 9, Quatrain 33 had this to say:
(translated from the original french and latin)
Hercules, King of Rome and of D'AnneMarc
Three times the leader of France to be surnamed De Gaule
Italy will tremble, and so will the waters around St. Marc
The first to be renound above all the Kings.
As you may already have conjectured, I take this stuff quite seriously. You might think, wow, DAnneMarc needs to seek help. I have. No one can help me. Maybe you can. Thanks, buddy! I know I've dumped a lot of "stuff" on you at once. I'm sorry.
#7
Palindromedary ~ As far as the links in the music are concerned allow me to cite the areas in Revelation that refer to the event. They are from a parenthetical Chapter 14 and 15. The verses are so:
Revelation 14:1 ¶And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Revelation 15:1 ¶And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
My friend, as far as the fulfillment of this prophecy is concerned fast forward (not backwards) to about midway through the Oakland Coliseum Live Aid concert I sent the link to. Look for John Fogerty wearing an A's cap. That is the song you need to learn. I can't simplify it more than that. Either you get it, or you don't. Don't despair not getting it is not the end of the world, my friend.
#8
DAnnemarc: I keep thinking about my trip to Grenoble back in about 2007. I could very easily have gone to Rennes-Le-Chateau...only about 233 miles SouthWest of Grenoble. I think I actually read those books before then but had completely forgotten about them when I got to France. I had the week-end to travel to anywhere in my rental car I wanted ...but I was thinking about going down to Marseille at the time but didn't even do that. I just spent the week-end driving around Grenoble and riding the tram up to the Bastille (the fort on top of the mountain was called Bastille and not the same one that is in Paris..that confused me too). It was nice driving around the streets of Grenoble though. I even walked through a park, on my way to the tram, where they had some sort of festivity...with bands and mimes.
By the way, I had found the references to DAnnemarc quite a long time ago. Still rather unclear as to what it is really referring to. Sounds like it is a place...Denmark..and a reference to Prince of Denmark. Another place I found a reference to the Dark Prince of Denmark..or maybe it was Prince of Dark men...I don't know....starting to sound a little Satanic here.
Anyway, yeah, Revelations...what a kick...evidently they even saw UFOs way back then. But then, according to John Allegro in his book The Sacred Mushroom And The Cross...which I read many years ago...those old guys saw all kinds of weird things when they were all strung out and hallucinating on shrooms....yes...they were very abundant back then and they knew about them, and used them, too.
vids on John Allegro's book:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM7CH_IgZDg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfhe1TxXgVc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdAJl-6bLTY
#9
DAnneMarc - I didn't say "Money is the root of all evil"; (the scriptural quote is, "The desire for money is the root of all evil"). I do say the use of money leads to inefficiency, greed, waste, inequality, injustice, ill health, poverty, ignorance, crime, war, slavery, treason and corruption by the fascist Republicanazis, the destruction of the environment and rare animal species, and other goals of government. The people doing the horrible things are the perpetrators obstructing human progress. Money is the tool, religion is the mask and fascism is the political ramrod of the conservative agenda; deprivation and suffering are the results. Money even contributes to illness because of the bacteria-covered coins and bills.
#10
At least bits and bytes (which is most of the money) do not have human viruses.
#11
Great article but when is anyone going to actually do something about it. Why hasn't anyone attacked the big boys by calling a boycott of products their companies sell. Stain Master Carpets for example by the Koch Brothers. The only way to get their attention is to affect their income.
#12
Jstrahan -- I think the best way to do something about it, is to join PDA (progressive democrats of America).
#13
A new edition of "The Cancer Stage of Capitalism: Crisis and Cure," by Professor John McMurtry has just been published by Pluto Press: http://www.amazon.com/Cancer-Stage-Capitalism-Crisis-Cure/dp/0745333133/...
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DAnnemarc: Wow! You've given a lot for me to ponder. And I realize, of course, just as one can look into the clouds and see all kinds of things, creatures, people, whatever, one can listen to music backwards and changing the tempo and imagine hearing all kinds of things. It was fun, many years ago when all we had was records and cassette tapes to play music backwards...but a lot harder than today on a computer. The Beatle's I am the Walrus was said to have had a hidden message that said something about Paul's death..if you played the son backwards.
live aid -> evil dia -> evil day
lived -> devil
The movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me had a scene of a dream of a little man sitting at a table inside a large room with black and white tiles and a plush red curtain room divider. He slowly said "This is a formica table" as he rubs his hands over the top. He said a number of other things that were rather odd. But what added to the weirdness of it was the very strange effect that was created in the way he said it all. An other worldly effect. I learned later that they created that effect by the actor actually recording him talking backwards and then playing it forwards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iJUs-4z2lY
Here's another scene from the Twin Peaks TV series..this scene from the episode Cooper's Dream...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guwl1w0yFGk
Or, if you prefer, the scene played backwards:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkhXHFnu99A
I didn't hear anything unusual in this one, though. No God is dead!
Here's a longer scene from the Black Lodge that I don't remember having seen before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1CuX0Ix33I
I like most of David Lynch's movies. Blue Velvet, the one with Dennis Hopper, Kyle MacLachlan, and Isabella Rossellini was really great! Wild At Heart..another one.