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I think the Depublicans will say "no" because they are more invested in being on stage and becoming tv personalities and getting attention for themselves than they are in serving up healthy meals for hungry American children. Their main talent seems to be farce. Their front-runners are increasingly ludicrous and uneducated, revampiring the GOP into a nightmarish carnivale of nonsense and freaks.
At this point they will like to confirm that no matter what Obama does or has done or hasn't done, it is wrong for the country. They will want everyone to know what a mistake they made in the last election, and that until they are given total control, things are going to get worse.
We're down to the Thug Stage where people are deliberately roughed-up, frightened, and misled in order to force them to give up more and more concessions and personal property to The Crime Families, for protection against chaos and misfortune, loss of life or limb, or germ warfare.
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Americans subjected to propaganda from privately controlled media have become afraid of Muslim terrorists while at the same time deprived of the news that America has become known around the world as the leading rogue terrorist state. In fact, America has been censured by the World Court on numerous occasions. I hope all Americans would watch "War on Democracy" and all of Noam Chomsky's documentories and read his book Hegemony or Survival because he clearly delineates that the American power elite's desire to control the world for the benefit of their interests is literally endangering the survival of humanity as we know it,
Thom, I see the importance of your focus on our domestic politics. I would like to know how you relate this to the international situation as detailed by Noam Chomsky in his books and the videos of his talks. I think Americans also need to know how currency speculation, low growth and high unemployment benefits and enriches a small group of businessmen and investors who buy up stock and hire employees cheap. This rich and powerful ruling elite don't care what happens to the rest of the world as they believe they are insulated from the economic and ecological catastrophes that their policies are creating.
I think it is unfortunate that American have been bombarded by privately owned media with propoganda about Muslim terrorists while being deprived of the news that America is considered to be a leading terrorist rogue state by much of the world. US response to 9/11 actually fueled more terrorism and violence. Determined to promote US interests at any cost, the US has been repeatedly sanctioned by the World Court and blocked measures that would reduce terrorist acts in the Middle East. I would hope Americans would want to emerge from the controlled media box and education themselves. War on Democracy, Noam Chomsky's documentaries and his book Hegemony or Survival would be good starting places. He demonstrated how American desire for hegemony has literally put the entire world at risk for unprecedented violence.
Also, it's really sad that the only time America is united is during a disaster.
If there were ANYTHING good from this is that I met both liberals and conservatives who believed that 9/11 was an inside job
Well, as long as I'm the only one here, here's another short rant:
Medicare cards should be deemed legal tender for covered medical services. Medical providers should be prohibited from rejecting a patient because of the presentation of the card for services.
Slow day ... I recall that Wolfowitz, Bush, Cheney, etc. said that they would "have a talk" with Congress, but not under oath. This is questionable in a legal sense (at least to me, but I'm just a jailhouse lawyer).
I suggest that the very act of going before Congress and giving information to our representatives regarding any act that may commit the taxpayers to an expenditure should not require a formal swearing in. The participants should, by default, be assumed to being testifying under oath and held liable for their answers.
Remember that lying to an FBI agent is a federal crime, and a person is not sworn in before questioning. The FBI can lie to you, but that's a different issue for another rant.
Regarding the "Threats" reported for this Sunday, I quote the movie "V for Vendetta": "I want this country to realize that we stand on the edge of oblivion. I want everyone to remember *why* they need us!"
Who is the "Us" who we're supposed to be reminded that we might need? I do not know, I leave that open.
The only good thing I noticed, is that for a very brief period of time, the country was UNITED. The people of the united states were ONE. We helped each other especially those affected by the tragedy. We backed our president 100% even though we all didn't vote for him. That's the kind of america I'd like to see again, all of us be united again and we all set aside our differences.
A favorite quote of mine:
The product of anarchy and time is society. -- Gene Savory
what would be a good thing is if people would stop acting like those of us who see the holes in the "official" story of 9/11 are viewed as conspiracy theorists. it would be good if people would open their eyes and realize that there was no plane at the Pentagon. it would be good if people would realize that even if jet fuel did cause the the buildings to begin to fall, that at some point the fall would buckle as opposed to collapse in its own footprint. it would be good if people who support the jet fuel reasoning for why the WTC towers fell would realize that there was no jet fuel in WTC 7 and therefore no reason (based on their own reasoning) for the building to collapse as it did. there are many inadequately answered questions regarding 911. I'm not absolutely saying that 911 was an inside job, but I am saying that our government isn't telling us the whole truth. I am saying that the answers they give don't equate with reality, logic, or science. And for that reason alone I, and millions of other intelligent logical citizens, wonder who was actually behind the attacks of 911. When combined with the documented neo-conservative agenda drafted in the 90s to spread democracy throughout the middle east by use of force it seems all too coincidental that we had a neo-conservative administration running things on 911. When combined with Bush's statements regarding being a war president and invading Iraq before he was even president and the subsequent stolen election in 2000, it sure points to a high conspiracy. When combined with the documented lies that got us into the Iraq war, one has to wonder who truly was behind the attacks. Our gov't has lied us into war before and even killed its own in an attempt to push us into war in the past, so why is it so hard to believe that they could have drafted such a dastardly dead??? Too many questions, too few adequate answers, and too many gullible citizens and media heads....you included Thom. You included....unfortunately. Even NPRs tone regarding alternate truths of 911 is down right condescending and in congruence with the mainstream reasoning. Why try to protect us from our governments mistakes and shortcoming? The media should join the fight of truth, not government propaganda. Stop trying to protect us from having doubt on our government...its too late for that anyway. We the people don't trust DC and for liberal talkers to stop thinking logically when it comes to 911 only makes otherwise intelligent people seem complicit....
i'm sick of being called a "conspiracy theorist" and being condescended to simply because I see the holes in the official story. stop being so gullible and open your eyes to truth.
What happened to UStream? I'd expect a technical problem to last minutes, not days.
Obama Jobs Plan Tax Cuts Threaten Social Security
Robert Pollin: Infrastructure investments positive if passed, cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security more likely
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&I...
High-Level Officials Eager to Spill the Beans About What REALLY Happened on 9/11 … But No One In Washington or the Media Wants to Hear
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/
The only good thing that came from 9/11, or from any disaster, natural or man made, is that it shows the resiliency of the American people and their ability to come together in a time of need.
In rep[ly to scarrino.
It is not that he is not capable
He is just a part of the same corrupt system. Corrupt from top to bottom, from inside out.
I don't beleive anything is going to change as of yet ( or ever) until the money "speaks" the loudest. Sometimes I think what would it look like if a 100 million folks give just $100.00 each to a candidate, could we buy a politician for ourselves?
It's important to understand that the World Trade Center was not just any tall office building... not an innocent building.
In his book, The Pentagon's New Map (2004), Thomas P. M. Barnett (a Naval War College professor, and geostrategic consultant to the Pentagon) rather transparently described how he served to organize coordinated strategic planning meetings for 21st Century military force supported global economic domination. Those meetings were not held in Washington, DC, at the Pentagon, nor at Foggy Bottom. All the high ranking Pentagon and numerous intelligence agency officials had to regularly schlep up to New York City — where the real Power resides — where decisions were/are made by those who actually decide who will be the POTUS, and what that POTUS and the Congress will do together, and what they will not do. Throughout the Clinton Regime, and seamlessly continuing into the Bush Regime, the meetings of those who were coordinating full-spectrum global domination were held at the offices of the giant bond trading company Cantor Fitzgerald, on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center's Tower One... until 09/11/2001.
Objectively, the World Trade Center buildings became a legitimate and primary military target, because the offices of Cantor Fitzgerald were the de facto command and control center for the coordination of the American military assisted neoliberal global Market-State's serial resource wars of aggression waged upon any less weaponized nations — having valuable resources, and preferably not having any nuclear weapons — that would dare resist the ruthless exploitation and domination by the international banking entities and global extraction industries. The World Trade Center contained an imperial command and control center callously placed among millions of unsuspecting human shields.
The subservience of the military and national intelligence agencies to the banksters of global finance was consistent with the neoliberal realities of the ever expansionist global Market-State (a virtual entity that through global financial control effectively owns the governments of nation-states). Economic enslavement is the primary neoliberal weapon of mass domination (WMD). The military and the covert operating spooks only provide their alternative muscular means if targeted nations resist — if they refuse any offers made that they can't refuse.
It's important to understand that the purpose of the Clinton Regime's interventions — the '95 and '99 aerial bombings of Yugoslavia (with a resultant 4 civilians killed for every soldier targeted) — was not humanitarian. It was done to provide an excuse to maintain the NATO forces, which should have been disbanded after the fall of the Soviet Union. When Clinton lied Yugoslavs died; after which Halliburton's KBR was immediately awarded a no-bid contract to build the then world's largest military base (Camp Bondsteel), providing the American military easy fighter sortie and troop deployment proximity to the Trans-Balkan oil pipeline region; and NATO was reassigned to a new mission, as a permanent expeditionary invasion and occupation force to be used in the planned continuum of resource wars (The Long War that actually began during the nice smiley faced Jimmy Carter Regime).
It's also important to understand that a large portion of Iraq was being bombed near daily throughout the 8 years of the Clinton Regime. Iraq was under siege, having its military defenses and societal infrastructure systematically degraded and destroyed, in preparation for a massive invasion that would have eventually occurred regardless of whomever the POTUS was whenever Iraq was military assessed to be sufficiently vulnerable enough to be successfully occupied by ground troops — success being measured by the political sustainability of public cost providing a high return for private profit, with the least risk to private capital invested.
The voters do not determine policy, regardless of which corporate party faction nominally possess the popular mandate. Voters can only choose to either personally be corporate (R) & (D) party complicit in all the war crimes and crimes against humanity that will be committed by the corporate-state, or to cast a moral imperative protest vote (a vote that's never cast for any Republican or any Democrat). The only votes that are actually not wasted are the protest votes.
Those who argue over whether Republicans or Democrats should provide the nominal appearance of control are merely engaged in a struggle between fascist factions over appearances — arguing over whether the war crimes and crimes against humanity to be committed in their name will be crudely and hot-bloodedly done by Republicans, or calmly and cold-bloodedly done by Democrats.
Only one thing good I can think of is -
It made Americans more aware and alert what could actually happen also here in America.
No, I can't think of anything good (unless you're a war profiteer or domestic equivalent). I can't think of anything good right now, and I'm not sure I'll be able to dream something up before climbing out of bed tomorrow morning. Regardless, the point is made already.
Now, if you had asked if I could think of anything negative and destructive that's emerged since then, I could skip sleep, work all night, and still not have exhausted the list. To really emphasize the point, I think the two challenges should be presented side by side.
Maybe this time, in order to qualify to bid on one of the infrastructure upgrade projects, it is with the understanding that first you are a U.S. company that pays it's business/income taxes, then all of your labor will be U.S. citizens (including the project engineers), next all of the steel will be U.S. manufactured, and the concrete, and the heavy equipment, oh, and the financing, etc.
Then, when everyone starts to spend their wages perhaps they could be "really" encouraged in the various media to buy more "made in America" stuff. Raising a few tariffs up to reasonable levels would help with this.
Personally think Obama used an old method to get the cranks to move. “Give someone enough rope and they will hang themselves.”
The GOP hung themselves with their deficit fiasco. If they don't cooperate, they know, they will NOT be re-elected.
They also know with sour grapes candidate, like Perry, they better clean out their mouths, with some badly needed soap........
The only good thing about 9/11 was to witness the best of humanity on that day and many days after. These best of the best and bravest of the brave put their lives on the line for their fellow human beings. There is a glaring contrast between the evilness of those who perpetrated the act, and the greatness of those who rushed in, with such heart, and selflessness, to help the vicitms. Their loving and heroic deeds were, and are, a gift to humanity- they showed us what we are capable of! Hopefully we will all commit EVERY DAY acts of random kindness, rather than waiting for a terrible tradgedy to occur- in part to honor their kindness! My heart hurts for all those brave and honorable first responders who were willing to give their lives for others, and are now abandoned by inhumane (they are people, right?) insurance companies and right wing political hacks. But on that terrible day, they gave us all the gift of themselves- and it is a gift I will never forget.
Cheney's secret energy meetings hold the key to the whole mess. It should never have ended with Scooter.
"Today - the United States has more people in prison - both as a percentage and in absolute numbers - than any other country in the developed world. And it appears the destructive nature of administering our criminal justice system based on the profit motive plays a huge role in our nation's exploding prison population. A fact that seems to allude Ohio Governor John Kasich. So how worrisome is it that corporate power is now creeping into the commons of our criminal justice system? And what are the consequences?"
Corporate power "crept" into the criminal Justice system long before Randolf Hurst began his campaign of fear mongering and yellow journalisum about drugs. The Nixon / Reagan demagogery just racheted it up to todays "Rockefeller" levels. A more apt metaphore perhaps might be a relentless glacier.
To me another Example: the copyright laws as changed in the 90's to pander to the Disney empire's impending loss of Mickey Mouse to the public domain. One has only to look at the emphasis on "illegal" downloading music,movies, videos, et.al. where the FBI can track down some hapless student in a college dorm but cannot seem to protect the public from the Enrons, Bernie Maddofs, email spoofs or telephone "credit card" scams.
Democracy and Capitialisum are not the same thing and often are mutually exclusive. You might be suprised how many in our population think them synomonous (no thanks to Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics).
In America you get your monies worth of Justice or (as the Romans would say) "the big thieves hang the little ones"
David, I think you're on to something here....now if I can only stop laughing long enough to hunt and peck! Seriously though it all makes great sense, we all know the republicans have OCD when it comes to the "God Almighty Dollar" so if this is what it takes to get the SOBs to vote in favor of America and skip the k street job, so be it. Although I think $100 mill is enough, and still tax it...no loopholes. One more thing, given the history of figures like Robertson I think he might like to share in Perry's lifetime position. Great idea!