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I'd like to suggest a new term for the Mega Corporations and Extremely Wealthy, something I think people could really instinctively understand:
"Money Holes"
Like Black Holes suck in everything including light, giving little back, "Money Holes" suck in money and prosperity and give back little. When Repugnants start talking about tax cuts and the trickle down theory, Democrats can counter with the Money Hole Theory, that the more you throw money at an organization the larger it will grow and the more money it will demand. "Money Holes" will devour other weaker "Money Holes" eventually becoming "Super Massive Money Holes".
The supreme court is wrong, money isn't speech, its closer to a body mass that causes gravity, though money is an abstract, and the abstract force exerted by money is greed. The more money that's accumulated, the more greed it exerts... think about it.
Besides, how relieving would it be to call a large corporation or wealthy individuals (like the Koch Bros), a "Friggen' Money Hole!"
A term that can appeal to the intelligentsia and also to the low information citizen.
N
And we got....Obama...didn't we?!! How is that working for us? "Voting" in a crooked system is just not working out for the little guy...most of us. It is going to take a lot more than voting and writing letters or making phone calls or tweeting or leaving messages on blogs. When you are attacked by knives, guns, bombs, or even just fists....you have to respond in any way that is effective.
When you are on a battlefield, facing the enemy, you don't say "hey, wait, timeout...let's talk about this...lets vote for the outcome...or let's wait for a savior to rescue us. Even 2000 years ago when the Jews were hoping a savior would show up to save them from the Romans they had Sicari activists who were "a real pain in the Roman's backs" applying their skills in crowded market places. You can later engineer history to change lions into lambs if you want. The Roman empire eventually fell...or did it?
People's lives....many, many people are going to suffer and die because of the advantage, and ruthlessness, the enemy has on the battlefield of crooked, rigged, politics. The system is corrupt.
It is a life or death situation for many...or soon will be. The system won't change until people get really, really, scary to the few wealthy and ruling individuals who make and control policy. It happened before in many countries...even the US....people got so upset and desperate that they scared the crap out of the ruling elite which resulted in a swing toward democracy...rule by the people.
Rather than directly targeting red states, simply stop all payments to certain programs such as farm subsidies, military hardware purchases and maintenance for programs such as submarines, aircraft carriers, tactical fighters and other hardware not immediately needed for theater operations in Asia. These programs benefit the wealthy and weigh heavily in favor of red states.
I agree with the above post- Dumbs**ts Get What They voted For
If U.S citizens want to end war in the middle east or anywhere, they must vote for a president that believes in peace, like Dennis Kucinich. The U.S. corperatocracy has always been at war somewhere in the world at all times, even when we as the public are not aware of it. If corporations cannot get Americans to finance and man their wars they will find another country that will. Some Americans are just blind and ignorant to their exploitation and others feel powerless to stop it.
At what point do we, all the while lamenting and gnashing our teeth in dispair, realize that the people in Florida who suffer at the hands of the corporate masters might just, in some small sense, deserve what they get? In other words, when do we take personal responsibility for our own complacence in the face of this utterly predictible rise of totalitarianism?
I feel bad for cattle pushed by electric prods to slaughter. I'm starting to feel rather 'eh' for the Americans brought to their own demise by the gross hucksterism of the Republican Party.
I will continue to fight for the liberal ideal. But how much energy do I have for those who skip giddily into a knowable destruction? Not much. Scott was a known monster. They voted for him. Floridians get what they deserve.
A: With a wet noodle.
Q.Do you think he will be beaten?
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@2950-10K, the state we are in will get worse, much worse, and I do not know if our lives will ever be better.
One thing's for sure, Rick Scott is a world class sociopath. It's unfortunate his emotional poverty has to manifest itself in such a way as to create real physical poverty for so many who are unemployed for no reason of their own.
Society does in fact have a last straw, I wonder why guys like Scott are hell-bent to find it. It's gonna get real ugly!
I wouldn't mind my income going down to a fraction of what it used to be if my expenses particulary rent went down in tandem, but no inflation is relentless and there lies all the stress, tension and anguish.I lived in Mexico for 2.5 yrs made $450 a month as an English teacher, my rent for a fully furnished 1bdr apartment, utilities included was $80 mo.When I lived in China teaching English and Spanish, my rent was $80 a month for a 3 bdr apt and my income was $550 a mo.Here in Victoria, Can. my welfare is $900 mo, I make another $60 mo from dumpster diving, my rent is $582, phone $15 and internet $30.I can't afford much fun and vacations-forget it.
Of course we will.
All Republican lawmakers are bad for America. Ever since GW Bush came into office this country, the world, have gone into the tank. In the 8 years while "W" was in office we as a nation went from a zero national debt to a debt of over 8 trillion dollars. And the Republicans have the nerve and audacity to point their collective fingers at the Democrats for the economic calamity facing America and also most of the world's free nations. How pathetic of them. I suppose that the bigger the lie the more that ignorant people will believe it to be true. Now, back to my first sentence of this article. How can any group of legislatures consider not doing what is correct in dealing with the raising of the debt ceiling is not responsible behavior. They have always been ready to vote on bills that provide tax cuts for the rich and corporations, voting to eliminate banking regulations and safeguards, threatening to cut off the only financial security seniors depend on, namely, their monthly Social Security checks, increasing Medicare premium payments, and the list goes on and on. But ask them to come to the aid of those folks who are considered poor and middleclass and they become invisible. I am disgusted by their callous disregard for those Americans who need the most help. Show them that you will not accept that kind of behavior any longer by voting them out of office at the next election.
Like all political monsters, Rick Scott was beaten from the moment he surrendered his soul to the republican party.
But on a lighter note, I would like to offer a few words on politics of a day gone by:
POGO AND BUSH IN THE TIME OF POE AND JANE AUSTEN
Once upon a december dreary, while I pondered, half-drunk and weary
through the shelves of Barnes and Noble, over much queer and curious lore
seeking a book that wouldn't bore,
a literary blossom unknown to me
when at my mind there came this sound
like a bipedal marsupial’s foot tapping the ground
or gently rapping, rapping at my noggin's gate.
“Tis but some cheap romance novel that I would abhore,” I muttered,
“tapping at my mental door - only this, and nothing more.”
Ah, distinctly I remember, it was that dismal, rainy December,
and each vapid volume wrought its unholy ghost upon my eye;
eagerly I wished the morrow- vainly had I sought to borrow
from those books, surcease of sorrow-
or at least another s'more from the Starbucks
at the other end of the store-
where for only a few measy bucks I could enjoy
the mushy, brownish goo that decorates the cookies- oo!
that dull my wit and make me cry, ‘Oh, I love thee, yes I do,’
Yet, nameless here, forevermore.
Ah, the silken, sad, uncertain snappings of those thinnest of paper wrappings
thrilled me- filled me with fantastic terrors oft felt before
of scarfing s'mores with that beautimous barista Lenore;
so that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
“Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my cranial door -
some late visitor entreating entrance to my mental moor
seeking to take advantage of the intelligentsia poor -
only this, and nothing more.”
Yet, with each bite of scrumptious s'more my soul grew stronger;
demanding that I hesitate no longer,
“Sir,” said I, “or Madam: truly your forgiveness I implore;
for I was intellectually napping when so gently you came rapping,
when so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my cranial door,
that I scarce was sure I heard you” -
here I clambered upon the highest shelf from the floor,
finding romance novels there, and nothing more.
Passionate those manly arms, and bosoms heaving and heaving,
'til I feared I, too, would soon be heaving,
long I stood there, wondering, fearing,
doubting, dreaming dreams of trying not to hurl
not in front of Lenore, the barista girl-
of whom this mortal should have dared to dream before
but with hands clapped firmly o’er my mouth,
the deafening literary silence was unbroken,
though the bookshelves gave, themselves, no token,
and the only word that was spoken
was the whispered word, "S'more!"
This I whispered, ere so faintly, and barista Lenore
echoed back the word, "S'more?"
Merely this, and nothing more.
Back into the bookstore turning, my soul-
no, perhaps my love handles burning
yet soon I heard a tapping, somewhat louder than before
“Surely,” thought I, “surely that is something at my mental bulwark
let us see, then, what thereat is, and this mysterious quark explore; -
Though surely ‘tis the s'more, and nothing more!”
Open here I flung the suspect book, when, with many a jiggle and a flutter,
looking like someone who's had a bit too much butter,
a literary blossom, oh indeed, a bipedal possum with no grits,
upon the pages with great speed that I viewed now sits
and then up hops ol' Pogo, bare feet flapping
summat a raven a'tapping, tapping
at my mental bulwark sturdy,
“Tis a brain-chemistry hurdy gurdy,” said I -
“only this and nothing more,”
and yet ol' Pogo, with just a touch of art
perched upon George Bush's biography and cut a sonorous fart.
Perched, and farted, nothing more.
Quoth ol' Pogo, “Bush, nevermore.”
Much I marvelled this swampy denison to hear discourse so plain,
and his action deep meaning, not to mention a skid-mark stain-
great relevance bore; for we cannot help agreeing
that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing
ol' Pogo's butt upon George Bush's face,
with such a comment as “Bush, nevermore.”
But ol' Pogo, sitting solo on that vapid photo, spoke only
those two words, as if his soul in those two words he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered – even his toe-jam did not flutter -
Till I scarcely more than muttered, “Other friends have farted on Bush before -
I fain wouldst not believe, and yet feel constrained, that by tomorrow eve
'ol Pogo will leave us, as our hopes have flown before.”
But quoth ol' Pogo, “Nevermore. Bush, nevermore.”
And yet the following morn, ol' Pogo
never flitting, still was there, still was sitting,
remaining artful and slightly fartful
on the vapid photo of Bush
on the book, on the bookcase, by the door
of Barnes and Noble, by the door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a possum who is dreaming,
of a Bushless world and that is seemly- possum, true anon!
And by eventide, as the Hummer headlights through the window streaming
threw ol’ Pogo’s shadow on the floor;
and he farts on g.w. forevermore,
repeating his faithful refrain, “Bush, nevermore.”
And so I turned to the bitter-sweet Lenore
to ask her for another s'more
but seeming not to hear my plea,
she rather quoth, “Who's that I see-
the flatulent possum on the bookshelf by the door,
to which sonorous accompaniment he intones the phrase, “Bush, nevermore.”
“Why that possum, ‘pon my oath”
said I, with more than a little surprise,
“wouldst seem destiny itself, one might surmise
rubbing bush with his poignant, furry tush
for ‘tis ol' Pogo, who- unlike Bush-
speaks words we find that we can trust:
‘I have met the enemy, and he is us.’"
And when his time in the White House is through,
Bush to the south
to the south will go.
Yet further south than Texas
this I know
further south and hotter, too.
Penned late at night, so late
by David Abbot, in 2008
Yes, if we all grow up to have our own business, we will have a country of 300 million one employee businesses. Every man for himself, Somalia!!
Amen!
"The Obama Administration’s Wall Street managers have kept the debt overhead in place – toxic mortgage debt, junk bonds, and most seriously, the novel web of collateralized debt obligations (CDO), credit default swaps (almost monopolized by A.I.G.) and kindred financial derivatives of a basically mathematical character that have developed in the 1990s and early 2000s.
These computerized casino cross-bets among the world’s leading financial institutions are the largest problem.
--------
Altogether, the post-2008 crash saw some $13 trillion in such obligations transferred onto the government’s balance sheet from high finance, euphemized as “the private sector” as if it were the core economy itself, rather than its calcifying shell.
Instead of losing on their bad bets, bad loans, toxic mortgages and outright fraudulent claims, the financial institutions cleaned up, at public expense. They collected enough to create a new century’s power elite to lord it over “taxpayers” in industry, agriculture and commerce who will be charged to pay off this debt.
If there was a silver lining to all this, it has been to demonstrate that if the Treasury and Federal Reserve can create $13 trillion of public obligations – money – electronically on computer keyboards, there really is no Social Security problem at all, no Medicare shortfall, no inability of the American government to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure.
The bailout of Wall Street showed how central banks can create money, as Modern Money Theory (MMT) explains. But rather than explaining how this phenomenon worked, the bailout was rammed through Congress under emergency conditions. Bankers threatened economic Armageddon if the government did not create the credit to save them from taking losses.
Even more remarkable is the attempt to convince the population that new money and debt creation to bail out Wall Street – and vest a new century of financial billionaires at public subsidy – cannot be mobilized just as readily to save labor and industry in the “real” economy. The Republicans and Obama administration appointees held over from the Bush and Clinton administration have joined to conjure up scare stories that Social Security and Medicare debts cannot be paid, although the government can quickly and with little debate take responsibility for paying trillions of dollars of bipartisan Finance-Care for the rich and their heirs."
http://michael-hudson.com/2011/06/how-a-13-trillion-cover-story-was-writ...
They are Pathetic Scum Sucking Parasites
Here's the thing...as long as our culture continues to be indoctrinated into the 'gotta have a JOB to survive', there will be people screaming about the breaks businessmen get.
Do you realize it's those same businessmen who PROVIDE the jobs in the first place?!?
Do you realize that if we taught our kids how to start businesses when they grew up instead of leading them on by instilling the job mentality in them from day one that there would be less people who needed jobs and more people out there making enough money working for themselves?
It's not the government's job or responsibility to create jobs for us...it's OUR responsibility.
As much as I often disagree with the Supreme Court on many occasions I think judicial review is a good thing. I think that interpretation of the law is an appropriate role for the judiciary and among the laws is the Constitution.
It is essential that the Constitution be interpreted by a body of judges that are appointed by elected officials but are not elected themselves. It is imperative that the judges not need to pander for popularity. One of the main purposes of a constitution is to prevent a "tyranny of the majority".
Dredd Scott and other bad decisions would likely have been made anyway by Congress or other means had there been no judicial review. They are simply the product of the thinking of their times.
Democracy, like any other human system, is flawed. All we can do is put enough checks and balances in place to make less likely that our worst inclintaions prevail.
Except for the fact that the republicans would blame the Government for the accident, and push for more privatization.
Bernie Sanders is really inspirational and I wish he was running for President. But I have to say that I was happy to hear President Obama say some of the things he did today..I wonder if Bernie's speech helped urge Obama to say what he did...but I am still not happy with Obama's Republican-like actions since he took office. Obama is still, however, not saying explicitly, that social programs shouldn't be cut. Any cutting of social programs will present a very real hardship for many Americans. I hope Obama doesn't think he is going to win the support of people when he cuts their only means of survival in trying to bargain or negotiate with the Republicans...we know how that went with health care. Obama may not really have "thrown us a bone" but he hinted that he would....we'll see! Yes, I believe that it would be absolutely disastrous if the Republicans regained the Presidency. But it is equally disastrous when you have someone who is supposed to be fighting for you ...just selling out to the enemy.
90 minute speech...Dear Mr. President: Bernie's 90 minute speech on the budget...June 28, 2011....CSPAN video.
http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/media/view/?id=ad64bf03-8f80-4c9d-a92...
The Supreme Court decision equating money with free speech codifies and legalizes an idea that wealthy people have more of a right to free speech (as well as more of a lot of other political rights) than the not wealthy and poor It mandates that "people vote with dollar bills in this country" as has long been popularly believed.
It also means that there is no democracy by the definition of political science. For a society to be considered a democracy rich and poor must be equal before the law - or we are still living in feudalism.
In general the privatisation of our government - and in this case, the privatization of elections - is the taking of government from the public (the people) and putting in the hands of privte unaccountable authority to be treated as their personal property. We already know about government as the private, personal property of wealthy persons. It's called feudalism and monarchy.
The "Taliban" attack on the hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan may be just a way of sending a message to the US not to pull out of Afghanistan. After all some people who are getting rich off our being there...including some ruling Afghanis, Pakistanis, and even American businessmen don't want us to leave.