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This is nothing like feudalism. You can not rise to the top in feudalism. Capitalism you can.
Skip, the last time was actually from Jan 3, 2003 - Jan 3, 2007. Bush-Frist-Hastert.
Before that: Jan 20 - Jun 6, 2001. Bush-Lott-Hastert.
Before that: Jan 20, 1953 - Jan 3, 1955. Eisenhower-Taft/Knowland-Martin.
Before that: Mar 4, 1921 - Mar 4, 1933. Harding/Coolidge/Hoover-Lodge/Curtis/Watson-Gillett/Longworth.
stopgap, I actually have all 4 of Miller's books of rants. He was moderate to liberal back then (i.e. before he let himself be terrorized by 9/11). In fact, his first rant was a call to revive liberalism.
I also read Bill O'Reilly's first two political books. In the first, I didn't always agree with him, but I expected that. In the second, he seemed absolutely insane. The first book was apparently a lure. I eventually shredded both books to prevent anyone else from being taken in by his lie of being independent.
you were on a roll up until the Feds managing the new wealth part. Its not new and it does need to change form and control? the money is locked away in the Federal Reserve. your daily labor is loaned to you in the form of FRN and you did make it. we all easily forget this basic principle that the Fed loaned you your fruits and the rest of ours as well?
Each day the total amount of the principle needed to pay the world is locked away in an interest bearing unlimited term income producing security that you will start paying a little back each day going forward as a consideration to the Fed for the initial loan you made out with them from that first paycheck!
the congress should pass something to change control of the Feds balance sheet to treasury to be in a fund to pay out social security !
Where can I find the list of polls that Thom read on the radio today, 03/11/15?
Feb.12 1962: Greeley daily tribune editorial page; without going so far as to predict success of the disarmament conference which will start in Geneva in mid March the panelist estimate that if U.S. proposals were approved. (18 nation disarmament talks proposal from Khrushchev 1962)total spending on security programs would decline from 60 billion dollars in 1965 to 28 billion in 1977. they caution that although such a cutback might not touch off a depression , it might prove a significant drag on the economy and pose serious for policymakers?
the Greeley Daily Tribune should have been called the times of los alamos
Attack the core of the problem which is political ideology. You can't attack the specific political ideology without attacking the person, but the thing itself is the problem. The problem is deeper in the human longing for authoritarian power and mysticism. And, when one is given over to ideology, an irrational step, it leaves one vulnerable to emotional manipulations, unexamined belief systems, extremism, sadism, desire for political and religious purity, murder and war, the story of History to the present. (1)
The escape is in recognizing that all political ideologies serve authoritarian power. And in the context of our times, corporate power. A shield, behind which corrupt activity takes place, and then allows for transference and et tu, hall of mirrors between competing ideologies. You have to strip away that illusion.
In the real world, people work in a democratic fashion, regardless of the organizational structure. Real work democracy is fact based with professional certifications and licenses examinations. People work hard to get it right and there is little tolerance for mistakes. Political ideology serves no purpose. It adds nothing of value to the work. Except for the profession of politics, where there is no consequence in not being fact based, or getting it wrong. (2)
If we can find conversation techniques, then all of us in media, journalism and individual conversation should be able to take down the facade of political ideology and get to a discussion of democratic work that is fact based, open and has a rational strategy toward the ends of serving people. Liberals should have no real problems or threat from this strategy. The problem lays within us humans (insert Freud), but the solution is more tangible and practical and I think effective in my own dealings and has powerful appeal. Maybe even the true believers are questioning, and need a face-saving way off the crazy train. Political Ideology, the thing, is the problem. The thing is used as a distraction and obstruction to getting any real democratic work done. Political ideology serves authoritarian centralized power and profit, from state capitalism, corporate capitalism or fascism or any other 'isms. Each revolution falls into the same trap because we are the same humans. The 'political Ideology' problem is a construct of the mind and a cognitive illusion that can be dispelled. (That's all I have so far.).
(1)Mass psychology of Fascism, Wilhelm Reich. Translated Theodore Wolf. Orgone Instute Press 1946
(2) ibid
Call your Democratic senator about THE letter. Maybe they'll get enough backbone to say something bad about the Republicans involved. Otherwise they'll just keep their heads down as usual.
Thom:
One more thing...I read something a few days ago about the last time the Republicans had control of the Senate, the House, and the White House was when the Great Depression hit in 1929. Is this accurate? If it is, this info should be brought to the attention of the U.S. population. Should a Republican be elected in 2016, and the Republicans would control all three houses, I believe another economic collapse, similar to the Great Depression of 1929, could and will happen again. Can you imagine what would happen to the social programs in this country? Please discuss this on your program. Thank you.
Thom:
Today in the Fort Smith Times Record newspaper, on the front page, is the following:
"Bill Aiding Possible Cotton Bid OK'D"
A Senate committee on Tuesday (March 10, 2015) endorsed a bill that would allow a candidate from Arkansas to run for election or re-election to a U.S. House or U.S. Senate seat and run for president or vice-president at the same time. I think Tom Cotton is the current candidate in Arkansas that we would like to see have the opportunity to move forward (to run for president), said Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, told reporters about Bill 803.
Can you believe this? The same day the "Iran scandal letter" was being criticized by many, the legislators in Arkansas want to make it easier for a loose cannon like Tom Cotton to run for president! I live in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and I am disgusted by Tom Cotton's actions! When he began his bid for the Senate against Mark Pryor, I immediately recognized that he had aspirations to run for president! Every time a camera was on, he had his mug in front of it, beating his chest about how he is a veteran, blah, blah, blah, ad nauseum. Well, many of us are veterans, but we do not talk about it at every available opportunity in order to promote our agendas.
Thom: I know you don't agree that the Logan Act applies to the 47 clowns, but I think it does. The Constitution says that the President shall make treaties "by and ith the Advice and Consent of the Senate." This does not mean that one of the "legislative duties" of Senators is to advise a foreign government regarding negotiations that the Administration is conducting, as the State Department decided in the case of Senators McGovern and Sparkman going to Cuba. In fact, in 1936 the Supreme Court, in U.S. v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. determined that "the President alone has the power to spea or listen as a representative of the nation. He makes treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate; but he alone negotiates. Into the field of negotiation the Senate cannot intrude, and Congress itself is powerless to invade it." It would seem, therefore, that the 47 did violate the Logan Act. At the very least, I'd like to see the Justice Department show up at these senators' offices to just give them a good scare. Even better--they should be arrested and held until the Justice Department determines whether they violated the Logan Act or not. That would keep them out of trouble for a short time, anyway.
To see a classic example of climate ignorance and climate denial, one need only read post #4. This is what a fossil fuel toady sounds like.
Far as Florida is concerned, this is looking like a climate karma. They will pay the ultimate price for their stupidity.
Regarding the letter by 57 Senate Republicans to the Ayatollahs:
There are two broad categories of sabotage, external and internal. We expect external sabotage and direct the same to other countries, however, internal sabotage by our own elected officials seems to establish a new nadir. For a major party to place its own perceived interests before those of the nation is despicable.
This pure greed and lust for power must make our Founders, Framers, their wives, those who fought for this nation since the beginning, lovers of our nation, President Eisenhower... so uncomfortable that they cannot rest in peace.
May God save us from ourselves!
"Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations...entangling alliances with none" – Thomas Jefferson
it is post about the sonic drilling that offered by many drilling company in the market. it also describe thta how to make safe offshore drilling for more fossil fuels...
http://www.acedrilling.com.au/
What is even more surprizing is how those of us that grew up as Democrats in the '50s look back nostalgically at those times and longing for Ike. Yeah, I am beginning to like Ike, the same prez that we Democrats spoke of so derisively.
The '50s proved that you could have a prosperous peacetime economy. We didn't need wars to produce jobs. It was enough that we bought the things we needed to maintain our families, our life styles. Obviously, there was what to improve pertaining to social issues.
Indeed, there was and Ike made sure schools were desegregated in the South, what erstwhile "Southern Democrat" from Missouri might have done after the war, but "being a Democrat" ... Sadly, even the Democrat that followed Ike was making sweet deals with Dixiecrats, so that it took a maverick Democrat the put America's "house in order".
Eisenhower, as well, knew what to do wth McCarthy--exactly what he did with Patton and McArthur. The "small d" democrat in him, tired of making wars, raised in the values of of an America where people had to the right to express their opinions freely. Once the virulent anti- . . . fever, he changed the disc, and even invited Kruschev to see what America looked like, and we learned that Russians need not be enemies. That was Ike's doing.
There was peace, and when he closed out his term of office, he warned us about a Military Industrial Complex that was waiting to take over. By golly it did!
As an ex-pat American, trying to keep up with the madness that is happening in the States, I am forced to say, "Ike, where are you when we need you so badly!"
The American public doesn't only provide the money for our military budget that equates to defense contractors public subsidies. The American public also subsidizes defense contractors with foreign aid that is traditional used to buy military weapons. It is a sweet deal. The CIA, NSA and other "intelligence" services manufacture new "enemies" to feed the Constant War Economy and the American public forks over all its money and future debt to defense contractors to fight these new threats to our national interest.
It works out pretty good for defense contractors when our national interest happens to be their financial interest to maintain a Constant War Economy.
Our system of government may be the best in the world be it is seriously flawed. Our system allows citizens to run for election using campaigns sponsored with large sums of money that comes from corporate profits. When in office the elected citizen votes in favor of the sponsoring corporation on every issue that affects that corporation instead of voting in favor of the majority of people that the elected citizen represents. The elected citizen must vote in favor of the sponsoring corporation in order to get the sponsorship of the re-election campaign. When those corporations are in the war tools business, It causes the elected citizen to favor war so that the war tool corporation can keep making those profits that will again sponsor the same elected citizen. The same can be said for the fossil fuel industry, the drug industry, the banking industry and many other industries. The bottom line is most of our elected officials do not represent us, the voters, they represent them, the campaign sponsors. It's a seriously flawed system that allows that to happen and it can only be fixed by us the citizen voters once we all understand what's going on.
Mathboy, If the so called Defense Industry aren't a bunch of gangsters that have politicians in the palm of their hands, then… Hence the name MURDER INCORPORATED.
You scared me with that Dennis Miller reference though. I thought that contact with Dennis Miller had turned you into a stark raving mad zombie ala "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers". He does have that effect on the masses who come in contact with his voice. Fortunately, through your superior intellect you were able to resist being dragged down by his droning pompous banality. My advise is; don't go there again. First, there's no point in it and second, it's a waste time and third, why would anyone want to make themselves dumber unless, of course, they were trying to seek a closer understanding of what it's like to be a conservative.
This is the second time in as many months that the Republican Congressional members committed a treasonous act. No "border" to it. They interfered in an area that the Constitution clearly relegates to the executive branch. Not only that, but in the case of Iran, they attempted to negotiate with a foreign power behind the President's back. Nuclear decisions belong to the President....only he can unlock the nuclear black box....or is it red(?). Foreign relations belongs to the President. A Harry Truman would have subpeonaed every last signatory to the Iran letter and charged them with treason if not sedition. Outrageous!
It's so like the twisted world of the Teapublicans, the party of...... anti-union austerity politics, eliminate tax on the very rich, hysterical about the national debt, cut, cut ,cut.....to also be the party of spend your ass off, and bankrupt the country to the tune of trillions, as long as the spending is on their war for profit donors, the defense contractors.
Instead of death for profit, how about progressive prosperity for all humanity? Or would that be too much like the teachings of that famous socialist named Jesus?
Hey, even Dennis Miller wasn't original when he said it almost 20 years ago. I think it's a great way to allude to the military-industrial complex.
Am I stupid or what! Of course they are know as TheDefense Industry. In the brave knew Orwellian world of rightwing new-speak, everything means the exact opposite of its real definition. Like, "Clean Water" "Clear Air" "Operation Iraqi Freedom" "No Child Left Behind" blah, blah, blah, yahda, yahda, yahda…..
I didn't claim that Murder Incorporated was original, just accurate.
There's no such thing as Orwellian doublespeak. in 1984, there was doublethink, and there was Newspeak. But there is an older concept called double talk.
Stopgap, I had to look up Dennis Miller's rant from about 1996 where he renamed the armed forces.
Army: Murder Incorporated (also the name applied to some 1930s gangsters).
Navy: Aqua-Kill 3000.
Air Force: The Dead-Foreigner Squad.
Marines: The Fighting OJ's.