Mr. X, tear down this wall.

I guess the basic difference in our discussion from yesterday is that you think most people are lazy, "want something for nothing", etc.

While I would say the opposite is true. I believe most people are good, (to paraphase Hank Paulson:) "hard-working"

Given the right system (a cooperative sane economy), people would be motivated and "guided by values of solidarity, and sympathy, and concern for others"

RALPH NADER: Yeah. Yeah, a remarkable statement. A reporter asked him, "What's your biggest regret?" at the end of his great career as a labor leader. And Eugene Debs said, "My greatest regret is that, under our Constitution, the American people can have almost anything they want, but it just seems they don't want much of anything at all."

Fast-forward to 1945. We were the biggest power in the world after World War II. Western Europe was devastated, but those people pushed and got, by law, universal healthcare, decent pensions, living wage, decent public transit, paid vacation, paid maternity leave, paid family sick leave, university free education. They got it, by law.

Sixty-three years later, these two parties, the Republican and Democratic parties, still have not given the American people what people in western Europe got decades ago. So we're trying to raise the expectation level, Amy, of the American people. If they become cynical and withdraw, which is what cynicism does, then they're going to lose their country. These giant corporations that hijacked our government are tearing the heart and soul out of America.

Noam Chomsky: Modern industrial civilization has developed within a certain system of convenient myths. The driving force of modern industrial civilization has been individual material gain... Now it's long been understood - very well - that a society that is based on this principle will destroy itself in time. It can only persist - with whatever suffering and injustice it entails - as long as it's possible to pretend that the destructive forces that humans create are limited, that the world is an infinite resource, and that the world is an infinite garbage can. At this stage of history either... the general population will take control of its own destiny and will concern itself with community issues guided by values of solidarity, and sympathy, and concern for others, or - alternatively - there will be no destiny for anyone to control.

Another good lecture on "really existing free markets"
http://www.chomsky.info/talks/19960413.htm


And here's Chomsky's view on human nature and government.

2. Critics complain that anarchism is "formless, utopian." You counter that each stage of history has its own forms of authority and oppression which must be challenged, therefore no fixed doctrine can apply. In your opinion, what specific realization of anarchism is appropriate in this epoch?

I tend to agree that anarchism is formless and utopian, though hardly more so than the inane doctrines of neoliberalism, Marxism-Leninism, and other ideologies that have appealed to the powerful and their intellectual servants over the years, for reasons that are all too easy to explain. The reason for the general formlessness and intellectual vacuity (often disguised in big words, but that is again in the self-interest of intellectuals) is that we do not understand very much about complex systems, such as human societies; and have only intuitions of limited validity as to the ways they should be reshaped and constructed.

Anarchism, in my view, is an expression of the idea that the burden of proof is always on those who argue that authority and domination are necessary. They have to demonstrate, with powerful argument, that that conclusion is correct. If they cannot, then the institutions they defend should be considered illegitimate. How one should react to illegitimate authority depends on circumstances and conditions: there are no formulas.

In the present period, the issues arise across the board, as they commonly do: from personal relations in the family and elsewhere, to the international political/economic order. And anarchist ideas -- challenging authority and insisting that it justify itself -- are appropriate at all levels.

3. What sort of conception of human nature is anarchism predicated on? Would people have less incentive to work in an egalitarian society? Would an absence of government allow the strong to dominate the weak? Would democratic decision-making result in excessive conflict, indecision and "mob rule"?

As I understand the term "anarchism," it is based on the hope (in our state of ignorance, we cannot go beyond that) that core elements of human nature include sentiments of solidarity, mutual support, sympathy, concern for others, and so on.

Would people work less in an egalitarian society? Yes, insofar as they are driven to work by the need for survival; or by material reward, a kind of pathology, I believe, like the kind of pathology that leads some to take pleasure from torturing others. Those who find reasonable the classical liberal doctrine that the impulse to engage in creative work is at the core of human nature -- something we see constantly, I think, from children to the elderly, when circumstances allow -- will be very suspicious of these doctrines, which are highly serviceable to power and authority, but seem to have no other merits.

Would an absence of government allow the strong to dominate the weak? We don't know. If so, then forms of social organization would have to be constructed -- there are many possibilities -- to overcome this crime.

What would be the consequences of democratic decision-making? The answers are unknown. We would have to learn by trial. Let's try it and find out.

The best one is the quote which I can't seem to find in print, but Chomsky says and I paraphrase: all this talk about corporate greed is a diversion. Basically, corporations are greedy, they are nothing else. They are institutions created to interfere with markets to maximize profit. The Capitalist autocracy comes from the same intellectual roots as the other modern forms of totalitarianism. Asking corporations to be less greedy would be like asking a totalitarian government to be less brutal. The point is not to get a tyranny to be less brutal, but to get rid of it.

The best part was when Noam explains that there's nothing engraved in stone about capitalism, stalinism, fascism. They are human institutions and in the same way that stalinism and fascism fell, so too will capitalism fall.

definition of subsidy?

With the impending New York City subway fare increase (subsidy cut), it makes you think "what does the word subsidy mean?"

To Quote Noam Chomsky:

Well "subsidy" is another interesting word, kind of like reform. It's a subsidy if public funds are used for public purposes. That's called a subsidy. It's not called a subsidy when they go to private wealth. That's reform. So the -- so they're cutting down subsidies for public transportation. Well, that's just a tax. If you pay 20 percent more for getting on the subway, that's a tax. Same if you pay higher tuition at City College. And that's a highly regressive tax. So, who rides the subways, and who goes to City College?

http://www.chomsky.info/talks/19960413.htm

 

image credit: ny times

bush regrets intelligence failure

surprise surprise. bush regrets intelligence failure. amazing!

It is truly amazing to me that all Bush has to do is "apologize for the calamitous state of the US economy"
It is very similar to the Walmart incident where a Walmart employee died in a stampede set up by the "Black Friday" frenzy promoted by Walmart.  All Walmart has to do is "apologize".

Why don't "we, the people" refuse to pay taxes (which are used to support the wall street criminals) and refuse to fight the rich man's war and refuse to be police officers, etc.  And when judge asks for a statement say "oh, I apologize"

George W Bush says Iraq intelligence failure is his biggest regret

George W Bush has expressed his regret over the faulty intelligence leading up to the Iraq conflict, admitted he was "unprepared" for war and apologised for the calamitous state of the US economy, in a retrospective interview just seven weeks before he leaves office.

 

By Alex Spillius in Washington 
Last Updated: 6:55AM GMT 02 Dec 2008

George Bush: Supporters say he is doing what he can to preserve conservative principlesPhoto: AP

Though the outgoing US president failed to take responsibility for the misfortunes that have beset the country during his eight years in office, he was candid about wishing things had gone better.

Asked by ABC News' Charles Gibson what he would do differently, Mr Bush replied: "I don't know – the biggest regret of all the presidency has to have been the intelligence failure in Iraq.

"A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein. It wasn't just people in my administration. A lot of members in Congress, prior to my arrival in Washington DC, during the debate on Iraq, a lot of leaders of nations around the world were all looking at the same intelligence. And, you know, that's not a do-over, but I wish the intelligence had been different."

He said he could not answer the question of whether or not he would have gone to war had he known Saddam Hussein did not possess "weapons of mass destruction".

"I think I was unprepared for war," Mr Bush said. "In other words, I didn't campaign and say, 'Please vote for me, I'll be able to handle an attack,'" he said. "In other words, I didn't anticipate war.

One of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen."

On the subject of the economy, Mr Bush said: "I'm sorry it's happening, of course." He continued: "Obviously I don't like the idea of people losing jobs, or being worried about their 401Ks [pension plans]. On the other hand, the American people got to know that we will safeguard the system. I mean, we're in. And if we need to be in more, we will."

The 43rd president said he hoped to be remembered as a "guy that came, didn't sell his soul for politics, had to make some tough decisions, and did so in a principled way".

Laura Bush, who joined her husband for the interview added: "I think they think he's somebody that kept them safe for eight years. I hear that all the time, people thanking me, telling me to thank him."

Despite devastating attacks of 9/11, the wars, floods, collapsing stock market and soaring unemployment, Mr Bush twice described his job as "joyful".

"The idea of being able to serve a nation you love is – has been joyful.

"In other words, my spirits have never been down. I have been sad, but the spirits are up," he concluded.

 

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source:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3540733/George-W-Bush-says-Iraq-intelligence-failure-is-his-biggest-regret.html

President appoints Monkey to replace Hank Paulson as Secretary of Treasury

By Nim Chimpsky
Published: July 4th, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, appoints Nim Chimpsky Jr. as the next United States Treasury Secretary. President Obama thanked Mr. Paulson for trying his best, but it is obvious that Paulson's utter incompetence at best or malicious avarice and corruption at worst invites the question: "Could a monkey do a better job?". President Obama thinks so. "If this works, I plan to replace large parts of the cabinet with monkeys. They work for bananas and are not corruptible with silly things like green pieces of paper which easily corrupt some humans". President Obama apologized to Mr. Paulson for the charges of corruption and $200 billion civil lawsuit, but those funds are needed to balance the budget. "Mr. Paulson has stolen large parts of the $700 billion bailout, so we're only trying to get that back before he flees the country.", said President Obama. The charges, filed by Attorney General Russ Feingold late in the evening, allege that Mr. Paulson, knowing full well that Goldman Sachs and company were fueling a false real estate bubble, falsified information in order to pursue the disastrous corrupt lending practices which lead to what is ludicrously called the downturn in the "health of the economy".

Secretary Nim Chimpsky Jr. is affectionately called "Junior" by friends and family alike. President Obama said, "Junior will certainly do more for the general public and even if he makes random decisions, that will make "we the peoples" odds of a fair, SANE, and just decision 50% better than the previous administration, where the general public's odds were 0."

The former Treasury Secretary appeared unfazed by the apparent slap in the face by his replacement with a monkey. (GAVIN BELLOWS/BOSTON GLOBE)

Source: New York Times/CBS News poll

What is he doing?

A report of John McCain on the campaign trail:

Republican presidential nominee John McCain said the trio of Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) represent a "dangerous threesome."

"This election comes down to how you want your hard-earned money spent," Sen. McCain (Ariz.) said at a rally in Cleveland on Monday. "Do you want to keep it and invest it in your future or have it taken by the most liberal person to ever run for the presidency and the Democratic leaders, the most liberal who have been running Congress for [the] past two years — Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid?"

You are probably asking yourself why is it John McCain is making such a joke of this campaign. Why is he repeating the same things over and over? Why when he talks there is all the canned sounds of hisses and aahs. It's worse than an old radio program, this time it seems to be produced by trained monkeys.

The reality is that John McCain knows he will not win the election. In fact, the entire campaign has been a show for you, the American People, and to a lesser extent the world. The show's main message is "the Republicans" and "the Democrats" are extreme ends of the spectrum and there is nothing else. It's exactly the choice in the Matrix. Do you want the "blue pill" or the "red pill"?

The red pill will answer the question "what is the Matrix?" and the blue pill simply for life to carry on as before. As Neo reaches for the red pill Morpheus warns Neo "Remember, all I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more."

The problem is the rainbow has more than two colors!

The show will end with the necessary illusion of "change".

This show will continue until enough of us wake up.

Greenspan finds a flaw in Atlas Shrugged.

 

Greenspan, 82, acknowledged under questioning that he had made a "mistake" in believing that banks, operating in their own self-interest, would do what was necessary to protect their shareholders and institutions. Greenspan called that "a flaw in the model ... that defines how the world works."

 

Amazing. This seems to be rather simple.  Self-interest without regard to the welfare of others, without regard to the welfare of nature is doomed.  It would be the equivalent of putting pampered spoiled brat babies and many normal babies in a ring with only one jar of pumpkin seeds.  Let's call the ring, "the economy"; the pampered spoiled brat babies, "wall street executives"; the normal babies; "the people"; the seeds, "the future".  Wait one day, and let's check on the health of "the economy", you would expect that the spoiled brat babies have eaten the "future".  But no, the normal babies who outnumber the spoiled brats by a lot shine light on the "seeds" and protect them and plant them.

 

The point is people have to wake up and realize that self-interest does not work!

 

Here's the reason:

 

From Chomsky: source: http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20081010112037474

 

 The financial market "underprices risk" and is "systematically inefficient", as economists John Eatwell and Lance Taylor wrote a decade ago, warning of the extreme dangers of financial liberalisation and reviewing the substantial costs already incurred - and proposing solutions, which have been ignored. One factor is failure to calculate the costs to those who do not participate in transactions. These "externalities" can be huge. Ignoring systemic risk leads to more risk-taking than would take place in an efficient economy, even by the narrowest measures.

The task of financial institutions is to take risks and, if well-managed, to ensure that potential losses to themselves will be covered. The emphasis is on "to themselves". Under state capitalist rules, it is not their business to consider the cost to others - the "externalities" of decent survival - if their practices lead to financial crisis, as they regularly do.

Financial liberalisation has effects well beyond the economy. It has long been understood that it is a powerful weapon against democracy. Free capital movement creates what some have called a "virtual parliament" of investors and lenders, who closely monitor government programmes and "vote" against them if they are considered irrational: for the benefit of people, rather than concentrated private power.

Investors and lenders can "vote" by capital flight, attacks on currencies and other devices offered by financial liberalisation. That is one reason why the Bretton Woods system established by the United States and Britain after the second World War instituted capital controls and regulated currencies.*

The Great Depression and the war had aroused powerful radical democratic currents, ranging from the anti-fascist resistance to working class organisation. These pressures made it necessary to permit social democratic policies. The Bretton Woods system was designed in part to create a space for government action responding to public will - for some measure of democracy.

John Maynard Keynes, the British negotiator, considered the most important achievement of Bretton Woods to be the establishment of the right of governments to restrict capital movement.

"I would not bet against the American Worker" - Hank Paulson

This fiscal stimulus will provide support to the economy as we weather the housing correction, capital markets turmoil and higher energy and food prices. Unemployment remains low and increased exports are partially offsetting other less positive factors. Overall, I believe we are on the right path to resolving market disruptions and building a stronger financial system. We are working through this period and our long term prospects remain strong. One thing is very clear to me � whatever our current difficulties, I wouldn't bet against the U.S. worker or the U.S. economy. - Hank Paulson (source: http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/hp981.htm)

Truer words were never spoken by our current "financial leader" Hank Paulson. It is apparent that a monkey making random choices would have done better "work" than our current "financial worker" Hank Paulson did. As Hank so praises the American worker, why not let the American worker suggest and design implement a solution to the current (2008) monstrous wall st. welfare and bailout. Given Paulson's leadership this is surely to be the beginning of a great depression.

It is not an accident that Hank refers to "American" and "worker". He trusts the "American" to be obedient "workers". But these same "workers" must not involve themselves in the domain the of the "responsible men". No, the "obedient workers" need to be smart enough to work the machines and do the paperwork (to paraphrase George Carlin) but never open their eyes to areas of the "responsible men".

Why is it a person's being is tied to their "job"? Why is insurance tied to a "job"?

I would rephrase our "financial monkey" Paulson's statement to: "I trust in the spirit of all people."

Have Americans gone mad?

All this recent discussion of "spreading the wealth around" seems maddening. The very people that it would help are some of its staunchest opponents. It's truly amazing that the propaganda industry can brainwash people into voting against their own interest.

to quote George Orwell's "1984":

"In the ramifications of party doctrine she had not the faintest interest. Whenever he began to talk of the principles of Ingsoc, doublethink, the mutability of the past, and the denial of objective reality, and to use Newspeak words, she became bored and confused and said that she never paid any attention to that kind of thing. One knew that it was all rubbish, so why let oneself be worried by it? She knew when to cheer and when to boo, and that was all one needed. If he persisted in talking of such subjects, she had a disconcerting habit of falling asleep." ... "Talking to her, he realized how easy it was to present an appearance of orthodoxy while having no grasp whatever of what orthodoxy meant. In a way, the world-view of the Party imposed itself most successfully on people incapable of understanding it. They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening. By lack of understanding they remained sane. They simply swallowed everything, and what they swallowed did them no harm, because it left no residue behind, just as a grain of corn will pass undigested through the body of a bird."

The argument that a tax on business is a tax on workers is plausible. Let's take it to the extreme. Give everything to business and the top 1% and nothing to the workers. This, in essense, is the current Bush Neoliberal agenda. Tax heavily the bottom 99% and don't tax at all the top 1%. After all, the tax will be spread more evenly over the 99% and there are more of them. And, of course, the trickling down of the wealth from the 1% to the 99% will help everyone.

No one in his right mind would propose such a plan, yet that is in essense the Neoliberal agenda.

Look at the attached charts that shows distribution of wealth and population.

People of the world, Unite! Take back what is rightfully yours. You have been brainwashed into believing that this is the way it has to be; that you are powerless. Nothing can be further from the truth. Imagine a battle of 6 billion vs. a handful of rockefeller/rothschild types. I don't care how many nuclear weapons they think they have, if there is no wage slave to man them, they are powerless. How do they rule you? By stealth and secrecy. You don't know that they are there. They own all the banks. You are trapped in debt and wage slavery until you die. Do you ever wonder why the debt collector can spend a fortune collecting an original debt of $12.50. The answer is the debt collector is not making money, he is teaching you to live in fear, reminding you that you owe that $12.50 for the rest of your life, distracting you from the real issues.

Another Modest Proposal

With the US Presidential Election imminent, why is it so difficult to come up with a fair honest election system?

What is the problem? No one trusts the vote counter. A simple solution is to make everyone the vote counter and verifier. It will make everyone realize that it's everyone's responsibility to maintain freedom. It is clear that freedom is not free.

If Google can organize the World's data, then surely we can organize the election data.

How to prevent election fraud?

Use a simple technique, "Double check" and "Publish the data"

Here's the steps:

1. Publish the data on voters being removed from the voter rolls months before the election. This should be online.
   
2. Publish the voting data after the election. Allow everyone to verify the vote data.

boom and bust explained: nader for president

it's amazing that no one mentions that the "owners of the world" enjoy these "boom and bust cycles".  the "boom" allows the little entrepreneurs to work hard and create something (either real or fake (it does not matter)) while the "owners" sit around and sip tea, then the "bust" is there to crush the little entrepreneurs (workers/people) so that the "owners" can take the profits.  Then the cycle repeats.

I agree with you on McCain.  It's a farce.  Put his campaign on hold? backing out of the debate?   Nader and Obama should debate.  I would like to see Nader as President, if only to see what would happen.

In my opinion, the "owners of the world" have already chosen Obama.

Last Laugh

The last laugh would be to have everyone vote for Nader.

He's on the ballot in 45 of the 50 states and he can be written in 4 of the 5 remaining states.

Amazingly, Oklahoma is the only state that will not count write in votes.

Let's have the biggest laugh on all the politicians, the rich, wall street, etc.

In my opinion, a monkey can do better than Paulson.

Elect Nader, and let's see.

It would be like changing the channel.  We're all tired of watching this republican/democrat soap opera.

people let's take back the world

watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5WiE6MnmCM

it's amazing.  we have to take back this world from these criminals.

rubin (democrat/secretary of treasury/clinton)
paulson (republican/secretary of treasury/bush)

both ceo's of the most criminal organization (goldman sachs)

both rubin and paulson are shocked by the "fragility of the capital markets"

these are the same people that created this criminal operation.

think about it, these so called "experts" have created a disaster that will cost over 700 billion dollars.

you have to ask yourself, if monkeys were in charge, could they have done any worse?

should we reward the monkeys?

part of the problem started with the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 which established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the United States and included banking reforms, some of which were designed to control speculation.

many thanks to phil gramm for this repeal.  gramm is a American politician who served as a Democratic Congressman (1978–1983), a Republican Congressman (1983–1985) and a Republican Senator from Texas (1985–2002).  goes to show that the label democrat/republican can be two sides of the same coin.

here's a short history of gramm's current and past scandals:

Gramm is a vice-chairman of UBS Investment Bank, a financial services company based in Switzerland.

Although there were rumors that Gramm was being considered to be Treasury Secretary in George W. Bush's second term, he was not offered the position. He was also thought to have been in the running for the presidency of Texas A&M University, but the position went to former Central Intelligence Agency Director Robert Gates instead. After the November 8, 2006 nomination and subsequent confirmation of Gates to the position of Secretary of Defense, Gramm was briefly rumored to be a candidate for Texas A&M University presidency, despite statements from university officials that he would not be considered and denials from Gramm himself.

Involvement in "Enron Loophole" legislation

Gramm was one of five co-sponsors of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000^[3]. One provision of the bill was referred to as the "Enron loophole" because the House Agriculture Committee drafted it and it was later applied to Enron. Some critics blame the provision for permitting the Enron scandal to occur.^[4] At the time, Gramm's wife was previously on Enron's board of directors.

His wife was supposed to oversee the enron accounting practices.

Phil Gramm's Quotes:

• "If you are willing to tackle the tough issues, you don't need to worry about stepping on anyone's toes; they will stand aside and shove you to the front." — As quoted by former Gramm staffer Wayne A. Abernathy^[18] September 12, 2002, before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.^[19]

• "I have as many guns as I need, but I don't have as many guns as I want."^[20]

• "Most people don't have the luxury of living to be 80 years old, so it's hard for me to feel sorry for them." - (in response to a statement that a Social Security proposal would hurt people over 80)^[21]

• "I recently told Ed Whitacre [former CEO of AT&T, who retired with a $158 million pay package] he was probably the most exploited worker in American history"^[22]

• "We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness."^[12]

 

the rich are really the powerless

I "hate" (and I rarely use that word) the entire abusive system.  everyone feels powerless.  but the reality is we are very powerful.  what if we all stop working for one day.  it would be over for the so-called "rich"

the "rich" pit us, the so-called "middle class" against each other and against the "poor".  The reality is we are all the same.

"the health of the economy", "too big to fail", "free trade", "immigration reform". these are all code words.

the last two work together to punish small farmers. 

 

Worry for the "health of the economy" is unbelievable.  When unemployment rises, the so-called "health of the economy" improves.   Tell that to the hundreds of thousands who were surplussed or sent to the warehouse.  This dog-eat-dog attitude is manufactured by the media.  The comical thing is even the lowest little capitalist thinks he or she is buddy buddy with the true ruling class.  When the truth is: they don't know you from spit.  And less than spit is what you are worth to them.  They would not so much as lift an eyebrow to help you and if you are even the least bit of a nuisance, their henchman will cut your throat.

John Donne said it best 400 years ago and Martin Luther King quoted him:

Through our scientific and technological genius, we have made of this world a neighborhood and yet we have not had the ethical commitment to make of it a brotherhood. But somehow, and in some way, we have got to do this. We must all learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools. We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the way God's universe is made; this is the way it is structured.

John Donne caught it years ago and placed it in graphic terms: "No man is an island entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." And he goes on toward the end to say, "Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." We must see this, believe this, and live by it if we are to remain awake through a great revolution.

--Martin Luther King, Jr., Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution

Socialize Risk and Privatize Profit

 

Basically, those dear jobs are a noose.  We need to start cooperatives.  These massive international corporations and their corrupt politician puppets are destroying the world.  As shown by these events.   Their main goal is to socialize risk and privatize profit.   When profits are there, they take them, and when there is nothing left, we are told that this institution or that institution is too big to fail.  The answer is simple.  All people are more important than money, than buildings, than everything.  It's in the Declaration of Independence. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. - Thomas Jefferson

And here's a quote on "jobs" 
 

The rich in this country do none of the work, and pay none of the taxes. The middle class does most of the work, and pays all of the taxes. The poor are there just to scare the shit out of the middle class. Keep 'em showing up at those 'jobs'. -- George Carlin

I believe the poor do a lot of work and deserve better.  The hatred between the poor and the middle class is also manufactured by the rich to benefit the rich.   The middle class actually votes against it's own interest thanks to incredibly unimportant issues such as gun control and religious beliefs.

odds

donate $20 to a presidential campaign - odds of being listened to when 1.2 billion is donated.  60 million to 1
odds of winning the lottery 18 million to 1
odds of being killed by lightning: 2,320,000 to 1
odds of being struck by lightning: 576,000 to 1


Odds of being killed sometime in the next year in any sort of transportation accident: 77 to 1

Odds of being killed in any sort of non-transportation accident: 69 to 1

Odds of being murdered: 18,000 to 1

Odds of getting away with murder: 2 to 1

Odds of being the victim of serious crime in your lifetime: 20 to 1

Odds of being considered possessed by Satan: 7,000 to 1

Odds that a first marriage will survive without separation or divorce for 15 years: 1.3 to 1

Odds that a celebrity marriage will last a lifetime: 3 to 1

Odds of bowling a 300 game: 11,500 to 1

Odds of getting a hole in one: 5,000 to 1

Odds of getting canonized: 20,000,000 to 1

Odds of being an astronaut: 13,200,000 to 1

Odds of winning an Olympic medal: 662,000 to 1

Odds of an American speaking Cherokee: 15000 to 1

Odds that a person between the age of 18 and 29 does NOT read a newspaper regularly: 3 to 1

Odds that an American adult does not want to live to age 120 under any circumstances: 3 to 2

Odds of injury from fireworks: 19,556 to 1

Odds of injury from shaving: 6,585 to 1

Odds of injury from using a chain saw: 4,464 to 1

Odds of injury from mowing the lawn: 3,623 to 1

Odds of fatally slipping in bath or shower: 2,232 to 1

Odds of drowning in a bathtub: 685,000 to 1

Odds of being killed on a 5-mile bus trip: 500,000,000 to 1

source: http://www.funny2.com/odds.htm

Is anyone even looking at the numbers? money raised and being spent on advertising in the 2008 presidential campaign

Is anyone even looking at the numbers?

 

This adds up to 1.17 Billion dollars all on running for office?

 

Exactly, $1,176,793,974

 

If I were NBC - General Electric, ABC - Walt Disney Company, CBS - Viacom, Inc., CNN - AOL/Time Warner, and The New York Times (owns many newspapers, including The Boston Globe. It owns television stations around the country and radio stations), and The Washington Post Company (owns other newspapers, including 11 military newspapers. It owns television stations around the country)  I'd move to have a presidential campaign every year! 

 

Side note:

* In 1982, 50 corporations controlled over half of the media businesses, by the end of 1986 this number had shrunk to 29, and by 1987 to 26. In 2003, the number is less than ten. On June 2, 2003, the FCC is set to wipe out the few regulations preventing further consolidation.

 source: http://www.wifp.org/MassMedia.html#anchor1030579

 

----------------

 

Banking on Becoming President

The presidential field has dwindled significantly, but not before the candidates raised more than half a billion dollars in 2007. By some predictions, the eventual nominees will need to raise $500 million apiece to compete—a record sum. To find out where all this money is coming from, click on the candidates' names below and explore the options to the left. The candidates now file campaign finance reports monthly. The reports for August are due September 20th.

Democratic Candidates

Candidate	Home State	Jul'08 Raised	Jul'08 Spent	Total Raised	Total Spent	Cash on Hand	Debts
Obama, Barack	IL	$50,113,031	$55,910,199	$389,423,102	$323,585,292	$65,837,809	$915,894

Republican Candidates

Candidate	Home State	Jul'08 Raised	Jul'08 Spent	Total Raised	Total Spent	Cash on Hand	Debts
McCain, John	AZ	$28,699,748	$31,568,359	$174,165,949	$141,397,734	$32,768,214	$2,003,356

Other candidates who have competed in the race

Candidate	Party	Home State	Total Raised
Barr, Bob	L	GA	$629,380
Biden, Joe	D	DE	$13,158,508
Brownback, Sam	R	KS	$4,242,815
Clinton, Hillary	D	NY	$234,929,501
Dodd, Chris	D	CT	$17,765,723
Edwards, John	D	NC	$55,739,037
Gilmore, Jim	R	VA	$392,794
Giuliani, Rudy	R	NY	$58,664,902
Gravel, Mike	D	AK	$590,195
Huckabee, Mike	R	AR	$16,075,486
Hunter, Duncan	R	CA	$3,003,863
Keyes, Alan	R	MD	$357,808
Kucinich, Dennis	D	OH	$5,490,174
McKinney, Cynthia	G	GA	$170,591
Nader, Ralph	I	DC	$2,295,218
Paul, Ron	R	TX	$34,517,030
Richardson, Bill	D	NM	$23,063,339
Romney, Mitt	R	MA	$107,095,243
Tancredo, Tom	R	CO	$8,281,709
Thompson, Fred	R	TN	$23,448,480
Thompson, Tommy	R	WI	$1,213,253
Vilsack, Tom	D	IA	$2,079,874

source: http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/index.php?cycle=2008

open letter to Barack

Dear Barack,

 

I'm really confused by your letter below saying that your campaign is funded by the people:
(It appears that the 300 Goldman Sachs partners/agents are really just people like you and I.)

 

I contributed $100 and Goldman contributed $653,030.  Something seems wrong with this system. 

 

Was the election system designed by the advertisers and media corporations to maximize profits?

Where did my $100 go?

Top Contributors To Obama

This table lists the top donors to this candidate in the 2008 election cycle. The organizations themselves did not donate , rather the money came from the organization's PAC, its individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate families. Organization totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.

Because of contribution limits, organizations that bundle together many individual contributions are often among the top donors to presidential candidates. These contributions can come from the organization's members or employees (and their families). The organization may support one candidate, or hedge its bets by supporting multiple candidates. Groups with national networks of donors - like EMILY's List and Club for Growth - make for particularly big bundlers.

Goldman Sachs	$653,030
University of California	$576,839
JPMorgan Chase & Co	$414,760
Citigroup Inc	$408,299
Harvard University	$407,219
Google Inc	$404,191
UBS AG	$389,294
Lehman Brothers	$361,482
National Amusements Inc	$360,703
Moveon.org	$347,463
Sidley Austin LLP	$329,776
Microsoft Corp	$326,847
Skadden, Arps et al	$320,550
Morgan Stanley	$307,221
Time Warner	$305,538
WilmerHale	$275,132
Jones Day	$272,755
Latham & Watkins	$270,595
University of Chicago	$268,285
Stanford University	$258,388

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Obama for America <info@barackobama.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 30, 2008 at 3:32 PM
Subject: Deadline: Tomorrow
To: the people of the world

dear people -- Over the last week this race has been transformed. Barack named Joe Biden as his running mate, and they accepted the Democratic nomination at our historic open convention in Denver. Our team is complete, and our movement is growing rapidly. But now we are facing our first major challenge together. The August financial reporting deadline is tomorrow at midnight, and we have an opportunity to show that a campaign funded by ordinary people can go toe-to-toe with the Washington lobbyists and special interests lined up behind John McCain and the Republican Party. Make a donation of $25 or more before midnight tomorrow, and you'll receive a first edition Obama-Biden coffee mug. Thanks, Obama for America P.S. -- The deadline is midnight tomorrow, August 31st. Make your online donation now: https://donate.barackobama.com/mug08

Paid for by Obama for America This email was sent to: fedex1@gmail.com To unsubscribe, go to: http://my.barackobama.com/unsubscribe

Dennis Kucinich * WAKE UP AMERICA!!!* Dems Convention 2008

did anyone notice that the kucinich speech at the democratic convention is practically taken from a George Carlin script.

don't believe me listen to them both:

Carlin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTfcAyYGg

Kucinich:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVp9cWOcZ7g

I must say that I agree with Carlin and it's clear that Kucinich does too.

And Carlin is definitely not reading from a teleprompter. Not sure about Dennis.

Labor Day Movement: Separation of Corporate and State

I mention this at the end of this letter but sometimes people don't reach the end :) so please watch this video: http://www.jibjab.com/originals/time_for_some_campaignin

I'm listening to DemocracyNow.org and I'm amazed at what is happening at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. First of all, it's more a corporate convention than a people's convention. They have a walled off so-called "free speech" zone. These zones are "profoundly contemptuous of democracy" (a phrase borrowed from Noam Chomsky) and contemptuous of free speech. Why not put the "free speech" zone in Siberia or at the North Pole? Or better yet, in the death row section of a nearby prison.

Biden is, as Ralph Nader puts it, "the MasterCard Senator"

From DemocracyNow.org:

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader described Biden as the MasterCard Senator. One of Biden's biggest corporate backers is the Delaware-based credit card company MBNA. Biden was the key architect of the 2005 bankruptcy law which made it harder for consumers to file for bankruptcy protection. At the time, Biden's son was working as a consultant to MBNA. Nader also criticized Biden for helping to create the modern drug war by pushing the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act.

We are doomed unless we all act together. We must be vigilant and be citizens, rather than consumers. In honor of Labor Day, we should rise up and refuse to work, refuse to spend, refuse to willingly participate in killing, terrorism, torture, and other war crimes.

We need:

• Complete separation of Corporate and State. (similar to separation of Church and State)
• Campaign reform. (Time and Spending limits) (even the NY Times reports that from Jan 1, 2007 to Jan 31, 2008 the four top candidates raised $335 million and spent $274 million)
  
• Election System reform (neoliberals like bush, clinton, obama believe in free markets except when it comes to elections. Then, closed arcane markets are just fine.) (paraphrased from "Failed States" by Noam Chomsky)
  
• The American people work too hard and for what? We, the People, need a mandatory 6 week yearly vacation minimum policy. Many fought and died for an 8 hour day, now we are reverting back to "work, then die" mentality.

Here's a video that sums things up: http://www.jibjab.com/originals/time_for_some_campaignin

Attached is the NY Times report on campaign spending for 2008.