---
I have been thinking lately about just how foolishly manipulated we, Americans, have allowed ourselves to be for decades now...
And how it all relates to 'the machine'. What machine am I talking about? The 'machine' that is designed to treat all Americans, indeed all citizens of the world, as consumers. Or, less complimentary, cattle. Where the goal of all mankind is supposed to be, we are taught, to continually 'improve our lifestyle'. Or to continually accumulate more and more 'stuff'.
This 'machine', made up of government and corporations, is there for the sole purpose of siphoning away as much of our cash/wealth as is possible in the shortest amount of time possible to drive 'profits' forever higher...
I have thought for awhile now that there is an inherent flaw in what we currently 'call' capitalism... I suggest it is NOT capitalism anymore at all... But a bastardized form of it called/labeled consumerism.
If you think through the way our markets work now and the way they have worked for decades, since the Reagan revolution perhaps, you will see it doesn't quite add up... The theory is that publicly traded corporations do whatever it takes to increase 'earnings' from quarter to quarter which causes the value/price of their company stock to rise which pays shareholders through capital gains and distributions... This nifty little idea also pours a lot of money into our political system as a by product.
And so... all is well... everyone is 'happy'
But... greed and corruption can ruin everything for all of us... , and in my opinion has already done so.
For those publicly traded corporation seem to have sold their soul for the pursuit of profits, money, in the short term... This is evidenced very well by the housing disaster and, was also, with the dot com boom/bust...
So what have 'they', our government, our corporations, our public de-education system taught us about morals and values?
We are taught, ingrained even, to believe that to be responsible citizens we must do the responsible thing. We must have a certain sense of morality when it comes to our debts. We are led to believe that it is shameful not to pay someone back... And we are simultaneously taught that we will be 'punished' if we fail to pay our debts... Our 'credit scores' will take a big hit which will make it harder for us, individually, to borrow ever more money to support our selfish, needful lifestyles...
But what happens when the government and/or the corporations don't hold up their end of the bargain? What happens when they incorporate every trick in the book to inflate bubbles on our behalf? To take our money from us through whatever means are necessary? Both on the way up AND on the way down...
It all seems to be some grand 'game' to the elites of society... To our government(s) and corporations. To banks, insurance companies, retailers... A grand 'game' in which the object has become how to cheat the populous out of their money, rather than providing valuable products and services...
As I have pointed out here before things/inflation are/is way out of whack in America, in my opinion... It isn't difficult at all to pay 8.00 for a cheeseburger. Hamburger can be had at a grocer for 99 cents a pound! So why do we pay 16.00 a pound for it in a restaurant? Along with a 3.50 beer?
I'm sorry... but to me that's just stupidity...
By my calculations nearly everything Americans buy cost about 6 times more than what it should cost... Due mainly to complexity, regulation, government interference in the economy...
We have all seen now the lengths to which government, the federal reserve banking system and corporations are willing to go to just to get more of OUR money...
The last bubble blowing adventure was hailed as 'The Ownership Society'. It proudly trumpeted the implied fact that every American deserves to 'live the American dream' of home ownership.
We have watched as our own government removed market safety mechanisms and cracked down on banks in effect forcing them to make risky loans to people who had no means to repay, if they ever even had an intention to do so...
Many banks, who were very cozy with government, ran with it. Dreamed up their complex derivative instruments and spread American risk all around the world. They loaned money to anyone who had a pulse... and some who didn't...
Then it all blew up... So what happened to the government that encouraged lenders to make risky loans and encouraged consumers to feel 'entitled' to home ownership? So, once it all blew up, what happened to the banks who made loans to people who they had to have known would never be able to repay the debt?
The government and the federal reserve bank have pumped TRILLIONS of dollars of tax payer money into, NOT the economy, but into the banking system, into the auto industry, into the insurance and drug industries, into unions, into propping up, NOT American citizens in need, but into city, state, county and federal job protection. All the while trying to deny their own involvement and complicity in the events that have brought our nation to it's knees... The government still plays the same old tired divide and conquer technique by blaming competing political parties for all of our problems. Our government accuses it's own citizens of being racists and extremists, of being potential terrorists!
And the banks? The banks are insolvent... The mortgage disaster completely wiped them out. Many of them were leveraged as much as 30 to 1. And they paid the ultimate price. They went bankrupt. But then something happened... Then our own government and the federal reserve decided it would be much better to bury them in tax payer money than to admit the fact, and face the consequences, that our economy had indeed completely collapsed.
So the banks were saved! And the great recession ended. And everyone lived happily ever after... In a fantasy world maybe...
Now in their place we have zombie banks...
The social contract(s) between government/business and the people of the United States has been shattered forever. There will be NO trust at all until all the greed and corruption is removed from the system. And our government and corporations have NO intention of allowing that to happen!
So where are we then?
It is said, in America, that there is more than one way to skin a cat... Which simply means there is more than one way to accomplish a goal.
At this point it should be very clear to everyone that 'bank runs' will NOT be tolerated in the 'new' America... What WILL be tolerated is complete incompetence in government and business.
But we CAN, and should, IMO, take measures to correct this aberration ourselves... And it really isn't all that difficult. It just takes a little communication, some planning and some action...
So it's going to be impossible for everyone to remove their money from the banks... they won't allow that, government or the banks. But a simple solution is to stop putting your money into the banks! If you are underwater on your house just walk away, STOP PAYING that crappy mortgage! Go rent somewhere, it'll save you money. Stop spending money needlessly. Buy what you NEED but only what you need... wait for what you want until things are FIXED. Stop paying the minimum payment on those credit cards that you never should have gotten in the first place. They were always intended to be a 'debt trap'. Stop borrowing money! Stop playing their stupid 'rip off ignorant consumers' game... Stop over-paying for cars. Stop believing that buying a 'different' car every year or two is part of the American dream, it isn't! it's just another debt trap. There are MANY of them!
Don't pay for your medical bills. IMO, our entire medical system is set up in such a way as to be able to take all of EVERYONE'S money at the end of their life! Should someone experience any sort of serious illness or merely age to the point where they require nursing home care the medical industry will take ALL of their money. Every time! I say it is by DESIGN!
So... the plan, IMO, should be not to remove your money from the bank... but not to give it to them in the first place. If you have debt you should work very hard to pay it off, all of it. And don't borrow any more money until we have a fair and competent system that is devoid of greed and corruption.
If you have more debt than you can pay, as many do. Then file bankruptcy! That's what it's for! Use it!
As for government... what to do...
Refuse to play. Refuse to do what they say. Be non-cooperative whenever possible. Peaceful resistance and civil disobedience. Make it impossible for them to effectively govern. Don't send your census form back. Don't buy their mandated health care. And don't pay the fine either! All you have to do is make sure that you have NO government tax refund coming. Why do so many people in this country loan money to the government, interest free, all year long?! Adjust your tax withholding so that YOU get all of your money and the government gets NOTHING that doesn't belong to them.
Most people/investors are already steering clear of the financial markets. Good idea and keep it up. It's just a big shell game now. Rigged and manipulated in whatever way necessary to give the illusion that Americas beloved financial system still lives, still has a heart beat. It doesn't. Be on guard, be on the lookout, be a hoarder of money. If not they will shamelessly take it from you...
And last but not least... come November of 2010 VOTE! it will NOT fix all of our problems but we can stand united and sent a very clear message to Washington that we do not like what is going on and we are NOT going to stand for it anymore! Throw out virtually ALL incumbents in BOTH parties! Anyone who has been there for much more than a single term is likely corrupt beyond redemption by then!
Just some ideas and some things that have been 'bugging' me...
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
#TeaParty at least 41% Dems & independents
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Myth-busting polls: Tea Party members are average Americans, 41% are Democrats, independents
For upwards of 12 months now members of the so-called Tea Party protest movement have been stereotyped, derogated and often dismissed by some politicians and media outlets.
They've been portrayed variously as angry fringe elements, often inarticulate, potentially violent and merely Republicans in sheep's clothing or disgruntled pockets of conservatives blindly lashing out at a left-handed President Obama and the same side of his Democratic Party finally getting its chance to drive home a liberal agenda after eight years of Republican rule and six under a centrist Bill Clinton.
Alas for stereotypes, they're convenient, often catchy. But not necessarily true.
Now, comes a pair of polls, including Gallup, that paint a revealing detailed portrait of Tea Party supporters in most ways as pretty average Americans. A Sunday poll -- actually three national phone surveys of 1,000 registered voters -- found that 17% of all polled, or more than 500, called themselves "part of the Tea Party movement."
"It's a good sample size," David Winston, polling director of the Winston Group that did the poll for an education advocacy group, told the Ballot Box blog of The Hill newspaper.
The Tea Party adherents broke down 28% independent, 17% Democrat and only 57% Republican. Not coincidentally, this bipartisan breakdown has been the way that Tea Party favorite Sarah Palin has often described movement members as "commonsense Americans" worried and....
...angered by the over-reaching one-party control of Democrats in Washington these last 15 months, rooted initially in opposition to Obama's $787 billion government economic stimulus package.
A new Gallup Poll out this morning of 1,033 finds nothing fringe about self-proclaimed Tea Party adherents; they are slightly more likely to be employed, male and definitely more conservative. But otherwise Gallup's Lydia Saad writes, "their age, educational background, employment status, and race -- Tea Partiers are quite representative of the public at large."
Read the full story here
Greg
Myth-busting polls: Tea Party members are average Americans, 41% are Democrats, independents
For upwards of 12 months now members of the so-called Tea Party protest movement have been stereotyped, derogated and often dismissed by some politicians and media outlets.
They've been portrayed variously as angry fringe elements, often inarticulate, potentially violent and merely Republicans in sheep's clothing or disgruntled pockets of conservatives blindly lashing out at a left-handed President Obama and the same side of his Democratic Party finally getting its chance to drive home a liberal agenda after eight years of Republican rule and six under a centrist Bill Clinton.
Alas for stereotypes, they're convenient, often catchy. But not necessarily true.
Now, comes a pair of polls, including Gallup, that paint a revealing detailed portrait of Tea Party supporters in most ways as pretty average Americans. A Sunday poll -- actually three national phone surveys of 1,000 registered voters -- found that 17% of all polled, or more than 500, called themselves "part of the Tea Party movement."
"It's a good sample size," David Winston, polling director of the Winston Group that did the poll for an education advocacy group, told the Ballot Box blog of The Hill newspaper.
The Tea Party adherents broke down 28% independent, 17% Democrat and only 57% Republican. Not coincidentally, this bipartisan breakdown has been the way that Tea Party favorite Sarah Palin has often described movement members as "commonsense Americans" worried and....
...angered by the over-reaching one-party control of Democrats in Washington these last 15 months, rooted initially in opposition to Obama's $787 billion government economic stimulus package.
A new Gallup Poll out this morning of 1,033 finds nothing fringe about self-proclaimed Tea Party adherents; they are slightly more likely to be employed, male and definitely more conservative. But otherwise Gallup's Lydia Saad writes, "their age, educational background, employment status, and race -- Tea Partiers are quite representative of the public at large."
Read the full story here
Greg
Criminal action @ the #FED (DUH!)
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Click link below for the original post...
The Fed Admits To Breaking The Law - from The Market Ticker
Now how long will it be before something is done about it?
April 1 (Bloomberg) -- After months of litigation and political scrutiny, the Federal Reserve yesterday ended a policy of secrecy over its Bear Stearns Cos. bailout.
In a 4:30 p.m. announcement in a week of congressional recess and religious holidays, the central bank released details of securities bought to aid Bear Stearns’s takeover by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Bloomberg News sued the Fed for that information.
The problem is this: The Fed is not authorized to BUY anything other than those securities that have the full faith and credit of The United States.
In addition Ben Bernanke has repeatedly claimed that these deals would not cost anyone money. But the current value looks differently:
Assets in Maiden Lane II totaled $34.8 billion, according to the Fed, which set their current market value in its weekly balance sheet at $15.3 billion. That means Maiden Lane II assets are worth 44 cents on the dollar, or 44 percent of their face value, according to the Fed.
Maiden Lane III, which has $56 billion of assets at face value, is worth $22.1 billion, or 39 cents on the dollar, according to the Fed’s weekly balance sheet. A similar calculation for the Bear Stearns portfolio couldn’t be made because of outstanding derivatives trades.
In other words, they have lost more than half of their value.
This was and remains a blatantly unlawful activity.
The Fed has effectively usurped Article 1 Section 7 of The Constituion which reads in part:
All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
The Fed effectively appropriated taxpayer funds without authorization of Congress. At the time these facilities were put in place neither TARP or any other Congressional authorization existed for them to do so, and to date no bill has been put through Congress authorizing the expenditure of taxpayer funds, either through putting them at risk or via outright expense, for this purpose.
Nor does it stop with a "mere" Constitutional violation - The Federal Reserve Act's Sections 13 and 14 do not permit Fed asset purchases except, once again, for items carrying "full faith and credit" guarantees. Credit-default swaps and trash mortgages most certainly do not meet these qualifications.
I know I've harped on this for more than two years, but here we have a raw admission of exactly what was done - and there is simply no way to construe any of it in a light that conforms with either The Constitution or black-letter statutory law.
What's worse is that Tim Geithner, head of the NY Fed at the time, was very much involved in this - that is, he in effect personally, along with Ben Bernanke, usurped the power of the United States House.
The Fed has spent two years trying to hide this from the public and Congress. It has fought off both Congressional demands for disclosure and multiple FOIA lawsuits, the latter of which has resulted in a series of adverse rulings (and, it appears, was ultimately going to force disclosure anyway.)
These actions are unacceptable but promising "never to do that again" is insufficient. In a Representative Republic where the rule of law is supposed to be paramount - that is, where we do not crown Kings and relegate everyone else to the status of knaves, unlawful actions such as this demand that strong and unmistakable sanction also be applied to all wrongdoers in addition to protection against future abuse.
In this case this means that both Geithner and Bernanke must go - for starters.
Amending The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 (as Chris Dodd has proposed to prevent future lending bailouts) is not sufficient in that The Fed did not lend in this case, it purchased, and by buying what we now know were trash loans it violated the black letter of existing law.
There is only one effective remedy for an institution that has proved that it will not abide the law: it must be stripped of all authority that has been in the past and can be in the future abused.
This means that The Fed, if we are to keep it at all, must be relegated to a body that only practices and provides monetary policy - nothing more or less - and that all monetary operations must be performed openly, transparently, and within those constraints.
We cannot have a republic where an unelected body is left free to violate The Constitution with wild abandon and those acts are then allowed to stand.
One final thought: If the individuals responsible for this blatant black-letter violation of the law do not face meaningful sanction for these acts, and neither does The Fed as an institution, can you fine folks over at The Executive, Judiciary and Legislative branches of our government please explain to us ordinary Americans why we should obey any of the laws of this land when you will not enforce the laws that already exist?
Click link below for the original post...
The Fed Admits To Breaking The Law - from The Market Ticker
Now how long will it be before something is done about it?
April 1 (Bloomberg) -- After months of litigation and political scrutiny, the Federal Reserve yesterday ended a policy of secrecy over its Bear Stearns Cos. bailout.
In a 4:30 p.m. announcement in a week of congressional recess and religious holidays, the central bank released details of securities bought to aid Bear Stearns’s takeover by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Bloomberg News sued the Fed for that information.
The problem is this: The Fed is not authorized to BUY anything other than those securities that have the full faith and credit of The United States.
In addition Ben Bernanke has repeatedly claimed that these deals would not cost anyone money. But the current value looks differently:
Assets in Maiden Lane II totaled $34.8 billion, according to the Fed, which set their current market value in its weekly balance sheet at $15.3 billion. That means Maiden Lane II assets are worth 44 cents on the dollar, or 44 percent of their face value, according to the Fed.
Maiden Lane III, which has $56 billion of assets at face value, is worth $22.1 billion, or 39 cents on the dollar, according to the Fed’s weekly balance sheet. A similar calculation for the Bear Stearns portfolio couldn’t be made because of outstanding derivatives trades.
In other words, they have lost more than half of their value.
This was and remains a blatantly unlawful activity.
The Fed has effectively usurped Article 1 Section 7 of The Constituion which reads in part:
All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
The Fed effectively appropriated taxpayer funds without authorization of Congress. At the time these facilities were put in place neither TARP or any other Congressional authorization existed for them to do so, and to date no bill has been put through Congress authorizing the expenditure of taxpayer funds, either through putting them at risk or via outright expense, for this purpose.
Nor does it stop with a "mere" Constitutional violation - The Federal Reserve Act's Sections 13 and 14 do not permit Fed asset purchases except, once again, for items carrying "full faith and credit" guarantees. Credit-default swaps and trash mortgages most certainly do not meet these qualifications.
I know I've harped on this for more than two years, but here we have a raw admission of exactly what was done - and there is simply no way to construe any of it in a light that conforms with either The Constitution or black-letter statutory law.
What's worse is that Tim Geithner, head of the NY Fed at the time, was very much involved in this - that is, he in effect personally, along with Ben Bernanke, usurped the power of the United States House.
The Fed has spent two years trying to hide this from the public and Congress. It has fought off both Congressional demands for disclosure and multiple FOIA lawsuits, the latter of which has resulted in a series of adverse rulings (and, it appears, was ultimately going to force disclosure anyway.)
These actions are unacceptable but promising "never to do that again" is insufficient. In a Representative Republic where the rule of law is supposed to be paramount - that is, where we do not crown Kings and relegate everyone else to the status of knaves, unlawful actions such as this demand that strong and unmistakable sanction also be applied to all wrongdoers in addition to protection against future abuse.
In this case this means that both Geithner and Bernanke must go - for starters.
Amending The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 (as Chris Dodd has proposed to prevent future lending bailouts) is not sufficient in that The Fed did not lend in this case, it purchased, and by buying what we now know were trash loans it violated the black letter of existing law.
There is only one effective remedy for an institution that has proved that it will not abide the law: it must be stripped of all authority that has been in the past and can be in the future abused.
This means that The Fed, if we are to keep it at all, must be relegated to a body that only practices and provides monetary policy - nothing more or less - and that all monetary operations must be performed openly, transparently, and within those constraints.
We cannot have a republic where an unelected body is left free to violate The Constitution with wild abandon and those acts are then allowed to stand.
One final thought: If the individuals responsible for this blatant black-letter violation of the law do not face meaningful sanction for these acts, and neither does The Fed as an institution, can you fine folks over at The Executive, Judiciary and Legislative branches of our government please explain to us ordinary Americans why we should obey any of the laws of this land when you will not enforce the laws that already exist?
Monday, April 5, 2010
WE are the answer
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Excellent video on the evil nature of government and central banks and what WE can do about it... Check it out
This video was grabbed from the Emergent Culture website. You may see the original post in it's entirety by clicking this link
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===========================================
(Introductory snippet) from Emergent Culture website
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Former government and military intelligence agent Robert D. Steele identifies every key facet of the dominant governing paradigm and what we must do to bring about the kinds of changes demanded by the world’s sordid state of affairs.
We cannot hope to vote into power those who might actually change the system. Those in power own and run the system from top to bottom and it is thoroughly infested with liars, crooks and incompetent socio-economic engineers.
===========================================
===========================================
There must be enough of us committed to honesty, liberty, freedom, justice and the constitution of the United States to take a stand and fix that which is broken.
The repair work begins November 2010
Greg
Excellent video on the evil nature of government and central banks and what WE can do about it... Check it out
This video was grabbed from the Emergent Culture website. You may see the original post in it's entirety by clicking this link
---
===========================================
(Introductory snippet) from Emergent Culture website
---
Former government and military intelligence agent Robert D. Steele identifies every key facet of the dominant governing paradigm and what we must do to bring about the kinds of changes demanded by the world’s sordid state of affairs.
We cannot hope to vote into power those who might actually change the system. Those in power own and run the system from top to bottom and it is thoroughly infested with liars, crooks and incompetent socio-economic engineers.
===========================================
===========================================
There must be enough of us committed to honesty, liberty, freedom, justice and the constitution of the United States to take a stand and fix that which is broken.
The repair work begins November 2010
Greg
Saturday, April 3, 2010
For the sheeple
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I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child has grown
the dreams have gone
I have become...
comfortably numb
Credit Pink Floyd, Comfortably Numb, The Wall
Wake up sheeple
Greg
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child has grown
the dreams have gone
I have become...
comfortably numb
Credit Pink Floyd, Comfortably Numb, The Wall
Wake up sheeple
Greg
Friday, April 2, 2010
American #terror
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It is, historically, a very dangerous thing when a government refuses to listen to it's own people...
It is not unusual for peoples around the world to resort to guerrilla tactics to fight an opponent who is much better trained, equipped and armed... Pretty much what is called terrorism now days was guerrilla warfare when I was younger, or something else.
Pretty much the first time I remember hearing about terrorism was in the 1970's with that whole Arafat thing. Blowing up airplanes and such...
As I recall most all of that 'terrorism' was politically motivated, based, mainly, on the foreign policy of the United States government... Things don't 'change' much do they? lol
It's fairly obvious, to me, that there will be 'terrorist attacks' in the United States of America. Likely soon... In my opinion. Including the suicide variety ala Hassan and Joe Stack...
I wonder, because I'm not all that smart to actually know everything like our brilliant politicians do, if maybe most insurgencies and civil wars don't start with something that could be 'called' terrorism, domestic terrorism perhaps...
By my calculations, which are not much more than an educated guess, numbers pulled out of my own a$$ lol, our government has thoroughly pissed off about 1/3 of the American populace.
With the seemingly endless bailouts and government takeovers in the private sector, the insane spending and money printing and the monetization of debt...
With seemingly endless wars around the globe, the purpose of which become ever more difficult to logically explain to a war weary nation...
So my question became, over time. What percentage of Americans might we expect, statistically speaking, to become angered and frustrated enough to turn to violence to express their dissatisfaction with the status quo?
This assuming that we are talking about a baseline of 100 million people... 1/3 of the population of the USA.
Obviously 100 million people are not going to take up arms to resist their government, or even consider such non-sense. What needs to be done can, and should, be done peacefully...
But my point is that a certain 'percentage' of angry Americans are likely more inclined toward violence than the rest...
Ok, for the sake of argument, say I'm way off in my own estimates of how many Americans are REALLY PO'ed with their government and thieving banks and corrupt corporations and utility/commodity companies. Let's say maybe it's only half that number, 15% of the populous or 50 million people...
My struggle is to figure out what percentage of that number 'might' end up resorting to violence to express their displeasure?
I, personally, don't think 50 million is that bad a number. It's 15% of the population while we have at least 18% unemployment (according to BLS). 15 to 16 million Americans have no jobs! Their families and extended families are affected in a negative way also, either directly or indirectly..
Unemployment, poverty and stress, foreclosures and homelessness abound in this country. They promise only to get worse. Many soldiers are returning home, to society, after several tours of duty in the middle east. Many with post-traumatic stress syndrome, I would assume. I think *I* would have it! Often experiencing urban warfare, where it is often difficult to tell friend from foe...
Many many Americans are stressed like they have not been since the great depression.
The banks don't care, the insurance companies don't care, the corporations don't care. The United States government doesn't seem to care. At least not about anything other than the aforementioned corporations...
Me? I'm REALLY pissed! About the unfairness of it all. About the fact that government seems to be taking over everything, against the will and loud protests of the American people. That the government/tax payer bailouts seem to be endless. That the economy and markets are being illegally manipulated. That the wishes of the American people are not only being ignored but also being demonized, if not yet criminalized...
I remember the 1980's when the main stream media constantly hammered president Ronald Reagan on the economy and certainly on what I recall being the 3 million homeless Americans at the time... What is that number now? There are different numbers all over the map as is normally the case... Here's an interesting story
Why is it that now it seems homelessness isn't that big a story to the media anymore?
Many Americans are being called potential 'terrorists' these days by many people. In both government and media...
So what percentage of 50 million, even 25 million, or even 10 million, Americans would resort to violence? This question has been bugging me, haunting me... I have no answer yet, though it seems to promise to be a significant number in any case...
I suppose, in the end, I pretty much agree with the Department of Homeland Security. That some of the most likely Americans to take matters into their own hands, to be the most likely to fight hard for freedom and liberty, for country and for God, are likely to be well trained veterans and militias.
I guess it makes sense... Here is the link to the page containing the information below...
1) The election of the first African American President is spawning domestic terrorism. “Many rightwing extremists are antagonistic toward the new presidential administration….”
2) Possible new legislation to restrict gun laws may spawn domestic terrorism.
3) Returning military veterans may resort to domestic terrorism. Right wingers may “recruit” combat veterans “to boost their violent capabilities.”
4) An recent example of rightwing extremism is the shooting deaths of the three police officers in Pittsburgh, PA on April 4, 2009.
5) “Rightwing extremist chatter on the Internet continues to focus on the economy…” “Anti-Semitic extremists attribute these losses to a deliberate conspiracy conducted by a cabal of Jewish “financial elites.”
6) Violence is expected due to “rightwing extremist groups’ frustration over a perceived lack of government action on illegal immigration….”
Government continues to scream race, Race, RACE! I see no racism here... Mainly only American citizens who are now as concerned about the direction and leadership (or lack thereof) of their beloved country as never before experienced in this generation.
It seems government will continue to push the envelope... After the passage of an unconstitutional, IMO, health care law they now promise to similarly 'cram down the throats of the American people' Cap and Trade (another HUGE tax during a recession) and amnesty for 12 to 14 million people who are in our country illegally.
I see far more patriotic concern than anything else...
Washington needs to remember that most of us cook our own meals, do our own dishes, clean our own houses, tend to our own gardens, look after our own kids, do our own shopping.
We, the people, ARE America... not the government... They work for us.. Supposedly, until now.
Greg
It is, historically, a very dangerous thing when a government refuses to listen to it's own people...
It is not unusual for peoples around the world to resort to guerrilla tactics to fight an opponent who is much better trained, equipped and armed... Pretty much what is called terrorism now days was guerrilla warfare when I was younger, or something else.
Pretty much the first time I remember hearing about terrorism was in the 1970's with that whole Arafat thing. Blowing up airplanes and such...
As I recall most all of that 'terrorism' was politically motivated, based, mainly, on the foreign policy of the United States government... Things don't 'change' much do they? lol
It's fairly obvious, to me, that there will be 'terrorist attacks' in the United States of America. Likely soon... In my opinion. Including the suicide variety ala Hassan and Joe Stack...
I wonder, because I'm not all that smart to actually know everything like our brilliant politicians do, if maybe most insurgencies and civil wars don't start with something that could be 'called' terrorism, domestic terrorism perhaps...
By my calculations, which are not much more than an educated guess, numbers pulled out of my own a$$ lol, our government has thoroughly pissed off about 1/3 of the American populace.
With the seemingly endless bailouts and government takeovers in the private sector, the insane spending and money printing and the monetization of debt...
With seemingly endless wars around the globe, the purpose of which become ever more difficult to logically explain to a war weary nation...
So my question became, over time. What percentage of Americans might we expect, statistically speaking, to become angered and frustrated enough to turn to violence to express their dissatisfaction with the status quo?
This assuming that we are talking about a baseline of 100 million people... 1/3 of the population of the USA.
Obviously 100 million people are not going to take up arms to resist their government, or even consider such non-sense. What needs to be done can, and should, be done peacefully...
But my point is that a certain 'percentage' of angry Americans are likely more inclined toward violence than the rest...
Ok, for the sake of argument, say I'm way off in my own estimates of how many Americans are REALLY PO'ed with their government and thieving banks and corrupt corporations and utility/commodity companies. Let's say maybe it's only half that number, 15% of the populous or 50 million people...
My struggle is to figure out what percentage of that number 'might' end up resorting to violence to express their displeasure?
I, personally, don't think 50 million is that bad a number. It's 15% of the population while we have at least 18% unemployment (according to BLS). 15 to 16 million Americans have no jobs! Their families and extended families are affected in a negative way also, either directly or indirectly..
Unemployment, poverty and stress, foreclosures and homelessness abound in this country. They promise only to get worse. Many soldiers are returning home, to society, after several tours of duty in the middle east. Many with post-traumatic stress syndrome, I would assume. I think *I* would have it! Often experiencing urban warfare, where it is often difficult to tell friend from foe...
Many many Americans are stressed like they have not been since the great depression.
The banks don't care, the insurance companies don't care, the corporations don't care. The United States government doesn't seem to care. At least not about anything other than the aforementioned corporations...
Me? I'm REALLY pissed! About the unfairness of it all. About the fact that government seems to be taking over everything, against the will and loud protests of the American people. That the government/tax payer bailouts seem to be endless. That the economy and markets are being illegally manipulated. That the wishes of the American people are not only being ignored but also being demonized, if not yet criminalized...
I remember the 1980's when the main stream media constantly hammered president Ronald Reagan on the economy and certainly on what I recall being the 3 million homeless Americans at the time... What is that number now? There are different numbers all over the map as is normally the case... Here's an interesting story
Why is it that now it seems homelessness isn't that big a story to the media anymore?
Many Americans are being called potential 'terrorists' these days by many people. In both government and media...
So what percentage of 50 million, even 25 million, or even 10 million, Americans would resort to violence? This question has been bugging me, haunting me... I have no answer yet, though it seems to promise to be a significant number in any case...
I suppose, in the end, I pretty much agree with the Department of Homeland Security. That some of the most likely Americans to take matters into their own hands, to be the most likely to fight hard for freedom and liberty, for country and for God, are likely to be well trained veterans and militias.
I guess it makes sense... Here is the link to the page containing the information below...
1) The election of the first African American President is spawning domestic terrorism. “Many rightwing extremists are antagonistic toward the new presidential administration….”
2) Possible new legislation to restrict gun laws may spawn domestic terrorism.
3) Returning military veterans may resort to domestic terrorism. Right wingers may “recruit” combat veterans “to boost their violent capabilities.”
4) An recent example of rightwing extremism is the shooting deaths of the three police officers in Pittsburgh, PA on April 4, 2009.
5) “Rightwing extremist chatter on the Internet continues to focus on the economy…” “Anti-Semitic extremists attribute these losses to a deliberate conspiracy conducted by a cabal of Jewish “financial elites.”
6) Violence is expected due to “rightwing extremist groups’ frustration over a perceived lack of government action on illegal immigration….”
Government continues to scream race, Race, RACE! I see no racism here... Mainly only American citizens who are now as concerned about the direction and leadership (or lack thereof) of their beloved country as never before experienced in this generation.
It seems government will continue to push the envelope... After the passage of an unconstitutional, IMO, health care law they now promise to similarly 'cram down the throats of the American people' Cap and Trade (another HUGE tax during a recession) and amnesty for 12 to 14 million people who are in our country illegally.
I see far more patriotic concern than anything else...
Washington needs to remember that most of us cook our own meals, do our own dishes, clean our own houses, tend to our own gardens, look after our own kids, do our own shopping.
We, the people, ARE America... not the government... They work for us.. Supposedly, until now.
Greg
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Who is inciting whom to violence?
As you should know, if you read this blog at all, *I* am not one to encourage or condone violence in any way, against anyone...
However, that said, I SEE and FEEL a very strong chance of violence occurring in American society and I feel that we should all be prepared for that to happen. In my opinion we should also attempt to look, logically at what is going right now in American society...
It seems to me that violence is exactly what our government seeks... A panic, a crisis if you will, one that, according to Rahm Emanuel, should never be wasted...
I do have a fear that our own government is planning to use 'the threat of violence' as well as the terms 'national security matter/interest' & 'enemy combatant' to begin to round up certain members of our society who 'they' deem to be a possible threat.
For the moment i am going to provide a few links to some interesting information and recent developments...
We have already had the 2nd largest terrorist attack in the history of America when Major Hussan carried out his personal jihad against fellow soldiers...
Common Sense Says Major Hasan Was a Terrorist
We also had Joe Stack, who found himself so frustrated by the system that the only answer he was capable of arriving at was to kill himself in an attack on the IRS (Was this our first suicide bomber?)
Joe Stack (1956-2010) The Letter
Now we have this...
Hutaree Militia: Parallels To Tim McVeigh; Cable News’ Next Big Story?
And...
Eight U.S. militia members enter not guilty pleas (Hutaree Militia)
And a bit more generally...
'Rising Risk of . . . Violence'
And some people who seem to 'dislike' Glenn Beck... lol
Beck's "shocking" and "disturbing" documentary caps month of suggesting progressives are prone to violence
My research continues currently with
A transcultural study of the "Temperament and Character Inventory" (TCI study)
My thesis is that the government of the United States of America is WELL aware of not only the possibility of, but also the probability of, violence occurring on a domestic level as it has not for many many decades... i seek only access to data that is most likely already well known and understood by our own government.
We have seen warnings already from the Department of Homeland Security that states that our brave soldiers returning from foreign wars, which they did not start, should be monitored by government as they have the potential to become violent supporters of extremism directed against our government.
Returning military veterans may resort to domestic terrorism. Right wingers may “recruit” combat veterans “to boost their violent capabilities.”
I am currently trying to discern the percentage of the American population who might be considered to be 'violence prone' due to the psychological makeup of said individuals.
To *me* it seems important to have some idea of the number of Americans who may succumb to acts of violence when/if aggravated/frustrated to sufficient levels as shown by reliable, statistical data.
I would appreciate any assistance I can get in this area of research ;)
This is most certainly only the beginning of our problems in America... Be aware. Don't be caught off guard...
Greg
However, that said, I SEE and FEEL a very strong chance of violence occurring in American society and I feel that we should all be prepared for that to happen. In my opinion we should also attempt to look, logically at what is going right now in American society...
It seems to me that violence is exactly what our government seeks... A panic, a crisis if you will, one that, according to Rahm Emanuel, should never be wasted...
I do have a fear that our own government is planning to use 'the threat of violence' as well as the terms 'national security matter/interest' & 'enemy combatant' to begin to round up certain members of our society who 'they' deem to be a possible threat.
For the moment i am going to provide a few links to some interesting information and recent developments...
We have already had the 2nd largest terrorist attack in the history of America when Major Hussan carried out his personal jihad against fellow soldiers...
Common Sense Says Major Hasan Was a Terrorist
We also had Joe Stack, who found himself so frustrated by the system that the only answer he was capable of arriving at was to kill himself in an attack on the IRS (Was this our first suicide bomber?)
Joe Stack (1956-2010) The Letter
Now we have this...
Hutaree Militia: Parallels To Tim McVeigh; Cable News’ Next Big Story?
And...
Eight U.S. militia members enter not guilty pleas (Hutaree Militia)
And a bit more generally...
'Rising Risk of . . . Violence'
And some people who seem to 'dislike' Glenn Beck... lol
Beck's "shocking" and "disturbing" documentary caps month of suggesting progressives are prone to violence
My research continues currently with
A transcultural study of the "Temperament and Character Inventory" (TCI study)
My thesis is that the government of the United States of America is WELL aware of not only the possibility of, but also the probability of, violence occurring on a domestic level as it has not for many many decades... i seek only access to data that is most likely already well known and understood by our own government.
We have seen warnings already from the Department of Homeland Security that states that our brave soldiers returning from foreign wars, which they did not start, should be monitored by government as they have the potential to become violent supporters of extremism directed against our government.
Returning military veterans may resort to domestic terrorism. Right wingers may “recruit” combat veterans “to boost their violent capabilities.”
I am currently trying to discern the percentage of the American population who might be considered to be 'violence prone' due to the psychological makeup of said individuals.
To *me* it seems important to have some idea of the number of Americans who may succumb to acts of violence when/if aggravated/frustrated to sufficient levels as shown by reliable, statistical data.
I would appreciate any assistance I can get in this area of research ;)
This is most certainly only the beginning of our problems in America... Be aware. Don't be caught off guard...
Greg
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