The Riddle of Money; A Caveman's Lesson

     I am confused by the concept of money.  Not so much in that I don't understand how it works, because I don't, and that seems to be the only way such a convention can be viable.  I am more so confused by the fact that such an enigmatic system is still relevant in modern society.  Most folks have little to no grasp on how the theory of money works, which is how it has been able to sustain itself and become a larger and larger detriment to those who don't know the riddle of money.  The best way I can paint the Dalian abstraction of such a convention (Ha!  Dali puns) is to bring you on a metaphorical journey back in time.  A much simpler time when people wiped their assholes with giant leaves (or not at all), and being eaten was a legit concern.

     Imagine if you will, a pre-historic cave community.  Members of this stone age commune go about their lives much as you would picture it.  They hunt and gather, protect each other from predators, and even barter with each other from time to time.  One particular individual, Glorg, has a great skill set when it comes to game hunting.  He not only is a very efficient hunter, but also extremely skilled in the craft of making animal pelts.  These pelts are immensely useful to Glorg and his family.  They keep them warm in the winter, make for an aesthetically pleasing wardrobe, and are much easier on the skin when removing un-wanted bodily fluids. Glorg has a neighbor, his name is Glerg (Names are in the infantile stage of development).  Glerg and his family are surviving just barley due to his limited caveman skills.  He has taken notice of Glorg's fine pelts and what a boon they are to his family, especially how much hotter Glorg's wife looks in her fur bikini.  Now Glerg has nothing to barter with his neighbor for those pelts, but fears he and his family may not make it through another cold winter without them.  So Glerg devises a rather clever plan;

Glerg:  Hey Glorg!  That new batch of pelts is looking great!

Glorg:  Thanks man!  I had an awesome hunt last week!

Glerg: Yeah yeah, that's cool.  Hey listen, you think I can get my hands on a couple of thems.

Glorg:  Jeez, I'm not sure pal.  I wanna help you out, but winter is just around the corner and I'm not sure if I can part with any.  Do you have something to trade?

Glerg:  I sure do!

Glerg reaches into his cave and pulls a crude animal skin filled with jagged and filthy rocks.

Glorg:  Oh man, um, I don't think I need a bunch of rocks Glerg. 

Glerg:  What are you talking about?

Glorg:  Well, I mean, even if I did, I can get those anywhere for free.  Shit, there's more rocks like that strewn about my feet.

Glerg:  Not like these rocks.

Glorg:  How so?

Glerg:  These rocks right here represent something much more valuable.

Glorg:  Really?  What?

Glerg points to a small pile of very smooth and shiny rocks at the foot of his cave.  Glorg is confused (naturally).

Glerg:  These rocks are good for trading in for the prettier ones you see stacked up by my cave.

Glorg:  Those are nice.

Glerg:  So will you trade me for some pelts?

Glorg:  You mean the shiny rocks?

Glerg: No, silly, these

Glerg lifts the bag of shitty rocks up so Glorg understands what he means.

Glorg:  Why don't you just trade me some shiny rocks for some pelts?

Glerg:  Glad ya asked.  You see, the rocks I hold in my bag here are good for the shiny ones, which means you can trade them in anytime you want the shiny rocks.  Or, or, you can trade the shitty rocks for something else you may desire.  It's great because if gives you the freedom of choice.

Glorg:  (still confused)  So if I want the shiny rocks I can just give you the shitty rocks for them?  That seems kinda goofey.  Again, why not just trade me the shiny rocks, you have the same amount of shitty rocks.

Glerg:  Ah, see that's the beauty of it.  This pile of shitty rocks I hold in my hand is no where near the value of shiny rocks I have.

Glorg:  Wait, what?

Glerg:  Yeah, there is no way in caveman hell I'd let you trade in this pile of dog-shit rocks for my entire pile of shiny rocks!  What am I?  An idiot?

Glorg:  So why would I want to trade you for a pile of something I can't use?

Glerg:  Of course you can use them!   You can have a portion of shiny rocks whenever you want!  Or you can trade with, oh say Glarg down the way for some of his bone necklaces.  The point is, you get to choose, and choosing is freedom!

Glorg:  I guess I see the benefit in that...

Glerg:  Of course there's a benefit!  A fantastic one you'd have to be a moron to pass up.  I could give you a few shiny rocks, and that would be that.  But if I give you the shitty ones, not only will you get more, you can trade them for other things!  Do I have to spell it out in Mammoth feces for you?

Glorg:  I dunno, wouldn't the shitty rocks lose value the more I trade them?

Glerg:  Good point, easy fix.  I'll gather more shitty and shiny rocks the more you and the others trade them.

Glorg:  Yeah, but the shiny rocks are way more scarce, what happens if you can't find anymore shiny rocks?

Glerg:  Then we can trade shitty rocks on credit until we find more shiny rocks!  Duh!

Glorg:  What if that never happens?

Glerg:  These rocks are shiny!!  Look how shiny!!  You can get all kinds of cool stuff with them!  How is this confusing to you?!  You're acting like a Neander!

Glorg:  Hey!  That's not cool to throw slurs like that around bro!  I have few, and the word is Neanderthal, friends!

Glerg:  Yeah?  And how's it going for them?

Glorg:  They are slowly starving and being run out of their land by cavemen.

Glerg:  So you wanna end up like a dirty Neander...sorry, NEEANDERTHAL?!

Glorg: No.

Glerg:  So make the trade!  The reason they're about to go extinct is because they are too stupid to understand complex concepts like mine!!

Glorg:  I guess you're right.

Glerg:  Damn right I am!

Glorg and Glerg made their trade.  Glerg and his family went on to survive the winter staying warm and spiffy looking.  Meanwhile, Glorg took his pile of shitty rocks and was indeed able to convince other cavemen to trade them for goods and services.  Eventually the cave folk of Glorg and Glerg's commune decided it would be easier to spend time gathering rocks to trade.  Soon hunting and gathering skills deteriorated as the entire population of that community focused all their energy in creating complex shit rock derivatives, ponzy schemes, and a short lived rock trading futures market.  A few years latter Glorg found himself alone by a river bank up to his elbows in a pile of jagged shit rocks crying over his dead family who had starved from lack of food.  He choked on his own tears and a large chunk of sediment as he had reflected on the poor choice he made.

What's the moral of this story?  It's simple; don't believe the hype. - Chuck D

I Just Bought My First Politician: Make A Difference America!

I bought my first congressman today!!  I'm so excited!  Now, it's my first one keep in mind, so I had to go small.  It's a boy, I don't have the dollars to afford one at the federal or state level, but I was able to get one at the municipal level!!  He's a rescue actually! (Since he was censured from the board of Elgin trustees for having inappropriate relations with blue gill in the Lord's Park pond)  Here he is!

 

He's soooooo adorable!  His name is Larry Papellman, and he's all mine!

I was a bit nervous, being that I'm a first time politician owner.  I was not sure where to start!  The possibilities are endless!

Larry is crashing at my place, well my parents place since I live with them, after his wife changed the locks on him post the whole blue gill thing.  It's pretty amazing that happened, because it's how I was able to get him!  I think fate has a funny way calling on you when you are needed most.  It's a two way love, because I needed Larry to come into my life as much as he needed me!

Larry is the head of the water filtration committee, so maybe there is a good place.  I've been trying to find a way to get my human manure business going, and Larry is the perfect man to help!

The trouble with selling human feces lies mostly in harvesting it.  Like Larry, I have had a few scraps with Johnny Law whilst trying to extract this commodity.  But now with Larry in my pocket (or air mattress), I can use his influence to glean an unlimited supply without the burden of people freaking out when I go straight to the source.  Sure, the product won't be as fresh, but that is the cost of business!

I have lobbied my guy to introduce a statute that allows my LLC, and only my LLC, exclusive rights to the gold flowing through the filtration plant!  Larry was more than happy to oblige.  In his cute fashion he responded to my demand as such;

"Sure, sure kid, whatever!  You got anymore of that sniff?"

Not till you finish dinner Larry!  You little scamp!

On top of helping me with my business, Larry is also helping me find a good woman too!  What a blessing he is!  Larry said to me he knows all the "good spots", so I'm super excited!

I hope our story will bring hope to regular good people.  I want working class Americans like myself to take solace when they hear about us, knowing that they too can participate in the democratic process.

So stop whining America!  Get out there and do something to make a difference, just like Larry and I!  The American dream is not just for the rich, but rather anyone who has the temerity to pull themselves up by their boot straps and get involved.  I implore you to do like I did, get yourself a politician and stop crying that there is not one out there for you!  There are plenty of unwanted law makers and civil servants that need a good home!  We can't all have a purebred beltway legislator, but so what?  That is exactly the attitude that has destroyed the middle class, and left hundreds of small politicians like Larry without a good sponsor!

More to come!

America: A World So Nice, We Have Three

Last Thursday there was a strike across one hundred cities in the US.  Workers are fighting for a decent living wage.  I wish I had the balls to join them, but just like those workers, I am inundated with frivolous things like car payments, insurance premiums, and the need to eat.  So unlike my sisters and brothers fighting the good fight, I will not forego my few shitty hours of work on Thursday.  This really pisses me off, because it is an awful reflection of how weak willed I am as a person.  The money I'll make on this Thursday's shift of slinging cheeseburgers, beer, and sadness will not even cover my car insurance payment.  So what do I have to lose?  Unfortunately, I am in the majority of Americans who have been conditioned to keep their head down and go to work, and be happy there is work available.  I'm scared that if I walk out of my job, I'll lose it.  I'm such a big pussy, that I am even afraid to call in sick, and at least go show support for the humans who possess the power of bravery and fortitude.  People like me are the problem.

Once upon a time in this country a person could work forty hours at a job and make enough money to get on with a reasonable margin of comfort.  We called those folks the middle class.  The not so epic tale of how that class was destroyed is pretty common, whether people want to believe it or not.  As much as we can learn from history however, there first must be a change in the status quo before we can apply those lessons.

To do this, the under-paid proletariat in America MUST UNITE!  So why are there so many chicken shits like me running around?  I think I know.

The problem with wages, in a nutshell, is that they have not risen in correlation to profits  (I suspect workers may be paid in nutshells soon enough).  Not because businesses would go under, or productivity would decline, but rather because of a thirty year brainwashing campaign.

This has been a three pronged attack.  We are a third world country in the sense that not only do most Americans skim the poverty line, but also in that three illusion worlds have been created by the modern bourgeoisie to frighten us into servitude.  The first meme is such:

YOU HAVE AN EASY JOB!

Since America has made the shift to a service economy, most jobs available in this country can be done with little to no training or experience.  Basically anyone with a pulse and a moderate knowledge of the English language can negotiate their way through a day of ringing up goods, slopping hormone laced meat in front of a customer, or sell cable scripts in a broken mono-tone voice over the phone.  The evil geniuses behind this shift have done a great job equating simple with easy. By establishing this modality in the brain meat of all Americans, corporate totalitarianism is made simple.  We are the single best weapon against ourselves. 

Like any good sociopath, the wealth owners play on our insecurities.  Not only do they make the idea of paying living wages to a Wal-Mart employee sound unreasonable, they make the worker feel ashamed to even entertain such a thought.  When in reality, companies like Wal-Mart make enough profits to pay decent wages without raising prices and still collect record profits. So why do we go along with this? 

Like any abusive husband, the modern bourgeoisie reminds us day in and day out that we are lucky to have them in our lives.  Like the great Randian Atlas, they can shrug and take their party to a private island at any time.  The only reason they even bother anymore is that we still have a pretty nice rack, and cook a competent meat loaf.

Why should the Walton family pay someone $15/hr to basically stand around all day?

I would answer that hypothetical, but often asked question, with one of my own;

"What is the longest amount of time you have ever spent on your feet?"

If you are a Walton, or any other family of dynastic wealth, I bet the amount is staggeringly low.  Perhaps a few outliers like not being able to blow a load after a coke fueled night of sex clubbing in Bankok with under-age prostitutes may skew the mean some.  But that pre-supposes that our subject was standing for their service.

All in all, I bet our job creator over-lords spend very little time on their feet.  It's not as easy as it looks!  If it were, the hemroid pillow business would cease to exist.

Also remember, many of these service jobs are simplistic in operation, but physically grueling in execution.  Often times, employees are asked to do way more than the job parameters would suggest.  I've spent many working hours scrubbing toilets, grime, and filth from crevasses in the structures I was employed at, and my job title more times than not was server (waiter for you old folks).

Another huge factor over looked by those who scoff at the idea that customer service is challenging is THE HUMAN CONDITION.


The toughest thing about being a servant (because that is what we are), is the natural tendency for people to treat us like we are lower on the food chain.  In this society, the disparity between the strata of the "class" system, so called class system based on wealth accumulation, is so vast.  People will cling to any opportunity to jump up a level, even if only for that moment when whistling at the server like a dog, condescending to the cashier, or out right berating the poor soul who made a small mistake in processing their egg-muffin order.  The ironic thing (I guess) is the perpetrators of this cruelty tend to be made up mostly of those who work in the same industry.


In this inverted corporate totalitarianism known as the service industry, we the workers are our own worst enemy in the perpetuation of this "expendable/lower class" meme.


2. YOU TOO CAN BE AN OWNER:  The perversion of the American Dream

 
What is the American dream?  The answer is very objective.  However, in this day and age, it seems that the answer is rather objectivist.  Ayn Rand, the serial killer worshiping, pool boy fucking, goddess of sociopathic individualism, is really starting to peak three decades after her death.  Her philosophy lives on, and is considered by many as a viable system to which a society should function.  Followers of Rand would have you believe that her philosophy, objectivism, is a complex system of values based on total freedom.  Really it's just a bullshit excuse to be selfish.  It's aristocracy veiled in anarchy.   Basically, Rand believes that it is immoral for and institution, government, or person to hinder individual growth. Here is the problem, in order for there to be freedom of commerce and unfettered ownership, there first must be the ability to amass the wealth needed to do so.


If one works seventy hours a week in multiple occupations, how can that person find time to start a business?  How can one become the wealth owner/business owner when a handful of families own everything?


The simple truth is this;  all industries in this country are monopolized, and most of us, no matter how hard we work and try will never be the "job creator" (although I posit that workers are the real job creators).  That said, this myth that everyone has the opportunity to live the so called American dream is a fallacy. 


Education is far too expensive, and for those not born into wealth, more of a hindrance than a commodity after graduation due to immense amount of debt.


Also, college isn't for everyone.  That doesn't mean that an individual who is willing to work hard should be a slave to a seventy hour work week and merely scrape by.


What good is the American dream if it stifles most Americans?


It might be time to rehabilitate what we as a populace see as the true American dream.  Perhaps a life, liberty, pursuit of happiness type thing.  It seems the definition of happiness has been narrowed to the accumulation of wealth, money, and power.  How about the good life?  One to which hard work affords us the ability to support our loved ones, prepare for our waning years, and have some time to enjoy all the wonders this Earth has to offer....other than slinging wings and cheap lead riddled goods.


Again, we are our own worst enemy.  We have been brainwashed into thinking that if we diminish the wealth of the dynastic families that run this country, we too will lose that dangling carrot of wealth one day too.   We are standing guard in front of a mansion we will never own, and we have better things to do with our time.

3.  Raising wages, Taxing, and Regulating "Job Creators" Will Hurt Working Class Americans

Marx wrote about three wars in his critique on capitalism. The first between the ownership class (competition), the second between workers and owners, and third the war within the working class amongst themselves. The first, not nearly as harmful to owners, as the third is to the workers. Owners have tossed this bullshit piece of red meat into the working class fray, and it is; "Living wages will only hurt the general populace of working class citizens. It will destroy jobs, and prices will go up." But the more and more the disparity of wealth widens between owners and workers, the more we see that the aforementioned meme is a load of crap. There is absolutely no reason wages should have remained stagnant over the last three decades, and the very debate we are having now is why they do.

You know who else "created jobs"? Slave owners.  Now I don't liken working at Wal-Mart to slavery...there is not as much prestige.


All in all, I think it's fair to say that we have been brainwashed by the modern bourgeoisie into buying into THEIR DREAM.  We perpetuate it every time our little peckers shrink up at the threat of them packing up shop, a threat they would never make good on.  What would they do without us?  Eat each other? 

It's time to stop believing this over hyped, pseudo libertarian, so called free market bullshit they shove down our throats. 

I'm I against wealth redistribution?  Only if it is so one sided that the majority of people live paycheck to paycheck.  So let's stop this thirty year redistribution, and claim our deserved ownership of the country we built.
 

 

NoFap Crap Trap: Why the Hard (or Rather, Limp) Evangelical Right Wish to C-Block Our Own Hands

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

What The Fox Is Up With All The Hate

So I flip on TV and I see all these windbags hollerin’ about a Mosque being built at ground zero.  From the sounds bellowing from these ignorant asshats you would think that Osama Bin Laden himself was erecting the hotel Sharia in place of the Twin Towers. 

After hearing the claims of how this is a security threat and how the building of this structure is a slap in the face of those who suffered most on 9/11 I immediately shit my sweat pants.  By golly they’ve done it again!!  The terrorists are coming to destroy our American way of life!  Then I took two minutes to actually read up on this so called ground zero Mosque. 

First off, it is not a Mosque but rather a community center that has a prayer room in it.  We might as well call the YMCA up the street a cathedral on the account of its Chapel.  Secondly it is two blocks from ground zero, and thirdly WHO GIVES A FUCK!!!!! 

Like many major religions, Islam has many different incarnations and sects.  The particular faction of Muslims in charge of this community center are Sufies, that’s right the same Sufies who Islamic extremists blow up on a regular basis.  So why in the blue hell would they want to support terror?!?

Semantics aside, why should it matter at all what sect or for that matter, what religion is building a structure there.  Are we to all assume we are at war with Islam and all of its followers?  I tried to run down this logic in my head and came up with this:

-America was attacked on 9/11

-We declared war on terror

-The hijackers were Muslims

-All Muslims are terrorists

-We must be at war with Islam and all Muslims

That logic seems a bit frivolous to me.  I’ll tell you why; I AM SCARRED SHITLESS THAT AMERICA WILL DECLARE WAR ON ME!!!!

If that is indeed the logic we must use in facing down the horrors of terrorism, then I got problems.  If we are to assume that everyone who practices Islam not only condones the events of 9/11 but wants to kill all Americans, then the same must be said for Christians.  That bothers me because I am a Christian, and there has been all kinds of bat shit wacky things done in the name of my religion.  There have been cults, money scams, racism, homophobia, and Kirk Cameron, all using Christianity as their foundation!  But most troubling is the violence.

Some people call violence used to intimidate a group of people a hate crime.  That is all fine and well but to me it is just terrorism.  When you beat a homosexual to death because you feel he is violating you God’s law and want to send the rest of the gays a message, I’d say that is terrorism.  Let’s look at the word terrorism as defined by Webster’s for a quick second shall we?

ter·ror·ism
Pronunciation: 'ter-&r-"i-z&m
Function: noun
1 :  the unlawful use or threat of violence esp. against the state or the public as a politically motivated means of attack or coercion
2 :  violent and intimidating gang activity terrorism > — ter·ror·ist

When an abortion doctor like George Tiller is gunned down in his Church, that is an act of terrorism.  It was meant to send a message to others like Tiller:  We hate you and if you act out of the boundaries we set in our own religious beliefs you will die.  That is the definition of terrorism.  Now I don’t agree with what Tiller was doing, but as a Christian I would never turn to violence in the name of my God.  This is why the aforementioned logic worries me.

Do the acts of Christian terrorists become mine?  I don’t think abortion is right, but I have never gotten violent over it.  One of the reasons I have not is because violence is against my religion.  According to some Christians (a very small minority mind you) Tiller got what he deserved, what God wanted.  So which one of us is right?

How about the IRA?  Protestants vs. Catholics!  Do the terrorist acts of the IRA or any other terrorists who commit murder in the name of Jesus become those of all Christians?  I say HELL NO!!

Just because there is a minority of nut jobs out there that want to pervert my very beautiful religion does not mean that the rest of us agree with them.  The vast majority of Christians abhor violence, even in the name of combating things we stand against.

So why should it be different for Muslims?  Why do so many Americans believe that all people of Islamic faith are in lock step in their beliefs?  There are billions of Muslims, so that would be quite a feat.  If that were really true however, that a billion people were united in the destruction of all Christianity, I think we would be wiped out by now.  Because I know for a fact that not even a million, or even a couple thousand of us Christians can be in total agreement on even fundamental aspects of our religion, let alone an entire war on another religion.  Billions of united terrorists would easily overtake us if they all thought the same. The truth is, like Christians, most do not believe in violence.  The belief that all Muslims are terrorists or terrorist sympathizers is not only insanely far fetched but outright ridiculous!!  This led me to concoct some logic of my own:

-There is no way a billion people all share the same exact belief of what Islam is

-People who think an entire religion is out to murder them are brain-dead cowardly meat-bags wallowing in their own pool of vitriol, hate, and ignorance.

-Those that say the community center is part of a Islamic Extremist plot are in need of a rag to clean up the mess they are wading in.

I know I know, not really logic, or even resembling logic, but it expresses how I feel about people who perpetuate a stupid meme that Osama Bin Laden himself would have us all repeat:  Christians are at war with Islam.

Nothing can be farther from the truth.  The truth is God does not make us hate, he does not make us kill each other, he does not make us afraid of that which we do not try to understand.  We do that all on our own.  We are not at war with a religion, but rather with our own ignorance.  So far ignorance is up by a few….

The Great 21st Century Heist

Can anyone tell me where all the government over site is? I keep hearing the same tired meme about how the abundance of government regulations are what is holding the free market back. They say that there are too many, and I'll grant that there are literally thousands upon thousands of regulations on the vast sectors of the market. But that is because the market is so enormous. Arguing that there are too many regulations on the market is like saying that there are too many hairs on my scrotum. I need all those hairs or my noonies will freeze! Just like we need the thousands of regulations on the thousands of different sectors of the market. What I am interested in is, where's the beef(still on my Reagan 80's kick)? How did this meltdown happen, and what regulations, or lack there of caused it?

Now I am admittedly a economic hack. My knowledge of economics, finance, and the market is elementary at best. However, since I am effected by the economy like the rest of the majority who have little to no knowledge of how things work, I think my point of view is at least worth considering.

The two popular arguments as to what led to the economic melt down are that there was not enough governmental regulation, and that there was too much.

Those that say there was not enough cite the importance of bills like Glass-Steagall, whose function was to protect depositors from the risky pitfalls of trading in securities by not allowing comercial banks to do business with brokerage firms or act as investment banks. This regulation was repealed in the Grahm-Leach-Bailey Act in 1999, with the support of both Democrats and Republicans. Bubba himself signed it into law.

Free market advocates say that government meddling in the market is what caused the collapse. They point to legislation like the Community Re-investment Act of 1977, and say that the government forced banks to give loans to under qualified applicants.

To both these arguments I say BULLCOCKY!

I grant that both points of view are valid to some degree, but they both have the same root problem: Government and Business colluding together in order to carve up this great nation for themselves. If you look at the big picture, one can not survive without the other, and more importantly one can not steal without the other.

Let's look at Glass-Steagall for a minute. This law was passed during the great depression as a measure of preventing another bank collapse. It worked just fine up until the late 90's, so why repeal it? The banking industry claimed it was no longer relevant....oops. Please correct me if I am wrong here, but isn't the root of the problem commercial banks playing in the risky field it was barred from in Glass-Steagll? Again, economic hack talking here, but these banks that collapsed all owned bad mortgages that they were using to make bets on the market with. Now I am not sure as to the technicalities of how or why that is bad, but I know it is bad because the POTUS at the time when it all went down(Bush 2) went on national television and said "HOLY SHIT". I guess shopping after nine eleven wasn't good enough to avoid the giant ice berg the economy was heading for. The banks all collapsed, jobs where lost in mass numbers, and everyone felt it, mostly the people who did not cause the problem. But Bush is but one player in this ballet of greed and irresponsibility.

No before I continue on with my indictment of big Government and big business, I should note that WE THE PEOPLE are responsible for this too. But I'll get back to that.

I ask myself, how can a sensible regulation like Glass Steagall get overturned? Our elected officials want what is best for us right? It is the only way we will re-elect them. Why would they repeal a piece of legislation that is designed to protect average Americans who don't know about things like investment banking or derivatives. I'll tell you why, they are all bought and paid for! I realize for those of you who pay attention that this is no big revelation, but I am pretty sure most Americans would be shocked if they understood how our elected officials get so damn rich retain their office, and more importantly, weild emense power. You see, this had nothing to do with incompetence, no no no. This was a straight up jacking! Let's break it down.

Where do banks get the ability to do what they want in the market place? That's right, the Government. And where does the Government get all the money it needs to run all those expensive campaigns, and pay for hookers, and blow, and new tvs, and have mistresses in the Dominican Republic? Man you are sharp! That's right, the banks!! You see that one hand washes the other. All these crooks that perpetrated this scam knew what would happen, and they packed a "golden parachute". Now I am no conspiracy theorist, but this looked pretty planned after the dust settled. Whether you know a lot about economics or not, when a bubble is created, it will eventually burst. Can you really tell me these banker predators didn't see this coming. Of coarse they did, and so did the Government. So why let it happen? Because those who perpetrated it all got rich, and they did so on the dime of what was left of the middle class.

Has there been any significant indictments, or even firings? No, as a matter of fact, many of the C.E.O.'s of these banks are retiring with huge pensions. With the tax payer bailout, these banks will be able to do the same thing again. The politicians will continue to let them do it because they get their kick back too. You think all that stimulus and bail out money is going to fix the "financial problem"? If you do, I bet you also think that the Sun revolves around the Earth, and herpes is only contagious during breakouts...trust me it's not!!

So after these modern aristocrats and robber Barron's have pulled off their crime, not right under our noses, but right in front of our faces, what happens next? The same fucking thing. Unless we do something about it.

Elected officials work for us. The type of republican democracy we live in works so well because we have a separation of powers. We also need a separation of money. Keep money out of my government....what? That seems a strange thing to write, but what I mean is, stop giving the elite the power to buy off the people who are supposed to have our best interests in mind. Let's stop giving money to the people who are stealing from us, and use it for campaign finance reform. If a man robs your home, you don't go bail him out of jail and put him up for the night do you? Why do you think bribery is such a serious crime? We cannot let businesses who have way more money than we do as individuals, have this sort of power in our government. Did you know that corporations have the same rights as individuals(Santa Clara v. Southern Pacific Railroad), and are protected under the bill of rights just the same as you and I? I have to ask, is that fair? Maybe it is or maybe it isn't. Whether it's big business, special interest groups, unions, or private citizens, no one or entity should have the power to influence policy with money.

This is why we should have publicly funded elections and only publicly funded elections. Each candidate gets the same amount of tax dollars to conduct their campaign. Maybe they will have to actually stand for something, and use the money to communicate their plans and ideas, rather then outspend each other on smear commercials. But why should my tax dollars pay for this?

Because it is a part of the commons. It is the most important part of the commons, and it should not be privatized the way it is. If puts you mind at ease, we can impose term limits and cut elected officials salaries to pay for these elections. After all, isn't it supposed to be public service? When did it become a career to be a government servant?

At the end of the day we need to own this America. The man who stands by and does nothing is just as guilty as the criminal. We let this small minority run rough shod over us. We blindly trusted those dirty bankers when they came to us with their adjustable interest rate loans. Middle and Working class Americans trusted a government to protect them, a government that most of them do not understand the inner workings of. If people bothered to see how this country is really run, and who runs it, the term populist rage would need a whole new meaning.

There You Go Again...

Jimmy Carter proposed a national health care system in his bid for re-election in 1980. He laid out his plan in a televised debate with then Republican candidate Ronald Regan. After an eloquent description of his vision of what a comprehensive national health care system can look like, and what it could do to improve the lives of millions of Americans, the Gipper responded with a perfectly timed "zinger", "There you go again." The perfectly pitched sarcasm in Regan's voice was enough to stifle a well articulated and thoughtful argument laid out by the incumbent President. It seems then that imbecility is more than enough to counter intellectualism, a technique that works just as well today.

Now in 2009 we are presented a new opportunity to address the immense needs we have in our health care system. Our President has formulated a plan that takes away the monopolized power of commerce possessed almost entirely by the health insurance industry and put it back into the hands of We The People. This would be done by adding a number of regulations designed to protect Americans, as well as institute a not-for-profit health insurance option much like the one enjoyed by millions of senior citizens in this country. This initiative would do much in the way of improving our overall health outcomes, which are sorely lacking. It would also cut into the profits of such colossal health insurance giants like United Health Care. UHC C.E.O. Stephen Helmsly went home with a salary of nearly three and a half million dollars this year alone ($3,241,042). He has made over $700,000,000 in the last few years in stock options as well. So there are literally billions of reasons he and the rest of the corporate usurpers of American suffering are fighting to maintain the status quo. And what better weapon to fight reform with,(well besides billions spent on lobbying, bribes a.k.a campaign contributions, and misleading advertising) but morons! That's right! Good old fashioned home grown, in-bred, gotta check with Fox News for my opinion stupidity! There they go again! And it's working!

Republicans are effectively dismantling Obama and the so called Democrats' plans for health care reform one idiot at a time. They are successfully implementing a seek and destroy campaign of extraordinary magnitude (Dr. Klahn...look it up!). They seek the truth and then proceed to destroy it, urinate on it, and rape its dead corpse. Death is indeed the lynch pin of this operation of deception. HR32oo offers a provision that would fund end of life counseling for elderly and terminal patients in this country. It would help people construct wills so that their assets go to their families first instead of creditors. Doctors would be paid by the government to help people prepare for that difficult moment when one has to decide what action to take when things take a turn for the worse, and families have to make the hardest choice of their lives. What a great idea right? How noble a thing to empower ailing Americans to claim their dignity and see that their loved ones are taken care of. Well the health insurance industry will be damned if they will have to compete with something like that, they paid good money for those senators and congressmen! The answer to this generous provision: DEATH PANELS! You are probably asking yourself, "Death panels, that doesn't sound anything like the HR3200 plan?" That is because it is not! It is literally made the fuck up, by some evil cronie lobbyist law school spinmaster. Then they go tout this bile on national television! But they don't just send anyone out to do it, they send an icon, the one and only Sara Palin! A venerable hero to the white-trash, Jesus never said anything about helping the poor, hypocrite base of the Republican party. Her irresponsible remarks sent the misinformed right wing wackos into a frenzy, and who comes along to poor gasoline onto the a fire ignited by empty-headedness but Sen. Chuck Grassley: "There gonna pull the plug on Grandma!" What?!?! No!! No you lying fuck! Did you even read the bill? Seeing as you are drafting a version of it, maybe you should! So now the idiots of America are having a conniption, and big health insurance has the beginning of what is an army of ignoramuses. Of coarse that bit of red meat was plenty to fire up the forces of dumb-shittedness, but the GOP would throw a few more hemorrhaging chunks of sinewy deception out into the angry mob. Things that tug on the nerves of insecure Americans, who would rather concern themselves with intolerance and bigotry rather than focus on the real reasons their lives are not worth the bullet they should suck on. Things like the Mexicans! "There gonna give the illegal aliens free health care!", those commies. Pretty much any change that will cut into the profit motive in order to bring justice to the people of this great country is some form of socialism or another to these scumbags. Even though section 246 explicitly states that no federal funds will be used in the provision of health care for illegal aliens, the Republicans somehow were able to pull from HR3200 that it would give the illegal immigrants a free ride at the expense of the tax payer. Add a few more morsels of garbage like a government take over of health care, and socialized medicine to the pot, and you have bullshit stew! Perfect for giving your enraged army of dolts the energy they need to protest a policy that will by in large help them all!

So onward they charged, to the town halls and the tea parties! They waved signs of Obama as Hitler, and brilliant decrees that only the likes of our founding fathers could concoct like:"Keep the Govment out of my Medicare!" "It's socialized medicine!" they exclaimed. "Obama is a socialist!" and "It's a Government take over of health care" were shouted with a passionate fervor by angry Americans who donned bags of lipton tea from their plastic hats, no doubt stolen from the very truck stop they work at. Once again the Republicans and Corporate America were successful in convincing Americans to fight vigorously against a piece of legislation that would not only improve their quality of life, but protect them from the predatory practices of the so called health insurance industry... there they went again!

There they go again, lying, bribing, pandering, and deceiving there way to an end that will keep the money flowing into their greasy little pockets. There they go again, using the very people they are ass fucking on a daily basis to lead the battle against reform that would help them in a time that help is greatly needed by middle and working class Americans. There they go again, sucking what is left of the life blood of this great country dry. There they go again, taking and taking, and giving nothing in return but a giant middle finger to the majority of Americans who only want to stay alive. There they go again, destroying what is left of what this country is founded on. There they go again, feeding you lies and stupidity to destroy justice...there you go again...letting them do it...there you go again.