High-Ranking Repubs & Dems: Keep Spitting on the Constitution

That way, soon it will be so soaked in sputum that you'll be able to tear it up and throw it away much more easily.  You've all been spitting on it for so many decades that most of you have a fairly good aim by now, so perhaps before long it simply will dissolve of its own accord... you won't even have to tear it up.  I can't find half of it already.  I think some of you in DC are cheating:  you're not just spitting on it, you're pissing on it as well.  What gets me is that some people, perhaps most, don't seem to notice.  Kudos to you high-ranking politicos on your excellent use of distracting Propaganda.

OPEN LETTER TO REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRAT POLITICAL OLIGARCHS

The Constitution is exceedingly CLEAR on the following points.

1.  As enumerated in Article I, Section 8:
    a.  only CONGRESS is charged with regulating the value of our money (no other entity has been delegated that power by We the People...furthermore, no law, such as the 1913 Fed Reserve Act, over-rides the Supreme Law of the Land);
    b.  only CONGRESS is charged with the power to put this Nation at war (being Commander-in-Chief of the Military does not mean that the President gets to ignore Article I... furthermore, no law, such as the War Powers Act, over-rides the Supreme Law of the Land);
    c.  only CONGRESS is charged with the power to issue assassination orders, otherwise known as Letters of Marque and Reprisal (that power was not delegated to the Executive Branch by We the People);
    d.  only CONGRESS is charged with the power to "make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water" (that power was not delegated to the Executive Branch by We the People)...who made the Rules for Gitmo, CIA Black Sites, and "enhanced interrogation"?...  not Congress;
    e.  the final clause of Article I, Section 8 does not mean that Congress gets to ignore the duties with which CONGRESS has been charged to perform.  In other words, Congress may not delegate its powers to some other Branch of Government... or any other entity.  Only We the People are allowed to delegate Constitutional Powers.  We did not delegate power to Congress to turn over the duty of regulating the value of our money to an un-elected group known as the Fed Reserve Board of Governors.  It's the duty of CONGRESS to regulate the value of our money... no one else may do it.  [The former Chairman of the Fed, Alan Greenspan, once stated on the PBS News Hour, "No one has control [or perhaps he said "power", not "control"] over us."... the problem with that should be obvious.]

2.  We the People are to be secure in our "persons, houses, papers, and EFFECTS" [emphasis added].  The so-called PATRIOT Act (like any other law) does not trump the Constitution.  Neither does any part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)... or any other law.  The Executive Branch acts as though those laws do trump the Constitution.

If you political Oligarchs don't like parts of the Supreme Law of the Land, you are charged by the People to try and change them.  That can be done legally only two ways:  by Amendment; or, by means of a Constitutional Convention.  No other methods are permitted; plus, you are not legally permitted to ignore those parts and then contravene them.  We did not delegate that power to you.  Finally, I don't want to hear any whining about how difficult it is to change the Constitution.  As you know, it purposely was constructed to be that way.  Live with it, or get out of politics.  As things are now, virtually all of you are violating your Oath of Office to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.  If you can't obey your Oath, then get the hell out.  We don't want you.

Constraints of time and energy prohibit me from enumerating ALL of the ways in which you high-ranking Democrats AND Republicans have been spitting and pissing on the Constitution for decades.  [I've been a keen observer of American politics since 1956; 1956---that's not a typo.]  The few examples above should suffice to illustrate the point.  It's no wonder to me that politicians at the highest levels (especially in DC) have become despised by the People.  The effectiveness of the Distract-Divide-Conquer Propaganda constantly put out by the Oligarchy is beginning to fade.  People finally are stirring... so far, just a bit... but stirring.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

The Whole Political Spectrum is Wrong RE the Constitution - WHY?

From Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution...(in the war- making clause)--- [The following is one of the duties of CONGRESS. Article I enumerates the responsibilities of both Houses of  Congress]--- "...make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water". Last I heard, the CIA, Military Intelligence, the President, or any part of the Pentagon are not members of Congress.  That means Guantanamo, CIA Black Sites,  "enhanced interrogation", etc. were/are all unconstitutional. [Most "Liberals", Democrats,  and Republicans appear to support all of what's below. What's remarkable is that  most so-called "Conservatives"  and "Libertarians" seem to be  the biggest supporters of  those items below.  One would  think they would be the greatest supporters of the Constitution,  the bedrock document of the Republic. Nope, no luck there.] Add the unconstitutionality described above to the fact that, thanks to the PATRIOT Act, FBI Agents now can write their own Search Warrants (no judge required), a clear violation of the 4th Amendment, and U.S. citizens (here, on our soil) now, thanks to the NDAA, can be held indefinitely without trial or  any kind of due process, a clear violation of the 5th Amendment, and several other  blatant violations of the Supreme Law of the Land, and it's plain that the  Republic of the USA exists in  name only. "Conservatives" and "Libertarians" are the most vociferous defenders of these VIOLATIONS of the Constitution. That's quite remarkable, and a testament  to how powerful the Oligarchical Propaganda has been in the last 15 yrs or so. [The two segments of the political spectrum at the beginning of this paragraph are in quotes because: 1. there are no more Conservatives in the USA to my knowledge... only NeoConservatives, a horse of an entirely different color; and 2. Libertarians here are not the original, traditional Libertarians of the past... again, a horse of an entirely different color.]  Not just my opinion.  Be Well p.s.  In talking about any and all members of the groups mentioned above, I'm referring  primarily to those individuals at the highest levels,  not those at street level.

Why the USA is a Soft FASCIST State

Some would say that I should omit the word "soft".  I leave it in place because we still have a considerable amount of Freedom here... although, that is changing fairly rapidly.  Adherents of the so-called Right think we still have a Republic as our form of government; adherents of the so-called Left think we still have a Democracy.  If you're no longer drinking the Edward Bernays style Propaganda Kool Aid, it's readily apparent that the USA has neither of those forms of government.

First, let's examine the false belief that we're still a Republic.  The bedrock of the Republic of the USA was the U.S. Constitution... and obedience to its provisions.  All three branches of our Fed Gov't (at the highest levels) have been ignoring large portions of the Supreme Law of the Land for decades and decades.  That practice has become increasingly more blatant in the last thirty years or so.  It makes no difference at all if the Administration is Republican or Democrat... or should I say, Republicrat or Demopublican.  In 1901, a Supreme Court Justice Harlan warned of "Legislative Absolutism", a term he coined and by which he meant passing Laws that were unconstitutional.  He said (in a dissenting opinion) that there were two governments in the USA now (1901):  one obeying the Constitution, and one not.  It only has gotten worse since then.

The list of violations of our Supreme Law of the Land by the highest levels of the Fed Gov't is virtually endless.  I've described many of those violations on this Blog in the last almost eight years.  I don't intend to re-list them now.  One Representative in DC even admitted to an interviewer, "Half of what we do [in Congress] is unconstitutional."... at one time (several years ago), a recording of that was on YouTube.  There is no question whatsoever that the Fed Gov't violates many of the provisions of the Constitution... no matter which political Party is in power.  The icing on the cake is the provision of the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) which gives the Feds the power to detain indefinitely, without access to an attorney and without a trial, any U.S. citizen chosen by one person, the President... and even to execute that person on the say-so of only one person, the President.  No due process, no attorney, no trial, no appeal.  That's according to many legitimate news sources, including an article in Forbes.  When Obama signed the last NDAA into Law, he stated something like, "I would never do that."... I'm not reassured.

Without obedience by the Feds to the provisions of the Constitution, there is no Republic of the USA.  It exists in name only.

Second, let's examine the false belief that we're a Democracy.  I'm referring to a truly participatory democracy.  Yes, we get to vote... well, some of us anyway.  Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of national political candidates are selected, groomed, and financed by the Oligarchy.  That means it doesn't really matter who gets elected.  Even FDR wrote to a friend back in the '30s, "In this country, Presidents are selected, not elected."... so are most Congress people.  The whole process is dominated by those in the Power Structure by means of ballot-access laws, Cronyism, rules of various kinds that further restrict Third Parties, and Propaganda from both the Government and the Corporate Media.  On top of all that, there is Black Box Voting--- rigged voting machines.  See the site, blackboxvoting.org and the documentary by the same name.  See especially the documentary.

Both Mussolini and FDR defined Fascism as:  the marriage of BIG Business to the State.  That's precisely what we've had in the USA for years and years.  We just recently had an example of that on 12-15-14 (this past Monday).  The Senate passed the already House-passed $1.1 trillion spending Bill into Law.  Attached was an amendment written by lobbyists of Citibank that essentially rolled-back the paltry protections against the Financial Sector that were in Dodd-Frank.  The Amendment also provides that any future losses on risky investments suffered by Mega Banks will be reimbursed by the Feds (meaning, the taxpayers).  So, if the speculative Wall Street Banks fail again, they'll be bailed out again.  That's Crony Capitalism, aka, Fascism.  It's not only at the national level.  At every level of government in this country, elected officials kowtow to their primary constituency... BIG Business.

A few different, scholarly, legitimate studies in the past several years have shown that anywhere from 70% to 95% of the public is ignored when elected officials formulate public policy.  In other words, the opinions of most of us do not count in the minds of those elected by us.  The primary constituencies of most politicians are the Super-Rich.  That's Fascism.

Sorry to say, but we live in a Soft Fascist State.  As far as I can tell, the same applies to most developed countries.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

My YouTube Channel

I've begun posting short talks on YouTube... dealing with topics such as Neoliberalism, Globalization, Free Trade Agreements, the phony politics in America, and several others often covered here.  There also are a few mildly amusing, short clips of me singing, and one of an impression of Henry Kissinger.  I invite everyone to visit.

This video (link below) should be of interest to all Republicans and Democrats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obW8J0-Y_JA&list=UU-8L_fR4KCb-jW6gKZP7gMw

Here's the address of my YouTube Channel...if you're interested.

https://www.youtube.com/user/ScottHaley12

Be Well

Surratt, Bush-Cheney, Obama, & the Military v. Civilians

The 2010 movie, The Conspirator, directed by Robert Redford, triggered my researching the case of Mary E. Surratt, the first woman to be executed by the U.S. Fed Gov't...after being tried and found guilty by a military tribunal.  Mary was convicted of being one of the conspirators in the assassination of Lincoln.  The prosecution case against her was flawed; as a result, a judge signed a writ of habeas corpus, ordering a new trial in civilian court.  The writ was vacated by President Andrew Johnson, and Mary was hanged.  Her attorney, Frederick Aiken, was so disheartened by the turn of events that he left the Law and later became the first City Editor of the Washington Post.  A year after Surratt's execution, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision stating that military tribunals for cases against civilians were unconstitutional, and that civilians must be tried in civilian court...even during times of war.

Before going further, let's clear up what I believe is a misconception regarding Rights and the U.S. Constitution.  It appears to me that too many Americans believe that our Supreme Law of the Land grants us Rights, and that only citizens of our country are entitled to those Rights in the USA.  Not true.  What the Constitution does is protect Rights that all people possess at birth.  The Declaration of Independence states, "...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.".  So, Freedom for example, is our birthright...and is not dependent upon any government grant.  The former Attorney General under Dubya Bush, Alberto Gonzales, was dead wrong when he testified before Congress that people don't necessarily have the Right of habeas corpus..."because the Constitution does not grant us that Right". Everyone is entitled to the Right of habeas corpus; the Constitution doesn't grant us any Rights.  They are ours at birth.  It's crucial to the survival of Freedom that people understand that point.

Humans have understood the difference between troops in war and civilians for centuries.  Modern day Oligarchs and their puppets have changed the rules... and muddied the waters.  According to them, we now have "enemy combatants"; they aren't troops, but should be treated the same as troops...sometimes.  When captured, they can be treated as neither troops nor civilians, but rather as something akin to rabid animals.  According to the Plutocrats, Rights do not apply to them...even criminals are treated better than "enemy combatants".  This all comes from the rulers of supposedly civilized, ethical, moral nations.  Incredible.  Suspects have been held in Guantanamo for years with no charges, and then released for lack of evidence.  Suspects have been subjected to so-called "enhanced interrogation", and then released for lack of evidence.  A German citizen, after being flown to various Black Sites around the Globe by the CIA finally was released afoot in the middle of nowhere in Germany...in the middle of the night.  For months, his family had no idea where he was.  Put yourself in his or their shoes.  It's no wonder to me that the government of the USA (and for that matter, the UK as well) is becoming more & more hated around the world.  They don't hate you for your Freedom Bush-Cheney; they hate you for your terrorism.  [We'll get to Obama shortly.]

Presumption of innocence and anything resembling due process apparently are gone...or very well hidden. The use of weaponized drones against civilians (suspects) has become the new norm under our Nobel-Peace-Prize-winning President.  As reported on Democracy Now!, apparently for every ONE terrorist SUSPECT killed by drones, TWENTY-EIGHT unidentified people are killed by the same means.  The Administration can claim "precision" in these murders because anyone killed by a weaponized drone automatically is designated by the military as an EKIA...Enemy Killed in Action.  If anyone can prove otherwise, then the person is de-listed as an enemy... of course, he/she is dead by then.  A drone operator on the job for six years finally quit because he had grave doubts about how "suspects" are identified.  It seems to me that it should be paramount to be certain we are not killing innocent civilians.  One poor soul in Pakistan has been trying for years to get justice for the slaughter of members of his family...one a child and another a grandmother.  We should all be ashamed and enraged at the same time, but very few seem to care.

The Oligarchs, our President chief among them, have made sure that the psychological/emotional cost to most of us for this so-called "war" is very little to none.  Even the financial cost is well hidden...it's all borrowed money, to be paid by our posterity.  [They'll pay the interest on the debt; the U.S. Gov't has no intention whatsoever of repaying the principal...because that's not possible.  We never could do it; the National Debt simply is too large.  That's why, sometime in the future, countries of the world will reject the dollar as the world's reserve currency.  Shortly after that happens, barring unforeseen circumstances, the Great Depression of the '30s will look like a picnic compared to the economy that will be experienced.]  Obama claims that none of this really is war; instead, it's "counter-terrorism".  That's code, or Gov't-Speak, for Perpetual War.  The Oligarchs and their puppets have dropped the phrase, "WAR on Terror" or "WAR on Terrorism" (which, by the way, first was coined by the Reagan Administration) because people eventually saw through it.  Now it's "counter-terrorism" or "defending the homeland".  In any case, SUSPECTS are being grossly mistreated... or murdered outright.  In the process, U.S. troops and other military personnel are expected to have Law Enforcement skills.  It's no wonder that more vets have committed suicide than have been killed in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Military actions encourage more terrorism; Law Enforcement actions prevent more terrorist acts.

In addition to Obama's egregious drone operations, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) assassination squads continue to operate.  Where is the civilian oversight?  Where is the proof of guilt relative to the victims?  [I still haven't seen a shred of proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Osama was responsible for 9-11.  The video in which a supposed Osama was sitting around with cohorts admitting guilt was a sham.  I could instantly see that was not Osama bin Laden.]  Where is the accountability regarding the murder of innocent civilians by drone attacks?  Are We the People so propagandized that we've abandoned all concepts of fairness and justice?  Has the Fed Gov't (at the highest levels) itself become a terrorist organization?  Why is it that when "they" murder innocent people, it's terrorism; but when "we" do it, it's "collateral damage", or "the price of war"?

Terrorists are CRIMINALS, not soldiers.  Suspects are just that.  In an ethical society, they must be accorded due process...no matter how emotionally painful that may be.  Apparently we do not live in an ethical society.  Obama can't seem to make up his mind.  Some terrorist suspects he has taken to trial in civilian court.  Others are locked down in Gitmo for a decade or so...with no formal charges.  Others simply are killed.  Suspects.  This whole scenario is a genuine travesty... as was the case of Mary Elizabeth Surratt.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

Hoaxes and/or Lies by the Oligarchs (Plutocrats)

Here are just a few crucial ones---

1.  The Income Tax

Disregarding earlier, temporary income taxes in the 1860s (to fund the Civil War), the Big Kahuna was the Revenue Act of 1913.  It passed into Law shortly after the 16th Amendment to the Constitution was adopted.  [I won't get into arguments about whether or not the 16th was legitimately ratified.  That's a can of worms and could be argued until the End of Time...and is a waste of time.]  The purpose of the 16th Amendment apparently was to correct a glitch having to do with direct taxes and income from property & interest in the 1909 CORPORATE Income Tax law.

In passing the 1913 Revenue Act, the intent of Congress was to levy an income tax only on the very richest Americans.  [I forget the income threshold, but it was high.]   Only the top 2% of households were required to pay the tax; everyone else was exempt.  Furthermore, the tax was on income from property, rents, and interest, not wages.  [The top 2% had no wages.]  That was the original Income Tax Law.  Obviously, successive Congresses changed it...23 times if I recall correctly.  I sincerely doubt that We the People wanted all those changes...to the point where the IRS does what it does today.

The point is this:  I'm fairly certain that most Americans are largely unaware of the information above.  We've been sold a Bill of Goods relative to the history of the Income Tax Law.  The original intent of it never was to tax the wages of average Americans.  That was rammed through by the Oligarchy later.

According to Reagan's Grace Commission, 100% of your income tax dollars is used to pay the interest on the National Debt.  [97% of all money in circulation in the USA is debt.]  Gov't services are paid for by other taxes, and more borrowing.

2.  The Cold War (1945-1989) Resulted in a Victory of Capitalism over Socialism

Not true, and here's why.  First of all, we had then and still have a Mixed Economy.  At best, it's Crony Capitalism, not Free Market Capitalism.  The only Capitalists in the Western World are SMALL business people.  Western societies, including the USA, have both a weak Welfare State AND strong socialism for the super-rich.  Corporate welfare abounds.  The State-Corporate Complex rules the day.  That is not Free Market Capitalism.  Secondly, when Lenin and his Gang seized power in Russia, socialistic institutions created during the 1917-1918 Revolution were eliminated.  Bolshevism morphed into Communism...which is a political system, not an economic system...and it's totalitarian.  Socialism is not a political system.  The Cold War resulted in the triumph of Democracy (of a sort) over Communism.

The point is this:  the Oligarchs in the Western World today continually claim that they are Free Market Capitalists and that the only other alternative is Socialism...which they claim was defeated by the Cold War.  None of that is a true picture of reality.  Crony Capitalists are not Free Market Capitalists; instead, they are married to the State.  Soviet Russia had a super-elite Class which practiced Totalitarianism...that's what was defeated by Democracy (of a sort) and a Mixed Economy.

Mega, transnational corporations and their propagandists falsely claim that they are Capitalists opposing Socialism.  What they really are (in general) is Fascists opposing the rest of us.  Both FDR and Mussolini defined Fascism as:  the marriage of the State to BIG Business.  That's pretty much what we have in almost the entire Western World today.  Even China now is more Fascist than Communist.  I don't remember any Communist countries ever having billionaire real estate moguls.  China does.

Don't buy into the Propaganda.  Despite their claims, the super-rich are not Free Market Capitalists and they're not opposing Socialism.  They are Neofascists and are opposing the rest of us.

3.  The Scam of Neoliberalism

In the USA, it dates back to at least the 1970s.  The overthrow (essentially by Nixon & Kissinger) of Allende and the installation of Pinochet in Chile on 9-11-73 (the other 9-11) was to be the first practical test of a portion of Neoliberalism.  What a disaster.  The implementation of this political and economic philosophy continues, but Oligarchs here have managed to keep it mostly in the shadows... until recently.  None of that is a conspiracy; to them, it's simply good business practice.  In general, most all Oligarchs today are Neoliberals.  Those at the highest levels are Democrats, or Republicans, or Liberals, or Conservatives in name only.  They don't care at all about those obsolete categories... except to use them as divisive propaganda.

Neoliberalism exploded in growth during the reigns of Reagan and Thatcher.  It continues today.  The goal is nothing short of domination of the worldwide economy and finance by super-rich elites and mega transnational corporations.  Its adherents agree with David Rockefeller, who stated publicly in 1991, "Surely it is preferable to have the world run by unelected elites than by the corrupt politicians of today.".  At least he got the "corrupt politicians" part correct.  He also thanked the Mainstream Press for keeping the Elites' work under wraps "for the past 40 years".  [You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried.]

The irony of this is that it seems some, perhaps many, of these Elites actually are altruists.  I'm convinced that some of them really believe that the world would be better off if it were run by the unelected super-rich.
.......................................................................
If all this seems convoluted, that's because it is.  It's so Orwellian that I'm afraid most people don't believe it.  Or, if they do believe it, they either don't grasp how it affects them directly or they think nothing can be done about it, or both.  And so it goes.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

Lori Wallach is a Genuine American Hero for Exposing Globalization

She works for Trade Watch at Public Citizen.org, and has a complete grasp of the abomination known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a so-called "Free Trade Agreement".  Go to the link below to see why this Agreement never should be approved by our country.
http://www.citizen.org/TPP

About 500 to 600 attorneys from mega corporations essentially have created the 29 or so Agreements that form the core of the TPP.  Only five of those Agreements/Chapters have anything to do with traditional Trade.  The rest will benefit the Super-Rich at the expense of common people.  The only reason we know this is because a whistleblower leaked the documents not long ago.  Prior to that, it was the most secret Agreement in the Trade arena.  Not even the U.S. Congress had access to it.

Very shortly, Obama and McConnell will be working together to get the TPP approved here as quickly as possible.  They've said so publicly.  This Agreement, if approved, will offshore millions more jobs from the USA, threaten the safety of our food, further threaten the environment, boost the cost of medicines, and protect mega bankers from prosecution to an even larger degree than presently.  That's only a few of the detriments we'll experience as a result of this bonanza for mega transnational corporations.

The TPP also will allow ANY corporation that believes its profits have been diminished by any U.S. law to sue the Gov't in a quasi-private international tribunal in order to get compensation.  In other words, corporations will be able to raid the U.S. Treasury if, for example, some safety law forces them to spend any money in order to comply.  [Any judgments can be enforced by Trade sanctions against the USA.]  Obama and McConnell certainly won't tell you, but that's one of the things they're working to get approved in our country.

Our puppet politicians and the Corporate (Mainstream) Media for years have propagandized us into accepting the falsehood that there are no alternatives to "Globalization".  Lori Wallach and others have shown that is a bald-faced lie.  For dozens of informative Video Clips on the subject, do a YouTube Search for her name.  She has been exposing the whole phony business for twenty years.  Kudos to you, Lori Wallach.  We all owe you a great debt.  With the aid of the work you've done, we peacefully can dethrone the Oligarchs.

STEP ONE:  stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well    p.s. The upcoming TAFTA, the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement, is even worse than the TPP.

The Neoimperialism & Neoliberalism of the Fed Government Oligarchs

Gooooood Morning, Iraaaaaaaaaaq!

How bizarre.  Is there no end to the gullibility of We the People?  Really?

Hermann Goering stated the following during the Nuremberg Trials:
"Naturally the common people don't want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, IT IS THE LEADERS of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is TELL THEM THEY ARE BEING ATTACKED, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. IT WORKS THE SAME IN ANY COUNTRY." (emphasis added)

"...drag the people along...", indeed.  Apparently it's especially easy in the USA.

Some observations and questions for the Oligarchs in DC---
1.  Syria is in a civil war.  Iraq is in a civil war.  Vietnam was in a civil war.  Do you really expect us to believe that you haven't learned the lessons of Vietnam?  Of course there are differences amongst these wars, but the similarities ---especially with Iraq and Vietnam--- are very significant.
2.  After more than a decade of "training Iraqi troops" & police, we're back there ONLY to do that again.  Are we supposed to believe that?  What happens if & when Iraqi troops on the ground can't ever complete the job of defending their country?
3.  Several U.S. transnational oil companies currently are operating in Northern Iraq (Kurdistan), but that has little or nothing to do with the current escalation of U.S. involvement.  Do you really expect us to believe that?
4.  "There are no combat troops in Iraq...only trainers and advisors."  Really?  ALL troops are potential combat troops.  
5.  What happens when one or more of these "trainers" gets killed by a mortar round, or a suicide bomber, or a roadside bomb, or a rifle bullet?  Will that be an excuse for even more U.S. involvement?  And then more?
6.  After you "degrade" or "suppress" or defeat ISIS, do you think they might simply fade back into the woodwork only to reappear later...again and again?  If you recognize that, is that a dandy excuse for Perpetual War?
7.  I missed it.  When/where was it that the Constitution allowed Congress to abrogate its war-making authority...and that became the purview of the President?  Exactly in which clause in the Supreme Law of the Land is that found?  I've studied the Constitution for over half a century, and I can't find that clause.
8.  Are the War Contractors (facetiously named "Defense" contractors) happy with the almost 800 U.S. air strikes and the recent doubling down of U.S. troops in Iraq?  Perhaps they need more.
9.  How many innocent civilians have been killed or maimed by our strikes lately?
10.  What happens if a U.S. plane gets shot down?  Will that be an excuse for even more U.S. involvement?  And then more?
11.  Are you aware that in the last few years 8,000 (probably more) combat vets per year have committed suicide either during or after their service?  [That means more have died by suicide than by combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.]
12.  Do you really believe that we don't know that all this actually is about Transnational BIG Business?  You're not fooling many of us.  How could you?  It's right out in the open.  For the most part, you don't even try to hide it.
...............................................................
There is a better way.  Oligarchs can be peacefully dethroned.  Step One:  stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid.  Keep in mind that with Neoimperialism and Neoliberalism, Oligarchs don't have to permanently occupy a land in order to control the government of that land.  If you haven't yet, please read Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins and Dirty Wars by Jeremy Scahill...both New York Times bestsellers...or search for those fellows on YouTube.  You'll get an education on the phony politics of today.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

Could the Gall of Oligarchs be Any More Brazen?

The following is largely based on the broadcasts of Democracy Now! yesterday and today.
Here are just a few examples of the unmitigated gall of Oligarchs and their puppets---

1.  In regard to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the deceit of Mitch McConnell and President Obama is appalling.  Mitch announced that the President was "willing to work together" with him on the issue of Trade.  Presently, that means the TPP.  The implication was that they don't agree on the subject.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Oligarchs and their puppets are about the only people in the entire world who are wildly in favor of the TPP and all other so-called Free Trade Agreements.  For the reason why, do a search for TradeWatch.org/TPP; that Agreement especially is little about Trade, but a whole bunch about making Mega Transnational Corporations the economic rulers of the world.  [The TPP is anti-Free-Market-Capitalism, and pro-Crony-Capitalism.  The difference between the two is crucial.]  If it becomes a U.S. Treaty, its rules will trump all U.S. laws (all Treaties do that), including those in the area of Environmental-Health-Safety.  It will allow any corporation that feels its profits have been impinged upon by a U.S. law to sue in an international tribunal...to potentially get tax dollars from you & me in court.  Any judgement is enforceable by Trade sanctions against the U.S.

Obama has been trying to get so-called "fast-track authority" for approval of the TPP for some time now.  Of course he's willing to work with Mitch on Trade; they both want the same thing.  One of the reasons that Mitch wants it is because he married into a wealthy family that has an international shipping business.  He's both an Oligarch and a puppet of other Oligarchs.  Obama wants it because, as I've said over & over, he's a Corporatist, a Crony Capitalist.  His record clearly shows that... no question about it.

After they "work together" for the TPP, Obama and McConnell probably will tout the whole thing as a bipartisanship victory... and breaking the DC gridlock.  What a farce.

2.  Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone reporter & long-time investigator of the Financial Sector, and Alayne Fleischmann, JP Morgan Chase whistleblower, have shown that Chase knowingly sold faulty mortgage securities to investors such as pension funds.  Not too long ago, the Bank and the Gov't reached a multi-billion dollar settlement in the case of this civil fraud.  No criminal charges.  Other mega banks also have settled for a large fine.  No criminal charges.  The Gov't claims the cases are too complex to prove criminality.  Alayne Fleischmann, an attorney, says that the securitization of mortgage loans may be complex, but proving criminal fraud regarding the sale of those faulty securities---at least in the Chase case---could have been a slam-dunk.  It's fairly clear that Obama and his Crew protect mega bankers from criminal prosecution.  Eric Holder came from a private practice law firm that defends corporations from prosecution; in my view, that automatically should have disqualified him from consideration as Attorney General.  Now we know why it didn't.

3.  Shortly after the Chase Bank was fined billions of dollars for fraud, the bank's Board of Directors gave Jamie Dimon (Chase's CEO) a 75% salary increase.  Any reasonable person would think they would have fired him.  Investors in the bank should have demanded it...those billions to pay the fine come from their pockets.  The same scenario has been repeated with other mega banks and their CEOs.  It's truly incredible.  Chase Bank alone has weathered about $30 billion in fines in only 4-5 years.  I can't believe that any business could survive that kind of financial hit unless that business is ripping off its customers in big and small ways.
...........................................................
In general, the super rich and their puppets consider the rest of us to be the "little people"... of consequence only as wage slaves, a source of money, and spectators in the Rigged System.  We're viewed pretty much as one would view livestock...a means to an end.  Their Institutions, and for the most part the highest levels of the Fed Gov't, support that view.  Essentially, the Fed Gov't is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the super-rich and their mega corporations.

Yesterday, Obama announced (as a conversational "aside") that two-thirds of U.S. eligible voters did NOT vote in Tuesday's election.  I say, great!  Too bad it wasn't three-thirds.  That would have been a powerful message.  The Rigged System, the Dystopian Machine, the Oligarchy... they all need to be shaken up, but peacefully.  Not voting is the easiest protest there is... and there's no criminal penalty.  Who knows what it would accomplish if many, many more didn't vote, but one thing is certain--- it would get the attention of the Establishment's Rotten System, and the Oligarchs would be shaken up.

In this day & age, in this country, violence is no solution... that would be both stupid and suicidal.  Just as importantly, it would increase the severity of the U.S. Police State exponentially.  We don't need that.  On the other hand, there are many ways to peacefully and effectively protest the current 1984.  If we continue to drink the Propaganda Kool Aid, though, nothing effective will take place.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

The Mega Corporation Election Circus is Over...For Awhile

Street-level Republicans are happy... just as they were in 1994, when pretty much the same thing happened in the mid-term elections.  Since then, after Corporate Clinton completed his gig, we've had Bush & Obama...SSDD.  Starting with Reagan and Thatcher, Neoliberals and Neoliberalism have prevailed to this very day.  [If you're not well-versed in Neoliberalism, you'll have a very difficult time grasping politics in this day & age.  It's a term well known by educated people throughout the world...except in the USA. There's nothing new and nothing liberal about it.  That's according to Noam Chomsky.  He's right.]

According to CBS News, about four billion dollars was spent on the recent election cycle.  That's truly an obscenity...and all for Propaganda Kool Aid.  Do you think that the bulk of that money came from donations by people like you and me...for mid-term elections?  Hardly.  The overwhelming majority of it was so-called "Dark Money"...from mega corporation "citizen" organizations.  Surely no one any longer can doubt that elections are bought by mega transnational corporations, the ones who don't give a damn about any country, much less the USA.  The ones who backed Reagan, Poppy Bush, Clinton, Dubya Bush, and Obama...they won again.  The Neoliberals still prevail.  They have taken over our politics, our military, our corporations, and our economy.  All of that was accomplished with Edward Bernays style Propaganda...and we're still drinking the Kool Aid.

So, what's it all about?  It's not a "conspiracy".  It's about Globalization, and that essentially means nothing more or less than monopolistic, Mega Transnational Business.  [It's anti-Free-Market-Capitalism.]  The objective is to make that as smooth as possible for the super-rich.  To those people, politicians-governments-common folks-countries-economies-Democrats-Republicans essentially are all irrelevant.  Oligarchs simply have similar goals, and they work sometimes independently, sometimes cooperatively to attain mutually beneficial objectives.  Just because they don't always make their methods for getting richer "public" does not make the whole thing a conspiracy.  They're out to do whatever it takes to get richer & richer in order to secure the maximum comfort & security for themselves and their families.  Ethics and morality rarely ever get in the way of that.

"Voting", at least under the current corrupt system, will not change any of the above.  Instead, voting aids and abets it.  There are peaceful ways to oppose the present dystopian Machine; I've enumerated a few here & there recently in this Blog.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

Elections, the Oligarchy, and Pointlessness in the USA

For decades and decades, "voting" in national elections in the USA has been largely pointless.  Here's why.

1.  Most all national candidates are selected, groomed, and financed by the Oligarchy...regardless of political party.  Should some other candidate (by some miracle) manage to get elected, that person is fairly quickly marginalized, rendered ineffective, and/or smeared by the Political System.  He/she is relegated to being little more than the butt of jokes and not taken seriously.

2.  Because of restrictive ballot-access laws created by Democrats & Republicans, any third party rarely is able to get on the ballot in all 50 States.  Even if an alternative party does manage to do so, the Corporate Media Machine pretty much ignores them.

3.  The approximately 50% of eligible voters here who do actually vote get the bulk of their information regarding candidates from political ads written by advertising agencies...in other words, from bald-faced propaganda.

4.  Whoever runs the most ads usually wins.  As a result, one election cycle at the national level can involve the expenditure of over a billion dollars.  That's insanity...and no way to select someone to represent We the People.  Why?  Because it fosters more & more reliance on money & propaganda...and results in more & more corruption.

5.  The major political parties merely are two branches of the only political party in America of any significance:  the un-named Mega Transnational Corporatist Party.

6.  No matter who gets elected at the national level, Republican or Democrat, they will promote, support, or at least not effectively oppose the following:  institutionalized deficit spending; the Fed Reserve System of privately owned banks;  the current, anti-American, Fed China Trade Policy; the current, unconstitutional activities of the FBI relative to conducting searches without a proper warrant; other violations of the First and Fourth Amendments by the NSA, FBI, & CIA; protecting mega bank CEOs from criminal prosecution; the Fed Govt's exemption of itself from International Law; so-called "Free Trade" Agreements, such as the upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which has little to do with Trade, but a lot to do with Neoliberal policies favoring Mega Transnational Corporations; the greatest shift of wealth in History from the Middle Class to the upper one percent of adult Americans; unconstitutional wars; unconstitutional "Executive Orders"; the shipping of manufacturing overseas; corporate welfare; and on & on.

7.  At the highest levels, Republicans-Democrats or NeoConservatives-Liberals do their very best to keep the general public from truly participating in government.  Most all of them firmly believe in a Plutocracy, Oligarchy, or Meritocracy.  They are "True Believers" and convinced that unlike the "ignorant masses", they know best how to "run" the country.

8.  Once elected, a politician's first priority is to get re-elected.  Bellying up to The Federal Trough is too sweet to risk losing.  [That's one reason we desperately need Term Limits, something opposed by them all.]
.................................................................................
Not much will change if we keep doing nothing but "voting"; we've been doing so for well over 200 years.  Things are only sliding downhill.  "Voting" has accomplished very little for We the People...especially in the area of the Economy.  We're gradually moving to a Neo-feudal Society.  The Working Poor is the fastest growing economic class in this country.

Before voting can make a significant difference, ballot-access laws must be changed.  Campaign finance laws must be changed...or better yet, a Constitutional Amendment is needed relative to financing campaigns.  None of this will happen without immense pressure put on politicians; it is not in their best interests to change any of the current corruption.  In my opinion, the chances of it happening are very slim to none.

Step One:  stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid.
Step Two:  vehemently insist that the Constitution be obeyed.
Step Three:  organize.
Step Four:  peacefully resist, protest, and/or boycott.
[Imagine if at the next Oligarchical election, no one voted.  Now that is a message which could not be ignored.  Unfortunately, it won't happen...because of "True Believers" and Propaganda Kool Aid drinkers.]

Politics in America---and probably most of the developed world---has been co-opted by mega transnational corporations.  The Democrat and Republican Parties are totally irrelevant.  Third Parties are as well, because the System is rigged against them.  Without changes to ballot-access and campaign finance laws, that will continue.  In terms of formal politics, sorry to say, but the Oligarchy has won...they have completely conquered us by Distraction and Division.  That's only in terms of formal politics, though.  There are other peaceful means to do battle.  It pains me greatly to see people still stuck in formal politics, thinking they'll change things from the inside.  Sorry, it can't be done anymore; the Oligarchs are in complete control of formal politics.  The Fraud of Obama proves that beyond any shadow of doubt.

"Voting" is the opium of the masses in this country.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

Oligarchies, Wall Street, Crony Capitalism, and...

much, much more.

At the link below are many legitimate articles exposing Oligarchies, Wall Street, Globalization, the Feds, and Crony Capitalism in general.  Excellent research references...highly recommended...dynamite stuff...genuine antidotes to the Propaganda Kool Aid.  

Not just my opinion.  Be Well 

http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/ellen-brown

Who Owns the Fed? - A Great Scam

http://www.globalresearch.ca/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/10489

This explains one of the greatest scams in American history... in which We the People are being ripped off for the benefit of privately owned banks.  The piece cannot be "skimmed over"; you have to be alert in order to grasp it.  It's a great reference, or source...very legitimate, with impeccable scholarship.

Will Congress make the necessary corrections?...not without pressure.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

The Emperor is not Wearing any Clothes

By "The Emperor", I'm referring not only to our President, but also to the U.S. Treasury, the Fed Reserve, the Justice Department in general, the NSA, The FBI, the SEC, the CIA, and the Pentagon.  Without too much effort, I also could include the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court.  At the highest levels, most of our Fed Gov't consists of people engaged in obvious deceit and outright fraud.  On top of that, many of their activities are utterly and blatantly unconstitutional.

For examples of the deceit, fraud, and unconstitutionality, I could refer you to the past posts on this venue... for over seven years now.  That, however, really isn't necessary.  Anyone who has made a sincere effort to stay abreast of the political and economic news (not just from the Corporate Media) in the past few decades knows what's happening.  Despite that, let's at least cite a very few of those examples.

1.  Read Article II of the U.S. Constitution.  It's the section that enumerates the powers delegated to the Executive Branch by We the People.  Nowhere in Article II is the President delegated the power to put this Nation at war.  War-making powers reside with the U.S. Congress.  Despite the Orwellian view of Obama (and just about all past Presidents since the end of WW II), the "Commander-in-Chief" is not Constitutionally permitted to commit the military to war...by himself.  Those at the highest levels in our Gov't surely cannot help but know that for a fact.  That means they all are violating their Oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Supreme Law of the Land.

2.  Neither does Article II delegate power to the President to write "Executive Orders" on any subject he pleases.  Only two subjects are enumerated:  a written report from any of the Executive Department Heads on any topic relevant to their Departments; and, the power to issue Presidential Pardons (except in the case of Impeachment).  Today's puppets of the Oligarchy claim that Article II implies that other Executive Orders may be written as well.  That belief has prevailed for decades and decades.  In the beginning, back in the 1800s, the Orders were innocuous---things such as declaring a certain day to be in honor of the Mighty Oak Tree, or some such trivia.  But for years now, the fraudulent power has been used to bypass Congress.  It has made the modest Office of the President into that of a soft dictator.  Let's be clear:  the Constitution does not imply powers; instead, it enumerates them.  Republicans & Democrats at the highest levels know that full well; they simply don't want to give up the usurped power.

3.  The FBI now can search your home without a proper warrant.  The Agent simply writes what's known as a "National Security Letter"; that supposedly serves as a search warrant.  If you're not home, they don't have to inform you that your house was searched.  Not only that, if you are home and aware of the search, the Agent can tell you to never reveal the fact of the search to anyone...under penalty of being sent to prison.  This is what's known as a Police State.  [The late writers George Orwell (1984) and Aldous Huxley (Brave New World) must be amazed that their fictional dystopias have more or less materialized.]

4.  The U.S. Treasury - Fed Reserve System - Banking monetary system is a complete fraud and scam.  There's so much legitimate info on that subject so as to make it unnecessary to explain it further.  Nevertheless, consider the following quotes.

"I am afraid the ordinary citizen will not like to be told that the banks can and do create money. And they who control the credit of the nation direct the policy of Governments and hold in the hollow of their hand the destiny of the people." Reginald McKenna, as Chairman of the Midland Bank, addressing stockholders in 1924.

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies." Thomas Jefferson, US President 

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and the corporations will grow up around them, will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." Thomas Jefferson in the debate over The Re-charter of the Bank Bill 

"The government should create, issue and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the government and the buying power of consumers. By adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity." Abraham Lincoln, US President
......................................................
According to the Constitution, Congress is charged with regulating the value of our money.  Congress does no such thing.  Plus, according to Alan Greenspan on a PBS News Hour interview several years ago, "No one has authority over us [the Fed Reserve]."  So, private banks both issue money (through the fraud of "Fractional Reserve Banking") and regulate the value of it...by the arbitrary interest rates set by the Fed.  The Fed is simply the Middle Man between the U.S. Treasury, other banks, and the People.  The private stockholders of the Fed make 6% interest (by Law) on all those Middle Man transactions.  Six percent doesn't sound like much, until you consider that billions of dollars are involved in those Middle Man transactions.  All of that is unnecessary...and nothing but a scam.

I suspect that many or most Americans feel that little or nothing can be done about everything written above...so about 50% of us "vote", thinking that we just need the "right" people in office.  History shows anyone who looks carefully that "voting" is not the answer, at least, not presently.  We've had well over 200 years of "voting"...things only have gotten worse.  Whether we care to admit it or not, Oligarchies control politics with propaganda, ballot-access laws, and money.  Neither is violent revolution the answer...for reasons that should be obvious.

An activist once said, "We be many; they be few."... it was a call to peaceful resistance.  The first step is to stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid.  Next, people need to identify what they want...what type of governance?  That's a most difficult question.  A republic protects individual rights, but throughout History, republics have been controlled by Oligarchies...the Meritocracy.  The overall results rarely have been good.  A pure, participatory democracy can be little more than mob rule...unless individual rights are protected regardless of what the "majority" wants.  So, it's a conundrum, a genuine dilemma.  There are other choices.  [Obviously, totalitarianism is not even up for consideration.]  One thing should be clear, though:  what we have now in the USA is not for the benefit of We the People.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

EBOLA: Warning to Oligarchs and Institutionalists

Edited at 4:35 PM, Mountain Time, USA, 10-17-14

I've never worked in the medical field.  I did teach Biology and Environmental Science at both the high school and college levels for many years, and I worked several years as a HazMat Specialist in both the public and private spheres.  As a private HazMat consultant, I've trained literally hundreds of employees in Emergency Response...including extensive training in PPE, Personal Protective Equipment.  I mention these bona fides only because I want you to believe what I say below.

Ebola is one of the most dangerous organisms on the face of the Earth, and Oligarchs in the Healthcare System (in this country) do not appear to be treating it with the proper respect.  For example, those dinky facemasks that healthcare workers are wearing will not suffice 100% of the time. At the very least, workers should also be wearing a full face shield... and they should be trained in what to do if that shield is sprayed with sputum, vomit, or blood.  Other huge problems include the fact that apparently some hospitals have not trained their staff sufficiently in the use of PPE.  Incredible!!!  Every hospital is required by Law to have a Bloodborne Pathogen Program; PPE training is part of that Program.  Every hospital is required by Law to have a Hazard Communication Program; PPE training is part of that Program.  There are other Programs as well that apply to hospitals, and they require PPE training.  It looks as though some Head Honchos are falling down on the job... and should be fired.

Given current events of late, I cannot believe that a sick person shows up at a hospital, says he's recently been in LIBERIA, he's examined, and sent home.  Whoever runs that hospital needs to not just apologize (which he did), he also should resign.  That same hospital in Texas is among those which appear to have inadequate PPE training.  [On second thought, I shouldn't be surprised.  I lived in Texas for only a few years, but it was long enough to observe that Texas in general is one of the most backward States in the Nation... especially when it comes to complying with Environmental/Health/Safety (EHS) Laws.  The public water in the town I lived in failed to meet Fed EPA water quality standards for two years in a row.  In their Annual Water Quality Report, the Water Department explained that they were working on the problem, but "no water anywhere is pure".]

Our Fed Gov't is trying to calm fears.  Good for them...but they aren't being totally honest.  As to the World response to this outbreak, it's pitiful.

My message to Oligarchs in the Healthcare System in America is simple:  wake up... you're asleep at the wheel when it comes to Ebola.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

The Obama Administration Violates the First Amendment

In an earlier post, I related the story of Frontline's piece, "The United States of Secrets"... truly a MUST-SEE film for anyone who loves Liberty.  This past Sunday, 60 Minutes essentially re-told a portion of that same piece in a story entitled, "The War on Leaks".  It involves the current case of the NYT reporter, James Risen... a genuine American hero.  Risen, as well as Tom Drake and others (independently), revealed the illegal and unconstitutional spying-on-Americans scheme of the NSA.  In both films, Bush-Obama-Hayden are revealed as the propagandists, deceivers, and violators of the First Amendment that rival anyone in recent memory.  [Hayden is the guy who, at the behest of Dick Cheney, came up with a plan to spy on Americans that exceeded the Executive's authority.  They knew it was illegal, but didn't care.]

Relative to all this, here's how the highest levels of an Outlaw Fed Gov't operate:  they concoct and execute a completely unconstitutional, secret plan to spy---without proper warrants---on citizens of their own country, and then, when the scheme is exposed, they criminalize & prosecute the whistleblowers.  They make it illegal to expose the illegality of the Govt's actions.  Perfect...for them.  On top of that, We the People have to endure the wishy-washy, sleazy, weak-minded propaganda "justifying" it all... put out by the puppets of the Oligarchy.  Michael Hayden, former Head Honcho of the CIA & the NSA, is the worst example.  On second thought, Barack Obama may be the worst example... he has pursued and prosecuted more whistleblowers than all other Presidents combined.  That's according to 60 Minutes.  This is the guy who said he would protect whistleblowers.  [When Obama starts talking, about 50% of the time he's lying... and if you look carefully, you can see it in his eyes.]  Dubya Bush started the case involving James Risen, and Obama is pursuing it vigorously.  The propaganda from both Bush & Obama surpasses that even of Richard Nixon or Bill Clinton.

A Free Press is (or should be) inviolate in this country.  It really is our primary protection from corruption in government and loss of freedom.  Unfortunately, our present Fed Executive---like the one immediately before him---is waging an unprecedented war on journalism.  The case against James Risen is a prime example of that, as was the pursuance of Tom Drake.

I suspect that some people , perhaps many, feel there's nothing we can do about any of this.  That's simply not true.  It's not a question of "can we", it's one of "will we".  Though we live in a soft Fascist State, we still have considerable freedoms; plus, even in a dictatorship, public opinion matters.

The solution will not be found in "voting".  It should be obvious by now that these politicians essentially are all the same; they are selected, groomed, and financed by the Oligarchy.  Obama is a prime example.  [The very, very few who aren't puppets quickly are demonized and/or marginalized and/or eliminated by the Political Machine & the Corporate Media.]  No, "voting" is not the answer; it might be someday, but not now.  Ballot-access laws (among others) will have to be changed first... an almost impossible task.  Peaceful, nonviolent expression and/or protest and/or boycott is the way to have an impact.

As Henry David Thoreau wrote, "Let your life be a counter-friction to the Machine.".  That can be done in many ways, not just by marching in the streets.  It can be done individually or in groups organized around just causes... or both.  It can be done by speaking up (and out) in encounters with Institutionalists, in conversations with anyone, in Art (including Street Art), in music, in boycotts, in writing... in all kinds of peaceful actions.  Use your imagination.  When the Pulse of the People is overwhelming enough, even Oligarchs pay attention.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

Obama's Wars = NeoCon, Kabuki Theater

On Democracy Now!, Jeremy Scahill (author of the NYT bestseller, Dirty Wars) described Obama's drone wars as "Kabuki Theater".  He implicitly referred to the Iraqi-Syrian ISIS War as the same.  Mr. Scahill is right on the money.  Let's also include the War in Afghanistan, the present purpose of which is unclear to just about everyone.  Any group having anything to do with 9-11 has left Afghanistan long ago.

Almost three years ago, Democracy Now! ran a clip of General Wesley Clark relating a story of his visit to the Pentagon just after 9-11.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8YtF76s-yM  An old colleague of his, another General, pulled him into his office and said that we were going to invade Iraq.  Clark asked "Why?", and his friend replied, "I don't know."...sometime later, General Clark was back visiting his friend and learned that the NeoCons at the highest levels had plans to invade seven Muslim countries and institute regime change.  Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Somalia were on that list.  So was Iran.  Such plans violate both the U.S. Constitution and International Law.

Enter Barack Obama, the Peace candidate in 2008...the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.  The guy  was going to protect whistleblowers, close Guantanamo, institute a transparent Administration, restore credibility to the Executive Branch, and end wars.  This 2009 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize has bombed and/or launched missiles into Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Syria.  [You couldn't make up this stuff if you tried.]  His war activities aren't that much different from those of the previous NeoCons...the guys who say he's a "socialist".  Obama, the fellow who protects mega bankers from prosecution, is the best friend of the private defense industry, and expands war to the point where it's perpetual...supposedly is a socialist.  Looks to me as though he's closer to being a NeoCon than anything else.  He's a lover of Crony Capitalism.  [His vaunted Obamacare is nothing more or less than a bailout of mega health insurance companies.  The "Leftist" Roosevelt Institute said exactly that in one of their analyses.]

Meanwhile, the Constitution is being violated, war "authorizations" either nonexistent ["...as Commander-in-Chief..."] or long expired ["...the Iraq War Resolution..."] are used to wage Perpetual War, the meanings of key terms (such as "imminent" and "war") are totally changed, innocent people are being killed, and phony threats are manufactured.  Jeremy Scahill thinks no one in Syria even has heard of the "Khorasan" Group.  If it does exist, best estimates are that the very few members are leaders of Al-Qaida...hardly a NEW threat, and no more of an "imminent" danger than they've been for years.

Kabuki Theater for sure.  Not just my opinion.  Be Well

Obama, George Orwell, Propaganda, and War

If I didn't know better, I'd say that Barack Obama is channeling the spirit of George Orwell.  Remember Orwell's classic, 1984?  That book easily could be re-issued with the title, 2014.  In the dystopian 1984, we have "doublethink", the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously... and accepting both of them.  In 2014, we have the Obama Administration one day announcing, "Make no mistake, we are at war with ISIS"; a week or so later, the President claims that it's not really a war.  We the People appear to accept both those propositions as true.

Also in 1984, we have "newspeak", a language with constantly shifting meanings of words, invented by the Totalitarian State in order to limit freedom of thought and any threats to the Regime.  Concepts opposing the policies of the State are "thoughtcrime".  In 2014, as just one example, we have the following.  During the nomination hearings for John Brennan as CIA Honcho, an official Justice Department document surfaced indicating that "imminent"---as in "imminent threat"---no longer means "immediate" or "liable to happen very soon"; the definition was changed to something like "may occur sometime in the future".  That's why the new Boogie-Man threat, the Khorasan Group, could be called an imminent threat.  Another example--- war is no longer war; instead, it's "counter-terrorism".  As to "thoughtcrime", we have the Feds banning Gov't employees from reading anything on the website, https://firstlook.org/theintercept/ .  Apparently if a Fed employee reads anything there, he/she is guilty of thoughtcrime.

In relation to Obama's drone wars, here's why the Feds claim there are almost no civilian casualties--- ANYONE killed by a Hellfire missile fired from a weaponized drone automatically is designated as an EKIA, enemy killed in action. The only way to change that designation is for someone to prove the victim's innocence.  In other words, if you're near the SUSPECTS, then you're guilty until proven innocent.  If that isn't Orwellian, I don't know what is.  [This info came from a Democracy Now! interview today with Jeremy Scahill, author of the book, Dirty Wars.]

Obama not only says one thing and then does the opposite, he also says one thing and means another.  Example of the first--- During his 2008 campaign, "Guantanamo, that's easy... just close it!", followed by cheers from the audience.  The Gitmo prison complex still is open.  Example of the second--- "ISIL consists of brutal terrorists who are attacking Iraq.".  What he means is this:  In large part, ISIS consists of former Baathist Generals & other high-ranking officers who were under Saddam and are trying to re-take their country.  They were, of course, referred to as "terrorists" by our Feds.  Bremer, the Iraq Occupation Czar under Bush, fired all 250,000 Iraqi Army personnel in 2003; by that action, he created a quarter of a million enemies of the USA.  Then the al-Maliki puppet government began discriminating against the Sunnis, further inflaming the former Baathist Generals.  They launched a civil war years & years ago.  It's called Blowback.  ISIS is not new.
[A bit of trivia:  I find it curious that the Obama Administration insists on referring to the rebels as "ISIL" when everyone else calls them ISIS.  The term "Levant" (the L in ISIL) must be especially important to the Administration for some unknown reason.]

Orwell quotes relevant to the current mess---
1.  "In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."  [by a "potential terrorist"]
2.  "Big Brother is watching you."  [and today, largely accepted by a propagandized public]
3.  "...politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia."  [enough said]
4.  "All the war propaganda...comes invariably from the people who are not fighting."  [Amen]
5.  "War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it."  [a tough sell, but true]
6.  "If everybody believes it, does that make it true?"  [today... apparently so]

It would be unfair to blame only Obama for all this--- the lies, the half-truths, the propaganda, the Gov't-Speak, the policies benefitting primarily the Oligarchy, the killing of innocent civilians (including children), the deceit, the ignorance of foreign cultures, the creation of enemies, the hubris, the failure to abide by the Constitution, etc.  This all has been going on for decades.  That, however, in no way excuses Obama... or the rest of the highest levels of our government.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

Obama's Latest War Propaganda

On 60 Minutes this past Sunday, Our President essentially said this (paraphrased) about the current ISIS war:  it's not really a war; instead, it's counter-terrorism.  The unmitigated gall of the man finally has surpassed that of Dubya Bush & Dick Cheney...which I didn't think was possible.  Mr. Obama, though I am loathe to lecture a President, I shall... simply because you appear to be in dire need of it.

You're not fooling us.  We know full well that you recognize the following.  When the military of one country crosses borders into other countries and then launches missiles and/or drops bombs, thus killing people and destroying infrastructure, that's known as war.  Your attempt to sidestep the issue of your violating the U.S. Constitution by saying it's not really war is grossly pathetic.  Incidentally, Mr. President, the NYT's editorial board & a Law Professor who wrote a Times Op-Ed piece agree that you are violating the Supreme Law of the Land.  [The fact that the Times agrees is truly monumental.]  Just so you know:  we know that your latest war propaganda (it's not really a war) is BOGUS.  The fact that you have a Constitutional Law background further convinces me that you, as well, know that it's bogus.  [Anyone who needs more convincing might want to ask Glenn Greenwald (a former Constitutional Law attorney and present day Pulitzer-Prize-winning independent journalist) about it.]

As to Republicans at the highest levels in our Gov't, you should all be thoroughly ashamed of your lack of action relative to defending the Constitution.  Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot:  both branches (Democrats and Republicans) of the only major political party in the USA---the Mega Transnational Corporatist Party--- abandoned the Supreme Law of the Land decades ago.  In spite of that (and because of that), you should all be thoroughly ashamed.  You're all apparently putting the State-Corporate Complex ahead of We the People.

After WW II, when the name of the War Department was changed to the Defense Department, someone (I forget who) remarked:  that's Gov't-Speak for--- from now on, all our wars will be aggressive (as opposed to defensive) and/or unconstitutional.  That person was prophetically correct.

Lastly, as I pointed out in my previous post (with examples), no military can defeat a terrorist organization.  History has proven that.  [There may be an exception in the record.]  Terrorists are criminals; terrorism is a Law Enforcement issue.  In general, military personnel are not cops and shouldn't be expected to function as such.  Recent illegal wars by the U.S. Fed Gov't serve the primary function of enriching huge, transnational corporations.  That is so obvious that it's painful.

[Sidebar---  Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes, the journalist who interviewed President Obama, is one of the very, very few Corporate Media employees who exposes the Corporatocracy.  Kudos to Mr. Kroft!]

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

Obama's Lies Increase in Size and Number

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/09/28/u-s-officials-invented-terror-group-justify-bombing-syria/

If it weren't so tragic, it would be absolutely comical.
1.  A President decides that he (alone, all by himself) can launch a war.
2.  Problem:  The Constitution says otherwise.  [The NYT's editorial board agrees.]
3.  Problem:  ISIS is not currently a threat to the U.S. or its allies...except for Iraq, which is finally supposed to be defending itself...and is now engaged in a civil war.
4.  Problem:  the public is sick to death of unending wars.
5.  Problem:  this war has no U.N. backing either...just like Bush's war.
6.  Problem:  mid-term elections are approaching.
7.  Solution---
WALLA!...Wallah!...Viola!---
There's a new Boogie-Man, more horrible than ISIS, and he's coming to get us!
Any day now!
[Even if that were true, it's a Law Enforcement issue.  Besides, History has demonstrated that a military cannot defeat a terrorist organization.  Remember British Palestine and the Jewish Irgun?  Remember Batista and Castro?  Remember Iraq?  In the longest war in our history, have we yet defeated the Taliban in Afghanistan?]

The propaganda for this new, current years-long war should be obvious to even the most die-hard Obama worshipper, Fed Gov't lover, and Oligarchy apologist.  Come on, people don't really believe this load of crap, do they?  It's interesting now that the illegal war has been launched, officials and the Corporate Media have backed off concerning the immediacy of the new threat.  Big surprise...not.

By the way, The Intercept website is unique in that the Fed Gov't has banned its employees from reading anything on it.  That's a bit like book-burning.  Be aware that if you read the article above, most likely you'll run a risk of being considered a "potential terrorist" by the largest terrorist group in the world--- the highest levels of the U.S. Fed Gov't.  Of course, you'll be the wrong kind of potential terrorist.  Many of us feel that we're free to read whatever the hell we want to in this country, so we go to the site daily.  You may not want to take that risk... unless you really desire some independent, non-corporate news.  [The Gov't hasn't banned Democracy Now! yet; you also can get non-corporate news there.]

Meanwhile, we're bombing both ISIS and Al Qaida (the Nusra Front) targets in Syria, two groups who hate each other and are rivals.  Plus, Human Rights Watch (a fairly conservative rights-watch-group) is calling for an investigation into a U.S. Tomahawk missile strike that allegedly killed five children and wounded other civilians.  If it happened that way, once again your tax dollars are killing children...not 500, as in Gaza, but even ONE is too many.

Lastly, the Republicans, the other branch of the Mega Transnational Corporatist Party in the U.S., are no better.  The Oligarchy rules.

Be Well  
p.s.  I love this Land, but Democrats and Republicans have subverted our Gov't to the point where it's now a soft Fascist Police State primarily serving mega, transnational CORPORATIONS at the expense of the rest of us.  We can end this abomination peacefully.  STEP ONE:  stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid.

Obama Should be Impeached for...

violating the Constitution and his Oath to preserve, protect, and defend it.  Finally, a Law Professor and the editorial board of the NYT  have the same assessment of the Constitution as I do.  At least now someone does... publicly.  [See link below.]

So, why aren't the Repubs all over this?  Probably because they want the same illegal power that Obama has.  They, too, have ignored the Constitution... and they want to be able to do it again relative to war.

As I've said more than once, at the highest levels we have an OUTLAW Fed Gov't.  There's no question about that...none whatsoever.  Both political parties violate the U.S. Constitution... especially in regard to war.

http://reason.com/blog/2014/09/12/obamas-war-on-isis-betrays-the-constitut?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reason%2FHitandRun+%28Reason+Online+-+Hit+%26+Run+Blog%29   

Let's be perfectly clear:  the Executive Branch has NO Constitutional authority to put this nation at war.  Legally, only the Congress can do that.  The Commander-in-Chief cannot legally ignore parts of the Constitution just because he's the Head Honcho of the military.  What has been done relative to war by various Administrations ever since the end of WW II is blatantly unconstitutional.  In addition, the War Powers Act does not supercede the Supreme Law of the Land; Congress must declare war.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well      

p.s.  Reason.com is a biased source, but I cited the piece because it reported the unprecedented view of the NYT's editorial board.  [The NYT agrees that Obama's ISIS war violates the U.S. Constitution.] Lastly, in the interest of accuracy, the NYT's editorial board (or perhaps it's Reason.com---hard to tell the way the article is written) has the following technical error in its opinion. It refers to "Article 8" concerning the fact that the Congress declares war.  It's not Article 8, but rather Article 1, SECTION 8.  

Fanatics, Oligarchs, Propaganda, and What's Really Important

Below is my Reply to a friend's email & an article he attached.

Another attempt to paint all Muslims as terrorists.  Mohammed was warlike because when Islam was founded, polytheistic beliefs reigned supreme at the time in that region of Arabia, & their adherents all attacked Muslims...attempting to run them out of the region or kill them.

Yes, fanatics/extremists exist...a tiny fraction.  You often ask why Moderate Muslims don't speak up.  Perhaps in most cases they're afraid of being murdered by the nutcakes.  Perhaps they fear they'll be attacked by "Right-Wing American Patriots" for defending Islam... a distinct possibility in this country.  Some have spoken out, denouncing the fanatics...I've seen the videos.  Then there are those clips cherry-picked by Fox, Beck, etc. that show the opposite.

If Muslims (of any stripe) break the law, then arrest them, try them, sentence them, & incarcerate them.  It's a Law Enforcement issue, not a military one.  The whole thing is Oligarchical, Boogie-Man Propaganda...and apparently, it works quite well.  Sorry, but you'll never convince me otherwise.  It's nothing but a huge DISTRACTION [from the ravages of Corporatism].  Yes, criminals exist; but to think that all Muslims are criminals is sheer nonsense.  To quote the "Koran" (as many do), thus "proving" one's case, is ridiculous.  Anyone can quote similar crap in the "Holy Bible"... one of the bloodiest tales in existence.  It doesn't prove anything.  Taking things out of context is such an easy gig.  It boggles my mind that some Americans can be misled so easily.  

This country really deserves to be ruled by Oligarchs and Propaganda...it's such an easy sell to the majority of We the People... and, the Entertainers on the Fox network so obviously are not objective, not professional news people, and not at all concerned about the Republic of the USA.  They're as bad as the clowns on CBS, CNN, NBC, etc.---the ones that serve pablum in place of news---Fox is just a different extreme [of the same distraction].  They are all the networks of the super-rich... and, as Machiavelli knew, the super-rich must sell the concept of the-Boogie-Man-is-coming if they are to remain in power.  "The Prince" must be very pleased with the USA today.  [End of Reply]

.........................................................................

The most important political issues for Americans today have nothing to do with Muslims or terrorism.  Instead, they are:  the loss of much of our manufacturing base; the crimes inherent in Financialization; Crony Capitalism and the State-Corporate Complex in general; the fraud of Globalization; the ignoring of the Constitution whenever convenient; and the ongoing conversion of the USA into a Police State.  Genuine participatory democracy does not exist here.  The Middle Class continues to shrink.  Jobs created by the super-rich more often than not are worth a tinker's damn.  Wages essentially have stagnated for thirty years, but the Oligarchs' incomes have increased by 700%.  Americans now can be arrested on our soil and held incommunicado indefinitely... no warrant, no lawyer, no habeas corpus, no trial.  Most other issues are nothing but distractions.

Partly just my opinion.  Be Well