Financial/Economic Crash Update

1.  The Bond Market already is crashing.

2.  That eventually will burst the Stock Market Bubble.

3.  The Dollar is temporarily "strong", but only in terms of being the best house in a really horrible neighborhood.

4.  We currently have the lowest number in years of people with a full-time permanent job.

5.  The current Real Estate Bubble is on the cusp of bursting.

6.  Mega Bank fraud continues...especially in terms of gold & silver price manipulation... because that makes the Dollar appear "strong".

7.  Many countries (especially emerging markets) continue to bypass the USA by forming their own Trade & Finance agreements.

8.  The second largest economy in the world, China, is in deep financial & economic trouble.  Their Crash would affect the entire world.

9.  Italy's financial system is on the verge of collapse.

10.  Though they should bite the bullet, the Fed Reserve most likely will not raise interest rates beyond one time in 2017.  That means more QE is coming, which means Bubbles.  All financial & economic bubbles burst; there hasn't been a single time in human history when that wasn't true.  The longer the Fed waits to bite the bullet, the bigger the Crash will be.

11.  Deutsche Bank is in deep trouble.  Their derivatives portfolio alone could crash them.

12.  Price inflation in the USA already is edging up.

13.  USA sovereign Debt as of tonight is just under $20 trillion... and increasing rapidly.

14.  US Debt held by foreign countries is a bit over $6 trillion, and decreasing rapidly.  Countries are dumping the Dollar.  Those Dollars are coming home; that will decrease the value of each dollar, and that will cause an increase in price inflation.

[See the online "US Debt Clock" for the two items immediately above.]

15.  Various analysts say to look for a continued expansion of the Wall Street Stock Market Bubble in early 2017, and then a massive correction later in the year.  [That massive correction could well become a complete Crash... especially given what's going on in the Bond Market.]

16.  The unmitigated Propaganda here in the USA continues:  "The Recovery is doing fine..."; "The Fed has it under control..."; "Our economy is improving..."; etc., ad nauseam.

17.  50% of American workers have a yearly income of only $30K or less.

18.  The top 1% in America has more wealth than the bottom 95% combined.

19.  The 400 wealthiest individuals here have more wealth than the bottom 150 million individuals combined.

Yes, everything is fine... for a few people.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Fed Gov't and Corporate Media Propaganda + Lies by Omission Accelerate

I say this often, but it's true in every case:  if this situation weren't so tragic, it would be comical.  The highest levels of the Fed Gov't and Corporate Media keep pushing this narrative:  our intelligence agencies have proof that the Russian Gov't (now including Putin personally) have hacked our cyber infrastructure and interfered with the recent election.  This claim apparently refers to the hacking of emails and subsequent release of same, not the hacking of voting machines.  Let's examine the two parts of this distraction from what's really important---the content of those emails.

Hacking Our Cyber Infrastructure---
Even if true (& it probably is), here's what our Powers-That-Be are leaving out--- our intelligence agencies hack any institution or person they so desire, at will.  WikiLeaks, The Intercept, The Guardian, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Der Spiegel, and a few others have revealed that (via the Snowden documents) over and over.  Our Gov't even has hacked our allies.  They've even hacked Angela Merkel's cell phone.  Do you think for one minute our Gov't has not hacked Russia, Iran, and China?  Please.  The implied self-righteousness and holier-than-thou attitude of our high-ranking politicians is downright sickening.

Interfering With Our Election---
IF it did "interfere with" or "influence" the recent election, how?  Was it by revealing scurrilous, hidden truths about the Democratic Party Machine and/or Hillary Clinton?  If so, I have no problem with that.  Here's what I do have a problem with:  the hypocrisy and lies-by-omission of the highest levels of the USA Gov't and the Corporate Media.  Over and over in our history, the Fed Gov't has not only interfered with elections in country after country, but also has covertly and overtly overthrown governments... some of those governments were democratically elected.  Let's not forget what our Gov't did in Guatemala, Iran, and Iraq in the 1950's... and what it did at other times in Italy (1948), Laos ('57-'73), Haiti (1959), Cuba (1902-04 & 1961), Ecuador (1961), Congo/Zaire (1961), Dominican Republic (1963), Brazil (1964), Indonesia (1965), Greece (1965 & 1967), Uruguay (1969), Cambodia (1970), Bolivia (1971), Chile (1973), Australia (1975), El Salvador (1979), Haiti (1986 & 1993), and after 9-11, Afghanistan and Iraq.  The previous list represents cases where our Fed Gov't interfered with elections and/or overthrew governments, most of which were democratically elected.  The list is incomplete.  The holier-than-thou attitude of our politicians does nothing but make enemies around the world.  The hypocrisy of our high-ranking representatives surely must be legendary in foreign countries.

I love this Land with great fervor, but despise the (in general) hypocrisy displayed by too many Higher-Ups in our Gov't... both Republicans and Democrats.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Electoral College and a Popular Vote Lead of Over 2.6 Million

Below is my response to an email which stated that the Electoral College system in the USA "makes sense" as evidenced by the fact that of the total number of Counties in our Land, the overwhelming majority voted for Trump.  That email was written when Clinton's popular vote lead was 1.1 million less than it is now.  [My piece below is edited very, very little.]
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The email below apparently was written when Clinton's lead in the popular vote was only 1.5 million.  [It's now over 2.6 million...and still counting.]  It follows, then, that it was a bit premature to say with certainty how many counties voted this way or that way... because the vote count wasn't over.  It still isn't.

But all that aside---

Yes, of course the Electoral College system makes sense... as long as---

1.  You don't believe in democracy, i.e., every vote is equal, every vote is counted, and whoever gets the most votes... wins.  The College always has been weighted in favor of less populous areas; thus, every vote is not equal.  If you're fine with that, then yes, it all makes sense.

2.  You believe a winner in Presidential races should be determined before all the votes are counted.  If you're fine with that, then yes, it makes sense.

3.  You don't believe in the concept that the winner must get the most votes.  If you're fine with that, then yes, it all makes sense.

4.  You accept the fact that when College Electors vote in the actual Presidential election (this time it's on December 19th), they don't have to vote according to the pledges determined when we voted.  They can, instead, vote according to their "consciences"... even if that's the opposite of the pledges.  If you're fine with that, then yes, the Electoral College makes sense.

"Luckily" (so to speak, but not really), except for social hot-button issues, it makes very little to no difference who gets elected President.  Nowadays, they're all Neoliberals... that is, all of them at the highest levels in the two major Parties.  [Any exceptions are fairly quickly marginalized.]  They all have similar beliefs when it comes to significant issues like war, economic policy, monetary policy, the corrupt Fed Reserve, Global business, too-big-to-fail-or-jail Mega Banks, the broken Fed Justice System, the war on the Fourth Amendment, the war on the First Amendment, the war on cash (part of the war on privacy), Corporatism/Crony Capitalism, & a few others.  Plus, Trump shortly will discover that it's high-level, lifelong bureaucrats who run the Gov't, not Presidents.  Especially in the case of Trump v. Clinton, we were shafted no matter who won.

To refer to those who opposed Trump as "whiners" really is hilarious.  Today, the biggest whiner in politics is the Don... he's still whining even after he was elected.

Finally, in case anyone doesn't know, 58% of the electorate opposed Trump AND CLINTON.  [That includes me.]

p.s.  The Don, like all politicians, already has started going back on his campaign promises... even before he takes office.  Example:  he railed against Wall Street insiders, but now is appointing Wall St. insiders to his Admin.  Example:  he said he'd deport the "illegals" (11 million of them); now it's down to about 3 million--- those who are "criminals".  Example:  he said he would launch an investigation into the criminality of Hillary; now that's off the table.  Example:  he said he would register all Muslims; now that's gone as well.  [It's a good thing; such a registry would be blatantly unconstitutional AND unAmerican.]

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Plutocracy and Politics in the USA

Below is an edited version of my email response to a friend.  He had written that our economic and social ills overwhelmingly were caused by the Republicans.  [Parts of this piece didn't copy/paste properly, and I don't have time to correct them.  It's all readable.]
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You'll never convince me that somehow Repubs are bad and Dems are much, much better.  Neither will anyone convince me of the reverse of that.  At the highest levels, those old labels don't matter anymore... they all (at the very top) subscribe to the Neoliberal agenda.  In developed countries, that agenda is sweeping the world with its Corporatist, Globalist "vision".

Pard, you appear to be completely misunderstanding what I've been saying.  Apparently, I haven't made it clear.  [All that is no surprise to me because humans are the worst communicators of all species on the planet.  We jump to conclusions, assume things not in evidence, fail to fully describe things, etc., etc.  Even honeybees communicate better than we do:]

I agree with your "facts" about certain people in politics.  What I'm trying to tell you is that, at the highest levels, it doesn't matter anymore if they are Repubs, or Dems, or Druids.  The Powers-That-Be don't care if Schumer is a Democrat, or if Ryan is a Republican... all they care about is whether or not those Corporatists support/promote the Neoliberal/Neoconservative, Corporatist, Globalization, Oligarchical agenda.  Anyone who doesn't support that agenda either never makes it to the top of the Power Pyramid, or if they do, they are completely marginalized.  [Ron Paul & Dennis Kucinich are good examples.]  That means, at the highest levels, Parties don't matter anymore.  At the top, they're all on the same team.  At the level of Main Street, Parties simply are used to distract, divide, & conquer us... and make us think that at the top there are significant differences on issues other than hot-button topics such as gay marriage or abortion.  There aren't.

There are little to no differences (at the highest levels) regarding war, the economy/jobs, High Finance and Monetary Policy, privacy & the Surveillance State, free speech, the Fed Reserve, the Police State, socialism for Mega Banks & Mega Insurance Corporations but no one else, USA Hegemony, and Corporatist Globalization.

Those of you who keep working in the old political paradigm are playing right into the hands of the Plutocracy.  They want us to fight with each 

other.  They want us to think "it's the other side's fault".

And that's working great for the Powers (public & private) at the top.

Trump isn't a "Conservative" OR a Republican; he's an apolitical opportunist.  He's nothing but a Corporatist.  So is Obama, who became 

a multi-millionaire while in office.  They're both Crony Capitalists.

Neither one of them cares one whit about any political Party.

The Powers-That-Be, regardless of political affiliation, are in a whole 

different world than we are...and they don't care about political Parties.  

They only care about power, position, money, and their own security.  

That's why young, relatively poor men are sent off to war in order to protect the lives & property of the rich old men who started the war for 

economic/financial reasons.  Parties have nothing to do with it.  

While not all Plutocrats are bad apples, their group/Class is ruining this country... primarily via Crony Capitalism.  In the first full year after the 2008 Crash, 93% of all wealth in the USA went to the upper one one-hundredth of a percent of our population.  That's not Free Market Capitalism, or a Republic, or a Democracy... that's a Plutocracy enabled by Crony Capitalism.  Russia has the same system--- the merging of State and Private Power.  It's the result of what one author called The Conservative Nanny State.  That's welfare for the Super-Rich... at the expense of the rest of us.  So far, it has amounted to trillions & trillions of dollars.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well 

The Actual Presidential Election is on December 19th

Below is a slightly edited email I sent to a few friends and family members today.  Not that I want her (or Trump) to, and though it's not likely, Clinton still could win the election.  It's certainly not probable, but it is possible under the Electoral College system.
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1.  Technically, the Presidential election is not yet over.

2.  Electors are not bound by the Constitution to vote according to electoral pledges of the election we just had.  Many, but not all, States and/or Parties have rules stating the electors should vote that way...but the fine for noncompliance is below $1,000.

3.  President-Elect Trump is the least popular "winner" (of the pledges) we've had since 1824.

4.  The Electoral College system was set up to favor the less populous States. 

5.  Clinton's lead in the popular vote is now over 2.2 million.

I'm surprised that the Corporate Media are not harping on all this; they clearly favored Clinton during the entire campaign season.  The fact that these two candidates were selected as nominees is a sorry state of political affairs...and in Trump's case, a testament to just how much Americans are (in general) filled with anger & despair because of the policies & actions of the elitist Establishment.  [It's too bad that Trump is, among other things, a rich billionaire Crony Capitalist.]

Boycotting would have sent a more powerful message.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Anarcho What???

Below is my response to an organic farmer friend who responded to the last blog post here with the statement that our country is a Republic, not a Democracy.  [I did some minor editing...nothing important.]
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Precisely.  Too bad 99.99% of politicians keep saying it's a democracy, trying to deceive people...here & abroad.  Telling people that in America every vote counts.  It's plain that's not true. 

I don't know why folks in CA even vote:  Trump was declared the winner long before all the CA votes were counted... fully one-third of those votes had not been counted when the Don was announced as winner... and there were uncounted votes in many other States as well.  Every vote counts, my ass.  Politics & politicians are despicable.  Now ask me what I really think.    [It's a rhetorical statement:]

Despite the propaganda to the contrary regarding Anarchism, what would be better is Anarcho-Syndicalism---an organizational form of direct democracy... and have it go all the way up to the national gov't level.  Then every vote would count.  Of course, we'll never see that in our lifetime.  [Oligarchs would be the big losers, even though property rights still could be protected.]  The majority of Main Street Americans probably don't even know what Anarchism really is; I'm not criticizing them, just stating a fact.  All they know is the propaganda saying it's chaos & destruction.  Not true at all.

Apparently, we'd rather stick with the "Meritocracy" concept.  When that term first was coined, it was in a negative, disparaging way... as it should be.  It bespeaks elitism loud and clear.  At that time, it meant not only selection of rulers based on merit, but also based on membership in the aristocratic class.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Clinton's Lead is Now Over Two Million

Though the election is over and Trump is the President-Elect, Clinton now has over two million more votes than the Don... and there still are uncounted votes.  We have quite an unusual "democracy", eh?  I suggest our leaders stop the hypocrisy, and stop calling our form of gov't a democracy.  Obviously, it isn't.

[I'm in favor of a genuine democracy, but not in favor of either Clinton or Trump.]

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Clinton's Lead Grows, & the Evil of Two Lessers

As of 11-19-16, Clinton leads Trump by about 1.5 million more votes.  The tally continues.  Because of 240 years of relentless propaganda and indoctrination, we still think we live in a true, participatory democracy.  To those who disagree with that assessment, I suggest watching this series:  Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States... and this documentary as well, Requiem for the American Dream.  Both can be found on Netflix and elsewhere online.

Finally, it's not about Left v. Right anymore.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well
p.s.  Reminder:  58% of us (including me) were not in favor of either major candidate.  We never should vote for the evil of two lessers.  When will we ever learn?

November 16--- The Latest Vote Count

Clinton is about one million votes ahead.  It's a good thing for Trump that the election wasn't in a democracy.  So much for "every vote counts" and "your vote is just as important as the next person's".  I don't agree with Scott Walker on much of anything, but he was right about this--- "Twelve States will elect the next President.".

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say this:  It's too bad for Clinton that the election was in a kinda, sorta, partial democracy.  In any case, it finally should be obvious to everyone that the USA is not a true, participatory democracy.  It never has been.  Propaganda reigns supreme here.  Molding the public mind is the Oligarchy's national pastime... especially regarding the subject of "democracy".

[In case anyone doesn't know--- I wasn't for either one of the major candidates.]

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Latest Count: Clinton Has 395,000 More Votes Than Trump

Her lead is up from 225,000... and all the votes still have not yet been counted.  Welcome to American "democracy".  We can stick our heads in the sand and ignore this (again), or we can work to change our electoral system.  It would be helpful if we all stopped drinking the Edward Bernays style Propaganda Kool Aid.

Long ago, James Madison said that the opulence of the wealthy must be protected from the majority.  He also stated that democracy is the most vile form of government.  John Jay, also a signer of the Constitution and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, stated that those who own the country (property owners) should rule it.  Benjamin Franklin defined democracy as two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch.  Other Founders referred to the tyranny of the majority.  Benjamin Rush, one of our Founders, said that a simple democracy is the devil's own government.  John Adams, the second U.S. President, claimed democracy soon degenerates into an anarchy.  Gouverneur Morris, the writer of the Final Draft of the Constitution, stated that the tumults of democracy terminate in despotism.  Fisher Ames, the framer of the 1st Amendement to the Constitution, claimed that democracy is the most violent of despotisms.  Even the respected Thomas Jefferson said that democracy is mob rule.  Long story short--- our Founders were against having democracy as our form of gov't.  They succeeded in that quest.

Despite the above, our current/recent leaders at the highest levels keep referring to "our democracy".  They rarely ever refer to our form of government by its proper name, our Republic.  The two types of gov't are not the same.  We don't have a democracy in the USA.  We've never had one.  Most other developed countries do have a democracy...and they haven't devolved into anarchy, or tyranny, or mob rule.  What they have done is a better job of protecting the majority from the Super-Rich... a better job of it than our gov't has done.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

It Turns Out That Trump LOST...

the popular vote.  Plus, almost one-third of the California vote has yet to be counted.  The Don won the election due to the constitutional electoral college system.  It's all legitimate; it just isn't democracy.  I suspect that many Americans don't understand the electoral college system, and further, don't realize that our Founders were not in favor of democracy.  That's why they created a Republic.  Perhaps it's time to reconsider our electoral system.

This is not sour grapes--- I didn't want either one of the major candidates to get elected.  My main point is that Trump and his following most likely believe they have a popular mandate... but that's not true.  He lost the popular vote.

It's a testament to the power & persistence of Propaganda that most Americans believe they're in a true democracy.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

A Con Artist Has Conceded to Another Con Artist!

It just goes to show you:  no one can predict everything with accuracy.  Mea culpa.

Trump borrowed a page from a man he can't stand, Obama:  the Don sold a bit more than half the voters* on HOPE and CHANGE... with little to no details.  I give Trump voters less than a year from January 20th before they become disgruntled.  [I forget how long it took Obama voters to become disgruntled after January 20th, 2009.]  *Later I discovered that he lost the popular vote.

The good news---
1.  IF Trump was sincere, the TPP is dead.
2.  The rule of the dictatorial, major political Parties may be over.
3.  A war with Russia is now somewhat less likely...hopefully, much less likely.
4.  If we're lucky, the Clintons are out of politics.
5.  Wall Street is bewildered.

The bad news---
1.  Trump's economic "plan" consists of only two parts:  put the brakes on so-called "Free Trade" deals, and Trickle-Down Economics.  Only the first part of that is good.  The second part doesn't work because of false assumptions.
2.  America's Police State will grow... especially if Giuliani is in the Cabinet.
3.  Crony Capitalism will expand.
4.  The economy will worsen.  First will come the next Financial Crisis... soon.
5.  The Super-Rich will get richer.
6.  The Middle Class will continue to be hollowed out.
7.  The Poor are just plain shafted.
8.  The International Financial Coterie has won... the next Financial Crisis will make them even richer, and increase their Power.
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The Asian Stock Markets already are taking a nosedive:  the Nikkei is down almost 1,000 points; the Hang Seng is down almost 500.  Let's see what happens when the NYSE opens... hopefully, not much.

Good Luck to Us All
Be Well

Why Trump Will Lose...Big Time

Preface
Again, a reminder that I am vehemently against both Clinton and Trump.  Both of them are Corporatists and serve the so-called 1%...the Oligarchy.  [I'm aware that Trump True Believers don't believe that about their man, but they are dead wrong.]  By the way, Corporatism is not Free Market Capitalism.  Corporatism is Crony Capitalism, AKA, Fascism...the perfect marriage of the State to Big Biz.
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In politics, one cannot be 100% certain that any prediction will be accurate.  That's because politics arguably is the most despicable profession in existence; one never knows what sleaziness is going on behind the scenes.  Nevertheless, based on Logic and plain ol' common sense, here's why Trump will be buried at the polls today.  [It's now about 2:40 AM (Mountain Time) on Election Day.]  He has about one chance in a trillion of winning.

1.  The billionaires at the highest levels on Wall Street want Clinton to win; they usually get what they want.

2.  The majorities of the following groups will vote for the Corporatist Clinton, rather than the Corporatist Trump:  Millennials (ages 18-35, 31% of the electorate), Latinos (15% of the electorate), Blacks, all other minorities, college-educated Whites, Women (52% of the electorate), Independents (42% of the electorate), and the Super-Rich.  All of them together make up the overwhelming majority of voters.  Game over.

Trump supporters don't appear to get it--- this election is pretty much a repeat of the Goldwater v. Johnson election in 1964.  I'm intimately familiar with that fiasco.  One of the major differences between the two elections is this:  after his devastating loss, Goldwater went on to become a Senior Statesman... well respected by both Repubs and Dems.  That won't happen with Trump.
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The real winners in this election are the Mega, Globalist Financiers of the world... the Ruling Oligarchy.  The election should have been boycotted on a massive scale.
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Existence of Nukes & the War on Painkillers Support the Case Against...

Governments/Elites/Corporatists/the Ruling Oligarchy.  What is that case?  It's the proposition that governments no longer represent the will of the People... that is, on most significant issues.  In general, that's because governments are puppets of the Corporatocracy, and in fact, a part of the Corporatocracy.

I suspect that, except for a few "True Believers", no sane person on Main Street thinks any gov't should be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.  It's simply common sense.  And yet in this country, we have a situation in which I'm not allowed to buy over-the-counter (OTC) codeine for my chronic pain, but the Fed Gov't is permitted to not only possess WMD, but also to launch a one trillion dollar program to develop "tactical" nukes.  Then the weapons will be more usable... supposedly.  We'll make smaller areas uninhabitable for 10,000 years.  Such wisdom.

In my lifetime, codeine was available as an OTC drug.  [It's probably the most innocuous narcotic painkiller in existence.]  Then the Neoliberals began to take over our puppet gov't.  [It began with Reagan & Thatcher and the "Washington Consensus".]  Of course, I could get a prescription for codeine...except that wouldn't do me any good.  The only rural clinic I'm able to access around here doesn't carry any painkillers other than OTC drugs.  And why is that?  Because the DEA compliance requirements are too burdensome, that's why.

What's ironic is that the "Washington Consensus" (developed & promoted by Neoliberals) and its True Believers promulgated deregulation and privatization.  At the same time, they accelerated the so-called "War on Drugs".  What a contradiction.  What hypocrisy.

To those who argue that opiate painkillers are "dangerous", I would counter with the following:
1.  So is booze, America's drug-of-choice.  Adults are allowed (in a "free" country) to manage their own affairs and buy all kinds of "dangerous" substances without a Permit.  Every year, about a dozen people celebrate their 21st birthday by drinking too much...and then keeling over, dead.  Thousands of drunk drivers kill thousands of innocent people every year.  Hundreds of thousands of alcoholics die each year from alcohol-related disease.
2.  Until moving to this rural area, I was taking codeine for chronic pain for 12 years.  Guess what?  I functioned just fine, worked, lived Life, & didn't die.  Now, and for the past four years, I'm debilitated every day by pain...simply because Neoliberal Nanny won't allow OTC codeine.
3.  Pencils don't misspell words.  People do that.  If some adults can't manage narcotic painkillers properly, that's not my problem.  My problem is distracting, debilitating pain.
4.  To extrapolate this issue--- prohibition of substances doesn't work; it never has, and never will.  But, you see, the so-called War on Drugs is a huge government industry.  It's also a way to incarcerate people, and thus benefit another huge government industry.  Finally, it's easier to catch blue-collar, drug "criminals" than to catch those with white collars in the Financial Sector.  Besides, the white-collar criminals contribute greatly to political campaigns.

Again on the subject of nukes, the current situation in the world is Orwellian.  It demonstrates the inability of We the People to peacefully combat Oligarchs and their puppets.  [Violence against the Ruling Oligarchy is NOT a sane option.  It would usher in the Mother of All Police States, much worse than the one we have now.]  Thus, we are treated like "the bewildered herd" (a term coined by the "Progressive", Walter Lippmann).  We are propagandized into believing that we can't properly defend our country without these insane weapons.  That's BS.  There's nary a peep from us when Obama launches a trillion-dollar nuclear weapons upgrade program that will take ten years to complete.  A trillion dollars.  Meanwhile, bridges collapse, roads crumble, trains run off the tracks or into each other, water systems turn to poison, vehicles are unsafe, highways are inadequate, air pollution continues, nuclear waste storage is inadequate, veterans are mistreated while more of them die from suicide than from combat, the mentally ill are shot, the Fed Reserve tanks our economy while giving free loans to Elites, and on & on.  Oh, yessir, we really need to spend gobs of money on more and different nukes.  Don't you know, we don't have enough of them.  Yeah, right.

It isn't that we can't bring Neoliberal Oligarchs under control peacefully; rather, it's that we don't have the will to do it.  I guess that's due mostly to Propaganda, partly to distraction, partly to apathy, and perhaps partly to a feeling that it's hopeless to oppose the Powers-That-Be.  All of that must be overcome if we are to have a truly free, participatory democracy.  Until then, we're the bewildered herd, the spectators, the ignorant masses, etc. (all terms from Oligarchs of the past).  In the 1970's, the Trilateral Commission---a Globalist Think Tank---came out with its first Report.  It was book-length, and the title was The Crisis of Democracy.  It was written by Globalist "Liberals".  According to them, the "crisis" was that America had too much democracy.  They said that had to change.  It did.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Wars Against Americans Conducted by the Elites/the Corporatists/the Ruling Oligarchy

Following is a list of only some of the wars being waged by the Ruling Oligarchy in the USA against We the People.

1.  The War on the First Amendment
2.  The War on Journalists
3.  The War on Whistleblowers
4.  The War on Peaceful Protests and Dissent of Any Type

5.  The War on Privacy
6.  The War on Cash
7.  The War on Drugs
8.  The War on Prescription Painkillers
9.  The War on the Fourth Amendment

10.  The War on Health Food Supplements
11.  The War on Alternative Medicine

12.  The War on Alternative Energy

13.  The War on Minorities
14.  The War on Youth and Education
15.  The War on the Mentally Ill
16.  The War on Nonconformists
17.  The War on Small Farmers
18.  The War on Small Business of Any Type
19.  The War on Industry

20.  The War on Democracy
21.  The War on Critical Thinking
22.  The War on Military Vets
23.  The War on Poor People
24.  The War on the Middle Class
..........................................................
Following is a list of only some of the things that the Ruling Oligarchy promotes/promulgates/supports.

1.  Crony Capitalism (aka, Fascism)
2.  Edward Bernays Style Propaganda
3.  Phony Elections
4.  Elitism
5.  Monopolies
6.  Financialization
7.  Neoliberalism
8.  NeoFeudalism
9.  Class War
10.  Military Aggression and War Profiteering
11.  USA Hegemony and American Empire
12.  Intervention in Foreign Civil Wars for Economic Reasons
13.  Spying on Our Allies
14.  Economic and Financial Bubbles
15.  A Revolving Door Between Mega Banking and High-Level Gov't "Service"
16.  Bailing Out Mega Financial Institutions Guilty of Fraud
17.  Authoritarian Government
............................................................
Notwithstanding popular opinion to the contrary, History has shown that Oligarchs and their puppets (e.g., Obama, McConnell, Clinton, McCain, Schumer, Pelosi, Cornyn, Cruz, etc.) don't care one scintilla about the old labels--- Right, Left, Conservative, Liberal, and on & on.  At the highest levels, probably 99% of today's politicians are concerned only with this label--- Financier.  Those are the people who run the world, not the puppet politicians.  The International Financial Coterie (Professor Carroll Quigley's term) cares not at all about the old political paradigm.  They care primarily about power, money, and the private governance of the planet.  Ask David Rockefeller.  In 1991, he stated publicly,  "Surely it is better to have the world run by unelected elites than by the corrupt politicians of today.".

I suspect that Rockefeller was/is well-meaning, but like the famous Progressive journalist/author of the past, Walter Lippmann, he apparently believes that the commoners make up "the bewildered herd" and must be ruled by an "elite class of intellectuals".  Toward the end of his life, Lippmann wound up believing that commoners should not be allowed to fully participate in democracy because they simply were not competent enough in such matters.  That has become a dominant belief in Crony Capitalism.  That is what the Corporatists-Oligarchs-Elites think... and that thinking is implemented by today's puppet politicians.

At the national level, the best way to oppose such people and their thinking is to boycott whenever possible... individually, or in organized groups, or both.  We have been voluntarily complying with their nonsense for far too long.  Stuck in Propaganda, Consumerism, and outright fraud, we have enabled the Fascist State.  As I've pointed out several times before this, both Mussolini and FDR defined Fascism as:  the perfect marriage of the State to Big Business.  That's exactly what we have in this country...and much of the world.  That's especially true in the Financial Sector.

We can take a small step toward restoring sanity by boycotting the current farce of an election with which we are faced.  At the very least, don't vote for either of the major candidates... pick someone else.  Almost anyone would be better than Trump or Clinton; 58% of us don't want either one of them.  That's strong evidence of a phony election.  The election IS rigged...but not in the way that Trump thinks.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Here's the REAL Clinton...and Obama

The piece (at the link) below is from Bill Moyers and the publisher of Harper's, John R. MacArthur.  It's almost two years old, so it gives insight into the fact that the Dem Party higher-ups promoted the Corporatists and marginalized the Populists regarding this current election.

Once Madam Pres gets elected, she'll again change her mind about the TPP & be in favor of it...more jobs will evaporate, & more factories will move overseas (most likely to Malaysia and Vietnam).  Count on it.  Low-paying service jobs and part-time and/or temp. positions here will expand.

"Free Trade" Agreements are not primarily about Trade; instead, they're about investments and proprietary agreements.  They enable the hollowing out of the Middle Class in our country.  They overwhelmingly benefit the Oligarchy, not Main Street.  They evaporate American manufacturing and jobs.  Clinton, Obama, Schumer, McConnell, McCain, and many other Corporatist national politicians promote and support them.

This all reminds me of Ross Perot & Al Gore discussing NAFTA---Perot was right on the mark ("All you'll hear is the loud sucking sound of jobs rushing to Mexico..."), and Gore was dead wrong ("NAFTA will create more jobs here").  As predicted by Perot, one million jobs were lost here because of NAFTA.  The TPP will be much worse.

Trump (for other reasons) AND Clinton = disaster for the Lower & Middle Classes in this country.  Boycott the election, or vote for a worthy alternative candidate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0rA1oCp4_g&list=WL&index=38

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Third "Presidential" Debate, 2016

If this whole situation weren't so tragic, it would be absolutely comical.  The performances of both candidates can be summarized with the following words---

deceit
misdirection
avoidance
pettiness
rudeness
propaganda
elitism
farcical
ridiculous
tragic

These two puppets are supposed to be the best this country has to offer for the highest leadership position in the Land.  Good grief---no matter who wins, we are totally shafted.  With one, we'll get who-knows-what...and craziness.  With the other, we'll get much more Neoliberalism...which is a polite form of craziness, elitism, and economic disaster.  With both, we'll get acceleration of the rush to NeoFeudalism... and probably WAR.

Boycott the election, or vote for a worthy alternative candidate.  Boycotting is best because the election already is over---whichever candidate is installed into office in January, the International Financial Coterie has won.  SSDD.  All we can do is send a powerful, peaceful, legal message (by boycotting), and then work outside the corrupt system to eliminate elitism-Neoliberalism-Oligarchy and bring about genuine democracy.  STEP ONE is to stop drinking the Edward Bernays style Propaganda Kool Aid being promulgated by the State-Corporate-Financial Complex.

This election is the worst political farce I've seen in my entire life...and I was born in 1942.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

This & That About the Public and Private Powers-That-Be

1.  Notice how the Corporate Media and the Democratic Party Machine have responded to the leaked transcripts/excerpts of Clinton's highly paid speeches to Mega Bankers and other Mega Corporations:  "Russian hackers did it; they're trying to influence the election here."...little to no discussion of what Hillary said in those speeches.  That's because some of the content of those talks largely contradicts the Propaganda that she's some sort of Populist.  If Hillary Clinton is any kind of Populist, then I'm a Chinese astronaut.  I can see why most likely she was never going to release those transcripts.  The texts/quotes are online; see for yourself.

2.  From the leaked Democratic Party Hierarchy emails, it's now obvious that the Sanders campaign was targeted for destruction by the Corporatist Democrats from the very beginning.  Of course, it was fairly obvious as it unfolded... well before the leaks.  Keep in mind that Party Hierarchies are supposed to be completely neutral regarding Primary candidates.

3.  Trump is complaining that the Corporate Media favor Clinton (which is true), but fails to mention that during the Republican Primaries he was given more exposure to the voters than all the other candidates combined.  That's because his idiocy was a money-maker for them.  The Corporate Head of CBS freely admitted as much.  Candidates such as Rand Paul, because he favored a non-militaristic foreign policy, were given such short shrift by the Media that at times I wondered if he had dropped out of the race... before he did drop out.

4.  The current Administration continues its unconstitutional War in Syria.  Yes, the Assad Regime is brutal and ISIS is brutal---bombing civilians (including children), hospitals, schools, etc.  Here's what the Administration here fails to mention:  the US Gov't-backed, Saudi-led Coalition is doing the same thing in Yemen.  Our Gov't helps by refueling bombers, providing intelligence, and providing weapons.  Obama recently approved a $38 billion military aid package for Saudi Arabia.  Not long ago, a funeral home was bombed in Yemen; dozens & dozens of civilians were killed.  Just before that, a hospital was bombed.  Since the beginning of that war, over 900 children have been killed.  All that because of the Sunni-Shia conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran... and our Govt's "help".  Shame on the highest levels of the US Gov't.

5.  Both public and private, the Powers-That-Be continue to use ISIS as an excuse for US Gov't Hegemony throughout the world.  At the same time, they criticize other major countries (China, Russia, Iran) for wanting to have a big influence in their respective regions.  The US Powers can't stand it when some other country wants to exercise its own hegemony.  Imagine that---some country wants to be influential in its own backyard.  Well, we can't allow that!  [Hypocrisy abounds.]

6.  The Corporate Media here are so desperate to support the lie that our economy is "recovering" that they recently reported on thousands of temporary, holiday season jobs opening up.  You know, the way those jobs open up every holiday season.  This year they're being touted as something really special.  According to the major stores with the openings, 90% of those jobs will be converted to full-time, permanent positions after the holidays.  I seriously doubt that.  It's much more likely that some permanent employees will be laid off after the holiday season.  Our economy is worsening, not getting better... unless you're in the upper 10% or so.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Second Presidential Debate, 2016

Mostly SSDD.

Interrupting each other again, but this time a bit less of that...especially by Clinton.  Both candidates regularly exceeded their response time limits, and did so while talking over the moderators' pleas to stop.  The same amount of personal sniping at each other was present...of little to no interest to us, and completely unprofessional.  A tiny bit more discussion of the issues, but that primarily was due to audience questions.

Here's what was glaringly obvious in this debate:  national politicians are masters at either avoiding the question, or answering in such generalities as to make the answer essentially meaningless.  Both Clinton and Trump did that over and over and over.

So, we had a debate set up by a private corporation (the Commission on Presidential Debates), moderated by reps from mega corporations, with two candidates who are Corporatists.  Oh, for the days of the League of Women Voters running the show.  What we have now is a farce.

Clinton's biggest misstep probably was her handling of the question concerning her leaked, taped statement of awhile back that went something like this (paraphrased):  At times, a politician has to have a public stance and a private stance.  [In other words, politicians have to be two-faced.]  This, of course, is pretty much true; that's one reason politicians are despicable.  Hillary's answer to that question was revealing (paraphrased):  Um...[hem-haw], I believe I was talking about Abraham Lincoln [hem-haw]...um...etc.  She then very quickly changed the subject.  I gauge the probability of that answer being an outright lie at about 90-95%.

Trump's biggest misstep probably was that, except for slashing taxes & eliminating regulations, he rarely ever says HOW he's going to accomplish this, that, or the other.  Slashing taxes and eliminating regs has been tried...more than once.  It didn't work; it only made the rich into the Super-Rich.  The trouble with Trickle-Down economics is that it assumes Big Biz will invest in USA manufacturing, new ventures, new products, etc.---all requiring new employees---instead of investing in foreign currencies, foreign bonds, foreign factories, bizarre financial derivatives, etc., or simply socking the extra money away somewhere offshore...all of which require no employees.

Right after WW II through the 1950's and into the very early 1960's was the greatest period of prosperity ever known in this country.  It was known as the Golden Age of [American] Capitalism.  During that time of tremendous economic expansion, corporations were taxed at a 90% rate.  They now pay (if at all) a 35% rate; Trump wants to lower it to 15%.

As to war, both candidates favor different versions of it.

There was no discussion, or sometimes no significant discussion, about:  the gutting of the Middle Class, the coup of Financialization, the Recession in which we find ourselves, the various economic/financial Bubbles ongoing, Climate Change, the ongoing one trillion dollar Fed Gov't nuclear weapons program, our current Police/Surveillance State, the broken Fed Criminal Justice System, the failed War on Drugs, Crony Capitalism, USA Hegemony, and a few other significant issues.

For the most part, the candidates squabbled about the past, sniped at each other, and had very little to say (except for broad generalities) about the future.  According to the corporate moderators and the Corporatist Trump & Clinton, the most pressing issues facing the country apparently are:  Trump's comments about women, Trump's taxes, Clinton's emails, Bill Clinton's marital affairs, and other such trivia.  Talk about distraction from what's really important...good grief!

Neither one of these candidates should be President of the USA.  Both are shills for Corporatism and the Globalist Oligarchy.

The Kabuki Theater continues...on & on.  Wall Street and the CRONY Capitalists are the Directors.  Carroll Quigley's International Financial Coterie is the Academy.  The Oligarchs already have won the election.  Our best hope for avoiding the fairly imminent NeoFeudalism that's coming and the continued hollowing out of the Middle Class is peaceful, direct action outside the Rotten System...such as boycotting the election, or (if you must) voting for a worthy alternative candidate.  On a massive scale, either of those actions would send a powerful message.  Unfortunately, because of unending Edward Bernays style Propaganda, I don't see either of those things happening this year; but, one always can dream.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Once Again: Trump is Trumped by Trump

Here's my latest email to family and friends---
.......................................

RE:  tonight's news---

The man's mouth again reassures me that my prediction is correct:  barring extreme unforeseen circumstances, the Don will be slaughtered in the upcoming election.  Too bad that Clinton is a rich, two-faced Corporatist...much like Trump.  That's about his only hope, however slim, of winning.  Wall Street prefers Clinton; and it looks like they're going to get her.  Whichever one wins, we lose.
..............................

The Kabuki Theater continues.

Boycott the election, or vote for a worthy "Third Party" candidate.

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

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The First Presidential Debate, September, 2016

SSDD.

A big yawn.  As in past Presidential debates, the candidates stated they would (if elected) do this, that, & the other.  There's little to no reason to believe anything other than this:  when elected, one of them will do a couple of the things promised, but for the overwhelming majority of promises either nothing will be done, or the exact opposite will be done.

The primary difference between this debate & others was the constant interrupting of each other by the candidates.

American politics at the national level is a complete farce.  Here's what's really going on---

"The powers of financial capitalism had another far reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements, arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences. The apex of the system was the Bank for International Settlements in Basle, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the worlds' central banks which were themselves private corporations. The growth of financial capitalism made possible a centralization of world economic control and use of this power for the direct benefit of financiers and the indirect injury of all other economic groups."

Tragedy and Hope: A History of The World in Our Time (Macmillan Company, 1966,) Professor Carroll Quigley of Georgetown University, highly esteemed by his former student, William Jefferson Blythe Clinton.

Whoever wins in November, that person will serve the International Financial Coterie (Quigley's term).  That means the rush to NeoFeudalism will continue.

Finally, unless a poll is conducted by Gallup, Harris, or Pew, it's doubtful that the results are representative.  That's especially true if the poll is one of these "online" polls, where all the "true believers" (& few others) click on the candidate they worship.  That's not even close to a scientific poll.  The point is this:  when the Corporate Media cite their online polls as proof that the current election is "neck & neck", it's really doubtful that is true.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

"Fool Me Once, Shame on You; Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me", OR, More on the Shadow Gov't

"It is this power structure which the Radical Right in the United States has been attacking for years in the belief that they are attacking the Communists."
Carroll Quigley
Citation:
Carroll Quigley. BrainyQuote.com, Xplore Inc, 2016. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/carroll_quigley.html, accessed September 22, 2016.
.........................................................
Quigley understood (and stated) that the International Financial Coterie (his phrase) was the real controlling force in the world.  Way above political groups, they often would use/manipulate various institutions (whether on the Right or Left) to attain their goals.  Edward Bernays, the Father of the Public Relations field, gave them a massive boost in 1928 with the publication of his book, Propaganda:  Molding the Public Mind.

To the Coterie, none of this is a "conspiracy"; rather, it's merely "private", and "good business practice".  [In essence, they have little or no ethics.]  Today, it's fairly obvious that world central banks (especially the Fed Reserve System), the IMF, the World Bank, the Bank of International Settlements, the Financial Stability Board of the G-20, about thirty Mega Banks (e.g., JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, etc.), and a few others essentially control world Finance and Economics...regardless of political Parties.  He who controls the purse, controls it all.

As an international banker of long ago once remarked, "Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws." – Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild, 1744-1812.

Unfortunately, as recent headlines affirm, mega banking today is rife with fraud and wealth transfer schemes.  On top of that, world central banks create massive Asset Bubbles which skew the Free Market...and eventually destroy economies.  The dynamite documentary (now online at Netflix.com & elsewhere), Money for Nothing, explains it all.  If you're at all confused by what's going on in Finance and Economics, that film is a Must-See.  It's right on the mark.

Banking should be a public utility.  [The Fed is a cabal of private banks.]  At the very least, a public bank should be an option...much the way it is in North Dakota.  That bank, by the way, outperforms Wall Street.  Google/Bing:  Ellen Brown public banking.  She's the leader of that movement, and has written numerous brilliant pieces on the subject.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Carroll Quigley on the Major Political Parties

"The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to doctrinaire and academic thinkers."  Carroll Quigley

Carroll Quigley. BrainyQuote.com, Xplore Inc, 2016. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/carroll_quigley.html, accessed September 18, 2016.

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

It's astounding to me that today many people still think there are significant differences between the Democrats and Republicans...especially regarding the economy, finance, mega banking, foreign policy, USA hegemony, Corporatism, Gov't deficit spending, the trashing of the Constitution, Orwellian policies, and war.  American history, particularly in the last 26 years, proves otherwise.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Carroll Quigley on Our Government

[This piece was edited at 9 AM, Mountain Time.]

The brilliant historian, Professor Carroll Quigley, had this to say about our Gov't in 1966:

"The tragedy is that we no longer have a representative government in this country; the hope is that the little people will come to accept that...because there is nothing they can do about it."  

.............................................
No one understood the Power of the Shadow Gov't better than Quigley.

Bill Clinton thought so much of Quigley that he mentioned the good professor in his Inaugural Address.

Quigley considered himself a member of the Elite Class, hence his use of the phrase, "the little people".

The Shadow Government is much more powerful today than it was in 1966.

Not only my opinion. Be Well

Update: The Demise of the Dollar

The following is by Jim Rickards, an international economist, attorney, consultant to gov'ts, NYT Best-Selling author, and expert on the gold market.  It's not the whole piece, and it didn't copy onto this venue properly, but it's readable.  The print size is tiny because that's the only way I could get it onto this page.  [I'm a No-Tech person.]  This is the portion that I felt was most important.
................................................

September 9, 2016

Jim Rickards

Dear Reader,

I’ve been writing about the rise of world money, called the “special drawing 

right”(SDR), for years. 

I’ve especially been giving it a lot of attention recently because of the recent 

G-20 summit that took place in Hangzhou, China, earlier this week. And the IMF 

officially accepts the Chinese yuan into its basket of currencies making up its 

SDR later this month on Sept. 30.

The SDR is part of the global elite plan to displace the dollar as the global 

reserve currency and replace it with a new form of fiat money. This new form of 

money is controlled by the IMF and unaccountable to any elected democratic agency. 

The purpose of SDRs is to create global inflation after years of failure by 

central banks to do the same. 

It’s one thing to warn about a development. It’s another thing to see it unfold 

before your eyes…

In my 2011 book, Currency Wars, on Page 232, I wrote the following: “The IMF 

presented a blueprint for the creation of a liquid SDR bond market, the antecedent 

to replacing the dollar as the global reserve currency with SDRs. 

“The IMF’s paper identifies both potential issuers of SDR bonds, including the 

World Bank and regional development banks, and potential buyers…” (emphasis added). 

That was almost five years ago. 

The SDR market I predicted five years ago is taking shape before our eyes. 

The rise of SDRs is no longer a theoretical experiment; it’s happening in real-

time. 

The rise of SDRs is no longer a theoretical experiment; it’s happening in real-

time.

On July 15, 2016, the IMF issued a playbook calling for more “M-SDRs” (the “M” 

stands for “market” and is a reference to privately issued SDR instruments, 

as opposed to official SDRs, or “O-SDRs,” issued by the IMF itself). 

On Aug. 31, 2016, just six weeks after the IMF greenlight, its sister institution, 

the World Bank, issued SDR500 million (equal to $700 million) of bonds in the new 

world currency. Importantly, the new SDR bonds were issued in China (the lead 

underwriters were four Chinese banks), which has a keen interest in the success of 

the SDR market to undermine the dollar.

Why is the World Bank issuing SDR bonds? It’s not because they have trouble 

borrowing. The World Bank is one of the best credits in the world. They can 

borrow whatever they want, whenever they want, in any currency they want. 

The reason is so that China can invest in SDR assets. How can China buy SDR bonds 

if no one issues them? The World Bank is just accommodating Chinese demand. And 

the Chinese want to invest in SDRs so they can stop investing in dollars. 

There will be many more bond issues like this in the near future. Think of each 

SDR bond issue as another shovelful of dirt on the dollar’s grave.

How much longer will investors sit in dollars waiting for the wipeout to come? 

It’s important to diversify into 10% physical gold to preserve your wealth before 

it’s too late.

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

The movement away from the Dollar by various major countries has been 

proceeding slowly for a few years now.  Based on this info from Rickards, 

it seems very likely that movement will accelerate this year.  The world 

appears to be tiring of our Fed Gov't and its promulgation/promotion of 

USA Hegemony.  The propagandists here call it "leading the world", but 

anyone with any common sense at all knows better.

Once the Dollar no longer is the world's reserve currency, we are in for 

some very bad (possibly horrendous) economic times.  Be prepared.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well