Memo to both Main St. & Land Use Planners: this positive, global change is highly likely to occur within 10 years

 Background Info (detailed in several places elsewhere on this blog)

1.  Factory farming of crops and livestock is damaging soil, depleting water supplies, using too much energy, damaging our climate, eliminating small family farms, reducing necessary biodiversity, and polluting the ecosphere (which includes us).

2.  Big Agriculture's Globalization of food production and distribution sounds good, and once in a blue moon even looks good; however, overall it's faltering and turning into a disaster.

3.  Climate change, multiple-continent supply chains, geopolitical rivalries, war, energy shortages, financial sanctions, and the like are all making global production and distribution of food problematic.

4.  One-third of the world's food already is grown on farms less than five acres each.  Source:  https://ourworldindata.org/smallholder-food-production

The Coming Positive Global Change

1.  Whether we plan for it or not, various factors will drive humans to transition from Globalization to Localization (and Regionalization).  All goods, including food, will be involved.  A few places in the world already have made a start.

2.  As much as possible:  food will be grown locally and/or regionally; synthetic, petrochemical herbicides & insecticides will not be used; and big machinery will not be necessary.  Here's how it's done:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc3-3s115mM&list=WL&index=68    If a guy in a wheelchair and his team can do it, anyone can.  Don't miss this short clip.  It's most inspirational, and extremely informative.

3.  If you don't believe this can be done in towns and cities, do a YouTube Search for "urban community gardens", or "urban farming", and you'll be amazed.  In any case, it can be done just outside the city limits (if not smack-dab downtown).

4.  Because of greatly shortened supply chains, much less need for petrochemicals, much less need for fuel-guzzling big machinery, and much less need for packaging & processing, this type of organic farming will GREATLY reduce global energy use.  That's important because within about ten years, we'll be forced to cut way back on energy use.  [See the Nate Hagens interviews on YouTube which deal with Energy Blindness, as well as those on Minerals Blindness.  Simon Michaux and Tom Murphy also are good sources.]

5.  Because it uses drip-irrigation in areas where such is required, it also will significantly reduce freshwater depletion.  Currently, world agriculture uses 70% of all water fit for human consumption.  The lion's share of that is gobbled up by Big Ag (Factory Farming), and for the most part, drip-irrigation is not used.

You may be thinking, hey, I'm not a farmer.  Why should I care about any of this?  I would answer, do you like to eat?  😊  If your community or county or State does not start planning for the coming changes in food availability and fresh water availability, then you will be a farmer...a subsistence farmer.

We all need to convince our local authorities  to at least look into these matters.  The probability is extremely high that relatively soon we'll be forced to become a low-energy-use society all around the globe.  The metrics for such a scenario are all there.  Localization will be a massive help, but to avoid chaos, planning for it must start ASAP.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

This might be the beginning of the end of Corporate Globalization

More & more, people with influence  are recognizing the destructiveness & failure of neoliberal globalization.  It's about time.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrEI2-7Ubiw

  The solution offered hearkens back to E.F. Schumacher's "Small is Beautiful"; at least, it's akin to that.  Again, IT'S ABOUT TIME that happened.  This could be the beginning of the overthrow of global corporatism.  Let's hope so.  Perhaps policy makers will start seeing that all those "cheap" goods have social, economic, & environmental costs which have not been taken into account. 

Incidentally, the goods coming from Asia are not cheap in price.  Why?  Because the quality of them is so poor that they have to be replaced about ten times more than those made with durable materials, quality assurance, & quality control.  And, as has been shown over & over lately, with great distances come monstrous supply chain problems.  Suddenly the price of an item jumps up because it's scarce.

Finally, corporate globalization must go because mega companies (in general) :  a) don't really care much about customer satisfaction; and b) often evade accountability when they farm out manufacturing overseas.  International Trade can be responsibly done, but the WTO & the so-called "Free Trade Agreements" are an utter disaster.

https://rethinktrade.org/toolkit/hyperglobalization-and-supply-chain-failures/

Small is beautiful.  Let's have an economics as if people really mattered to the Powers-That-Be.  How about that?!

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Finally - It's About Time!

A day or two ago, there was a unanimous SCOTUS decision against excessive fines, fees, & civil asset forfeiture imposed by State, County, & City authorities.  Texas, in particular, is infamous for such practices, plus "Debtor's Prison" if you can't afford the freight.  Example:  a fine of $569 (if I recall correctly) for grass too high in a vacant lot (the back lot of a residential double lot).  The "court fees" are added to that...hundreds of dollars more.  If you can't pay immediately, chances are great that you go to jail.  In California, if you run a red light, the fine is $100; but $390 is added to that in the form of "fees".  $490 for trying (and failing) to make a yellow light.  Outrageous.

I didn't see this story on the Corporate TV News, but it was a lead story on Democracy Now.  The Corporate Media seem to avoid any stories that have even a hint of the growing poverty in the USA.

In some local jurisdictions, you can be fined hundreds of dollars for having anything dangling from your interior, rear view mirror...including a simple, small chain.

Civil (not Criminal) Asset Forfeiture (CAF) applies even if you're not convicted of whatever "crime" or code violation is involved.  Your assets can be seized in addition to fines imposed, or simply because they "look suspicious".  When you apply to get your property back, it has already been auctioned off...& you get no cash compensation.  This has been going on in the Land of the Free for about 25-30 years.  It started because counties & cities lost huge tax revenue when manufacturing moved South of the border or overseas---Corporatist Globalization.  So, excessive fines & fees AND CAF have been used to raise local revenue.  SCOTUS finally ruled against it.

Apparently, even NeoCon Justices do something ethical once in awhile.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Corporatist, Militarist Coup in the USA is Almost Complete

That Coup has been going on for decades.  It has continued advancing over these many years whether Democrats or Republicans have been in power in DC.  Ike was spot-on in his statement about the Military-Industrial Complex, but in the last twenty or so years there has been a conversion to the State-Corporate-Military Complex.  Let's briefly look at a few of the reasons for the assertions in this paragraph.  The following reasons are more or less in chronological order.

1.  The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, 1964---  It turns out that the Incident prompting that Resolution didn't happen at all the way the Military said it did.  Nevertheless, it was used to get us into a disastrous war.  Plus, the War Clause of Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution was ignored completely.  Private war contractors here made out like bandits, financially speaking.

2.  Just prior to being elected in 1968, Nixon claimed he had a "secret plan" to end the Vietnam War...except, he didn't have any such plan.  The war dragged on for about seven more years, and the military hardware manufacturers raked in beaucoup profits.  State Capitalism at its best.  😒  Meanwhile, about two million people were killed or drastically maimed.  That's not counting the birth defects from the dioxin in Agent Orange.

3.  In 1971, Nixon took us completely off the Gold Standard; that became known as the "Nixon Shock".  In essence, our Gov't defaulted on its debt.  Very quickly, the Dollar lost 25% of its value/purchasing power.  We went to a total fiat currency.  Nixon said it all would be "temporary".  Right.  While Carter largely was blamed for the rampant inflation of the mid to late 1970's, it was the Nixon Shock that made such inflation inevitable.  The point of all this is:  without the monetary Gold Standard, the Fed Gov't was free to spend, spend, spend while borrowing, borrowing, borrowing.  By the time the Reagan Era ended, we had gone from a creditor nation to a monstrous debtor nation.  State Capitalism went bananas, and the military budget increased exponentially.

4.Clinton and Gore---  fierce supporters of NAFTA.  One million jobs went South.  The Rich got richer.  Our two "Populists" (not hardly) also lobbied hard for the conversion of GATT into the WTO...and the admission of China into the WTO.  That guaranteed no reform of that organization relative to environmental and democratic matters.  It all was a massive boost to "Globalization"...the wrong kind of Globalization.  The Rich got richer.  Workers suffered.

5.  Dubya Bush---  flim-flam war propaganda (Iraq), gross ignorance of the U.S. Constitution, unimaginable spending by the Feds, State Capitalism on steroids, the beginning of Drone Wars, more U.S. Hegemony, and the Rich got richer.  The economy ended up being a disaster.  The Surveillance State shifted into second gear.  The Fourth Amendment was trashed.  The blatant Propaganda was beyond incredible.

6.  Obama---  another Fake Populist and Master Propagandist.  Even though admitting to mortgage and securities fraud, not a single Mega Bank was prosecuted by the Obama Administration for criminal acts leading up to the 2008 Crisis.  The Drone Wars increased beyond belief.  According to the Left-leaning Roosevelt Institute, ObamaCare is sorely lacking and is a "bailout of the health insurance industry".  Obama launched a ten-year program to update & improve our nuclear arsenal.  Then there's the Syria mess, and the support for the terrorist-exporting Saudis.  [Wahhabism is State-sponsored by Saudi Arabia.]
In his first Presidential race, Obama received more campaign contributions from Mega Corporations than did McCain.  The Surveillance State shifted into third gear...then overdrive.  Fed Gov't spending increased even more than it did under Bush.  I didn't think that would be possible.  The National Debt soared to amazing heights...it's now impossible to repay in full.  Obama was a fierce supporter of the TPP, the most egregious "Free Trade" Agreement yet proposed.  Finally, while in office, our President became a multi-millionaire...mostly through the purchasing of Bonds.

7.  Trump---  I could write twenty pages on this guy's Corporatism, Fake Populism, gaslighting, war-mongering, conceit, arrogance, snobbery, Crony Capitalism, serial lying, elitism, disgusting sexism, ignorance of crucial matters, and gross propagandizing; unfortunately, time and energy constraints prevent me from doing that.  The Don is absolutely, without question the worst President this Land ever has had.  Thank heaven, just as I and many others predicted, his base supporters are beginning to question his competence and sincerity.  The prediction was that would happen within one year.  Kudos to them.
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Side Bar---

The gall of the Trump Admin. threatening the overwhelming majority of nations at the U.N. because they disagreed with Trump's decision on our Embassy in Israel.  Typical U.S. Gov't Bully-Boy tactics.  One more example of our Gov't erecting roadblocks to Middle East peace.  The last thing the Fed-Corporate-Military Complex wants is peace in that region.  That would be bad for Big Business...especially bad for the Mega Banks and war contractors.

Lastly,  the Coup finally will be complete when at least two more things happen:
1.  SS and Medicare are privatized, and Wall Street gets its hands on that money;
2.  Another major war is provoked by the Corporatists...in order to forestall the following--- the next upcoming (and overdue) financial/economic Crash, and action by the IMF and Bank of International Settlements to replace the Dollar with something else to serve as the World's Reserve Currency.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well
p.s.  Happy New Year

Crony Capitalists, Globalists, NeoConservatives, Corporatism, and the Corporate Media

YaHoo News just posted a brief piece about Ajit Pai (the FCC Chairman) doing a gag skit for some group in which he was a shill for Verizon.  A member of upper management in Verizon participated in that "joke".  The gag apparently fell flat.

The fact is, for some time now the Corporatocracy & its Crony Capitalists have been supremely confident that Americans are so propagandized & distracted that they (the Corporatists) never will be dethroned.  As a result, they don't even try & conceal their Cronyism anymore.

The main problem is that too many Americans don't appear to understand the difference between Corporatism (essentially Crony Capitalism) and genuine Capitalism.  Too many believe the battle here is between Capitalism (or really, a Mixed Economy) & Socialism.  It isn't.  It's between Corporatism and genuine Capitalism.  Most of the Right Wing and even much of the Left Wing seem to think those two are the same thing.  They aren't even close to being the same.  This is why the Right Wing, in particular, is supporting (without realizing it) the destruction of our economy---they think they're supporting Capitalism.  They aren't; they're supporting Crony Capitalism...which basically is Fascism.  Until they overcome that ignorance, our country--- & especially our economy--- is doomed to NeoFeudalism.

The same exact thing is true for "Conservatism".  People who think they're "Conservatives" today aren't even close to that.  They are NeoConservatives (based on the idiots they've been supporting for at least a couple of decades).  NeoConservatism is a horse of an entirely different color, & over a period of 20-25 years, it has totally replaced genuine Conservatism.  The Corporate Media all know this, but continue the myth that current Right Wing politicians are "Conservatives".  They do it because NeoConservatism has a very tiny base of support, whereas the old, long-gone Conservatism has a much, much larger base of support.  NeoConservatives essentially are Globalist, hegemonic, monopolistic, militarist, Crony Capitalist, elitist politicians (pretty much Fascists)...nothing at all like 99% of the old Conservatives, such as Russell Kirk or Paul Craig Roberts.  I would venture to guess that almost all Americans who call themselves Conservatives today haven't even read the "Bible" of Modern Day Conservatism by Kirk, The Conservative Mind (1953).  Had they read it, it would dawn upon them that they've been supporting the wrong politicians.

In The USA, Propaganda reigns supreme.  And so it goes.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

War is a Racket

"As I look back on my 33 years of service in the Marines---from Second Lieutenant to Major-General---I realize that I've been nothing but a thug for Bankers and Big Corporations."  ~ General Smedley Butler

See brainyquote.com for more quotes by General Butler.

Only people who don't know what's going on still believe that our brave & well-meaning military folks are fighting for freedom, democracy, etc.  In actual fact, they are the unwitting enforcement arm of our Fed Reserve Bank and other Western World Mega Banks, as well as other major Corporations whose leaders believe they are the real rulers of the world.  Butler clearly pointed that out in his book, "War is a Racket".

Now (& for some time) that both Repubs & Dems in DC pretty much ignore and/or violate key parts of the U.S. Constitution, the Corporatists are free to complete their establishment of Global Private Rule.  Public Governments still will exist, but only as window dressing.  By the way, none of this is a "grand conspiracy"; to the Powers-That-Be, it's simply "good business practice" and "the best thing for the world".  It's also important to grasp the fact that Corporatists are NOT Free Market Capitalists; instead, they are Fascists.  The very last thing they want is a Free Market.  They prefer a series of Monopolies supported by their puppet governments.

To those who believe Trump is fighting all this, and is the champion of the Common Man, you are sadly mistaken.  Trump is the quintessential elitist, Corporatist, Establishment, Crony Capitalist...the worst kind of capitalist.  He's a serial liar, a Super-Rich snob, a gaslighter, and doesn't care at all about the bottom 90-99% of the USA citizens.  He's just telling you what he thinks you want to hear.  His whole history proves all the above.  Study it, and then you'll see.  A good start is the documentary, "Meet the Trumps:  from Immigrant to President"; it's found on Netflix and elsewhere.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Let's All Take Our Heads Out of the Sand and Stop Drinking the...

Edward Bernays style Propaganda Kool Aid.  In addition to the National Debt numbers, the online "U.S. National Debt Clock" (in real time) has a wealth of other information.  [A small portion of it is listed below.]  As opposed to what Janet Yellen and many politicians are saying, that info gives us a genuine dose of reality...instead of propaganda.

Since the end (sometime in the early 1960's) of the Golden Age of American Capitalism, here's what Republican & Democratic politicians, the Fed Reserve, Financialization, Globalization (of a certain type), Crony Capitalism, and Corporatism have all brought us to---

1.  Our public National Debt is almost $20 trillion.  [We are now among the world's top debtor nations.]
2.  U.S. Total Debt (public & private) is now a bit over $67 trillion.
3.  42.6 million Americans are living in poverty.
4.  31.4 million Americans are without insurance (the Debt Clock doesn't specify whether that's health insurance or all types of insurance).
5.  The U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is about one trillion dollars less than the public National Debt.
6.  The Median Income in the U.S. is now $30,123.
7.  The Median New Home Price in the U.S. is now $311,015.
8.  The "Official Unemployed" number is 7.616 million.
9.  The "Actual Unemployed" number is 14.949 million.
All the above is only a tiny fraction of the valuable info found on the Debt Clock.
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Glenn Greenwald, who was on a Team that shared a Pulitzer Prize, has pointed out that the Financial Sector in the USA essentially has captured our government.  Financialization and the revolving door between Mega Banks and high Gov't positions have contributed greatly to the hollowing out of the Middle Class in this Land.  We now have a President & Executive Branch Administration who want to roll back the paltry regulatory protections of Dodd-Frank, thus giving the Financial Sector even more freedom to practice Casino Capitalism... which will further put our financial and economic systems at risk.

The rationalization for such action is that jobs will be created.  History says otherwise.  Starting with the elimination of the Glass-Steagall Act during the Bill Clinton Era and right through to the lack of prosecution of crooked bankers during the Obama Era, it's clear that:  banking needs strict regulation (enforcement and prosecution); and the Mega Banks need to be broken up.  Casino Capitalism does not create jobs for the Lower & Middle Classes; it simply enriches the Super-Rich.  That's what Trump is pushing/peddling.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Deep State Will Marginalize Trump...Maybe Completely

A couple of years ago, Moyers & Company had as a guest Mike Lofgren, who had been a Congressional Staffer for 28 years.  During his long stint in Congress, he became aware of the Deep State (Shadow Gov't)...which is a conglomeration of like-minded public & private individuals.  If you're not familiar with that group, simply Google/Bing the term.

As Lofgren pointed out, the Deep State doesn't care whether Repubs or Dems are in power at the national level... those labels are meaningless to the true Powers-That-Be.  Genuine Repubs and genuine Dems don't exist anymore at the very top echelon of the Fed Gov't.  Mostly Neoliberals exist there.  That's Lofgren's conclusion after working 28 years in Congress.

Jump forward to today.

Trump will be squashed and/or completely marginalized by the Deep State, mostly because he has no ideology.  He's nothing but an opportunist, and they won't abide that.  Either that will happen, or he'll simply self-destruct.​

One would think that the Deep State might favor a guy like Corporatist Trump.  They favored Corporatist Clinton instead because she represented the status quo.  Although Trump adheres to Corporatism, he also appears to be:  against Globalization; too unreliable; too volatile; anti-status-quo; too thin-skinned; and too egotistical.  None of that (if true) would bode well for Neoliberalism and Corporatist Globalization... the darlings of the Deep State.

Don't get me wrong---Trump will not be good for Main Street or the USA in general.  He's not a Populist.  He's a dangerous opportunist who says anything he thinks his audience wants to hear.  He's a billionaire Corporatist, a Crony Capitalist, and an ego-maniacal flip-flopper.  [I just watched a clip of his speech at the CIA.  Despite all his previous denigrations (often vicious) of the intelligence community, he says he's their biggest fan.  Typical Trump--- he says whatever his current audience wants to hear.  In this case, I doubt that the audience believed him.]

Apparently, Trump has little to no idea what he's up against.  The main point here is this:  the Deep State runs this country.  Elected puppets have very little to do with it.  They primarily are figureheads.  They give the illusion of a democracy.  In addition, Trump now has an approval rating of 32%.  Not only that, but he lost the popular vote by about three million.  He has no "mandate".  Finally, never mind the entire Fed Gov't, even only the Executive Branch is so huge that it's essentially unmanageable.  It's nowhere near a monolithic institution overseen by one person.  Half the time (I'm guessing), the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing.  Getting around bombastic Trump won't be especially difficult.

I'll give Trump this much--- he did get us out of the TPP.  That's significant... and it's one of the reasons that the Deep State will utterly marginalize the guy.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

p.s.  For those who may not know:  the Deep State is NOT a "conspiracy theory"; it's a well-accepted concept.  Plus, for the most part, it's in plain sight and operates right out in the open.  [Example:  shortly after Trump issued memos suggesting that the DAPL (pipeline) and the Keystone XL Pipeline both should be restarted, an Administrator at the Badlands National Park tweeted scientific facts supporting the concept of Climate Change.]

Why So Many People Are Pissed Off

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYoaV6f78wM

This is why many people all over are pissed off--- they've been forced into the Precariat by Globalization (at least, the CRONY Capitalists' view of that), Financialization, and the Plutocracy. Now, almost 5 years after this talk (which is condensed at the link), things are much worse. We all need to stop drinking the Edward Bernays style Propaganda Kool Aid coming from the Politicians, Plutocrats and Oligarchs.  

Not only my opinion. Be Well

p.s. This brief, condensed talk really does explain a lot...& not just in the case of Europe.

Trump, Clinton, Obama, Limbaugh, the Establishment, & Crony Capitalism

Below is my response to a forwarded email from a dear friend.  The original piece apparently was written by David Limbaugh, a brother of Rush Limbaugh.  In it, he comments on Trump's popularity and how the Establishment is responsible for that.  He also has quite a bit to say about Obama, claiming (for instance) that the President & his Administration are "honoring socialism"...and how they "reward unemployment and laziness"... and they are soft on immigration.  It's a well-written piece, but full of false premises and incorrect assumptions.
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Apparently David has as little knowledge of politics as does his brother, Rush.

1.  Obama is a Corporatist, as is Trump.  Neither one of them cares one whit about you & me.

2.  Obama has deported 2 million illegals.  He keeps the current Central American ones 

(mostly mothers & children) in privately run prisons with inadequate food & health care.  Those 

private corporations have lucrative gov't contracts.

3.  He is very unpopular among many/most illegal immigrants.

4.  Wall Street loved Obama in 2008...and they still do.

5.  Trump is a charlatan---he IS the Establishment...that is, the private (not Gov't) 

Establishment.  He's a Crony Capitalist Oligarch.  If elected, he would work hardest for the 

Rich & Powerful (R&P).

6.  He's a strong believer in Globalization (like Obama & Clinton)...and that primarily 

benefits the R&P.

7.  Obama's Admin. does not "honor socialism"...it honors Crony Capitalism.

8.  The most important point---  The author writes/talks as if all America is embracing Trump.  

The only thing I've seen is that he's embraced by a slight majority of Repubs.  ALL Repubs 

make up only 25% of the electorate.  Trump is despised by probably 99.9% of Democrats, 

including those who are fed up with Obama.  ALL Dems make up 31% of the electorate.  So 

you see, Trump is not nearly as popular as the Corporate Media would have us believe.

This reminds me a bit of the '64 election.  Goldwater was the rebel against the Eastern 

Establishment; Nelson Rockefeller was the "Liberal" Repub running against him in the 

Primaries.  Goldwater won at the Convention.  Those of us in favor of him knew for sure he 

would slaughter the Dems in Nov.  He was wildly popular with people... or so we thought.  It 

was a landslide for LBJ.  I was stunned.  IF Trump gets the nomination, the same thing will 

happen this November.  Clinton will cream him in the election.  What's ironic is that she's a 

Corporatist much like him.  We commoners are screwed no matter which one of them wins.

p.s.  For why Sanders won't be the Dem nominee, see this---

http://individualsovereignty.blogspot.com/2016/02/heres-one-way-elections-are-rigged-in.html

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

What the Right and the Left Don't Seem to Understand

The Right Wing in American politics doesn't appear to understand that probably the majority of Americans are fed up to the gills with Corporatism, Financialization, and the de-industrialization of our country.  In addition, we're tired of all the squabbling over divisive, hot-button, social issues.  Finally, we're really tired of  people who say they stand for Freedom, but actually, it's only for the freedoms of which they approve.

The Left Wing doesn't appear to understand that, at the highest levels, almost all their major political players are Corporatist Neoliberals...pretty much the same as in the Right Wing.  This is why, at the highest levels in American politics, the old labels of the past essentially are meaningless.  [By "old labels", I mean all of the following:  Republican, Democrat, Right, Left, Conservative, NeoConservative, Liberal, and Progressive.]

All of the above is true because of Neoliberalism.  The Neoliberals here have staged a coup in our government at the national level.  It wasn't a grand conspiracy of any kind, and it took many years to be successful.  They did it mostly by sheer, dumb luck...and perseverance.  I suspect that many people are totally unaware of it.  Don't think for a moment I'm saying that I discovered it.  I became aware of it over decades by listening to or reading the works of people such as Noam Chomsky, Carroll Quigley, Ron Paul, Ralph Nader, Paul Craig Roberts, David Stockman, Jeremy Scahill, Naomi Klein, Lori Wallach, Glenn Greenwald, David Rockefeller, and several others.

I'm aware that all of the above most likely is not accepted as true by many (perhaps most) Americans.  That's unfortunate because, believe it or not, the new political paradigm is the Oligarchy versus the rest of us.  The Oligarchy consists of Corporatist Neoliberals both in and out of government...with a revolving door between the two.  They believe in, support, and work for Globalization, "Free Trade" Agreements, Financialization, the de-industrialization of America, and Mega Corporations.  They have us on a steady and fast path to some form of NeoFeudalism--- with two economic classes:  the relatively poor and the super-rich.

At the street level, Right-Wingers seem to reject this thesis more than do the Left-Wingers.  At the highest level, I'm guessing all of them simply accept it, but don't talk about it much.  At that level, they all are aware that they belong to a special club, one to which street level people will never gain entrance.  I've heard (on news clips) a few CEOs refer to the rest of us as the "little people" or the "small people".  I've also heard prominent politicians (not knowing the microphone was still open) say that the "American people are just stupid".  Those anecdotes don't prove anything, but they do give a person pause to think.

This whole issue is not Right-Left, or Republican-Democrat, or Conservative-Progressive in nature.  It's devastatingly unfortunate that many or most Americans still are thinking in those terms.  That's how the Corporatists beat us:  Distract, Divide, & Conquer.  By the way, Corporatism is Fascism; every historian I've ever read on the subject agrees with that.

It is long past time that we heed the words of the billionaire, Warren Buffett:  "We are in a Class War in this country, and unfortunately, my Class is winning.".

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

KUDOS to the New Leader of Greece!

Congratulations, Greece!  Your new leader is a guy who is telling the Neoliberals to go to hell.  Every country, including the USA, needs just such a person.

Via the IMF, and/or central banks, and/or other mega banks, Neoliberals at the highest levels (including the Democrats and Republicans here) through deceptive practices entice countries to take on massive debt.  Then, when the debt is unsustainable, these same mega banks and the IMF coerce countries to undergo austerity or in some cases sell off their public infrastructure to private, mega corporations.  It boils down to this:  Neoliberals save the mega banks, not the economy...Wall Street, not Main Street.  All for Globalization and privatization.  The ultimate Goal is the world as one giant Business...and none of it is a "conspiracy".  For the most part, it's in plain sight.

As David Rockefeller stated publicly in 1991:  "Surely it is preferable to have the world run by unelected elites than by the corrupt politicians of today."... that's pretty plain.  Despite that, Neoliberals often are deceptive.  For example, here in the USA they go by the labels of "Democrat", "Republican", "Liberal", and "Conservative".  They use Edward Bernays style Propaganda to dupe people into accepting things such as N.A.F.T.A., T.A.R.P., T.P.P., and T.A.F.T.A., all of which serve the Oligarchy, not Main Street.

The Neoliberal Congress and Fed Reserve in this country have given us an eighteen trillion dollar debt... and it's still growing.  There is however, no visible austerity here.  Instead, it's just under the facade of "the economy is recovering" Propaganda.  Here's how it's "recovering":
1.  with continued Financialization, which transfers wealth from the Middle Class to the Upper Crust;
2.  with continued sale of bizarre Financial Derivatives, which create no jobs;
3.  with continued debasement of the dollar;
4.  with a massive Trade Deficit;
5.  with continued off-shoring of factories and jobs;
6.  with the creation of lower-paying permanent jobs, temporary jobs, and part-time jobs;
7.  with continued deficit spending;
8.  with an estimated one quadrillion dollars of Financial Derivatives still out in the Market... many bubbles just waiting to burst;
9.  with QE-4 waiting in the wings;
10.  with Gov't promoting another housing bubble;
11.  with someone or some institution (or a combination) manipulating the crude oil market; and,
12.  with rolling back regulations on the mega banks that caused the 2008 Crisis.
This is not what I would call a recovery.

[NOTE:    The 2008 Crisis was not caused by sub-prime mortgages; they were simply the trigger.  The underlying cause was the fact that mega, Neoliberal banks sold trillions of dollars worth of essentially worthless Derivatives.  Many (or perhaps most) of them were credit default swaps which were supposed to "insure" investors against losses... but didn't.  The mega banks knew they couldn't possibly serve that function when they sold them to pension funds, cities, counties, countries, and other investors.  It was a massive fraud.  Under the Corporatist Obama here, almost no one has been held criminally liable.  Plus, things are now set up for the whole scam to happen again... I'm guessing within five years...easily.]

Neoliberals and Neoliberalism must be confronted and resisted.  In order to do that, we must stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid.  First Iceland, and now Greece are showing us the way.  Heartiest congratulations to both.  There is no reason whatsoever that Globalization must take the form that is espoused by Neoliberals.  There are other options.

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

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 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

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

Lies, the Elites, the Corporate Media, and Class War

Recently on Democracy Now!, Glenn Greenwald (a major player on a journalistic team that just won a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service) characterized the Corporate Media in America as "impotent, neutered, and obsolete".  I agree; however, it's important to recognize that they were created to be that way.  Their major function, as mega corporations, is to distract the public and support the soft despotism (in America) and the fascist intervention (abroad) by the central government.  A long time ago, Walter Lippmann---the "Dean of American Journalism" and a so-called "Liberal"---stated that the American public consisted of people who were "meddlesome outsiders" (relative to gov't) and made up the "bewildered herd".  He also believed, along with Edward Bernays (the Father of Public Relations), that controlling the public mind was especially important in a democratic society, and that public "consent" must be "manufactured".

In 1975, Crisis in Democracy was published by the Trilateral Commission, an elite, "Liberal" think tank founded by David Rockefeller and Zbigniew Brzezinski.  The book-length report, which was authored by elite so-called "Liberals", stated the proposition that America had a huge problem, a crisis--- ordinary people were organizing (which is anathema to Oligarchies) and demanding a place at the political table.  These insurgents actually wanted to determine their own destinies...and the policies of their servant gov't.  According to the "Liberal" elite authors, the solution to the "crisis" was to somehow return what Lippmann called the "meddlesome outsiders" and "bewildered herd" to their proper state of apathy and obedience.  Thus began another cyclic push by the Oligarchy in general to manufacture or engineer the consent of the public to allow things to be run by the "smart" people, the Meritocracy.  The process continues right up to the present day.  [The so-called "Conservatives" operate in the same manner.]

We still live in a relatively free society here in the USA.  Because of that, the Oligarchy cannot resort to brute force (in most cases) in order to get us to tow the NeoImperialist, Corporatist line.  They wouldn't get away with it.  The method used by the State-Corporate Complex to gain our "consent" is Edward Bernays style Propaganda, which is instrumental in their strategy of Distract-Divide-Conquer.  [To any new visitors to this Blog--- none of this is a "conspiracy".  It's right out in the open, but one must pay attention in order to see it.]

The biggest threat to the Crony Capitalist, State-Corporate, State-Capitalist, Mega Corporate Oligarchy in America is not communists, or terrorists, or narco-kingpins, or any other boogie-man...the biggest threat is ordinary people organizing around a just cause.  None of us can do much individually to obtain and secure a fair and just society; but with solidarity in a group, much can be accomplished peacefully.  That's what the Oligarchy fears most.

Because of that fear, you will notice (if you're not totally distracted) that the Elites and their Institutions will either completely ignore or almost instantly attack, smear, or marginalize any group (or individual, for that matter) that proposes or supports any egalitarian issue or project.  Whistleblowers are criminalized, labor unions are crushed, environmental groups are ridiculed or marginalized, alternative media are ignored, workers protesting poverty-level wages are ignored or marginalized or fired, alternative energy proponents are ridiculed or ignored, health care reform advocates are deemed "socialists", constitutionalists are ignored, poor people in any organization protesting almost anything are deemed "unworthy", opponents of so-called "Globalization" (which really means mega corporate tyranny) are deemed "behind the times", and on & on.

Elite Propaganda in America comes from a diverse array of sources--- the highest levels of the Fed Gov't, "Conservative" groups, "Liberal" groups, the Corporate Media, various public Institutions, various private Institutions, think tanks, etc.  It usually originates at the very highest levels, but no matter the source, the message almost always amounts to some variation of this:  the State-Corporate Complex knows what is best for you and our country; you should leave it to us, no matter how unfair, unjust, or illegal it might seem.  We know best.  You should accept on its face anything we say.

The major offenders are those at the highest levels of the Fed Gov't (no matter which Party holds majority power) and those at the highest levels of the Corporate Media... a close third would be those elites in the large, private political organizations supporting "Conservatives" or "Liberals", Republicans or Democrats.  In fairness to the last group, I should say that maybe some of them promulgate propaganda without knowing that the Game is rigged.  The two major political parties in America mean virtually nothing anymore...they're strictly meant to serve as distractions from the mega corporate agenda.  Anyone with even half a political eye surely can see that they're merely two branches of the Mega Corporation Party.

Our Fed Gov't (and Mega Corporations) now, without probable cause or a proper warrant, spies on all of us.  Our Gov't now spies on our allies, and even individual Heads of State (e.g., Merkel in Germany) who are our allies.  In his new book, Nowhere to Hide, Glenn Greenwald reveals an NSA training document (from Snowden) which instructs gov't operatives basically to get it all, all the digital info it can from everyone...not just those suspected of terrorism.  After all, anyone in the world possibly could be a "terrorist".  These are not the actions of a moral, ethical, just Gov't.  Instead, this is Soft Fascism...or what de Tocqueville called Mild Despotism.  As long as the People are distracted, divided, and thus conquered, the Gov't gets away with it; no brute force is involved.  It's all unconstitutional.

Obama was at a WalMart the other day, praising that company in a speech.  WalMart, the biggest employer in the USA, and the biggest corporate destroyer of the American economy (not counting the mega banks)...and also, in terms of how its workers are treated, possibly the shabbiest employer in the country.  But that mega corporation fits right in with the Elites' view of how Globalization is good for everyone.  Republicans, Democrats, "Conservatives", "Liberals" (all at the highest levels) appear to take that as an axiom.  They all also appear to support the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank, and "Free Trade" Agreements--- all of which are not favorable to poor people, or even to Middle Class people.  But the rich become the super-rich.

The lies promulgated by our Fed Gov't (again, no matter who is in power), the Corporate Media, and various public and private Institutions are so numerous and egregious as to boggle the mind.  Propaganda does work if it's repeated enough times.  Elites in supposedly democratic societies do rely extensively on propaganda to mold the public mind.  I do see the beginnings of an awakening to those axioms.

Partly just my opinion.
Happy Trails 

A Few Examples of "Government-Speak"

To "annex" or "annexation" (as in the annexation of Hawaii)---  means to steal  land from indigenous people by armed force, intimidation, or both.

"Enhanced interrogation techniques"---  means torture.

"Extraordinary rendition"---  means the clandestine kidnapping of suspects, with no regard for due process, and then rendering them overseas for enhanced interrogation techniques.

"Federal Reserve Bank"---  means a cabal of privately owned banks that, by means of Legislative Absolutism via their political cronies, has co-opted the Constitutional duty of Congress to regulate the value of our money.  It exists because of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, a "law" which amended the Constitution without doing so formally.  In other words, it took precedence over the Supreme Law of the Land.  Quite a trick.  All of this has enriched the owners of these banks beyond belief, never mind devaluing the dollar down to almost nothing.

Globalization---  means the concentration of economic power into the hands of the CEOs of mega transnational corporations.  This is being accomplished by a variety of means, not the least of which are so-called "Free Trade Agreements" (which have nothing at all to do with Free Trade).  These elites of mega corporations believe they are above all nations---way above.

"Manifest Destiny" (our government's excuse for annexation)---  means that we're so honorable and special that we can pretty much do as we please.  [The concept mostly applies to our past, especially when our ancestors annexed the territories of American Indians and Mexicans---from sea to shining sea.]

"War on Drugs"---  means a variety of methods resulting in the control of citizens, the militarizing of police, and the expansion of the prison "industry".  America's drug of choice, alcohol (which by far causes more human damage, abuse, & grief than all the "illegal" drugs combined), remains largely outside of this sphere.

"War on Terror"---  means perpetual war, a Machiavellian method of controlling citizens.  Lately the politicians have stopped using the term, but they continue both the "war" and the propaganda promoting the "War on Terror" (perpetual war).

Postscript:
A few of the above terms did not exist when Reagan and Bush I were President.  [For example, extraordinary rendition began under Clinton.]  Other than those exceptions, all recent American Presidents---including Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, and Obama---supported/support and promoted/promote every Government-Speak term listed.  It's difficult to know how many of us as individual American citizens support any or all of them.  All I know for certain is that I don't support or believe in any of them.

Tempus Fugit

My abstract painting is taking more and more of my time, so somewhat regrettably, I must cut way back on posts to this site. Apologies to all, especially the new folks who recently joined/visited. You may wish to utilize this website's Search function and seek posts with the following terms: corporatocracy, or constitution, or republic, or globalization, or fascism, etc. I'm especially pleased with the three-part series on Globalization; that took a lot of work, and I believe it contains much valuable information.

If you care to visit, my new website is:
http://scott-haley.fineartamerica.com/
I've had a passion for art for several decades now, and because "Tempus Fugit", it's now that I must pursue it wholeheartedly.

Sincerest thanks to all for your support and kind remarks relative to Individual Sovereignty. From time to time, I'll try to squeeze in a post here...especially when the actions of the one-party corporatocracy are so outrageous that they beg for a scathing comment or two. (I know, that's almost every day.) :)

Be at peace...be well.

The Opium of the Masses

This may be viewed as heresy by some: voting is the opium of the masses in this beloved country. It makes us feel as if we're making a difference in a system that in essence has but one major political party, the hidden Transnational Mega Corporation Party (the TMCP).

Admittedly, there are still a few minor differences between the Democrats and the Republicans; but regarding really significant issues, the two factions of the TMCP basically are identical. Following are some (not all) of those issues---
Both Dems and Repubs support (or do not oppose):
1. continued deficit-spending;
2. a fiat money system;
3. the practice of Legislative Absolutism (see previous posts);
4. an ever-expanding Federal Government;
5. ignoring the Constitution whenever it suits political purposes;
6. unconstitutional wars;
7. extraordinary rendition (kidnapping suspects, then sending them off to countries which countenance torture);
8. infringing on natural rights under the guise of "protection and safety";
9. highly restrictive ballot-access laws, created by the Dems and Repubs to limit political competition from third parties;
10. continued raising of the Federal Debt Limit;
11. the export of jobs out of the USA, which benefits the Corporatocracy and devastates American workers;
12. continued trading with China, a country that imprisons and/or murders Tibetan monks and nuns (as well as ordinary Chinese dissenters) for their beliefs in freedom;
13. the IMF, WTO, and World Bank, all tools of Globalization and the destruction of our Republic;
14. the financial bailing out of private, mega corporations;
15. wasteful, pork barrel spending on projects that should be financed by individual States (assuming that the State voters approve);
16. accepting huge, filtered (through PACs) campaign donations from mega corporations, and then voting accordingly;
17. making back room deals with mega industries (e.g., the deal Obama made with the health insurance industry relative to the passage of ObamaCare--- see the PBS Frontline piece titled, Obama's Deal); and,
18. interventionism regarding other sovereign countries, which involves pre-emptive invasion, or assassinations, or overthrowing democratically elected governments, or attacking with predator drone aircraft without the permission of the leaders of that country.

Our national, elected leaders appear to have only two major concerns: the promotion of mega corporate Globalization, and the expansion of the American Empire. Domestic issues seem to be of little or no concern to the politicos. It is my belief that the Democrats and Republicans have more than had their chances to benefit average Americans. They have failed...and they have failed miserably. They aren't going to change their ways, if history is any indication. I think it's time to begin the long process of dethroning the two factions of the TMCP. Forget the "wasted vote" argument. That's unabashed propaganda from those currently in power. "In power" is not really accurate; they essentially are free-loading puppets of unelected rulers. The point is: they are tainted and corrupt to the core. I'm fairly sure that there are a few exceptions to that rule...but very few.

Mark these words: even if the Republicans make significant gains in this election, not much will change. The Corporatocracy will continue to rule. One could argue, I suppose, that any new political party eventually would become just as corrupt as the Dems and Repubs, but that's not a certainty. One thing that we do know for certain: the current "representative" parties definitely are corrupt, and definitely are puppets. We have nothing to lose by dethroning them and trying a new approach.