The greed of the 1% baffles most people. The 400 richest Americans own more than the bottom 150 million combined, yet most of the bottom 150 million Americans would be happy with economic security. While they may dream of winning the lottery, a good-paying job with a house and a car are all they really aspire to.
But multiple mansions and cars and private jets and private islands don't seem to be enough for the insatiable rich. What character defect drives them? How can they justify taking from people who have almost nothing, in order to add to their inventory of expensive belongings?
The USA is sinking,like the Titanic, but in very slow motion. We have been sinking for 30 years, but even the people in steerage have managed to stay alive. Sure, they had to tread water, but the leavings from those above them have kept them alive.
But now those in the cabins above steerage are starting to sink. They are outraged! Why are they being treated like steerage? This is wrong! They always thought that they were right up there with the first class people, just not paid quite as much.
But the first class people are cutting off the crumbs for all, causing so much turmoil that even the corporate media remarks on the surges.
What keeps the Titanic afloat? The inflated bubble, they tell us.
So the rich are using the last bits of wealth that the steerage has to keep their parts inflated. They must keep taking from those below them, or they will sink with us. It's as if our drowning screams are the air they need.
They position the police and the military between us and them, enforcing their power to take.
Even some of the police and military are starting to realize that they will be cut loose when their usefulness is through, but, like everyone else, they're hanging on to the sides of the lifeboats as long as they can.
But, as George Bush said, this sucker is going down.
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This blog is made up of diatribes by a worker who objects to the worsening conditions of labor, the environment and the attacks on our freedom and on other peoples of the world.
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Words of Wisdom
“We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality – judiciously, as you will – we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”
Karl Rove
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."
Benjamin Franklin
"Let me give you a word of the philosophy of reform. The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims, have been born of earnest struggle…. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they would oppress…." - Frederick Douglass
"[S]o long as there is one man who seeks employment and cannot obtain it the hours of labor are too long." - William Clark Roberts
Karl Rove
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."
Benjamin Franklin
"Let me give you a word of the philosophy of reform. The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims, have been born of earnest struggle…. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they would oppress…." - Frederick Douglass
"[S]o long as there is one man who seeks employment and cannot obtain it the hours of labor are too long." - William Clark Roberts
7 comments:
The really weird thing is turning on the television, which I rarely do, and watching the talking heads propose as solutions the same b.s. ideas that are sinking the ship already.
The Titanic is sinking so the Captain's table is proposing a hole drilling contest in the bilges to level the ship as it goes down.
The system we have, this capitalism of kludged laws, dodges, frauds and cheats is done. It's a game of musical chairs where the record player is broken and the fat kid who already ate the cake is playing a kazoo endlessly in the hopes that we don't find out the box is empty.
Eventually the music stops and the fraud becomes obvious to all.
wv_porighh_ too cold and too much salt.
I would like to see "buy Nothing" day extended to "buy Nothing month" or better yet, "buy only American month" (Good luck on finding anything manufactured in USA except motorcycles and landmines). The business of America is business and stopping consumption is the only effect we have, and maybe a small one at that. I remember an old Wizard of Id cartoon ... the jester comes up to the king and says "the peasants are revolting" and the king says, "I'll say".
The Evangelicals have given up their forecast of being sucked to heaven and are now talking about the coming war for God. I have lived in Mott ND, Bismarck ND, Sidney Mt. and now Albert Lea Mn and all of them contain more fake businesses than real ones. Goons for the business class, I suspect who reward them with tax deductions for gas, cars, and maybe even food for an imaginary buffet. The body politic is like a human body. It can die from external diseases although most die from the overpowering of the natural immunity by rampant growth of wild cells. I don't really care anymore what happens...my only worry used to be about my dog and now that Harriet has been poisoned, I am free of responsibilities and free to travel.
Diane Kadrmas
I like your analogies, Pangolin. Very apt.
Diane, have you ever read Catherine Austin Fitts? She talks about your theory, that some small businesses are really just laundering facilities.
I'm sorry about your dog. My sheep is also named Harriet.
Wage_ What do you think most art galleries are? They're money laundering operations. Everyone has walked into an art gallery and wondered..."who the hell buys this crap." Well, the answer is mostly that nobody buys that crap. It's on the wall as a dodge.
Mendicino California, the iconic town on California's north coast probably has more art galleries per-capita than any other place in the world. Six months of the year Mendicino is a very quiet place as the wet, rainy, season makes driving there rather risky. Yet the galleries thrive.
Very simply the IRS isn't going to go check on the legitimacy of cash deposits made by an art gallery if the taxes are paid in full. Also they don't mind is said galleries pay funds to "artists" who happen to be mostly gardeners.
It's a great scam.
Although all towns have their underground economies, I assume it takes government compliance to list fake businesses (at least art galleries have a storefront) and have fake American Legions since at least the 90's (city directory). Cheney's "Dark Side" amd Palin's "Rogue side" is widespread corruption and unaccounted money for some crap enterprises. This is my conspiracy theory. Diane
Interesting, Pangolin!
There was a used car lot at the end of my street. I passed it everyday,and noticed a purple truck that I liked.
I went there 3 times to try to look at that truck, but the guy blew me off everytime.
That's when I started noticing that the cars never changed! Same ones, for a couple of years!
Hmmm.
And Diane, what do you mean? American Legions are money laundering outfits? How does that work?
The conservatives have three doctrines - no taxes, no regulations, and defund the left. All the places I mentioned are also on the map in the middle of the Top Secret America book except Mott which had to close the zoo when the clam died. I seriously doubt lefty contributions are accounted for accurately...I found Oxfam envelopes (trash can tipped) across town from where the processing center for various left wing causes are. Cults often tell their converts that only the intelligent people can belong and then they proceed to make them stupid.
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