Sunday, November 27, 2011

"In whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the benefit of the sick" Hippacrates (400-460 B.C.E.)

When was the last time you really thought about who is benefiting from the sick? Who is being denied health care and why? Here's what Paul Krugman said, Money At The Top - NYTimes.com
The last paragraph is what got me. "denying  health care to the near poor is seen as serious deficit reduction, but taxing the wealthy is not". I'm paraphrasing, and he actually wrote "class warfare" which Paul Ryan and his insured friends are always crying about, whenever anyone says anything about taxing the 1%. I think it's crazy that people don't understand that there is a war going on and it's not in Afganistan or Iraq. It's being perpetrated in this country by those in power. These people, like Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, they are all corporate whores who get money from the health care lobbies. We are the only civilized country in the world who makes money off of sick people. Which flows right into the pockets of the 1%. It's another way to take money from the 99%, like, say, all those crap mortgages you pay for over inflated houses. And huge 28% fees for credit cards. We have a health care system which has some questionable outcome statistics and we are nowhere near where we should be with infant mortality rates. And we are supposed to be so advanced. I wonder what presidential candidate is going to be mentioning any kind of fix for the health care system other than just take medicare and medicaid away. Since they are "entitlement" programs and we aren't "entitled" to anything, except to pay taxes and just die. Health care should be a basic human right, like it is in other countries. But no one I know even questions that, and maybe, they shouldn't be giving the health care companies so much money for excessive invasive testing, procedures that are either unnecessary or just ways for a doctor to cover his malpracticed ass, don't forget the out of control infections in hospitals that only make you sicker, which of course, health care makes money from.
The best thing about not having health care is, never having to go to the doctor. Or, endless hours spent waiting for your ten minutes to say what's wrong with you and get more tests and come back for another consultation. When are people going to wake up and understand that the real soldiers in this "class war" are us. We have the power collectively to give every American decent health care. But we don't, because we've been convinced that we have to take care of ourselves, when really we are supposed to be taking care of each other.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Get Your "Puritan" On!

On this Thanksgiving day, we're all supposed to be so grateful. I am not enamored with the religious freaks that came to this country and established the puritan uptight standards we still live with today. This bible thumping attitude is prevalent with the fundamentalist culture that has this country strangled. Abortion, birth control, premarital sex, don't forget no marriage for gays, let alone just being gay. One of my favorites, the puritan work ethic. That good old fashioned self reliance. Hard work will pull you out of poverty and into your very own log cabin! (built on land you stole from Native Americans) A tradition built on thievery and genocide, the good old American way! These people came to this country because of religious persecution. Now I feel like I'm the one being persecuted. If you don't have a job, it's your own fault, if you live in poverty, well, you don't work hard enough! The latest U.S.census information shows 46.2 million people living in poverty. acsbr10-01.pdf (application/pdf Object)
That's one out of six people. Coincidentally, there are 5 applicants for every job opening, 5 Unemployed for Every Job Opening - NYTimes.com
 Good luck with gettin' your "puritan ethic" on! This country was built by a bunch of religious fanatics that even their own homeland couldn't tolerate. And now they have  the 700 Club and Fox News! 2 things I can't tolerate. (I think Glen Beck would look righteous in a big lace collar) I can't help but wonder how many people are just supposed to pull themselves up by their bootstraps today and just freeze in the streets or go hungry, because they didn't work hard enough. They must have done something to deserve it. Pass the Cranberries... What a great holiday.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Occupy The Banks

I am so pissed off about what happened to the protesters UC Davis Police Pepper-Spray Seated Students In Occupy Dispute (VIDEO) (UPDATES) 
and the absence of any outcry from any of our so called "leaders" against the brutality that's going on, right here, in the good old USA. I am so ashamed that I even voted in the last election. All of this to protect the banks who have hoarded billions in cash and gold, grinding millions of people into the ground, just like the cops with their knees on the heads of the protesters in the streets.
Anyone who has any illusion that we are not in the middle of a depression is either crazy or taking the Prozac. We need more than an Occupy, occupying, any public space. We need a plan to Occupy the Banks and grind them into oblivion. This is not going to happen the way FDR did it when he was inaugurated. He shut down the banks until he got legislation to deal with the mess they made and took the money that they were sitting on and released it into the economy. But it still took a long time for ordinary people to recover. The banks own EVERYTHING and all the politicians who in turn, own the cops. When FDR was elected he wasn't owned by anyone and he kept his promises (with this caveat, leaving African Americans in the dust was wrong! And I don't condone his behavior in that regard) We have to get over the notion that America is a place that is "fair" or "just" and everyone has a chance to pull themselves out of poverty. We also have to throw any idea of "class" out the window. If you think you are middle class you are operating under some kind of idea that you might be doing better than anyone else. We are all in this together, even if you do nothing, look the other way, or watch Fox news. If things continue, with the violent repression of peaceful protests, all to protect Wall Street, it won't be long till we are all living in the street. Even Mr.& Mrs. Middle Class. Banks will take EVERYTHING, they almost have it ALL right now. The only way I can think of, that we are going to win this struggle is through the internet, and with the idea from a couple of posts ago of a "Robin Hacker" someone or some group that can strangle the banks by hacking into them and taking everything they took from us. Then, drag all the bankers, hedge fund whores, the lot of them into the street for their own pepper spray baptism. We need unity in this movement. We need to follow the money the banks took and give it back to the people. As long as we act like there is still some kind of class system in this country, THAT keeps us separated. We will never succeed. Check this out; "A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many, and various, and powerful interests, combined into one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in the banks" John C. Calhoun said this in 1836, and still, in 2011 we are no better off! I don't want to live in a country that treats it's citizens in such a cruel manner, both economically and physically. I can't believe not one cop, not one! even tried to stop the cruelty in California, New York, and anywhere else it's going on. The day will come, when we have a country that really is free. But it is going to come at a high price, and the suffering of these students exercising their 1st amendment rights is only the beginning. I am sick with the knowledge that it is going to get so much worse. The First step in this revolution, is to get the banks.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

"Capitalism and Fascism are One Under The Iron Mask" Kenneth Patchen, American Writer (1911-1972)

The other day when I posted, I had the idea that there was way too much of a coincidence the crackdowns on Occupy in several places were completely coordinated and planned.Now I KNOW they were.http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/11/17/us-federal-defense-agencies-responsible-violent-crackdown-occupy-wall-street-protest.
 Thanks Bush for your Patriot Act, Homeland Security. And thanks Obama for reinforcing it.
There are some who say Occupy should have aligned themselves with the established political system. I say whatever "political system" we have is in ruins and we are experiencing the "Dark Age" of democracy. A complete breakdown of our former social structure. The irony about Bloomberg and the reasons for this fascist crackdown of Liberty Park, because it needed "cleaning" (implying that the Occupiers are, of course, filthy) is not lost on me. It feels so much like what Hitler used to say about Jews. That they are unclean and dirty, the way Occupiers are being described as. Now that they have been characterized (categorized) as this. What will be next? Will the poor and disenfranchised become concentrated in the future, like the ghettos in Warsaw? Will Homeland Security even need an excuse to "eliminate" any one or any group who dissents? The events of the last few days have made me question how far can the government go? I am really afraid of the answer.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Occupy Sherwood Forest

Looks like the 1% are having some success at breaking up the Occupy Movement in several cities. For now. The reasons are no camping and no sleeping in the parks the protesters are occupying. That's the best they could do. Really? Oh, and don't forget sanitation, because the protesters are sooo dirty. Like New York City isn't one of the filthiest cities in the world. If only they would take that attitude to the ghetto, and clean, maybe they could help some of the 99% there. Now Bloomberg has managed to get a mob that's on the move. That's way more dangerous than people assembling in one place. I was thinking of Robin Hood, the King was using all the treasure in England and turned the populace into paupers because of the cost of the crusades (read Iraq, etc.). Robin and his band  took to living in the forest. What did he do there? he interrupted commerce. By robbery of the rich. I think that the Occupy movement has hurt commerce and the corporatocracy is frightened. They must be having way more of an impact than even I think. I wonder how much worse it is going to get? Maybe they should Occupy Central Park. Or Occupy a national forest that has camping facilities. But that is not quite so visible. I think we might need a Robin Hacker. It looks likely that the powers that be are going to be able to shut down the right to free assembly. So instead of a "highwayman" we need an "information highwayman" to bring down the plutocracy. Just saying. And here's another thing. When the rest of the foreclosures are foreclosed upon, and we have even more homeless not allowed to sleep or camp. What's the next step? Some kind of warehousing? Like the old work/poor houses? Unless someone can take back what the 1% have. This is where we are going. 


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

I Feel So Secure We Have The SEC!

Last night while I toiled away at work I was listening to NPR, a show called Marketplace. (I'm a big fan) Any way they had a interesting comment about Warren Buffet, http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/11/07/pm-warren-buffett-bets-big-on-stocks/ 
The gist of it is, Warren Buffett does whatever he wants. And no one is allowed to know what he is doing. So there's less or pretty much no transparency for Berkshire- Hathaway. So if there isn't any for them, then how many others aren't "transparent"? So really, the SEC isn't regulating anyone because what I get, the fear is, everyone will dump stock dear old Warren dumps and create a panic, or buy what he buys, ruining things for him unless he manipulates the market in such a way that he controls what is bought  and sold and probably could ruin a company, drive prices down with a well timed leak. So the SEC are regulating by not regulating. Leaving the banks, hedge funds and companies like Bershire-Hathaway to run things. The SEC are controlling the market by controlling information. And this is a "Free Market". That's at the heart of capitalism right?  Meanwhile, people and their unsuspecting 401K's invested in the market B.S., you don't have a chance. It's all about the 1% maintaining the 1%. I realize this is nothing new especially with the banks. But good old Warren? With his "down home" everybody's grandpa image. And let's not forget his coming out with "he pays less than his secretary in taxes." (as a percentage). Like he thinks things should change! He's just one of us right? Wrong. He's not and he enjoys special privileges that aren't legal. The SEC just looks the other way. I wonder if they are looking in the direction of Tunisia? Maybe Egypt?

Sunday, November 6, 2011

"In an absolutely corrupt age, such as the one we are living in, the safest course is to do as the others do" Marquis De Sade

Jon Corzine left New Jersey and his company, the ironically named MF global (really? it's called MF?) in ruins. Millions of dollars have just disappeared. Just like millions of jobs in the New Jersey economy. Maybe we should take a look back at let's say, Governor Jim McGreevy. What a stellar individual he was. Got no problem with him being gay. But handing his unqualified boyfriend a job, and using his family as a beard, that's pretty low. Now we have Chris Christie. The republicans darling. As if there was any difference between republicans and democrats. What's his scandal going to be? Hopefully he'll drop dead from too many trips to McDonald's before he takes away every single social safety net that's left in the state. Meanwhile there's no end to the outrageous taxes you pay here. No end to the foreclosures going on, driving the price of your property down while they tax you at 2006 pre-bubble prices. These are the people that we vote for? Is anyone still living under the illusion that any of these people are serving the public? That they actually care for our welfare? I think maybe "The Situation" form the Jersey Shore show would do a better job running the state. Maybe "Snookie", she's a real fighter! I'm not sure what she would fight for, probably what she is told to fight for. Just like all the politicians! At least we'd know what we are getting. New Jersey is a mess and has been for decades. No one cares what happens to the people who live here. Just like our national government. It should be pretty obvious by now that all of those in leadership positions are all corporate whores. Just like Snookie and The Situation, no surprise there. There is no way to change things when everyone you vote for is already bought and sold. Christie is one of the biggest fundraisers out there. You can bet he's a shill for any corporation who's donated to him.
Watch him "do as the others do". The best remedy we have now is Occupy Wall Street. They are right not to have a leader. I like the anarchy. You can't trust a leader to do his job and mean what he says, those days are gone. I'm starting to believe anyone who voted for either a republican or a democrat is nothing but a masochist voting for sadists.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

What savings?

Russia decided to get out of daylight savings time and won't be turning their clocks back. I know we have way more serious problems here in the US, but really, if Russia knows this is useless why don't we? Only Conagra and Monsanto care about this, since the small farmer is basically extinct. Why don't we just use hourglasses? Does this really save anything? Russia is in darkness most of the winter. You would think if they could get some savings out of it, they would keep it. The biggest complaint about Russia getting out of DST? The US said they would be an hour and a half behind Wall Street. That is so disturbing, like Russia is worried about that sacred cow. Everyone has to bow down to the Bull! This is one thing congress could do, get us off this stupid DST that is obsolete. I use to live on a farm in Indiana and we didn't do anything to our clocks. WTF? Don't forget to feed the horses and get the tractor dusted off when we set our clocks back on Nov. 6th! It is depressing to realize that Russia even knows this is bullshit, and that's what they think of Wall Street.