After George W. Bush won in 2004, I was dumbfounded. Literally, I was unable to express my anger, disbelief and frustration with the voting public. I wasn’t sure if I was more concerned about living through another four years of this disastrous administration, or having to live among a population that was short-sighted enough to elect this man again. I believe I would have voted for just about anyone other than Bush and Cheney. Actually, I might have voted for a chimp. By the law of averages, the chimp would have made the right decision at least 40% of the time. Furthermore, everyone I knew felt just about the same way.
I had just gotten back from a little over a year in Iraq, and I knew perhaps better than others about the great lies that led us there. I was the Public Affairs Officer for a major command in charge of a large portion of Iraq, which included the better part of the “Sunni Triangle”. I sat in on meetings with most of the major players of both the American forces and the Iraqi peoples. I knew, for instance, that nobody, and I mean nobody, took seriously the “search” for weapons of mass destruction. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, our command didn’t search at all for WMD. Tips we got from Iraqis about the possible location of such weapons went largely ignored. Command meetings discussing the day to day activities and progress of the command, never included discussions about WMD. Ah, good times.
By the time I returned home, bitter and dejected, it seemed the rest of the country was also beginning to demand answers for why we had yet to uncover any WMD, any evidence, in fact, that the Hussein regime even had a WMD program. And so the election results of 2004 came as a great, disheartening and unpleasant surprise.
After an appropriate mourning period, I began to ask how this atrocity had occurred. How the American people had been duped a second time by this snake oil salesman from Texas? How could so many people still believe that Iraq had something to do with the terror attacks of September 11, 2001? How could so many people not understand that giving every American $800 during the worst budget deficit in American history was simply buying votes, with your own money no less? How could so many middle and lower economic class Americans vote against their own interests? How could anyone believe a multi-billionaire oil man was deregulating and “detaxing” huge corporations in the best interests of the working class?
And despite historical evidence screaming against it, we voted Reagan into office twice and the same with G.W. To me it defied logic and common sense. What the hell is wrong with the American population?
I asked. I asked a lot. I asked everyone I knew and many people I didn’t know. The answer that I got most often that made any amount of sense was moral and social issues such as abortion and gun control.
Sure, a lot of dupes gave economic reasons, but that could only be because they were in fact dupes and had no notion of the history of the Republican and conservative historic romance with big business, which has NEVER helped middle class America. I don’t just say these things; they are facts – all there to be discovered by anyone smart enough to read.
So, I’m left with pro-life, pro-gun, anti-evolution, pro-school prayer issues. Oh yeah, and one HUGE LIE.
I began to look into this. Despite having won 5 of the last 7 presidential elections (excluding the current Obama administration), the conservatives that working class America have put into office haven’t really done a damn thing about the issues they claim to care so much about. G.W. had the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court in his back pocket, and still made no changes to Roe v. Wade, gun control laws, or reintroduced prayer in public schools. And this does not take into account the fact that, while the Clinton White House was liberal on these social issues, it was more fiscally conservative than Reagan or either of the Bushes.
What they have done, however, is deregulate big business, cut the taxes of the richest Americans, pull the carpet out from under organized labor, castrated government agencies that protect workers and the poor and run the economies of the nation and many hard working families into the ground. And while they have been pissing on our collective leg, we are being told over and over and over again that it’s the rain of free market capitalism we feel. That these warm nourishing drops of golden nectar are fertilizing the soil of our economy by allowing big business to be free of regulation, free to earn more money which will allow them to be free to create more jobs. Really? I mean REALLY? Well, where are they? Wages have been dropping in real dollars for years. Job creation, (which by the way, GW was the first president in history to have a NEGATIVE job growth statistic) when there has been any, has been mostly in the service area (There are only so many McDonalds our country can support).
I saw a glimmer of hope when President Obama rolled over the Republican Party. But only a year later, most voters have lost the faith. Partly because he hasn’t yet miraculously put to right the financial mess that George W. took eight years to create (to be fair, conservatives had been bringing it to a boil for years before “The Decider” took the oath). But beyond not being able to perform miracles, and I believe more to the point, conservatives continue to lie! And many many Americans continue to believe it.
Every week I’m going to address those lies. Not the nitpicky little lies that politicians tell every day (though I’ll do that too, because it’s fun), but the ones that really have so many people voting their own families into foreclosures and community pantries at the local churches. I’m also going to suggest some books, movies and other media, along with my honest review of each. And some other fun stuff.
Like it? Good, give me some feedback and suggestions. Hate it? Bugger off! No, really. But maybe before you go, do some honest research about the topics I broach. You might be surprised. By the way, honest research does not include asking Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Fred Thompson or Glenn Beck how they feel about it.
In the mean time, check out this book:
“What’s the Matter with Kansas?” by Thomas Frank. Mr. Frank does a thorough job of examining just the lies I’ve been talking about today, which makes it an excellent recommendation for this week. The book can be a little dry, but that lends it a more credible voice. The research for the book was extensive and the author attributes all the facts and claims to unquestionable sources.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The Big Conservative Lie
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Twenty Main Line Middle School Students Inducted Into National Junior Honor Society (NJHS)
Devon Prep students in seventh and eighth Recognized for Excellence.
Devon Prep New inductees of the National Junior Honor Society.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Log-PR (Press Release) – Jan 02, 2010 – Devon Preparatory School recently inducted 20 Middle School students in the Junior National Honor Society (NJHS) top baby names. The new inductees are: Eighth Grader Graham Kerrigan of Wallingford, and seventh graders James Cashel Newtown Square, Malvern James Colleran, Daniel Crowe of West Chester, Andrew Hayden of Exton, John Hegarty of West Chester, Maxwell Lee of Chester Springs Andrew Loper of Newtown Square, Downingtown James Lucas, Angelo Luchetti of Downingtown, Phoenixville Nicholas Mara, Nathaniel Wayne McLachlan, Albert Emanuel Milani Drexel Hill, Jack Murphy, of Phoenixville, Malvern Pauciulo Michael J.Bailey Pollack Radnor, David Randall, of Audubon, Andrew Shannon of Royersford, Joseph Teti Berwyn, James Zakreski of Downingtown.More than just honor roll, National Junior Honor Society serves to honor students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of Scholarship, leadership, service, character and citizenship. These characteristics were associated with membership in the organization since its inception in 1929. Today, it is estimated that more than one million students participate in the activities of the NJHS. NJHS chapters are found in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, many U.S. Territories and Canada. Chapter membership not only recognizes students for their accomplishments, but challenges them to develop further through active involvement in school activities and community services….
Source: Twenty Main Line Middle School Students Inducted Into National Junior Honor Society (NJHS)
Hormonal Male Traders producing a Momentum Effect contrary to the Efficient Market Hypothesis and Rational Choice
Coates and Herbert (2008) study the role of the endocrine system in financial risk taking in a group of male traders in London. They find a positive relationship between a trader’s testosterone level and his daily Profit and Loss (P&L) and between his cortisol level and financial uncertainty, being measured by variance of economics returns and expected variance of the market. They note that rational choice is affected by the levels of the hormones. The more profits the trader made relative to his daily average the higher his testosterone became. Heightened testosterone increases a trader’s preference for risk. The process has a positive feedback, producing a financial variant of the “winner effect”. Additionally, short periods of high volatility increase a trader’s cortisol levels, which increase his motivation and his ability to focus, producing a euphoric feeling. However, prolonged period of elevated cortisol levels produce selective attention on mostly negative events and anxiety, reducing a trader’s preference for risk. Even if the number of traders is small, these hormonal effects could reinforce the momentum effect and cause markets to deviate from rational choice.
Reference
Coates, JM & Herbert, J 2008, ‘Endogenous steroids and financial risk taking on a London trading floor’, Proceeding of the National Academy of Science of the USA, vol. 105, no. 16, pp. 6167-72.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Alert: Indian Army Ready For War Against China And Pakistan Simultaneously
PakAlertPress
India is preparing for a possible `two-front war’ with China and Pakistan, Indian newspaper saying Wednesday.
The newspaper said the Indian Army is now revising its five-year-old doctrine to effectively meet the challenges of war with China and Pakistan, deal with asymmetric and fourth-generation warfare, enhance strategic reach and joint operations with IAF and Navy.
Work on the new war doctrine — to reflect the reconfiguration of threat perceptions and security challenges — is already underway under the aegis of Shimla-based Army Training Command, headed by Lt-General A S Lamba, sources told the Indian newspaper.
It comes in the backdrop of the 1.13-million strong Army having practiced — through several wargames over the last five years — its `pro-active’ war strategy to mobilise fast and strike hard to pulverize the enemy.
This `cold start strategy’, under a NBC (nuclear-chemical-biological) overhang, emerged from the `harsh lessons’
learnt during Operation Parakram, where it took Army’s strike formations almost a month to mobilise at the `border launch pads’ after the December 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament.
This gave ample opportunity to Pakistan to shore up its defences as well as adequate time to the international community, primarily the US, to intervene. The lack of clear directives from the then NDA government only made matters worse.
“A major leap in our approach to conduct of operations (since then) has been the successful firming-up of the cold start strategy (to be able to go to war promptly),” said Army chief General Deepak Kapoor, at a closed-door seminar on Tuesday.
The plan now is to launch self-contained and highly-mobile `battle groups’, with Russian-origin T-90S tanks and upgraded T-72 M1 tanks at their core, adequately backed by air cover and artillery fire assaults, for rapid thrusts into enemy territory within 96 hours.
Gen Kapoor identified five thrust areas that will drive the new doctrine. One, even as the armed forces prepare for their primary task of conventional wars, they must also factor in the eventuality of `a two-front war’ breaking out.
In tune with this, after acquiring a greater offensive punch along the entire western front with Pakistan by the creation of a new South-Western Army Command in 2005, India is now taking steps — albeit belatedly — to strategically counter the stark military asymmetry with China in the eastern sector. There is now “a proportionate focus towards the western and north-eastern fronts”, said Gen Kapoor.
Two, the Army needs to `optimise’ its capability to effectively counter `both military and non-military facets’ of asymmetric and sub-conventional threats like WMD terrorism, cyber warfare, electronic warfare and information warfare.
Three, the armed forces have to substantially enhance their strategic reach and out-of-area capabilities to protect India’s geo-political interests stretching from Persian Gulf to Malacca Strait.
“This would enable us to protect our island territories; as also give assistance to the littoral states in the Indian Ocean Region,” said Gen Kapoor.
Four, interdependence and operational synergy among Army, Navy and IAF must become the essence of strategic planning and execution in future wars. “For this, joint operations, strategic and space-based capability, ballistic missile defence and amphibious, air-borne and air-land operations must be addressed comprehensively,” he said.
And five, India must strive to achieve a technological edge over its adversaries. “Harnessing and exploitation of technology also includes integration of network centricity, decision-support systems, information warfare and electronic warfare into our operational plans,” he added.
Apart from analysing the evolving military strategy and doctrines of China and Pakistan, the Army is also studying the lessons learnt from the US-launched Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2001 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and their relevance to India. PD Agencies
Is Obama Trying to Marshal Our Own Military Against Us?
Let’s just be clear right up front. While ANYTHING is possible, I don’t believe what these writers are saying is close to happening.
There are several statements in the stories that can be backed up with facts from other sources. Some of those I have linked to with the stories. Others, especially things attributed to the unnamed military and police officers, are just too fantastic to believe without further evidence to back the stories up.
Are there any of you out there who know anything more about these stories?
(Note: PURPLE highlights indicate things that smell a bit fishy to me. ORANGE highlights indicate things that I think are possible, perhaps even probably based on other tidbits of information.)
http://www.eutimes.net/2009/12/us-forces-plan-direct-action-against-american-citizens/ U.S. Forces Plan Direct Action Against American CitizensPosted by Europe on Dec 11, 2009
“There is an event coming in the very near-term future that is going to effect the USA to its very soul,” former Kansas State Trooper Greg Everson of The Heartland USA and former host of Republic Broadcasting “Voices from the Heartland” told host Steve Quayle in a special two hour “Survive 2 Thrive” broadcast Thursday.
“What is being planned and what is coming together is a perfect storm brewing right over our heads.” Everson cited verifiable information confirmed by an active duty US Air Force Colonel, three chiefs of Police, a local Sheriff, State Troopers in 3 neighboring Midwest states and a Federal agent he has known for twenty years.
“There is being made an effort to bring together the Armed Forces of this Nation in preparation for responding to and acting against the interests of our Citizens,” Everson said. Such efforts include actions that will be so deep and penetrating that the United States will never be the same. Everson explained that the deteriorating economy combined with Federal Reserve theft of trillions unaccounted for has had a devastating effect on Americans who have had enough and the US Military expects will respond by defending what little they have left. (That much the author is correct about. We are willing to defend what’s left.)
“The American people have reached the point of total saturation due to the failure of Government to protect its borders, corruption and theft.” Everson expects that such a response has been projected by US Government computer models and believes NORTHCOM, DHS and state and local authorities will begin implementation of Operation Garden Plot and Martial Law within 45-60 days. “Civil war is precisely what this administration wants to happen,” said Everson. “And before Americans can organize themselves they will be destroyed by their own military.” (I seriously question whether our military will fire on its own civilians. Most that I know would not. Operation Garden Plot seems to be a real OPLAN. Here’s a link to one site that has documents that appear to be legit without looking too hard.)
The first signs of pacification by our own forces will not only be convoys rolling through city streets and small towns throughout the Country, but direct military action against pre-targeted areas. Data acquired in the past year by “Census workers” has been used to program military targeting computers which our own armed forces will use in the unthinkable task of fighting its own citizenry.
“It is a formula for unmitigated disaster regardless of Copenhagen, Health Care reform or anything coming from Capitol Hill,” Everson said. Steve Quayle noted his own sources who say as many as 50 million Americans are likely to be killed with gun owners, veterans and the more visible dissenters the most likely targets of deadly force. More “liberal” areas that pose minimal resistance would likely be pacified using lesser means.
One of Everson’s’ sources was quoted as having said “We have plans that if it gets bad enough we will simply commence yard farming,” (a military reference for targeted air strikes) on neighborhoods and communities in cities and states where heavy resistance is expected. A tactic designed to destroy both the enemy and the area(s) under and around the enemy. Everson suggests such horrifying events could possibly coincide with an invasion by the Chinese from the west and Mexico from the south. In any case, military, law enforcement and civilian casualties could be enormous. (Me thinks the author has watched “Red Dawn” a few too many times. However, if America were to descend into civil war (which would fit well with the Cloward and Piven strategy being followed by Obama), the Chinese, Russians, and a host of other vultures would not hesitate to pick over our carcass.)
During the two hour broadcast Quayle received an e-mail message from an undisclosed US Military source that a last minute, unscheduled meeting of Saturday December 5 has been called for all unit commanders in the region to present readiness status reports. States in the Region include Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Tennessee.
http://www.eutimes.net/2009/11/obama-orders-1-million-us-troops-to-prepare-for-civil-war/print/ Obama Orders 1 Million US Troops to Prepare for Civil WarPosted By Europe On 28/11/2009 @ 11:59 pm In North America, War
Russian Military Analysts are reporting to Prime Minister Putin that US President Barack Obama has issued orders to his Northern Command’s (USNORTHCOM) top leader, US Air Force General Gene Renuart, to “begin immediately” increasing his military forces to 1 million troops by January 30, 2010, in what these reports warn is an expected outbreak of civil war within the United States before the end of winter. (Much of that depends on the passage of health care reform, cap-and-trade, and another “stimulus.” If the voters can keep the predatory government at bay a little longer, there is hope.)
According to these reports, Obama has had over these past weeks “numerous” meetings with his war council about how best to manage the expected implosion of his Nations banking system while at the same time attempting to keep the United States military hegemony over the World in what Russian Military Analysts state is a “last ditch gambit” whose success is “far from certain”.
And to Obama’s “last ditch gambit”, these reports continue, he is to announce in a nationwide address to his people this coming week that he is going to expand the level of US Military Forces in Afghanistan by tens of thousands of troops, while at the same time using the deployment of these soldiers as a “cover” for returning to the United States over 200,000 additional American soldiers from the over 800 bases in over 39 countries they have stationed around the Globe bringing the level of these forces in America to over 1 million, a number the US Military believes will be able to contain the “explosion of violence” expected to roil these peoples when they learn their economy has been bankrupted. (Is there anyone out there who can back any of this stuff up? I’m usually someone who thinks anything is possible, but this seems far fetched even to me.)
These reports further state that at the same time Obama will be attempting to keep his Nation from violent disintegration, the tens of thousands of additional troops he will send to Afghanistan are to be ordered to Kandahar where the Americans and their NATO allies will begin their final attempt to secure their TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) pipeline, which without the Western Nations, due to their grave lack of alternative energy resources, and being cut off from these vast Central Asian supplies (which both Russia and China are seeking to insure), are warned will totally collapse.
Making the American’s (and by extension the West’s) situation even worse are new reports coming from the International Energy Agency stating that “under pressure” from the US government they have been “deliberately underplaying” a looming Global oil shortage for fear of triggering panic buying and raising the Americans fear over the end of oil supremacy because it would threaten their power over access to our World’s last remaining oil resources.
To the scariest “end game” maneuvers being made by Obama, in his attempt to protect Americas Global hegemony, is his record shattering move in plunging the United States $3.5 Trillion further into debt, and which raises the total amount owed by the United States, to its citizens and the World, to the unprecedented height of over $106 Trillion. (That figure is correct. When you add up all the money owed on all the government books, that is a much more accurate number than the $13 Trillion commonly reported.)
So alarming has Obama’s actions become (especially since they are being imitated by all of the Western powers) that the managing-director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, warned this past week that the “stimulus actions” of the West (which in essence is nothing more than the printing of money with nothing to back it up) has now become a “threat to democracy” as millions of people are expected to erupt in violence against their governments over the theft of their money and their futures. (OK. This part is verified. Here’s the link to one of several articles where Strauss-Kahn is quoted as saying things similar to what this EUOnline author has attributed to him: http://in.reuters.com/article/economicNews/idINIndia-38656120090323)
Most unfortunately for the American people though is that this IMF warning fell on “deaf ears” in the United States with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President, James Bullard, saying this week that the US would continue its “stimulus actions” because they “would give more flexibility to US policymakers”, a most absurd statement especially when viewed in the light of the unprecedented debt payments currently looming over the American economy they have no ability whatsoever to pay. (Without even looking it up, I do know that the democrats/liberals are talking about another stimulus, which the American people overwhelmingly DO NOT WANT, and which would be disastrous.)
To the ability of the West’s banking giants to save their Nation’s economies, even worse news came this week with the US ratings giant Standards & Poors issuing a warning that “every single bank in Japan, the US, Germany, Spain, and Italy included in S&P’s list of 45 Global lenders remain unsafe”, a warning which then lead to one of Europe’s largest banks, Société Générale, warning its clients to prepare for a “total Global Economic Collapse”. (Believable. There probably will be a depression before this is through, but I don’t think that makes the original assertion of this article any more valid.)
To the fears of Obama over the United States erupting into civil war once the full extent of the rape and pillaging of these peoples by their banks and government becomes known to them, grim evidence now shows the likelihood of this occurring much sooner than later, especially in new poll figures showing that Obama’s approval rating among white Americans has now fallen to 39%. A number made more significant when one realizes that the white population of the United States comprises 74% of their estimated 398 million citizens, or put more ominously in these reports as “over 220 million American people armed to the teeth and ready to explode”.
And so fearful has the white population of the United States become that upon the election of Obama to the Presidency he was named as the “Gun Salesman of the Year” by the Outdoor Wire, the US’s largest daily electronic news service for the outdoor industry, who report “panic buying” of weapons and ammunition by those fearful of the destruction of their country at the hands of man they believe is not even an American citizen and had been foisted upon them by their elite classes seeking to enslave them.
Though the coming civil war in the United States is being virtually ignored by their propaganda media, the same cannot be said of Russia, where leading Russian political analyst, Professor Igor Panarin has long warned that the economic turmoil in the United States has confirmed his long-held view that the US is heading for collapse, and will divide into separate parts.
Professor Igor Panarin further stated in his warning that “the US Dollar is not secured by anything. The country’s foreign debt has grown like an avalanche, even though in the early 1980s there was no debt. By 1998, when I first made my prediction, it had exceeded $2 trillion. Now it is more than 11 trillion. This is a pyramid that can only collapse.”
What remains to be seen, and these reports do not speculate upon, is if the citizen-soldiers of the United States will fire upon and kill their fellow countrymen during the coming conflict, but if history is to be our guide clearly shows this will be the case as the once great American Nation continues its headlong plunge into the abyss of history. May God have mercy upon all of them. (AMEN.)
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009
New Labour - desperate for a class war ?
Naturally Labour are desperate to show a class war with the Conservatives helping their rich friends and New Labour helping their poor, lower paid supporters.
The poor, lower paid have of course been the focus of the the last 12 years of New Labour in government?
Actually NO! Labour have failed to look after the lower paid. They have failed to support their union friends.
Living standards for the poor are worse now than 12 years ago.
Child poverty, despite the money spent on it, is as bad as it ever was.
Education standards are lower in state schools!
New Labour like their millionaire friends, to have (several) expensive houses, to be photographed with important people, to jump when the USA tells them to!
New Labour have no right to claim that they care for the poor. The traditional left-wing Labour MPs appear to have been sidelined!
Blair and Brown and many of their ministers would appear to be only interested in living the high life! Now the chickens are steadily coming home to roost and New Labour are beginning to understand that they have isolated themselves from almost all areas of society.
An example of Brown and Labour putting themselves before the country is the refusal of this government to stand down now and have an election.
The UK is in desperate straits. The finances are shot. The debts are huge and will take years to pay back. Public Services are being cut. Decisions are being taken a government whose focus is on surviving the next six months.
How can that be good for the UK? We need decisive action and long term decision making. Whilst New Labour hang on to power looking for ways to survive, they are putting the interests of the UK after the interests of the country!
The Economy, How Bad Is It?
The economy is so bad… That I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.
The economy is so bad…. I ordered a burger at McDonalds and the kid behind the counter asked, “Can you afford fries with that?”
The economy is so bad… If the bank returns your check marked “Insufficient Funds,” you call them and ask if they meant you or them.
The economy is so bad… Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.
The economy is so bad… Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children’s names.
The economy is so bad… A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico ..
The economy is so bad… Dick Cheney took his stockbroker hunting.
The economy is so bad… The Mafia is laying off judges.
The economy is so bad… Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.
The economy is so bad.. My GPS is linked to my bank account to make sure I can afford to go to the destination I asked for.