Because I get bored every now and again, I do research on politics... it's a hobby of mine I suppose, watching people like Bill O'Reilly, Michael Moore, Bill Maher, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Christopher Hithens, and the rest of them "opinion people" arguing with each other.
So I keep hearing about the US economy, and how it's doing so bad, and all this, "we're on the verge of another great depression" talk, and how China's economy is flourishing. So I started to wonder, how can this be? I mean, from what I'm seeing in real life experience, America still rocks, and life is so easy. Money is flowing, and business seems good. And China just seems like such an awful place to live... how is their economy doing so much better than ours? It makes no sense.
So I decided to do some research, and what I found out was quite horrifying.
A few years back, someone on this forum I believe, posted a link to a video called "America Freedom to Fascism," by a filmmaker named Aaron Russo. I found it interesting, even though back then I didn't really get EVERY detail of it. But upon doing my research, it started to come together and make perfect sense. The documentary can be found here, if any of you wanna check it out after reading this.
http://video.google.com/v...id=-1656880303867390173#
Now, here's what I got from my research outside of this video...
In 1913, the Federal Reserve was put in place, from what many people to claim to be illegally. The Federal Reserve despite its name, is a completely PRIVATE bank, and has NOTHING to do with the US government. Basically, its as "federal" as "Federal Express" as many like to say.
Now, many people believe that the US government prints its own money that is backed by gold, and that inflation is caused by them printing more money, and can be prevented simply by NOT printing more money. This has not been true since the Federal Reserve was put in place. The US Goverment does not print money. The Federal Reserve does.
So let's say, its 1913, and just to make the explanation simpler, we'll say that no money exists in the United States. So let's get it started. We'll print say, ten billion dollars. So the government goes over to the Federal Reserve and says, "We need ten billion dollars."
Federal Reserve says, "Okay, here's ten billion dollars," and they print it out from thin air, and loan it to the US Goverment. In return, the US goverment prints "bonds" and they exchange these. The bonds are basically receipts for this loan. And now, the US Goverment is ten billion dollars in debt to the Federal Reserve. Oh yeah and get this, that ten billion is loaned AT INTEREST! Now a loan that big, first of all is designed to never be paid back. Typically when you take out a loan for a house, the time it takes to pay it back, on top of the interest, typically results in the debtor paying back several times the value of what was loaned to them in the first place.
And so, now the Government has ten billion dollars to spend on whatever they want, schools, postal service, military... whatever the hell the government spends money on. YAY! So where does this money go? Well, in a bank of course. So lets say they deposit it into a Chase bank account. Now Chase has ten billion dollars sitting around in their bank.
Now let's say I, Silv, roll along to Chase, and need to take out a loan to make a down payment on a house, or start a business, or whatever... and I go over to Chase. Chase bank can loan out 90 percent of whatever money they actually have. So of that ten billion laying around, they can loan out nine billion to me. So lets say I take out a loan for nine billion. There it is. Nine billion dollars for ME! YAY! However, that money doesn't come directly out of the governments deposit. Since that belongs to the government, and all the other money laying around belongs to other clients. So where does this money come from? You guessed it, they issue it out of thin air. How do they do this? Well, for the most part, it's issued to me electronically, whether I get a direct transfer into my bank account, or a check to deposit into some other bank account. But I never actually see the money in my hand.
But wait a second? That money the government took out was loaned at an interest rate, and that interest keeps on building up. And that nine billion that Chase produced out of thin air is also loaned at an interest rate. So where does that money come from to pay off the interest? You guessed it, it DOESN'T exist.
Now, during the Great Depression it was difficult to start businesses. But now with a central bank issuing money in place, it became easy. Let's say Joe Business rolls along, looking to start a business. He goes over to the bank, takes out a billion dollar loan, or however much he needs, and he writes up receipts for this debt. Now, the stock market is much more complicated than this, so this is basically how it's broken down into plain English. Debt = Some type of ownership. If you loan money from a bank, you have to put down something as collateral. So if you eventually can't pay off this debt, and declare bankruptcy, they get something from you in exchange for the losses. So if I take out a loan for a house, and then can't pay off the debt, they take my house. So in a sense, as long as you're in debt, you don't REALLY own your house. The bank does until you pay it off. And these debts and interests are designed so that you're virtually paying off debts for a lifetime or more.
Now, in the case of a business, someone else can roll along and basically "invest" in this debt. The bank creates these stocks and bonds, and other securities, and someone can roll along and buy them. So what's the point of spending money on these securities known as stocks, bonds, shares, etc? You're basically buying a piece of that debt, at an interest rate, that is coming back to you. So now, not only do you own a percentage of that business, but you are gaining income from that debt at an interest rate.
So where does the common worker fit into this? Well, the business owners who obtained this money through debt obviously need workers for their business, and so that's where the common American worker comes in to get a cut of this flowing cash.
So what happens if all the debts were eventually paid back? It would all eventually go back to the source of all this money, the central bank, the Federal Reserve, and then no money would exist in circulation. However, the opposite end of this, would be, that eventually EVERYONE will go bankrupt. The way the system is designed, is like a game of musical chairs. There isn't enough money in existence to go around to everyone the more it inflates.
So now you ask yourself? All that interest, and money created out of thin air from lower banks for loans... how could it just NOT exist? I mean, if it HAS to exist for it to be circulating? The answer is, it's all electronic. In fact, only 3% of America's currency actually exists in the form of solid money.
Now, adults on this forum, who work, live on their own, and pay bills, rent, mortgage, etc. take a look at your money. When you get paid by your employer, you aren't paid in cash. You get a check. This check is taken either to a bank, or directly put into your bank account via direct deposit. From there you pay your bills online, or via check, but it's all electronically. In fact, when you go out to the city for a good time, how much actual CASH do you carry on you? Twenty, thirty bucks? You just use your credit or debit cards, because it's safer than carrying around a huge wad of cash. If you make 10 grand, 40 grand, or 100 grand a year, how much of that money do you actually hold in your hand over the course of the year?
And hey guess what? In 1933, just twenty years after this new system of money was created, the US government DID go bankrupt. Just goes to show how much of a failure the system was. So what happened? Well, two things... the US government needed collateral. That is when they turned in all the gold backing their money, and created Social Security.
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Now, another reason our economy is failing is because the US produces and exports virtually NOTHING anymore. We lend out money to countries with major exports that we need, such as grain or oil, and basically use that export as collateral. Once we lend that money at an interest rate, and know that they can't pay us back, we cut deals to lower interest in exchange for their exports at RIDICULOUSLY low prices. I'm talkin like, 10% and under. So why is virtually every product we buy in America "made in China" or "made in Taiwan?" Because our manufacturers go overseas, to set up sweat shops in these countries that are either A.) exporting them for dirt cheap because of their debts to us, or B.) have no debt, but because of their lack of labor laws, can pay the workers virtually NOTHING and make them work 18 hours a day. Or C.) both of the above.
That is how much these workers are abused, so much that GOING OVERSEAS, and having massive export operations take place, to be sold back to the American people, is RIDICULOUSLY cheaper, than manufacturing it in the US, where there are minimum wages, workers' unions, rights, etc. Nothing is manufactured in the USA anymore. So yes, the business owners pocket a LOT over others' misfortunes, but it hurts our economy even more.
And so that is why our economy is failing, and Communist China is "flourishing." Not because the common people have more, but because their system is set up to sustain itself indefinitely, while ours is set up like a game of musical chairs, where we will all one day find ourselves homeless, while the rich elite pocket off of our misfortune. Because here's a fact... 40% of the world's wealth is owned by less than one percent of the world's population. More than 50% of the world's population lives off less than the equivalent of 2 US dollars a day. That puts someone like me, working at Dunkin Donuts in the US, probably in the top 70% in the world.
President Obama has done nothing to fix this problem. Because, well, the only way to solve this problem, is to shut down the Federal Reserve, and go back to a gold backing system. Before the Federal Reserve came into place, between the time the US was formed, all the way to the late 19th century, inflation went up by only 50%, only because more money was being produced during the civil war. This means that in over 100 years, the value of a dollar, was only brought up to $1.50. Since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, until now, a dollar now, is equal to two cents back then.
It's a pyramid scheme that eventually sucks everyone dry, and puts more wealth into the pockets of the bankers, and Wall Street, and it is destroying our country. The bankers of the Federal Reserve, own virtually every business and home in America. Competition is an illusion. Through "parent companies" tied up in the stock market, what you think are rival companies are actually all under the same roof. To name some familiar ones, Gamestop and EBgames are both the same company. The Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Hot Topic are all the same.
This is also the reason you will NEVER hear about the failure of this system in the news. EVERY single outlet of the media, every TV station, newspaper, magazine, radio station, Hollywood studio, record company, you name it, is tied to FIVE parent companies. They are General Electric, Disney, Time Warner, News Corporation, and Viacom.
http://www.nowfoundation....ons/tv/mediacontrol.html
Competition? It's all fake. All of these five companies are tied into Wall Street, which means they are owned by the banks. You will always hear about the economy doing poorly on TV, but you'll never hear about how it works, and why it's failing, because the banks, who own and regulate the economy, own and regulate the media. And sadly, because of this, they own and regulate our politicians.
Let's face it, unless you're a mom and pop shop, you are owned by some type of parent company through a pyramid scheme that is owned by these elite bankers. So the money sponsoring Presidential Campaigns is all brought to you by Wall Street and the Banks. And we live in a "stupid country" as Bill Maher likes to call us.
Please observe these two short videos on America and stupidity...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKIgjhCD_KM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5p3OB6roAg
These sadly, are the giant bulk of the American who vote in elections, who really think that whether they vote Democrat or Republican really makes a difference. It's all just a show, a popularity contest. It seemingly didn't matter whether we got Obama or McCain. Obama won, and we are still in Iraq, and have sent 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, even though Osama Bin Laden has slipped away to either Saudi Arabia, or Pakistan(two nations that are our allies, that support terrorism), has expanded on the Patriot Act, which is an abomination to our constitution, and has continued bail-out plans for the bankers. In fact, his entire cabinet comes from Wall Street.
And what does the mainstream media focus on? The Bipartisan Health Care summit! Obama's doing a great job according to mainstream media, aside from FOX of course, who perpetuates the entire, "Left vs Right" illusion against the "righteous" MSNBC. The fact of the matter is, everything said on mainstream news is regulated by the parent companies that own them, who are in turn, owned by the banks. Obama won because he was a pop star icon, but nobody pays any attention to what he's actually getting done. Instead, the media goes nuts over pictures of Obama on the beach!!! WITHOUT A SHIRT!!!! Look how COOL this guy is!
We need to put issues such as abortion, gay rights, the legalization of pot, and even health care at lower priorities, until we first understand the real problems that are crippling, if not, destroying our country.
1.) Our economic system. It is NOT capitalism. It's trickle down economics, a pyramid scheme, and a system of eternal debt that slowly but surely shifts all of the wealth into the pockets of the few elite. They control the country, and most of the world, and we don't even realize it.
2.) Our foreign policies that in turn, require the US government and other countries to lend money from central banks, and kill us all.
That's right, it's all just a game. We fought for independence from the British for a great number of reasons. One of the biggest reasons was that the 13 colonies started to create their own form of currency, and the British government didn't allow it, and instead forced us to borrow money from a central bank at an interest rate, which is exactly what is going on now. Which is something that they all knew, would in turn ruin them, and tried to free themselves from. Central Banks have tried to rise up in our nation before but were shut down, most notably during Andrew Jackson's presidency. What we fought against to create this country, and what we've been fighting against SINCE the formation of this country, has already taken over. And it's all a circle. A somewhat comical example is how the French, in order to aid the 13 colonies, against the fight against the British, needed to borrow money. They borrowed money from the Dutch, who borrowed money from Spain, where in turn, went back to being borrowed by Britian. So the British in a sense, funded their own loss of the 13 colonies.
When the United States was formed, we were formed on a foreign policy, that basically said that we would NOT interfere in another country's internal affairs. Meaning we would not overthrow one government just to install a new one of our own, and secondly, that we would not form any military alliances. We can be friends with countries, and do business and trade with them, but when they went to war, it was not our place to take sides. Our military was formed only for the purpose of defending our homeland.
It is sad to see how this country that we were raised to believe was so great, has lost its way.
If you truly believe that these "terrorists" hate us because we are rich, and free... "THEY HATE US FOR OUR FREEDOM!" ...then you are truly lost. They hate us, because ever since the end of World War 2, we have been overthrowing and installing new governments all over Middle Eastern Muslim countries, and supporting Israel, which was only created by the British to provoke conflict. We've had US military occupying, attacking, and bombing middle eastern countries for the past several decades, all of these conflicts had nothing to do with. The rise of Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban, funded by and supported by the US to prevent the Soviet Union from getting oil lines from the Middle East. The overthrowing and installment of several governments in Iran, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf. We've brought into power so many leaders, and then declared them our enemies within the same decade so many times over. We brought the first Shah of Iran into power in 1953, OVERTHROWING A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED LEADER! (so much for spreading democracy, we even supported a dictator over a democratically elected "man of the people" in Vietnam). We supported Saddam Huesein against Iran in the Iran-Iraq War, only to turn on him in the Persian Gulf.
Middle Eastern countries have been under attack by the United States for DECADES. In the recent Iraq war, over 1 MILLION Iraqis dead. The people or Iraq, and Afghanistan, who we are trying to "free" live in a state of fear every day. Now I'm not a personal fan of Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, or really any world leaders, but look at all the blood we've shed compared to them. The United States is at war, and yet, the American people sit comfortably, undisturbed in their homes, enjoying their Cable TV, and their McDonald's and XBox, with our running water, heated houses, and grocery stores at every corner. While these people fear for their lives every day. Makes you wonder who the REAL terrorists are.
But hey... Britney Spears was caught without any underwear on while chillin' with PARIS HILTON! TOP NEWS STORY!!!!!
Makes me kinda sick.
There is certainly no shortage of material to consider here, but I shan't attempt to go through it line by line. Rather, I'd like to focus on a few specific points you raised:
"And hey guess what? In 1933, just twenty years after this new system of
money was created, the US government DID go bankrupt. Just goes to show
how much of a failure the system was. So what happened? Well, two
things... the US government needed collateral. That is when they turned
in all the gold backing their money, and created Social Security."
Okay...so what I'm supposed to discern from this is that the government foolishly repaid its loans to the Fed and then created Social Security to mollify the working class? The Fed was restricted from printing too much money not backed by gold as it was at the time; some economists believe that was itself part of the problem. If there is a causal argument here, I am afraid I do not see it.
"That's right, it's all just a game. We fought for independence from the
British for a great number of reasons. One of the biggest reasons was
that the 13 colonies started to create their own form of currency, and
the British government didn't allow it, and instead forced us to borrow
money from a central bank at an interest rate, which is exactly what is
going on now. Which is something that they all knew, would in turn ruin
them, and tried to free themselves from."
Please enlighten me as to why this of all things would bother the Patriots and especially the Founding Fathers. Most of them were quite rich already and could have benefited from such a measure of stability. Most of them were students of Steuart, who saw money as a versatile tool. Hamilton borrowed heavily from Steuart when he decided to monetise American debts; Adam Smith suggested the only way to do things was to save every penny until you could get foreign credit. Rather than do that, Hamilton felt the only way to finance the development of the United States was secure loans straightaway, for Smith's route would have taken too long. In essence, it was a practical application of Sir Robert Walpole's sinking fund trick to restore credit to England after the South Sea Bubble. I could go on about this, but my point is this: Hamiltonian economic thinking was in fashion when the Fed was created. The same kind of thinking that raised the overall standard of living in all countries that adopted it (as opposed to mercantilism) is the same thinking embodied in the Fed. I'm not certain that the Federal Reserve Board should be such a target of wrath as much as the politicians practising voodoo economics in the last thirty years.
"...Israel, which was only created by the British to provoke conflict."
Do you really believe that a bunch of us Brits said, "Oh, this total breakout of peace after the most horrific war in human history simply won't do. I have a smashing idea; why not stir up controversy in the Middle East and then pop by in another few decades to see if the chaps there are having a dandy time?"
The idea may have been idealistic, naive, foolish, and many other things besides, but if you say that the creation of Israel was done purposefully to generate strife, I expect evidence.
"And what does the mainstream media focus on?"
Here, I agree. Unfortunately, this is a two-way street. Intelligent people who are keenly aware of sociopolitical and economic ramifications of poor policymaking are always in the minority, as are the virtuous citizens in general. The people in the grand majority don't give a fig until someone takes something from them. Until then, it really doesn't matter to most people. Hence, you have the media spiralling farther out into the abysses of irrational debate, framing issues in very black and white terms, or otherwise not paying the slightest bit of attention to real issues. If the media actually talked about what's important, no one would pay them any attention.
Consider this: politicians are beholden to big corporations because the big corporations are major donors to political campaigns (now with added vigour thanks to some poor legal thinking on the part of the Supreme Court a month or so ago). Politicians therefore write legislation that benefits the corporations, allowing such practises as you described about America's lack of exports. The media does not report on this, since they are corporations themselves. The citizens, generally too self-obsessed to see anything other than their own problems, don't involve themselves in politics enough to make good decisions. Thus, there is little demand for the media to do much investigative journalism on politics. At the same time, the citizens' political apathy basically translates to voting in the same delegates to the government, in part because of the belief that, "Oh, they're all the same anyway." If the citizens went out and actively helped sponsor candidates with fundraising and public awareness, the corporations' role in politicians' campaigns would diminish, and the whole system would flip back to the ideal envisioned by Washington, Adams, and Madison. So yes, it is the media's fault, for giving the public exactly what it wants. But perhaps most insulting is that, at least in America, politicians are most likely to go when some sort of sexual scandal is revealed. It has no bearing on a statesman's ability to govern, but some bizarre streak of puritanical values makes that one thing--not modifying the Constitution with the appointment of recalcitrant justices, not writing oppressive tax codes, not pursuing foolish foreign and economic policy--anathema to American voters.
To say the least, it weighs heavily on me as well, but I'd like to think that the whole thing can be solved in some way other than pursuing Jefferson's proto-Trotskyite route of regular revolution.
When did Ron Paul make a Yuku account?
these people arent after truth or justice or peace, they're just pretending to be philsophers while poisoning people for rating. you can watch them with a beer in your hand just for laughs.
but dont take anything they say seriously. they are just playing people. we love drama, that's why reality shows are cool.
these guys are just entertainment dont let them mess up your brain.... its crap talk like theirs that makes pychos and killers.
"the American people sit comfortably, undisturbed in their homes, enjoying their Cable TV, and their McDonald's and XBox, with our running water, heated houses, and grocery stores at every corner. While these people fear for their lives every day"
ha ha americans are cute.
why do you always assume no one lives like you?
ha ha americans are cute.
why do you always assume no one lives like you?
I'm not saying no one else lives like us. I'm saying that we're at war, when we're not even under attack. Look at both opposing sides. The United States and Iraq. In Iraq, you have over a million dead. Here, we're living like nothing's going on. We just kinda talk about being at war.
"And hey guess what? In 1933, just twenty years after this new system of money was created, the US government DID go bankrupt. Just goes to show how much of a failure the system was. So what happened? Well, two things... the US government needed collateral. That is when they turned in all the gold backing their money, and created Social Security."
Okay...so what I'm supposed to discern from this is that the government foolishly repaid its loans to the Fed and then created Social Security to mollify the working class? The Fed was restricted from printing too much money not backed by gold as it was at the time; some economists believe that was itself part of the problem. If there is a causal argument here, I am afraid I do not see it.
So how was having a gold-backing system, and restrictions on the Fed from printing too much money part of the problem? This would prevent inflation, restrict power of the Reserve, and reduce debt.
You also have to realize that the income tax was imposed on the American working class simply to help the government pay off the debts to the Federal Reserve. Before the Federal Reserve Act, there was no income tax. And any working class American knows how much an income tax takes out of your pockets. A bi-weekly paycheck of mine alone, takes out about $150 dollars of a $650 check. Imagine what I could do with all that extra money in my pocket? When we had the gold-backing system, before the Fed, and before income taxes, we didn't NEED Social Security.
Do you really believe that a bunch of us Brits said, "Oh, this total breakout of peace after the most horrific war in human history simply won't do. I have a smashing idea; why not stir up controversy in the Middle East and then pop by in another few decades to see if the chaps there are having a dandy time?"
The idea may have been idealistic, naive, foolish, and many other things besides, but if you say that the creation of Israel was done purposefully to generate strife, I expect evidence.
Well, if I was to go on about the significance of oil in the middle east, and all the ties that US, and European oil companies have in the middle east, I'd have another essay on my hands. But there has been radical muslim conflict going on in the Middle East since biblical days... any fool and his mother would have known that creating a Jewish State on one of their holiest lands was a disaster waiting to happen. It was a mere attempt to establish an extension of ourselves in the Middle East, because we had no strong alliances int the Middle East, some shaky relations at best with Pakistan...
I could honestly only speculate that one specific point. But the dots are there to connect. We have been overthrowing and installing so many new governments in the Middle East? Why? What is so special about this place, that we need to interfere so much, as opposed to all the conflicts going on in say, Africa? Over sixty percent of all oil wells are in the Middle East. Most governments we've overthrown and installed were centered around oil interests. Every government we've overthrown in the Middle East just happened to stand up for their countries and refuse to sell their oil to us at thieving rates. Mohammad Mosaddegh, and Saddam Hussein alike. We brought Bin Laden into power, and armed the Taliban to fight off the Soviets, because they were trying to seize control of the oil in Afghanistan.
Remove the oil, and the EuroAmerican interest in that area goes with it. While I can't find any specific quote from any politician who'd be stupid enough to say, "We put Israel there as an extension of ourselves because we are interested in their oil," the dots are there. Connect them.
I suppose it is a pretty strong speculation to make, but every war decision based on oil interests was always masked with good intentions. Saying that we had to support the people of Kuwait against the eeeevil, Iraq, and protect Afghanistan from the Soviets... or the biggest lie of them all, spreading Democracy. If that were ever the case, then we were on the wrong side in Vietnam, and we'd love Mohammad Mosaddegh, instead of killing him. Just a thought.
What really sickens me, not only is that we kill millions for oil interests, but that we can so easily, cheaply, and efficiently supply power for the entire country through alternate means. Many alternate energy supplies are ridiculed by the mainstream media as inefficient. Yet installing a solar panel on the roof of your house would completely take off the grid. Hydroelectric energy has proven to be just as effective in powering cities and counties as oil-based power plants. Now we don't have enough water access to have dams power the entire country, but engineers have been looking into harnessing this energy in the ocean as well. If properly funded, these groups could supply power for the entire coastline of the country. Studies have shown that even WIND energy could be efficient enough to power large portions of the US if harnessed in the "tornado alley" states. Then of course, I keep hearing that the "best" is geothermal energy, but I don't know enough about that to even discuss.
If we properly invested in alternate forms of energy, we'd have cleaner, cheaper, and virtually unlimited energy. And we wouldn't need to obtain this energy overseas, or cause any bloodshed over it.
The whole concept of US companies manufacturing goods overseas, is merely for personal profit of business owners. Even though they could still make millions, if not, billions, setting up in the US, it's just that much cheaper to work other people, in other countries like slaves, where they don't have worker's rights. How's that for American?
These issues seem so black and white when you really study them. If we:
-Removed the Federal Reserve and went back to a Gold-backing system, we would not be living in a debt-based system, and would never have to worry about the crash of the American Dollar.
-Set regulations on American industries manufacturing in other countries, which basically screw over the American people out of work, and impose slave-like conditions on foreign workers to fill the pockets of a select, wealthy few, we would be more self-sufficient, have more jobs, and have a much more flourishing economy.
-Invest in clean, alternate energy sources. We wouldn't have to sink into even more debt to finance wars for oil, or depend on other countries for our energy. This would also create more jobs in America, and be MUCH better for the environment. It's all pros, and no cons.
-Created a new foreign policy that would have us never interfere with a country's internal affairs, and created business alliances, rather than military.
-Protected the constitution at all costs. It seems that since the Civil War, the Constitution has become more of a rough guideline rather than the basis of our Government, and since then, it has slowly but surely grown more and more obsolete. I truly believe that if the bankers have their way, and create the Amero, (which will most likely be plastic), the Constitution will completely cease to be. And while I do believe there are pros and cons to every system of government and economics, I truly believe that the constitution, and the Bill or Rights, are nothing but GOOD things that need to be upheld.
The outcome of all of this, would fix a great deal of the biggest problems this country faces. We'd be flourishing economically, our standards of living would skyrocket, and we wouldn't be in the crosshairs of other nations the way we are now. We would then be a country that leads by a GREAT example, and maybe, just MAYBE then, we'd have the right to call ourselves the best country in the world.
couldnt read the rest of your post after reading this part. cause i fear for whatever braincells i have left.
these people arent after truth or justice or peace, they're just pretending to be philsophers while poisoning people for rating. you can watch them with a beer in your hand just for laughs.
but dont take anything they say seriously. they are just playing people. we love drama, that's why reality shows are cool.
these guys are just entertainment dont let them mess up your brain.... its crap talk like theirs that makes pychos and killers.
Well, if you read the rest of the post, you'll realize that little to none of it has anything to do with their views. I understand that they're all just entertainment, but they're sort of what got me into politics. The fact that they're entertaining, and they MAKE politics entertaining. Of course, I'd urge everyone to look past the foolish poker game between the Democrats and Republicans, that they all trick us into believing is the major issues this country faces.
Consider this: politicians are beholden to big corporations because the big corporations are major donors to political campaigns (now with added vigour thanks to some poor legal thinking on the part of the Supreme Court a month or so ago). Politicians therefore write legislation that benefits the corporations, allowing such practises as you described about America's lack of exports. The media does not report on this, since they are corporations themselves. The citizens, generally too self-obsessed to see anything other than their own problems, don't involve themselves in politics enough to make good decisions. Thus, there is little demand for the media to do much investigative journalism on politics. At the same time, the citizens' political apathy basically translates to voting in the same delegates to the government, in part because of the belief that, "Oh, they're all the same anyway." If the citizens went out and actively helped sponsor candidates with fundraising and public awareness, the corporations' role in politicians' campaigns would diminish, and the whole system would flip back to the ideal envisioned by Washington, Adams, and Madison. So yes, it is the media's fault, for giving the public exactly what it wants. But perhaps most insulting is that, at least in America, politicians are most likely to go when some sort of sexual scandal is revealed. It has no bearing on a statesman's ability to govern, but some bizarre streak of puritanical values makes that one thing--not modifying the Constitution with the appointment of recalcitrant justices, not writing oppressive tax codes, not pursuing foolish foreign and economic policy--anathema to American voters
This couldn't be any more spot on. And this is by far the biggest flaw of our country. We are supposed to be a self-governed state, where the government works for the people, not the other way around. However, if the people even cared enough to be aware of the things going on in their government and business, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in right now. Which I'll even predict, the worst is yet to happen economically. On that note about Ron Paul, he seems to be the only politician who takes this imminent collapse seriously. By constantly bailing out the banks and corporations, sure, you are solving the temporary problems at hand, but only making it worse in the long run. This whole system of debt that roots to the Federal Reserve is like a heroin addiction. We become "dope sick" from our debt, and are put into financial problems, so we just borrow another trillion to solve the problem, and get our fix, and attempt to "stimulate" the economy, when we fail to take out the root of this problem. The Federal Reserve, the credit system, the stock market, is the heroin, it's the drug.
Bankers set up the system, because they KNEW it would give them all the power in the world.
"Give me control over a nation's currency
and I care not who makes its laws." -- Baron M.A. Rothschild (1744 - 1812)
"The real truth of the matter is, and you and I know, that a financial
element in the large centers has owned the government of the U.S. since the days of Andrew Jackson. History depicts Andrew Jackson as the last truly honorable and incorruptible American president." -- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, November 23, 1933 in a letter to Colonel Edward Mandell House
"Bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money and control credit, and with a flick of a pen they will create enough to buy it back." -- Sir Josiah Stamp, former President, Bank of England
The simple fact is debt = slavery. As long as you offer collateral to your debt, you don't truly own anything. And through the stock market, the banks own virtually every business in this country, and through our personal debts, they own nearly ever house, and car.
The analogy to a heroin addiction is just perfect. We started the Federal Reserve system, and systems of credit, and stocks, and bonds, thinking it was a great thing, just like some beautiful drug. But through the system, debt can only escalate, and the value of the dollar can only shrink. We find ourselves in debts we can pay, both the American people and the US government. We become "dope sick." The only way to shake off this "dope sick" is to get more drugs... borrow more money. It temporarily solves the problem. We no longer feel "dope sick." We have the money to clear the deficit at hand. But because we created more debt, that deficit only gets bigger. So we take more drugs, borrow more money, and it continues until the drug kills us, and we're all living on the streets and lose everything we thought we "owned" through this "spectacular" economic system.
as for living like nothing is going on, that's how everyone is, if you really care you'd sell your computer and use the money to help people.
but you wont, cause that's not life. you can't give your good life in place of someone else's. cause you can't solve everyone's problem. and trust me no one will do it for you.
as for the rest of your discussion again i hardly read it, cause i know what its gonna say. you're young and have a lot of energy and want to believe in something and support it...... but at your age your judgement is questionable. you still havent mastered the ability to see things for what they really are.
you need to correct your thinking, don't talk about other people like you know them when you dont.
unless you have talked one on one in these issues with people from the different backgrounds you're discussing and listen to them you will never say anything out of truth.
read your posts again, i'm sure you dont mean it but you do seem a bit disrespectful toward other races. its a sign you need to learn more about other's cultures and history.
Please stop assuming that as a Brit, I am basically a clone of Dr No. Yes, we screwed up on the colony thing but for heavens sake that was hundreds of years ago now. We tried to be an Empire, but like all Empires it fell. The Romans couldn't keep it up, neither could we. It's in the past, ok? We're now small fry, and you're a superpower. We're ALLIED COUNTRIES! We're helping out with this Iraq war or yours despite overwhelming opposition from the public. And sometimes you even help out with ours, even if you tend to be quite late! Stop being so bloody bitter. We don't hate the Italians for having us in their empire. Or the Swedish/Finnish/whoever the Vikings were. We do kind of hate the French but that's just old fashioned rivalry. And Israel HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA oh god I have a stitch where's my tea
as for the rest of your discussion again i hardly read it, cause i know what its gonna say. you're young and have a lot of energy and want to believe in something and support it...... but at your age your judgement is questionable. you still havent mastered the ability to see things for what they really are.
don't talk about other people like you know them when you dont.
Wow. I'm not sure if the irony or the pretension is more delicious.
In Iraq, you have over a million dead. Here, we're living like nothing's going on. We just kinda talk about being at war.
That's being it's not a war, it's an armed invasion. Massive massive difference, even if the bulk of America doesn't realize it or refuses to accept it.
*Crowns himself the king of america*
*bows to the new king* 
king darkworlf, remember my loyality and give me the state of florida!
You may lord over my land's wang!
<hugs king darkwolf> YAY!
long live the king! 
Oprah is Queen of America and America's greatest hypnotist.
Oprah is Hypno-Queen.
as for living like nothing is going on, that's how everyone is, if you really care you'd sell your computer and use the money to help people.
but you wont, cause that's not life. you can't give your good life in place of someone else's. cause you can't solve everyone's problem. and trust me no one will do it for you.as for the rest of your discussion again i hardly read it, cause i know what its gonna say. you're young and have a lot of energy and want to believe in something and support it...... but at your age your judgement is questionable. you still havent mastered the ability to see things for what they really are.
you need to correct your thinking, don't talk about other people like you know them when you dont.
unless you have talked one on one in these issues with people from the different backgrounds you're discussing and listen to them you will never say anything out of truth.
read your posts again, i'm sure you dont mean it but you do seem a bit disrespectful toward other races. its a sign you need to learn more about other's cultures and history.
Funny how you say "don't talk about other people like you know them when you don't." when you also said, "as for the rest of your discussion, I hardly read it, cause I know what it's gonna say."
Who is being narrow-minded? That's like me saying, "I won't watch the documentary 'Michael Moore Hates America' in its entirety because I get what it's saying based on the first twenty minutes."
Now, there's always more to learn about other peoples' races... BUT, let's go there, let's point out where I seemed disrespectful towards other races, and how it makes my arguments wrong. Pulling the race card in a vague statement, and even admitting you didn't read the entire discussion doesn't make a solid case. You question my intelligence, and ideals, and yet provide nothing to say to argue the point other than, "don't talk about other people like you know them when you dont." Like this is some high school gossip? I am presenting problems and facts, and providing solutions and facts. Sure, I wouldn't know how to do EVERYTHING step by step. But I feel I have a general idea of where we need to be, as opposed to where we are now.
as for living like nothing is going on, that's how everyone is, if you
really care you'd sell your computer and use the money to help people.
but
you wont, cause that's not life. you can't give your good life in place
of someone else's. cause you can't solve everyone's problem. and trust
me no one will do it for you.
Yes, because selling my computer and getting 400 bucks worth of groceries for someone else is really going to make as much of a difference as me, say, using my computer further my research, and possibly come up with bigger solutions?
Give a man a fish, and you feed him once.
Teach a man how to fish, and you feed him for the rest of his life.
as for the rest of your discussion again i hardly read it, cause i know
what its gonna say. you're young and have a lot of energy and want
to believe in something and support it...... but at your age your
judgement is questionable. you still havent mastered the ability to see
things for what they really are.
And who exactly HAS mastered the ability to see things for what they really are? You? What does age really have to do with anything? Ron Paul, the guy that they're comparing me to, is in his bloody 70's. Listen, I don't have all the answers to life, neither do you, or anyone on this forum, or anyone with political power, or anyone with a lot of money, or anyone from any religious background. All I can hope to do is improve things, and find certain problems at their source.
I give many people the opportunity to discuss these things. People of all religious backgrounds, Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. I've discussed these issues with people on the far left, and right, young, and old, as old as seventy. Have I spoken to any elected officials, or Federal Reserve Bankers? No... would they even give me the time of day?
I don't mind if someone disagrees with what I say? But don't put words in my mouth, or lie based on an assumption. If you're going to make a statement, back it up. It's like some guy making a sarcastic smirk and saying "I'm not saying anything," when what he really is saying, is, "You're wrong, and I'm smarter than you." But until these statements are backed up, it's just not true. It's easy to pull the race card. Go there. I'm inviting you to. I've spoken my piece on Israel and backed it up. You've made vague statements and backed it up with nothing....complete the thought.
Edit: Basically, what I am trying to say is, if I'm wrong, enlighten me.
