Monday, June 12, 2006

please take the time

and watch the trailer to this movie- america:from freedom to fascism. i have a feeling that it will be as eye opening for you as it was for me. thank you to sarah at an american aries for posting the trailer on her site. did you know that there is no law that can be found that stipulates that we have to pay income tax? neither did i. did you know that the federal reserve is a collection of private banks and not a federal government entity at all? watch the trailer.

12 comments:

Dardin Soto said...

I was just at Sarah's and saw it. I cant wait to go home and read it fully...
Thanks for the kind thoughts while i was away caring for the GF :)

The Future Was Yesterday said...

I've been aware of the "No income tax law for quite some time, as I watched two people be led away in handcuffs for claiming that.:) I don't recall the argument that disproves it well enough to post it, but there is one.

Re Fed Reserve: I believe that consortium of banks is just more or less a whopping deposit box, and the actual people who sit on the panel (Commonly known as The Fed) are a government agency, aren't they? I've never had enough money I had to worry about it!:)
Thought provoking post, ne'er the less. Good job!!
TUA

billie said...

no- the federal reserve is a consortium of private banks.

Anonymous said...

I didn't click through to the movie, but if the movie leads people to believe the federal reserve is "not a government entity at all", then they're dead wrong and ought to be disparaged for being zealots.

We all sat through Bernanke's confirmation hearings. Senate confirmation sounds pretty governmental to me.

billie said...

yeah- but bernanke was selected and put on a list put together by the bankers. the federal reserve bank is not a government institution. the government borrows money from the bank but the bank itself is a private institution. the president was handed the list of prospective names- he didn't pick anyone from his circle. i'll see of i can find some links.

billie said...

there's a good overview on wikipedia. it explains it pretty well- especially scroll down to 'legal status and position in government'- it was formed by the government and the board of governors is appointed by the president but other than that- it is an independent entity. it does not get federal funding and is not subject to oversight by the legislative and executive branch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve

Anonymous said...

I read the Wikipedia entry before I left my first response. You're picking and choosing in an attempt to defend the incorrect.

The beginning part of what you quoted:

"The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is an independent government agency. It is subject to laws like the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act which cover Federal agencies and not private entities."

There are plenty of criticisms leveled at the Federal Reserve (which consists of private banks), but to claim that the Federal Reserve is not a "government entity at all" when the Chairman and members of the board are appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate and when the Federal Reserve "is still subject to oversight by the Congress, which periodically reviews its activities and can alter its responsibilities by statute" is just wrong, plain and simple.

Like I said, there are plenty of criticisms - valid and long-standing - leveled at the institution. Perhaps ignorant fear-mongering draws some amount of attention to them. But in the end, it's a turn off when calls-to-concern are revealed to be little more than hot air and superficial understandings.

Exactly four minutes of reading a widely-available source shed light on the inaccuracy of that movie clip. As a reasonably intelligent person, I'm offended that anyone would attempt to deliver such a careless argument. That's not activism or political engagement. It's manipulation.

Sarah said...

Thanks for linking to me again! I got the information from another blog I read.

The website for the movie is here, if anybody is interested:

From Freedom to Fascism

Sarah said...

Taryn, maybe you should view the clip and get some more information on the movie before making a judgment on it.

From Freedom to Fascism

Anonymous said...

Sarah -

My initial problem was with my friend's false insistence that the Federal Reserve "is not a government entity at all", and with whatever media would prompt her to think such a thing.

As bandwidth became available, I did view as much of that inflammatory piece as I could stomach - that was before your suggestion that I do so - a suggestion which, I must point out, is a flimsy attempt to dismiss my valid points without actually having to engage them.

That's called propaganda, and we don't need it. With the right to speak freely comes a responsibility to at least seek truth. Those who spew uninformed nonsense ought to expect to have to defend it in a rational manner.

Those movie clips are crap.

Having dispensed this much vitriol, I feel compelled to offer an almost-heartfelt apology and brief explanation to the people who fill this blog with friendly water-cooler talk: I am not one of those people who finds insulated, self-congratulatory opining innocuous.

So again, my point is that the Federal Reserve is in fact a government enterprise. Its relative independence is worthy of careful review, but it is wrong - factually and morally - to insist that it operates without any government oversight whatsoever in order to fan the flames of hysteria.

Sarah said...

Taryn, don't get snippy with me. I simply asked you to watch the trailer before composing an opinion. No doubt you had your OWN bias before even watching the video, so who is the fool here?

Everybody is entitled to have an opinion, no matter what YOU think about it, OK? Not only that, you are looking for a fight where one doesn't exist. A bit paranoid, aren't we?

Exactly what "valid" points did you make? I didn't see anything backing them up. Get off your high horse, OK?

If you're really angry about it, I suggest you contact the maker of the documentary, Aaron Russo.

Now, why don't you drop the self-righteous attitude and get over whatever baggage you carry around?

This conversation is over, because I have no need to waste more of my time on you.

Sorry betmo, but I won't be hanging around here anymore. You seem to attract an angry crowd.

As far as I'm concered Taryn, YOU need to apologize for your idiotic behavior. Or do you enjoy picking fights with people you don't even know?

Spadoman said...

Cool! Cat fight.