wake up western world

i haven't been writing much lately- haven't had much to write about. news continues to be grim and no one really wants to be reminded of that fact- least of all me. but i do read. i read around the blogosphere and in the facebook now. and, i felt i should point out something because it's something many are still not aware of

the government does not answer to the people. should i repeat? they are not listening because they answer to their corporate overlords. it really is that simple.

look, it isn't ineptitude- it's greed. these folks wanted power and the only way to get it is to crawl in bed with the folks who have the money. we are being distracted by the 'wrangling' for votes in congress for a watered down, worthless health care bill. why? because in the end, they aren't going to change anything anyway. really. our country has not changed much since 2006 when the so called left took over congress. americans across the board overwhelmingly booted out incumbents and republicans in the last election-- to send a message.

and take a look at the way things are now. i am not saying folks shouldn't fight back- i am simply saying that it's useless to tilt at windmills. you have to know what you are fighting in order to fight it effectively- and that's where most on the left lose it. many americans cling to the idea that we have an american system. that was gone with globilization hate to break it to you. we are now, one world and one world order. it's called 'multinational corporatocracy' seriously. make no mistake, there is no democracy in america. how can there be with a police state in force?

we all hear the news. we all hear about the raids and the security drills and they are going on in our own home towns. i see it here in my little upstate new york city. these are unnecessary for the country's security from outside forces- but gets us used to seeing it and believing it's a normal part of our democracy.

there are not enough people to who are ready, willing or able to start fighting this. there are still too many people in denial and the cognitive dissonance is deafening. to be honest, it isn't worth it to me to fight because there aren't many who would do the same for me in this country. we are losing our freedoms on pace with the arctic ice shelf melting and folks are still sleeping. perhaps the next generation will fight to reclaim what we have simply ceded.

mark morford

"The real truth is, we are not immune to those very things we were essentially convinced we were immune from. It's the lesson we try to avoid at all costs: the more you think you can control even a fraction of the system and the more you try to block out at least a few of the potential calamities, the more the system reveals that it's no system at all, and is actually a slapdash madhouse tinderbox of careening laws and makeshift rules and barely controlled chaos no one really understands. Neat!

No matter. We do it anyway. We carefully set up all these mechanisms, all these banking systems and savings plans and financial strategies, all these cartoonish religious beliefs and social contracts and ridiculous tribal allegiances, all to give us the illusion of stability, the false sense of security and place. How cute we are.

And we grip these illusions more and more tightly, absolutely refusing to believe what we already know, deep down: that when you finally open up your hand, there's actually nothing there. Ain't it grand?"

robert reich

"In other words, the Dow is up despite the biggest consumer retreat from the market since the Great Depression because of the very thing so many executives are complaining about, which is government's expansion. And regardless of what you call it - Keynesianism, socialism, or just pragmatism - it's doing wonders for business, especially big business and Wall Street. Consumer spending is falling back to 60 to 65 percent of the economy, as government spending expands to fill the gap.

The problem is, our newly expanded government isn't doing much for average working Americans, who continue to lose their jobs and whose belts continue to tighten, and who are getting almost nothing out of the rising Dow because they own few if any shares of stock. Despite the happy Dow and notwithstanding the upbeat corporate earnings, most corporations are still shedding workers and slashing payrolls. And the banks still aren't lending to Main Street.

Trickle-down economics didn't work when the supply-siders were in charge, and it's not working now that -- despite all their cries of "socialism" -- big business and Wall Street are very quietly in charge."

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