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tagged w/ Big Government
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Indiana’s Tyranny: To Require the Lord’s Prayer
In keeping with the long and ignoble tradition of plastering the Lord's Prayer on every flat surface in creation, Christians in the Indiana legislature have introduced a bill to require reciting the Lord's Prayer at the beginning of every school day.In keeping with the long and ignoble tradition of plastering the Lord's Prayer on... more-
- omnipotentpoobah
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- 25 days ago
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Efficiency Drives in Government - why nothing improves | www.thepoliticus.com
Periodically, however, industry finds an amenable government and the public service is put under pressure to make the system work faster. You hear cries of ‘The system must be streamlined!’, ‘There are too many approvals needed for each project’, or ‘We need to deal with fewer departments,’ or most likely, ‘It’s taking too long and we are losing money.’Periodically, however, industry finds an amenable government and the public service is... more-
- dcherry
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- 2 months ago
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Breitbart's Slimy Efforts to Discredit Occupy Wall Street
'It’s not bad enough that right-wing media have attempted to portray the Occupy Movement as dirty hippies, lazy freeloaders, ignorant dupes, leftist traitors, godless heathens, diabolical Marxists, violent revolutionaries, and White House plants, Breitbart is adding Al-Qaeda terrorists to this list. If it wasn’t so dangerously provocative it would be moderately humorous. But Breitbart’s accusations are irresponsible and his activities may be illegal."
http://veracitystew.com/2011/10/18/breitbarts-slimy-efforts-to-discredit-occupy-wall-street/'It’s not bad enough that right-wing media have attempted to portray the... more-
- StewSteve
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- 4 months ago
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Playing The Evil Card (Ep 36)
The Negative discuss America in foreign affairs.
Robert Mardis & Trey Stancher
Shot and edited by Stuart GouldThe Negative discuss America in foreign affairs. Robert Mardis & Trey Stancher... more-
- StuArt_Gould
- added this
- 8 months ago
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Bankrupt America - The Irrelevance of the Debt Ceiling
By David P Shirk
Over the news we have been hearing about the idea of congress raising the debt ceiling. It has been pointed out that if it is not raised, then many entitlements will not be paid. On the flip side if the debt ceiling is to be raised even higher to cover the cost of all the programs that were promised, then there will be no way to meet that debt no matter what you raise taxes to. Indeed both of these options present some very serious problems.
If government entitlements and are not paid, and other contracts are not honored, then there is a very high chance that riots will indeed ensue when peoples dependency on receiving government checks is severed. However if the debt is raised to meet those contracts and entitlements for the coming year, then the amount of resulting debt extension will make the consequences for the following year more dire. Qe2 will not suffice as it still results in more government debt that we the people are bound as citizens to pay. Monetizing the debt (increasing the money supply to meet the debt), will only result in even greater damage for reasons to numerous to name.
Yet as serious as this problem sounds, it is at this point irrelevant. The amount of unfunded debt from 2010 going into this year (which is far more than merely raising the debt ceiling can cover) remains a problem that I have not even seen the news address yet (for more information on the exact amount and to whom it is owed, go to http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/pd.htm and for the exact breakdown, go to http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/feddebt/feddebt_dec10.pdf ). What you must keep in mind is that the number 4,624,007 is not expressed in the dollar amount, but rather in the millions, meaning that the real rolled over debt is 4,624,007,000,000 – 4.6 trillion.
Politicians on the hill have grown complacent to this number. After all, the same number at the end of 2008 was 4.3 trillion. So if we can continue to carry over debt from one year into the next without a catastrophe, why should they pay it any notice? Given this simple way of looking at things, it would seem like the debt can be allowed to simply continue to go up.
Yet here is the part that no politician wants to mention – how the debts were funded, and how were they rolled over. Heck, your average US subject would never even bother to go to http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/pd_sbredemptionsissuesbyseries.xls , and find out how this happens. This oversight of tracking how the debt is funded is what will cause the catastrophe. If you want a real jaw dropper as to the impending danger of what is happening, I encourage you to open the link. The amount of bonds outstanding (the money received by the government for the sale of the bonds), is not nearly enough to meet the debt rolled over from 2010 into 2011, let alone to fund this year’s budget. This is why the raising of the debt ceiling is irrelevant. The outstanding debt was 4.6 trillion – the amount of bonds it had to back it was only about 2.2 trillion, meaning that for the first time, we have 2.4 trillion dollars of debt, and absolutely no way to answer it.
In 2008 people like Peter Schiff, Gerald Celente, and Ron Paul warned of this danger. Yet so blind are most people to the nation’s economy, they laughed at them. The three people I just mentioned attempted to break the problem down into laymans terms knowing that most people would be lost if they dug into the specifics – and because people attack what they do not understand, they mocked them. The sad reality is that people missed the point of their arguments completely, and what is coming very soon is the result.
Yet those 3 (amongst many others) made 1 last warning knowing that the spending of government would not slow – and that was the danger of monetizing the debt. Monetizing the debt would mean that the FED would simply print the money into existence. Outside of running the very high risk of creating hyperinflation, there is of course another danger.
The Federal Reserve is not a government entity. It is a private banking institution owned by people who have little to do with our government. Their sole responsibility was to create a ....
http://www.peacefreedomprosperity.com/?p=3872By David P Shirk Over the news we have been hearing about the idea of congress... more-
- shanklinmike
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- 1 year ago
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- 18 comments
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"Deep Government Pockets" - End The Fed
By David P Shirk
Technology is a very useful tool, especially if you happen to be a bank or financial institution seeking to maintain control of a nation’s monetary means. Or – a government that hails such nonsense as the only way to bring about order and peace. The truth is that the wheelbarrows of inflated money probably will not happen thanks to the wonders of technology, but what is to come is far worse. The reality is that those who clamor for financial regulation fail to see how such regulation furthers government power at our expense – not the fat cats.
For instance, Qe2 (quantitative easing) has the goal of injecting 500 Billion dollars into the market. Well, that’s the common misconception anyway. Sadly, despite this insane amount of money being tossed about (nearly $1,600 for every living man, woman, and child in the US), I would bet my bottom dollar that at least a third of the US population has never even heard of it. Of the two thirds that have, about one probably thinks it is simply the treasury printing more money, giving it to banks, and the banks will simply be lending it out to we the people to help our finances. The final third is divided, but smell a rat.
The main complaint of Qe2 seems to be the all too real threat of hyperinflation. The most historic example of such a policy gone wrong was after WWI when Germanys’ currency was printed to an excess so extreme that their money became worthless. Too much money, not enough goods. Yet inflation itself has little to do with the price of goods – that is merely the result of inflation. Inflation is in all reality the increase of money supply (hence the term), and until recently, was not measured by the price difference in a gallon of milk (a layman’s example – CPI for the more savvy). Yet the idea that such a thing happening today to such an extreme as in post WWI Germany is a little misrepresented, and therefore people tend to miss the bigger picture.
First off all, we need to remember that the bulk of what is on the banks balance sheets does not exist in terms of money that can be used by anyone at a store. In other words – the money that we use in bills and coinage represents less than 10% of what the banks have on their books. This is nothing new and has been going on for well over 30 years now. So the idea that an increase of $1,600 for every living person in the US will see us all pushing around wheelbarrows full of useless paper money is a little unrealistic. It is this fact however that has caused the US in large to completely ignore the danger of inflation for as long as they have.
So a gallon of milk may have gone up maybe a 30% in the last few decades – big deal. As long as people think of inflation as the increase in the price of groceries, some may just be able to justify that. Yet houses have in most cases gone up about 300%, and they cost far more then groceries. The price of renting an apartment has also skyrocketed percentage wise versus the 30% milk. Gas? Well, we all know that one. As to incomes produced from all this money – fairly flat for the last 30 years.
By not having to print wheelbarrows full of cash to pay for houses etc., and keeping the dollar amount on balance sheets only, the banks have figured out how to inflate a currency without people ever seeing it as a real problem. So money supply has become to the average person what the Greek God Zeus would be to a Christian – a mythical being that possesses no basis in reality. If you cannot see it, then it does not exist. Computers and intranets are needed to track the billions of cashless exchanges made each day. These provide the banks with the means to shift billions of dollars around each day that simply do not exist (at least to us peons anyway). So while many of us use technology like the internet to learn and expand our horizons, the banks use it as a dangerous weapon. I think the irony of that fact can only be eclipsed by the irony that our government places banking institutions as the #1 priority when it comes to cyber protection. Using an unconstitutional institution with an unconstitutional controller funding trillions in government debt while indebting an entire nation, the FED has really outdone itself.
But that is hardly the best part.
Qe2 is not new idea, and was already tried back in 2008. In 2008 the Fed purchased 1.7 trillion in US treasury and mortgages backed securities. That did not work, and we were told repeatedly by Obama, Bernanke, Geitner, etc., that the reason why is that it simply was not enough. That was over $5,400 for every living person in the US (1,700,000,000,000/310,000,000). How did such a large amount of money get thrown around, and at the same time, accomplish nothing?
First off – note what the money actually went to – buying the debt from the government and financial sectors (the ones who hold the mortgage backed securities). Keeping in mind that the Federal Reserve funds the US treasury, prints its money, and controls it, we know that the US Government and the Federal Reserve have a symbiotic relationship. This adds insult to injury. The insult is that those who chose to live within their means have their savings diminished by a body they have no say over. The injury is that those who speak up are either labeled as simpletons for attempting to put this problem into perspective in layman’s terms, or an idiot who dares believe themselves to be smarter than the government and FED.
Second is that the FED said something quite brilliant that pretty much sums up the whole mess. Simple put – the belief of people in a policy is the reality. This is after all how they have managed to get away with robbing us blind since 1913. As long as they can prolong the consequences and create the perception that they are acting in our best interest, the FED is in affect untouchable. Naturally it is not a true statement of reality, but rather how they can even flaunt their strategy, and the majority still does not get it despite hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak. Their perception on the whole matter has created a temporary reality that in the end brings ruin to entire nations. Government says a debt based economy is a good thing via central control via the FED. Let’s break that idiocy down shall we?
Debt – something that is owed or that one is bound to pay to or perform for another; a liability or obligation to pay or render something; the condition of being under such an obligation. National – of, pertaining to, or maintained by a nation as an organized whole or independent political unit; national affairs; owned, preserved, or maintained by the federal government; peculiar or common to the whole people of a country; devoted to one’s own nation; patriotic; concerning or encompassing an entire nation.
National Debt – money owed by everyone (that by definition is patriotic to pay – gag). $14,000,000,000,000/310,000,000 peop....
http://www.peacefreedomprosperity.com/?p=3867By David P Shirk Technology is a very useful tool, especially if you happen to be a... more-
- shanklinmike
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- 1 year ago
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- 6 comments
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Feds order farmer to destroy his own wheat crops: The shocking revelations of Wickard vs Filburn
In arguing for S.510, the "Food Safety Modernization Act," there are all sorts of attorneys, legislators and internet commentators who keep claiming, "The government won't try to control the food production of small farms." They say, "Your backyard garden is safe" and that the feds won't come knocking on your door to control your seeds or foods.
As usual, these pushers of Big Government are utterly ignorant of the history in their own country. Because as you'll learn right here, not only CAN the U.S. government control and dictate to single-family farms what they can grow in their own backyards; the government has already blatantly done so!
In this article, I'll share with you the full and true story of how Big Government has already run rampant over the rights of individuals to grow their own food -- I'll even cite the US Supreme Court decision that "legalized" this tyranny.
Read More: http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2010/12/feds-order-farmer-to-destroy-his-own.htmlIn arguing for S.510, the "Food Safety Modernization Act," there are all... more-
- GLOBALPOLITICAL
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- 1 year ago
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America's Misconception of Freedom
America was founded in an attempt to escape the oppression of not only religious expression, but also the misrepresentation from a monarchist system that cared only for the proliferation and interests of the elite class. After 250 years, we have found ourselves in the same position as those who left Europe for these shores so long ago: oppressed by a system that only wants to serve itself before the citizens that support it. They say history repeats itself, and nowhere is this more evident than in the case of modern America’s politicians, putting their corporate puppet masters and damaging agenda of faux patriotism before the needs of the people.
To understand how we have been led to the erroneous conclusion that America is somehow a free nation, one must come to an understanding of what type of political system exists in this country and how it adds to or detracts from our social system as set up by our forefathers. We also must recognize the erosion of our system under the watch of the overzealous quasi-patriotism which has served to initiate the current Police State in place and growing in America.
First and foremost, it is important to understand that we do not live in a democracy as most people have been led to believe; America is a republic where we are granted the opportunity to elect representatives to make decisions for us. Our forefathers were learned enough to understand that a pure democracy was not possible in a complex society, especially the one they were setting up. In a democracy, although touted as the ideal system for freedom of the people to decide all matters of State, the minority only has those privileges granted by the dictatorship of the majority. In a democracy the sovereignty is in the group, whereas in a republic the sovereignty is in each individual person.
The problem with a republic, though, is that the inherent rights of the people are surrendered upon the casting of a vote for representation. After this action has taken place, our fate lies in the hands of politicians who, with the innate human deficiency of sin, represent our interests. This type of system was set up because the idea of a complex society deciding all aspects of government and the minority becoming unrepresented was unrealistic. The thought that we the people could effectively be served by those who are concerned not with the continuation of our liberty but with the development and proliferation of self-service has been greatly discredited by the reality of this, our modern model of representation.
To understand our freedom, or lack thereof, it is important to recognize what type of political system exists within our social structure into which we put our faith each election period. This country is currently run and controlled by a two-party system that determines for us, the “free” voters, who we can vote for. The choice of candidates is determined by the parties themselves as the proper representatives of their interests, rather than the interests of the American people. Even the self-labeled “freedom party” or Tea Party, is just an extension of this old, two-sided coin. We can either vote for the lesser of the evils, or suffer the consequence of others doing the voting for us.
Regarding words by James Madison on the American political system, Jack N. Rakove of Stanford University writes:
Madison assumed politicians . . . would be able to command the allegiance of large numbers of voters. Once in office, they would act with a broadmindedness that would elevate the very quality of public life. They would think not in terms of the immediate interests of their constituents, but of the larger public good which was synonymous with the concept of the public itself. The virtue which could no longer be expected to reside in the populace might still be found, he hoped, in its rulers.
It is clear from today’s system that this assumption was wrong. Our modern politicians are largely self-serving, and the quality of our lives is directly relative to our freedom to vote for true representation.
Read More: http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2010/11/americas-misconception-of-freedom.htmlAmerica was founded in an attempt to escape the oppression of not only religious... more-
- GLOBALPOLITICAL
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- 1 year ago
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GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING: Privacy advocates fear massive fed health database
Several privacy groups have raised alarms over plans by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to build a database that would contain information about the healthcare claims of millions of Americans.
The concerns have surfaced because the OPM has provided few details about the new database and because the data collected will be shared with law enforcement, third-party researchers and others.
In a letter to OPM Director John Berry, the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and 15 other organizations asked the agency to release more details on the need for the database and how the data contained in it will be protected and used.
The OPM “should not create this massive database full of detailed individual health records without giving the public a full and fair chance to evaluate the specifics of the program,” the letter cautioned.
Read More: http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2010/11/privacy-advocates-fear-massive-fed.htmlSeveral privacy groups have raised alarms over plans by the U.S. Office of Personnel... more-
- GLOBALPOLITICAL
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- 1 year ago
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GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING: Government Bureaucracy At Its Finest . . .
I’m writing to you from Sri Lanka, even though I’m supposed to be in Thailand today; it turns out that the government of India had other plans for me.
It all started on Saturday night; I had a flight booked from Sri Lanka to Bombay that departed just after midnight, and then a connecting flight from Bombay to Bangkok at 4:40 in the morning… yeah, I know, what kind of sadist comes up with these flight schedules?
When I arrived to the airport, though, the check-in agent informed me of some obscure rule that the Indian government enforces– if you have previously been in India on a tourist visa and then subsequently leave the country, you are not allowed to re-enter India for 2-months without obtaining special permission.
Read More: http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2010/11/government-bureaucracy-at-its-finest.htmlI’m writing to you from Sri Lanka, even though I’m supposed to be in... more-
- GLOBALPOLITICAL
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- 1 year ago
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GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING: I Don’t Trust the Tea Party
I don’t trust the Tea Party. I’m distrustful of new movements and remember how for eight years of Bush II, people who once had smaller government views suddenly abandoned those views in blind devotion of the president. I realize that it’s easy to believe in freedom for just a few years. My distrust is aided by the fact that the idea of freedom is a momentarily politically expedient idea to some.
Read More: http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-dont-trust-tea-party.htmlI don’t trust the Tea Party. I’m distrustful of new movements and remember... more-
- GLOBALPOLITICAL
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- 1 year ago
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Libertarians say Republicans owe apology, not pledge, to America
In response to the recent Republican "Pledge to America," Libertarian Party executive director Wes Benedict released the following statement:
Instead of a "Pledge to America," the Republicans should have written an "Apology to America." It should have gone something like this:
"We're sorry, America. Sorry we grew the federal government budget from $1.7 trillion to over $3 trillion. Sorry we added $5 trillion to the federal debt. Sorry we doubled the size of the Department of Education. Sorry we started two incredibly costly foreign wars. Sorry we supported the absurd and costly TARP bailouts. Sorry we created a huge and costly new Medicare entitlement. Sorry we did nothing to end the costly and destructive War on Drugs. Sorry we did nothing to reform the federal government's near-prohibition on immigration. But hey, at least we helped you by shifting a lot of your tax burden onto your children and grandchildren."
There are so many lies, distortions, hypocrisies, and idiocy in this document that it's hard to know where to start.
It is deeply insulting to see the Republicans refer to "America's founding values" on their cover. The Republican Party has no understanding whatsoever of America's founding values. They have proven and re-proven that for decades.
The document talks a lot about "tax cuts." Unfortunately, the Republican "tax cut" proposals would really do nothing to cut taxes. All their proposals achieve is to defer taxes, pushing the burden onto our children and grandchildren. The only real way to cut taxes is to cut government spending, and the Republican document does almost nothing in that regard.
The Republicans say they want to "roll back government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels." In other words, to re-create the situation near the end of the Bush administration, after Republicans had massively increased federal spending on almost everything.
Republicans must love it when Democrats expand government, because it gives them the opportunity to propose small "cuts," while still ending up with huge government.
One shocking aspect of the document is that it actually includes subtle Republican proposals to increase government spending.
The Republicans offer no plan whatsoever to reduce military spending, America's foreign wars and nation building, or our military defense of rich foriegn nations. On the contrary, the Republicans apparently want to increase military spending, promising to "provide the resources, authority, and support our deployed military requires, fully fund missile defense, and enforce sanctions against Iran."
The Republicans also appear to want to increase government spending on border control. They say "We will ensure that the Border Patrol has the tools and authorities to establish operational control at the border," a costly proposition.
Furthermore, as expected, the document complains about "massive Medicare cuts," implying that Republicans want to make sure Medicare is kept gigantic.
The bulk of federal spending is in three places: Social Security, Medicare, and the military. The Republicans propose absolutely nothing to reduce spending on these three things, or even to slow down their growth.
There must be a typo in the document where it says "Undeterred by dismal results, Washington Democrats continue to double-down on their job-killing policies." That probably should read "Washington Democrats continue to double-down on *Republican* job-killing policies."
The best way to restore American prosperity would be to implement the straightforward 28 planks of the Libertarian Party platform, or even just follow the Constitution. I mean the actual Constitution, not the Republican re-write that allows for every federal government program imaginable.
I suppose the one positive aspect of the document is that it finally dispels any illusion that Republicans want to shrink government in any meaningful way.
Apparently the Republicans are hoping they can "fool some of the people all of the time." The Libertarian Party is ready to point out Republican lies and hypocrisy to American voters, and we hope that Americans who actually want small and constitutional government, not just hypocrisy and worthless rhetoric, will vote Libertarian this November.
The Libertarian Party has 21 candidates for U.S. Senate and 170 candidates for U.S. House in the upcoming November 2010 elections.
For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.
The LP is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets and civil liberties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.
http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/libertarians-say-republicans-owe-apology-not-pledge-to-americaIn response to the recent Republican "Pledge to America," Libertarian Party... more-
- shanklinmike
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- 1 year ago
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- 93 comments
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For Democracy to Work...
For democracy to work, complete transparency must be obtained. There must be no hiding behind patriotism, national security, and fear. These catch phrases are a vault for the secrets a government does not want the public to know of. Also due to these phrases, Americans society, while often preaching freedom of speech, in reality practices resentment, hatred, and peer pressure against those who step outside the norm (of what is politically correct). I would thus say no government needs to prohibit the freedom of speech, but only let the people prohibit (more so regulate) speech for them. It has happened so many times in our country’s past, we cannot afford to let this keep happening.
For democracy to work, diplomacy must be the first and preferably the only course of action in settling disputes. Democracy cannot be offensive in nature—only defensive. Due to reasons prior, freedoms and liberties (primarily those stemming from privacy) cannot waver in the shadow of fear, and thus democracy is at a severe disadvantage when it comes to warfare—either democracy (liberty) fails, or military security fails. Just as the integrity of a family is tested through hardships, the integrity of our government is tested through decisions made during or related to warfare and economic downtimes. A democratic government thus cannot suddenly revoke civil liberties or rights in lieu of the often vague, "Clear and Present Danger."
And thus, for democracy to work, preemptive strikes cannot occur. A democratic society must lead by example, not retaliation, revenge, or fear.
For democracy to work, the freedom of the press must be entirely free of regulation and censorship. The live footage of firefights during the Vietnam War had an immense impact on the outlook of war for those on the home front. The press is vastly more censored (both from corporate, and government), today. We cannot afford to have a censored press, as it holds all the power in shifting the majority of Americans’ view of any issue or event. People (straw man, I know) are gullible, and do not realize the power that manipulation has on their decisions and views.
For democracy to work, capitalism must maintain complete separation and segregation from the democratic system. As soon as private funding enters the picture, our potential candidates are primarily only determined by officials promising the majority (the currently diminishing middle class) of Americans false promises, while truly only representing those providing the most money (synonymous with votes) to their campaign. Votes don't get politicians elected, advertising & funding does. So who will get prioritized?
For democracy to work, lobbying must be made illegal, or vastly more restricted and regulated.
For democracy to work, a form of free election must be in order. An equal amount of taxpayer money must be distributed to the two presidential candidates. Since funding is the primary means of obtaining a position, we limit ourselves on the selection of candidates. Money cannot be a prerequisite in order to obtain or maintain a political position--yet it is. Set up two temporary television channels and websites for these candidates. Debates should be daily, and written correspondence between the two candidates should be a must—the topic voted upon by the public. I say written responses because some people are better at composing their thoughts on paper rather than in speech with millions watching, that is more or less just a game of who is quicker on their feet, not who is more reasonable or knowledgeable. Nominees for the general elections should only obtain their money through local donation from the citizens of their future jurisdiction, or by some other means which would allow absolutely ANY American citizen to run and potentially win—not based on their funding and advertising flash, but by their intelligence, charisma, knowledge, ethos, and promises. In sociology, "random" is defined as everyone having an equal chance and possibility to participate (in an experiment); not every American citizen has an equal chance of running for office. I don't have a perfect answer, but it's apparent something needs changed.
For democracy to work, bliss cannot be derived from ignorance. The importance of pursuing the truth and finding information for ones’ self must be emphasized. Everyone is entitled to vote, but not everyone understands for whom their vote entitles.
For democracy to work, accountability must be exacted out. False campaign promises are a form of false advertisement. Politicians must be held to the same justice system as we, the people, are.
Anything else to add?
(News seemed to be the only appropriate place to put this; my apologies if not).
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Bald_eagle_landing.jpgFor democracy to work, complete transparency must be obtained. There must be no hiding... more-
- Jake_Leonard
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- 1 year ago
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- 86 comments
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Big Govt, Small Citizen
When the citizen no longer has control of the government, then liberty is lost to statism.-
- 2hellnwait
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- 1 year ago
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- 18 comments
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Small Government: When 307,999,999 People Can't Agree
A funny thing is happening on the way to the ballot box. Voters of all stripes decry the excesses of big government and say it is inherently bad. But, it's curious that the louder the screams about government size, the fewer practical suggestions the screamers give regarding how to make it smaller.A funny thing is happening on the way to the ballot box. Voters of all stripes decry... more-
- omnipotentpoobah
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- 1 year ago
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4th Amendment Violating Mobile X-Ray Scanners Hit The Streets Tyranny is coming to your door!
As we warned all along, airport tyranny is coming to your door...
As we warned at the beginning of the year, X-ray body scanners currently being used and abused in airports across the world are set to hit the streets as American Science & Engineering reveals that “more than 500 backscatter x-ray scanners mounted in vans that can be driven past neighboring vehicles to see their contents” have been sold to government agencies.
In January, we divulged how the ultimate end use of the body scanners would not be limited to airports, and that they were going to be rolled out on the streets as mobile units that would scan vehicles at checkpoints as well as individuals and crowds attending public events.
Dutch police announced that they were developing a mobile scanner that would “see through people’s clothing and look for concealed weapons” and that it would be used “as an alternative to random body searches in high risk areas”.
The device would also be used from a distance on groups of people “and mass scans on crowds at events such as football matches.”
The plans mirrored leaked documents out of the UK Home Office three years prior, which revealed that authorities in the UK were working on proposals to fit lamp posts with CCTV cameras that would X-ray scan passers-by and “undress them” in order to “trap terror suspects”.
Now, according to a Forbes report, backscatter x-ray vision devices mounted on trucks are already being deployed inside the United States to scan passing individuals and vehicles in complete violation of the Fourth Amendment.
American Science & Engineering, a company based in Billerica, Massachusetts, has sold many of the devices to U.S. law enforcement agencies, who are already using them on the streets for “security” purposes.
“Without a warrant, the government doesn’t have a right to peer beneath your clothes without probable cause,” points out Marc Rotenberg, executive director of EPIC. “Even airport scans are typically used only as a secondary security measure. If the scans can only be used in exceptional cases in airports, the idea that they can be used routinely on city streets is a very hard argument to make.”
Watch a video demonstration of the device below.
“The TSA’s official policy dictates that full-body scans must be viewed in a separate room from any guards dealing directly with subjects of the scans, and that the scanners won’t save any images,” states the report. “Just what sort of safeguards might be in place for AS&E’s scanning vans isn’t clear, given that the company won’t reveal just which law enforcement agencies, organizations within the DHS, or foreign governments have purchased the equipment.”
However, as we reported right from the start and as was confirmed earlier this month, federal authorities have been storing checkpoint body scan images all along, proving that their claim that no images could be stored or transmitted was an act of mass public deception in order to grease the skids for the rapid introduction of the devices after the botched and highly suspicious underwear bomber incident.
As we have constantly reiterated, everything that we see unfolding in the airports is eventually designed to be used on the streets. People who had a blasé attitude about the privacy-busting body scanners, behavioral interrogations, and intrusive pat-downs occurring in airports on the basis that they could avoid them by not flying face a rude awakening once all this is in their face on a daily basis.
ody and vehicle scanners are just one tool authorities plan to implement on a widespread basis as part of our deepening decline into a hi-tech militarized police state.
Homeland Security is already implementing technology to be enforced at “security events” which purportedly reads “malintent” on behalf of an individual who passes through a checkpoint. The video below explains how “Future Attribute Screening Technology” (FAST) checkpoints will conduct “physiological” and “behavioral” tests in order to weed out suspected terrorists and criminals.
The clip shows individuals who attend “security events” being led into trailers before they are interrogated as to whether they are terrorists while lie detector-style computer programs analyze their physiological responses. The subjects are asked about their whereabouts, and if they are attempting to smuggle bombs or recording devices into the “expo,” proving that the technology is intended to be used at public events and not just airports. Individuals who do not satisfy the first lie detector-style test are then asked “additional questions”.As we warned all along, airport tyranny is coming to your door... As we warned at the... more-
- im1mjrpain
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- 1 year ago
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Freedom's Requiem
By David P Shirk
It is foolish to attack what you do not understand. Being foolish is being ignorant of the facts and acting upon your limited knowledge. It is not possible for one person to know everything, and therefore foolish to act more than they have too. However whenever you place a power over you to make decision that you could not, than you are twice the fool.
The problem with being a governed people is that we all too often want our politicians to fix the injustices of this world as we see them. The problem is that in the pursuance of this, we are often blissfully unaware of the collateral damage until it becomes too late. This has a multitude of unintended consequences that only serves to further divide our nation. This creates a very diverse set of rules that attempts to please everyone, but only has one conclusion – a collapse.
For instance, Hamilton thought that the only way to protect the newly formed union was by making a standing army with a solid navy. At the time, there was only one way to accomplish this, and that was to create a fiscal military state. This means that the lion’s share of the national income goes to paying for said entities. However he recognized from earlier examples of other nations that the only way to build a sizable military was to institute a central bank that could fund such a debt that is inevitably created by having standing armies.
In this particular case he met well, but was blissfully naive as t...
http://www.peacefreedomprosperity.com/?p=3604By David P Shirk It is foolish to attack what you do not understand. Being foolish... more-
- shanklinmike
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- 1 year ago
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Obama Issues Executive Order Mandating “Lifestyle Behavior Modification”
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is fond of saying, “You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste; it’s an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.” Well, the Obama Administration certainly has not let the British Petroleum (BP) Deepwater Horizon oil rig crisis go to waste, using it as a smokescreen to silently assault and further diminish American citizens’ personal freedom.
While the nation has its eyes and ears focused on the blame game ping-pong match between President Obama and BP top brass, President Obama on Thursday, June 10, quietly announced a new Executive Order establishing the “National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council.”
Claiming the “authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America,” President Obama has truly gone off the deep end this time in his most atrocious attempt to date to control every aspect of Americans’ lives.
According to Sec. 5. of the Executive Order that details the President’s “National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy,” the Council will be charged with carrying out “lifestyle behavior modification” among American citizens that do not exhibit “healthy behavior.”
The President’s desired lifestyle behavior modifications focus on:
* smoking cessation;
* proper nutrition;
* appropriate exercise;
* mental health;
* behavioral health;
* sedentary behavior;
* substance-use disorder; and
* domestic violence screenings.
Making matters even worse, if that is even possible at this point, President Obama will create an “Advisory Group” composed of experts hand-picked from the public health field and various other areas of expertise “outside the Federal Government.”
Let’s consider who the President has sought advice and mentoring from in the past:
* Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who the Anti-Defamation League calls a “Messenger of Intolerance,” and
* Bill Ayers, leader of the 1960′s domestic terrorist group ”Weatherman” that was “responsible for 30 bombings aimed at destroying the defense and security infrastructures of the U.S.”
Now, President Obama is going to seek medical advisors who will be charged with modifying lifestyles and behaviors of those citizens he deems unhealthy? “Paging Dr. Kevorkian! You’re wanted in the White House STAT by President Obama!”
Whether you are a child, a parent, a worker, or retired, the President’s approximately 25-member “Advisory Group” will soon be present in every aspect of Americans’ lives, as the Executive Order prescribes. Specifically, our new so-called lifestyle behavior modification advisors will be actively carrying out the President’s orders in:
* worksite health promotion;
* community services, including community health centers;
* preventive medicine;
* health coaching;
* public health education;
* geriatrics; and
* rehabilitation medicine.
President Obama’s sweeping plan to enforce “lifestyle behavior modification” is chock full of open-ended target areas, especially when it comes to issues of “mental” and “behavioral” health, “proper nutrition,” “sedentary behavior,” and “appropriate exercise.” The President’s Executive Order is a blatant and forceful attempt to adjust the way Americans young and old think, behave, eat, drink and whatever else free will used to entitle our nation’s citizens to enjoy as prescribed by the Founding Fathers.
If you are feeling stressed-out, sad, confused, hungry, thirsty, bored, or tired, do you honestly trust President Obama and his “Advisory Group” to act in your best interests?White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is fond of saying, “You don’t ever... more-
- Omnomynous
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- 1 year ago
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- 241 comments
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Scott Brown - The Status Quo/Establishment Candidate
Scott Brown is not for free markets, he doesn’t even understand the term. He is just another blind big government neocon republican….Scott Brown is not for free markets, he doesn’t even understand the term. He is... more-
- shanklinmike
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- 2 years ago
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- 9 comments
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Future of Integrated Health Care Ecosystem
Trying to forecast the future of global healthcare is an ambitious undertaking, to say the least. Even trying to discuss the future of health insurance leads to heated debate and disagreement, as we've seen over the past few months. Not to be deterred, the team at Ergonomidesign took on this task, and created a short video outlining their vision of an Integrated Health Care Ecosystem.
The good news for our readers is that in this future scenario there seems to be plenty of work for product and interaction designers, in addition to actual healthcare professionals.
Check out Ergonomidesign's website, its full of enlightening information.
http://www.ergonomidesign.com/Default.aspx?ID=1685Trying to forecast the future of global healthcare is an ambitious undertaking, to say... more-
- RepressThis
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- 2 years ago
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