Yo Joehill

[icantinaturner]

Thanks for the tipoff on this, Kenny. I cancelled my wingnut local paper some time ago or I probably would have seen that ad. Thanks to you and Google, I found this, which led me to the link above.

More Googling for "US Citizens Association" led me to this . Big surprise, it's another fake Astroturf outfit that churns out misleading krap for the mouth breathers unless... they just want to reinforce what morons hear from Limbaugh/Faux/etc. I really don't know why they even spend the money on that stuff. It's unnecessary when they are targeting people like this and this. Those people have already made up their "minds."

[joehill]

Originally Posted by icantinaturner

Thanks for the tipoff on this, Kenny. I cancelled my wingnut local paper some time ago or I probably would have seen that ad. Thanks to you and Google, I found this, which led me to the link above.

More Googling for "US Citizens Association" led me to this . Big surprise, it's another fake Astroturf outfit that churns out misleading krap for the mouth breathers unless... they just want to reinforce what morons hear from Limbaugh/Faux/etc. I really don't know why they even spend the money on that stuff. It's unnecessary when they are targeting people like this and this. Those people have already made up their "minds."

Morning Ike..I'll try this again.Seeing as my last post just disappeared into the cold, black void of cyberspace when I tried to post it..

Yep,that would be the article/advertisement all right.I guess I got the name of the front group mixed up.It's the U.S Citizens Association,and not the U.S.Citizens Council.Maybe I was thinking of the ''white citizens councils'' of the civil rights era.I have no doubt they attract the same time of prospective members..

The article was filled with brazen lies from begining to end.Apparently the ''party of personal responsiblity'' takes no responsibilty at all for their role in the crisis.I guess they would have the reader believe that even though they had controlled Congress from the 1990's ,they just sat by powerless and wrung their hands as the economy nosedived and Wall Street plundered the nation. Amazing, they never had a problem asserting their influence before, be it Gerrymandering elections,appointing cronies to key positions in the Governmen.They suppressed one ethics hearing after the next,labeling them ''political witch hunts.''Now they clutch their pearls and say ''what happened?''Maybe they didn't notice what was happening.You know, being so busy passing laws that mandate what people can do with their erections and who they can do it with.If it weren't for them looking after ''the snowflake babies'' where would we be?

Another interesting lie in the article/advertisement was the assertion that under Communism,one percent of the ''elite'' controlled 99 percent of the wealth.I'd like to know how that is much different than the predatory capitalism we have now.Where the top one tenth of one percent owns 35 percent of ALL wealth,and the next the 19 percent owns 50 percent of it.Leaving the other 15 percent to the unwashed proles.

I notice the article didn't mention the largest transfer of wealth in U.S.history either,making the wealthy even wealthier while the poor and working class struggle to get by.I guess it's best just to confine their criticism to Democrats,minority home owners and organized labor.In the article/advertisement it described unions as ''outdated and greedy.'' Yet they made no mention of the huge disparity on wages between the CEO'S who ''earn'' hundreds and sometimes thousands of time more than any factory worker,unionized or not.Workers wages are not increasing enough to keep pace with inflation, and in many cases workers have been forced to accept wage cuts in order to keep working.An interesting observation from Paul Krugman,in a real article published in the Rolling Stone.below..
**""The broader picture is equally dismal. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the hourly wage of the average American non-supervisory worker is actually lower, adjusted for inflation, than it was in 1970. Meanwhile, CEO pay has soared — from less than thirty times the average wage to almost 300 times the typical worker's pay.""**

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics...ealth_transfer

Yet Unions are ''outdated.'' These same a.holes (tea baggers)that cheer Capitalism and piss moan and groan about Communism, amazingly have no problem waving goodbye to their jobs before they depart for China, which last time I checked was still a Communist country.Cause, you know, let the market decide..

When this eventually comes to a head and it will,this country is going to be in for a world of hurt.They will wish they had some of the comforts afforded to those in Socialist countries.As Dimtry Orlov pointed out in his book,''Reinventing Collapse-Soviet Examples and American Prospects(thanks for the recommendation Gay, it was a great book.),when Communisn collapsed,there wasn't widespread homelessness because the State owned the people's houses.People just continued to live in them.There was still heat and hot water and the trains still ran. We'll have tent cities all over the country in the shadows of the banks.Until they weathly get sick of seeing the poor and just criminalize poverty.Many would argue that they already have..http://www.amazon.com/Reinventing-Co...ews/0865716064

Besides being an obvious attempt to anger un informed voters the article/advertisement was trying to raise money for who knows what? Maybe they will use it to finance the next band of republican criminals.Maybe they will do the more characteristic republican thing and just embezzle the funds and put it in offshore accounts.

I don't let the Democrats off the hook either.I am completely and utterely disgusted by that pack of eunichs as well.They are worse than republicans.At least we know the republicans are scum,they've never made any bones about it.The Democrats have proven to be the most ineffective group of people to gain power in a long time.Right from Obama on down.Hope and Change my a ss.They seem paralyzed with fear and unwilling to advance their agenda .Just like the darkest days of the Bush Crime Family era, they still cower before republican scumbags and the maggots on Fox News.

I recently read a book by Gerry Spence entitled ''Bloodthisrty B itches and Pious Pimps of Power.'' He had an intersting theory on self government.He put foward the idea that we should abolish all political parties and do away with professionl,career politicians altogether.A government of the people, by the people and for the people, should be just that. He recommended that all formerly ''elected'' positions of authority and power would really come from the people.For instance,instead of registering to vote,you registeresd for political duty,kinda like the selective service or jury duty.If your number came up, off you went to D.C. It went something like this.FROM PAGE 243.**BEGINING.-The person who's name goes into the computer must be a citizen free of felony conviction(sorry wanna be truckers)at least 35 years of ageand must have a high school education or equivalent education.The computer gives those with a higer degree of education a better chance of being selected than those with a lesser degree of education.The person would be drawn from the community in which the person lives,so that a farming community is more likely to send a farmer to Congress than an accountant.In the cities a great variety of people would be selected.In this People's New House OF Representatives,the person so selected would serve a term of ,say, six years.If our youth can be drafted to fight wars,to lay down their lives for their country,it follows that citizens can and must be drafted to serve their governments as well. -END**http://www.amazon.com/Bloodthirsty-*...owViewpoints=1

He has equally interesting ideas to select Judges, Senators and the President as well.One thing is certain though, this system isn't working anymore.Our elected leaders are in the pockets of big business and the idea of representation for the average person has become a farce.

[icantinaturner]

More good stuff for my reading list. Thanks, Kenny.

You sum it up well with this --

Our elected leaders are in the pockets of big business and the idea of representation for the average person has become a farce.

I am cautiously optimistic and ashamed of myself when I get too angry at the average working guy who is bombarded with nonsense like that ad. I've come to the conclusion that:

- Money = power and vice versa.

- Money = media brainwashing and most of us have no idea how government works. It's a helluva lot easier to let Limbaugh think for us than to actually crack open an old civics/government book like the ones we ignored in school.

- Pols are the foot soldiers of corporations and they're going to "dance with the one who brung 'em" to office.

- The average person gets wound around the axle over non-issues like god, guns, gays and race so, if they vote at all, they vote dumb. They really think corporations spend millions on pols so they can stop some woman from having an abortion or so they keep a gun under their pillow...

- The average person doesn't vote or contribute so they get what they deserve.

- If you sent me to Washington and I wanted to stay in office, I'd have to play ball with the corporations that funded my attack ads. I'd probably end up just like the pols already in office and I'd probably "rationalize" that if the average voter is brain dead, at least I might be able to push one piece of good legislation through.

But I think the only thing that will alter the daycare-like attention span of the working slob is another depression. When they can't afford food, rent, healthcare, etc, on their crappy wages, maybe someday they'll figure out which party is more likely to shaft them. Nothing highlights the shenanigans of the party that is screwing them more than the current health care debate, and way too many people aren't catching on. Stoooooo-pid!

Am I still too optimistic? I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.

Rant off.

[kalamity_jane]

Bloodthirsty B itches and Pious Pimps of Power, what a title! That's one I'll put on my wish list. Thanks Kenny. Tell it like it is why don't ya?!

Mike, hope is required to live even in the worst of times. I doubt these folks who can't figure out who's doing what to whom and allow their preacher, priest or radio personality to inform them, are going to do more than grab the rifle, rope or torch and head to the streets. Maybe I'm not giving enough credit but even 19% = millions.

My son told me about the Collapse book and when I read it I passed the recommendation on to Kenny. It's an eye opener. Son told me about this article and discussion on The Oil Drum...located here....

http://europe.theoildrum.com/node/5917#more

I recommend it as well. It's a discussion with an informed person about the world economy and the ramifications.

It's good to see some posters here again...I guess hope floats even at Layover...

[joehill]

With that said Ike, I'm off to vote in the locals today..

Luzerne County has to be the most corrupt place in the Country bar Louisiana and New Jersey.

I think this time I'm gonna vote a third party ticket.Maybe there is some Socialist or Green Party Candidate who could use a little help.

At the very least,I won't be supporting any Republicans except the mayor of the town where I live.He actually seems pretty decent.