Has morphed into 'We the sheeple; of the people, by the corporation, and for the corporation. Wealth exists to aggrandize itself, just as power exists to entrench itself. We've reached a point of convergence of big money and big government. From corporate lobbying to the military industrial complex (which Ike warned us about), multi-national corporations have vertically integrated themselves into our lives from source to consumption. Our very health is put into the hands of those whose priorities are based in profit. So much for the general welfare principle, right there in the Preamble.

President Bush appointed onto the mining commission the biggest polluters (donors), installed industry lobbyists and lawyers to head virtually every environmental agency, let the oil companies dictate our 'energy policy' and the pharmaceutical companies write the Medicare bill, and his every policy favors corporate interests over the general welfare. We've plunged into a full-fledged corporatocracy, anjd away from the egalitarian system our founders thought they were creating. Our problems were accelerated by the faulty 1975 Supreme Court decision 'Bucklet v Valeo', ruling that spending money to influence elections was a form of constitutionally protected free speech. Now all bets are off, we'll be paying for that one for a long time.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with his daily (12-3 EST) broadcast on Air America Radio, Thom Hartmann (what's with the "h", Thom???) is the most important and informative talk show host in the country. As impressive as his grasp of current events is, his knowledge of the history of this once-great nation can only be described as encyclopedic. His is one of the very few places on the radio today where intelligent discussion is the rule.

Please, by all and any means, if you haven't yet tuned into this very valuable program, you really should.

Happy listening!

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
Remembering RFK 1925-1968

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

...elected Nixon twice, Reagan twice, and G.W. Bush twice. So a twisted people get twisted leadership. Although Nixon got his come-uppance and Bush has now showed himself finally for what he really is, we, the People, still think Reagan is a hero--despite his record as fawning before racists and running his own private war out of the White House basement, contrary to explicit law.

We choose and shape our leadership in our own image. Corruption rules at all levels so long as we, the People, are corrupt.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

COME ON FOLKS! LET'S STOP WALLOWING IN DOOM AND GLOOM WITHOUT WORKING ON THE SOLUTION THE FOUNDERS PUT IN THE CONSTITUTION - IMPEACHMENT!

Impeach Cheney NOW

Defense of the Constitution Knows No Party


The Bush administration has illegally seized and imprisoned Americans without benefit of their trial by jury, has spied on Americans without warrant in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, has lied America into a disastrous war, and has betrayed an American intelligence officer, who was working on weapons of mass destruction networks, to our enemies (Valerie Plame.)

Impeachment hearings against Vice President Dick Cheney are now a distinct possibility, thanks to a recent outpouring of public support for impeachment by Americans across the political spectrum. Your calls and faxes to House Judiciary Committee members are needed to keep up the pressure.

Leave a message for your Congressman, to demand he obey his oath to "defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." Act now to restore your rights and the rule of law bequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers, which brave men have died defending throughout our history.

Call the House Judiciary Committee

202-225-3951
and demand that Impeachment hearings begin ASAP!





*What Happened to Make This All Possible?

On November 6, 2007, Rep. Dennis Kucinich brought H.Res.333, for the impeachment of Cheney, to the House Floor for debate. It was broadcast on CSPAN. A sudden outpouring of public support for impeachment forced lawmakers to keep the resolution alive. Democrats, most of whom currently resist demands for impeachment, were unwilling to kill the bill with the public watching. Republicans and some Democrats, mindful of impeachment sentiment, voted to debate the bill, but failed. At the end of the day, Americans of both parties had made it clear whose "table" this is, and that they want to see impeachment on it.



For more information go to
NEImpeach.org

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

When "we the people" spoke up in the 2006 elections, against all odds both the House and the Senate changed hands. What "we the people" expected was a turnaround in the ruinous policies of the Bush Administration, especially an end to our occupation of Iraq; and we wanted Bush and Cheney impeached for lying us into war, spying on us without regard to law, flouting the Geneva Conventions in sanctioning torture, and suspending our right to habeas corupus.

In all these things, "we the people" understood that our Constitution was being shredded, bit by bit, by executive fiat. Unfortunately, the Congress we elected hasn't caught up to what "we the people" understand. Instead, impeachment is kept "off the table," and funding for our occupation of Iraq continues unabated.

The House of Representatives now has the power to cut off funding the Iraq war, and it has the power of impeachment. The question remains whether it will do the will of "we the people" in these matters, or whether it will continue to participate in the erosion of our democratic freedoms.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

The genius of the Republicans, beginning with Nixon and culminating in Bush's reign, has been that they have convinced a large segment of the population--lower and middle-middle class people--to vote for them by stoking resentments against racial, ethnic and sexual minorities and promising a fundamentalist utopia despite the fact that their economic policies have had a devastating effect on these voters. The God, gaols, gendarmes, guns and gunboat diplomacy agenda has trumped their economic self-interests, and they have been trained to hate liberals even while reaping the harvest of liberal programs such as Social Security, Medicare, student loans, the GI bill, support for higher education and medical research, and many others.

It's sad that enough people have been gulled into screwing themselves economically to spite others, but so it is. Let's hope that the Democrats (excluding the neocon Hillary Clinton) can convince them that the economic catastrophe brought on by Bush's economic policies, which his father derided as "voodoo economics" before signing on with Reagan and becoming a convert, should cause them to support a more liberal candidate.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

What is it going to take for Americans to stand and be counted in the demand for release from repression and criminality here and aborad? "We the people" pablum? I don't think so and the election process is too skewed to produce legitimate candidates for public office or to inspire enough people to vote other than in despicably low numbers that negate the notions of freedom and governance "of, by and for the people." We who give a damn need to convert the media from being accessories and demand that they fullfill their proper role as the Fourth Estate. Jefferson and Thomas Carlyle knew of its importance as the last vestige of hope for an oppressed public to become informed and respond as free men and women possessed of inalienable rights, purpose, dignity and integrity. If the corporate greed criminals and those that benefit from their "swag" have it their way, the American lemmings will remain freedumb and that is where it is today and it is going to take more than a few articles and responses to evoke change.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

After having our ADD kids medicated, our OBESITY coddled, and our minds muddled by gadgets, SUVs and other consumer distractions we find most of the WE THE PEOPLE pretty stupid these days or at best pretty distracted from important issues as we focus on mortage and credit card payments. So we vote stupdily and get exactly what we deserve--over and over. We vote in a democratic congress and do they impeach Cheney or pass sweeping environmental or electoral reforms--NO...they decide to debate the Armenian genocide of 1915 and other causes that are not top agenda items at this moment!!! We gotta get leaner and smart and more critical of our leaders. Otherwise we are doomed, not to a democracy, but a mediocracy that is far below what our founders fought for!!!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

of how we got here, take a look at this site ---> Click here for an overview.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

This is your chance to take a stand for your country



A Ballot for a People’s Referendum


The United States government is broken almost beyond repair, completely and totally under the control of business and non-responsive to the will of the American Citizen. Our rights guaranteed under the Constitution have been ignored and dissolved. We are engaged in a war that the majority of the People do not support. Our children and Iraqi children are being poisoned with depleted uranium and slaughtered. Our Veterans are being ignored and abused. Innocent Citizens of the World are being tortured under our name. Our environment is being destroyed. Monumental catastrophes in our country have been ignored. The system of elections has been corrupted. Our children are being denied health care. The illegal Federal Reserve System has stolen trillions of dollars from our economy and its laborers. The integrity, honor and spirit of the American People have been forever scarred.

It is long past time to take back this United States from the corporations who have become the government.

It is time to re-establish and refresh the original content and spirit of the Constitution of the United States of America.

This is a call to all True Americans to awaken from the nightmare that pervades our land….to create a new dream…..a dream based on truth, honor, integrity and real equality.

This ballot is the beginning.



DO YOU BELIEVE THIS GOVERNMENT…..EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL SHOULD BE RECALLED AND DISSOLVED AND A NEW DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT ELECTED DIRECTLY BY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE PUT IN IT’S PLACE?

PLEASE CHECK “YES” OR “NO’


YES____ NO____


Signature____________________

Email Address (optional, but strongly requested)________________________

Postal Address (optional)_______________
___________________________________


Please copy, paste and send to ignotzle@windstream.net

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

"Consumerism appeals to the greedy and selfish child part of us, the infantilized part that just wants someone else to take care of us."

I wouldn't say it's childish, since I've known children who make most adults look bad. I'd say it's what each person really cares about is reflected in their behaviour, despite their words.

At the end of the day, if I say I care but didn't do anything, actually meant "I pretended to care, but I don't."

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Turn on any channel on the TV, radio, newspapers, and even the Internet and you'll already be BOMBED with "holiday shopping" ads. Every year, towards the end of October, all this overcommercialization of "Christmas" is set up to keep the people SHEEPled.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

was the way of America for most of our history, but it is no longer in evidence.
Government of the People, by the Corporations, for the Corporations is not Democracy--it is a hallmark of a Fascist State.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

The whole notion of "we're in this together" is beneath many people, whether times are good or bad. Self absorbed was once considered obnoxious. Not any more. If Katrina had happened in 1960 there would be a whole new city built by now and people back in their homes. We were the greatest nation on the planet for a long time. Too many people got too comfortable and forgot about 'routine maintenance'. Thanks, ANNA

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

I thought that was an interesting comment and something that I have been considering ever since I heard a republican politician say that the democrats want us to have a nanny society. I thought well if the democrats are the nanny's then the republicans are the babies. Self centered, selfish and childish. They criticize the democrats for wanting to take care of the common good that will cost money, while at the same time they childishly and selfishly want to only take care of the rich while spending even more money on credit.

The republicans have become the most fiscally irresponsible, spoiled group of babies that America has seen. They criticize the democrats for being nannies. Well what do nannies do? They take care of children and make sure they don't hurt themselves or others. The republicans could use some good tough nannies. Nanny 911 comes to mind. It is time take the republicans and their irresponsibility and teach them how to work and play well with others without tearing up the house. The republicans are spoiled brats, wanting everything, giving nothing, and pitching fits or holding their breath when they don't get their way. They like their leader, George Bush, have become infantile tyrants incapable of controlling themslves, making them a danger to themselves and society.

It is time for some adult supervision over these horrid horrible children. We need people who are concerned with the common good.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

It is as pertinent here as it is EVERYWHERE there is a discussion of the theft of OUR AMERICA by "them":

RE: Life during wartime.
[Report this comment] [Ignore this user] Posted by: AMERICAN VETERAN on Nov 23, 2007 7:20 AM
Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

When I came back from Nam, I went to live in the Haight.
Although there were constant protests about the war, it never seemed that so many Americans hated each other so fiercly as they do now.
Politicians are politicians and, they all have the indentical agenda, get elected, get re-elected and suck the benefits they can force the people to pay them.
All the rest is goddamn lies.

The great difference I see in the REAL AMERICANS of then and those of now is that, we have actually been DELIBERATELY torn apart with intense and real hate for 'the other side".
I will plainly state that I detest the fundies, and the rw neocons due to the fact that THEY are the ones who have bought into the lies and deceit of the politicians and are actually ASSISTING them in destroying what MY AMERICA is/was.
I was in the navy and got out.
When some of the guys I knew came home in pieces and boxes, I re-upped to go to Nam as, I was a corpsman and felt that I could help some of my buddies.
You cannot imagine how much I hate war.
And, because I openly state that I am against bastard's invented oil war, I am accused of being "against the troops" by candy-assed little chickenhawk wannabes who never were and NEVER WILL BE.
This is America??!!
Fuck no, not MY AMERICA.
I'm 68 now and am busy making my way as comfortable as possible for what I have left.
I remember the way people were then and the living and active hopes they felt for America.
I often miss those who were the voices in the wilderness back then.
Unfortunately, even if there were as many new voices and active protesters now as there were then, the evil US government would commit even miore murders than the murders they committed at Kent State.
This MISadministration is rready and willing to murder Americans to stop the REAL AMERICANS from ever having control of our coutry again.
As for those who are so naive that they think voting has any bearing on what happens, go talk to a tree or wall.
There is not one of these lying pieces of shit that are real, truthful or actually care about REAL AMERICANS.
I am fucking angrier than I have ever been about what these thieves are doing/taking.

We see the rare commenters on TV such as Olbermann who says some things and has some other talking heads on his show.
Although he is clearly not one of those 'tards such as those at fucked up noise, I'm seeing that it's a "schtick" for him and, it's all about ratings.

Here it is in reality:
NOTHING EVER HAPPENS!!
NOT ONE FUCKING THING EVER HAPPENS TO GET OUR AMERICA BACK TO THOSE OF US WHO DESERVE TO HAVE IT.
The self-serving scum ion government and the rw fundie neogoons who have been so easily conned by the hateful sewage in government have stolen what is left of Americas.

Can we PLEASE VIOLENTLY TAKE IT BACK??!!
FUCK THEM, IT IS OURS!!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Pelosi said she needs to hear from the people by snail mail before she will do anything about impeachment.
Please send post cards with this message to Nancy Pelosi:

We want HR 333!

District Office - 450 Golden Gate Ave. - 14th Floor - San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 556-4862
Washington, D.C. Office - 235 Cannon HOB - Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-4965

Thank you.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Energy is needed to turn the lights on at night, to stay warm at night, to move about during the day, to transact business and to produce goods and services. There used to be a lot of small independents in this country - but they've all been swallowed up by the totalitarian system.

Is it communism? Is it fascism? Same difference, actually. In the final analysis, the left-wing powermongers are no different from the rightwing powermongers - they're both obssessed with centralized control, and it really makes little difference whether Wall Street or the Central Committee controls everything. In both cases, wealth and power is concentrated in a few hands - monarchies worked the same way. Villas on the Black Sea, British aristo estates, sprawling Texas "ranches", Saudi palaces - they all smell the same.

The same goes for information (also known as "the media"). Totalitarians can only survive if people are kept in the dark about what they're up to (Rockefeller's first rule was "hide the profits"). The media's job is to inform the people of what's going on in the world - but the vast majority of the media - TV, radio, and print - is now in the hands of the very same people who control the energy flows. U.S. media is a gigantic propaganda system, designed to keep U.S. citizens consuming like crazy, to hide the real centers of wealth and power, to spur nationalistic jingoism, and so on.

The real goal now should be independence based on local control of energy and information. Independence from corporate control of energy flows can be achieved by relying on the sun, the wind, and locally owned land. Independence from the choking slime of the media can be achieved via the Internet - and also by just keeping your eyes open and paying attention to what your local politicians and government officials and corporate interests are up to.

These corporate energy and media interests are indeed massive - but remember this: a school of piranha have been known to skeletonize a cow in a matter of minutes.

This is definitely not about left-wing or right-wing politics, however. It's about conscientious independents vs. corporate-fascist-communist zombies and their zombie masters. It's about freedom.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

The following passages are solid:

"The story we are told is that we should surrender all of our power to corporations and just let them govern us because a mystical but all-knowing godlike force called 'the free market' will eventually solve all of our problems."

"That story fits in very well with the conservatives' other story: that we are children who need to be protected from evil humans; and because corporations are amoral and not human, they are intrinsically and morally superior to evil humans."

But when the author opines "that we're a country of barn-builders, of communities, of intrinsically good people who work together for the common good and the common wealth," the argument goes badly off the rails.

This is not what we are. Rather, we're a country of colonizers, genocidists, and slave owners, of segregated communities, of corporate-bureaucracy-builders, of white males who work together to keep down women and despised minorities for the good of the capitalist and the capitalists wealth.

It is only because women, minorities, and thoughtful white men have rebelled against what we are that we have made any progress towards democracy. We aren't there yet. We surely can't go back (that's the conservative vision). We have to go forward, and that means overthrowing corporate state capitalism and replacing it with a true democracy - the last thing that our founders wanted us to have.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

until air america's affiliate was pulled in my region, i listened to you with bemusement, disdain, and sometimes, head nodding--occasionally you did make a germane point that wasn't completely yoked to your dogma-blinders.

this however, is one of those missing the mark.

basing LAW on the preamble is never a good thing--do you honestly think the table isn't turned? 100-1 the asshats who voted for the PATRIOT act, or the recent bit of dung called HR1995, use YOUR EXACT logic for justification.

at that point, all you've got is how you FEEL/BELIEVE--not logic. and really, puts you in the same bed as those you critise.

poor lad, you've never understood the constitution--what makes me think that'd hange?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

It was Jerry Falwell back in 1980. It all got started by the so-called Moral Majority.

It grew into a cancer that spread thruout the entire Republican party.

Let's see... who has been in power for more time than anyone since that time? That would be the Republican party. They have been infiltrated so deeply that the middle of the road Republican is no longer allowed to speak in their party. Unless you are slamdunk hard right you have no say.

They are directly responsible for this mess.

You can lay the blame squarely on fundamentalist Christians who took over their party and have tried ever since to take it completely over.

What is the primary purpose of religion? It is to divide people into groups. Us vs. Them. Witness what the Middle East looks like. They are divided into groups along religious lines.

What has the religious right done here? They have used POLITICS as their weapon, using the exact same techniques that work for their religion. They know that they can't come right out and use religious language because they will be caught. But they're doing it nonetheless.

This is exactly why the Founding Fathers wanted a strict separation of church and state. Recal the bloodshed that was European civilization. It ceased to exist when the US was created. It was a direct result of that separation.

But now, it's back. And it's back because as a nation not enough of us are knowledgeable about the past. Not enough people understand the Constitution. Ignorance of the past dooms you to repeat it.

Well... it's repeating itself. We've become Sunni and Shia.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

"Will our nation continue to stand for the values on which it was founded?" In a word, "no." Neither political party is interested in preserving our traditional liberties, and the American people are too afraid of both their government and the outside world to fight for them themselves.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

I believe the answer to the question,I am saddened to say is no. Too many of the people I work with and know are for #1 and to hell with you, me and the other guy. Much of this comes from their upbringing. Most have never belonged to a union or had to stand up for themselves or anyone else. They have fallen hook line and sinker for Republican talking points on unions.They don't remember a time in America where a person could earn a decent living for their family with one income. They have been forced to compete for jobs with people who are basically slave labor. I was talking about unions to a coworker recently. I related how a union at work is exactly how the United States is a union and anyone that doesn't like unions can't like this country. This stunned the person for a while because unions are verboten at my place of employment. Why? Because the United State of Americorp Inc. won't be satified until they have the same deal the other third world countries have, slaves. We are near that now.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Virtually no one at this discussion recognizes that there is no "free market" and surely no democracy where Fascism rules hidden by corporate media and false propaganda.

To quote Jefferson, by far his most important words on tyranny continue to be ignored...


“The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of [private cartel] lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.”
- President Thomas Jefferson

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Thom recently hosted a debate on his radio show regarding the 9/11 high treason.

File at:

MP3

Mirror site

Kevin Ryan of the Journal of 9/11 Studies decimated Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine. Shermer's skepticism was exposed as blindered and petty, reserved only for critics of the government with no skepticism directed AT the government.

Hartman was a good moderator.

Crimes of the State Blog

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

And without Alex, or fanfare: You have thirty seconds.

The answer is:

"Apparently, nothing."

(Da-da-da-da-da....)

Pens down.

"What is the difference between the current USA and the final days of Rome?"

Winners get to keep their sanity.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Unless one is referring to the 39 rich, white, landholding,slaveowning aristocrats that penned those sentimens, there never was a "We the People." There surely was no "we the people" for women, blacks, or the disenfranchised. Written in secrecy, only 39 of the 55 members of the Continental Congress were present. The American people had no say in any of these early establishment documents.

Democracy, or its pretentions, come long after the slaughter involved in forming a nation, is complete. Which usually means stealing it from others. Our nation was fomed by genocide, slavery, and incredible self-interest.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Allow me to play the devil's advocate by suggesting that the founding of the USA wasn't as wonderful as this article suggests. I am a Canadian because my ancestors chose the wrong side in 1776. From my point of view, America's founding principles consisted of a bunch of rich guys getting together, having a PR campaign to brainwash the public, and then stomping on anyone who didn't share their views. Sound familiar?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

I suspect that corporations will endorse and affirm any domestic and international condition(s) as long as they profit. Sadly, so would our elected federal representatives. The will and hopes of We the People are not factors in any current and future trends. However, this whole structure crumbles if the people are bled dry and are suffering dwindling prospects. Unlike the past, American corporations are in serious competition with foreign concerns. The one consistent historical element of non-populous governments is that they eventually implode.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]