It's All in the Narrative Kind of Thing

Dear America,

it's all in the narrative, isn't it.  isn't it?

imagine spending hundreds of millions of dollars every weekend...
frivolously.
mindlessly.
some may even say, irresponsibly.

and getting essentially nothing in return for it.

just imagine it.

That top 1% -- the ones who reap the benefits, that is -- laughs at us all the way to the bank and back again at the arrival of each and every Monday morning [past, present and future].

HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS.  Every weekend.
did I mention frivolously...mindlessly...maybe even totally irresponsibly.

Return on investment?... for just a couple hours of our time (in banker years, just a flash across the ticker) ...

perhaps a little heartburn.
maybe some lingering goosebumps.
maybe even a couple of bloodshot eyes (from tears, you know).

Yup.  After killing two hours (three if it's of 'epic' proportion), a box of Junior Mints and a bucket of popcorn with extra butter, all of which you paid $24.75, you have yourself nothing to show for it really. absolutely nothing.

You have ownership in nothing.

You have helped Hollywood's top 1% buy another home, yacht, or diamond.

You see, the funny thing is, the top 1% are everywhere and within everything.  and we really wouldn't want it any other way, when you consider the options.

We want the possibility to grow wealth.

Do you think the key grip (whatever that is) should demand getting paid the same as Julia Roberts or Tom Hanks?   How, exactly, would the redistribution of wealth look like in Hollywood?


At least ANYONE can play the stock market.  At least ANYONE can start a business and grow it into a chain of stores (thank you Walmart and McDonald's).  At least ANYONE can work for a living, working for either the government or a private industry, having the opportunity to invest a portion of their hard earned money into long term funds, mutual funds, bonds and stocks.   Sure, the return has been dismal to say the least over the last couple of years -- but that is the nature of the beast, isn't it.  isn't it?

Wall Street merely took advantage of the market place; is it without fault?  certainly not.  Human beings -- chock full of a whole lot of human nature -- are kinda funny like that;  we've got some good ones and we've got some bad ones.  Got some good movies and we got some bad movies.

And earth to the occupiers -- some of us still have our retirement tied to Wall Street's long term survival.  hello?  ET phone home...'you can't handle the truth'....'make my day'....'what, did you go to college to get stupid?'  

But talk about elitist...you've got to know somebody to be somebody in Hollywood; to get on the ground floor of a movie, to make the big money, you must be seriously connected (or incredibly lucky, might as well just play the lottery).

What got this started this morning?

TIME magazine.
Person of the year?  THE PROTESTOR.

Occupy Wall Street (and the like) just got themselves a plump Christmas bonus.  Even after the latest tally -- 5,425 arrests in 94 cities  (thank you to The Daily Caller) -- without breaking down the fits of violence including, rape, murder, arson, robbery, just to name a Few Bad Men.  (aw, was that being sexist? so not sorry) -- they still get awarded with kudos of praise and admiration.  It's almost like having an award show where the deciders are the recipients and the recipients are the deciders and everyone goes home with a gold-leafed goody bag.  It's almost as bad as having Alec Baldwin be the spokesman.

Nope.  Hollywood gets BILLIONS of dollars through their hot little hands (mostly going to the top 1%) and the stupid people who pay to play get absolutely nothing. nada.  zippo. nothing but niet.

What a racket.

How about we start occupying where they live, like Rodeo Drive?  anyone?


Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Massive Republic Take Down in the Park Thing

Dear America,

Happy Friday.
Our days of real, unadulterated freedom are numbered.

There is shocking propaganda circling the airwaves -- but before I get to that, let us review a quick review of the "Early Signs of Fascism;" it is posted right outside the door of my girl's World History classroom.

And just an idea, if you pretend this bucket list is being projected through a loud speaker echoing from the rooftops, it will be more fun. So ready, steady, let's begin:

Early Signs of Fascism

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism

Disdain for Human Rights

Identification of Enemies as a Uniform Cause

Supremacy of the Military

Rampant Sexism

Controlled Mass Media

Obsession with National Security

Religion and Government Intertwined

Corporate Power Protected

Labor Power Suppressed

Disdain for Intellectuals & the Arts

Obsession with Crime & Punishment

Rampant Cronyism & Corruption

Fraudulent Elections

whew.
getting queasy yet?

Hitler was considered a fascist, mobilizing his agenda under the National Socialist Party (aka Nazi's).

In the other extreme....we get to Socialism and Marxism...and basically applying much of the same but different tactics aiming to redistribute the wealth, destroy capitalism, and flip the continuum of power from the bourgeoisie to the working class using whatever it takes -- from 'peaceful' protests to inciting total violence and revolution.

It's a private park in NYC where the Occupy Wall Street is taking place; Bloomberg [with the boot to his neck]  backed off his request to the protestors to temporarily vacate in order to allow for the management company to clean it up [oh the irony of the environmentalists destroying the grass under their own feet, to the extent of pissing and defecating wherever they please].

But when it comes to crony-capitalism, we can sit a spell on a park bench and read all about it and the 168 Million dollar loan guarantee tied back to Zuccotti Park...Department of Energy chimes in again.

Why should we even allow the democratic process to go any further, right?
Check this out:





'just get it done' --  very dictator-esque, isn't it.  I'm just gonna do everything in MY power to circumvent the congressional power that's out to get me and obstruct my vision of fundamental transformation...


and he is being fully supported by some real winners, too:
just sit here for a spell.


wow.

Our founders were quick to recognize a certain truth about human nature and power -- it can get the best of even the best of men.  This kind of authoritarian power must be restrained through the power of Law to tether the lawlessness and corruption of man; while our Constitution was written to protect the very freedoms of little men, NOT big government.

"It would be a dangerous delusion were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears for the safety of our rights; that confidence is everywhere the parent of despotism; free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions to bind down those whom we are obliged to trust with power; that our Constitution has accordingly fixed the limits to which, and no farther, our confidence may go...In questions of power, then, let no more be said of confidence in man, BUT BIND HIM DOWN FROM MISCHIEF BY THE CHAINS OF THE CONSTITUTION."  From The 5000 Year Leap, taken from The Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, Annals of America, 4:65-66; emphasis added when quoting the words of Thomas Jefferson.

Our freedom is hanging on our ability to hold certain truths dear, sacred even...untouchable.


I've gone to this next quote often.  From James Madison:

"I believe 

there are more instances 

of the abridgement of the freedom 

of the people by gradual 

and silent 

encroachments of those in power, 

than by violent 

and 

sudden 

usurpations."

And to tie in some straight talk from a bunch of true libertarians, seek refuge under the tree of life @The Daily Bell and read this take while eating that fried baloney sandwich.

it is the strangest thing, watching a REPUBLIC once so strong and so clear about it's responsibility to limit the power of government slip into quiet revolution turning our tried and true principles upside down and ass backwards, with a smelly park to prove it.

This class warfare &$%* has never ever never ever worked; while making money makes more freedom every single time.  capitalism is not the evil super power to blame -- big government is.

And nothing could be more true, or uttered with more passion, when we end this day with one last shining refrain: Power to the People!

Make it a Good Day, G

and have you noticed deeply embedded in the park that we are back to bashing Jews? since when is this okay in America?

It's a Freedom to Decide for Ourselves Thing

Dear America,

we're talking about freedom this week -- and a whole lot of it.


we've been pre-occupied [badump ba] by the idea of freedom living in a more perfect world as being played out by the Occupy Wall Street protestors...but how about we swing to the other side to record what's going on from the right.

so let's talk about it --
how about the left (along with the GOP establishment, no less) give us a little freedom to decide our own candidate, for mitt's sake.   back off; this is not about you.

the nerve really...

after all we've been through...

didn't the elections of 2010 say enough?

What is funny is listening to the continuing refrain -- oh he's so smooth, such a great debater; he's so cool, calm and collected [ew, where have we heard that before?]; while he's so experienced, you know, like he's been a real governor and everything;  and hey, Chris Christie has stepped up to 'like' him...that's gotta say something... and 9-9-9, what in tar hill is that all about?  is he nuts?...that'ull never work.   so what's the big &%#ing deal if a couple of his own advisers helped out with writing Obombneycare?

Happy Wednesday ya'll -- the latest poll hitting the deny'ers upside the head this morning is showing Herman Cain leading with 30%, Romney at 22% and the rest of the pack trailing behind...

unveiling the immediate reality -- Cain is up by 78% over Romney's twenty-two.

The thing is, if Romney gets the nomination, it will not be without a whole lot of kicking and screaming.

Until then -- we, the people, are free to make up our own freeken mind!

-- Newsflash --

Because the Tea Party
has grown truly organically out of the grassroots...

Because the Tea Party's
true dynamic is auspiciously hidden from view...

Because the Tea Party
feeds off a natural connection at the core...

Because the Tea Party
doesn't care how many names you call it...

Because WE know who we are; we know where we are going; and we know what we like when we see it -- when it is one of us, when it is real and authentic and simpatico with the nation's core beliefs and principles, we cling.

Chuck Schumer is out to bury the Tea Party -- illustrating the way the liberal mind works these days; now that Barack Obama is president, the organizer-in-chief has made it possible to implement Alinsky's Rules for Radicals from the inside out, as planned all along.  While he doesn't have to do a thing; all he needs to do is say the word, show them the way, and his party's talking heads will do the rest, allowing the president to sit back, smelling like a rose, politically unscathed.

At your leisure -- please read this insider talking points memo.


For some reason, the Tea Party is believed to be such a major threat -- whether it is the jobs bill or relating to the upcoming 2012 election -- Chuckie and the DNC have developed a plan for an all out attack.  Using graphs, economic projections, dropping names of economic guys in for good measure, the schumester makes his case.

And today, everyone and their mother seems to be carrying the story -- this from Roll Call.  this from HuffPost. this from The Daily Caller.  this from Politico.

The narrative of the power elite and the establishment both left and right, is that the Tea Party is sooooooo 2010; the latest vibe mounting -- world-wide even --  as in the all for one and one for all @Occupy-any-city-USA, entirely aimed at orchestrating a total reversal of fortune -- is where it's at.

And just in case you need more proof, TIME Magazine adds another dimension, something along the lines of this: tea party people, more or less, suck  -- while the occupiers are all that.  For a decent breakdown of the numbers, here ya go.

Which you know, if the prevailing belief among the yucky yucks and the masses is that the Tea Party is out and Occupy is in, then why all the fuss, Chuck?  You must have had your people spend hours throwing that "tea party economics" memo together; as it turns out, what a waste of time, right?  It only leads me to the believe there is still something in 'the Tea' that you are deathly afraid of...but maybe that's just me.

Besides blaming the Tea Party  for the economic Armageddon going on in Washington, he tries to claim this super-power overrides real Senate control.  This just in:

"We are going to be labeling tea party economics. Tea party double-dip recession. Tea party gridlock. We think that’s going to have a real effect. So in a sense, it’s a sword and a shield. The sword is our effort to do something on jobs. The shield is pointing out what’s keeping us from moving forward.”

A reporter asked Schumer why voters were supposed to blame Republicans for economic outcomes when Democrats control the White House and the Senate. “We don’t control the Senate,” Schumer shot back. “You write that and it’s false.”

 via Ezra Klein, WONKBLOG, The Washington Post.

So we have ridicule -- and all-round-bashing -- pitting the essential liberty of one group against another -- the casting of one agenda as nearly demonic, while calling the other, angels -- and basically, downshifting to a make-believe underworld to remedy the immediate political climate (here's lookin' at you, Schume, who can't seem to control his own -- if you dems really really wanted it, that jobs bill was as good as gold and in the bag -- don't you think we the people have been Lied to Enough Already, pul-leeze) ........

.......But isn't it simply wonderful, freedom of speech, including all the rhetoric you can spew, even in writing, is totally protected in this country....yes, including my own....

Is it any wonder to any of you why Romney can't seem to muster any more than thirty percent?

In a perfect world, the majority of republicans wouldn't have a thing to do with him; that's what the numbers say.

Getting back to my intentions on the day -- the electorate is free to make up it's own mind; and clearly, the first thing that we must do is shut out the media and talking heads -- for they are of no use to us.

We have the freedom to follow our heart, and our minds, telling us to take the road less traveled.

It may take awhile.

and the best news -- we don't even have to announce it to anybody, let alone let Reuters, Bloomberg, the AP, in on our vibe;

it's kinda like that 'twin thing' --
you know, when you don't even have to speak....you know what each other is thinking, even across the miles, the purple mountains majesty, and not long after turning right at the fruited grain.  We just know.  We feel it.

And about that feeling, on the inside, sensing that self-control and all the freedom in the world to effect change...oh my goodness... now that is a good feeling.  It's like a slice of home, a piece of yourself, that is spirit expressing and bouncing around all over the place.  Talk about freedom running wild.  [maybe the difference is we keep our shirts on]

The current climate tells us that we no longer need to hold a sign * -- we are connected spontaneously and effortlessly at the core. and boy, do we cling something fierce.

This is what the establishment is refusing to recognize.

and I say, let them keep guessing.

this may take awhile.
and isn't this fun.


Make it a Good Day, G

* of course, it doesn't mean we can't pick one up; and we will, when it is time.

It's the Freedom to Make It or Break It Kind of Thing

Dear America,

the condition of being free from restraints

liberty of the person from slavery, oppression, or incarceration

political independence

possession of civil rights; immunity from the arbitrary exercise of authority

exemption from unpleasant or onerous conditions

the capacity to exercise choice: free will

-- all found in the American Heritage Dictionary --

and THIS is just the beginning; this is just the start of the discussion of freedom and liberty for all.

You know what freedom looks like?

You know what freedom feels like?

You know what freedom sounds like?

Freedom, in and of itself, is a full spectrum of ideals and experiences unique to each and every one of us. We just know when we're feeling it, loving it and living the dream in it and when we are not.

As the Occupy Wall Street protestors live on to ring in another day of chanting, 'this is what democracy looks like' -- I would like to think that most of us watching the spectacle are just thinking to ourselves, ah, like, no.

The protestors seem quite keen on explaining and protecting their personal freedoms (even if the convoluted message as to the why gets totally lost in the crowd) -- but just how is it possible that these freedom-lovin', bull-horn tootin', loquacious libertarians can't seem to grasp the incredible and incalculable essential missing link?

WE CANNOT TAKE THE FREEDOM FROM ONE PERSON SIMPLY TO GIVE IT TO ANOTHER. America was not designed that way; while the free market doesn't work that way; and this goes without saying, it is not a commodity to trade, give, sell, lose, or barter in any way.  You just wouldn't know it by looking at us right now, now would you?

The protestors seem quite keen on believing that their personal freedom should be shored up, building their rationale upon what seems right and fair in their favor -- but the freedom marker stops right there.  Wall Street, however -- and anyone connected to those dirty, greedy bastards -- should have their freedom cut off at the knees.  &*$% 'em.   Lock 'em all up... or how about this one...something to the effect of  'let's just eat them' [oh and you doubt me?  go here].

and I bet you all wouldn't hurt a flee...probably escort spiders on a magic magazine carpet to safely shoo them out the door...dripping of sweetness and light protecting the dolphins, the whales, that special lizard found only in the northwest quadrant of Texas...  but look out when it comes to certain fellow human beings, real people with a heart beat, a mom, and perhaps a family of their own.  sure, ya love your guns and ammo then, now doncha?



ya know, this just might run counter to what you all assume to be the truth of conservatives everywhere and often -- and directing my thoughts to the roaring props for peace with the rising socialist sun -- but I want you to have your freedom just as much as my own.


I want that for you.
I want you to be happy, healthy, inspired in your daily life to earn a living and grow your own -- whether that is a family, a company, a hedge fund, or a garden of weed(s).  I want that for you. DO you want that for me -- and for all the rest of us you share this land?

Peaceful protests are apart of the fabric of our lives, our history, giving us a snapshot to look back on and say, this is what democracy looks like (then); there is that.

But just think about what you are saying. Think about the hypocrisy underwriting the very platform for which you chant.  Currently, your so-called organic movement is being funded and supplied and made possible with the very money/organization of which you want to annihilate and beat into the ground.   yeah, just move on dot org, nothing to see here...

We could start with the biggest ingrate in the world, George Soros -- given that his brilliant liberal ass made billions off of playing with other people's money and investments, destroying currency, and building up a left-wing empire off of the beauty of the free market, using Wall Street all the way.  We could start there.

But I am having too good of a morning to go there, to dwell on the new King George, any further than that.

Are these kids really that dumb?  Are they really that ignorant of the hand that's played them (the youth) over and over and over again?  Are they really that incapable of connecting all the dots?

As my link above outlines a certain level of absurdity -- given the context of 'we are, after all, dealing with America here'  -- Alex Newman's first sentence says it all:

"Labor unions, communists, “community organizers,” socialists, and anti-capitalist agitators have all joined together to “Occupy Wall Street” and protest against “greed,” corporations, and bankers."

since when has the majority of every day Americans been okay with this "fundamental transformation" -- akin to socialists, communists, anti-capitalists in any way?  just how could even one democrat in office think these kids have their head on straight, endorsing them to carry on [thanks bloomberg], as if deserving to be enshrined in perpetuity as the voice of reason? [God bless 'em, right, Nance...]

Thinking this "redistribution" thing all the way through, is that really where we want to go?

Let me ask you -- picturing a brand new socialist regime ....even more hard core than the one we've got now, if you can imagine that -- would we have more or less personal freedom?

it's a simple question.

If we let "the protestors" have there way and let "Wall Street" -- "Bankers, in general, and many in particular" -- and all evil corporations large and small --  extinguish into thin air -- what kind of real world would we have, besides the spontaneous combustion of total chaos?

Nancy Pelosi has already pulled in over a half a million dollars from Wall Street since the last election; while it has been reported, that Obama has made more money from Wall Street than any other politician over the last twenty years!  Hold up ...let me find some back up for you...here you go.  Here's even more.

ahh sunshine on my shoulders DOES make me happy.

"SOCIALISM

is a philosophy of failure, 

the creed of ignorance, 

and the gospel of envy, 

it's inherent virtue 

is the equal sharing of misery."  

Winston Churchill

and worse,

it feels like slavery,

while to the naked eye,

it looks like 

Occupy Wall Street 

but on steroids,

and smells like

the freedom

to live,

but in ruin

just G

"...Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System.  Previous generations built the Hoover Dam.  Our researchers developed the Internet.  These people didn’t make it on their own who are now in Silicon Valley.  The reason they’re successful is not only because of their extraordinary work, but it’s because they’re building on the collective effort of America.

Nobody makes it on their own.  That’s what this country is about.  We have always been a land of opportunity and self-reliance and rugged individualism, but we’ve also looked after each other.  We’ve also said we’re in it together..."

Barack Obama,

remarks at a DNC event,

designed to reel in the money...

where it comes from, who really cares, right?

"Nobody makes it on their own. That's what this country is about."  nobody.
so on that note -- tomorrow -- we just might have to start there.


Make it a Good Day, G

It's hey, man, Can't We All Get Along.... Thing

Dear America,

hey man, peace.
Breaking News Update:   @Occupy Wall Street is on the streets in San Diego.

and it is really far out.


One of San Diego's very best, Mike Slater [mornings 6-9am on 760kfmb], a young dude totally dedicated to bringing high grade purple haze ideals and opinion to conservatives everywhere within the listening radius, is on it; he is down there this morning, masquerading as one of them.   Simply calling himself "Mark Hater -- a progressive blogger and radio host"  -- he is talking to every anarchists he can find (which is nearly everyone).

And yet, if somebody were to just jump into his program today at the wrong time -- unaware of what he's actually doing -- it could really throw you off.  There are times when his boy-next-door voice of rational, sound principle starts slipping into another realm....like a never, never land of sorts, before unexpectedly dropping down a rabbit hole of whoa.... dude.

Here are some of the highlights of the wisdom walking tie-dye down Broadway:

Anarchist #1:  when asked to define 'anarchy' ---  'is, basically, like, about being responsible for yourself...people, like, living together in harmony...and you know, like, helping each other out. that's what it's all about.' [paraphrasing, cuz I just couldn't keep up with it all]

Anarchist #2: when asked to define his reality  --  'um, well I'm unemployed right now, but not really looking...I'm kinda like off the grid, man, like growing my own food.  that's what it's all about. we don't need all this stuff...like grocery stores...or like SDG&E...think about it. we survived before without all of it, without electricity, without Iphones.  capitalism is not the way, man.'  [again, paraphrasing the psychedelic dream weaver as best I could]

Anarchist #3:  a direct quote..."humanity comes before profits..."

and naturally, kumbaya is playing in the background.


In between Mark Hater's progressive tambourine routine, the program would also hit us with a commercial from a "sponsor" -- and equally dumbfounding if not tuned in and turned on and in the know.  Running spots for "windmill showers" and one of my favorites, "hemp boxers  -- if concerned for lowering the carbon footprint through the seat of your pants, see the guy in the middle of the park holding a sign next to the guy playing the bongos..." or something like that.

But wait! There's more!  I haven't told you the best part -- on this day in the life in America.

All of this, going on, like, in 256 cities nationwide, is totally supported by the upper echelon of the Democratic party, including our very own Organizer-in-Chief. [did you play a little Marvin Gaye there?...it's one of my favorite songs.    I know, weird.  But we have no time to dwell on that little wonder right now...so moving on dot org...]

Here's our president, from late last week:

“Obviously I’ve heard of it [Occupy Wall Street -- cuz don't tell anyone, I organized it.   shhhh], I’ve seen it on television..."  [um, ah, that's a good one, Mr. President]   "I think it expressed the frustrations that the American people feel that we had the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, huge collateral damage all throughout he country, all across Main Street, and yet you’re still seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on abusive practices that got us into this problem in the first place. So yes I think people are frustrated and the protestors are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration [using broad-based charades for emphasis] about how our financial system works.”     go here for more.

right.  broad-based. would that be the "99%" by chance?

did you ever think we would ever see the day when we had a president supporting anarchy --  through broad-based, highly misguided, mis-representation of the masses by revolution  -- upon the streets of America? protesting the very essence of our free market, capitalism?

And how could we forget not to tie in our very own Nancy Pelosi, fresh in off her private jet from Haight-Ashbury, as the great sympathizer and co-dependent of the right kind of Astro-turf, I mean, grass root agenda...Her message to the Occupiers:  "God bless them...for their spontaneity. It's independent ... it's young, it's spontaneous, and it's focused. And it's going to be effective."

ahhh but it's awfully hard to keep up with this girl; in February of 2010, the Tea Party was actually beginning to grow on her.   what a difference a day makes, huh Nancy?  she is just blowen' in the wind, however the political breeze blows.

The thing is, it's as if some of us have slipped into the seventies all of a sudden and everybody seems okay with it.   so strange.

But that isn't my point today.   'My thing' has only just begun, ya dig?  Sure the anarchists at large may have started it -- while the broad-based acceptance of it from our democratic leadership is another -- but it got me thinking about one of our first intentions, organically cultivated as first citizens of this great country.

Our inherent birthright -- which came chock full of  responsibilities and duties, to ourselves and each other -- was designed so that we would all be our own banker.

America was created much like the sentiment from anarchist number one -- to be responsible for ourselves and live in harmony with one another.

Perfect.  Sign me up.

While in the beginning, we most definitely had to be responsible for our own bread and water; we grew in community with each another and learned how to share one person's corn with another person's butter -- and turning the lights on by candlelight or kerosene or something or nothing.  we shared the light or we shared the dark, building the community church, the local grocery store, the one room schoolhouse, the jailhouse, the saloon, and even [god help us] the very first bank!

[To the anarchist number two -- is this kinda like what you had in mind?  like living like one local community at a time -- one park per every ten families perhaps? gosh....it almost sounds counter-productive to the whole global one world agenda...cuz how could we really help women in Ethiopia or Children in the Sudan being locked into our own little world, I mean, communities without a word from the outside, without the means to get there, without a concern of anything else outside of our own survival...but maybe that conundrum beat is just in me...so let's keep on keepin' on...]

The thing is, over time, we grew quite good at it, didn't we?  We developed like little country mice and city mice and became known as the leader of the free world in a span of less than a couple of hundred years.

And when it comes to the "school house,"  today, there is not one school fundraiser that does not reap the benefits of our prosperity and the abundance of our corporate-human-nature supply side; from large to small, from the mom and pop to the Fortune 500, all gifts of donations, in cash or in product or in time and energy, and of course,  in spirit, begins and ends with a product of  capitalists large and small.  All of it.

[while who'd a thought we would need all those gifts, right? like, just the federal budget alone is, like, over 100 billion dollars a year.... on just education for pete's sake...and it must be good, right....just look around at the kids today...]

Which brings us back around to anarchist number three, miss humanity-comes-before-profits.  Where did you go to school?  Without a profit there is no gift of donations  in cash, or in kind, or in product, or in time, while all in the spirit of giving back and taking care of our own -- you know, like in community with one another --   let alone the making of a job or two or 100 million.  None of it happens.

Schools benefit.  Community services and charities benefit.  Livelihoods far and wide,  creating the opportunity to grow personal wealth, all benefit.

It isn't long before we all further benefit in the investment of other people's businesses and talent and resourcefulness through applications like the stock market and money market funds and world markets and blah blah blah la di da.

And when this caught on, were soon learned that pensions and retirement funds could be built upon this principle of freedom to invest for the whole -- for the entire lot -- in community with one another -- like, whoa; people like union workers, the private sector employment packages, federal employees, teachers, policemen, firemen, garbage men, mailmen, small business owners and even CEO's of Fortune 500 companies....you name it...we jumped on that groovy gravy train to benefit.  Ta-Da!

Is the system without fraud or faults?  Of course not.

It's called human nature.

It's all comes back to free will, good character vs. bad acts, and the freedom to rise and fall on our own [whether it be with regard to wealth or reputation -- its like we all manufacture our own karma everyday, and bank on it, while the circle goes round and round and round].

It's a story as old as time.

I keep thinking back to that Newsweek cover, "we're all socialists now;" looking back the last several years, it's no wonder how we got here.

Both political parties have veered off the beaten path; and this just leads me to making way for the big finish now...

Instead of reinforcing the founding principle that, in fact, 'we're all bankers now' at the dawn of each new day,  the unruly lot in office, masquerading as the policy-meets-politics-people, have grown to undermine our foundation -- risking fiscal solvency and the very future of the union.

Methodically and systematically, decade after decade, banking upon government regulation, breaking bad with our principles and values, and otherwise opting for greater controls by the power elite, no matter which ideological side was in the majority -- that little rabbit hole we seemed to have slipped into is now a sink-hole the size of North America.

It's beginning to look a lot like if you've seen one hippie, you've seen'em all; and if you put them all together, the competing tie-dye pattern just make mud.

It's all about human nature acting like humans.  There are good companies and there are bad; there are good people, and there are bad; there are good hedge fund guys, and there are bad; there are good public servants, and there are bad; there are good teachers, and there are bad; there are good kids, and there are bad.

The reality is, altogether, what we are witnessing today is what happens when humanity meets up with just more humanity. And we've been here before.

But more than that, can't we -- humanity and profits -- just all get along?


I believe the real America is more GOOD than bad -- look around you, I think you will see it, too.
The broad-based emphasis should be on that.

The real crime is what is going on in Washington.but more on that later.

Peace out,

Make it a Good Day, G

g note: this blaaahg started yesterday, monday, but it's now tuesday.  kinda sorta had a girl-interrupted moment.  Anyway, I left the monday perspective in but didn't want you to be totally dazed and confused on what day it is...

g note deux: you would think, these kids -- being so ANTI bailout [which, by the way, the Tea Party People agree. matter of fact, they started it...but details, right]  but you would think they would go back to the people that printed the monopoly money to do it.  our government went 'passed GO' with no penalty, no protest.  WTF?

g note trois: speaking of double standards...crony capitalism living in the sunshine state of Solyndra is one thing, but Wall Street doled out BIG BUCKS to their maker in 2008 [and a whole lot more than to the republicans] -- and yet, the media, the protestors, the anarchists just love him, still.  wow.

It's Earth to Bernanke and the "Ninety Nine Percent" Thing

Dear America,

mea culpa
this girl was all over the place yesterday...

looking back -- hindsight being twenty twenty, you know -- my rather punchy perspective on the day just couldn't be controlled; making any chance for articulating a refined argument with defined grievances slim to none.  so in the end...dizzy girl went rogue and she ruled the day.

perhaps, if there is room for rationalization here, we could attribute my spastic repartee with myself as simply a reflection of the gene pool of "the ninety-nine percent."  The "99" being the rolling thunder of discontent, of which even they -- the occupiers -- cannot even figure it out and fine tune their cause into any one thing.

and how true:

From Georgia Public Broadcasting:

" 'Out here today to juxtapose zombie-eating money between corporate bankers that consume everything. Never enough. Must have it all! Tax poor! Tax cuts for the rich!'  Rallston says in a throaty zombie voice.

The zombie agenda is just one of many issues and philosophies animating these protesters, who've eaten and slept in Lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park for more than two weeks now. If you ask them what exactly they're protesting against, you get a lot of different answers."

A picture worth a thousand words was provided in the link above.

But apparently, the "zombie-eating money" grubbers is only one percent of the "ninety-nine"... 

"Naturally, capitalism is their favorite target. They proclaim it in signs, comments and in interviews. Their “declaration of demands” reads like some deluded fantasy about things they hate in the world. Those include: corporate-produced food, animal testing, the death penalty, outsourcing, paying for tuition, campaign finance, colonialism and carbon-based energy. They left out some of the protest standards of “Free Mumia” and “Death to Israel,” but those are sure to surface over time."

talk about being all over the place.  oi vay. [I here you, like I should talk]

check. and check check.

so jumping out on another limb here -- I believe this thing -- being "all over the place"  -- is not exclusive to little old G or the Occupiers.  So if you can bear it, follow me along on a trip down zombie-central memory lane, and with laser-like focus concentrate on the words of Ben Bernanke.

Beginning with OCTOBER 4 -- but in the year 2006!

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy is experiencing a "substantial correction" in the housing market and that the Fed is closely watching how it plays out.

The decline in housing 'was one of the major drags causing the economy to slow now'...

The Fed chief characterized the long-term outlook for the economy as "healthy" and "growing" but said particular care must be given to two issues: the effects of aging on the economy and the importance of skills, education and training both for children and adults in order for the United States to stay competitive in today's world."

fascinating, isn't it?
that was Bernanke, eight months in.
Now, skipping over 2007 entirely...let's go here:

Valentine's Day 2008:

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson both acknowledged problems in the U.S. economy Thursday, but both said they believe the nation will avoid falling into recession.

The two made their comments at a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee about the economy. Their testimony comes in the wake of troubling economic readings that have raised recession fears on Wall Street.

...'More expensive and less available credit seems likely to continue to be a source of restraint on economic growth,' Bernanke said.

But he added he's not worried about bank failures because he thinks banks entered the current downturn with sufficient capital and have been able to raise additional funds."

By 2009,  we don't need to look any further than recollect the cover of TIME and recall the confidence reflected by the president himself:

"Ben approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom, with bold action and out-of-the-box thinking that has helped put the brakes on our economic free fall.”   

oh really, Mr. President?

TIME just couldn't help it, they just kept gushing and gushing:

"Bernanke also knows the economy would be much, much worse if the Fed had not taken such extreme measures to stop the panic. There’s a vast difference between 10 percent and 25 percent unemployment, between anemic and negative growth. He wishes Americans understood that he helped save the irresponsible giants of Wall Street only to protect ordinary folks on Main Street. He knows better than anyone how financial crises spiral into global disasters, how the grass gets crushed when elephants fall."

riveting good journalism.

Looking back to about a year ago, August 27, 2010:

"Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke bluntly acknowledged that the U.S. economic recovery has lost considerable steam, but said the central bank has the necessary policy tools to support continued growth.

'The issue at this stage is not whether we have the tools to help support economic activity and guard against inflation,' Bernanke said at the Fed annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. 'We do'...

Bernanke said that the pace of economic growth is 'somewhat less vigorous' than expected, but remained optimistic for a pickup in 2011.

 ...the Fed would reinvest in Treasurys to maintain the size of its balance sheet, and added that the bank is prepared to provide additional "unconventional measures if it proves necessary, especially if the outlook were to deteriorate significantly." 

question:  what defines "unconventional" ?

But again: "Bernanke said the Fed will continue to monitor developments in the economy and evaluate other options to try and reverse the slowing momentum."

are we feeling confident, or what?

we are all over the place with this;  we are grasping for the fix -- with Ben Bernanke leading the flighty fight for recovery all the way.  and considering all things said and unsaid, how sketchy is that?


Flash-forward to today: OCTOBER 4, 2011:

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank stands ready to take additional steps to boost U.S. growth and cautioned lawmakers against budget moves that would harm a 'sluggish' recovery.

The Fed 'will continue to closely monitor economic developments and is prepared to take further action as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability,' Bernanke said today in testimony to Congress’s Joint Economic Committee in Washington."

seriously?

 “A second important objective is to avoid fiscal actions that could impede the ongoing economic recovery,” Bernanke said. 'Putting in place a credible plan for reducing future deficits over the longer term does not preclude attending to the implications of fiscal choices for the recovery in the near term,' he said, without being more specific."

did this guy really deserve being named person of the year way back in 2009?    could this be yet another 'mission accomplished' moment for all time?

when "wall street" gets leveled next week by the Occupiers-in-Chief -- by the rebels with too many causes to count, the zombie-dwellers with too many threats of violence to mount -- what will Ben do then? what will he say?  how will he instill confidence once the threshold to all future retirement funds and pensions and livelihoods  large and small come crashing down?  what will he say?

let me guess, something to the effect of ...the Fed will continue to closely monitor economic developments and is prepared to take further action as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability....how's that?

THIS is why we, the people, were intended to live free and die hard of our own doing  -- to rise and fall on our own in a free market of our own making.  Reincarnating the sounds of the dizzy-zombie-girl of just yesterday, for decades we have been surrounded by red flags and still!  ignored all the signs.

Granted, I may have been all over the place, but not without cause; I merely linked arms with the rest you indiscriminately attacked by the twenty-first century contagion that holds the power to get the better of us -- as anything goes and being all over the place the better and running viral as we speak.    

Unless! we actually take the precious time out now, and regroup, no matter what happens, no matter how much it might hurt.

These conditions call for us to return to the ideals and economic policies that have been proven, leading me wide open with an excellent segway to a fine read, The 5000 Year Leap.  Get it.  Read it.  Love it.  

[but earth to Bernanke -- if we have to work with you, along with The Fed itself -- by all appearances, you sir, seem to be operating under a stabs-in-the-dark policy.  this is no way to run a central bank or instill confidence, just sayin'...ooooh and check that, maybe 'the occupiers' are spot on with the whole zombie dimension...]

Let's just grind this all to a halt right now.

You know what I think?  
I think it calls for each one of us to drop to our knees and chant all together:

"I give" 

...over and over and over again; for if this isn't a time to call for divine guidance and intervention and direction, I don't know what is.

We have made serious errors -- in judgement, in practice, in mind, in the body politic and in the public body. We are all zombies now.

mea culpa      mea culpa          mea culpa  

God help us.

Make it a Good Day, G

our thoughts are things...the mindset of yesterday continuously feeds into the reality on the day. It works the same way for all of us, all creatures large and small.

It's Land of the Free to an Occupied Territory Thing

Dear America,

"OCCUPY WALL STREET or bust"

for starters, anything that operates under a name beginning with the word "occupy" a red flag should tell us to walk away right quick. right?

But more than that -- and given this is  just-a-girl-world-after-all  (if it hasn't already crossed your mind, silly girl wants you to sing that to It's a Small World after all...) -- I feel that I would be highly remiss if I did not tie the relationship of my own misguided alliances based upon a poor assumption, maybe a downright lie, or a false pretense made real, if only in my own mind into the conversation.

When it comes to love ...and war, and wealth building, and whatever else, picking up on the signals -- whether sweet petunia pink to fire engine red  -- takes experience, panache, a certain sense of knowing-ness in order to rule the day successfully.

The truth is, in order to successfully navigate life, it calls for each one of us to be responsible for making sound decisions all by our self  based upon the conditions, the realities, our experiences, our education, all while paying close attention to the red flags and smoke signals --  AND BE honest about it!

Forever being a twisted catch 22 of the heart and soul creating real life outcomes, our due diligence to remain unattached to the fairy tale being played out in our head while being total open and honest of whatever the truth may be, even if the truth hurts, unite at the core at the very source of our highest good, only revealing itself in the every day decisions that we make.

But sometimes, we just don't want to see it, do we?

Admittedly running the risk of spinning this into something really really silly:   is it fair for just the sound of a name to send some of us running to the high hills with the willies?

No. Probably not.

But for me, that name would be paul.   ew.

And yet, with the latest meme marching at the corner of Wall and Broad remaking a classic tension, robbing peter to pay paul, it would seem my distrust and distaste has reached a level of disdain I had no idea how deep.

What's the point?  What about paul?  well glad you asked...

I keep looking at the "Occupy Wall Street" people wondering where in the world did all these pauls come from?   ....as I fight to hold back my own natural gag reflex at just the thought of it.... How in the world did America, of all places, make so many of them all of a sudden?

It's as if every lousy, good for nothing paul (and paulina) is there, perfectly willing to attack, and take advantage of, the system --  maybe even destroy it  (and being totally oblivious of their own ignorance and shortcomings, misguided as they are, of course).

It's as if to take something from somebody else -- even though entirely undeserving, and being without warrant, nor of good conscience, nor with a shred of common sense applied -- has grown into a new self-reliance of a warped age, displaying uncommon, unprecedented, generational defects.

Who are they?
Apparently proud enough to be associated, if not synonymous with, the Arab Spring and the Day of Rage. The underlying amount of grassroots stupidity is outrageous.

PLEASE READ THESE -- from my favorite libertarian outpost, and the brand curator of a popular movement taking a foothold as we speak, and simply recognized as the Internet Reformation -- go here.  And here.

So as the new rules apply, "paul" is perfectly fine with taking from peter, the more the better.. even if it's wrong... now tell me something I don't know.

As the new sense of entitlement builds, "paul" is monopolizing and making a mockery of the left wing media while pulling on the heartstrings, claiming to be the victim....to which I have to ask, oh really?  seriously?  that's a good one.

"But 21st century class warfare is a weird thing.

Take the technology that gives most what only the few once could afford. Most Americans now expect as a birthright iPhones, iPods, laptops, DVDs and big-screen televisions, thanks to cheap overseas fabrication and fierce price-cutting global competition. The typical welfare recipient now owns a sophisticated cell phone; a fat cat corporate CEO not long ago did not.

For the president, riding on a private jet from New York to Los Angeles is supposed to be privilege. But a poor person on a discount nonstop ticket can still get there as safely and almost as quickly for about one-thousandth of the cost in fuel and overhead. Once they land minutes apart at LAX, was the Gulfstream passenger all that blessed, the guy in steerage with headphones and a TV screen all that deprived?

...In the old days, class warriors were proverbial men of the people who made an effort to match their lifestyles with their rhetoric. Not now. When President Obama rails about "millionaires," we expect that in a few hours our Class Warrior in Chief will golf with Wall Street fat cats to hit them up for campaign money. We presume that the First Family prefers Costa del Sol, Martha's Vineyard or Vail to a passé Camp David."  from Victor Davis Hanson, featured in The Patriot Post here.

The thing is --  the truth is --  the co-existing realities in play are off; things are not what they seem and in a word not-quite-right.from a number of angles in the light of day (and, of course, once we take those rose colored glasses off).


If only;  if only these poor, poor kids...... who somehow found enough time and money to cut out from real life for, what, going on three weeks now..........who seem to have enough broadband capability to keep connected on facebook while twittering their afternoons away.......and who, ironically, seem an altogether perfect fit for fighting against the establishment through Tea Party activism far and wide (go figure)......if only they stopped for a second and realized the hypocrisy of their actions alongside their free market associations and alliances.....just maybe we might get somewhere.


These kids can 'occupy wall street' for as long as they want, but "Wall Street" is not the problem as much as it is guilty for taking advantage of the economic conditions handed to them on a silver platter by our government.

But if only these kids knew better -- they would realize that most of MIDDLE America's retirement funds are all wrapped up in it's safe keeping, almost like a bad marriage at this point.  To ruin Wall Street now, is to wreak havoc upon what happens to grandma and grandpa -- or perhaps your own folks -- in due time -- and if the senseless preoccupation along this line of attack continues. Do you have room for all of them to move in with you?  [can you hear me now?]

Besides, this anger is totally misguided -- considering that the truth was staring at you in the face the whole entire time.  Oh those pesky details.  

Clearly, living in the present moment like you all seem to do, history has escaped all logic.

If you are gonna get mad -- sure -- get mad -- get mad at The Fed,  and those who created the very conditions for the rich to get richer in the first place.  Get mad at the Central Bank and, of course, those in power who just play with the people's money.   Get mad at the Federal Government who grows debt at a rate of TWO TRILLION dollars each year.

But by all means do not stop there; go the distance with this anger so that just maybe, the next time, the next time you have a chance for love and happiness, wealth and fulfillment in every possible way, that your anger is not in vain.   Learn, grow, expand.... make something more of yourself in the process;  and more than anything else, commit to never making the same mistakes again.

We only have ourselves to blame.

Truth bites, doesn't it (taking a big bite of it myself, mmm mmm yum)

We are the ones who let the things that matter go; we are the ones who allowed the things at the core, the fundamentals, to vanish.  We are the ones who slipped into an imaginary happy ending with our eyes wide shut.   Whether our head was in the sand or in the clouds, we did it to ourselves.

"A wise and frugal government, 

which shall leave men free 

to regulate their own pursuits 

of industry and improvement, 

and shall not take from the mouth of labor 

the bread it has earned -- 

this is the sum of good government."  

Thomas Jefferson

For all the things gone terribly wrong, the overzealous government happened first.

"A great empire, like a great cake, 

is most easily diminished at the edges."  

Benjamin Franklin

Make it a Good Day, G