Passing bills they don't even read

Passing bills they don't even read should be a crime and any repeat offenders ought to be impeached.

Problem is, with the way they have all this set up, how do "we the people" get any new regulations/laws enacted that directly affects them and their "business as usual"? In many cases, the very people elected to represent us have become the enemy. Since we put them in office and gave them power over us, how are we ever going to get them to change?

How are we supposed to get them to listen to us when in practice, they don't have to. We put them in charge of making the rules. In return they make rules that ruin our lives all the while exempting themselves. They also make rules that reinforce their ability to make more rules.

Seems like a catch 22. To further complicate the issue and neuter any voter's sense of power, we give them 2 years/6 years at a time to do whatever they want. And, oh boy! they do what ever they want. We elect them to (presumably) to serve us and they immediately start acting like Princes and Princesses.

There needs to be mechanism of the people that reins them in. Just as some issues are put to referendum, to be voted on by the people (real democracy) there ought to be procedures that the common people can initiate to reel them back in. Procedures that would be immune from their meddling and modifying.

Enough of them are so in bed with special interests and deaf/dumb/blind to the will of the people that we have effectively lost control of our country and society to them. They'd sell their own mother's eyes for a buck and right now, they're raping this country along with organizations such as Goldman-Sachs and the military-industrialists. Does anyone know what the military actually spends? Black budget programs are a blank check. No one knows how much and real auditing is impossible - just like the Fed.

Jobs are going overseas and most aren't coming back. Many firms that outsource to foreign lands actually get tax credits for doing so. They are being incentivised to do so at the expense of every working man and woman in the USA. Their future, secured through the consolidation of wealth, power and influence is secure. They don't care about ours or this Golden Goose they're slowly killing.

Futurists and trend predictors aren't giving us any rosy scenarios for the near term future. Some - the pessimists - say we could see riots and the real breakdown of society. Some - the optimists - hope that a strong 3rd party will emerge to challenge the two-faced thing that now runs everything.

I only hope that people wake up and stop being sheep. Only then can real change happen.

Ralph M

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."

- Thomas Jefferson

The Political Universe Is Multi-Dimensional.

Theoretical physicists believe that the universe is multi-dimensional. That is, that beyond the ordinary dimensions we humans perceive as well as time, there exist many other dimensions predicted by theory even though our limited senses cannot directly regard them.

Why is the notion that political views are always bi-dimensional so ingrained in our societies? Why do we persist in the stubborn idea of left VS right? Is it intrinsic? – Born out of our view of the physical world? Why do we always seek to simplify everything?

There’s the old adage “There’s always two sides to every story". Why only two? Maybe it’s tied to so many things that we see as binary – only having one of two possible states – like on/off, true/false, black/white, hot/cold, left/right. Why does “human nature” dictate this line of thinking? Would we reduce everything around down to one singularity if we could?

Some concepts seem to be immune to this line of thinking and yet we deal with them just fine. We all know and recognize that there are many colors in the rainbow. There are more than two kinds of fish. No two snowflakes are alike, and so on. When it comes to opinion – especially political opinion – I believe that I am witness to many sides of the argument(s), not just two. How could anything as diverse as this be lumped into only two buckets without being forced artificially? Is it accidental, coincidental or by design? If by design, then what are the motives? Are they benign or malicious?

The current day American political landscape is ruled (sometimes forcibly) by either Democrats or Republicans. Everything – every problem, every solution, every answer, every hope, is delegated to one of these two factions. Liberal or Conservative. Left or Right. No matter how complex the issues that face us, they can all be split down the middle and defined by one of these two groups.

I guess I wouldn’t ponder this aberration if this two-party arrangement were actually doing any good. Once empowered they set about to line their pockets, consolidate their power and pass laws that reinforce their control and create formidable barriers and obstacles to any alternative view or plan. You’d think they’d get it narrowed down to one party – and they still might – but for now at least, they need each other. Each party needs an opposition: someone to point fingers at; someone to criticize; someone to run against.

Even more insidious, they need to maintain the illusion of choice. They need to make you think that you have choice whenever election time rolls around when in fact, they are two sides of the same coin. At the same time they go out of their way to discourage so called “third-party” candidates. What are they afraid of, a little competition?

"Republican or Democrat - not a dimes bit of difference between them"
- George C. Wallace.

Given our recent experiences with the “banksters” (gangster + banker = bankster) and their plundering of the national wealth, it is illuminating to go back to last year’s presidential election year and survey who contributed to whom. You’ll find virtually the same well-connected lobbyists contributing to both candidates, both parties not only in the presidential race but the Congress, Senate and local races too. Hmm, looks like somebody wants to maintain the status quo.

“That is why you have so little differentiation between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, because they both are going to the same sources of money. And they're both serving the interests of wealth.”

“…I think that the Congress represents what I would call the frightened rich, the people who think that the democratic experiment has served its purpose, run its course, gone far enough.”

- Lewis Lapham, interview with Bill Moyer

My own take on this two-party thingy is that it represents yet another level of diversion. The average person seems to be woefully ignorant of politics in general, instead relying on looks, charisma and popularity or just voting the way they always did. Too much trouble to research issues and make decisions. Since the Democrats can always blame the Republicans and the Republicans can always blame the Democrats, once they have enough people thinking the same way they’re free to do whatever they want anyway (one or the other is always in control) and they can count on that large number of people to be so distracted by this epic Left VS Right struggle so as to completely tune out anyone daring to voice any other perspective.

But that’s the whole point I making here: political discussion and ideas are too important, too critical to our future to be dumbed-down in this way. Seems like too many folks, if they even bother to vote, just vote Republican or Democrat and then go back to their can of beer and TV set, don’t even consider that someone outside of this inbred system might have another idea, a better idea. The two-faced ruling party system will marginalize those candidates anyway, make them out to be kooks, too extreme for all you red, white and blue folks.

The two-faced, ruling party's candidates have fine-tuned their political rhetoric to tell you whatever you want to hear, whatever it takes, to get elected. Then, it's back to business as usual. Go back and check up on the campaign speeches of recent winners - Obama or Bush - and see how many promises have been forgotten or broken, how many were just bold-faced lies.

Maybe it's time to think outside the box. Maybe it's time to consider the multi-dimensional model.

“Few of the people present had any use for politicians who weren’t paltry, for the perfectly good reason that non-paltry politicians disturbed the status quo. Nor did they wish to engage in serious discussion of any issues that might seriously inhibit the sovereignty of money.

The country was being asked to vote for TV commercials because only in the happy far-off land of TV commercials could the American democracy still be seen to exist. But understood as ritual chant, the remarks at dinner sustained the nostalgic remembrance of time past.”

- Lewis Lapham, “Lights, cameras, Democracy!”

Ralph M

"I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts."
- Will Rogers

While you were out...

While you were out, giant grasshoppers from Mars invaded the country. They cancelled the constitution, took control of everything and are now doing whatever they damned well please. You didn’t hear about it? Oh, I’m sorry you must have been glued to the TV set watching the Michael Jackson coverage 24/7 or round-the-clock sports or relentless infomercials on QVC. Except of course, for the occasional trip to the potty. You know, if you put a toilet and a mini-fridge right in front of the plasma TV you’d never have to budge.

Okay, the good news: I admit that the part about the giant grasshoppers was made up. The bad news: the rest is pretty much accurate. The fact is, the major media outlets – which is 97% of broadcast & cable TV as well as an ever-growing percentage of the Internet – love to entertain you with all sorts of diversions. I mean, who wants to listen to bad news anyway? You don’t want to have to think, use your brain, be engaged in what’s going on or God forbid, act in any sort of way. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Have another beer! Flip channels between MJ and American Idol. Heck, I bet someone will even come up with a 24x7 MJ channel!

And of course if any of you stray and look for – dare I say it? – News of the day, major media has plenty of talking heads to tell you just what you need to know and what to think about it. They’ll even pretend to take sides and have a ‘debate’. Trust me, there’s really nothing more to it. You really don’t need to dig any further. Get another beer and assume the position – in front of the boob tube. I heard about a study done years ago, that concluded the more TV you watch, the less you know. I can’t cite the reference but that sounds about right.

Paul Craig Roberts recently referred to Congress and all those wonderful folks in D.C. as “The big whorehouse on the Potomac”. He ought to know since he was a former member of that fraternity and has a lot of inside information, which sadly, only a few of use bother to read. Link: The big whorehouse on the Potomac

While writing this blog entry, I thought I'd pause the MJ Tivo that I just can’t stop watching over and over again long enough to check up on just what the sluts have been up to while you were out:

Gee, federal control of local food supplies AND martial law all in one bill: Strange Martial Law via Food Control: HR 2749

Slapping the Hate Law bill on a defense bill – who would even notice plans to make talk show hosts criminals? Hate Bill Will Ride On Defense Bill

Israel has it’s own pirate fleet – you didn’t know that?The Pirates of the Mediterranean

Something called “Cap and Trade”, sounds innocent enough doesn’t it?
Cap and Trade

Shreveport doesn’t like it when you put bumper stickers on your car. No, I mean they really don’t like it! Shreveport Citizens Disarmed By Police For 2nd Amendment Bumper Stickers

Any business, especially financial institutions, deserve/need to be audited - but not the biggest one of all. Senate Blocks Bill To Audit The Fed As Government Prepares For Second Round Of Looting

Global Warming? Gimme a break! Even the Dems are doubters. Sen. Inhofe On Global Warming: 'This Thing Is Phony'

And my favorite…

The attorney general (an appointee) can simply declare that you are a terrorist if you own a gun or offer any protest over taxes. There's no trial or due process, it's just whatever he decides. The scary thing is that this bill has already passed the house! Bill Gives Attorney General Power To Designate Gun Owners, Tax Protesters As Terrorists

Didn’t hear about any of this from Katie Couric? Therefore, it must not be true? Did I upset you? I’m sorry. Here’s some stimulus money. Go buy yourself something pretty over at QVC. Don’t worry about those silly politicians. Worry about things like: if MJ’s funeral is on all the channels, how can I possibly watch them all and American Idol and Sports and Desperate Housewives and Flavor of Love and The Real World and The Hills and Paris Hilton and...

Ralph M


“You may not care about politics, but politics cares about you…”

Future Dreams

I had a stimulating dream the other night. The ‘script’ seemed to have been a collaboration of Kafka, Orwell, Dickens and O’Henry. My enjoyment of the dream was enhanced by the fact that it was a lucid dream. In other words, I was enjoying the dream and aware that I was dreaming all at the same time.


I dreamt that I woke up in the future. I didn’t know exactly how far into the future I now found myself but the overall impression was that it was years, not centuries or eons. My status hadn’t changed much – I was still just a regular ‘Joe’. However, I had a new pal who accompanied me throughout the rest of the dream: Barrack Obama. Like me, he too had awakened into the future but his status had changed considerably – he was just like me, a regular ‘Joe’. No power, no riches, no entourage. No security, no spokesmen, no handlers, no clout. He and I were free to wander the landscape of the future as common, ordinary men. The only resource(s) we had were each of us individually, each other and the two of us.


At first the future was very recognizable. Buildings, streets and such seemed a little run-down but generally were in the same configuration as now. One of the first things we did was to get on board a vehicle that sort of resembled a contemporary mini-van. The ‘ignition’ had no key. Instead there was a sort of Rubik’s Cube puzzle built into the steering wheel. Until you solved it, the steering wheel was useless and the vehicle couldn’t do anything. Once you solved it, the steering wheel was freed and the vehicle was ‘activated’ – ready to go. It was also apparent that the propulsion system of this vehicle did not involve fossil fuel or any sort of combustion technology.


The vehicle we were checking out was inside a building – a garage of sorts – and after fiddling around with it but not actually moving or going anywhere we got out. Because the garage was dimly lit - dark even, we groped around until we found a light switch and turned on the lights. Big mistake.


Some sort of security-people quickly surrounded us. I assumed they wanted to know why we were tampering with someone’s vehicle. Instead they were some kind of "green police" who demanded to know why we were wasting precious electricity by turning on any lights when it was still daylight outside. We apologized, turned off the lights and left. As we were leaving I took one last glance at the vehicle and noticed there weren’t any wheels – it seemed to be levitating on its’ own.


Since the first thing we had encountered that told us both “we’re not in Kansas anymore” was a kind of vehicle, I immediately wondered about gasoline: was it still in use? What did it cost? Across the street from where we’d entered the vehicle, was a fossil fuel, gasoline station. The signs displaying the price were all digital, LED type. The price was rapidly changing, always changing – like a stock market ticker update. The price ranged from 5-something to 6-something a gallon. It looked like the price at the pump was a real-time quote that varied along with the market.


We made inquiries of some passers by and learned that in this future time alternatives to the internal combustion automobile had been perfected but that only the rich, powerful elite where able to own them. Poor people (if they could even afford a vehicle) were forced to still rely on 20th century technology and pay between 5 and 6 dollars a gallon to feed their cars. Although this was painfully expensive for us average 'Joes', the kicker was that because gasoline was on it’s way out, these were actually (in future terms) deep discount prices for the stuff as the oil companies tried to maintain their last foothold on the American consumer.


The next oddity we noticed was that there were computer terminals here and there, like the kiosk type displays in malls. They were ubiquitous - on every corner, in every nook and cranny much like pay phones used to be. We tried using one and found that in general, you didn’t need any log in in order to access most information. Everyone was a ‘guest’.


What we learned from browsing was that in the future, private ownership of computers was not allowed (except again for the rich, powerful elite). The government controlled all computing power, information, storage and access. Although anyone could access generalized, frivolous, no-threatening information like the weather or ‘entertainment news’ any sort of serious inquiry required a log-in.


You could only log in with your own, personal, government assigned ID. To make the whole procedure more ‘convenient’, the majority of the population had their ID tattooed like a bar code on their forearm or had a subcutaneous chip implant and merely allowed their forearm to be scanned. If you hadn’t been tattooed yet, you could key in this information. Once logged in by this method you could search, browse and do most of things you wanted to. The catch of course was that the entire time you were using the government computer terminal you were being recorded on video and all your keystrokes, queries and results were being stored in government computers.


Everywhere that my new buddy and I went, we saw a desperate future. The times were lean and mean for the everyman. The elite continued to live as they wanted while every action and need by ordinary people was tightly rationed and controlled. The government controlled and administered to everything and in doing so sought to maintain the status quo of the elites and rulers.


The policies and course directions taken by the Oligarchies of the past had all come home to roost. My companion during this tour of the future-scape seemed to be in shock. No amount of good intentions could rein back the inevitable consequences of their actions.


Like Kafka, the dream began by waking up. We woke into a future world more Orwell Ian than poor old’ George could have imagined. Like an inverted Dickens’s Christmas Carol my friend B.O. was shown the world he helped create and reminded of the steps that propelled us here. Like an ironic twist from an O’Henry short story, B.O. now found himself on the receiving end of the boot heel of big government and as powerless as any peon of society to do anything but accept it.


Nothing to worry about - it was only dream.


Ralph M



"A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have."

Thomas Jefferson

On this 4th of July, 2009

I'm puzzled, perplexed and just a little worried about the country on this 4th of July.

IMHO, some individuals still cling to the original vision and purpose the patriots had in mind when they set this grand experiment in motion. Notable among these, and one of the few 'politicians' who seem to have their head screwed on straight is Dr. Ron Paul.

I'll let him speak to the issue:



Have a happy, safe 4th of July and God bless the USA.

"The best years of my life" - it's not just a cliche

This past April 2009 I was laid off along with 288 other folks. Through no fault of our own, the economic downturn now gripping the country unleashed the wrath of the bean counters. They took a big knife and cut the corporate cake down to size and you either ended up on the side of the slice that stayed or you ended up on the side that was discarded.


As is the style in modern corporate America, everyone to be let go was blindsided by the decision. I showed up for work one morning and was suddenly escorted to HR were I met a couple of weasely-types who watched me pack up my belongings and then marched me out the front door - as if I’d just been caught shoplifting at Wal-Mart or something.


No one said they were sorry. No one said "Goodbye". No one said "Good luck". No one said "Thanks". I’d been with the firm for sixteen years - in the same industry for more than 30 years. Inside the box I carried out I had lots of little pieces of paper that are supposed to represent "atta boys", rewards for a job well done, proclaiming what a good employee I was. Those, along with positive, sometimes strong reviews, long lists of accomplishments, friendships and alliances forged, deadlines met, expectations exceeded all added up to exactly zilch. Nadda. None of that mattered. It is as if all that had been a dream, an illusion.


I’ve been getting up and going to work everyday for more than forty years. This situation isn’t just something new; it is a complete shock to me. We are defined by our roles in life. You are what you do. One of the first questions someone asks when they first meet you is "and what do you do?" - I’m a doctor. I’m an engineer. I’m a student.


Having grown up in another time (and literally, another century) I feel ashamed to be un-employed. When people ask me that proverbial question "what do you do?" I hesitate. I stumble. It’s painful for me to answer. Without my familiar role, my career label, there’s nothing to hang my self-esteem on. There is a profound emptiness, worthlessness and sadness. It’s literally sickening - like there's a huge hole that's been carved out of my soul.


I don’t recall ever having been through anything so stressful, so nerve-wracking in my life. Then, to compound matters, the cold, heartless, shabby treatment by my employer of 16 years adds insult to injury. To be unceremoniously dumped, thrown away like a used tissue without any regard, without any words of regret is like being stabbed through the heart with a hot poker. These very people to whom I’ve literally given the best years of my life didn’t even bother to pretend that they cared or that my service, hard work and loyalty mattered at all.


It wasn’t supposed to be this way of course. I got up and went to work everyday. Played (mostly) by the rules. Paid my taxes. Worked hard. Played hard. Saved some money. Invested some more according to the best advice available. I had a few more years of this routine to go before I could retire - the American dream. All gone now - turned to dust. Instead, at an age when most contemplate retirement, the "golden" years I’m faced with essentially starting over. My 401k has been turned into a 201K. My prospects in the worst economy of modern times with a job market flooded by all the other laid off people are grim. The competition for jobs will be fierce. (Drudge headline "Jobless rate at 9.5%; 467K jobs cut in June...")


It’s hard not to think that the best years of my life (and maybe this country) have come and gone. I’ve awakened from the American dream into the nightmare of the brave, new world of life in 21st century America.

God help us.


Ralph M

Welcome to my blog: "I wish it weren't true"

Every day I am witness to things happening in the world and particularly, America that I wish were not true. Seems as though the world I grew up in is fading away - sometimes slowly and sometimes in leaps and bounds. Each day brings another revelation, story or event that leaves me shaking my head, wondering how we got this way, questioning my own sanity (and everyone else).

I am not complaining about progress. Some progress is wonderful: conquering disease; discoveries in the physical world; reversal of social wrongs; etc. Nor is it my intent to just be another grumpy old man. Someone once said that evil can only exist in the dark. Paraphrasing another pearl of wisdom, bad things happen when good people do nothing. As I watch a kind of darkness falling over this country I feel more and more like the good person who must do something. If nothing else I want to flip on the lights and force the cockroaches to scurry.

I hope to be like the lookout in the crow's nest of a ship - pointing out the dangers or wonders that I see to the rest of you. Perhaps I'll find and pass along a tidbit you missed and should have seen, heard or read. It might be an original thought, observation or composition and it might originate from someone/something that bears repeating or drawing your attention to.

There's a selfish motive too. No, I'm afraid it's not money. I hope that my blogging will be a kind of catharsis - some kind of therapy. I don't want to be a consistent downer or "buzz kill" either. I'll mix it up and try to balance the OMG!'s with the "atta boys" and a bit of humor too. Please join me from time to time. We can do this.


Ralph M