I would like to help...I can offer you air time on my show anytime you feel the urge to rant..RBN is the only true alternative radio media

Regards
Robby

Great ideas Doug. I couldn't agree more that we
need to respect fellow Americans' viewpoints on the way to reform. If we could collectively find a way to take positive action, beyond just posting rhetoric & dialogue, that would be ideal.

YES!!!!

Doug,
I just have to pipe in and say that I have so much respect for what you do on this site. I normally just read your articles and the responses but, I felt compelled this morning to let you know how much I appreciate your work. You have a HUGE voice and a growing audience, so I hope you will continue to do what you are doing. Thank you

Doug
I am in agreement that we need to come together to address our national squabble that keeps us divided and bickering over fluff items presented to us by the media.

I see the "bankster gangsters" as the MAIN problem facing America. They are to be focused upon, their methods of control exposed, and their fiat funny money replaced with currency backed by more than the "word" of a legal counterfitter. Until the masses UNDERSTAND the "money" process and why it is in the best interests of those "bankster gangsters" to KEEP us bickering and divided not much progress will be made toward creating a revitalized America. This is OZ and those financial equine anal orfices are behind the curtain and pull the control levers on EVERYONE. DEBT is their lifeblood.

A major financial collapse is coming our way! I hope not but it is what may have to occur to have Americans "wake up" and cherish ALL that is taken for granted today.

Step one; Expose the "bankster gangsters" and educate the masses on the workings of money.

Step Two; Do all we can to get out of debt personally and Nationally.

Step Three; Replace the hackable paperless voting machines with ones that give and record true paper vote tallys.

Step Four; Find a Federal Judge with some "stones" who will process criminal actions against Administration criminals.

Step Five; Legislativly define what "in the interests of National Secutity" is and is not. Include strong incarcerative penalties for those using the guise of "national security" to hide criminal actions.

Step Six; Eliminate secret Executive Orders and/or put in a method of Constitutional oversight on their applications.

Step Seven; Stop the inflationary money train. Have a REAL national debt limit which CANNOT be exceeded.

It's a start!

Arby

Hey Doug,
We read the unmentionable article of the 6th posted at another web site, and when you disappeared from there we followed here. We suspected more foul play, so we are glad you can still post with us. One thing we want to impress is that it is very important for the people to practice our rights or we will lose them by default. We support your right to tell the truth and we support our right to read it, and encourage others. We vote and disguss issues amongst ourseleves, we write our Senators and sign petitions. We are doing the best we can to stay awake. We mourn the loss of all lives in these times of war, and we lament the total loss of rescource and cosmic energy wealth committed to war by all parties who would participate. We are asking them to stop. Please stop. If not for the love of man, then the love of the Earth. Remember the saying, "America, love it or leave it?" remeber how when someone told us to shut up we used to say, "It's a free country!" We don't hear much of that anymore. There is only one planet and there is nowhere left to go. People either learn to live with self sacrifice for a greater good or accept the greater evil.

My beliefs:

I believe in the unborn child's inherent RIGHT to life, gun rights, freedom of religion (not freedom FROM religion).

I am pro-family and against anything and everything that would weaken the "traditional" family. The family is the basis of society.

The Puppetmasters, as I call them, push abortion off on society and call it the "right to choose." Then they push off euthanasia and call it "right to die." They push off homosexuality and want to call it okay--it's actually part of a depopulation program, all of it!

Now more than ever in out Nation's history, we Americans need to be reminded of our great, COMMON heritage of freedom and rebellion. The Rant contributes to that end, and I applaud Doug as a true patriot.

It is in this spirit of rebellion and love of freedom that I agree with above points made by ExposetheZionists. Exposing the truth about what really happened on 911 is THE key issue in bringing this country back on track, and in tearing down the walls of divisiveness. The exposed truth of this issue will provide the impetous necessary to perform a "clean sweep" of the current occupants of the White House, including the House and Senate.

Examine the evidence, brought forward by scholars and other professional experts, that 9/11 was an INSIDE JOB at: www.st911.org. See for yourself, and then spread the word. The truth of this issue has nothing to do with what your political party is. It has everything to do with being an American.

Doug, it’s about time but attempting to fix the problem without identifying the root cause usually leads to ban-aid solutions.

The first question to be asked is –Where did all the polarized dialog began and who where the instigators?

My own view leads me to the neo-intellectuals both conservative and liberal that polluted the socio-political discourse with unsolvable “minority” issues they hold dear to their hearts – Moral values, gay marriages, abortion, gun bans et al that have nothing to do with the real issues facing the middle class.

The dialog was meant to inflame and distract while our elected officials sponsored by corporate lobbyists were propagating an anti-middle class agenda.

The neocon intellectuals brought us the war on Iraq, outsourcing, a minimum wage economy and a large deficit while the so-called liberals intellectuals focused on life style issues most of the middle class could care less about.

As you lead your audience in this new “common sense” journey, hopefully you will not fall prey to another round of “intellectuals’ nonsense.”

This is the nation of the “common man” as Jefferson put it, not a nation that trust the intellectual class or individuals that believe they have a right to govern based on heredity or financial opulence.

Without the input of that “common man” this nation will not find its way back to a moderate dialog and a people focused political agenda.

My hope is that you will choose your “experts” wisely and ensure that their roots are solidly in the middle class with a clear and current understanding of that experience.

What the dialog does not need is more Ivy League intellectual foolishness as exemplified by comments such as those of Richard Kord who implied that buying military products from foreigners was preferable since the “quality of the product’ would be superior than what American workers can produce, ignoring the fact that Americans’ ingenuity and their quality products put a man on the moon.

You might also, hold the Republican majority to abide by the “term limit” clause they included in their “Contract with America,” a clause they soon forgot when they became a majority. Incumbency being one of the root cause of our problems.

Best regards and Good luck!

"My beliefs:

I believe in the unborn child's inherent RIGHT to life, gun rights, freedom of religion (not freedom FROM religion).

I am pro-family and against anything and everything that would weaken the "traditional" family. The family is the basis of society.

The Puppetmasters, as I call them, push abortion off on society and call it the "right to choose." Then they push off euthanasia and call it "right to die." They push off homosexuality and want to call it okay--it's actually part of a depopulation program, all of it!

Posted by Alexandra at March 12, 2006 10:49 AM"

First off, no one is forced to get an abortion. Secondly, no one is forced to be gay. Thirdly, forcing one religion into the government leads to a theocracy where all other religions are not tolerated, and abuses the system more than it does now. Fourthly, rights exist only because people say they do. Fifthly, if you are referring to Terri Shiavo, all of her higher brain functions had ceased, since the part of her brain responsible for it had decayed over the course of ten years, leaving instead a mass of fluid where brain had been. Pulling the plug was a mercy. Sixthly, why are you afraid? There is nothing to fear but fear itself.
---
Hope to see what you suggest, Doug.

As the advice above says " We have lost control" Someone has to reclaim it. That will be the citizens in mass, or it just will never happen. Politics is so very slippery and tricky that most politicians feel helpless, too. They hope to hold on to their positions within the structure. If I had worked hard for many years and my hope was to someday get the nod for presidential candidate, just how much ranting would I do. The reason that we still post together means that we see what each and every one of us is trying to achieve. We hope some day to report that we have jelled and are ready to come forth and an announce " What" We have plucked Doug's feathers until he can't fly. No feathers show we are ready to fuss at anybody everyday.
My plan is so simple as to be absurd. We can regain control by voting all Democrats this election and all Republicans next election. Voting is our only guaranteed right. Can you imagine the shock that would roll down Capitol Hill. We can correct what our leaders have messed up, by going forward in mass.

But... But, that would ruin everything. What you need to do is divide the country in half. You collect money from people who are for an issue; I'll collect money from people who are against an issue, and as long as we don't accomplish anything, we'll get filthy rich.

Unfortunately Doug although I agree I think were already past the pt. of reason. The big difference I see between the rational middle if u will and the two extremes is that they both lack the ability to show anyone esle tolerance. You cannot have discourse without it. The Bu$h admin. certainly shows none that's for sure and they have ALL the power. You want the rest of us who are powerless to have a civil discourse as the country falls deeper into a Fascist strangle hold. Sorry it's too late. What do we have to discuss?

You must allready be a congresman!

One thing I always like to do, is support retailers and business people in general, that share the same political viewpoint as mine, I also support the various towns and cities across this great land that are petitioning for the same changes in government I would like to see, they get my vacation doller, and I purchase online from these fine folks, It is something I can do that is legal and civil and helps my fellow man, and I dont have to leave the comfort of my computer! I believe If enough people throw enough economic sway In any direction you can make some changes, in a way it is like voting with your visa.

Anyway great article Doug! once again right on the money, I think this blog has been a help for alot of people, now it is time to roll up our sleeves, crunch some numbers, and find the solutions. Thanks

Another great rant, Doug. Keep up the good work! You need to get elected to office and fight the good fight for the people.

The choice between bloody vs. bloodless, has been a revolution marching to our American horizon for some time. Revolution, change, 'waking up' from a long night of bad Education, apathy, and even hubristic self-righteousness, has become an ever-narrowing one way street for America.

I do hold to be true, that We are a People of great power, astonishing power to be blunt. In all aspects we are capable, though we clearly have allowed the atrophy of our minds in deference to the power of our fist. These two particular attributes of all Humankind, are perfectly natural, and constantly at odds with each-other. The Taoists' Taijitu (yin/yang) depicts this constant state of Man very well.

America, my country and people I love very much... please understand that We are dangerously imbalanced between Mind and Fist. Make no mistake about it, Balance will be carried to our very shores and deep into our countryside one way, or the other.

For now, we still have a choice of bloodless change requiring only a short sacrifice of time, to exercise our brain power. Or if we choose not to, a Fist foreign AND domestic will crash upon our head leaving us with only a great expanse of Economic Depression, and natures' four seasons. Then, we will have glorious amounts of time to re-learn how to exercise our mind power as we struggle, as many die, rebuilding a Civilization.

This choice is here today.... fix ourselves voluntarily with mutual consent for all, or choose to fight the rising tide, and a setting Sun.

One thing I'd like to see addressed is the fundamental (not fundamentalist!) nature of capitalism. All economic systems have their pros and cons. But capitalism defines this country in so many profound ways. We're so indoctrinated with so many biases; from our big-businees media to our roulette-wheel system of speculatory finance (the stock market, our miserable treatment of working people on which "the market" depends, to our long history of gunboat "diplomacy" to preserve "markets".....it never ends.
Enough has been said about our long history of fundamentalist radicals. Ignorance will always exist. But by taking a step back and viewing our economics and culture from a distance, in the context of other wordly viewpoints, we stand a chance of fixing "the big picture" without enraging each other to the brink of extinction.
"Tolerance with Wisdom."

Doug,

First, we need term limits. Twelve years in one seat - then they move up or out. They can run again after a sabbatical.

Next, we need campaign finance reform. No money outside of the district or state they represent. A maximum of $5,000 per person and only personal checks - no corporations or PACS.

Third, we need more journalists like you.

Good luck!

I couldn't agree with you more. I, too, have done my fair share of name calling. But I am ready for some real discourse. Instead of repeating myself here, I'd like to point you to two of my recent posts.

Sick and Tired

and

We need a new party

I have been following Cap Hill Blue for about six months on and off. As most who read CHB, I was attracted to Doug's firery, intellectual oratory and, for the most part, common sense approach in his comments.

However, today's rant almost seems to been a result of his company getting a letter from the Feds a few days ago. His initial response to the letter was a rant with F bombs laced throughout and his readers following like lemmings lacing their comments with F bombs. Today he tells us to be polite and respectful. I will try...

Somewhere on the www (don't have who it is by) I copied the following:

14 POINTS OF FASCISM

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism
2. Disdain for the importance of human rights
3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism
5. Rampant sexism
6. A controlled mass media
7. Obsession with national security
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together
9. Power of corporations protected
10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated
11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts
12. Obsession with crime and punishment
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption
14. Fraudulent elections

It is obvious to me (and probably others) we are in the throes of fascism if one takes fascism as defined by the points above. How, when one realizes he or she lives under a fascist regime does one remain calm, polite and discuss things rationally? Is that what the Jews did in 1940?

I for one do not see how we can get out of it in my lifetime. A foolish armed uprising would result in everybody being massacred who stands up to the fascists. I feel helpless and resigned to the fact. Will the rest of the world save us from ourselves? Will the whole world become fascist?

I feel like a Jew in 1940... I have becomed resigned to living under fascist rule and will follow obidiently to the camps if told to. I guess if we discuss it among ourselves politely it won't feel as bad as if I rant and rave impolitely. I just don't get it????

Thanks for this post, Doug.

Some solutions that I can think of to try out...

- For any issue that is heated or divisive, take ourselves out of it. What I mean is -- in any dialogue, if we turn our attention to the issue at hand, and seek to understand the issue as truthfully as possible, and get informed about it as open-mindedly as possible, we turn our attention away from ourselves and our position in a way. Then we can dialogue about the facts, from a place of more space, when we are not taking it as personally.

- In creating dialogue with people that have differing opinions and beliefs than me, I can ask them questions to find out more about their beliefs, and to understand more thoroughly where they are coming from

- To see, honestly, what my agenda is.

So, this is a beginning of a list. Any other ideas?

Thank you for increasing the volume of the rational voice. You will need to raise it a lot higher to get above the venomous noise of the sea of abuse that passes for debate and discourse today.

I suggest you start with a NEW DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES (if you are not basing discussions on principles, the debate degenerates into an attack on the other person - i.e., they are "bad" in some way (not their arguement is bad - they are bad!)

May I suggest PRINCIPLE ONE:
1. The bottom line is the truth. Not your political, religious, social or any other belief. Just give me the truth dammit! And give it to me now! (This one for journalists especially).

Can you suggest any other PRINCIPLES OF DISCUSSION? I hope so. I don't like living in a sea of toxic talk soup. Do you?

Most odd, Doug.

You can be as polite as you like, and offer all the solutions that you like. But the fact is, it won't matter either way.

Rant and Rave. Be nice to those you perceive as your political opponants. Either way, Americans in general are just along for the ride.

Ready for Iran?

Dear Doug,

I have read your daily emails now for about 2 years and always enjoyed your ability to get REALLY, REALLY PISSED OFF at our current DESPOTS IN CHARGE. Even seeing the logic in your expressing your feelings with commonly used cuss words, which are a valid and useful part of language (as in "the map is not the territory"...the word is not the thing.)

I am an avid cusser and find a profound relief in it denied me even by prayer (all credit to Mark Twain).

Being a long time idealist, and a complete failure at it over my 61 years here in Amerika, I have finally come to the conclusion that the way you stop the REALLY BAD GUYS (not the petty criminals who society usually drove into that predicament) who do the REAL DAMAGE to our society by PASSING LAWS to control everybody and everything, is to COMPLETELY STOP THEM by locking them up forever, or killing them because they ARE NOT GOING TO STOP for you or anyone else who attempts to engage them on a logical level in the PURSUIT OF JUSTICE.

These people are PSYCHOPATHIC CRIMINAL MURDERERS!

If the people don't see it and have enough balls to stand up to them, then they deserve what they get.

Yes, some if not many of us will die trying to stop them.

So what, you're going to die anyway, and I would rather do it on my feet and not on my knees (or my forearms!)

I have managed to crystallize my thoughts which I post as a comment many places on the internet.

I hope to put this statement on T-shirts for everyone to wear until the CRIMINALS IN CHARGE ARE BROUGHT DOWN AND PROSECUTED to the fullest extent of the laws (we used to have) and I would like to be credited with the following phrase so I can go down in history with those in our country's history who spoke the truth.

Here it is:

Let's keep this simple and to the point:

IF YOU SHAVED GEORGE W. BUSH'S HEAD

AND DIDN'T FIND

666,

YOU WOULD

AT LEAST

FIND

665 and 3/4s

Cedric Erle Ward
Athol, Idaho

Doug,
I commend your attempt to conduct a discussion filled with intelligent thought, focused on making changes as to the direction of not only our political structure, the direction of our country, but also the way America involves itself in the discussion of such.

Though this type of redirection from the norm at your site, can be a distraction for the reader that has become accustom to your past "In your face" style of reporting and rants, it has its benefits. One must also keep in mind that without an aggressive action by the populous to bring forth a unified action to cause change, these discussions of change becomes nothing more than that, a discussion.

America, as you very well know, has had these types of discussions without impacting our Nation with change for the betterment of the American people. It would be my sincere hope that you consider a more direct involvement to bring forth change in this country by giving not only intelligent discussions, but also guidance to an action by your dedicated readers.
Without such, I truly fear this new direction of intelligent discussion of which you wish to pursue, will become another empty distraction, leading the American people away from the very serious changes that our country has already experienced.

We must as Americans, realize that we can no longer rely on our political structure to conduct itself as a representative of the American People. They no longer listen to the People of America and we must accept this reality if we ever wish to take the next step required to cause change.

Voting is our current mode of directional change, but as the political parties become nothing more than a rubber stamp to the sitting administration, voting becomes a motion/action without meaning.

A physical presence exuberating demands of change in an "In your Face" action by the American People is our most powerful tool, expressing what it truly means to be an American.
If we want change, we must take action that will result in our political structure making an about face in the direction they are currently caught up in.

Bob, USMC-Defenders Americas Freedoms

Thanks for posting my previous comment on PRINCIPLES OF DISCUSSION.

One more thought. Not my thought!

This PRINCIPLE of human discourse and behaviour appears to be timeless. Human nature seems to love CRITICISING, CONDEMNING AND COMPLAINING. Hard not to do that.

What is the alternative? TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE DO WHAT THEY DO AND BELIEVE WHAT THEY BELIEVE.

This is what Dale Carnegie adised 80 years ago in his book "How to Win Friends and Influence People".

Isn't that what everyone is trying to do? Have some influence on what people are doing in the world (and what they might be doing to you!). So for PRINCIPLE 2 I advise adopting this:

2. TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE DO WHAT THEY DO AND BELIEVE WHAT THEY BELIEVE (Don't criticize, condemn or complain).

(Yes, it's tough to do - but it works. Do you want something that works to replace the broken system of discourse you now have? You know you do!)

If we want to triumph in this "civil war," one of the issues that we need to address is the chronic amount of nepotism permeating our political system days.

Bush(the son of a president & grandson of a U.S. senator) vs. Gore (the son of a U.S. senator)may be the most obvious example in recent years, but when you start adding up the amount of spouses, offspring, and other relatives in staff positions, being groomed as "successors to the congressional throne," or working as lobbyists, advisors, etc. it gets pretty mindboggling.

I think that this is one of the most egregious byproducts of the divide & conquer scheme that has polarized the American public. Representative government isn't viable when it's treated like a family business, with a sense of familial entitlement pervading our public offices.

It amazes me that few people wince at the idea, that, if Hillary Clinton becomes our next president, the executive office could potentially be held by either of two families (Clintons and Bushes) for twenty-eight consecutive years--from 1988 until 2016. Potentially longer if Jeb opts to run.

We rebelled over 200 years ago against a system royalty and nobility. However, that seems to have been forgotten underneath all of the polarizing rhetoric that serves keeps us at each others' throats. If we want our country back, then we'd better do our damnedest to remember what "representative government" truly means.

I agree, but good luck. As long as American's continue to get their "news" from venomous soundbite factories like Fox instead of being patient enough to think out their own opinions, it will never happen. Media bullies like O'Reilly and the rest of the Fox news mafia make their living by keeping all of America chonically pissed off, squashing any serious civilized discussion in the process.

Instead of another war, civil or otherwise, how about another Missouri Compromise? The original Missouri Compromise bought the country 30 years of relative peace, and probably prevented the country from breaking up.

The war between conservatives and liberals has left the vast majority of people with nowhere to go, because they don't want to leave "their" camp if the only alterative is to go over to the "other" camp. But most people are not extremists.

We need, right now, a new Missouri Compromise, in which liberals and conservatives sit down and horse-trade and come to a comprehensive agreement – and agree to be bound by their agreement. “These issues are important to us; you give us these, and we’ll give you the ones that are most important to you.” They couldn’t compromise everything (and would we want them to?) but perhaps they could re-create a center on which everybody but extremists agreed so that instead of it being this incessant civil war there would be a renewal of concern for the country as a whole.

How much chance to you think there is that we will see any such thing? Slim and fat, probably. But I still think it's a good idea.

AMEN DOUG do you really think a difference can be made?

Doug,

I don't want to see another "civil war," as I'm sure you don't. I, and many others are attempting to re-staff the dormant government of the CSA so as to be in a position to save at least the South from the coming catastrophe.

We have been working on this for 5 years and, recently, have been moving much faster than we ever anticipated. See http://www.CSAgov.org for additional information.

Dennis

Thank you Doug,

I agree. We’ve neglected the ideas which burned in the founders’ minds and which are the basis of our Constitution and our Bill of Rights. (I heard John Kerry during a debate refer to our rights as privileges granted by government. Maybe he forgot in which country he was running for president.) Our rights precede government. They are innate, born by nature, bestowed by God; whatever you wish. They are “guaranteed” not by government, but by our exercising them daily.

This government cares little for our rights as they are an impediment to its free exercise of control over our purses and our lives. Even if we actually were to impeach this president and vice president it would not make an appreciable difference. The Congress is corrupt. The Supreme Court is in the pocket of the Corporation, which has more human rights than we do.

Ideological movements, corporations, special interest concerns, ad infinitum, have formed think tanks designed to produce schemes and propaganda which are employed to influence us, cajole us, divide us up into political and societal groups which can easily be manipulated into oppositional frenzies.
And it’s so easy to work us up. We don’t read, are poorly educated, and don’t think for ourselves. Free thinking is counterproductive to consumer marketing.

The Constitution prohibits government from infringing on our rights, except in time of war, but we see that the government does not respect the Constitution and easily usurps it by creating war after war. Then they legislate our rights away under cover of this state of emergency or that, and impose a fascist form of government on us (that mammoth beast under whose tyranny we now suffer). We have not enjoyed a democratic republic for most of our history, at least from the time of that bloody Civil War.

This story has been repeated time and again throughout history.

This current government is a moneymaking, wealth-stealing, murderous scheme; a collaboration between globalized corporations and increasingly globalized government. It bodes no good for freedom.

I fear that it is too late for our founders’ grand experiment. The government has become just too big, too powerful, too unprincipled.

We need to start over! But I don’t think the government is going to politely step aside.

What say you?

The two most immediate and pressing needs are to fix the money and fix the fuel.
Fiat currency systems run by privately owned central banking cartels are a legalized form of counterfeiting and a way to steal from the citizens.
So sayeth no less than Rothbard and the Mises gang and, having read them I trust their advice.

Our multi-trillion dollar petroleum powered foreign policy misadventures are doomed to fail and will surely bankrupt us both fiscally and emotionally for decades to come so it is time to cut off the spigot as we turn on a new future initiative that spotlights alt fuels the way that we spotlighted the lunar race of the sixties.

It is time for honesty, and part of that honesty is admitting that the real war on terror has yet to be fought and that what we have embarked on is no less than a carbon copy of the failed War on Drugs, another cash cow to fatten elite wallets.

That said, terror and terrorism are both real and we need to chasten our senses and be ready to defend against all enemies foreign and domestic.

That's as short and sweet as I can get it.
Many thanks for making us all think, Doug.

Jeffery Haas
Arlington, Texas

George Orwell Jr said:
"I feel like a Jew in 1940... I have becomed resigned to living under fascist rule and will follow obidiently to the camps if told to. I guess if we discuss it among ourselves politely it won't feel as bad as if I rant and rave impolitely. I just don't get it????"

Mister Orwell, here is food for thought from no less than Alexander I. Solzhenitsyn:

"And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to
make an arrest, had been uncertain whether the would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass
arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs,
paling in terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand....The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt!

Jeffery Haas in Occupied Texas

Doug,

You say you support a woman's right to choose along with smaller government and personal responsibility? The two are mutually exclusive.

Abortion is the state's sanction of immorality. An immoral populace is less able to govern itself and therefore more dependent on and tolerant of large government.

-And -

How can legalized abortion result in anything but a reduction of personal responsibility?

Greg S.

Fascism happens when people are scared. Fascism is radical conservatism.....people wishing for "the good ol' days" and doing literally anything to get it back.
I agree with George Orwell Jr. on everything except his view that the Jews were purely the victims of Nazi fascism. Zionism is racism, and the root cause of the middle east terror of the last 60 years, and it certainly was the cause of 9/11 if you believe ANYTHING the Muslim world is telling us. The Jews were widely hated in 1940, too, for their racially-motivated takover of Palestine, which started in about 1905.
Racism begets racism. It really IS that simple.

The 14 Points of Fascism: The article is titled 'Fascism Anyone?', by Lawrence Britt, and appears in Free Inquiry's Spring 2003 issue on page 20.

It is also available at:
http://www.anotheramerica.org/fascism.htm

This really hits home...and these points are definately not myopic positions -- they are where we are now and must be included in our Civil War of discourse.

Actually, Doug, I think things are already starting to change in much the way you suggest.

For example, the very fact that you and the rest of us are having this discourse, largely free and unfettered by what the Pols (or the “mainstream” media) thinks or wants is living proof that there’s a tremendous “sea change” going on.

As long as the Internet is allowed to flourish (and, I well realize that’s still a very big “if”) and the power of the “mainstream media” to affect public opinion continues to decline, I believe the ultimate result will be an electorate that is far more diverse and far less inclined to vote along strict party lines.

Talk about a politician’s worst nightmare!

Information is power, and, today, the power of a free people to have free access to that information has never been greater.

Doug, you gotta quit smokin that stuff! It is making you too nice, and now you are attracting too many lap dogs, it is bound to start ones head a swelling, and if that isn't enough you are censoring free speech on your own site by kicking that guy off. That guy was making more sense than most. It looks like I may have to write off this site, I was just starting to take a fancy to it.

Lots of good points here. Lots of things to ponder. I'll try to get through everything as soon as I can.

To answer some questions.

1--As soon as I posted this column this morning, we started getting flooded by hate messages that were offtopic and loaded with conspiracy theories. Our flood monitors also detected numerous duplicate posts on multiple articles and turned off the "automatic post" mode. This means reviewing messages, eliminating duplicates and those that are either off topic, promote hate and racism or advocate conspiracy theories that were off-the-wall. We also had to eliminate a number of posts that ran more than 1500 words and threatened to overload the system. I'm sorry it became necessary but our data systems manager felt the long posts could prevent others from getting a chance to express their opinions (perhaps that was the goal of the disrupters).

2--As always any mention of abortion is a hot button issue to some. One poster wanted to know how I cold be both pro-choice and and proponent of smaller government. That's easy. A smaller government keeps its nose our of lives, including trying to tell a woman what she can or cannot do with her body. Others disagree. That's their choice and what makes a country diverse.

3--Those who claim that the events of the last week involving a National Security Letter have made me cautious are way off base. Capitol Hill Blue will continue to hold our elected officials' feet to the fire but we will try to avoid rhetoric that discourages rational discussion.

Good ideas folks. Keep them coming and thanks.

Doug

The proof is in the pudding as they say. We need to accept the simple fact that nobody, NOBODY, has a monopoly on right answers so lets stop the screaming. Diversity and plurality is what this country is about. That is the point of the Bill of Rights. Read them. Live them.

I'll stand with you Doug.

No more political Astroturf!

It's time for a real populist grassroots campaign to ....well, I don't know. The economists want America back on her feet and the Baptists want her back on her knees!

Whatever happens let's just go for it!

Seventh, Alexandra:
What's wrong with a depopulated world? There is no social or enviromental problem that has not been either caused or exacerbated by the existence of too many people.

Supply and demand. If people were fewer, society would treat them better.
S.

PS - Would you like to begin, Publisher Thompson, by relaxing the strong speech on your own website? I think 'Who the heck is this Thompson guy anyhow' would fulfill all the rhetorical obligations. Overuse of strong language dilutes it.

I see the wisdom of your words, but I'm not sure how they will fit in the real world.

You want a fresh beginning? Try the following:
www.progressive.org/mag_ivins0306

I would say (personally) bullshit.
This country has been at each other’s throats since the Soviet Union collapsed. We are unable, after being at war for 60+ years, of handling peace.
It is too damn scary, too uncertain, and certainly our US business needs to have a wartime economy.
We need to have a common enemy. Otherwise what the hell do I care what the crackers in Alabama or trailer-trash in Kansas are doing and why should I care. They want to live in the dark ages, great.
I'm a Californian, I don't mind the Mexicans, the Gays (hell everyone Californian has at least one in the family), abortion, or whatever the hell someone wants to do in their bedroom and I'm damn tired of being dragged down and embarrassed by the "heartland". I served 20 years in the military for this country, big mistake on your part, I saw the world and I liked it.
This country is collapsing under it's own weight. Sooner or later, we will go the way of the Soviet Union, and hopefully it will be peaceful, if not, God please, let your hurricanes blow the Texans to hell before I go. Personally I love the “Alamo”, and I root for the Mexicans.

Americans need to see themselves as cosmopolitans ie citizens of the world, rather that as citizens of the USA, since whatever happens in the USA enormously affects the world outside.

If George Bush had been a cosmopolitan, he wouldn't have made as many mistakes in foreign policy as he has - mistakes that have caused Americans to be reviled by perhaps a majority of the world's peoples.

I think it was the French newspaper, "Le Monde", that said "We are all Americans now" immediately after 9/11, when even Iranians held candle-lit rallies in sympathy for the victims of 9/11.

A survey has shown that a surprisingly large number of senators and congressmen don't have passports, bespeaking they don't travel outside the USA's borders. This is something that most foreigners would look on with astonishment.

Thus the USA is now ruled by men not able to see how foreigners might regard Americans, and so make assinine statements like "The terrorists hate America because of its freedom".

For Americans, to become cosmopolitan is the only game in town, otherwise there will be, like, consequences.

i agree. if you are spending all of your time bitching at intransigence, you are likely wasting your time and filling yourself with hate unnecessarily. hate only serves to reinforce and to justify opposition. and hate does have this way of turning against the wielder. and it does tend to destroy love which is the basis of positive action and the basis of all good solutions. now consider this:

it was suggested above that the right wing started today's hostility. not true. "baby killer! fascist pig!" remember that? it was quite a unique development in the landscape. they've seen how effective this kind of talk can be. in fact, they studied the social movements of previous decades in detail. and they've applied many of those lessons to good effect. now consider this:

common ground is where you find it. if all you've done is sit with like minds and agree all week, you aren't finding common ground, you are sitting on your own. it will require moving towards someone else's to find commonality.

re-declaration of independence re-constitution of these united states of-in-on America

the gov't of which gets its ~pay~ -- op budget from duties & excize (import) taxes no sales tax no income or earnings taxes.. with silver - gold based monetary sysytem...

our founding fathers took the 4th? branch of the gov't the JURY of we the people..

Vote them ALL out in november. What has the House done but piss all over the american people. Your Fired! It is very easy to do. What you like your congressman. Wow our country is really doing well, glad you got that pork project in exchange for what...

Bout time. Common ground is our savior. Nothing else will do it.

Listen, you want to know who most of these Bush-loving, Red-Staters are? They're friends, cousins, co-workers, uncles, bosses, your wife, your kid, etc. They're not rich, they're not Christian, they're not stupid, and they're not bad. They're just people. There is not one flame-throwing liberal out there who doesn't love a God-fearing Republican. Not one.

This battle is with ourselves. We ALL allowed this to happen. We're ALL stupid. And if we All don't get our shit together, we're ALL fucked. It's that simple.

Your most recent rant certainly makes sense, Doug, and I hope that your plea for rational discourse that avoids, name-calling and flaming certainly is a very worthy one.

Over the past three years, I've hosted a number of public political forums, all of which were progressive/liberal in nature. While I never barred those whose politics are totally opposed to mine, I do not tolerate uncivil behavior. I've always focused on ideas and welcome any conservative who is willing to put his/her ideas up against mine. Unfortunately, this has only happened on one or two occasions. Normally, a conservative might start out reasonably polite, but after one or two posts, reverts to name-calling, personal comments and flaming. After one warning, if they persist, I lock them out.

Where I hang out, there are as many, if not more conservative forums, but many of them persist in entering liberal forums and do their best to disrupt the conversation that is taking place. The first liberal forum I ever posted in was literally destroyed because the host refused to police these vandals.

Unfortunately, this type of verbal combat seems to be what many people prefer, for reasons beyond my comprehension. The most popular forums are the ones that sanction this kind of behavior, whether conservative or not.

Good luck, Doug. I hope your call yields positive fruit.

Here's an idea. Organize an internet campaign, find a candidate that both the left and right can agree on, raise money online and put someone in office who is committed to making changes.

I nominate Doug Thompson to be the internet candidate. Run for president, Doug. You give the impression of being a "can-do" kind of guy. You have good ideas and you are an equal opportunity watchdog.

If not you, find someone who is willing, ready and able to fight to take back the country...millions can be raised online. It's early enough to get going here. An online buddy suggested a new party, the "People's Party." I thought that had a nice ring to it.

Our party platform should not address things that divide, such as abortion, gun control, etc...but rather take a novel approach to build a platform on, and make it one that will appeal to everyone. Civil rights would be the main plank. No more secrets in Washington. Nobody shall be above the law.

Lofty idea? Sure, but how else can you run a revolution?

I am pleased to see you suggest that public discourse should be more civil and deliberative. There are a small number of us in education who share this view. One of the more notable of these is Adolf Gundersen in The Socratic Citizen, arguably one of the best books ever written on deliberation -- the cornerstone of democracy.

I recently offered the first Hatfield-McCoy Institute for Agreement Training (http://ces.ca.uky.edu/pike/news/HMIAT.htm) where participants covered the basics of conflict management, negotiation and high-performance teamwork ala Baldrige national Quality Award (http://www.baldrige.nist.gov/index.html). The skills we taught are desperately needed in a world becoming increasingly polarized.

As a retired military person I too am non-partisan and interested only in how we as people and a nation can embrace excellence without harming each other or those in other nations. We live on a VERY small planet on the edge of an average galaxy -- not an ideal location for survival if we can't even deliberate with each other about real issues.

I hope you too will tone down your language and serve as an example to others as you have done in this article.

What a breath of fresh air to begin to move into a conversation that will move forward. Anger, frustration and other negative speech only serves to keep us stuck in the past. Without a move into a 'new realm of possibility', or the future, by developing a conversation that is expressive and innovative flooded with ideas on what is possible, we will not move one step.

It begins with a commitment, with ourselves BEing integrity, BEing our word, taking on what we will commit to and doing it... and having no tolerance for any conversation of destruction, deceit, hatefullness and criminality.

Imagine the impossible becoming a possibility.

In defense of Mr. Thompson, he chastised himself before making the suggestion for a more civilize dialog so I fail to see why the readers should criticize him for his previous rants. More importantly, his anger was justified and hopefully will not be diminished although the form may vary.

Mr. Thompson “reports”, he does not create the controversy, readers in turn should direct their criticism not at the “messenger” but at those who create the controversy, their language may be devoid of curses but it is much more inflammatory than anything Mr. Thompson writes.

More importantly, rather than “give up” he has boldly set his reputation and credibility on the line advocating a new process to address the problems facing us. So, let’s see what this process will bring forth, we may find the gems we can all rally around to return this country to the people, devoid of all the unsolvable “minority social issues” that extremists have advocated to polarize and distract the electorate.

The rancor and division serve one purpose and that is to destroy people's ability to accomplish anything through their government. This plays into the hands of the corporatocracy.

Sorry if that's a slur, but the only thing standing between us and dictatorship by corporations is government. It's unlikely the polarization and resulting paralysis we see today is accidental. The aorta of todays politics is the web of laws that makes corporations equal and even superior to human beings.

Absolute number one priority is for us (ordinary folks) to understand what's running this corrupt mess and UNITE in a fight to stop the unconstitutional power of corporations. If I may recommend two books: Gangs of America, and Greenspan's Fraud. The second book points the way to a realistic economy.

Consider, please, that the Left-Right demarcations are very useful to those in power: useful in that we readily adopt them and take oppositional sides in whatever argument or brawl is current news of the day. Those of us who defy categorization are nearly helpless to say anything that can be heard above the din of feckless battle.

What if we, the people, reframe the argument? Say, instead of Left and Right, we choose to view our political responsibilities in terms of Liberty and Tyranny. Would that change free our minds enough to have honest discourse? Would we be able to see more clearly what moved our founders to put their lives on the line to secure liberty for us, their progeny?

Let’s rethink what our innate freedom requires of us. Our responsibility, I think, is to cultivate a well reasoned and good-willed liberty, one which does not shove our personal values down the throats of others, be they individuals or states.

Fascism is not solely the province of the “ultra right conservative”. The far left liberal is just as willing to force his beliefs on others, whether by brutish or subtle persuasion.

What right has Alexandra to determine whether or not I have an abortion, and what right has LotD to determine that my brain function is not sufficient to justify my continued living? And especially when my family wants to care for me! Spare me your mercy! And who decides who lives or dies in this new depopulated world?

The key here, I think, is that government has no right to make its business of our PRIVATE affairs. Because we have failed to respect each others’ liberty we have defaulted our responsibility to the government. And that beast is more than willing. It is greed upon greed, never satisfied.

And for those of us who believe we are enjoying free discourse, remember the NSA is watching. We can be gone in a flash. That ain’t even close to freedom!

I truly believe if we fully support the separation of church and state, a lot of problems will resolve themselves. The current tone of the national and local legislatures is to embroil themselves in trying to integrate the two. This is clearly not working.

I read the article and most of the comments...scaned a few...But found nothing new...The problems are mentioned by all, many ideas on how to solve the age old problems...most USED Ideas...Few that has not already been tried at some point in time...Yes, we are in the mist of a New Civil War...but we continue to use age old Shotgun tactics to win it...which will never work. We need to us a Barrage of well place rifle shots... OUR VOTE!

I too am a Military Retiree and have been around 72 years watching both political parties... voting for 52 years. But as in any battle a lone rifleman accomplishes little...But if we unite and become a National Barrage...an American Division of millions of riflemen as it were and eachVOTE for only Independent Candidates...we could make a difference...think about the effect that a 30% Independent Congress would have on our two party, Gridlocked and Corrupt, Sold Out Government.

NO...I am Not suggesting that we get rid of all republicans and democrats...I am sugesting that we Make our Government into a THREE PARTY SYSTEM!

After reconsideration of the same age old proplems of a two paryt system and again looking at the same old Tried but Untrue solutions...I think that it is time to elect a Strong Third Party that would Break up the Log Jam of government!

Consider this also...We, You and I have been and still are the Problem...We have been blinded ...Put in a Box with no windows and told that there were no one to vote for except Democrats and Republicans and lead to believe that one was better that the other...GET OUT OF THE BOX and Think...There is a Better Way!

In 2006 VOTE ONLY FOR INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES...for ALL OFFICES!

Doug, don't you think this is time for a NEW Constitutional Convention? One called by WE THE PEOPLE.

Dennis

Doug,
I'm glad that you're planning to put some effort in this direction; I think that you will have some wonderful insights into these problems. My present opinion is that the constitution needs to be amended to encourage more political parties, so that we aren't stuck with two large "big tent" parties for roughly 99% of our federal elected representatives.

Fred

Doug, I've said "unh-huh, unh-huh" in agreement with most of your columns for years, now. But this is an issue that I believe has to be addressed before we get ourselves into a USA version of either a holy war (red states vs blue states) or a bloody class revolution (haves vs have-nots). As a first step toward clearing the air of epithets and character assassination, perhaps some well documented and very expensive defamation of character lawsuits would encourage all but the most extreme nutters to stand down and talk facts about our collective future.

My foreparents came to this country 375 years ago to escape religious persecution; and I am really tired of being called "un-American" for defending mainstream Christianity, which has NO opinion on abortion, gender identification, child obesity, or any other political red herrings.

I see folks calling for a depopulated world while at the same time asking Doug to remove curse words from his site.
I can't think of anything more cursed than a genocide program masquerading as public service.
It reminds of why so many still cling to "conspiracy theories".
Perhaps because there is always some small grain of truth behind many of them?

I see people advocating "The Delphi Consensus Building Technique", a lovely piece of psyop-mind control developed by Rand Corp, now rebadged as "Hatfield-McCoy", and sure enough, it's from someone in the American educational system, an institution supposedly dedicated to the advance of research and critical thinking.
Why does this not surprise me...

I see fond and wistful thoughts for a resurrection of the Confederate States of America. A quick look at the site and a scroll and we find articles that attempt to stretch Karl Marx's relationship with Horace Greeley all the way to the Lincoln bedroom.
I only pray that I can get back to Minnesota soon.

We're supposed to have civilized discourse with these monsters?

It's a tall order, Doug, but since I'm forewarned I am now fore-armed, and I will use nothing but the very best tools for such a discourse, starting with the tool of REVELATION.

Cheers,

JeffH in Occupied Texas

Fellow Posters:

I think we don’t appreciate how extremely serious the situation is. A third party? Did you know that the Libertarian and Constitutionalist candidates were barred from attending the Presidential Debates. Yes, arrested and detained; prevented from stepping on that sacred ground! And who counts the votes? If you think Bush won Ohio – well, that’s a conspiracy theory! I mean, that he won. He did not! Republican, Democrat, or otherwise, this isn’t even democracy let alone democratic republic. We don’t have time to wait for a constitutional amendment.

And come to think of it, Doug, what do you define as conspiracy theory? Is the notion that the World Bank and IMF are destroying economies and planting the corporate exploitative seed around the world conspiracy or conspiracy theory? May be Kennedy was assassinated by Oswald. Maybe Oswald was mightily upset that Kennedy wanted to get off the Federal Reserve habit. And may be 9/11 really did engender the Patriot Act. May be the Patriot Act really is intended to protect us from terrorism.

How free are we to express ideas in your forum?

Another cause for the inflammatory rhetoric is "infantile democracy"---the belief that those who win the election get to do whatever they want and the losers should shut up and go home. Politicians who understand their role as "technicians of consent" and search for some common ground end up being denounced as "unprincipled" by both supporters and opponents. Once we take the adult view that politics is the art of the possible, we understand that people who disagree with us do not lose their right to do so because we got the most votes and that often we must find answers that satisfy no one but allow us to move on. If I need Doug's help to reach common goals, calling him names does not advance that goal.

Doug...what you posit here should be so obvious to anyone, but is hidden behind all of the rifts that our system creates between us.

We all basically want the same thing - to be free, to be happy, and to live in the America that we learned about in grade school. There is much more in common between the rabid lefties and nutso right-wingers than they could ever know - and what they need to learn is that neither of the existing 2 dominant parties represent the interests of anyone (unless they happen to be corporate oligarchs...)

The time has come for a new and viable 3rd party, one that does not revel in the divisive tactics of the others. We need the American Common Sense party...and we need it NOW.

Sure, there are exceptions...but usually everyone can agree...it's better to have a clean environment than a dirty one. Everyone can agree that late-term abortions are horrific, and should be avoided if possible. Everyone can agree that a war in which billions of dollars will be spent, thousands of our soldiers may die, and many innocents surely will perish should be a last resort. Everyone can agree that an America that offers abundant work is preferable to one that does not. Everyone can agree that it is not in America's best interest to tacitly allow illegal immigration to continue unchecked at current levels. Everyone can agree that it does not make sense to have the exact same gun laws apply in Montana as in New Jersey, and that checking to make sure someone isn't a felon is probably a good idea before you give them the capability to kill someone from a distance. Everyone can agree that corporations will not police themselves, and must be at least minimally regulated. Everyone can agree that politicians can be too easily purchased by contributions of millions of dollars to their campaigns by special interest groups.

Instead of using these wedge issues to "fire up the base" and get everyone clawing at each other's throats, we need to be reminded of the commonality between us, the ideals the nation was founded upon, and show the people that they have the capability to take the power back and give it to one of their own.

Doug, will you run?

Doug,
That was one of the best rants I've heard.
I lean more conservative. I want to see an
aggressive war on terror but, I don't think
Iraq was a good move at all. I believe in free-
dom of expression but alot of entertainment and
media is exploitative garbage.
My point is this, with all the media we have
there really isn't much intelligent discourse.
I'm amazed at all the options for info we have.
But, it seems like all the posers filled the ranks real quick.
I think there needs to be a call for more
independent voices in media and politics. That
is up to us. Yes, there is a polarization but,
I've never seen more people ignoring the signs
of trouble. We pay the govt. to oversee the
country but, we the people still have to pay
attention and dig a little deeper past all the
"crap" we're fed. Nowadays managers are all over
the place but I don't see many leaders. We gotta
figure out how to dig a little deeper. I hope that it's not too naive for you. But it makes
sense to me
Thank you,
Chris Francese

Hi Doug

About 15 years ago, a group of us from our local UU church (Lesbians, Gays and Straights Together) got together to fix up a playground in the inner city of Little Rock. We met with the principal, told him who we were, and offered to paint and fix up the equipment and grounds. He was nervous, but we promised that we would have no signs, but that we would tell people who we were if they asked. At first the kids came out to help us and then their parents. By the end of the day, the playground looked beautiful and everyone knew who we were. When I left a few years later, no vandals, no gangs had touched that playground. Kids played.

Right now, New Orleans is by far the largest symbol of the total void of unity in this country. Black and white. Rich and poor. Democrat and Republican. Rich, white, Republicans, have no idea that New Orleans is still in complete shambles. Inform the public, organize "vacations" to New Orleans. Pair Republicans with Democrats, gays with straights, blacks with whites, to work on fixing what is lost in this great city. Working together, we will begin to overlook and or understand the social issues that divide us, create a city that functions to its fullest potential, and give refuge to those who lost everything late last August. We, the people, need to do this. Our politicians are useless at best, corrupt at worst. But highly charged rhetoric will go by the wayside, if one on one we work together to fix an obvious symbol of what all is broken.

Just an idea. Thanks.

Doug, As an editorialist for a couple of small southern publications, I must concur with you. My latest commentary calls for voting both the Republicans and the Democrats out of office. Until we vote them AND their parties completely out of government, we'll never actually get their attention. At this point, they seem to feel as if they're "Ordained by God" to administrate the affairs of our land and to hell with those of us that fail to see the wisdom of their leadership. I'm also (incidentally) helping run the campaign for the Libertarian attempt to unseat Tom DeLay-an admittedly uphill battle. What was it Warren Zevon sang...send lawyers, guns and money? Just kidding there...
Well, about the lawyers anyway!
Until we manage to unseat the Redemopublicrats and remind the major parties that they do in fact work for the public, I have come to believe that we will never see any substantial change in the mindset of our leaders.
Keep at it,
Nuke 'n Pave Dave
editorialist for:
Skunk Dots Biker News (Houston)
Wheels on the Road (Miami)

While I love your rants, I agree that it is time to start focusing on what all Americans can agree on. I would hope that the following is a start:

1. No more torture. It's evil, contrary to our principles, ineffective, and destroys our international standing.

2. A strong defense -- DEFENSE, not offense.

3. Fiscal responsibility -- let's stop putting our grandchildren in debt.

4. Work toward energy independence.

5. No more unchecked Presidential power -- no president has the right to ignore the constitution, ever, especially in the "long war" against terrorism. Supporting powers in a Republican president that one would deny to a Democratic president (or vice versa)is the height of hypocrisy.

6. Protect the integrity of the electoral process. Paperless computerized voting is inherently insecure. Better to argue over hanging chads, than whether someone altered votes through a backdoor on a computer.

Doug,
Thanks for an invite to gripe. I'm a man who
believes we should fight very aggressivley on
terror. But, I think Iraq was the wrong move. I
beliveve in freedom of expression. But our cul-
ture is losing it's moral compass. I'm a veteran,
artist, and musician. I've been around. So all I
can lend is this, We the people have to figure out a way to take a little extra time to sift
through the garbage heap of media and rhetoric
that's thrown at us from all directions, take a
breath, and draw a sober conclusion for what this
country needs to heal. This country is a great
place and idea. But, it's wounded and bloated
right now. The people have to save it not the
govt. We pay them. But, we still have to be aware
of getting sold out whether you're a Dem. or Rep.
Greed doesn't care about parties. It has gone
unchecked for a long time while we all sleep.
If we all want to work, raise families and enjoy
our lives, we gotta take a little time to be aware. It's really important for us to wake up
and use our heads.
Thanks,
C.F.

Doug,
Thanks for an invite to gripe. I'm a man who
believes we should fight very aggressivley on
terror. But, I think Iraq was the wrong move. I
beliveve in freedom of expression. But our cul-
ture is losing it's moral compass. I'm a veteran,
artist, and musician. I've been around. So all I
can lend is this, We the people have to figure out a way to take a little extra time to sift
through the garbage heap of media and rhetoric
that's thrown at us from all directions, take a
breath, and draw a sober conclusion for what this
country needs to heal. This country is a great
place and idea. But, it's wounded and bloated
right now. The people have to save it not the
govt. We pay them. But, we still have to be aware
of getting sold out whether you're a Dem. or Rep.
Greed doesn't care about parties. It has gone
unchecked for a long time while we all sleep.
If we all want to work, raise families and enjoy
our lives, we gotta take a little time to be aware. It's really important for us to wake up
and use our heads.
Thanks,
C.F.

I disagree with this civility argument. Every day the corporate media continues to respect Bush in public, it makes me mad. He's so far over the line, he should be behind bars right now. Clinton once asked 'the people' to tone down their anger towards Bush, that our country was getting too uncivil and divided. I couldn't disagree more.

The truth is not always civil. The truth is sometimes ugly. And while it hurts to look at poop, with the flies buzzing around, it's our poop. So take a deap breath and look. The reason I am uncivil towards Bush is BECAUSE I have so much respect for the Presidency that he so badly abuses.

My measure of progress for my country is how many Google contacts I can find comparing Bush to Hitler. That's where the real truth is. Until the truth becomes mainstream, we are all living in La-La land.

Hitler, 1938 Time Magazine Man of the Year.
Stalin, 1939 Time Magazine Man of the Year.
Bush, 2000 & 2004 Time Magazine Man of the Year.
Yep, that's the real truth. Look it up.
La-La Land.

After the last presidential election our household was in mourning. But I gathered my wits, went back to work on Wednesday, and wrote a letter to a co-worker, trying to come to a sort of political compromise with him. He quickly rebuffed me, explaining patiently that I, like all the others who voted as I did, was wrong. Sigh. Since then when I have talked with people who voted the current administration into office, the people mostly say they may not agree with what is going on in our government, but that they trust the ones in charge. I live in a very red area. These people just want to keep their heads in the sand.

I wish we could give them something they want to listen to, but I believe that many in our country are behaving like a frog placed in room temperature water on a cookstove. The stove is turned on and the water heats up slowly. The frog never notices a change, and never tries to hop out. He just goes along with the program, and eventually dies in boiling water.

It's waaay past time for us to start talking about: what would be better?

Lead on!

Doug, for today I have only one comment. Thanks for makiing my whole day. Thanks for making me feel like I'm not standing on the beach yelling at the ocean. Now, at least, I feel like there's more than just a few of us. Quite a few.

This call to civility must be accomapanied by an intensity of resolve and willingness to DIE or lose everything in fighting against evil. Yesterday I yelled out to hundreds of participants in a foot race in Denver. I yelled out, "Live free or die!", and "Give me liberty or give me death!". Some people cheered back. Others did not. All kept running their race. Hundreds of them. More willing to put their energy into an athletic competition than stopping the destruction of their country and their world. Why? Because it still doesn't hurt enough of us intensly enough to really care. We are jaded and confused. Divided, and maybe already conquered. Yes I love many Bush-loving Republicans. But I hate that they are asleep. I don't trust those sleeping Republicans even in my own family not to report me for my views should they feel so compelled Maybe our disadvantage is that we are so civil. We fight against evil while evil is just that: EVIL. And evil is extremely uncivil, even when it dresses in tails and speaks proper English, observing all rules of etiquette. Evil is most dangerous when it appears to be civil. This call to civility must be accomapanied by an intensity of resolve and willingness to DIE or lose everything in fighting against evil. Many of the greatest humans in history have given their lives for it. Are you ready?

Yes, we need new beginnings.
1. Vote out all Congressmen and women who, without evidence, voted for the "war" in Iraq, who voted for the Patriot Act without reading it (that means anyone who voted for it) and who have voted to rid our nation of habeas corpus.
2. Have a national party convention. Mix up the two parties or five...but let's have a chance to vote for a Senate and a House from a slate of people who know and want to maintain what is in the Bill of Rights, in the Constitution and who know what a democratic republic is. (Yes, let's give them a civics test....) None of the people on the slate should have more than $100,000 in assets. Vote for 52 member senate and 104 member house. Have the salaries meet the national average. Provide housing in dormatories for the months either house is in session.
3. Make sure each person actually lives in the district he or she represents.
4. At the end of every year, make sure each person can account for every cent contributed to their office...all trips, all dinners, wine and other booze, gifts, favors, etc. If it is found they are on the take, boot them out immediately and replace with another person from their district.
5. Make lobbying and PACs illegal.
6. Bring Bush, Cheny, Rumsfeld, Norquist, Rove, etc. to the World Court at the Hague, and bring the facts on their crimes against humanity (war in Iraq to prisoners held without habeas in Gitmo, to spying on ordinary Americans) to that court. Let the world court decide on the appropriateness of their actions against countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. Include their crimes against humanity in Lousiana, Mississippi, by their ongoing inadquate response to that distaster. Get rid of them and all they represent, the elite monied oligarchy currently running this country (see IRS data from 2004).
7. The new president should be nominated from the the new Senate and the vice president from the new House. Mix up the "parties"...make the nominees stand on expressed personal values for themselves and expressed values for the nation. Included must be what they would do with our debt, outsourcing our manufacturing base, our tax system, foreign countries owning our businesses and our actual USA ground, that is , dirt,etc.
8. Get rid of party hacks. Have them replaced by mixed slate of academics including physicists, chemists, biologists, sociologists, etc., journalists, writers, philosophers, artists, tradespeople, housewives and house husbands etc. Have plenty of conflict mediators on hand.
9. Increase the National Guard so that each State has within its own power the capability to hand a national disaster or other state emergency with help from volunteers from all over the US.
10. Reduce the Pentagon's budget to that of the world average for military preparedness. Use the left over budget money to rebuild our manufacturing base and let us build the best cars, computers, AIs, bubble brains, etc. of the world, rebuild our educational system (take it out of the government's hand), feed our poor and provide health insurance for everybody. Take the "detention" centers found in every state and close them down.

This could go on. Right now we need new political blood, a healthy respect for the people of this nation, a healthy respect for the people of other nations. Inculcate the idea of justice, and the right to live without interference from intolance of other people's religions or political views.

Yes, we need a new political party.

A Modest Proposal

Step 1: Set a date to outlaw both political parties. Say, Jan. 1, 2008.

Step 2: On that date, two new parties come into existance, called Party A and Party B.

Step 3: Have a nationwide polling organization poll the country to determine who would be most acceptable to write two new party platforms. Say, George Will and Molly Ivans.

Step 3: All currently serving congresscritters as well as the president and vice-president, are given ten days to vacate Washington, DC.

Step 4: Run the usual elections.

Do the same damn thing every 30 years.

Wouldn't hurt to line up and shoot every other lawyer found in the DC area during the month of January, 2006, as well.

Browning>>>

You requested ideas on civility in political discourse. I am finishing a manuscript about civility in our most uncivil discourse today. Poltical fundamentalism. All I can say here is that when it hits the fan it will not spread evenly. I will be glad to explore the concept at your convenience. If you want to discuss it by phone, I will be happy to share phone numbers by some other medium than a message board.

Bill

Sorry my friend but the only thing you can do is pray and get close to God and Jesus and defend our country from the coming attack of the Chinese and then Russians! the only way to stop this madness is to overthrow our New World Order led government. And according to my prophetical sources; if we had an outright revolution in this nation the Chinese and the Russians would take advantage of this and this doom could be much worse than we are already facing. China and Russia according to Bible prophesy and my prophet friends will attack us because 1) We will be very weak do to a revolution 2) a national catastrophy like the Avian or Bird Flu 3) a Meteor hitting the Atlantic or the Pacific or our country. 4) an great economic collaspe is my last choice. But regardless they are waiting to attack us and defeat us and enslave us all. So the devils we have now want to enslave us in one way and the Russians and Chinese want to enslave us in another way. Either way I believe that America is doomed anyway because of our rejection of Jesus Christ and God and the betrayal of our worthless and greedy and Satanically brought Congress. All that is left is being on the side of God by becoming a Born Again Christian and rejecting the antichrist MARK OF THE BEAST CHIP which he will give the rest of the world once the smoke clears!

Sorry Doug, you can talk all you like. I love reading your Rants. Unfortunetly there is nothing Americans will be able to do. The plans are set, and nothing will stop them. There is way to much disconnect and apathy in the USA, and an unwillingness to put the remote control down, turn off survivor, and learn about whats really going on.
The elite control everything, and once again they will get us all to go slaughter each other again. They will eventually control the internet, its their biggest pain in the ass right now. I will admit, without the internet, I would still be one of those mindless sheeple cheering to attack Iran right now, while still thinking bombing Iraq back to the stone age was the "right thing to do".
I do admire your thoughts, you are one of the few people that stops me from outright hating Americans! I just wish there were more people over there that had the guts to do something.
Its strange, because the fate of the world really is in the USA's hands, but not in the way most people would think.

I would ask Alexandra why she insists that freedom of religion should not include freedom FROM religion? Do I have to bow to her God even though I have no belief in the supernatural? If so, this sounds like the Inquisition all over again when Jews were made to convert to the Roman church or be tortured then burned at the stake.

You intimate rather strongly that you are a homophobe and also pro-life. I would like to pose this question. What if at some point down the road a prenatal test is developed that could identify homosexuality in the the womb. Would you still be pro-life? Or would you make an exception because homosexuality is so abhorant and detrimental to "family values"?

You equate euthanasia and the "right to die", and by doing so show your ignorance.
Euthanasia is mercy killing by by some one other than the person who dies. I live in Oregon where we have twice voted in what we call the Death With Dignity Act. It is NOT; I repeat NOT mercy killing in any sense of the word. Our law states that no one is elegible to apply to get a lethal dose of drugs until they have been diagnosed by 2 medical doctors to be terminal with less than six months to live. The patient must then make an oral request and two weeks latter a written request. If at any time the doctor suspects depression or that the individual is in any way mentally incompetant, he must order a psychological evaluation. The patient MUST notify their family of their intentions. Only then is the perscription written and filled. The patient MUST be able to swallow the pills on their own. No oone can help them in any way. There are no injections, there is no forcing the patient to go through with it. Most importantly the patient can at any time opt out of the entire procedure - no one may force them to carry out the suicide - they alone are in charge.

As of the end of 2005 203 people have died using the DWD Act in seven years. There have been no instances where the law was abused. Roughly 2 times that many qualify to get the drugs than use them. Only once did a patient not die after taking the drugs. He went into a coma for two days, woke up and died 2 weeks later from his disease.

This law allows people who have terminal illnesses to choose when it is time to die, they choose not to suffer, and they choose not to make their families suffer with them. That is why my wife and I will remain in Oregon. She has multiple myeloma, a terminal form of blood cancer which was diagnosed almost 6 years ago. She was supposed to have only 3-4 years to live but new therapies have kept her going with a good quality of life. But barring some unseen breakthrough she will eventually die of complications of the disease, and she wants to be the one to call the shots. I support her 100%. I am diabetic and will probably die of complications of that. If the suffering become to much to bear physically I wish to "pull the pin" on myself.

You have your set of beliefs Alexandra. Only you believe that your values should be everyones values. You are truly a child of Bushian Christianity. May your God have mercy on you for being so damned supercilious.

You echoed my own position on politics - that I don't have one, just a belief in fairness for all and a government that works on my behalf. Each day that my tax buys weapons that kill Iraqis and occupying forces - I am responsible and this means my government (UK) in no way represents me. The situation in the US is one I watch very closely as the ripples of decisions in Washington reverberate here and around the world. I often wonder if the US takes any more power and world decisions under its wings, that maybe other citizens of other affected countries should have a vote?

You are entirely right that a civil reaction is essential when a government no longer represents its people and is in a position to give itself ever more powers.....maybe even the power to ensure favourable elections? The stakes are high and the time short - as we glare at Iran menacingly. We need some true diplomats who have the logic, compassion and understanding of true human nature to be in positions of power - not politicians who seek only to feather their own nests with no concern for 'the people'.

I wish you success Doug and have confidence that with so many seeking a solution - that there will be one.

Namaste,
Tina Louise (England)

Doug, I agree. I agree as a long-time Republican, as a life-long fiscal conservative, as a fluctuating social moderate, as a 64 year-old, as a business owner and, not least, as a veteran.

The current divided state of affairs seems to have been contrived by the powers-that-be, regardless of their politics. Someone said, above, that we are being controlled by an self-proclaimed elite, and I agree with that, as we waste time focusing on faux problems and red herrings.....much as the Roman masses were distracted with games, blames and dredged-up enemies.

I was all set to take 'Alexandra' to task for her narrow-minded self-righteousness and conflation of unrelated "issues," but 'Rosco' did it for me. We have to stop becoming more 'Alexandra-like,' and start being more logical and objective. No one, least of all the easily duped "pure," owns the high moral ground.

I have no idea how we can do that, other than by example. As George Bush is now learning, the old adage - 'He who thinketh himself a leader, but hath no man following, is merely taking a walk' - applies....still and ever.

Doug, you forgot the wedge issue of the"DRUG WAR".
The gov't fight against the medical use of Cannabis for many pains,and symtoms of M.S.,injury(trama),AIDS(eating disorders),Cancer(chemotherapy,eating disorder)
Against opiates for the same pain issue.
Against any mind altering(LSD,mescaline,MDA,etc.
Crack(a gov't plot)
We lost our rights to this the "WAR on DRUGS"
Insanity.
As always,justjoe

In the spirit of finding a solution Doug, are you going to admit that you are, can and have been as partisan as anyone else? That you have used your power as owner of the CHB/RR to censor those who disagree with you?

Doug wrote....
"Oh, I'm not calling for American citizens to take up arms and storm the White House and Congress. Instead, I'm suggesting we all need to step back, take a deep breath, and reexamine the entire concept of political and social discourse."

I agree completely with this statement. This reexamination is exactly what I have been focusing on recently, trying to come to greater clarity for myself and also starting to find ways to inspire others to do the same. Without a new way or level of thinking about and carrying out our political and social discourse, we will never find ways to improve on the terrible situation we have gotten ourselves into.

To simply continue in anger will ensure that we will remain stuck where we are. Anger needs to be transformed into insight, inspiration and constructive action. I have already mentioned more about this in a post on the "Typical Political Arrogance" page.

Bryan writes

In the spirit of finding a solution Doug, are you going to admit that you are, can and have been as partisan as anyone else? That you have used your power as owner of the CHB/RR to censor those who disagree with you?

No, Bryan, I'm not, because your statement is untrue.

Doug

Another cause for the inflammatory rhetoric is "infantile democracy"---the belief that those who win the election get to do whatever they want and the losers should shut up and go home. Politicians who understand their role as "technicians of consent" and search for some common ground end up being denounced as "unprincipled" by both supporters and opponents. Once we take the adult view that politics is the art of the possible, we understand that people who disagree with us do not lose their right to do so because we got the most votes and that often we must find answers that satisfy no one but allow us to move on. If I need Doug's help to reach common goals, calling him names does not advance that goal.

Frankly, I've been doing a disturbing amount of research on many things relating to what all of you may call simple "politics," but it's more than this. The parallels between the history of Nazi Germany and the rise of Hitler's war machine (which I knew little about only a few weeks ago) and Bush's "rise to power" in recent years are terrifying, glaring, and more disturbing with each page I read. In fact, the histories are beginning to parallel so closely that I feel as if I can read the history of Germany and understand what's going to happen here next, as if it's some sort of crystal ball. That's how obvious it is...

And if you don't believe this is happening, folks, or don't believe that the Bush Administration is posing as right-wing activists to get the support of America's largest religious group, you really need to read up. I have no patience any longer for anyone that spews rhetoric and Neocon talking points to me with no regard for history and the obvious connections to faschism that I'm seeing here.

There is strong evidence, coupled with irrefutable scientific and forensic proof, that Bush and his cronies not only knew 9/11 was going to happen, but actually orchestrated the whole thing. If you think this is absurd and could never happen (i.e. "why on earth would a government want to murder its own people? Surely no one has ever done such a thing before!"), I implore you to head over to Wikipedia and read about The Reichstag Fire. In short, it's a heavily documented incident that gave rise to the Nazi war machine as we remember it today. Essentially, the Nazis burned down one of their own government buildings and pinned it on Polish Communists, and used the synthetic attack to justify invading that country.

Within days of the Reichstag Fire, Hitler used his political clout to convince the rather unqualified and reluctant president of Germany to sign the Reichstag Fire Degree, a rather short piece of legislation that essentially destroyed German rights in the name of national security, not to mention provided Hitler with expanded powers to create secret police forces to "capture the Communists" and bring them to justice. Sound familiar? It should. Within days of 9/11, the Bush administration pushed the so-called Patriot Act into the hands of Congress, whose members were paranoid and scared as a result of 9/11. Much like the German equivalent of parliament, they did not hesitate to approve the bill, despite the glaring fact that it contained several portions that conflict with our Constitution, that it redefined "terrorists" to include common criminals (i.e. pot smokers, arsonists, robbers, those who speed on the highway, etc, you get the idea), and that it allowed warrantless surveillance and wiretapping without approval from any overseeing body. So much for checks and balances. It's important to note that terrorists are considered apart from regular criminals in law (or were, before one was made the other courtesy of the Patriot Act), and that they are subject to different punishments. Terrorists may be stripped of their citizenship, detained without charge for indefinite amounts of time (that means "forever," folks), and are not subject to a trial by jury, or even allowed to have this. Terrorists, furthermore, can be held incommunicado, meaning they can be forced into isolation with no outside contact - no e-mail, phone calls, or vists - nothing. Hopefully you see the problem with redefining terrorism to include anyone who breaks a U.S. law: it allows the government to completely strip you of your rights and do terrible, unimaginable things to you. Bu$hCo has already done this to people (see Jose Padilla), so really, am I making this shit up?

Anyways, I could go on forever about Bu$hCo's connections to the Nazis and how much proof I have that they orchestrated September 11th in order to undermine our rights and take over the country, but I will try to be to the point, and mention the most important parts here:

THE TWIN TOWERS
The official story is that two airplanes, full of passengers and hijackers, crashed into the two World Trade Center towers, and that a combination of the impacts and the heat from the jet fuel caused the buildings' steel to melt or weaken, leading to their eventual collapse. The story claims that the floors above the areas hit by the planes collapsed onto the floors before, creating a "pancake effect" which leveled the buildings.

This story is horseshit. Common sense, along with the basic physics equations we learned in high school, prove this is so.

#1: Jet fuel doesn't burn at a high enough temperature to melt steel, and even if the fuel could get up to that temperature, the heat would have been diffused throughout the buildings (steel is an excellent conductor of heat), and the beams could not have sustained the temperatures necessary to cause a collapse.

#2: The Law of Falling Bodies, devloped by Gallileo and accepted universally as fact, states that any two objects dropped from the same height, despite a difference in mass, will reach the ground at the same time, so long as they meet no resistance. Using this equation, we find that a rock (or any other object, for that matter) dropped from the floor of Tower #2 hit by the actual airplane, will reach the ground in 8.4 seconds. This is the same amount of time, give or take 2/10th of a second or so, that it took that point of the building to hit the ground upon its collapse. This may not seem odd at first glance, but when you consider that the "pancake" theory requires that the floors contact one another during their descent to the ground, thus meeting resistance, it ought to. A building collapsing via the pancake method could not possibly fall at the rate this building did. The reason it did? It did not pancake. It fell at free-fall speed because the collapsing floors met no resistance as they descended, meaning the lower floors were blown out before the falling ones could touch them. Only explosives could have done this.

There are a ton of other points to be made, but I will summarize:

The architects of the Twin Towers constructed them with airliner crashes in mind, and are on record saying the buildings could have been hit by 2 or 3 planes and would have remained standing.

The steel used in the construction of the buildings was exposed to temperatures of 2,000 degrees (Farenheit) for extended periods of time prior to being installed, to ensure that it was strong enough to withstand fire.

No high rise steel building has ever collapsed due to fire in history, not even the one in Madrid, Spain that burned for nearly a full day in 2005.

THE CASE FOR EXPLOSIVES
Explosives were uses to destroy the Twin Towers. There is no doubt about it. Months after the buildings were demolished, molten steel was being found in the basement levels of the remains, an event that could only have been triggered by the heat created through chemical reactions.

Survivors and witnesses, including janitors who worked in the building and the firefighters who went into the buildings, reported multiple explosions, injuries on floors far before where the planes hit (and before the collapse began), and extensive damage to elevator shafts and more.
Photographs and videos of the collapse show horizontal plumes of smoke and debris shooting through exploding windows far below where planes impacted.

The TV Antennae atop one of the towers, which was attached directly to the core columsn of the building, began to fall prior to the rest of the structure, implying that it was a severing of the central steel columns that caused the collapse, not melting beams.

The buildings' collapses display over ten characteristics of a standard professional demoltion, including 1) shock waves measures by seismographic machines miles away, 2) "demolition rings" around the perimeter of the buildings during the collapse, 3) a "crimp" in the middle of the structures near their roofs, indicative of charges set off in their centers, 4) a total rather than partial collapse, 5) the pulverization of concrete and glass into tiny particles as the result of immense pressure (not possible from the force of gravity alone), 6) the accelerated collapse of the building at nearly free-fall speed, and 7) an implosion-like fall, as opposed to a toppling fall. I could go on...

How could so many bombs be placed in such prominent buildings, you ask? Easy. Several bizarre evacuations and "power downs" were scheduled and called in the weeks prior to 9/11, and on one day, bomb-sniffing dogs and security, usually present 24/7 for 12-hour shifts, were asked to completely clear out. As for the "power downs," that they occurred has been confirmed by employees who worked in the Twin Towers, and it has been noted that during these rare "down" times, all of the security cameras, door locks, and access-prevention hardware in the buildings were rendered useless. Any room would have been accessible, and nothing could have been caught on surveillance tapes.

More suspicious still is the fact that George W. Bush's very own, barely-mentioned brother, Marvin Bush, was the president of the Stratesec/Securacom security company that developed and maintained the security systems for all the World Trade Center buildings, as well as for the airline companies whose planes were "flown into the buildings." Wirt Walker III, one of George W. Bush's close relatvies, was at that time (and still is) the CEO of that company. Hmmmm.....

PROFITING FROM THE "ATTACK"
The owner of the World Trade Center buildings made billions of dollars in insurance when the buildings were destroyed, and suspiciously took out his claim on them only shortly before the collapse, insuring them specifically in the event of just such a "terrorist attack."

The Bush Administration used the orchestrated attack to launch us into a war with Iraq, which continues to this day (but will likely end and be forgotten when the upcoming war with Iran makes the Iraq War look like kindergarten fingerpainting), and has used the resulting war to furnish its favored business partners with powerful cabinet and government positions, lucrative security and construction contracts, and has convinced millions that funneling taxpayer money into mock "defense" is a worthwhile cause.

I could go on, but there are too many examples. Do some Google searches and find out more yourselves. You can't go three feet without tripping over corruption.

OTHER BIZARRE SHIT
A plane supposedly struck the Pentagon on 9/11, yet the crater produced by whatever "hit it" looked like that caused by a Tomahawk cruise missile, not an airplane with engines, wings, and stabilizing flaps. No 747 airplane wreckage was produced, and none was found at the site, and none has been recovered since. The official explanation is that the plane, along with its two 6-ton turbines, were "vaporized" by the incredible heat. Also, there are no skid marks from a plane contacting the lawn as it crashed, and several metal and plastic objects close to the perimeter of the Pentagon remained untouched and unsinged despite the proximity of the "plane crash." No video or images of the event have been released to the public, and witnesses surrounding the Pentagon report that videotapes and digital cameras were confiscated by the FBI in the minutes following the explosion.

A plane was also supposedly brought down in Pennsylvania by "patriotic" passengers that overthrew their hijackers, causing the vehicle to crash far from its "intended target," supposedly the White House. No bodies were ever recovered from the "crash site," and even the local coroner, called in to identify, tag, and collect the bodies, is quoted as saying he was a coroner for "about 6 minutes, because there were no bodies there," and that, he never saw "one drop of blood" the entire time he was there.

More than half of the people listed as the airplane hijackers, thought to have died in the "plane crashes," have turned up alive and well in other countries, and many are indignant at being labeled as terrorists. One even went as far to say, "I've never even heard of Pennsylvania," and yet the White House tells us he crashed in a field there.

Billions of dollars worth of gold mysteriously disappeared from the basement vaults of the World Trade Center towers, and more was found in what appeared to be unmanned getaway trucks parked behind WTC building #5.

CLOSING COMMENTS ABOUT 9/11
Our own government orchestrated and pulled off the events of 9/11 with military precision, using a combination of distraction, technology, and information withholding. They did this to create a justification for getting into a war with Iraq, which, despite all the other rumors, I believe is not for oil (not solely for it anyway), not to liberate or save Iraq's people, not to root out Al Queda or force them to fight us in a country other than our own, and certainly not because Hussein has WOMDs.

As the looming war with Iran approaches, it's becoming more and more obvious that Iraq is not a folly or a mistake, but that the war was merely meant to set us up with a strategic location from which we could launch all-out nuclear war on their neighboring country. Likewise, it seems that the deal to give control of port operations over to United Arab Emirates-based Dubai Ports was in exchange for access to the UAE's own ports, offering another strategic location from which we could strike Iran. And the more I look at the data, the more it looks like Israel is in on all this, too. But let me not get ahead of myself.

Now, you may be asking: War with Iran?! But they're 5x the size of Iraq, have an impressive army that hasn't been decimated by years of U.N. sanctions and opressive rule, and the country isn't filled with warring tribal factions.

Well, I'll tell you why...

THE IRAN WAR: END GAME
Iran, on March 20th, 2006, is planning to open a stock exchange, under names variously referred to in English as Iran Petroleum Exchange, International Oil Bourse or Iranian Oil Bourse, for the express purpose of trading oil, petrochemicals and gas with various non-dollar currencies, including euros. If successful, this would establish a euro-based pricing mechanism for oil trading, or "oil marker" as it is called by traders. For the uninformed, this means they will accept only euros (and other foreign currencies other than the dollar) in exchange for their oil supplies. This will destroy the value of the American dollar if it happens. For years, countries that have wanted to purchase oil from Iran have needed to convert their monies into dollars to complete the trade. Now, it appears, we can not cash in on those transactions. Once the Euro becomes supreme over the dollar, attaching itself to the ridiculously huge oil industry, our economy will go down the shitter real quick.

And now, in what I know cannot be a coincedence, the United States Federal Reserve announced relatively recently that, as of March 23, 2006, they will no longer be reporting the M3 money supply data of the U.S. dollar. Since M3 is not exactly a household term, let me explain the significance of this:

M3 is another way of describing "money supply" - the quantity of money available within a given economy (ours, specifically) to purchase goods, services, and securities. The reluctance of our government to release the information regarding M3 and our money supply has piqued the interest of many in the investment and banking communities, who foresee this decision as an indication of impending financial / economical instability. Whatever this instability is going to be caused by, it's obvious to many that the Feds don't want news of it to get out.

As Robert McHugh, Ph.D. (President and CEO of Main Line Investors, Inc.) has said, "We have continuously demonstrated the high correlation between growth in M-3 and a rising stock market. We have also demonstrated that when M-3 either declines or stays the same, the stock market is prone to decline." Stock market decline, you say? Hmm....

McHugh, in fact, sees a big connection here between out economy and an impending faschist takeover:

"We aren't privy to the reasons [for why M3 will no longer be reported] because the Master Planners do not believe in the forthright flow of information. They believe that bad news cannot be handled by the flock, and that confidence must be boosted at all costs, even if it entails manipulating the markets. Don't let the dead be honored, instead sneaking them into Dover at night. Don't let the real jobless figures be released, goose [the people] with a phony birth/death adjustment, and so on. Now we can kiss the most important Fed statistic computed goodbye. Do you see what is happening folks? The Unpatriotic Act steals your civil liberties. Three young girls from Kansas cannot board an Amtrak train to New York unless they have a government issued photo ID. This is not some futuristic sci-fi plot. It's now. It is called Corporatist Fascism. Next could be freedom of speech. Then martial law. A computer chip under your skin. Eventually, your right to vote. Then it is all over, game set and match."

According to Dr. McHugh, the M3 figure will still be calcuated - we just won't be allowed to know what it is, and why? McHugh suggests it is because the Feds expect to have to increase the money supply very rapidly, to extraordinary levels this year, and theorizes that they may "see a catastrophe coming that will require hyperinflation to bail the U.S. out." Iran opening up a euro-based oil market definitely qualifies as a catastrophe in terms of the dollar and its value, but not when one considers the type of events that have caused M3 fluctuations in the past: the London bombing, hurricanes Katrina and Rita, indictments of top Administration officials, 9/11, etc.

Given the history of the rise and fall of the money supply, I would argue that this veil of secrecy, in fact, is an indication of the impending armageddon, if you will. The Neocons have grown more and more comfortable ridiculing and threatening Iran in recent weeks, and it definitely appears as if they are setting us up to go into an all-out war with them, public support or no public support.

So, I will reiterate once more. The Bush family crime sydicate orchestrated and pulled off 9/11 with military precision, and immediately used the event to lead us into an unjustified and foolhardy war with Iraq, which is now *conveniently* heading toward "civil war" just as the Bush Admin's threats to Iran become more public. When you factor in the fact that, if Iran is allowed to go ahead with their euro-based oil market, they will decimate the American dollar, there is quote a motive to go to war, albeit for reasons rooted in greed, not peace or liberation.

Bush knows a war with Iran won't fly based on economic reasons, so he's going to create a "good" reason to go to war with them: he's going to make it look like they attacked us first. To do this, another 9/11-type event is going to occur, this time pinned on the Iranians, and it will likely take the form of a large-scaled, state and government-funded nuclear or biological attack, probably at one of our ports. And this time, the body count will be much, much higher, probably in the 500,000 to one million marker. And just in case you don't believe there has been any lead up to this event, or that this is all conspiracy theory bullshit, check this out:

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION & WORLD DOMINATION
In case you're unaware, there is a Washington, D.C. based think tank out there called the Project for the New American Century, or the PNAC. Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld founded this organization in 1997, just prior to Bush's 2000 "victory," and were promptly awarded high-level positions in the new government when it formed. Other prominent members of the PNAC include George W. Bush's brother (and Florida Senator) Jeb Bush, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton (appointed by Bush himself), U.S. Ambassador to Iraq (and former ambassador to Afghanistan) Zalmay Khalilzad, Lewis "Scooter" Libby (Cheney's senior aide, now indicted for high crimes), former Vice President Dan Quayle, and Paul Wolfowitz, the current President of the World Bank, among others.

The PNAC's purpose is to promote American "global leadership," and the following:

* A significant increase of U.S. defense spending.
* Strengthening ties with the U.S.'s allies and to challenge regimes hostile to U.S. interests and values.
* Promoting the cause of political and economic freedom outside the U.S.
* Preserving and extending an international order friendly to U.S. security, prosperity, and principles.

If this doesn't sound like they want to take over the fucking planet, I don't know what does. The PNAC believes our military ought to act as a global police force, and that it should be used to "keep law and order around the world in accordance with United States interests." The PNAC also advocates that the United States government should capitalize on its military and economic superiority to gain unchallengeable superiority through all means necessary, including military force. Scary stuff...

So, the Administration is chock full of assholes who think we ought to rule the world, and the 9/11 documentaries that abound prove that they are willing to kill their own citizens to rally us behind wars that they need to further their plans. But how do we know that a nuclear attack on American soil is in the plans? Well, I'll show you...

TERROR DRILLS HELD THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY
Since, 9/11, hundreds of "terror drills" have been held around the country, with a purpose (supposedly) of helping prepare us for another attack on our soil. Considering the Bush Administration and the Nazis in the PNAC are the only ones to have ever really attacked us, however, I'd say these drills are actually intended either to brainwash and terrify the American populace, or are meant literally to train local and military forces how to clean up the mess resulting from these inside jobs.

Scarier still, some of these "drills" have turned out to be convenient decoys or cover-ups, intended to cause confusion or distraction in the face of the inside jobs. For example, a drill was held on 9/11 itself where NORAD forces were being trained how to handle the hijacking of airliners being used to crash into the Twin Towers. Because of the nature of the drill, everyone thought the real "terrorist attacks" were a ruse, and so the soldiers thought nothing of it when they were told to "stand down" rather than react. And so, 9/11 happened, and the soldiers came off looking innocent when, in fact, they were all guilty of allowing thousands to die. Several of these drills, simulating airplaning crashing into high-rise buildins, were held around the country in the months surrounding 9/11, and though Donald Rumsfeld, a very close associate of George W. Bush, was privy to all the information and planning surrounding them, came out repeatedly saying that no one had any idea this sort of attack could happen. In actuality, the government knew the whole time, because they were planning it, and they were covering their ass long in advance.

The pont I'm getting at is, very creepy "drills" have been organized around the country within the past year, positing the same type of state-funded attack that seems imminent. As the story goes, a ship carrying a huge nuclear or biological weapon gets into our ports and is detonated, murdering tens of thousands of people in broad daylight. And drills such as these have been held in several cities already, including Charleston, South Carolina (more here) and Houston, Texas.

These "tragic events," orchestrated by a country's own government, are referred to as false-flag operations, specifically because they stir patriotic fervor by means of a synthetic attack (see 9/11, Germany's Reichstag Fire, etc.), and rally the citizens of a nation to support a war, all while placing the blame squarely on an "enemy" of the state's choice. The result is that you appear to be highly justified when you in turn attack your enemy. An example of this is Operation Cyanide, an operation that was devised because of the U.S. desire to become involved in Israel's battle against Egypt in 1967. The U.S. sacrificed a Navy vessel that ostensibly was attacked by Egypt. In reality the ship was deliberately attacked by unmarked Israeli fighters, torpedoed by Israeli ships and shelled with napalm. Contrary to all expectations, a portion of the crew survived the attack, and the American airplane that was already on its way to Egypt to avenge the attack with a nuclear bomb was called back. Given the many common interests of the U.S. and Israel it is not unlikely that the blueprint for this operation will be pulled off the shelf to organize a warwith Iran.

In fact, a compelling argument to support the premise that a U.S. attack on Iran is not far off can be found in an excerpt from a column entitled Deep Background by Philip Giraldi. Giraldi is an ex-CIA agent and employee of Cannistraro Associates, a company run by Vince Cannistraro, a one-time counter-terrorism chief for the CIA who in his work as a consultant for ABC News reported on the Bush Administration's pattern of deception during the lead-up to the Iraq war. Giraldi wrote his column for The American Conservative, a publication by conservatives who disagree with the neoconservative course of the Bush Administration. He describes how the military planners of USSTRATCOM, at the direction of the administration, are preparing a conventional and/or nuclear response (i.e., an attack on Iran) to an anticipated hostile act by Iran: 'In Washington it is hardly a secret that the same people in and around the administration who brought you Iraq are preparing to do the same for Iran. The Pentagon, acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney's office, has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States. The plan includes a large-scale air assault on Iran employing both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons. As in the case of Iraq, the response is not conditional on Iran actually being involved in the act of terrorism directed against the United States.

So there you have it. Our government is run by faschists who want to dominate the entire planet, they're willing to (and already have) kill thousands to get their way, and are now showing poorly in the polls, with elections coming up in November that could lead to impeachments and indictments for 90 percent of the Neocons in office.

If you want my straight prediction, here it is:

Shortly after Iran switches to a euro-based oil system, essentially fucking us, the Neocons will carry out a large-scale nuclear attack on their own people, in a major U.S. city - an attack that will kills 30,000 to half a million people in just a few minutes, not to mention wounding hundreds of thousands of others. This attack will be blamed on Iran, and the Bush Administration, taking advantage of the situation (and bracing for the inevitable backlash and public outrage) will call martial law, effectively putting themselves in complete control of the country. The Constitution and all elections will be suspended, the military will patrol the streets in violation of law, and anyone opposing Bush and the Neocons will be considered a terrorist (or at least to be giving them aid), and anyone who supports this make-believe enemy will be shipped off, without charges or a trial, to American concentration camps, which I have already posted about earlier, several of which are being built by Halliburton themselves.

American citizens will die in these gulag prisons, and we will be forced to endure Nazi America until the rest of the world takes it upon itself to invade us, destroy our military, and hang all of the criminals in our midst. This could take years.

Indications show that this "Iran attack" will occur either on March 23, the day the Federal Reserve ceases to report the M3 money supply numbers, or on March 28, a date being kicked around in the political underground for whatever reasons. In any event, this is going to happen soon, and everyone ought to be prepared.

In the event that Bush calls martial law, there will be no Congress or legislature to speak of, no courts, and no justice system whatsoever. All local police will be under the influence of the military, and traitors will be killed on the spot or hauled off to camps.

There will be no elections, and Bush will remain in power as long as he wishes to. Whatever he says is the law will be so, and that is a terrifying thought.

If you think this cannot happen, I urge you to 1) do some Google searches, 2) read up on Nazi Germany, 3) read the Patriot Act over thoroughly, 4) watch some 9/11 conspiracy documentaries on Google Video (or buy them if you can), and 5) open your eyes, do a little research.

Also, stock up on non-perishable food and water, because people will go batshit crazy when the Neocons take over and soldiers line the streets.

What you find will scare the hell out of you, but educating yourself and others is our only hope of stopping this before it goes down. We don't have much time...

The premise is noble; the result of the discourse may be total frustration. However, if the people refrain from trying there will never be a solution. The reality is reform never comes without the majority of the people’s suffering reaching the breaking point. Having said this, the first step is defining what is destroying the system. Assuming the system is to be maintained and agreed as the best foundation to build upon. Identify the perverting force causing the problems in the governing process. To find the source of the corruption, it is common knowledge one must follow the money. Sanitizing the money in the governing process is probably the most important problem and most difficult to achieve. Money influences all decisions, and presently decisions are being made for individual benefit rather than public good. Now this is where the frustration will originate. The Politicians, Republican and Democrat, create the laws, the corporations and big money interest control the politicians with their money and the people have no voice in government. Now people will say we have the power of the vote. This is the source of frustration. When Corporations and big money interest own the Politicians on both sides of the aisle the American citizen’s vote has been neutralized. I rest my case.

I am a novice to blogs etc, but am highly impressed with your premise. I have submitted an application to The Rant and am awaiting approval. I hope that the delay in an approval signifies a large and growing response to your ideas.

It is past time for us to act. Your call to rational, honorable action with well thought-out possibilities for solutions to the crises our individual liberties are facing is timely.

The difference between the dangers facing us today and those faced by our ancestors prior to world war two is the degree to which moneyed and vested interests have succeeded in getting so many of our current legislators at all levels of government to sell out the values of our founding fathers.

We have one source of hope that the German populace did not have during the 30's when their leadership was stripping them of their freedom. We can see the parallels of history, and we have the ability to communicate what we see to a large segment of the population.

The only question is whether we have the will and the integrity to pay the price that each generation before us has had to pay. Will we take a stand when it's the other guy's turn, our will we each wait until they come for us and we have no choice other than capitulate or die in a solitary act of defiance.

If we take note now we can at least choose the time of our fight and possibly make a difference through the intelligent, honorable application of the system we have inherited.