Against TPTB; Keep On Truckin'

Instead of TPTB [The Powers That Be], which has an ominous tone but lacks all specificity, I prefer MICFiC -

M ilitary
I ndustrial
C ongressional
Fi nancial
C orporate Media Complex

The first draft of Eisenhower's 1961 Farewell Address referred to the "military-industrial-congressional" complex, and I've made it more inclusive by adding the financial and corporate media wings.

Of course, from within the MICFiC (note the non-capitalized second "i" - it makes the graphic design of the acronym more interesting, as well as easier to say) it's quite clear that there are factions and struggles. However, from outside the MICFiC, the term promotes recognition of:

the aggregation of power

the use by this complex of the governing apparatus of the Republic to promote perpetual war preparations - and actual mass murder as often as possible

its purpose - to steal from the people using the tax system, and use them as raw material

its method of mind control - the mass media's constant distraction and disinformation - on one level, for one group of people, "The Price is Right" and "American Idol" - for another group of people, smooth-talking neoconservative paranoia via PBS and NPR

No one knows what will happen next - but I was impressed by something William Black (author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One) said in his April 3, 2009 interview with Bill Moyers.

There's a saying that we [who were working on the Savings and Loan crisis] took great comfort in. It's actually by the Dutch, who were fighting this impossible war for independence against what was then the most powerful nation in the world, Spain. And their motto was, "It is not necessary to hope in order to persevere."

April 11 - Assembling to Petition for a Redress of Grievances

On April 11, 2009. at 2 PM, in various cities across the U.S., groups of citizens will gather in opposition to bailouts putting the people as a whole into bondage to the big banksters.

The aims of "A New Way Forward" are:

NATIONALIZE: Experts agree on the means -- Insolvent banks that are too big to fail must incur a temporary FDIC intervention - no more blank check taxpayer handouts. (see Krugman on nationalization)

REORGANIZE: Current CEOs and board members must be removed and bonuses wiped out. The financial elite must share in the cost of what they have caused. (see Simon Johnson on reorganizing)

DECENTRALIZE: Banks must be broken up and sold back to the private market with strong, new regulatory and antitrust rules in place-- new banks, managed by new people. Any bank that's "too big to fail" means that it's too big for a free market to function.

http://www.anewwayforward.org/the_idea/

Our plan: Real structural change of Wall Street

DECENTRALIZE: Any bank that's "too big to fail" means that it's too big for a free market to function. The financial corporations that caused this mess must be broken up and sold back to the private market with strong, new regulatory and antitrust rules in place -- new banks, managed by new people. An independent regulatory body must protect consumers from predatory practices.

As Wall St. corporations grew bigger and bigger until they were “too big to fail,” they also became so politically powerful that they led to distorted and unfair policies that served companies, not citizens.

Its not enough to try to patch up the current system. We demand serious reform that fixes the root problems in our political and economic system: excessive influence of banks, dangerous compensation systems, and massive consolidation. And we demand that the reform happen in an open and transparent manner.

Read more about what we want and can achieve and see our blog for more related information.

Also, see these three great economic interviews that can get you up to speed from Bill Moyers : Simon Johnson on the financial oligarchy, 2/13; William Greider on restructuring and ANWF rallies, 3/26; and William Black on financial fraud, 4/2.

http://www.anewwayforward.org/demonstrations/

_______________________________________

Amendment I to the Constitution of the United States

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Is Barack Obama a Snake in the Grass?

is Obama a SHEEP in WOLVES' CLOTHING?

I can see why those of us with limited perception (i.e., everyone, approximately) might think that Obama is a member in good standing of the War Party. He talks like one. They treat him like one. He has the endorsement of Colin Powell, you betcha.

But follow me through the steps of a Gedankenexperiment. Let us suppose Obama is dedicated to gaining power by any means necessary. Clearly, the road to the White House is barred to anyone who does not welcome the embrace of the MICFiC (military industrial congressional financial corporate media complex). Let us reduce our occupation force in Iraq, says Barack - so we can put more boots on the ground with guns in their hands pointed at the inhabitants of Afghanistan. This is just what a suitable prospective Commander in Chief in Charge of Killing Foreigners would say.

But although Obama says things like this with apparent sincerity, what if he's lying to us - for our own good? What if he really is a Christian - not a Christianist, like Gov. Palin, but someone who tries to live according to the teachings of Jesus?

Recall Matthew 10:16 - the King James Version, which some believe is what Jesus would have said, if English had been invented at the time, is:


"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."


As Brian said, "Blessed are the cheesemakers" - which should be understood to include all those involved in the production and distribution of dairy products.

On the other hand, maybe the following verse, following the format of Lewis Carroll's The Mad Gardener's Song, is a better prediction of the future:


She thought she saw a candidate
Who'd put an end to war.
She looked again, and found it was
The Same Game as Before.
"If that's the way it goes," she said,
"Then what is voting for?"


UPDATE April 6, 2009: Current evidence suggests that President Obama is in fact in sympathy with the prevailing views of the foreign policy and financier establishments. It's hard to make predictions, especially about the future, as famed sports figure Lawrence Berra has said.

We've come to a fork in the road - should we take it?

These days I go to various places for information on matters of political economy, and right now I regard RGE Monitor as a very useful source of information and commentary. It seems that the "improvement" of the Paulson "Cash for Trash" Bill during the legislative process included language which made taxpayer participation in the ownership of financial firms allowable, though not compulsory. Good. I think. Barack Obama (upon whom be peace) asked my congressperson to vote affirmatively on the measure that finally passed, and let's hope it all works out in the long run.

The big guys (finance ministers and central bankers of the G7) are meeting in DC this weekend, and the future's ahead.

I'm sending this fax to my Senators and Congressperson

To put it bluntly: NO CASH FOR TRASH!

I'm against giving money to bankers for their toxic waste. This plan was devised by, and is for the benefit of, the same people who got us into this situation.

There are other alternatives. Congress needs to hold hearings and listen to economists who saw this coming – for example, Nouriel Roubini, Robert Kuttner, and Dean Baker. It may take a couple of weeks longer, but this is a time to do what is NECESSARY, not what is convenient.

The fear-based stampede that the Bush Gang is trying to provoke is a giant rip-off. Although it is merely robbery, instead of mass murder (wars of choice against nations that never harmed us), it is yet another crime. I hope to live long enough to see fair trials for the lot of them.

Our next president's one-sentence stump speech

Atrios has performed this very valuable service of data distillation:

Obama: The system sucks, but I'm so awesome that it'll melt away before me.

Edwards: The system sucks, and we're gonna have to fight like hell to destroy it.

Clinton: The system sucks, and I know how to work within it more than anyone.

I'm not sure who will be our next president, but of these three people quoted, I agree with Edwards.

Part of "fighting like hell" would be fair trials, employing all the Anglo-American traditional procedural protections for the accused, of the Bush/Cheney Gang of traitors and mass murderers.

The notion that has been floated recently of a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission", along South African lines, seems fundamentally mistaken to me. South Africa had gone through an irreversible transformation, and white minority rule would never return. Our situation is very different. Immunity and impunity are powerful statements - they say - you can do this again and again and get away with it. So far they have. Scooter Libby's sentence was commuted. Eliot Abrams is back in the government. This is the MICFiC in action. As long as they can get away with it, they'll keep it up.

The thieves, traitors, and mass murderers who run this country now are entitled to receive fair trials. "We the People" need to give them fair trials.

It's A Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story

Although allegedly this is the movie's "suppressed ending", I wrote it myself, admittedly influenced by the Saturday Night Live sketch in which they went over to Potter's house and beat him up.

Coincidentally, the Bible quote with which I notionally end the film - "therefore choose life" - was also in Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize speech yesterday.

The challenge we all face is that of continuing to choose life, even while recognizing that we live in Pottersville, not Bedford Falls.



It's A Wonderful Life - The Final Scene

Potter's personal health care attendant (the man who pushes his wheelchair) bursts into the party at George and Mary Bailey's house. The mood, which had been festive (just a moment before, we saw the arrest warrant being torn apart and thrown on the pile of contributions from "so many friends") changes immediately, as the tale of Potter's purloining of the disappeared bank deposit is told. At first incredulous, the people become increasingly angry as the depth of depravity of the twisted, misanthropic millionaire becomes clear.

Next we see the crowd carrying torches as they approach Potter's mansion - it is like the evil twin of the house that George, Mary, and their kids have filled with love - equally large, but almost all in darkness, and without any sort of holiday decoration, neither Christmas tree, menorah, or solstice wreath. Ernie drives up in his cab, and siphons some gasoline from the tank into a large metal can. We see him and Potter's former health care attendant splashing the gasoline at the entrances of the house, including the wheelchair ramp. Uncle Billy ignites the flammable liquid by throwing his torch into it, and the rest of the crowd follows suit. The volunteer fire department arrives, but Burt the cop keeps them from coming up the long drive.

Inside the house, through the windows, we see Potter desperately going from room to room, trying to escape, but it is useless. Uncle Billy watches with grim satisfaction, and we see the flames of the house reflected in his glasses as he mutters "So long, you old so and so."

We recognize other members of the crowd - the same individuals we saw in the "Pottersville bar" scene - and, like then, there are no women or other members of the Bailey family present, except for Uncle Billy.

Clarence the angel, no longer in civilian clothes, but rather in his magnificent new robe and wings, watches sadly from treetop level. The camera pulls back and we see the house beginning to collapse as the flames leap higher. The final scene pans upward from the burning house to the starry sky, and we see in Gothic letters the following Biblical quote: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life" (Deut. 30:19).