Tuesday, February 13, 2007

A MARINE'S SUICIDE

** Sometime in the next few days, this website and blog will be offline for maintenance while we change servers. This will just be for a few hours. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE! xo. Lydia



Suicide is a serious U.S. public health problem (both within and out of the military) that results in about 30,000 deaths per year. In fact, more people die from suicide each year than from homicide. For the past 10 years, suicide has been the 2nd or 3rd leading cause of death among active duty Navy and Marine personnel. (Learn about suicide prevention from U.S. Navy website: U.S. MILITARY SUICIDE PREVENTION

TOLD TO WAIT, A MARINE DIES
By Charles M. Sennott,
The Boston Globe, Sunday 11 February 2007

VA care in spotlight after Iraq war veteran's suicide.
Stewart, Minnesota - It took two years of hell to convince him, but finally Jonathan Schulze was ready.

On the morning of Jan. 11, Jonathan, an Iraq war veteran with two Purple Hearts, neatly packed his US Marine Corps duffel bag with his sharply creased clothes, a framed photo of his new baby girl, and a leather-bound Bible and headed out from the family farm for a 75-mile drive to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St. Cloud, Minn.

Family and friends had convinced him at last that the devastating mental wounds he brought home from war, wounds that triggered severe depression, violent outbursts, and eventually an uncontrollable desire to kill himself, could not be drowned in alcohol or treated with the array of antianxiety drugs he'd been prescribed.

And so, with his father and stepmother at his side, he confessed to an intake counselor that he was suicidal. He wanted to be admitted to a psychiatric ward.

But, instead, he was told that the clinician who prescreened cases like his was unavailable. Go home and wait for a phone call tomorrow, the counselor said, as Marianne Schulze, his stepmother, describes it.

When a clinical social worker called the next day, Jonathan, 25, told again of his suicidal thoughts and other symptoms. And then, with his stepmother listening in, he learned that he was 26th on the waiting list for one of the 12 beds in the center's ward for post-traumatic stress disorder sufferers.

Four days later, on Jan. 16, he wrapped a household extension cord around his neck, tied it to a beam in the basement, and hanged himself.

In life, Jonathan Schulze didn't get nearly what he needed. But in death, this tough and troubled Marine may help get something critical done.

The apparent failure of the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer him timely and necessary care has electrified the debate on the blogs and websites that connect an increasingly networked and angry veterans community. It has triggered an internal investigation by the VA into how a serviceman with such obvious symptoms faced a wait for hospital care.

And it is being cited by veterans' advocates and their allies in Congress as a searing symbol of a system that they say is vastly unprepared and under funded to handle the onslaught of 1.5 million veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who are returning home, an estimated one in five of them with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. One in three Iraq war veterans is seeking mental health services, according to a report by an Army panel of experts last year.
For full story: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021207P.shtml

THE FORCE OF PEACE IS ON THE WAY ... More coming, stay tuned.

Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace. - Buddha (560-483 B.C.)

Peace, to have meaning for many who have only known suffering in both peace and war, must be translated into bread or rice, shelter, health and education, as well as freedom and human dignity. - Ralph Johnson Bunche (1904-1971)

Peace is the only battle worth waging. - Albert Camus (1913-1960)

Do you know what astonished me most in the world? The inability of force to create anything. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the spirit. Soldiers usually win battles and generals get the credit for them. You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war. If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots. - Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

OPEN THREAD
You can discuss suicide prevention, spiritual principles, The Secret, Putin's remarks, Scooter Libby trial, celebrity-media fixations... it's up to you.

I am looking for profiles of U.S. soldiers killed Iraq for a special I'm doing on our troops. Please send them to: webmaster@lydiacornell.com
Thank you.
Luv xo
Lyd

308 comments:

  1. "Although we have been made to believe that if we will let go we will end up with nothing, life itself reveals again and again the opposite; that letting go is the path to real freedom."

    Sogyai Rinpoche

    ReplyDelete

  2. War With Iran


    Market Mania in Crude Oil,
    Base Metals,
    Tokyo Gold
    and the Yen

    Global Money Trends Magazine
    Gary Dorsch, Editor

    The name "Einstein" is synonymous with great intelligence and genius. Albert Einstein was named Time magazine's "Man of the Century," because he transformed humankind's understanding of nature on every scale, from the smallest to that of the cosmos. Einstein's theory of relativity is embodied in all motion throughout the universe, and the nature of energy, matter, motion, time, and space.

    Unfortunately, Einstein didn't take a fancy to studying the daily motion of commodity and stock markets, where wild and erratic gyrations often seem to have no logical explanation. Why did the zinc market soar nearly 400% due to fast shrinking supplies, only to surrender a third of its gains, over the past two months? How do some copper miners defy the laws of gravity and climb to record highs, even after the price of copper has dropped by almost 50% below its all time highs?

    Newtonian physics might explain the 35% slide in crude oil to as low as $50 /barrel since July 2006. But how did oil prices bounce by $10 /barrel towards $60 /barrel over the past two weeks? The DJI hasn't suffered a 2% correction since July, its longest such streak of resiliency since 1965. How does the Dow Jones Industrials (DJI) defy the law of gravity? How did Tokyo gold prices rise by 75% from 18-months ago, if Japan's official CPI is only 0.3% higher from a year ago?

    Answers to these questions, that can withstand the test of time, are tough to figure out. Fortunately, Einstein did leave behind a treasure chest of insightful quotes and wisdom that can help traders to cope with the schizophrenia of commodities and the mania of global stock markets. When trying to understand the mood of the markets on any given day, remember some of Einstein's pearls of wisdom!

    "Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school," said Einstein.

    Crude oil has been on a wild rollercoaster ride for the past 18-months. Climbing in an orderly fashion from around $50 per barrel until the spot price of West Texas Sweet peaked at a record high of $78.40 per barrel on July 14th. Then over the next six months, crude oil began a 35% slide, which might have made sense to students of physics, who believe that what goes up, must eventually come down.


    But the recent behavior the crude oil market doesn't conform to the classic laws of supply and demand. Crude oil traders focus a lot of their attention each week on the amount of oil held in storage by Big-Oil for clues about the future direction of oil prices. Yet since October 2005, crude oil prices have been acting counter-intuitively, climbing higher when crude oil supplies were rising to 8-year highs of 347 million barrels, then tumbling lower when supplies were shrinking.

    Thus, students of Economics 101 should not trade crude oil based on the Law of Supply and Demand taught in college. Instead, in order to trade profitably in the brave new world of the crude oil markets, economists must switch to psycho-analysis to predict future prices. Don't hesitate to make the change-over. "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new," Einstein said.


    Crude oil prices were falling fast in the second half of 2006, even as OPEC was cutting back on its oil output from a record high of 28.3 million bpd. That's because 1.8 million bpd of new oil supplies from Angola, Brazil, Canada, Kazakhstan, and Russia are expected to come on stream this year. As of Feb 2nd, OPEC-10 had lowered its output to 26.8 million bpd, but is still cheating by one million bpd above the quotas that it agreed upon on in October and December.

    When crude oil prices were fast approaching $50 per barrel, Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said on January 16th, there was no need for OPEC to hold an emergency meeting before its next scheduled gathering in March. "The market doesn't need to panic at all, it's in a healthy condition and moving in the right direction. We took measures in October in Doha and measures in Abuja and I believe these measures are working well," he said, sounding indifferent to the plunge in oil prices.

    Most of the decline in crude oil prices in the second half of 2006 was due to the evaporation of a $15 pr barrel Iranian 'war premium" which had been built into prices earlier in the year. The resignation of US Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld confirmed the market's suspicions that the US would not attack Iran's nuclear installations anytime soon. Instead, President Bush decided to try other tactics first.


    US Vice President Dick Cheney visit with King Abdullah on November 25th, was brief, lasting only a few hours before he flew back to Washington.

    Cheney might have asked King Abdullah to use his considerable influence in the oil markets to knock prices lower, to put a squeeze Iran's troubled economy, which depends on crude oil sales for 95% of its foreign exchange earnings and 50% of government spending.

    Crude oil is the key weapon in the battle between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE, aligned with the United States, against the "Oil Axis" of Iran, Russia, and Venezuela. The Persian Gulf Oil kingdoms fear the emergence of a Tehran-led axis linking Iran, Iraqi Shiites, Syria, Lebanon's Hezbollah, Palestinian Hamas in Gaza, and Islamic militants linked to al Qaeda trying to topple the Saudi royal family.

    To counter the Saudi inspired plunge in oil prices, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proposed on Jan 21st, to cut the oil price on which the next Iranian budget is based to $33.70 per barrel for the year starting in March, compared with a price of $44.10 for the existing budget. "It is a signal to Iran's enemies saying we are ready and we will manage the country even if you lower the oil prices more. We assume our enemies want to damage us by decreasing the price of oil. So we must reduce our dependency on oil revenue," Ahmadinejad said.

    Iranian crude usually sells for about $7 a barrel less than US crude oil, so West Texas Sweet would have to stay below $51 per barrel for an extended period of time, to wipe out Iran's budget surplus. Tehran spends $20 billion to $30 billion on heating oil and gasoline subsidies per year, costing the government roughly 15% of Iran's GDP. Ahmadinejad was elected promising to bring oil revenues to every family, eradicate poverty and tackle unemployment.

    But Ahmadinejad has failed to meet those promises. Instead, inflation in Iran according to various estimates is galloping ahead at 15% to 30%, and the jobless rate among men below 30 years old is at 20 percent. Anticipating a possible US blockade of gasoline imports in the next stage of economic warfare, Tehran has already said it will start rationing gasoline as of March 23rd.

    Mohsen Rezai, secretary of Iran's Expediency Council, told the Dubai-based Al-Bayan newspaper on Jan 21st, "America will exploit sanctions against Iran to incite people to rise up against the Islamic revolution, provide aid to movements hostile to Iran, carry out operations inside Iran and promote a sectarian war. The next two months will show the world this strategy. An Iranian-US confrontation is inevitable," he said.


    Keeping US oil prices pegged to $51 per barrel or lower looks to be a far fetched strategy however, with US saber rattling with Iran. "We don't believe that Iran's behavior, such as supporting Shiite extremists in Iraq, should go unchallenged," said John Negroponte at his Senate confirmation hearing on January 30th. "If they feel that they can continue with this kind of activity with impunity, that will be harmful to the security of Iraq and to our interests in that country," he added.

    Negroponte's stern warning to Iran come at time when two US aircraft carriers are stationed in the Persian Gulf, and Patriot missiles are being delivered to the Arab oil kingdoms. Tough talk from Bush and other US officials has stirred speculation of a possible military strike. That's at odds with Einstein's advice, "Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."

    Crude oil prices bottomed out at $50 per barrel, the same day Bush ordered another 21,000 troops to Iraq, and directed the USS John Stennis to the Gulf. US crude oil rallied more than 4% on Jan 23rd, the biggest one-day gain in nine weeks, after US Energy Secretary Sam Bodman announced a plan to expand the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserves by 11 million barrels (100,000 bpd) starting in April.

    CRUDE Oil Market Jolted by Depletion of Mexico's Cantarell Oilfield

    Then on January 29th, crude oil surge by $3 per barrel on news that daily output at Mexico's biggest oil field tumbled by half a million barrels to 1.5 million bpd last year, according to the Mexican government. Mexico's overall oil output fell to just below three million barrels a day in December, down from almost 3.4 million barrels at the start of the year, the lowest rate of oil output since 2000.

    Some experts predict that Cantarell's output will drop another 600,000 bpd by the end of this year. Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) might try increase output by 200,000 barrels a day at other fields, leaving the country with a net decline of 400,000 bpd by year's end and daily exports of less than 1.4 million barrels. Mexico's oil reserves are expected to last only nine years and eight months at current rates of production.


    Cantarell, the world's second-largest oil complex in the shallow gulf waters off the shore of Mexico's southern Campeche state, is a prolific giant that is past its prime. Monthly production peaked in late 2004 at just over 2.1 million barrels a day and has fallen more than 28.5% since then. Experts agree it has nowhere to go but down. Its proven reserves have tumbled by more than a third since 2000.

    Too read the rest of this article, please click on the link below:

    www.sirchartsalot.com/article.php?id=52

    ReplyDelete
  3. The U.S has sent another battle ship into the waters near Iran.

    Check out the "Revealing" photo of Bush on Kay's blog.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Troll Tex said "Lydia, the key word in your excellent post is "choices." She made the wrong choices, but you are right, we need to focus on the real heroes. The great unwashed masses may concern themselves with American Idol, and yet the vast majority of Americans don't vote and can't name the current vice president. I fear we are turning into a nation of zombies and boob tube idiots.

    I don't revel in anyone's anguish, but her celebrity, in life and in death, is a reflection of what we are becoming as a people. As you said, Lyidia, what you focus on gets bigger, and the mindless bullcrap that most Americans focus on is only expanding. Anna Nicole, the Astro Nut wearing diapers -- it never ends. It's all BS.

    Republican or Democrat, we, as a people, can do better than having all three cable news networks cover Anna Nicole Smith's death like a presidential funeral."


    Well Tex, this is probably the first one of your posts that I essentially agree with. TomCat said that what the MSM is ramming down our throat is infotainment or junkfood news, that is sensationalized and biased rather that factual, truthful and unbiased coverage of current or relevant events and I agree its disgusting.

    I do not want stories rammed down my throat 24/7 adnausem to the exclusion of all other news either, be it Anna Nicole, Jon Benet or whatever.

    And TT you are right the mindless BS focused on by the MSM is disturbing and wrong and is conributing to the dumbing down of America, but that inane BS includes The idiot confessing to Jon Benet's murder to dominate the airwaves and take the spotlight off of Mark Foly and repug corruption, or Karl Rove's and Ann Coulter's smearing liberals by riddiculously saying they support or are in league with terrorists, or Fox lies.

    Fox Lies is a prime example of "infotainment" and the dumbing down of America, where biased opinions and unsubstantiated smears and tough aggressive violent and antagonistic talk is masqueraded as factual, honest and unbiased news coverage in an attempt to draw the lowest common denominator of viewers, particular the weak minded, easily deceived, manipulated and influenced by fear and anger, as well as those ignorant rednecks who crave tough antagonistic talk and war and death, much like the brainless fools that watched the Jerry Springer show, or the blood thirsty Romans who craved seeing a man torn to bits by a lion every week.

    ReplyDelete
  5. TT said "I spoke the truth. I'm not here to be polite. The wall-to-wall coverage of her death may very well encourage young women to emulate her."

    Wow, whats with the sudden honesty all of the sudden Troll Tex, are you ill or something?

    But your right despite your pathetic pretense, you are not here to be polite or show a thread of decency.

    My opinion of Anna Nicole pretty closely mirrors yours and Carl's, I was not a fan of hers and didnt have much interest in her, however that does not mean I would ever imply that she deserved to die, like you clearly did.

    You repugs have no value for human life of appreciation of how precious it is, you are cold, calloused and calculating people, obsessed and consumed with wealth and power to the exclusion of all else.

    While I wasnt a fan of Anna Nicole, I have great empathy for her, and feel for her child that will now have to grow up without a mother.

    Its interesting how you hippocritically write some people off as irredeemable and imply that they deserved death or the world is a better place without them, yet when your repugs lead similar lives you defend them and minimize their wrong doings.

    You say Anna Nicole was on drugs and a poor role model and others may emulate her, what about GWB, Mark Foly, Ted Haggard, Jeff Skilling, Ken Lay, Jack Abramson, Tom Delay etc.....many of them were on drugs or criminals yet you dont seem to have much problem with them do you hippocritical texan, must be selective forgiveness.

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  6. i'll go check it out Larry.

    ReplyDelete
  7. wixif Says:
    February 11th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
    Kay…you wrote this on AmericaBlog. RIGHT ON!!!

    Cheney’s shadow government started the morning of 9/11/01. He’s been the leader of it ever since and this is why I believe Bush pushed for the CIA to continue torturing. Cheney needs it. Cheney has always called the shots and it’s his shadow government that is committing the atrocities.
    KayInMaine | Homepage | 02.11.07 - 6:38 pm

    You know what I’m afraid of at this point? First, none of these bastards will ever pay for their crimes. But secondly, they’re continuing their power plays…intercepting mail, firing and replacing U.S. Attorneys, and teaching agencies how to stall or block Congressional subpeonas. They’re not going through all this just to walk away in ‘08. Something sinister continues. Every time I think we’re making progress, another dirty trick comes along. And it’s going to end up bad…really bad.

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  8. Great picture Larry.

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  9. They may not pay for their crimes,but the rest of us will.

    The guilty remain free because they are rich, the rest remain in bondage because they are bordering poor.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous10:53 PM

    You can't have peace without the bomb. then everyone is afriad of you and it keeps them in line.

    ReplyDelete
  11. We have over 10,000 nukes, what difference is anymore going to make.

    you repugs are still fighting the last war.....the Cold War, you still think nukes make you a super power and that might makes right.

    In the 21st Century access to and control of energy (oil/natural gas) makes you a world power, and thats what the invasion of Iraq was all about.

    You repugs dont want peace, you worship war and bloodshed and want people to fear you.

    Now carrying awalking quietly but carrying a big stick and having other countrys have a healthy respect for your power is one thing, but wanting people to fear you is quite another, Hitler was feared by the world.

    And for the record GWB has squandered our "big Stick" now our military is over extended in Iraq and we no longer have the big stick, and the world no longer respects or fears us, they despise us and want to teak our nose or spit in our face to antagonize us and show the world we are toothless thanks to GWB's ignorance, just look at North Korea, and Iran for example, Russia and China appear to be following suit as well.

    Bush is encouraging other countries to seek nukes because he is perceived as an arrogant bully, the world sees him as the biggest threat to world peace since Hitler, far bigger than Saddam.

    ReplyDelete
  12. There is a great article by Larry Johnson at TPM Cafe about Bush's lies leading to Iraq.

    http://www.tpmcafe.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Baghdad:

    Bombs killed at least 46 today and wounded 125 in yet another average day in Bush's war.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Cliffy Poo

    Theres a new thread at Voltrons Ruffian blog just for you.

    Maybe you can learn something about peace/war?

    Please dont cry after reading it...LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  15. If you don't like what Clif has to say why don't you stay on your own manure ridden lot.

    Pity what hate will do to even someone like you.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Johnny moo moo said...
    Cliffy Poo

    Theres a new thread at Voltrons Ruffian blog just for you.

    Maybe you can learn something about peace/war?


    So the guy who's never been to war, is telling the guy who HAS been to war, that he needs to learn something about war?


    It boggles the mind.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Do you want a profile of whom we think the last soldier to die in Iraq will be, or did you have some inside knowledge about us pulling out, Lydia?

    ReplyDelete
  18. MooMoo,

    TrimSpa ought to help your fathead along with your fat belly.

    And may even make you commit suicide, which would make the entire world lighter!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous said...
    You can't have peace without the bomb.


    Funny. We've had more wars in our history WITH the bomb than without it....

    ReplyDelete
  20. TalllTexan said...
    Lydia, the key word in your excellent post is "choices." She made the wrong choices, but you are right, we need to focus on the real heroes. The great unwashed masses may concern themselves with American Idol, and yet the vast majority of Americans don't vote and can't name the current vice president. I fear we are turning into a nation of zombies and boob tube idiots.


    Thanks to the Reagan education cuts and the further rape of our public schools by Bush.

    This is PRECISELY how your overlords want it, Texasshole...they want the vast majority of Americans stupid and ignert, so they'll vote Republican.

    Just. Like. You.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Here's the thing: you cannot deny that the networks have made entertainment a higher priority than informing the public. Hell, the news division is always IN the entertainment division!

    Further, you can't deny that the networks and most cable channels are OWNED by militantly right wing corporations and individuals like Murdoch, GE, Sumner Redstone, and Disney.

    Therefore, it ain't the liberals fault that Americans are fed American Idol instead of "The Oil Factor", or Anna Nicole Smith instead of how the Republicans fixed the 2004 election, or Larry The Cable Guy than who owns the cable news outlets!

    Get off YOUR ass, get INformed and get the word out!

    ReplyDelete
  22. UBER WORFEUS said...
    So the guy who's never been to war, is telling the guy who HAS been to war, that he needs to learn something about war?


    Sorta like Bush ignoring his CinC in Iraq...

    ReplyDelete
  23. Damn Worf, you beat me to the punch again.............yeah it does kinda boggle the mind that a guy who's NEVER been in a war is TRYING to educate a guy who has been in a war..........wait till Clif gets a load of your BS MOo Moo.

    ReplyDelete
  24. WORFEUS how right you are. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Carl, I meant to include that in my posts that the vast majority of these media empires are owned by hard core Reich wingers like Murdock, Scaife etc.......So Troll Tex, would it be safe to assume you are for breaking up these media empires to ensure more diversity of opinion and better quality news coverage rather than biased partisan BS, and "infotainment junkfood type news coverage being rammed down our throat.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Carl said: "Here's the thing: you cannot deny that the networks have made entertainment a higher priority than informing the public. Hell, the news division is always IN the entertainment division!

    Further, you can't deny that the networks and most cable channels are OWNED by militantly right wing corporations and individuals like Murdoch, GE, Sumner Redstone, and Disney.

    Therefore, it ain't the liberals fault that Americans are fed American Idol instead of "The Oil Factor", or Anna Nicole Smith instead of how the Republicans fixed the 2004 election, or Larry The Cable Guy than who owns the cable news outlets!

    Carl, I have written a few articles on this and it's the subject of a film we did.

    Very important. in fact, you re-inspired me.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Carl, have you read the "Oil Factor", its a fantastic read!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Lydia, breaking up these media empires should be one of the top priorities of this new congress, along with ending the war, and taking care of the poor and middle class.

    we need to ensure diversity of opinion in the media and particularly the news, and we need to combat the dumbing down of America by evil politically motivated men, the same thing happened to Ancient Rome.

    ReplyDelete
  29. " UBER WORFEUS said...
    Johnny moo moo said...
    Cliffy Poo

    Theres a new thread at Voltrons Ruffian blog just for you.

    Maybe you can learn something about peace/war?

    So the guy who's never been to war, is telling the guy who HAS been to war, that he needs to learn something about war?


    It boggles the mind.

    7:49 AM"

    By your own logic, you should not be commenting on movies and sitcoms since you've never made one. Some of our best historians, Democrat and Republican, have never been to war and they know a whole lot more about war than you and Clif combined.

    So, from now on, you are forbidden to comment on movies since you've never made one.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous9:22 AM

    Break this up,break that up.Take care of the poor,end the war.

    If you had something interesting to say maybe the media would use it.

    Until you do, save some air and shut the F**K UP!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Listen up, FReeper trolls (yes, that includes you, MooMoo)!

    Now all your Dominican boy toys have much more to sweat about because on Wednesday, Valentine's Day, Viagra goes over the counter.

    Tell your other impotent pedophile friends...

    ReplyDelete
  32. Mike said...
    Carl, have you read the "Oil Factor", its a fantastic read!


    Seen the documentary.

    On Link AND FreeSpeech TV.

    Those two channels alone are worth ditching your fascist media conglomerate owning cable system and getting DISH Network.

    Oh. And they carry Al Gore's "Current TV" too now...

    ReplyDelete
  33. TalllTexan said...
    By your own logic, you should not be commenting on movies and sitcoms since you've never made one.


    Some of us have, Texasshole. And I give them permission to continue to talk about them.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous said...
    Break this up,break that up.Take care of the poor,end the war.

    If you had something interesting to say maybe the media would use it.


    Oh, but they DO!

    ReplyDelete
  35. I can see MooMoo now, booking another flight to MeHEEco...

    "Hullo? Yes. I'd like the Pederast Express to Cancun...yes, that's right....Friday at 6...this Friday, please!"

    ReplyDelete
  36. Hey idiot from Texass, there you going lying and trying to create my argument for me like a slimy Reich wing troll, I'll say this real slow and use big letters so someone like you with a reading comprehension problem has a chance of understanding it:

    I NEVER SAID ANYONE COULD NOT COMMENT ON WAR IF THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN IN ONE, THATS A DAMN LIE, I MERELY SAID ITS LAUGHABLE THAT AN IDIOT WHO"S NEVER BEEN IN A WAR, "THINKS" HE CAN TEACH A SOLDIER WHO HAS ABOUT WAR..................do pay attention and try to keep up Troll Tex.

    ReplyDelete
  37. An anonymous idiot said "Break this up,break that up.Take care of the poor,end the war.

    If you had something interesting to say maybe the media would use it.

    Until you do, save some air and shut the F**K UP!"

    Nice to see how much you Reich Wing Jackasses value Free Speech..............as for me shutting up, you'd need your own army and lots of firepower to ever shut me up punk, now go back to posting BS and surfing for porn in your moms basement LOSER.

    ReplyDelete
  38. "Carl said...
    TalllTexan said...
    By your own logic, you should not be commenting on movies and sitcoms since you've never made one.


    Some of us have, Texasshole. And I give them permission to continue to talk about them.

    9:31 AM"

    But by Worf's logic, you should be forbidden to comment on sitcoms since you've never made one.

    What movies have you made? Oh, yeah, they are only on YouTube. One is called The History of the Word F*ck.

    ReplyDelete
  39. It is rather interesting though how the anonymous trolls seem to follow you around Troll Tex.

    ReplyDelete
  40. TalllTexan said...
    But by Worf's logic, you should be forbidden to comment on sitcoms since you've never made one.

    What movies have you made? Oh, yeah, they are only on YouTube. One is called The History of the Word F*ck.


    Sure I have!

    Nope. Didn't make that one. Did make most of the others, tho...

    ReplyDelete
  41. Mike,

    They're like remora eels. Or rather the shark to Texasshole's remora eel...

    How was Mt PILEOTURDS, Texasshole?? Could you handle the three degree incline? First mountain I've ever heard of where the parking lot ramp doubles as the expert trail!!!!

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

    ReplyDelete
  42. No Troll Tex, despite your slimy lie, I NEVER said that people not involved in a war did not have the right to comment on war, thats you clowns who are against free speech if it doesnt agree with your political views and talking points.

    However having said that most people would respect the opinions and view those with extensive experience in war as more credible than those who have no war experience other than reading a few books, same for well respected economists, scientists and engineers, their opinions carry far more weight and are usually much more credible than the lay person................kinda like a bunch of generals who KNOW war, have more credibility and intelligence than GWB and hiscowardly idiot sidekick Cheney who know nothing about war and have been dead WRONG about just about EVERYTHING they've EVER said.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Yeah Carl, a Remora eel, or a dung beetle..........not sure which is the better analogy.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Saying Cheney and Bush know better than ALL the generals saying it was a failed policy and a bungled and mismanaged war is like saying A 3 time bankrupt deadbeat knows more about economics than a renown economist or that Fascist Fan knows more about global warming than thousands of respected scientists who have dedicated decades of their life to understanding this phenemena

    ReplyDelete
  45. Carl,

    I know they probably didn't teach this in college between Homo-eroticism 101 and Masturbation Theory, but there IS such a thing as "cross country" skiing, and it seems some people enjoy THAT too...

    ReplyDelete
  46. Come on Volt, your halfwit buddy can defend himself cant he?

    ReplyDelete
  47. And Mike,

    "...Fascist Fan knows more about global warming than thousands of respected scientists who have dedicated decades of their life to understanding this phenemena"

    Why do you seem to feel that people who are usually about 80% WRONG about what the weather this weekend is going to be, MUST be 100% right about the weather 100 years from now?

    ReplyDelete
  48. BTW, volt, I saw a special on the History chanell last night about truck drivers, making double money taking routes to Alaska, it was pretty cool, driving in -80 bellow weather and driving over frozen lakes.

    ReplyDelete
  49. I think that's in Canada Mike, Reynolds trucking or something like that. They claim you have to drive with one hand on the wheel and the other on the door handle just in case you have to bail out real quick.

    Also, I hear they have alot of stress and anxiety related personel losses because some people can't take the constant crackling of the ice as you drive over it.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Voltron said...
    Carl,

    I know they probably didn't teach this in college between Homo-eroticism 101 and Masturbation Theory, but there IS such a thing as "cross country" skiing, and it seems some people enjoy THAT too...


    No, really? You mean people actually enjoy the sport my ancestors INVENTED?!?!?!?!?!

    I would never have guessed. I guess I'll have to toss my telemarks, too...

    By the way, reVolting, since you weren't there the night of his revelation:

    1) You didn't hear he specifically said "the mountain". and

    2) By Texasshole's own words, you have no right to butt in here.

    So...good day!

    Don't let the door hit you in the face on the way out....

    ReplyDelete
  51. Mike said...
    BTW, volt, I saw a special on the History chanell last night about truck drivers, making double money taking routes to Alaska, it was pretty cool, driving in -80 bellow weather and driving over frozen lakes.


    Oooh, but you know what, Mike?

    With global warming, they're now losing money and trucks!

    ReplyDelete
  52. Volt said "Why do you seem to feel that people who are usually about 80% WRONG about what the weather this weekend is going to be, MUST be 100% right about the weather 100 years from now?"

    You guys really seem to like those apples to oranges comparisons, maybe they work with other repugs or people who regularly ride the little bus, but they dont work her against people with a brain.

    So I take it you are comparing weathermen to Climatetologists who have studied Climate over millions of years were varibles are far less relevant.

    So ARE you comparing climatetologists with decades of scientific experience to tv and radio weatherman if so thats pretty funny.

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

    ReplyDelete
  53. Graph of ice roads use each year

    That means things are costing more money for Alaskans, since they now have to be flown up more frequently.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Voltron said...
    Why do you seem to feel that people who are usually about 80% WRONG about what the weather this weekend is going to be, MUST be 100% right about the weather 100 years from now?


    Right. No doubt you've won lots of money in Vegas (*snort*) because you've bet on a number that's come up 80 times in the last 100 spins of the roulette wheel

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    Climate is not weather, reVolting. If there's ONE thing you will learn before your brain explodes, they are two different sciences.

    ReplyDelete
  55. "No, really? You mean people actually enjoy the sport my ancestors INVENTED?!?!?!?!?!"

    Wow, that's pretty cool!

    Your ancestors actually INVENTED masturbation?...LOL

    ReplyDelete
  56. Voltron said...
    "No, really? You mean people actually enjoy the sport my ancestors INVENTED?!?!?!?!?!"

    Wow, that's pretty cool!

    Your ancestors actually INVENTED masturbation?...LOL


    I'm surprised you think that's a sport, since you have to work so hard to find your penis.

    ReplyDelete
  57. ReVolting, learn one other thing: you'll never been faster or funnier than me.

    Unless you count your sex technique. Your wife does.

    ReplyDelete
  58. I can almost picture reVolting and his brain trust...Fawnbot, MooMooGooGoo and Texasshole, the conqueror of Mt Pileoturds...sitting on his basement couch trying to figure out a comeback that will rise to the level of anemia...

    ReplyDelete
  59. Anonymous11:34 AM

    carl are yoiu're peaches fuzzy?

    ReplyDelete
  60. Anonymous11:45 AM

    carl how many meth partyies have you been to? did you find ttrue love?

    ReplyDelete
  61. Anonymous said...
    carl how many meth partyies have you been to? did you find ttrue love?


    Yer lisping is distracting.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Hey, Anymoose...question for ya...

    Did you use Popeil's Hair In A Can or did you just Magic Marker your head down in MeHeeCo?

    ReplyDelete
  63. My money's on the marker, cuz then your girlfriend could use it to color in her crayon book. Your daughter could show her.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Of course, then, with Hair In A Can, you could spray your other palm to match...

    ReplyDelete
  65. Anonymous12:45 PM

    carl do you look after wiping?

    ReplyDelete
  66. Anonymous said...
    carl do you look after wiping?


    To make sure you aren't trying to climb out? Sure.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Anonymous12:52 PM

    Oh no,oh no,when will it stop!!!!
    Oh my god how much more can we take?Say it isnt so!!!
    Do anything but not the dreaded "non-binding resolution,"please not that anything but that.
    What balls they have,sends chills up ones spine.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Annymoose, if it's non-binding, try more fibre in your diet.

    Who knows? You might even grow testicles!

    ReplyDelete
  69. Yes, I know, it would require a real miracle, but you know, if we all got together and prayed for you to get them...

    ReplyDelete
  70. Anonymous1:52 PM

    carl and hiis buddies go into a bar and sit on an upside down stool. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  71. Anonymous said...
    carl and hiis buddies go into a bar and sit on an upside down stool.


    When did you learn to stand on your head?

    ReplyDelete
  72. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  73. Bush told an interviewer seen on Huffingpost that "I made a name by being compassionate."

    Does Bush appear compassionate to the thousands of Iraqi families that have lost loved ones because of Bush's war?

    Do the surviving families of thousands of U.S soldiers, feel Bush is compassionate after his war cost their loved ones their lives and limbs?

    Bush made a name, but it wasn't compassionate.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Hey Anonyfool, hows that any different from you and your buddies like Haggard and Foly who walk into bars and ask people if you can push in their stools. :D

    ReplyDelete
  75. Bush being compassionate, thats a hoot, he's about as compasionate as Moo Moo or Troll Tex.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Anonymous2:17 PM

    carl whats it like to by a gallon of mouthwarsh a day?

    ReplyDelete
  77. Worf said

    “So the guy who's never been to war, is telling the guy who HAS been to war, that he needs to learn something about war?”


    Obviously, I was teasing Cliff.......we enjoy debating each other!

    I respect Cliff for putting his life on the line in the name of freedom, however, I do not respect his constant reminder to others how great he is for serving.

    Im happy he’s around to enjoy the remainder of his days with his family; everyone deserves this....except Carl of course..LOL!

    BTW Worf, are you enjoying playing second banana to Carl? You’ve been pushed out old friend....period!

    Just curious?

    ReplyDelete
  78. Sunshine Larry

    Whats the latest death toll? I mean the overall death toll of humans worldwide with the exception of war........ you must cry a lot.

    Im sure your grandparents had nervous breakdowns during the ‘Big One?”

    :|

    ReplyDelete
  79. Unbelievable..........not one lib willing to admit that genuine offers of peace simply did not work.
    This forces me to go into my philosophy ....hehe!

    You cant walk into a mental hospital and tell everyone they have 24 hrs to start being reasonable and ask for their understanding insofar that it will save money on the hospital budget.....LOL! Man you guys are dumb!

    Is there one lib /fake inferior christian out there willing to admit the dems were comically soft on Stalins communisn?

    Anyone?

    Hmmmmmmmmm.............this allows me to ponder their analysis of muslims?

    ReplyDelete
  80. Of course, we all know Carl approves the stoning of muslim girls for being human.

    :|

    He dismisses this as irrelevant; bet he would cry like a little baby if someone took away his scuba gear...LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  81. Carl

    I am your Master and I give the orders.....always remember that. Nevertheless, I am going to convert you to like chicks no matter how disgusted you are with their hot slim body’s.

    Its quite obvious your very crabby coz Leroy’s banging your assh@le to hard at the local park toilet. Life is what you make it and, its up to you to make the shiny, red, swelling go away....LOL!

    You see if you like girls you wont have that problem. And think of the money you’ll save on Mazola......seriously?!

    Ask Worf if you don’t believe me....LOL!


    Lesson number one: Never go for the fat chicks.....they are always crabby! You have to work harder for the slim ones, but its worth it in the end.

    ReplyDelete
  82. Lydia said

    “WORFEUS how right you are. Thank you”


    Is that it Lydia? Wow, blow me away. Your beginning to sound like Mike in the early days until I changed him for the better.....LOL!

    I thought you were supposed to be a Stalin expert or something?

    :|

    ReplyDelete
  83. I am the Master....period!

    :D

    ReplyDelete
  84. Johnny moo moo said...
    I am the Master....period!


    *uploading tampon to the blog*

    ReplyDelete
  85. Johnny moo moo said...
    Is there one lib /fake inferior christian out there willing to admit the dems were comically soft on Stalins communisn?


    As soft as Reagan was on Saddam?

    I'll take that comparison anyday.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Johnny moo moo said...
    Carl

    I am your Master and I give the orders.....always remembe


    You can't even master shoe laces, who the f*ck you kidding, beeyatch?

    ReplyDelete
  87. MooMoo?

    You still haven't answered the question: Hair In A Can or Magic Marker?

    How did you get that cheesy head of hair?

    ReplyDelete
  88. Hey Carl, I'm glad you cleared that up about your ancestors.

    I was feeling sorry for you thinking you owed all those millions to them for royalties and all..

    (that and thinking all your relatives must be blind and have hairy palms)

    ReplyDelete
  89. Looking for a way to cover up your bald head are ya?

    ReplyDelete
  90. Carl said

    "As soft as Reagan was on Saddam?"

    Uhhhhhh..........Carl, man are you ever negative about your country.

    Reagan brought Mikhail Gorbachev to his knees.....remember!

    Ending cold war and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.

    Great achievments in my books dingleberry sniffer....LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  91. Oh, and Carl, an Atheist is always Master over inferior fake christians...period!

    Faith is for those who seek escape from reality.

    Remember that lost one.

    ReplyDelete
  92. I love it.....when JMM speaks, everyone listens...LOL!

    Its good to be the Master.

    :D

    ReplyDelete
  93. An ignorant troll troll said "Uhhhhhh..........Carl, man are you ever negative about your country.

    Reagan brought Mikhail Gorbachev to his knees.....remember!

    Ending cold war and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.

    Great achievments in my books dingleberry sniffer....LOL!"

    Hey idiot Reagan didnt end the Cold War or do much of anything positive, The Soviets bankruptem and beat themselves by getting bogged down in an unwinnable quagmire in the Middle East than destroyed both their economy and military, just as we are doing right now under GWB.

    GWB is like the pied piper leading us down the same path to oblivion as the Soviets did in the 1980's.

    Those too ignorant to learn from history are doomed to repeat it and Bush is about as ignorant as they come.

    Typical Reich Wing troll idolizing Reagan for stuff he NEVER accomplished but got credit for anyway, Reagans true legacy was enabling a bunch of Nazi thugs to come to power a decade or so later and repealing the Fairness Doctrine since repugs despise fairness, freedom and liberty.

    ReplyDelete
  94. Mike

    You really are a moron gravy lips.
    I never said Bush was an Einstein hot dog breath.

    As for Reagan, he hammered the final nail in the coffin that ended communism in the U.S.S.R.

    Years of economic challenge by the U.S destroyed them...period!

    Nevertheless, you have failed to comment on the libs softness that ultimately created the take over of Eastern Europe?

    You must be a communist who only supports your own right to free will.

    ReplyDelete
  95. Mike

    If you had any concept whatsoever of that post I wrote over at Volts blog, you would shit in the very diaper your wearing right now.

    Read it again......move your lips if you have too?!

    ReplyDelete
  96. You really are a moron Moo Moo, your claiming Reagan deserves the credit for the downfall of the Soviet Union, you repuggie trolls REALLY like to take credit where its not due and shun accountability and responsibility for all your incompetence, coruption and ignorance.

    Question Genius, if GWB succeeds in bankrupting our country and destroying us economically and militarily exactly like what happened to the Soviets, will Putin or Kim Jong Il get the credit for it or will GWB, that would be quite the delema for a bunch of lying repugs who despise accountability and prefer to pass the Buck as long as its accountability and not real money.

    But please right another Reich Wing Bs article Captain Courageos, it was hillarious reading, didnt make any sense though kinda like you.

    ReplyDelete
  97. Or how bout the Guy from Iran, will you give him credit for destroying our country like Reagan received credit, or will George Bush get the credit he so richly deserves.

    Render unto Ceasar what id Ceasars's Aye Moo Moo?

    ReplyDelete
  98. Stupid Mike said

    "You really are a moron Moo Moo, your claiming Reagan deserves the credit for the downfall of the Soviet Union, you repuggie trolls REALLY like to take credit where its not due and shun accountability and responsibility for all your incompetence, coruption and ignorance."


    Kinda like you ignoring my post that clearly shows liberal incompetence that affected the entire planet for decades...LOL!

    Answer my question spaghetti dick and I may answer yours:

    "Question Genius, if GWB succeeds in bankrupting our country and destroying us economically and militarily exactly like what happened to the Soviets"

    Grow up Mike!

    ReplyDelete
  99. Your an excellent finger pointer Mikey, but offer no solutions?

    Got any?

    I dont!

    Whats your suggestion on preventing war in Iran? And how do you plan to implement this action?

    ReplyDelete
  100. Damn.......I have to pick up Miss Moo Moo from Air Cadets...back shortly!

    :|

    ReplyDelete
  101. How bout pulling out of their back yard (something you obviously know quite well) and usuing our resources to develop alternate sources of Energy that dont destroy the environment with global warming so we dont have to fight wars and kill Muslims in the Middle East for Oil, how bout that genius.

    You an ignorant foul 2 dimensional thinker just like your hero, and btw moo moo, for a disinterested 3rd party canook you sure sound like a partisan Reich Wing troll.

    ReplyDelete
  102. Mike

    Im sorry, but its really hard for me to hear the words of an individual speak about defense/solutions when he fails to protect his date in Las Vegas.......actually bringing her to tears.

    ReplyDelete
  103. Also, Cucumberhead, Reagans Star Wars program instilled real fear into the Soviet government.

    Do you deny this?

    ReplyDelete
  104. Man....do libs ever hate my thread at Volts blog?

    Must have hit a nerve or something?

    :D

    ReplyDelete
  105. And Mook Mook, i've offered nothing but solutions since I came in here just like you've offered nothing but lies. Here i'll refresh your memory on my solutions as well as your slimy troll lies.

    1) develop a multi pronged energy plan to end our dependence on Middle Eastern oil, that includes: Wind, solar, building liquified natural gas terminals, building more nuclear power plants, clean coal technoloy, synthetic fuels, developing the Canadian Oilsands, funding reserch into hydrogen powerr, increasing fuel economy, promoting solar panels on homes etc

    2) get out of the Middle East and, get the the UN, and the regional players to try and work out a peace plan.

    3) impeach Bush, Cheney, etc and try them for treason and war crimes.

    4) try to restore international relations with the world and repair our tarnished reputation,

    5) Repeal the Patriot Act, Bush's illegal spying on American Citizens program, torture program, destruction of Habeous Corpus, imprsisonment without cause, Freedom of speech, to assemble, and all the other portions of the Bill Of Rights and Constitution he attempted to dismantle and freedoms and privacies he has tried to destroy.

    6) Break up the Medis empires being used to deceive people with biased propaganda and restore the Fairness Docrine that Reagan repealed.

    7) Impeach Bush, Chenet et al, and try them for treason and war crimes.

    Now for your lies Moo Moo that you repeat over and over again like a true repug hoping yo deceive people.

    1) you repeatedly lied and claimed I have offered no solutions.

    2) you have repeatedly lied and claimed I am glad Jon Benet was dead and that I had no empathy for her, when I have on at least 15-20 occasion clarified my position, and in fact taken the same position as TT, FF. Volt, Worf, Carl etc.....being that I find it appalling that the "infotainment dumbing down of America culture sensationalizes and covers things ad naseum to the exclusion of all other relevant news and regular programs, I have a limited amout of time and I dont want OJ Simpson, Jon Benet or Anna Nicole rammed down my throat 24/7 for weeks at a time to the exclusion of all else.

    3) you have repeatedly lied and claimed that I knew nothing of the rise of Hitler.

    4) you have repeatedly lied that I threatened your life or threatened you with physical violence.

    5) You have repeatedly lied that I have slandered or insulted your daughter or condoned or supported others to do the same.

    So all you are is a lying troll who repeats lies over and over again just like Hitler and the Nazis did, and just Like Rove, Cheney, Bush and the Neo Cons still do.

    ReplyDelete
  106. What brought down the Soviets more than a peripheral arms race with us, or typical empty repug threats and tough talk was an unwinnable war kinda like Bush has us involved in in Iraq right now.

    And you can try to block me from posting all you want troll, but you still havent answered the question that who will get the credit or blasme for destroying the USA militarily and economically, will it be Saddam a dead man, Putin, Kim Jong Il, the President of Iran or GWB.

    Amazing isnt it Johnny how the Soviets defeated and bankrupted themselves by getting sucked into an unwinnable war that depleted their military and economic resources, just like what happened to Rome, Spain, The British Empire and now us because of GWB, wonder if China and Russia is smirking and snickering as GWB leads America off the edge of a Cliff just as the pied piper did to the lemmings.

    Do you think they will call Iraq Bush's Folly just like they called Alaska Seward's Folly.

    ReplyDelete
  107. Mike

    Your # 1 point seems reasonable to me.

    # 2 point.

    :D LOL!

    #3

    Does this apply to all the individuals who voted for them?

    #4

    How hard does one try?

    #5

    Agreed!

    #6

    Im not stoppin ya!

    #7

    Repeat Question??????

    ..........................

    Moo Moo enquiry

    #1

    Very rarely!

    #2

    Fact! Mike said: Who cares concerning the death of JonBenet....period! I shall never forget!

    #3

    Fact! Mike asked Lydias advice on books on Hitlers rise to power.

    #4

    I already provided that evidence and refuse to look for it again.....you simply ignored my previous findings.

    #5

    Your silent consent is approval and cowardly....trust me!

    Your a dork Mike....period!

    ReplyDelete
  108. "And you can try to block me from posting all you want troll"

    Your the troll shmuck....remember, I was here before you when you sneakily weasled your way in here and were to afraid to confront Worfs hogwash.

    LOL

    Coward

    ReplyDelete
  109. Mike you are so right about everything you stated here.

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  110. Everytime I crush Mike he attempts to manufacture illusions of hacking to impress Lydia......your a dumbass!

    Unlike you, I loathe communists and their political doctrine.

    ReplyDelete
  111. Lydia said

    "Mike you are so right about everything you stated here.

    Thank you."

    WOW! Another brilliant essay from Lydia...LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  112. Ive never been so blown away in my life....think I,ll hold a candle vigil now in honor of the libs peaceful intentions.

    :|

    ReplyDelete
  113. However..................

    Im still waiting for one lib to respond to my post at Brother Cheeto Volts blog???????????

    Anyone?

    ReplyDelete
  114. Goodnite Morons! Im gonna check out real folk on Youtube.

    The Cancun videos there are where its at mannnnnnn!

    ReplyDelete
  115. Anonymous9:57 PM

    Mike,who ever he is tries to revise history.
    The Soviet Union fell for one reason....Reagans increased military spending caused an economic collapse in Russia when they tried to match us.If it were'nt for Reagan the Soviet Union would have shit on us like Iran did to Jimmy Carter during his one term failure as president.

    ReplyDelete
  116. Look at the Reich Wing troll pretending he's a new visitor HAHAHAHAHA

    Hey genius you can give your hero Reagan all the phony credit you want the Russian's beat themselves by getting sucked into a stupid unwinnable war in the Middle East just like GWB has, Bush is a fool who learns nothing from history, "NO" occupying power has ever prevailed in the Middle East, from The British to the Soviets to us today, Bush is squandering our military and economic might on a fools errand.

    He will be remembered as THE WORST president in our history, as well as the most corupt and incompetent.

    ReplyDelete
  117. "Bush's administration has snubbed peace and sound policy at every turn.

    The Bush Administration has repeatedly and unilaterally snubbed: The Chemical and biological weapons convention, The Anti Ballistic Missile treaty, the international criminal court, the Geneva Convention and done everything to throttle agreements to limit small arms sales, global warming and nuclear proliferation."

    Losing Our Democracy P 164

    ReplyDelete
  118. Anonymous said...
    Mike,who ever he is tries to revise history.
    The Soviet Union fell for one reason....Reagans increased military spending caused an economic collapse in Russia when they tried to match us.


    Bullshit. Anyone worth his salt will tell you that 50 years of competing with the US killed the Soviets, but in particular, Harry Truman and John Kennedy sealed the deal.

    Reagan? Did nothing. Not a goddam thing. Even Gorbachev will tell you that they had stopped competing in the arms race when Breshnev was in office.

    Now go crawl back into your grave, Ronnie, dear old man...

    ReplyDelete
  119. Johnny moo moo said...
    Goodnite Morons! Im gonna check out real folk on Youtube.


    Google video posts real porn, MooMoo, and since we know that's what you and your hand really want, since you can't have a woman...

    ReplyDelete
  120. Johnny moo moo said...
    Man....do libs ever hate my thread at Volts blog?


    You managed to put more than three words together?

    Wow. I guess I should start planning for the Rapture now...the Anti-Christ must be here!

    ReplyDelete
  121. Johnny moo moo said...
    Also, Cucumberhead, Reagans Star Wars program instilled real fear into the Soviet government.


    I do.

    It was laughed at, frankly.

    ReplyDelete
  122. Johnny moo moo said...
    However..................

    Im still waiting for one lib to respond to my post at Brother Cheeto Volts blog???????????


    I hire people to wade into cesspools...

    ReplyDelete
  123. Johnny moo moo said...
    Damn.......I have to pick up Miss Moo Moo from Air Cadets...back shortly!


    TRANSLATION: The kid OD'd on the drugs I feed her regularly, and she's being released from rehab.

    ReplyDelete
  124. Voltron said...
    Looking for a way to cover up your bald head are ya?


    Who me? LOL!

    I may regret losing it, reVolting, but if the distinction is between having this magnificent mind wrapped by this magnificent body or having a pitiful little frame like yours covered with fur and concealing a few warped and atrophied brain cells, I choose my magnificence anyday of the week...

    Now...you were saying...?

    ReplyDelete
  125. Mike,

    Nice job handling the two trolls last night single handedly.

    Of course, it's a rather easy job, given the level of trolldom we deal with here. MooMoo is psychotic and reVolting....well, his nickname says it all.

    It's interesting that the right wing trolls all have faux names, while nearly all of us use our real names. One might almost say we're not afraid, while they are....well....chickenshit.

    Personally, maybe we could ban anyone who doesn't have the cojones to post under their real name...

    ReplyDelete
  126. One other point of speculation we can ponder is why they all feel the need to puff themselves up by using IDs that give them some imaginary power, like say, a superhero, a wizard, or an inanimate robot?

    Or an over-sized redneck lunk?

    Says a LOT about the psychology...or rather, psychosis...we're dealing with. Cowards, all.

    ReplyDelete
  127. Actually, I rather pity people like Texasshole, Fawnbot, reVolting, and JohnnyGooGooGaGa...they'll never know the freedom of not worrying about taking responsibility for your own words.

    Which makes sense: they take no responsibility for themselves, flat out. Oh, sure, they CLAIM they're all for personal freedoms, but that's a sham to cover up their criminality.

    Shameful abuse of freedoms, but that's to be expected: THEY'RE REPUBLICANS! HULLO????

    ReplyDelete
  128. By the time Mikhail Gorbachev had ascended to power in 1985, the Soviets suffered from an economic growth rate close to zero percent, combined with a sharp fall in hard currency earnings as a result of the downward slide in world oil prices in the 1980s. (Petroleum exports made up around 60 percent of the Soviet Union's total export earnings.) To restructure the Soviet economy before it collapsed, Gorbachev announced an agenda of rapid reform. Reform required Gorbachev to redirect the country's resources from costly Cold War military commitments to more profitable areas in the civilian sector.

    Me no see "Ronald Reagan" in there! Me see Mikail Gorbachev. Me see zero economic growth. Me see where decades of stagnant economy make Soviets dirt poor.

    Me no see Reagan arms build up have anything to do with collapse of Soviet Union.

    Me see Ronald Reagan as irrelevant warmonger. Me see him hated by history.

    ReplyDelete
  129. Lydia,

    Re: Updated post-- I've written a series of posts regarding the real crime Bush has committed on our nation: the post trauma stress that these vets are facing.

    They are fighting an unpopular war with no real goal to achieve and no ideal to defend. And they're killing people, innocent as well as guilty, daily.

    This is the real tragedy, the real war crime, of Bush and Cheney.

    ReplyDelete
  130. "Carl said...

    One other point of speculation we can ponder is why they all feel the need to puff themselves up by using IDs that give them some imaginary power, like say, a superhero, a wizard, or an inanimate robot?
    Or an over-sized redneck lunk?

    Says a LOT about the psychology...or rather, psychosis...we're dealing with. Cowards, all."


    Yeah. Give my regards to "uber worfeus" next time you see him.

    ReplyDelete
  131. Mike, on your list of points, i can't decide whether I like #3 or #7 best. ;-) Seriously, they're all right on.

    Lydia, on your update to your post, you have sadly illustrated how little Bush cares for the brave men and women that he had used as cannon fodder in his criminal war. As bad as their care is now, his proposed budget cuts health care services for veterans. Our troops are as much the victims of Bush's intransigence as are the people of Iraq. At least, let us care for our troops as they return, and support the ones still there by ending this war.

    ReplyDelete
  132. Voltron said...
    Says a LOT about the psychology...or rather, psychosis...we're dealing with. Cowards, all."

    Yeah. Give my regards to "uber worfeus" next time you see him.


    You don't even get satire when it's smacking you in the mouth...

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

    Joke's on you, putz!

    ReplyDelete
  133. And the satire wasn't about poking fun at your "handles"...it was about how Worf is poking fun at them!

    What a bunch of ignert dooshes!

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

    ReplyDelete
  134. Tomcat said...

    Our troops are as much the victims of Bush's intransigence as are the people of Iraq.

    There it is.

    Thats the message that needs to get out. Everytime some brainwashed right wing loon accuses you of not supporting the troops, point out to them that the troops are victims just like the Iraqi people.

    Bush has gone mad, along with Cheney, who we now know thanks to a kid named Scooter, is the real head of our country, or at least its military.

    They've lost it, and like Hitler in the bunker, the worse things get, the more crazy they get.

    ReplyDelete
  135. And then when they get home, they can see truly how much Bush hates them.

    ReplyDelete
  136. And the neocon trolls in here who work to promote their tyrant and king, are just the "Volksturm", and nothing more.

    The last hold outs whose souls are twisted enough to still support the Bush regime.

    Of course even Hitler enjoyed at least 15 percent of the population who still supported him even after Berlin had fallen, and the Russians were overrunning the city.

    ReplyDelete
  137. And just like Hitler, I imagine that even after Bush is tried and sentenced as a war criminal, there will be men like Jodl, who will insist that Bush was just an intelligent and cunning leader and military genius who did the hard things for his country.

    We will have apologists for Bush for years to come.

    ReplyDelete
  138. Worf,

    It's OK. We can increase funding for mental health programs under a Democratic president and start to heal these folks.

    Look at how many fascists came out in the past six years alone: David Brock, Arrianna Huffington, Andrew Sullivan...all highly respected apologists for a conservative agenda that was cynical, manipulative and destructive to the American way of life.

    But they wised up, and can help others wise up too.

    And who did we give them?

    Zell Miller. And he had to lose his mind to become a conservative!

    BWAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

    ReplyDelete
  139. By the way, Al Zawahiri hit it on the head this evening: Bush is an addict, a dry drunk whose addiction to vices has gotten him in a lot of trouble.

    ReplyDelete
  140. Worfs absolutely right, the only people supporting these evil men today are the brainwashed Volksturm.

    ReplyDelete
  141. Worf, good point about Hitler

    Carl, you're right, Zell Miller is the only convert! And Tammy Bruce, who spouts vile nonsense.

    ReplyDelete
  142. Lydia,

    Bruce voted for Reagan. Nuff said there.

    Many neo-cons will tell you they woke up and saw the light in the 70s about the dangers of liberalism. Bullspit. They were spoiled little children who, when they realized there's a communal good, decided to become selfish little traitors to their country.

    ReplyDelete
  143. Mike - the article you posted about crude oil prices and war with Iran is a must read!!!

    ReplyDelete
  144. Johnny troll troll said "Moo Moo enquiry

    #1

    Very rarely!

    #2

    Fact! Mike said: Who cares concerning the death of JonBenet....period! I shall never forget!

    #3

    Fact! Mike asked Lydias advice on books on Hitlers rise to power.

    #4

    I already provided that evidence and refuse to look for it again.....you simply ignored my previous findings.

    #5

    Your silent consent is approval and cowardly....trust me!

    Your a dork Mike....period!"


    Shall we go over your lies again Johnny?

    1)ok,thats reasonable, i'll give you this one.

    2)Thats a bald faced lie, I clarified my position on this at least 15-20 that thats "NOT" what I meant and yet you still trot out this lie and keep repeating it like a good little nazi (when I said who cares I meant I didnot care to hear about it anymore and see it covered 24/7 10 years after the fact, just like your buddies TT, FF etc dont want to hear about Anna Nicole 24/7).....seems that like a typical nazi or reich wing troll you resort to lies and smearing your opponent when your arguments come up empty, but even worse you keep repeating the lie long after the person has clarified their position and refuted your baseless claim.

    3)Hey stupid dont pull bait and switch, weather or not I ever asked Lydia to recommend a book on the rise of Hitler is irrelevant, since your original claim that you keep repeating is that I said I knew nothing of the rise of hitler, which is another absolute lie, I studied the rise of Hitler extensively in college particularly the tactics he used to seize power and that has been evident from my first post forward to the present, I have on many many occasion elaborated on the similar tactics used by both Hitler and the Nazi's and Bush and the Neo Cons to seize power, and yet you keep repeating your ignorant lie over and over that i claimed I knewnothing of the rise of Hitler, if your so dead wrong about EVERYTHING just like your Volksturm repug buddies, why should we listen to you about anything?.

    4) You never proved anything, thats an absolute lie, I never threatened your life or threatened you with physical violence or ask you to meet me anywhere for violent purposes and I challenge you to find that exact post, i knowexactly which one it is and it will make you look like a slimy liar to all.

    5) I never silently consented to anything, I told Worf I thought he was wrong, and told you to ignore himand not let him press your buttons and I never condoned, joined in or supported his behavior in any way at the time, so thats another absolute lie, if my response wasnt what YOU wanted tough shit a$$hole, i'm not here to please or appease you, Worf is a good person and i respect him, he's 100 times the person you are, I may not agree with everything he does or says but its not my job to attack him or fight your battles for you or tellhim what he can or cant say, I spoke my mind and said I did not agree with him and that was the end of it, most adults put their disagreements behind them and move on, unlike you who cant let anything golike aspiled 8 year old brat who keeps perpetuating the same childish crap you piss and whine about and wears your grudge like a badge of honor that you use to derail the discussion and slander and attack others, you are a truly pathetic excuse for a human being and were i your daughter I would be utterly ashamed of you.

    ReplyDelete
  145. I know Lyd, I had hoped Clif, Carl and Worf would read it as well, I think its very revealing.

    ReplyDelete
  146. Speaking of neo-cons and hate...I wrote the following just now to the so-called "Catholic League":

    "Mr Donohue,

    As a liberal, Protestant and ordained minister, I have to take deep offense at your laying claim to Our Blessed Mother.

    Amanda Marcotte's most recent comments, while perhaps hyperbolic and overstated, fall squarely in the purview of not only her First Amendment rights as an American, but also within the rights of any Christian to question the dogma of ANY church, Catholic or Protestant.

    You need to back off and stop speaking for "all Christians," sir. You do NOT speak for me. I, too, question Jesus' parthenogenesis. If I don't, how can I answer my flock's questions?

    You should too, sir, but instead, you would beat this woman about the head with a stick.

    I may be wrong, but I believe Jesus might not like that very much."

    ReplyDelete
  147. OK, Mike, I will, but I can't find it. Post it in comments on my blog, it'll be easier for me to find later.

    Thanks.


    Oh wait...found it....let me read it.

    ReplyDelete
  148. I'm not sure I agree with SirChartsALot's analysis, altho some of it is accurate.

    Mexico may have just tapped its last well. The Saudis, Iraqis, Iranians, Norwegians, Russians, and Venezuelans certainly have.

    So has the US, barring the travesty of drilling in ANWR, and even then, that's about six months' worth of crude.

    Oil prices will begin a slow-steady climb this year until July when I expect they will bang upwards (as I wrote this weekend at my blog).

    By 2015, we'll see $15 per gal. gas, in 2015 dollars and not time-valued 2007 dollars, and possibly higher. I expect about a third of that will happen within the next six months to a year.

    ReplyDelete
  149. Carl - great letter to the Catholic League!

    Mike - great letter to Moo

    By the way, the best book I have on Hitler is the Toland book HITLER.

    ReplyDelete
  150. I'll be back later, gotta pick kids up

    ReplyDelete
  151. By the way, I realized the Too Close for comfort video interview on the blog page might be offensive to gays. This is from the Rhino DVD release party.

    Will add the prior exchange. Just prior to my saying to Jim Bullock "I had no idea you were gay!" I had just told E Channel that I had a crush on Bullock from day one. Apparently I was the only person on the planet who had no idea I was barking up the wrong tree.

    ReplyDelete
  152. Lydia,

    No one can condemn naivete. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  153. Anonymous3:10 PM

    You seem to be reasonably intelligent people but do you actually think anyone is going to be impeached or tried for war crimes?

    You cant be that stupid?Can you?

    ReplyDelete
  154. Carl said (Regarding SDI)

    "It was laughed at, frankly."


    However........


    "While "Star Wars" may have been meant as a defensive system, the Soviets saw it as provocative.

    "When President Reagan started this program, Soviet intelligence had already obtained information on the 'Star Wars' program, and they were scared," says Oleg Kalugin, a former KGB general. "They were convinced they would never be able to match the U.S. program for purely financial reasons."

    http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/22/spotlight/

    ReplyDelete
  155. Here's a great clip of Zell Miller telling Chris Matthews to "get out of my face" and then challenging him to a dual.

    ReplyDelete
  156. Anonymous4:15 PM

    My opinion of the Anna, Nicole, Smith situation,

    Here

    ReplyDelete
  157. Here's where Zell Miller spelled out the differences betweee Democrats and Republicans on national defense. This man is a patriot.

    clip

    ReplyDelete
  158. Another great clip of Zell Miller.

    ReplyDelete
  159. Jesus Christ, he committed suicide on my birthday. If Bush hadn't cut the veterans' VA benefits, more beds, clinicians and doctors would be available. Vets mentally as well as physically maimed wouldn't have to wait up to 6 months for treatment. I hope Bush goes straight to Hell, plain and simple. I wish I could make a snarky joke about him at this point but for some reason, humor fails me. My humor has been drained lately.

    Stories like this are the reason, I think. The day Anna Nicole Smith died, Jennifer Parcell's death in Iraq was reported... on seven media outlets. No one really read her story save for a few bloggers like me and Greg Mitchell at E&P. But I'm determined that 20 y/o Jennifer, whose life ended barely after it had begun, not be forgotten.

    ReplyDelete
  160. Anonymous5:12 PM

    Well,well,Shakespeare's Sister got a foot in her ass and booted out the door.

    ReplyDelete
  161. If you like Zel Miller TT, then it is my humble prayer, that you are able to spend your eternity surrounded by people just like Zel Miller.

    ReplyDelete
  162. Anonymous5:29 PM

    Does throwing the two clits under the bus make John Edwards a bit of a pussy?

    ReplyDelete
  163. Anonymous6:01 PM

    The NYT reported today that bankrupt Air America is auctioning off its stuff.All together now AAAHHHHH.

    ReplyDelete
  164. I wrote about this soldier's suicide on my blog too Lydia. It's so heartbreaking!!!!

    Thanks so much for posting it again. It's a story that needs to be heard. Our country needs to know that our soldier's needs are not always being paid attention to. Very sad.

    ReplyDelete
  165. Air America Radio was bought out. It's actually doing fine.

    ReplyDelete
  166. Edwards decided to not fire the two bloggers after all! Woohoo! Good.

    ReplyDelete
  167. Jim Bullock's a funny guy, and a good person to be around with, REGARDLESS of who or what he is, or how he spells his first name. Plain and simple. Probably the Paul Lynde of the 1980s in my opinion; after all Jim did appear on the Hollywood Squares (1986-89 version) and hosted a few episodes from what I remember. He was also on an episode of "Celebrity Bullseye" and "Hot Potato" during the TCFC era.

    Great post on the "War With Iran", Mike. The crude oil got back 5/8 of what it lost Monday, up $1.25 to $59.06 per barrell. The prices are up $7 from what it was when the year began.

    Gasoline futures, are also up, 5 cents, at $1.60 per gallon (excluding federal and state taxes of course). Fuel prices are also up for the second week in the row.

    Must be headed towards spring...

    more later

    RD

    ReplyDelete
  168. LOL, I see worf is lurking...

    Actually Kay, the two bloggers quit rather than become a millstone around Edwards neck...

    So technically you may be correct in that he didn't "fire them".

    As to Air America, it is in auction. A New York real estate developer has put in a 4.5 million dollar bid and MAY continue it if he wins. However, the auction continues until Friday. He MAY still be outbid.
    (and if even IF it gets bought, they could just sell off the assets)

    ReplyDelete
  169. Just out of curiosity, I wonder if they ever paid back the childrens orphanage they "borrowed" all that money from?

    ReplyDelete
  170. A year ago, this web site discovered the White House physician prescribed anti-depressants for Bush. The news came after revelations that the President’s wide mood swings led some administration staffers to doubt his sanity.

    Although GOP loyalists dismissed the reports an anti-Bush propaganda, the reports were later confirmed by prominent George Washington University psychiatrist Dr. Justin Frank in his book Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President. Dr. Frank diagnosed the President as a “paranoid meglomaniac” and “untreated alcoholic” whose “lifelong streak of sadism, ranging from childhood pranks (using firecrackers to explode frogs) to insulting journalists, gloating over state executions and pumping his hand gleefully before the bombing of Baghdad” showcase Bush’s instabilities.
    So maybe Al Zawahiri isn't too far off the mark...certainly, Iraq has and will drive many other men to drink. And worse.
    Labels: addiction, al Zawahiri, Bush, drunk

    posted by Carl @ 2/13/2007 04:42:00 PM

    ReplyDelete
  171. "In a followup article, to its ' Bush Taking Anti-Depressants ,' Capitol Hill Blue Editors
    said: "Teresa Hampton’s July 28 story, Bush Taking Anti-Depressants has been removed from this web site because it fails to comply with fact-checking standards implemented by Capitol Hill Blue on September 1, 2004."

    http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=56422

    Also, how would Dr. Frank KNOW? He's admitted he's never examined Bush personally, or even met the man. He also has no current APA affiliation.

    ReplyDelete
  172. "So maybe Al Zawahiri isn't too far off the mark..."

    For someone who claims to hate terrorists, you sure seem to agree with them fairly often...

    As I recall they were rooting for the Dems in the last election too.

    ReplyDelete
  173. Volt said "
    As I recall they were rooting for the Dems in the last election too."

    Are you for real Dolt, Bush and the repugs are the best ally Osama and the terrorists could have, every time Bush has bad news come out or is on the ropes, Osama or Zawahari etc... ride to the rescue with a video to scare the public, they may hate Bush like a outlaw or criminal hates a bumbling inxcompetent sheriff, but they still dont want that sheriff replaced with someone better.

    Bush and Cheney have helped Al Qaeda recruit better than ANYTHING they could have done on their own, if they arent allies Dolt, then they are both stupider than I even thought.

    The Way Bush just pulled out of Afghanistan and let Osama slip away then stated he didnt think much about him is VERY telling, doesnt look like he is too concerned with catching the guy who attacked us, so much for being tough on terrorism.

    And it works both ways, Al Qaeda and Osama have helped Bush seize unprescedented power

    ReplyDelete
  174. Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 and Federal Reserve elitist plot

    Can the Fed Prevent Deflation? Does it want to?

    M.A. Nystrom, M.B.A.
    January 26, 2007
    Cambridge, MA

    It has been a few weeks since I've written on the subject of deflation, and in the meantime Mish has had a couple of good articles (here and here) on deflation that have answered just about every question anyone could ask on the subject. But after mulling all this over, I've got another more fundamental question that I'm looking for an answer to: Does the Fed really want to prevent deflation?

    As Mish points out, there is near complete confidence that the Fed can and will be able to stop deflation simply by "printing money." Under this inflationist view, the Fed is obliged to stop deflation simply because it is in the best interest of the system -- American consumers, businesses, and the government. As the thinking goes, all of these entities are in so much debt that they can simply never pay it all back. Therefore, not only the easy way out - but the only possible way out - is through continued inflation of the currency - the printing press solution. Bernanke shouted this intention loud and clear in his "It" speech that I discussed last time. As part of the new and improved, Clear-speak program at the Fed, Bernie didn't mash or mince words the way his predecessor Greenie did, and judging from what everyone seems to think, the message has gotten through. Mission accomplished, Ben! The threat of deflation has been dispelled and we've seen red hot inflation since 2003.

    But deflationists argue that this inflation cannot continue forever, and the trend will ultimately reverse. At which point, try as it might, the Fed will be helpless to prevent or reverse deflation for a variety of reasons. What the two camps share in common is the underlying assumption that the Fed is terrified of deflation. But why should it be? Why does everyone think the Fed wants to prevent deflation in the first place? The common wisdom is that deflation would simply be too detrimental. But for whom?

    Ah, there is the rub.

    A Brief History of the Fed
    Nearly everyone thinks that the Federal Reserve and the Federal Government are one and the same, but this is not the case. The Fed is a private, for-profit banking cartel and the government is, well, the government. The reason for the confusion is clear because it is, in fact, quite deliberate. The formation of the Fed in 1913 was and continues to be one of the greatest Statue of Liberty plays in American history. "The Federal Reserve is no more Federal than Federal Express" says Michael Ruppert in America From Freedom to Fascism. But separate as they may be, these two powerful institutions are joined in an unholy matrimony - a powerful marriage of convenience in which each party benefits tremendously.

    Elected officials (i.e. the government) love to spend money and hate to raise taxes. If anything, they want to spend more money and levy fewer taxes. This is surely the path to reelection. Bankers love to make money with as little risk as possible. Voilà! An opportunity is seen, and a partnership is struck. The government hands over monetary responsibilities to the Fed, the Fed loans money back to the government at interest and each party is happy. The Fed reaps profits, the Government spends money thereby providing the people with pork and programs, and taxes are not raised a dime. It is a win, win, win situation, right? Right!

    Except for the little matter of the Federal debt which grows and grows and grows. Oh, and also the small matter of inflation that eats away at the savings, buying power and quality of life of the American people. The buying power of the dollar has dwindled so far since the formation of the Fed in 1913 as to leave it practically worthless. So the question of whether we will have hyperinflation is the wrong question - we've already had hyperinflation! It takes a full dollar today to buy what a nickel would have bought in 1913, according to the Fed's own CPI calculator!

    The Fed is not Stupid
    This level of inflation cannot continue indefinitely without dire consequences, and the Fed knows it. Anything us regular folks know about inflation, deflation, fiat money and the gold standard (not because we learned it in school, or heard it on the news but because we read it on the internet!) - the Fed certainly already knows, too. Like us, they too understand that every fiat currency throughout history has ended the same way - in a hyperinflationary blowout, and despite what Ben has said about the magic printing press, they want to avoid such an outcome with the Dollar. Such an end is not good for anyone, least of all them. The bank gets its power from the ability to issue dollars - it would do them no good to kill their golden goose.

    So what can they do?

    In football, it's called the Statue of Liberty play. For those of you who don't know football, this is a trick play designed to fool the opposition. In it, the quarterback - the one who normally throws the ball - instead hands it off to a running back. The running back, who normally runs with the ball, instead motions to throw it. But just as he is getting ready to throw, another player sneaks around from behind, grabs the ball, and takes off running down the field! (The running back is left standing in a pose like the Statue of Liberty - thus the name of the play.)

    If executed properly, this is a masterful play of deception. The defense is in a state of complete disarray, having no idea what is going on. Is the other team passing? No - running! No, passing! No! Running! What the hell is going on?! By this time the play is over and the offensive team has scored a huge gain, capitalizing on the opposition's confusion. Wikipedia's definition of it adds: "The phrase has also come to represent any bit of desperate trickery or misdirection outside of sports…" Though it adds that the play is rarely used in professional leagues, but more often in pee-wee or high school football because "...a professional player is less likely to be tricked..."

    Unfortunately, it has become all too easy to trick the average American when it comes to the subject of money. Just watching the first few minutes of Fiat Empire gives you a taste of how woefully unsophisticated Americans are when it comes to the subject our money. Because of this woeful unsophistication, the Fed can talk relentlessly about the war against inflation, yet all the while be the primary culprit behind inflation. Ron Paul, who serves on the Congressional Banking Committee, has said many times that some members who sit on the committee with him still believe the dollar is backed by gold! It is not. But this demonstrates just how effective the Statue of Liberty play that the Fed has been running since its creation truly is. The Fed was born of deception in 1913 and yet most people still to this day solemnly take what it says at face value.


    In a PBS interview in 2000, the late Milton Friedman was very clear about where the blame lies for the first great depression:
    We had repeated recessions over hundreds of years, but what converted [this one] into a major depression was bad monetary policy.

    The Federal Reserve system had been established to prevent what actually happened. It was set up to avoid a situation in which you would have to close down banks, in which you would have a banking crisis. And yet, under the Federal Reserve system, you had the worst banking crisis in the history of the United States. There's no other example I can think of, of a government measure which produced so clearly the opposite of the results that were intended.

    And what happened is that [the Federal Reserve] followed policies which led to a decline in the quantity of money by a third. For every $100 in paper money, in deposits, in cash, in currency, in existence in 1929, by the time you got to 1933 there was only about $65, $66 left. And that extraordinary collapse in the banking system, with about a third of the banks failing from beginning to end, with millions of people having their savings essentially washed out, that decline was utterly unnecessary. At all times, the Federal Reserve had the power and the knowledge to have stopped that. And there were people at the time who were all the time urging them to do that.

    So it was, in my opinion, clearly a mistake of policy that led to the Great Depression. (all emphasis mine)
    Mistake? Really? For whom? 75% of the banks that failed were not part of the Federal Reserve System. Those banking failures went a long way towards eliminated the Fed's competition. The American people were devastated, but the Fed and the Government came out of the Great Depression stronger than ever. Gold was outlawed, confiscated from the American people and once it was safely in the hands of the government, the official price was raised. The greatest power couple in world history consolidated their gains.

    Today's common wisdom is that the Fed didn't know what it was doing back in the 30's and ineptly caused deflation and the Depression. But now - thank God -- we know so much more and that will never happen again! Lest you have any doubt, Bernanke spelled it out for us loud and clear in his tribute to Milton Friedman on his 90th birthday. "Regarding the Great Depression," Bernanke said, addressing Friedman. "You're right, we (the Federal Reserve) did it. We're very sorry. But thanks to you, we won't do it again."

    Great job, Ben! A command performance, complete with an admission of guilt, a show of contrition and a loud proclamation that it won't happen again. You may as well have used a megaphone. And followed up, no less with a rousing encore in the form of the now infamous printing press speech just two weeks later.

    But after all we know about the Fed, you're telling me that we're supposed to take this dog and pony show at face value? Ha! As the old saying goes, fool me once, shame on you...

    Thought Exercise: Now Pretend You're the Bank
    Take a look at this quote, which can be found all over the internet:
    If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.
    This quote is attributed to Thomas Jefferson, though it is most certainly apocryphal. However I use it because it is instructive in many ways. First, don't believe anything just because you read it, even if you've read it many times. You can find this quote on a hundred web pages attributed to Jefferson. Second, even though Jefferson didn't say it, there is still wisdom in whoever did: "First by inflation, and then by deflation..."

    As I already pointed out, we've already had the inflation. Most everyone is in debt up to his eyeballs, and the dollar has been inflated to within 5% of its life. There's not much more room to go before it is completely dead. These are hard times for many individuals, corporations, and the government itself. Ben even told the government so recently -- that this is the "calm before the financial storm." (more on that next time)

    But pretend for a moment that YOU are the bank, and all these entities owe YOU the money. When you look at the problem from this point of view, something quite amazing happens. Why, there is no problem at all! Those poor consumers, businesses and the Federal government have all gone and gotten themselves into debt, haven't they? Well now they are just going to have to pay it all back. End of story. What is the problem now?

    As the Bank, you're power comes from 1) your monopoly on the issuance of legal tender, 2) your ability to create it out of thin air and 3) your willingness to loan it out and charge interest on it. In fact, deflation wouldn't be such a bad thing at all, since it increases the value the currency you have a monopoly on creating. During deflation it is best to have a mountain of cash and a positive cash flow to ride it out. The only problem is if folks start defaulting on you. But that has already been taken care of with the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005. That law was written by the credit card companies, i.e. the banks, i.e Federal Reserve members, to keep working people on a treadmill of perpetual debt.

    This reminds me of the stories of economic colonialism John Perkins told in his book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. First the World Bank would go to some natural-resource-rich third world country and offer it a fat loan to "develop" its resources. The loan would be bigger than necessary, and certainly more than the country could ever afford to pay back - but the bank would say, "with your new refinery/mine/port/whatever, you'll have enough revenue to pay it back." When the country eventually did default, the IMF would sweep in with "fiscal austerity measures" for the people and the government. All the revenue from the new development would be siphoned to the banks in order to pay off the huge loan. Tsk tsk.

    Sound familiar? Anyone who bought a house in the last five years knows that mortgage bankers rarely advocated financial prudence when buying a house, but instead pushed the idea to "buy as much house as you can (or can't) afford!" And now with prices coming down, many of those buyers are stuck right where those third world countries got stuck. Looks like a fiscal austerity plan is coming down the pike for many consumers so they can stay on the financial treadmill while the productive fruits their life - their labor - are siphoned off by the bank. Because the banks still know that as much money as they make trading and manipulating paper and financial "products," there is still only one true source of wealth, and that is human labor.

    No, the Fed is not stupid. Not stupid at all. There will always be booms and busts, and the best way to position oneself is to take advantage of both sides of the trade. Or as one responder to my last article put it so eloquently:

    I am fascinated by the common perception that the Federal Reserve is a proven non-stop inflation machine. Inherently, the Federal Reserve uses inflation and deflation to whipsaw the average bystander out of their savings. I don't see how one economic machination is more favored over the other when the goal is to ensure that the public's savings ends up in the accounts of the shareholders of the Federal Reserve System.
    I couldn't have said it better myself. Don't count deflation out just yet.

    ReplyDelete
  175. If that article is too long focus on just this portion of it and consider seriously what it says, the big money elitist powers that be want to make the working class serfs or indendured servants to work toward making them rich, just as in the Gilded age or the Middle ages, here is that portion from the above article.

    Can the Fed Prevent Deflation? Does it want to?

    M.A. Nystrom, M.B.A.
    January 26, 2007
    Cambridge, MA

    "Thought Exercise: Now Pretend You're the Bank
    Take a look at this quote, which can be found all over the internet:
    If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.
    This quote is attributed to Thomas Jefferson, though it is most certainly apocryphal. However I use it because it is instructive in many ways. First, don't believe anything just because you read it, even if you've read it many times. You can find this quote on a hundred web pages attributed to Jefferson. Second, even though Jefferson didn't say it, there is still wisdom in whoever did: "First by inflation, and then by deflation..."

    As I already pointed out, we've already had the inflation. Most everyone is in debt up to his eyeballs, and the dollar has been inflated to within 5% of its life. There's not much more room to go before it is completely dead. These are hard times for many individuals, corporations, and the government itself. Ben even told the government so recently -- that this is the "calm before the financial storm." (more on that next time)

    But pretend for a moment that YOU are the bank, and all these entities owe YOU the money. When you look at the problem from this point of view, something quite amazing happens. Why, there is no problem at all! Those poor consumers, businesses and the Federal government have all gone and gotten themselves into debt, haven't they? Well now they are just going to have to pay it all back. End of story. What is the problem now?

    As the Bank, you're power comes from 1) your monopoly on the issuance of legal tender, 2) your ability to create it out of thin air and 3) your willingness to loan it out and charge interest on it. In fact, deflation wouldn't be such a bad thing at all, since it increases the value the currency you have a monopoly on creating. During deflation it is best to have a mountain of cash and a positive cash flow to ride it out. The only problem is if folks start defaulting on you. But that has already been taken care of with the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005. That law was written by the credit card companies, i.e. the banks, i.e Federal Reserve members, to keep working people on a treadmill of perpetual debt.

    This reminds me of the stories of economic colonialism John Perkins told in his book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. First the World Bank would go to some natural-resource-rich third world country and offer it a fat loan to "develop" its resources. The loan would be bigger than necessary, and certainly more than the country could ever afford to pay back - but the bank would say, "with your new refinery/mine/port/whatever, you'll have enough revenue to pay it back." When the country eventually did default, the IMF would sweep in with "fiscal austerity measures" for the people and the government. All the revenue from the new development would be siphoned to the banks in order to pay off the huge loan. Tsk tsk.

    Sound familiar? Anyone who bought a house in the last five years knows that mortgage bankers rarely advocated financial prudence when buying a house, but instead pushed the idea to "buy as much house as you can (or can't) afford!" And now with prices coming down, many of those buyers are stuck right where those third world countries got stuck. Looks like a fiscal austerity plan is coming down the pike for many consumers so they can stay on the financial treadmill while the productive fruits their life - their labor - are siphoned off by the bank. Because the banks still know that as much money as they make trading and manipulating paper and financial "products," there is still only one true source of wealth, and that is human labor.

    No, the Fed is not stupid. Not stupid at all. There will always be booms and busts, and the best way to position oneself is to take advantage of both sides of the trade. Or as one responder to my last article put it so eloquently:

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  176. Carl said I'm not sure I agree with SirChartsALot's analysis, altho some of it is accurate.

    Mexico may have just tapped its last well. The Saudis, Iraqis, Iranians, Norwegians, Russians, and Venezuelans certainly have.

    So has the US, barring the travesty of drilling in ANWR, and even then, that's about six months' worth of crude.

    Oil prices will begin a slow-steady climb this year until July when I expect they will bang upwards (as I wrote this weekend at my blog).

    By 2015, we'll see $15 per gal. gas, in 2015 dollars and not time-valued 2007 dollars, and possibly higher. I expect about a third of that will happen within the next six months to a year."

    Carl, post a link to your article, we really need to discuss this, as this is an area of concern and interest for me as well, that I have researched.

    To quickly respond to your post off the top of my head, I would say I agree with most of your post, I think we are probably at or around peak oil right now and by 2015 we will be in a crisis, I agree the Mexicans, Saudi's, Norweigans are at or very close to peak oil, however Iraq has the cheapest oil on the planet with reserves that can be accessed for a few dollars a barrel with enormous profit margins, their reserves are almosted untapped due to neglect from almost non stop wars for close to 100 years, Iran could more than double oil production with significant investment as has enormous untapped natural gas reserves second only to Russia, Russia has enormous oil and natural gas reserves and could crank up production significantly with heavy investment, this isnt enough to avert the oil crisis, but it explains the motives behind wanting to topple the anti USA governments of these countries and open their reserves up to USA companies that can make trillions developing or buying those reserves, plus give us preferential treatment rather than China.

    My question is what do you think the catalyst will be that causes the oil spike in the next 6-12 months, do you think it will be war with Iran or the realization we have reached peak oil, either scenario could send oil to the moon, but I think a war with Iran where oil is not allowed to pass through the straight of Hormuz where over 70%-80% of the worlds exported oil flows could send oil to 300 a barrel and destroy our economy and way of life, we would have chaos were the fabric of our civilization would break down, there would be mass unemployment and starvation, people would no longer have heat or AC, or electricity, food would not be shipped, because of fuel shortages, people would be rioting and killing for food and other neccessities of life, most people have no idea the pain and suffering that would occur in our nation if the "DECIDER" is allowed to attack Iran, it would make the Great Depression look like a picnic.

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  177. Johnny moo moo said...
    "And you can try to block me from posting all you want troll"

    Your the troll shmuck....remember, I was here before you when you sneakily weasled your way in here and were to afraid to confront Worfs hogwash.

    LOL

    Coward"

    Apparently YOU have a reading comprehension problem and difficulty focusing just like your troll master Troll Tex.

    1) you didnt even address the statement you quoted, you just kinda babbled incoherently like usual.

    2) What difference does it make that you arrived here a few weeks before me? Like usual you have no point or valid arument just incohertent babble.

    3) Please explain how i sneakily weaseled my way into a public blog, once again troll, I think you are using projection since it was you the slimy incognito Reich wing troll who weaseled your way in here with a deceptive agenda, not I Troll Troll.

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  178. Robert said "Jim Bullock's a funny guy, and a good person to be around with, REGARDLESS of who or what he is, or how he spells his first name. Plain and simple. Probably the Paul Lynde of the 1980s in my opinion; after all Jim did appear on the Hollywood Squares (1986-89 version) and hosted a few episodes from what I remember. He was also on an episode of "Celebrity Bullseye" and "Hot Potato" during the TCFC era.

    Great post on the "War With Iran", Mike. The crude oil got back 5/8 of what it lost Monday, up $1.25 to $59.06 per barrell. The prices are up $7 from what it was when the year began.

    Gasoline futures, are also up, 5 cents, at $1.60 per gallon (excluding federal and state taxes of course). Fuel prices are also up for the second week in the row.

    Must be headed towards spring...

    more later"

    Robert I agree that Jim Bullock is hillarious, him and Lydia were great in the reunion, Lydia you should get him to guest blog here some time.

    Do you think the oil price spike is due to the cold weather, or do you think the war premium is returning because of all the Saber Rattling with Iran?

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  179. Volt said "LOL, I see worf is lurking..."


    Why are you tracking people's IP's still?

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  180. Volt said "Well I gotta get back to it.

    I'm trying to shovel about 3 feet of wind driven global warming off my car...LOL"

    Kinda funny volt are you trying to imply that global warming doesnt exist because we have a few snow storms......so if it rains in the desert one day is the drought over, if a cancer patient feels better for a day or two are they fine, if a drug addict is drug free for a few days are they cured, if we have an eclipse of the sun for a few hours does that mean the sun no longer exists, if a drunk driver doesnt crash and kill anyone does that mean its pefectly safe for everyone to drive drunk?

    LOL. if you really are trying to imply that global warming doesbt exist because of a couple of snowstorms, then your logic and judgement is weaker and more flawed than I originally thought.

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  181. Lydia and Carl. i'll throw this question out to everyone, but you guys in particular since you are both involved in the Entertainment Industry.

    Do you think the Media empires are using their power to create instant stars out of unknowns then particularly for women, but for men as well to a lesser extent discard them once they become famous and find a new batch of unknowns to hype and make instant stars.

    I have noticed this more and more lately were all of the sudden certain people who were essentially unknown are saturating the airwaves and magazine covers non stop. Everytime I go to the store I see Eva Mendez on a different magazine cover, till this year I had never heard of her.

    Same for the reality shows, they seem to be just a scam to increase profut margins for the Media Empires and make stars less valuable and powerful and lower their salaries.

    I know i'm not as plugged into the movie scene as many of you people, but I see it with actors more and more as well, were new actors I never heard of are hyped and promoted everywhere like they are the equivalent of an established star.

    It just seems like a corpoetate scam of the media moguls to use the promotion power of their empires to make established stars more expendable and less valuable by creating a constant stream of generic new stars on the cheap and throwing them away like garbage for the next batch, kinda like all the good paying union jobs are being destroyed by the corporate elite so an elite few can pick working class peoples pockets and grow ever richer.

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  182. Mike, you may be onto something here. I've noticed this for a long time.

    In any case, it's certainly NOT the Democrats running the mass-manufactured, homogenized pop media culture -- the ones that churn out crap and constant obsession with Paris, Britney, Jessica Simpson and all the new flahs-in the pan "stars." It's the Republicans! How dare they say "liberal Hollywood elite"

    The pop culture porn is a republican machine.

    Real "Liberals" love thought-provoking, deep, interesting films and artists. They are not the ones profiting over pop culture homogenization. This is a lowering of standards in order to make a buck.

    I also believe they are ruining our young people's minds.

    But we have a way out.

    BY THE WAY, my blog and website will be offline for a few hours as I change servers. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.

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  183. HEY EVERYONE: my blog and website will be offline for a few hours for maintenance as we change servers.
    Thank you

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  184. Wow, you guys are like pit bulls.

    When you get something in your head it's damn near impossible to get it out.

    I'll say it one more time. I am not now, nor have I ever tracked IP's. I simply noted that I'd found a website that said it COULD be done, and showed how.

    What I was commenting on regarding Worf lurking, was that there were 2 posts by "anonymous" replying to Kay. When I refreshed the page those posts were gone. I assumed that Worf had deleted them.

    However, I would note that you guys repeatedly called those here on the right "cowards" because they would not post on the old typepad site because of IP logging. Now you seem seem to fear it as much if not more than they did.

    And before you attempt to rewrite history again, (something you all seem to do really well) I'll remind you I DID post there.

    And I also note that from Worf's and Lydia's recent comments about who is visiting this site, you guys must be IP logging here.

    So Mikey, stop whining...

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  185. "In any case, it's certainly NOT the Democrats running the mass-manufactured, homogenized pop media culture -- the ones that churn out crap and constant obsession with Paris, Britney, Jessica Simpson and all the new flahs-in the pan "stars." It's the Republicans! How dare they say "liberal Hollywood elite""

    Yeah, I know all those studio heads, producers and ad execs are all right wing nuts...

    "The pop culture porn is a republican machine.

    Real "Liberals" love thought-provoking, deep, interesting films and artists."


    And I'm sure conservatives produced Bareback mountain, along with those "art" icons like crucifixes and pictures of christ in jars of urine. Oh!, and especially the picture of mary smeared in feces...

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  186. Volt, you're right. They were concerned about your collecting IP numbers, and now they are switching to a server where Worf can track down anyone and their IP. Kind of a double standard, I'd say.

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  187. TalllTexan said...
    Volt, you're right. They were concerned about your collecting IP numbers, and now they are switching to a server where Worf can track down anyone and their IP. Kind of a double standard, I'd say.


    It's a free country and you're free to get the hell off this blog, Texasshole.

    Pansy little anonymous chickenshit cowards like you have no business booting up a computer and posting your garbage anyway...

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  188. Voltron said...
    "In any case, it's certainly NOT the Democrats running the mass-manufactured, homogenized pop media culture -- the ones that churn out crap and constant obsession with Paris, Britney, Jessica Simpson and all the new flahs-in the pan "stars." It's the Republicans! How dare they say "liberal Hollywood elite""

    Yeah, I know all those studio heads, producers and ad execs are all right wing nuts...


    Actually....yes. Sumner Redstone owns Viacom, Jack Welch is the main man at GE/RCA, Fox is owned by Rupert Murdoch, so what we're seeing is the corrupt immorality of the RIGHT WING on display everytime a nipple pops out of a bra.

    Nice try, guys, but you're dealing with folks who know history started before Rush Limbaugh...

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  189. Carl said, "Jack Welch is the main man at GE/RCA"

    He retired some time ago. Learn your facts before you post.

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  190. Mike said...
    Do you think the Media empires are using their power to create instant stars out of unknowns then particularly for women, but for men as well to a lesser extent discard them once they become famous and find a new batch of unknowns to hype and make instant stars.


    Answer: Does a bear shit in the woods? Does American Idol suck?

    Yes. The attention span of the average American lasts about a week, maybe two, depending on how much sex is involved. That means there has to be an entire industry (Lydia, I'm sad to say, was one of its victims) devoted to finding the next blonde. These folks don't just pop up on their own.

    In many instances, it's the only way a woman can get notoriety. Madonna is the extreme example of someone who would do anything to be famous, altho admittedly she has a moderate amount of talent, and is a pretty good dancer.

    This also explains why women between the ages of 35 and 65 can find very little work in American movies (that's evolving slowly, but it's still a truism). Americans want fresh and the first wrinkle is the deepest here.

    And while there is a profit margin involved (it costs next to nothing to produce a reality show where women are forced to wear bikinis on a desert island, as opposed to putting that same woman on a set in a sitcom), there's also an ideological component: Marx called religion "the opiate of the people," but I bet he'd have his eraser out in a heartbeat if he had lived to see "Love Boat" (no disrespect, Lydia, but I think that was the first of the shows to heavily exploit America's lust for the "next blonde") and would have called television that.

    McLuhan called TV a "cool medium" in that it involved no interaction with the audience: we all sit there and our eyeballs are massaged (literally!) by the rays of the TV. Studios know this. They no it takes no effort to watch TV and TV that makes you think will make most sheeple like reVolting and Texasshole here change the channel.

    That's just the facts of life (sorry for the pun). The internet holds out hope for erasing some of the willful ignorance Americans show, but sadly, as these two and Fawnbot and GooGoo demonstrate, there's a lot of work to be done AND it can still be taken away from us.

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  191. Yes, you're right, Texasshole. I meant to type Robert Wright.

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  192. And I noticed that you couldn't refute the substance of my post, which is that the right wing dominates the media and Hollywood studios.

    I'll take your pathetic nitpicking to mean that you agree with the substance because you cannot refute or rebut it.

    Thank you.

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  193. Score one more for the good guys of Blogtopia (© Skippy The Bush Kangaroo)

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  194. Carl, you didn't prove anything. Nothing to refute.

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  195. TalllTexan said...
    Carl, you didn't prove anything. Nothing to refute.


    Oh, I proved that Hollywood is not a bastion of liberality, and that those cultural things you whiiiiiiiiiiiiiine so much about come from your own overlords!

    After all, you don't think $100 million dollars is spent without SOMEONE at the top knowing about how it's being spent, do you?

    Or are you stupider than you look?

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  196. It must suck for these trolls to come in here each and every day and get their asses kicked by a couple of guys who have their facts straight.

    I can't imagine why they continue, except that they're, you know, gluttons for punishment...

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  197. Worf, you're right. That our troops are Bush's victims is central. Bush's idea of supporting our men and women in uniform is hanging bulls-eyes on them, leaving them in harm's way without the armor and equipment they need, and cutting VA health care benefits to care for them on their return. To support our troops we need to equip them properly, get them out of the cross fire, and give then all the care to which their excellent service entitles them.

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  198. I did 5 (five) LOVE BOATS! And had to wear a bikini in each one. Plus in Hunter, A-Team, Knight-Rider (not a bikini, but a race driver outfit) and Dukes of Hazzard...

    Carl and Mike you just helped me decide which chapter to work on. I already had one on the "Liberal Hegemonic Media" illusion...

    And don't you hate it when people nitpick and focus on the petty minutae of a sentence, rather than the substance of the text? Small minded people are into style over substance.

    We must see everyone with new eyes, especially our enemies. What you focus on grows. So we have to reframe our thoughts about people we are in conflict with.

    Please EVERYBODY should watch "THE SECRET." Ancient metaphysical truths that Jesus taught, but told in a non-religious way. Like Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich."

    thanks!

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  199. sorry for the grammar mistakes/typos.

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  200. Wow, are you watcing C-SPAN?

    Rep. Ron Paul (R.) Texas is amazing!

    I have to post his speech. This guy really puts the neocons in their place.

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