Rep. Carson is quoted, "certain leadership within the tea party organization, not the entire tea party " I say he's missing the mark by a mile. Pay no attention to those men WAY behind the curtains.
Like the Koch Brothers (and their KochHead followers); the Banksters; the Mafia in every land; the misery profiteers, etc.
We allow them to wreak their havoc, decade after decade, mostly in the unaccountable shadows. In our righteous anger, we insult and alienate our under/mis-educated (propagandized; manipulated) neighbors. We miss countless teachable-moment opportunities.
Here's the link to the IMDB summary: Satirical comedy follows the machinations of Big Tobacco's chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, who spins on behalf of cigarettes while trying to remain a role model for his twelve-year-old son.
There's a brilliantly scripted, drinking friendship with the spinmeisters from the axis of evil: alcohol, tobacco & firearms.
A multi-talented author, entertainer & ringmaster with a fierce conscience and the heart of a whale. My nomination for the next Living National Treasure wait, we don't do that here.
Subject: Re: did balzac say "behind every great fortune lies a great crime?" Answered By: pinkfreud-ga on 14 Jan 2004 18:46 PST - Rated:5 out of 5 stars
The quote is a paraphrase from a line in Honorι de Balzac's tragicomic novel "Le Pθre Goriot." Here is the quote in its original French: "Le secret des grandes fortunes sans cause apparente est un crime oubliι, parce qu' il a ιtι proprement fait." An English translation:
"The secret of a great success for which you are at a loss to account is a crime that has never been found out, because it was properly executed."
-- Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 14 Jan 2004 19:08 PST. Here is another English translation of the quote:
"The secret of great wealth with no obvious source is some forgotten crime, forgotten because it was done neatly." .
The Third Way. Not predatory Capitalism. Not confiscatory Socialism.
Remember? Anybody?
Where, oh where, are the leaders of the Co-op Movement?
Here we have a proven alternative for a democratic economy, for The Common Good.
☞ 40 years ago, I attended a gathering of co-op managers. The keynoter said, "It's a tragic fact about co-operatives, that they thrive when people are desperate".
Well, neighbors, tens of millions are desperate, and a hundred million more are on the way.
As a pacifist, and citizen with no interest in The Rapture and the bring-it-on sooner-the-better crowd, I am heartsick for us to find/build a non-violent alternative to the present & coming mayhem.
Co-ops For Service, Not For Profit think about it .
His testimony/performance is another brilliant example of free speech in action, and illustrates the awesome power of mockery and ridicule.
Yesterday I was reading the comments on another Colbert Testimony thread. A Tbagger was excoriating Colbert with angry passion. Someone replied, "Why do you have such a hard-on for Colbert?" The BagMan posted the Google video link of Colbert's stunning and historic speech at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Watch it or watch it again. I did.
Here is Colbert, inside the belly of the Beast, in their faces. Mockery. Ridicule. Don't miss his shout-out to Justice (sic) Scalia.
Fearlessness in the Fetid Face of Fascism.
Bravo Colbert. Keep Fear Alive. Bravo Stewart. Restore Sanity.
my vice-grips on his testicles theory suggests this is a foundational, SOP, game plan fundamental for the Opposition (public & private): Do NOT let the SOB govern; full stop. ∆ I'm still not over the sinister, shameless spiderweb they spun around Jimmy Carter.
Under assault is on point - on all fronts. That kind of money and influence buys a LOT of simultaneous operations. ∞ The very shreds of our lacerated Democracy, hang in an ill wind out here. Yet we can not stop our work; we must keep voting (and make the election process unimpeachable); we must STOP this rapidly escalating next war before it's launched (yes, while struggling to stop the current, perpetual war$).
War remains too damn profitable. The honorable, Gen. Smedley Butler was told by one of the plotters of the Millionaires Coup against FDR in 1933 (before he blew a big whistle on them before a Congressional Committee) that he would gladly spend $30 of his accumulated millions, to save the other $30. That was 1933 dollars. That'll finance a LOT of simultaneous assaults.
Hardball, baby. ∞ And, by the way, we can handle the truth. Let's try it more often. _
SO quick, so clean, so unambiguous. Hardball, baby.
My guess is a photo, one would do, a mere glance, on Inauguration Day, of one of his daughters, sleeping peacefully in her new White House bed, with a silencer against her sweet head.
"You'll do as WE say, 'Mr. President'; you 'Presidents' ALL do as we say."
It seems to me that the elephant on the room (the never to be named, never to be discussed, monstrously obvious truth) is this: the game is (and has always been) rigged. The playing field has never been level.
It is often said that "history is written by the winners". Well so are the Rules of the Game. The "winners" certify the eligible players; hire & own the officials; disqualify, discredit, marginalize, cripple or eliminate any potential competitors.
They worship the golden calf of the "free market" while assuring it never becomes free.
Co-ops (at their best) are living, breathing democratic alternatives to predatory Capitalism.
A few decades ago I heard a keynote address by one of the post-Depression co-op elders. He began his remarks to an auditorium of co-op managers, saying
It is a tragic fact of history, that co-ops thrive when people are desperate.
Well neighbors, people ARE desperate and getting more so. Check out co-ops. Join them. Start them. Participate fully. Keep them transparent & accountable.
Keep your money circulating locally. Own your destiny.
There have been several of these "insurrection-like" events recently. I have seen way too many of these incidents over the decades. Beware the spit-shine sneakers! Keep asking /investigating: who benefits from these provocations?
It's about control of the opium trade, and it goes much further back. If you're not familiar with the Russell and Company (1832), who they were, what they started, and who they are today, start here. .
