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Roshi7 Fear

Page history last edited by PBworks 15 years, 4 months ago

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fear as a method of control

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
"Save us, Superman."

 

 

 

 

 

9/11.

 

As a mantra for the 21st century, nothing can hold a candle to the visceral impact of September 11, 2001. It was one of those rare “where were you when?” moments, burned into the collective consciousness. Of that there is no doubt.

 

The attack on the twin towers was the surfacing of the specter of fear. But what is fear? On Wikipedia it is defined as an “emotional response to threats and danger.” Can we asses a value to fear? The need for comfort, the homeostatic nature of human kind, the need to feel safe in their homes and in their lives. It was intensified as the towers came down.

 

Then a strange thing happened...

 

Instead of working to find answers, and develop an understanding where this particular fear came from, we became even more fearful. We knew less than before, as our psyche became dark. Our leaders, instead of taking substantive steps to calm the world and alleviate fear, began to be beat war drums. Violence begat violence.

 

With no discernible change in our day to day lives, we have become a nation at war. The enemy were unnamed entities we called “terrorists.” They were usually of Arab decent, who have always projected dark image. Western world have blamed Arabs for centuries of world problems, they were easy targets.

 

But the "face" of terror can take many forms:

 

 

or this:

 

 

or this:

 

 

 

OOOFF!

 

 

It can be argued the odds of a single American falling victim to an act of terrorism (or what passes for terrorism) was only infinitesimally affected by the events of 9/11. My assertion is that we are no more safer now than we were prior to the event. But we are more fearful.

 

Fear is the mother of morality - Nietzsche.

 

People who aim to control society will use the easiest method possible. The promotion of fear is an simple path to control the populous. Fear can be an intricate part of social structure. But what of the opposite? Basic human nature encompasses the struggle to alleviate fear. Physical manifestations of fear are well documented, couldn't it be said fear is the basic need for relief? Fear, and the alleviation of fear become powerful emotions, which can give rise for enterprising parties to seize an opportunity for control. The search for a savior is at the foundation of both religion and politics. We need a representative to keep us from harm, to keep us safe and to bring us to some version of the “promised land.”

 

A correlation can be made between the relief of fear and the establishment of debt. Both fill some sort of need. Both have a component of relationship between people providing a degree of comfort, with a promise of reciprocation. The debtor and the faithful owe their debt, in either financial or emotional terms. The relief of debt becomes a literal term, focusing on the word relief.

 

My question is - how safe are we? There is a disconnect between the illusion of security and the reality of safety. We cannot walk out of our homes without the assessment of risk. Why do we proceed, and why should we proceed? We allow ourselves to be safe, but we fail to realize that safety is something that is given, and can be easily taken away. We fail to understand that the events of September 2001 were a anomaly, and statistically we are more apt to be caught in a traffic accident than any terrorist attack. Most Americans do not fear crossing the street, but we have feared the phantom terrorist. Why is that? The top of mind awareness of the existence of terrorism caused by a barrage of media sources recounting the specific steps taken to halt the minuscule chance attack, supplanted by our leaders reminding us how safe we are not. They pat themselves on the back because nothing has happened.

 

 

Lloyd: What are the chances of a guy like you and a girl like me... ending up together?

Mary: Well, that's pretty difficult to say.

Lloyd: Hit me with it! I've come a long way to see you, Mary. The least you can do is level with me. What are my chances?

Mary: Not good.

Lloyd: You mean, not good like one out of a hundred?

Mary: I'd say more like one out of a million.

pause

Lloyd: So you're telling me there's a chance.

 

-Dumb and Dumber (1994)

 

By the suggestion that we have not been the subject of a terrorist act goes only to suggest that an attack is possible, even imminent, and that the odds are of an attack exist. We just have to remind ourselves that those odds are not one in a million, but one in 55 million during your lifetime (in the case of airline attack – even if you fly once a month and assuming one terror incident per month) . Even the odds of a terrorist attack worldwide is 1 in 88,000 - taking in the account that the world is a pretty rough place. The odds are never made clear when the subject comes to light.

 

The subject of terrorism has become a tool to effect popular opinion, most noticeably by the force fed legislation of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, universally decried as the “PATRIOT" Act. A wave of fear set by the September 11 attacks forced Congress to allow a little read act to become law. According to Wikipedia Title VIII of the Patriot Act:

 

...alters the definitions of terrorism, and establishes or re-defines rules with which to deal with it. It redefined the term "domestic terrorism" to broadly include mass destruction as well as assassination or kidnapping as a terrorist activity. The definition also encompasses activities that are "dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State" and are intended to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population," "influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion," or are undertaken "to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping" while in the jurisdiction of the United States. Terrorism is also included in the definition of racketeering. Terms relating to cyber-terrorism are also redefined, including the term "protected computer," "damage," "conviction," "person," and "loss."

 

The blurring of the terms such as "coercion" and widening the scope of the definition of "terrorist" to include any person who disagrees with the government (at the discretion of the executive branch), as well as substantially expanding the powers of the government, privacy and freedom were the main victims of fear. Rights that were fundemental for centuries were beginning to erode in the name of some "faceless cowards" which an individual American may never meet. As the events of September 11 and the "Pandora's Box" of the Patriot Act unfolded, the usefulness as fear as a tool became apparent. Fear became a tangible commodity, which can be traded. Writer Hunter S. Thompson remarked:


 

We are turning into a nation of whimpering slaves to Fear — fear of war, fear of poverty, fear of random terrorism, fear of getting down-sized or fired because of the plunging economy, fear of getting evicted for bad debts, or suddenly getting locked up in a military detention camp on vague charges of being a Terrorist sympathizer. "Extreme behavior in Aspen" (''2003''-''02-03'')


 

The lack of security, ironically illustrated by an absence of a terrorist attack, later helped an increasingly unpopular George W. Bush retain his hold on the White House.

 

The promise of repayment gives the lender a measure of power just as the savior has over the saved. The will of the superior is forced, albeit willingly, on the debtor. Gratitude is a price one pays to the superior, and the participants are willing, with no idea that any manipulation is taking place. We are eager to live the proscribed life with the promise of a nirvana or heaven, and the fear of hell. By signing on the dotted line of a loan agreement, we are relieved that we will get the needed material for that degree of comfort. The cornerstone of banking is the transferral of security. It is an emotional currency that has become the foundation of all financial transactions. We turn safety, and comfort, into an industry.

 

The industry of security has developed from the promotion of fear of an unknown entity. Any Google search of “security” bring thousands of results for companies that offer the promise of comfort, the ability to surf the Internet, to conduct business and live our lives free from the specter of despair. We are taking comfort to be something that a value can assigned. How much are you willing to spend to be safe? To feel safe has no physical parameters. We cannot hold safety in our hands. As I sit in my living room, what makes me feel safe? Why should I feel that way? Our government has created an illusion of safety and we can continue to feel that way, as long as our social structure stays in place. We walk down the street without fear of molestation because the authorities, which are government entities, are hard at work. We do not ask, or simply forget, the price.


 

 

We're likely to experience more restrictions on our personal freedom than has ever been the case in our country - Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

 


 

 

We are going to have to change the balance between freedom and security - House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt 

 


 

 

People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people. -http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434409/">V for Vendetta (2005)

 


 

 

Our leaders have garnered support for a war whose antagonists are phantoms. The idea of terror is what we are fighting, without any definite parameters. By the vague notions we have assigned to the concept of terror, we can associate many human activities, including the valid confrontation of a government which has far exceeded the boundaries the founding fathers intended. It was their clear intention to restrain the powers of government, and to give any specifically unstated “powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people” (10th Amendment - U.S. Constitution).

 

It has always been evident that fear was a tool in the hands of the powerful, either by politicians or the clergy. Power is the ultimate prize of mankind, and the control of the fearful has historically been a simple path to power. September 11 offered a rare opportunity for a nation in fear to cry out for a savior of this earth. No need for a spiritual leader to bring the promise of a peaceful afterlife, we needed a savior to bring us the promise of safety now. It fit directly into our need for immediacy, the instant gratification that has become the hallmark of western culture. Our “leaders” were ready, willing and able to provide the security. It has become evident that America's response to the attacks have been in the planning stages for quite a while. Not solutions for the every day issues we face, like traffic accidents or cancer, but for problems only a special few can address. It is the classic misdirection, found in even the most amateur magic trick. The gratitude of the protected, like the repayment of the debtor, is a basic human desire which can be used to take our minds off more mundane aspects of our lives, like sickness and death.

 

The “war on terror” becomes impossible to define since terror is an emotion, intangible and unquantifiable. Terror is fear, and fear is what will keep us in line. How do we win a war? Is it something a flag can be placed on by a victorious army? We have been brought to a point where we are afraid of our own shadow. We will do anything to make fear and terror go away. It has become a short term debt society is willing to shoulder, with repayment left to pass on to our children, and no concrete assurance of security in the future. It is like a small-time loan shark, where the debt requires endless repayment. Most religions consider usury a sin, of which out government is guilty.

 

Safety is a point of view, and can be manipulated like any other emotion. Give someone a knife or a gun and they feel safer, but they are no safer than they were before. It is a feeling of power, the potential to assert your will on others. What would you pay for that gun, or for someone to provide the protection? The value of those emotions become quantified. When we place a price on emotions, like safety or happiness, we assign the emotion a monetary value. That becomes a debt. Why do we value money? It gives us peace of mind and safety. What is peace of mind? The ability to feel good. That is the basis of all human desire, to feel good.

 

Feeling good can be found in doses small and large. From buying products labeled "green," without questioning the motives of those who use those labels, to allowing a government to listen in to cell phone conversations, thereby "saving" us from potential terrorists. The problem is that both sides of any argument frame the argument in terms that can be easily manipulated. By talking about terrorism is to acknowledge the odds of attack, and giving a platform by those who want to control us.

 

 

It does give a reason to think; once we know that we are being manipulated, what is really wrong with manipulation? If the goal is safety, and the intentions are good, are we doing a disservice to those who want to offer security? We are willing participants to the designs of those who want to save us. Is the goal of life to experience some measure of comfort, or is it something more? Fear is preventing us from thinking for ourselves, and leaving the heavy lifting of our existence to those who wish for power. It is easier to wish for a hero than to become heroes ourselves. We find it expedient to trade our freedom, and the emotional currency of gratitude, to a measure of security. The problem is that security is a transient thing. It is not something we can hold in our hands, it is something exclusive to our minds. It does not last, and must be reaffirmed on a regular basis. It soon becomes a cyclical process that feeds on itself, like a fictional perpetual motion machine. And just as fictional is the concept of Superman as something other than ourselves.

 

We forget that the goal of mankind is to realize the übermensch in mankind. It is to break free of fear and the grip it has on our minds. To have a mindfulness of the power that we have over our lives, and how easily we can be manipulated by the powerful. The surprise is that the powerful do not use tools but ideas and concepts.

 

 

We wish for a Superman instead of realizing that the supermen are within our own minds.

 

 

 

Superman is a good guy, right?

 

 

 

 

More to come.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Danny

I think you should consider an added commentary on the idea of a terrorist as defined by the patriot act. Allow me to elaborate. The patriot act says that a terrorist can be imprisoned without a fair trial (more or less), but fails to define a terrorist other than as "what the state defines a terrorist to be." As a result, there exists this loophole by which any individual could be punished and held indefinitely without due process pending government recognition of them as a terrorist. This sort of arbitrary language scares the ever loving shit out of me.

 

More for you Phil... I am sure you know how I feel about bush bashing. This ever popular past time of hating on our president scapegoat has far less basis than the media (those F@%$ers, even fox news who has sold out where they once were my heros) would have you believe.

 

It seems to me like you and I are standing, separated by a wall. You stand on the east side, myself on the west. We both can see a building down the length of the wall: illuminated at sunset. Being where we are, the building to me looks still bright, bathed by the fading sun. To you, there is nothing but darkness, for you see only the side cast in twilit shadow. What is the point of this elaborate image? I believe that this country itself has not been lead astray, but rather has within itself the potential to persist in greatness. So many others, however, have lost hope, only to have it promised to them by a slick word peddler. The difference between you and me Phil (despite my paranoia) is that I believe in the USA, no matter what I'm told. How can I discount information so easily as to not be swayed from this conviction? The ideals of the founders of this nation have allowed it to maintain an unprecedented peace and prosperity despite troubling disputes throughout our history. It is in these ideals, and the documents that solidify them, that I see the salvation for our great nation. I know you'd like to tell me up and down that Bush (bad word?) violated the constitution. I don't care, I hated on him for that as much as he deserved; AND THEN STOPPED. I am asking you now to try a little optimism. Perhaps to believe in the founding fathers of this nation, and understand that the problems with our system are not problems of the system they designed, but rather arise from "progressive" subversions of it.

 

I know that I cannot sway your vote in this election, being so set in your ways as you are. However, I will give you the single reason for how I am casting mine. I believe, with more conviction than I have ever known for such a mundane matter, that a vote for Barack Obama is a willing surrender of individual liberty. I believe that this violates the ideals of this country in the most fundamental way.

 

- Danny

 

 

 

 

SURAJ JANI:

 

Phil I like the direction that your essay is heading so far. I was reading about this topic a while back and I found some stats that you can use in your essay. “Why do we fear terrorism more than accidents which kill nearly as many per week in just the United States as did worldwide terrorism in all of the 1990s. Even with the horrific scale of 9/11, more Americans in 2001 died of food poisoning (which scares few) than terrorism (which scares many).”
An article by David G. Myers and John Dirk Werkman Professor of Psychology
 
Danny -
 
You are on a train, traveling through a mountain pass. It is during a blizzard, and and at one point you hear a rumble outside from the mountainside. Avalanche! The train grinds to a halt. "Looks like we are stuck here for a while," the old (very old) conductor says. This is his first time on a train this size, and previously only traveled on small trains through deserts. He has some experience on trains, but nothing near this situation. But he is a conductor. He says wait until the spring, when the snow clears and it will be fine, but it may be quite a while. There is only a limited amount of supplies, surely enough for the first class passengers to survive the storm, but also enough food for a slim chance for everyone, if divided fairly. But being the conductor, he feels that the rules should apply, first class passengers are due the food they paid for, no sharing! Shoulda' bought a better ticket. A handsome young (well I am the same age as him) passenger, who is somewhat of an outdoorsman but has no experience on trains, sees a cabin down the hill with smoke coming through the chimney. He feels that if they stay until spring they would starve and freeze. Approximately half of the passengers believe that together, they can make the cabin. There would be some struggle, but at the end - safety. There is a beautiful stewardess (work with me here) who is with the conductor, who reminds everyone (with a gleam in her eye) "don't worry, when it gets down to it, we can eat each other to survive." About 28% of the passengers smile at this (oh no!). The conductor's wife is in the bar car getting wasted on beer, picking up younger men (cougar....meow).
What do you do? Saying put is nice, and maybe a valid strategy, but I would go with someone who has a clear idea of how to get all of us out of this mess. Just remember, no one had experience on that particular train!
Oh, and by the way, I lived in Texas when W was running for Gov. I saw the avalanche coming before the blizzard started. If it was only that I disagreed with his policies! He had brought a degree of ridicule to the US throughout the world, with his "new sheriff in town swagger." He was proof that being a governor is no experience for the POTUS. He was not a good choice. I have been saying that for 10 years. And speak of someone who spoke well! He did use that Texas charm to get to the office, it is called being buffaloed. I know that we (America) are the biggest and the best, but we are NOT the only kids in the sand box. We have to play nice with the rest of the world. Who would not want someone well spoken, measured, intelligent and someone who has lectured at Harvard as the face of the country - after 8 yrs of "down home" Bush. I think the best and brightest should be considered for the job, and someone who has the wisdom to choose thoughtfully (Biden) than for purely political expedience (Palin - no she is not a cannibal)
 
I think Obama will be the type of leader the Founding Fathers would respect. He is thoughtful, not given to rash outburst, surrounds himself with other thoughtful people. He is NOT (I repeat NOT) perfect. And he gives at least a passing thought to the people of this country who need help. If McCain WON the Vietnam war, or was a better pilot or student, or did not vote against establishing a federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday (he apologized for that in April 2008 - a little late, hmmmmm?), or even the McCain of say 10 years ago then he would not be as bad a choice (still bad but not so much). If he should win, hold on, there will be a social shift, and not a good one either. Think the late sixties, where people felt disenfranchised to the degree they rioted. A shift to conservatism, neither social nor economic, is not the thing we need right now. Though I like the fact you are an oasis of conservatism in a rising sea of progressiveness.
 
I voted by mail... saw the lines around the block the other day and said "bullshit." Whoever you vote for, please please please vote NO on Prop. 2!
Roshi7
 
 

 

 

And yet Phil... what you are saying is EXACTLY what the media has been screaming like diseased gulls for years now. To share in your metaphor: who is to say the cabin is safe or contains food, and what proof do you have that the handsome man is an outdoorsman? The answer comes up time and again: there is absolutely no evidence. In fact, if you look at history, every time the "passengers" have made for a "cabin," the result has been tyrannical dictatorship. By that I mean, every time (EVERY TIME) in history that people have turned to wealth redistribution at the onset of recession or depression in a capitalist system, the result has been tyranny, suffering, death and despair. I challenge you to find a single example where socialism has worked well, not just bearable, but actually worked well. In fact, I challenge you to prove to me that Barack Obama isn't a full fledged socialist!

 

To me this is a simple transitive definition. X=Y and Y=Z therefore X=Z. Obama Presidency = Socialism, Socialism = Suffering; therefore Obama Presidency = Suffering. Q.E.D. I honestly don't see how you can argue a single one of those equalities with any sort of validity. The evidence is clear that Obama wants a form of socialism. There is also no doubt that socialism fails routinely in practice; more often than not ending in violent disaster. I know that you have been fooled, so I won't hate on your for it.

 

I started attacking you here only for having been caught up in a misrepresentation of President Bush. Nobody ever speaks his praises therefore you assume there are none, but there are! That was my gripe. People don't take the news with a grain of salt and, in my opinion, you have been taken in by their propaganda. The news media have a vested interest in an Obama presidency, and therefore serve as his propaganda wing. Even FOX news, so often the bastion of conservatism in the news world, has swayed from that somewhat in the interest of selling news. Don't believe what you believe because it is popular, or because you hear it the most. I know that you would deny that as a false accusation up and down. But I believe, whether or not you are even aware of it, that it is really easy to avoid reevaluating your opinion if the vast majority of information sources are supporting your stance with "feel good" kudos.

 

In the end, I am not a deluded simpleton that sees this last administration through rose colored glasses. I've said it and I'll say it again: I have my gripes and have voiced them. In fact, I engaged in the early bush bashing parties because I agreed with some of the talking points. However, when I saw that President Bush was being punished in great disproportion to the gravity of his crimes, that is when I started to attack people such as yourself who I think should know better. It has become a self-propagating, hateful idea that I can no longer abide.

 

I won't vote for the Peoples' Republic of America.

 

- Danny

 

Wow! Didn't mean to hit a nerve! Just wanted to give you my viewpoint. I tried to be glib and creative, I did not want to talk down to you. I am sorry! I am trying to have a conversation, and now right wing types yell "socialism?" Not just you, either. The last election cycle the term was "liberal." As the Barenaked Ladies said: "it's all been done before." Do you really think, in the real world, think that Obama is a socialist? Really? And a secret Muslim? I have heard that from people recently. They believe this crap. I believe in (little d) democracy, the voice of the common man. Obviously this has become some sort of social war, as I predicted. Is it every man for himself? The haves versus the have nots. Sounds like a boat load of fear on both sides. Is the sky really falling? Is this the vast right wing conspiracy, or the liberal media? Good God man, is Obama the anti-Christ? That is as bad as saying he is Christ (as some would have), and that I do not believe.

 

And as far as Bush... well Hitler loved his dogs! (Not to invoke Godwin's Law) That did not make him a good guy! Bush used his position to promote an agenda that was against America. He has some good points, for sure, but he has ran this country into the ground!!!!! To sum up in three words - WAR WAR WAR!!! People have called actions like these "war crimes"! Just because it is the POTUS does not make it right. We gave him the benefit of the doubt in 2001 and he pissed it away! The ends do not justify the means. Nixon proved that, and I guess the cycle has come around again. He was considered one of the most liberal presidents in the last half of the 20th century - out of necessity. Nixon's price control policy alone was short of "socialism."

 

I don't give a flying f**k whether W does not beat his wife or is a good dad!

 

What in the freaking world has given you any indication that Obama is that far to the left? And how the hell can I prove he is not a socialist? Wait for it.... WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT? Give me some real facts! And not the right wing talking points... voting records do not count because you can't be a socialist and stay in Congress for long. Like statistics, you can get voting records to say anything! And how can this secret socialist get this far in the Democratic party? And that term "redistribution of wealth." He said it ONCE! To this "Joe the (unlicensed) freakin' plumber," who owes back taxes, and now wants to be a country music star since McCain has given him his 15 minutes of fame. I couldn't afford his services now! Talk about coattails, is he really serious, or does he want a paycheck? Obama was talking to him about taxes. And I would rather have someone tell me the truth about taxes, than bullshit me about tax cuts, and increase some other revenue raising hat trick. Call it whatever you want but there is no free lunch. Federal tax cuts equal State, County sales tax increases. Who cares? It is still money out of my pocket!

 

Freedom is not free! Either pay with your life or pay with your wallet, I would rather give some of my wallet to help others. This negative bull about the selfishness of mankind is never going to progress the human race any further. We will be stuck in the same "me first" rut forever.

 

You know what is the theme in every piece from Michael Moore (the enemy of the right - to use a scapegoat)? He says to get involved! To help your fellow man! Is that wrong? What is being said about "socialism" is exactly what the point I tried to make when I wrote "problem with sustain-ability," the hijacking of terms to project an agenda. What is the problem with "socialism?" It is ok for police and fire departments to benefit the common good, but not for health care. Again - profit is personal, but loss is social! Look up Bush's involvement with the Ballpark in Arlington, Texas: public risk for personal profit! That is the "Bush doctrine." We just bailed a out major Insurance company as a result of long term deregulation, with Phil Graham (former D now R from Texas- former soft core porn producer, or at least he gave producers some money - who said we are a country of "whiners") was instumental in the deregulation of the banking industry in 2000, helping the way for our current situation.

 

My buzz is wearing off.... and I gotta work tomorrow...

 

If a man is judged by his adversaries, than I am fortunate. See you soon.

 

Phil

 

 

It seems you have picked up on my demagoguery... I don't normally do it, but I felt that some counterbalance was necessary. Let me lay this out for you in a more civil way. Barack Obama has voted with very leftist tendencies. That does not make him a socialist. He has proven himself to be in favor of wealth redistribution both during this campaign and well before. That, while a core socialist tenet, could very well fall only in the realm of liberal thinking. His past accomplishments have promoted an agenda that pits the haves against the have nots. This also, does not make him a socialist. When I call him a socialist, I am making an educated guess. I don't know for certain if he would be what I think he would. However, neither do you.

You've talked yourself into a circle here phil... you've told me all sorts of information (left wing talking points as I'd call them) that proves to me that I cannot be certain that Barack Obama is a socialist. You then go on to question whether or not socialism is bad.

First: of course I can't be certain that he is a socialist, but what I'd rather here is proof that he isn't. I don't want circumstantial evidence that points out the variables in my claims, I want something more concrete that will prove me wrong. Unfortunately, no such evidence exists; the chance remains that a socialist could become the president of these united states.

Second: socialism is bad, and don't forget it. I can't tell you exactly why socialism doesn't work, to do so would be to understand the human mind. But I do know that occasionally some brave people with good intentions have attempted to institute such systems. Every time it seems that their charismatic face man, given so much power by the system he helped create, has broken the constraints of his altruistic controllers and created a state of tyranny and despair. Socialism, the dictionary form, is a fantastic idea. Socialism, the real beast, is a horrible failure.

 

I won't burden you with facts, because I haven't heard a fact in years. What I will tell you is that you can parse it up and down, and I will spit it back into your face. Socialism that is. I am not a theorist, I am an engineer. We are concerned with how things actually work. Socialism? What a great idea! Oh... but you say that it has never worked and indeed has caused some of the greatest periods of suffering that this world has known?... Well in that case, I think you should go back to the drawing board.

 

My opinion on why socialism doesn't work: Be wary of any politician who would run for an office on a platform that would INCREASE the power of that office. Barack is human, and so prone to the one vice that all men desire: power. Socialism is the precipice over which democracy falls to its death.

 

As for your Bush bashing... go right ahead. I've heard the shit he has pulled up and down and sideways. I already told you that I have my beef with him. I sure as hell am not going to defend him for the things he has done wrong. You should ask yourself instead, however, what he has done right. If you can't find an answer, find out why. I just wanted to point out that the media has skewed the image of the poor man, not that he was some great hero of mine. You could give me ten thousand cases of how someone reported that he was bad for this country, I would be more surprised if you believe in 10 ways he had been good.

 

No matter all of the negativism that people believe these days about the state of the nation. This is the best time and place to live of any time or place that there ever was. Sure we may have our economic ups and downs, but still Americans, even those unemployed, do not starve or go wanting for basic necessities (by and large). I'm not saying that nothing is wrong, I'm just saying that some things are also right: and we never hear about them.

 

I make my living off the evening news

Just give me something-something I can use

People love it when you lose,

They love dirty laundry

-The Eagles

 

- Danny

 

 

 

 

On a not so unrelated subject:

 

 

 

The rich are getting richer, and the poor they just stay poor, I guess.

 

The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state. The expence (sp) of government to the individuals of a great nation is like the expence (sp) of management to the joint tenants of a great estate, who are all obliged to contribute in proportion to their respective interests in the estate.

 

- Adam Smith - Wealth of Nations (Book 5 Chapter 2)

 

 

 

 

Not to be too picky... Dirty Laundry was on Don Henley's solo album I Can't Stand Still.

 

I remember when it came out :)

 

My daughter turned 21 at midnight.... had to take her out to buy me a drink! (Now that she can)

 

-Phil

 

 

Oh thats right, congratulations. Sorry about the tag line on the song to music aficionados, I am an amateur. As for that chart, interesting stuff. I can see the valuable implications there, but at the same time I think critically that graphical representations can be made to show that the sky is falling. I should like to investigate it further.

 

- Danny

 

 

 

As for the Bush bashing, my point is I knew he was bad news before he even ran for the presidency. Read some of Molly Ivins' writings, she was a Texas writer (rest her soul), if you dont know already, who had Bush pegged from the beginning. So does that make me a basher when all I am saying is "I told you so"?

 

 

The source of the graph:

 

Distribution of income in the United States of America from 1967 through 2003. Numbers are normalized to 2003 United States dollars. The data source is DeNavas-Walt, Carmen; Bernadette D. Proctor, Robert J. Mills (08 2004). "Table A-3: Selected Measures of Household Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2003" (PDF) (in English). Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2003 36-37. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-06-16.

 

- Phil

 

I looked through that whole pdf, and that graph you posted was not there. Check your link as I'd like to see the accompanying data. But, based on the graph it looks like the rich have gotten relatively less rich, and the poor no less poor since 2000, an auspicious year when talking about bush. Although that green line does dip a bit. I really feel for all those people who are green lines. - Danny

 

 

 

 

 

 

The graph itself is on Wikipedia, the data is from the above source.

 

 

 

Again not to tangent again, but all this somber economic/political talk has me in need of a good laugh.... I am watching what I think is my new Halloween tradition, the DVD of "Zombie Strippers" The funniest horror movie I have seen in a long time. Unfortunately I succumbed to the corporate overlords at Wal-Mart and bought a "special" theatrical cut. Not like the Unrated Editions around. I am a sucker for zombie movies! (everybody has to have a vice - right?) At least it is in Widescreen! Will NEVER buy full screen movies! I'm funny that way. I was the entertainment editor at my college newspaper, way back when... And was minoring in film studies at the time, so crappy movies are sort of a passion of mine. I love movies where the name says it all, you know what to expect. No wondering what the friggin' title is all about. Like "Planet of the Apes." "Shoot Em' Up" was another recent bad movie I loved. Remember the guy we ran into when we were talking after class a couple of weeks ago? He is another big movie guy, we spend a lot of time talking crappy movies at work. And since I am a little older, my backlog of bad movies is a little larger.

 

Sorry to get off subject... I know what we were talking about is important, but in the end having a little fun is really what it's all about. If you can laugh, then things will be ok?!?! Again.... "It's All Been Done Before."

 

- Phil

 

 

Yeah well... the subject probably should not have gone on as long as it did. I have been rather politically fired up as over the past few days people have been tearing down and/or desecrating my campaign signs. They weren't the worst I've seen, but I was still kinda pissed. The Obama signs on the street remain untouched... This has lead me to believe that there aren't many McCainiacs in the area.

- Danny

 

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