Opinion by Lacy Thompson, Jr.   V
Obama and His Performance In The Oil Spill Crisis

The "Fascist Five" of the Supreme Court
   I thought I was being novel and clever, referring to the five justices Roberts, Alito, Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy  as the "Fascist Five".  Most US citizens don't even know the definition of Fascism " Organizing government around Corporate Interests".  I was, to my amazement utterly surprised when Goggling "Fascist Five" "Supreme Court" to find that all 140 of the top listings referred to these "Justices?" as the "Fascist Five". I was not alone and I was nowhere near the first.  To me that is *VERY!* encouraging news.   This country be in a "Heap O' Trouble" but quite a few "Get It" and that at least is encouraging.  \

Why We Must Have A Third Political Party
     I have become convinced both the Republican and Democratic parties are effectively two heads of the same snake.  Ultimately both political parties serve the elite special interests of the Banksters, Military Industrial Complex, Multi-National Corporations and Wall Street  and fail to serve the interests of the majority of citizens.   There are perhaps 25% hard core Republicans and 30% hard core Democrats that will vote the party line irregardless of how that party behaves once elected.  These are the people who are far more opposed to the opposite party than they are for their party.   This "lesser of the two evils" has still given us Evil and on a constantly expanding scale irregardless of the party in power.  
     There is a growing plurality of individuals of which I am a part that believe that only a third party with the specific goals of restoring the Constitution to it's rightful place and serving the needs of the American People and not the corporate special interests will keep us from loosing an ever increasing amount of our individual liberties.   Government has become abusively bloated at all levels, but none more than the federal level. 
     It's time for the existing third parties, the Libertarians, Constitution Party, Green Party and others to come together setting aside differences to forge a third party that represents the common interests and values of all Americans.  
    Resources need to be pooled and a specific targeting of the "10 Worst" Senators and Representatives needs to  be the focus of strategically and surgically going after those seats that will make the most difference.   While the corporate interests have been highly organized and funded and essentially Bought congress, we have been unorganized, and unfocused and this must change if the Republic is to be saved.
    In the age of the Internet, we are in a totally different ball game.   The influence of the corporately controlled media is diminishing on a daily basis.  People are waking up to the "divide and conquer" games the two major parties have played to effectively remove over half the voters from the playing field and exclude third parties from meaningfully challenging their power.
    Another viable alternative is  to challenge incumbents that have not "walked their talk" in their own primary elections.  It's time to organize and act.   The consequences of  inaction..... are more of  the same corrupt government that keeps funding the Military Industrial Complex, keeps us involved in wars all over the globe on a perpetual basis and tramples the Constitution at every possible opportunity. 
     If you currently belong to a third political party and this makes sense to you, contact others and see if they agree.  Together we can return this country to something that represents "We The People" and doesn't  bail out the Banksters with debt that will be upon our backs and the backs of our children and grandchildren to come.
     Up until Bush I tended to vote Republican. I didn't leave the party..... they left me.  I'll NEVER return to that party until they are philosophically aligned with Ron Paul.  Needless to say, I'm not holding my breath.  I voted for Obama in the last election and have become disillusioned by the expansion of the war in Afghanistan and backing of many of Bush's policies.   Seems the more things "Change" the more they stay the same. Same special interests behind the scenes running the show.   Same bailing out of Wall Street and the Banksters.   Why on earth is Timothy Geitner, part of the Bankster crew that created the current financial crisis playing a leadership role in the Obama administration as head of Treasury?  These guys deserve jail time or worse.
     Bloomberg Financial News reports the true cost of the bailout at over 12.8 Trillion dollars.   For that amount of money, we could abolish ALL PERSONAL FEDERAL INCOME TAX FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS!   Now THAT might actually fuel an incredible recovery!  It should be obvious to anyone paying attention that the Banksters OWN  the US Government.  
      Not exactly the "Change" I voted for.  There is disillusionment and deep dissatisfaction throughout the country that is building up a powerful head of steam that if not channeled into Constructive channels will, I fear, resolve itself though Destructive outlets.   I hear lots of scary rhetoric from  the right aimed against Obama.  It's the same old destructive divisive political game that accomplishes nothing constructive and I fear could actually eventually end in more of a civil war than a revolution.   We do need a revolution that  returns government to the role of being servant of the people, and I believe that this is possible through constructive non-violent political change.  
     I believe until we define ourselves by what we are For and not by what we are Against, we will only increase our division as citizens and thereby increase our ineffectiveness at really regaining control of government.
     I am suggesting a Third Party focused on defining what concerns Unite us as Americans, not those that divide us.   Some of my thoughts on possible common concerns are below.
For:
   1) Return To The Constitution of The United States as the Supreme Law of The Land ( In Letter and Spirit )
   2) Restoration of Individual Liberties and Rights to Privacy Abridged by the so called "Patriot Act".
   3) Removal of Unreasonable Barriers to New Party Movements.
   4) Limiting of  Corporate Lobbying and Financial Contributions to Congress
   5) Closure of US Military Bases Not Operating on US Soil.
   6) Declare "Victory" On the "War on Terror" and Thereby Remove War Powers Invoked By Our Own
       Government to Terrorize Us.
   7) Level Playing Field With Publicly Funded Elections.
   8) Abolish the Federal Reserve and  As Our Original Founding Fathers Designed ; Return Power To  Issue
       Currency To The United States Treasury  Alone and Return Over Time to Full Reserve Banking System. 
   9) Force The Federal and All Levels Of Government To Pay As They Go and Stop Saddling Us and Our
        Children With Debt They Irresponsibly Build Up.
 10) Hold Those Who Created the Current Financial Crisis Accountable For Actions That Were Criminally
        Negligent.
  11) Hold All Public Officials Who Lie And Distort Intelligence Leading to The Deaths of Innocent Civilians and
        Military Personnel Accountable For Murder / Manslaughter.  This Applies To State, County, and Federal
        District  Attorneys Who Knowingly Withhold Evidence During Criminal Proceedings.

    Even if we could only agree on three of the above agenda items, how infinitely superior it would be to focusing on  what divides us.   If we could move the ball forward each election cycle to creating a democratic republic that was functional instead of the dysfunctional mess we now have we would start to see positive constructive change. 

"THE" Biggest Problem America Faces.
      Slavery never went away......  it merely changed it's form.  When you go down to obtain a home loan, you sign away your future labor to repay the debt.  For a house, we sign away a quarter to a third of our future efforts for perhaps 30 years.  It sounds so absolutely incredibly preposterous that your signature on the paper Alone allows a  Private Corporation - Member Banks of the Federal Reserve to create the money out of Nothing at All but the Promise of Your Future Labor (with interest) in the form of money.   I mean that sounds so absolutely NUTS  it is no wonder that people who don't research the facts think you MUST be talking some sort of "Conspiracy Theory" mumbo jumbo. 
     I mean, why on earth does it make sense to enslave yourself to work for the Federal Reserve private bankers who conjure the money out of thin air.   But apparently , that's exactly what we do with current monetary policy. And..... our nation's founding fathers knew it was a path to tyranny .   All the money collected for federal income tax from individuals is spent on paying the interest on the national debt.  

   Yet the following facts are quite easy to verify through irrefutable sources.
1) The Federal Reserve is no more "Federal" than "Federal Express"  Member Banks operate as For Profit Private Corporations  with Non-Transferable Stock.  The Federal Reserve "System" does have governmental agencies added but has no direct control over the actions or access to how and why decisions are made.
2) When the Treasury Issues Money, it is as a Liability To  the Government to the benefit of  the Private Federal Reserve Banks..... IE: The Private Federal Reserve Banks charge the US Government Interest on the money Treasury prints ....... Out of Thin Air !

   With just this much of the picture in place,   it doesn't take a genius to figure out that if you owned a corporation with the exclusive right to issue money out of thin air you sure would want to keep that exclusive privilege the politicians handed you in 1913 in place ...... So with access to Unlimited Money out of Thin Air  the very first thing on your "Shopping List" would be All the Politicians.   Next on your shopping list would be the News Media.   You sure would want to squash any story that exposed the system for what it really was. You'd want to suppress news that  was against your interests.   Next on the shopping list would be influencing the textbooks and education system.   Not a good idea to have too much taught in the schools on monetary policy. 

    Fortunately, the Internet is changing things.  Information and videos start to paint an illuminating picture of what the Federal Reserve is all about.

Videos - "Money as Debt"  Zeitgeist - The Movie   The "Real" Economic Statistics   

    After you educate yourself,  things all of a sudden start to make sense ( For the First Time!  ) You now see why we have such an incredible National Debt and how that debt works to the advantage of the Banking System.  Debacles and Money Sinks like the Viet Nam war and the war in Iraq..... Start to look like brilliant maneuvers ..... IF YOU ARE A BANKER !    An "Insane" war with Iran makes perfect sense .... IF YOU ARE A BANKER!    The current "Mortgage Crisis" and the moves to saddle the American Taxpayer - YOU AND ME with the Downside Risk -  PRIVATIZE the GAIN - SOCIALIZE the LOSS starts to make sense - IF YOU ARE A BANKER!  
    Fortunately the majority of the citizens of the United States are not  bankers and with the Internet - it's just a matter of time before enough people catch on to this incredible farce which has been perpetuated on the American public since 1913.    I wouldn't want to be a banker when this happens...... and it will happen Soon.

Make it sooner by Spreading the Word  to your friends.....

 Who Do You Trust For News?
     I used to trust CNN...... sort of.   I mean anyone with their eyes half open recognizes the agenda for "distraction".   When you see the story about the dog that killed the gardener on the front page of their web site four days running,  you know they aren't a serious source of  "News".
    It wasn't until the September 15, 2007 Impeachment Rally that I totally lost faith in them.   Reading their coverage, I quickly assessed the rally as "no big deal".  Two maybe three thousand people at most.  Reality was there were over 100,000 people protesting at the rally in Washington DC alone, to say nothing of the other protests around the country.   Only time I check in on CNN is to see just what kind of propaganda they are feeding people who don't know they are more likely being mis-informed than informed.
   I suggest the following three links for something with a bit less of an "agenda".   Compare the stories in these sources with what you "don't see" on CNN and I believe you will never take CNN seriously again.
                   McClatchy       Raw Story      The Real  News 

       YouTube Videos of the September 15, 2007 Impeachment Rally
                     Video 1       Video 2

New Word For the Day "Kleptocracy"
   First it helps to understand some other words like "Plutocracy" -  A Plutocracy is a government controlled by a minuscule proportion of extremely wealthy individuals found in most societies.   Classically, a plutocracy was an oligarchy, which is to say a government controlled by the wealthy few. Usually this meant that these ‘plutocrats’ controlled the executive, legislative and judicial aspects of government,   the armed forces, and most of the natural resources.   If there are no forms of control within the society, the plutocracy can easily collapse into a kleptocracy, "reign of thieves",  where the powerholders attempt to confiscate as much public funds as possible as their private property.   A kleptocratic state is usually thoroughly corrupt, has very little production and its economy is unstable.
     No doubt in the US we have a highly "dysfunctional"  form of "democracy".   Some call it a Plutocracy.   After your vocabulary increases,  if you follow the news and how Halliburton and the other thieves who rape, pillage and plunder our tax dollars,   you will see "Kleptocracy" - a "Rein of Thieves" is a much closer fit for what we have in the US that masquerades as "democracy".

 Time to "Clean House" on Both Political Parties
   I am a Libertarian and used to vote Republican.  I have been fortunate enough to create a net worth that is in the upper 1% of  US households if that makes any difference (disclosure) .   I support Ron Paul and his views on abolishing the Federal Reserve.   The Republican party has become so corrupt that it deserves the fate in store for it ......  to wander in the desert for 40 years or how ever long it takes for it to finally get the message that lies and deceit don't cut the political mustard any more.   I'd much rather see my tax dollar "squandered" on public assistance than go into the pockets of Lockheed Martin, Halliburton and the other Corporate Welfare beneficiaries of what has become America's "Offense Industry".
   It's time to move beyond this "Illusion" of a "Functional" two party system in this country.   Our government has been owned by the banks and financial interests, and the military industrial complex for decades.  It's refreshing to see that more and more people are starting to wake up to this ugly reality.
   Don't look to the "Democrats" to make any real difference in the reality.  What needs to occur is to have the American public systematically identify the "Worst 10" congressmen and senators up for election during the cycle.  Who is the "worst" is going to likely depend upon your values.  For me replacing the War Hawks like Lieberman and McCain and the top democratic "leaders" who have miserably failed to step up to the plate like Pelosi and Conyers are at the top of the list.   Only when we loose this "Democrat vs. Republican" illusion will we see anything really start to change.
    Boot Pelosi and Conyers out of their "safe seats" and you can bet the politicians that replace them will "Get The Message" -  Loud and Clear.
    ActBlue.com  Is actively and systematically targeting the worst of the democrats and supporting challengers. I donated in a heartbeat and suggest others check out and support such courses of action. 

Distribution of Wealth in The US - Absolutely Unbelievable!
  Bottom 90% (133,000,000) Families Hold 4% of Wealth
  Top One Hundredth of 1%  (14,000  Families) Hold hold 22% of the wealth
    These figures were in a video that referenced the WSJ as the source.  I am still looking for direct backup.  
Video Source  Pick up video at 3:25 into clip.  Note their narrator says one tenth of one percent hold 22% while both the graphic and mathematical checks indicate that 14,000 is one hundredth of one percent of US households not one tenth as the narrative states.
     " The L Curve Video "

The Speech That Got John F. Kennedy Killed  (Video)

Eisenhower's Warning About the Military Industrial Complex  (Video)

The Bush Presidency
   Over the last year I have become increasingly concerned with the direction my country seems to be heading.  I think the last thing America needs right now is more "Cheer Leaders"  and the thing we need most is every day American citizens that are sick and tired of seeing their country misdirected to find their voices and make themselves heard.  As an American citizen I feel I have a responsibility to not stand silently but to voice my concerns and I am gravely concerned for the future of my country. I believe in the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights and support those strongly.   I have begun to question just what the current leadership believes in. 
    Sadly, over time I have come to believe that the REAL "Threat to National Security" is the moron in the Oval Office.   I believe the actions of George W. Bush have made America far less secure.  I am encouraged that the polls indicate that more and more other Americans feel that the direction in which Bush has led this country is the wrong one.  I believe George W. Bush has betrayed the Constitution of the United States of America.  I believe he has lied to the American public repeatedly and spent your tax dollars and mine (as well as those of our grandchildren) in no-bid contracts that have enriched his and Dick Cheney's buddies at Halliburton.  
     I believe George W. Bush has committed numerous acts that constitute grounds for impeachment and removal from office.   I have been ashamed of my country's actions under his "leadership".   In much of Canada and Europe Bush is even labeled a "war criminal".   We are not talking America's enemies saying that. We are talking our friends!   This is a truly sad state of affairs.   How on earth did we get into this awful mess?
     I am but one American,  and I would not pretend to speak for America as a whole, but I do believe it is crucial when I see my government behave in ways that do not represent my values to speak up for my part of America. 
    The America I believe in supports the Geneva convention, The America George W. Bush believes in apparently does not.  From what I have seen,  prisoner abuse has not been the product of isolated incidents but a systematic administration approach which has been criticized by former POWs like John McCain and the former ex CIA chief Stansfield Turner.  The CIA renditions where people are flown to foreign countries for torture and interrogation has shaken my faith in the Bush Administration. 
    The America I believe in supports the United States Constitution.  The right to Habeas Corpus, to face charges or be released is central to the constitution.  The treatment where an American citizen Jose Padilla was held without charge for three years in violation of the Constitution tells me George W Bush believes in a very different concept.  The very thought that Bush could point his finger and label you or me as an "enemy combatant" and lock us away no questions asked scares the hell out of me.   When that occurred, I said to myself, well that's how American freedom ends, not with a bang but a whimper.   How can we call this a democracy or a "free" country when that sort of thing is defended and fought by the Bush administration?
    It's not at all about Padilla. I personally don't care if they hang him, IF it is the result of DUE PROCESS and a FAIR TRIAL.  The fact that the Bush Administration fought this tooth and nail, and charged him ONLY TO AVOID a Supreme Court Showdown I feel they would loose,  makes me question just who these people are in the Bush administration and what they believe in.
    I guess the whole thing that started me questioning just what was "Really Going On" with this whole "War on Terror" was that  there seemed to be this incredible rush to war.  I felt Hussein was pretty much contained and boxed in.  He would be an idiot to try to do anything.  The absurdity of the world's greatest military power being afraid of him conjured images of someone standing on a stool shrieking over a mouse.  It just didn't add up.
    I thought the whole rhetoric about "Weapons of Mass Destruction" sounded like something conjured up by some Madison Avenue types to sell a war with Fear.  I mean, like if anyone possesses Real Weapons of Mass Destruction, it has to be the US with our nuclear arsenal.   After Iraq, I think a lot of these smaller countries are scrambling to develop nuclear weapons, so we will think twice about invading them.   We seem to have a foreign policy that is totally devoid of Principle.  How can you trust a country that acts only in it's "National Interests" unguided by Principle?  My feeling, is ..... you can't.
    The events of 9-11 were indeed a tragedy with 2,752 lives lost.   America will never be quite the same.  As  devastating as that loss was, it still needs to be put in some rational framework.  The whole idea of Terrorism is to take something that is on one scale and blow it up through media coverage into something that provokes an irrational fear.   In the July 26, 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) it was estimated that medical errors kill between 225,000 and 285,000 Americans every year in the hospital setting and another 199,000 in the outpatient setting.  If we use the low numbers, that's 424,000 Americans killed Every Year from medical mistakes!   In the 4.4 years since 9-11 that means over 1.8 Million Americans have died from medical errors....... yet few are even aware of the risk.  It's so incredible and unbelievable I have put the report on my site in case you have any trouble locating it at the original site. 
     Putting things in perspective, using the JAMA article, as of  3/1/2006 Americans have been over 677 times as likely to die at the hands of their doctor as a terrorist.   The WTC towers were 1,360 feet in height.  If we used it's height to represent the total lives lost  on 9-11 and the American lives estimated to have been lost to medical errors, the terrorist toll would be 2.00 feet in height and the remaining 1,358 feet would represent the toll of medical errors.
    Question in my mind is: Why are we fighting wars..... in the countries not even linked to 9-11 in Iraq and oblivious to the much bigger problem of medical errors?  Why are we abandoning the United States Constitution and our Civil Liberties.   Exactly what is going on here?
    I am quite sure I do not know.   I feel the media failed the American people miserably in not asking more questions before the war in Iraq.   I have lost confidence in American media.  I subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, but I dig extensively and read extensively to try to come up with something that makes sense of the absurdities and the insanities that appear to be happening.
    I remember seeing BBC coverage of a Lancet (British equivalent of the JAMA) article estimating the Iraqi civilian deaths due to coalition actions as over 100,000 with the majority being women and children. How on earth do you call it a "surgical" war and kill over 60,000 women and children.  Either we have "Smart Bombs" aimed by "Dumb Asses" or the bombs ain't that smart.   I know if I was an Iraqi teenager and you killed my mother and sister, you would be much more likely to make me an enemy than a friend.  For the life of me, I can't see how that is going to reduce terrorism.  
    It seems to me this whole escapade has been "packaged" in the noblest of terms as the details of the true cost to the Iraqi people have been hidden from the American people. 
    My feeling is that in this whole thing the American public has been sold a "Bill of Goods" and exactly what the real story is behind the motivations is, I am still trying to figure out.  Seeing all these "No Bid" contracts that go to Dick Cheney's former company Halliburton, the corruption in congress,  the deficit spending of over 280 Billion Dollars on what appears to me to be a senseless war that has made us less safe.  I am convinced if you and I as Americans do not become FAR more involved in searching for answers and demanding that our government represent the American People and not some Corporate Special Interest, we are going to see things get worse.
    I encourage you to not take things at face value.  Read and critically analyze.  Our founding fathers knew that even the best government is a Necessary Evil and that only an informed and active electorate will create a viable functioning Democracy.   I feel we have been asleep and trusted people who it seems to me simply are not deserving of our trust.
    Write your congressmen, talk with your friends.  I think the encouraging thing now is that people are actually starting to talk, and find out they aren't the only one who is concerned and feeling things are out of control.   I think dissent is not just a healthy symptom of a working democracy it is a Necessary Component.   This country does not need Cheer Leaders!   It needs an active concerned citizenry.
     As stated, I have lost confidence in the ability of the CNNs and the Wall Street Journals to provide critical analysis and differing points of view.   Use and support TheRealNews and abandon CNN who led us into this mess in Iraq doing the bidding of their corporate sponsors.   Also a web search of "Alternative Media" will yield some excellent links.  NOW on PBS is excellent.   There is  a new documentary "Why We Fight" by Eugene Jarecki and I highly recommend seeing it for perspective.
     We have over 725 (non classified) bases in other people's countries around the world. There are 14 permanent bases being constructed in Iraq.  I Personally I cannot fathom a foreign base on US soil. It would bother me.  It seems to me that the US has every right to be dynamically engaged in trade and global commerce, and the exchange of ideas, however a far cry to say that we are "Isolationists" as Bush's rhetoric suggests if we do not militarily dominate by force.   We as American Citizens must have a foreign policy that represents "We the People" and not some elite corporate interests buying and controlling our elected officials.  
      I believe America Desperately needs a third political party and one that actually represents the people. We haven't had that in a while.   Until we see SERIOUS Lobbying and Campaign reform I think we are going to see more of the same Den of Thieves that I feel Congress has become. 
      My hope is that I encourage others to become more involved, I feel this country is headed for Hell in a Hand Basket if  we continue to sleep as an electorate accepting the poor level of representation we have. Both parties play one camp against the other and they are not in the business of "Public Service" but of "Self Service". 
      If I played the "political divide and conquer" game they want you and I to play, I would likely do what most people do... weight the two candidates, and pick the "Lesser of the Evils".  I don't see it that way any more.  In the last election, the question was "Do I Like The Direction The Incumbent is Leading?" If the answer is NO well..... the vote is cast - "You're Out!"   
     That had this former republican voting for the first time for a Democrat.  I don't care if the opposition was a Pink Hyena, there was no way in Hell I was going to apply "Positive Feedback" towards the Bush Administration which I believe is by far the biggest "Threat to National Security" this country faces at the present time.
      This November, if you are not happy with the course of your representative let that be sufficient reason to vote for someone else, let them try, vote them out in two years if they don't do a good job. That's the ONLY way we are going to see change that represents the people.  We can't be "Democrats" and "Republicans"  that's one of the ways things got so screwed up and "We the People" became irrelevant and marginalized while the special interests took over. 
       Find your voice in this matter.  Silence is deadly for Democracy.  Fight for Your version of America. By not fighting we have gotten "Their" version...... and I don't know about you, but I don't like "Their" version At All!

     Sincerely,
     Lacy Thompson, Jr.

See Also Making Sense Out of Nonsense

PS: I know of nothing more critical to restoring the primacy of the Constitution and returning the power to "We the People" than actively supporting and electing Ron Paul as President in 2008. Get involved. Find a Meetup Group in your area. Please register to vote in the Primary

Return to LT Sound