“First they came for the communists,” he wrote, “and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

Mr. Niemoller wrote his poem decades ago. It might read like this today:

First they declared corporations were “people,” and I didn’t complain because I’m already a person.

Then they made unlimited money “speech,” and I didn’t complain because the American Dream says I’ll be rich someday, too.

Then they commandeered the means of production by shipping our greatest strength – manufacturing – overseas, because they don’t have bothersome unions over there, and I didn’t complain because WalMart has cheap stuff.

Then they bought Congress so they could write the laws, and I didn’t complain because I can’t be bothered to vote.

Then they bought the Supreme Court so they could cement their rule, and I didn’t complain because I don’t have time to pay attention.

Then they bought the news so they could convince everyone it’s always been this way, and I didn’t complain because it’s always been this way.

Then they manhandled an election and I didn’t complain because I’m not from Florida.

Then they lied us into wars and I didn’t complain because I’m not a soldier, or an Iraqi, or an Afghani.

Then millions died for profit and I didn’t complain because the graphics on the news were totally awesome.

Then they started locking people up because they said they could and I didn’t complain because nobody locked me up.

Then they started spying on everyone because they said they could and I didn’t complain because I’m a real American.

Then they came for the worker, but thanks to supply-side trickle-down economics, I don’t have a job.- William Rivers Pitt

Hopefully this resonates with the Obama re-election cognoscenti…

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2011

The following was sent to me by someone in Madison, Wisconsin, who found it in the Capitol building last week. It was obviously written in a hurry, and it carries the label “first draft.”

It’s emerging from the heartland – from Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, and Iowa — and it is spreading across the nation. It doesn’t have a formal organization or Washington lobbyists beyond it, but it’s gaining strength nonetheless. Like the Tea Party did with Republicans in 2010, the People’s Party will pressure Democrats in primaries and general elections leading up to 2012 and beyond to have the courage of the party’s core convictions. But unlike the Tea Party, which has been coopted by the super-rich, the People’s Party represents the needs and aspirations of America’s vast working middle class, along with the less fortunate.

The People’s Party is dedicated to the truth that America is a rich nation – richer by far than any other, richer than it’s ever been. The People’s Party rejects the claims of plutocrats who want us to believe we can no longer afford to live decently – who are cutting the wages and benefits of most people, attacking unions, and squeezing public budgets. The People’s Party will not allow them to turn us against one another – unionized against non-unionized, public employee against private employee, immigrant against native born. Nor will the People’s Party allow the privileged and powerful to distract us from the explosive concentration of income and wealth at the top, the decline in taxes paid by the top, and their increasing and untrammeled political power.

We have joined together to reverse these trends and to promote a working people’s bill of rights. We are committed to:

1. Increasing the pay and bargaining power of average working people. We’ll stop efforts to destroy unions and collective bargaining rights. Protect workers who try to form unions from being fired. Make it easier for workers to form unions through simple up-or-down votes at the workplace.

2. Requiring America’s super-rich to pay their fair share. Increase top marginal tax rates and the number of tax brackets at the top. Treat income from capital gains the same as ordinary income. Restore the estate tax. Revoke the citizenship of anyone found to be sheltering income abroad.

3. Protecting and expanding government programs vital to the working middle class and the poor. These include Social Security, K-12 education, Pell Grants for disadvantaged students, public transportation, Medicare and Medicaid, and the Earned Income Tax Credit.

4. Ending corporate welfare and cutting military outlays. Trim defense spending. End special tax subsidies for specific corporations or industries – at both state and federal levels. Cut agricultural subsidies.

5. Saving Social Security while making it more progressive. Exempt the first $20,000 of income from Social Security taxes. Make up the difference – and any need for additional Social Security revenues – by raising the ceiling on income subject to the Social Security payroll tax.

6. Ending Wall Street’s dominance of the economy and preventing any future taxpayer-funded bailout. Break up Wall Street’s largest banks and put a cap their size. Link pay on the Street to long-term profits rather than short-term speculation. Subject all financial transactions to a one-tenth of one percent transactions tax.

7. Fully enforcing regulations that protect workers, consumers, small investors, and the environment. Raise penalties on corporations that violate them. Expand enforcement staffs. Provide more private rights of action.

8. Providing affordable health care to all Americans. The new health law isn’t enough. We’ll fight for a single payer – making Medicare available to all. End fee-for-service and create “accountable-care” organizations that focus on healthy outcomes.

9. Slowing and eventually reversing climate change. We’ll fight to limit carbon emissions. Impose a ceiling on emissions or a carbon tax on polluters. Return the revenues from these to the American people, in the form of tax cuts for the working middle class.

10. Getting big money out of politics. We’ll fight to appoint Supreme Court justices who will overrule Citizens United v. FEC. Require full disclosure of all contributions for or against any candidate. Provide full public financing for all presidential, gubernatorial, and legislative candidates in all general elections.

A few of the places it’s happening:

Madison (ongoing).
Des Moines (ongoing).
March 10: Indianapolis. Gather at 10am and rally at 11:30am at Statehouse, 200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis. Rallies will continue at the capitol until the impasse is over.
March 11: St. Louis. Downtown at 3:30 pm at Kiener Plaza. SB 1 is expected to be voted on in the Senate the week of 3/7 or 3/14.
April 4: In cities across America. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – Demonstrations to show that “We Are One.”

Governor Walker’s Coup D’Etat

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011

Governor Scott Walker and his Wisconsin senate Republicans have laid bare the motives for their coup d’etat. By severing the financial part of the bill (which couldn’t be passed without absent Democrats) from the part eliminating the collective bargaining rights of public employees (which could be), and then doing the latter, Wisconsin Republicans have made it crystal clear that their goal has had nothing whatever to do with the state budget. It’s been to bust the unions.

That’s no surprise to most people who have watched this conflict from the start, but like any coup its ultimate outcome will depend on the public. If most citizens of Wisconsin are now convinced that Walker and his cohorts are extremists willing to go to any lengths for their big-business patrons (including the billionaire Koch brothers), those citizens will recall enough Republican senators to right this wrong.

But it’s critically important at this stage that Walker’s opponents maintain the self-discipline they have shown until this critical point. Walker would like nothing better than disorder to break out in Madison. Like the leader of any coup d’etat, he wants to show the public his strong-arm methods are made necessary by adversaries whose behavior can be characterized on the media as even more extreme.

Be measured. Stay cool. Know that we are a nation of laws, and those laws will prevail. The People’s Party is growing across America — and the actions of Scott Walker and his Republican colleagues are giving it even greater momentum. So are the actions of congressional Republicans who are using the threat of a government shutdown to strong-arm their way in Washington.

The American public may be divided over many things but we stand united behind our democratic process and the rule of law. And we reject coups in whatever form they occur.

http://robertreich.org

http://www.truth-out.org/how-koch-industries-makes-billions-by-demanding-bailouts-and-taxpayer-subsidies-part-168141

http://www.truth-out.org/how-koch-industries-makes-billions-corrupting-government-and-polluting-free-part-268162

Daunting, yes? But all is not lost as nothing is lost in the infinite calculations of the universe. It’s an opportunity. Knowledge is power. Empower yourself and get involved.

peace

You ain’t gonna like it…

Today, unions encompass around 7-9% of the work force. Their numbers have been decimated, and what remains of the membership have given away all that has been fought for and hard earned by their fathers and mothers in organized labor. 9%….

Meanwhile, the wealthiest Americans have gone from 80-90% tax rate, to 36-38%, and the imbalance of wealth has been skewed. They now take 24-28% of the wealth out of the economy on an annual basis.

It is not the unions creating the problems.

I did the math on the extended Bush tax cuts a few months ago. A person with a million dollar income will see $70,000 in additional income as a result of the cuts. The average working man making $30-35,000? About $24.00 per week. he might be lucky enough to fill up his pickup truck once a month as a result of his tax cut.

Bush spent this economy into the ground through de-regulation of the oil, and financial industries (including insurance), and two wars that we cannot afford to be involved in. The middle and lower classes have footed the bill for 10 years as their jobs continued to disappear.

Wake up, America!

However, we here in Europe regularly go through those periods and have been able to put it in a more broader perspective.

In my country the oil crisis of 1973 caused high unemployment.

In 1980 there was a serious worldwide economic crisis.
1983/1984 huge unemployment in my country, many people had to depend on charity of churches and private institutions.

Solutions: reduction in working hours, people could get pensioned earlier en the latest solution which has been established especially by the women in my country:

part-time work

Because of the fact that many women and also many men in my country agreed to work part-time we do not have such a high unemployment anymore.

And believe me it is crisis now in Europe as well.

These are just a few solutions. Many people try to start their own company.
It is difficult but not impossible.

The Internet is a large source of finding new ideas.
You just have to do a little searching.

Here is a website that informs you about how to do just about anything:

http://www.ehow.com/

I do feel with you but I believe that with a little perseverance and optimism a lot can be accomplished by many people themselves.

Well, hope this helps a little bit.

With my best wishes, Mieke

It is an action to get a reaction.

Action – reaction

So this was my reaction to the action.

Have a great day!

“”Before anyone would comment on the above they better do a rorschach test online themselves:

http://theinkblot.com/

I did and I have nothing to fear.

People get the president and the government they deserve.””
===============

Who asked ya? 🙂

Did I omit that there ARE people who fall into the 5% who actually understand what to do with their money? Yes! Because I am addressing those who do not within the 5%. The wealthiest people in our community contribute mightily to our schools for sports, and the arts, and other after-school programs. They need no acknowledgement, other than to say thank you when the opportunity arises.

Strangely enough, the county our community is in has more millionaires, per capita, than any other county in our state, except for one. Now, one would think that the example set by the aforementioned would give the other wealthy a reason to pause, and consider their responsibility. But it isn’t happening, and they have a need to be taken to the woodshed. 🙂

It is not a matter of liking your videos, or not liking them. I really don’t peruse you tube all that much. So there. 🙂

When I was an outsider, living in Germany, nothing I experienced was comprehensible. The language barrier was only transcended by greenback dollar bills. 🙂

WooF!!

“”Before anyone would comment on the above they better do a rorschach test online themselves:

http://theinkblot.com/

I did and I have nothing to fear.

People get the president and the government they deserve.””

You are judging a certain group of people.

They have done a lot of good for your country also.

I only wanted to tell you, that for an outsider like me, living in another country, this is not comprehensible.

And no it does not matter to me whether you like my videos or not.

What matters to me is that one can never judge another person and one can never judge someone else.

By doing so one always judges oneself.

It never really mattered to me one way or the other whether the host read what is written here.

I did read him respond to one poster on his old site. A real piece of shit by the name of, Harmen. I always found that strange.

With regard to his top 5% standing, I’m pretty certain he gives away quite a bit of it. Doesn’t matter to me one bit if it’s in India, lifting up the less fortunate there.

Is that another issue for you? 🙂

Now that is reality. And he certainly belongs to that top 5% in your country that owns all the money and knows the legislative ways to get more and more!

He laughs his heart out at all the pity comments we all are writing here.

In the meantime he earns tons of money from the selling of his books etc.

Ever looked at that in this light?

He will not allow his grandkids to comment on his sites and neither will his daughter and his son!!!

Do not judge so easily on others before having a good look into your own heart!

Love always from Mieke

Facebook is lagging behind with regard to fulfilling their potential, and will continue to do so because of their unwillingness to honor their subscribers privacy. The site could be so much more if they chose otherwise. Why they constantly make the choice to serve their subscribers best interests is reason to question the motive. It’s interesting that the decision attracted the likes of Goldman-Sachs.

The prez and his wife may indeed be on Facebook (I’m certain they do not interact on it, they have a page), but their children are not. Tells me all I need to know about the site.

Just me combining it all in a realistic way, in a most positive way. 🙂

“technological networking” as Kainai mentions 🙂

At the same time it seems worth to invest lots of money in it which will return in lots of money.

Maybe it is a win-win situation for President Obama who really does listen a lot to what his fellow americans have to say.

Well, just me combining it all in a positive way 🙂

It appears Goldman-Sachs has invested in Facebook, to the tune of 450 million, with an eye toward attracting 1.5 billion more from investors. I’m glad I made the choice to leave Facebook about a year ago.

Kainai

Nice post. I’ll be writing my new congressional representative this morning as a result of reading it.
Thanks.

I sense if he is reelected in ’12, that he’ll have a lot more room to move with regard to the direction the country needs to move in. The Republicans are sure handling their end with these ridiculous proposals they are flying all over the place.

The American people are slow to awaken, but when they do….

🙂

I’m so happy your advice is free!! 🙂

I did a beautiful project with an Egyptian farmer to find out that in heart we are all the same.

Watch the progress in Egypt and perhaps this can be a trigger to start something in your own part of the world!

You Have More Money in Your Wallet Than Bank of America Pays in Federal Taxes

Saturday 26 February 2011

by: Zaid Jilani

http://www.truth-out.org/you-have-more-money-your-wallet-than-bank-america-pays-federal-taxes68094

I completely understand how important it is to be a peaceful and loving person. For me, this is the inward stroke of meditation. But if the budget proposals coming forth from conservative state administrations are allowed to wind their way through the legislative processes, too many people will be hurt by these illusions of “shared sacrifice.” These budget proposals are being foisted on the American people as some sort of “moral document” with its tax increases on low- and middle-income wage earners, and its tax cuts for the wealthy. In a lot of states the working poor would lose their earned income tax credit, thrusting more children into poverty. The elderly would see their pensions taxed, putting many at the margins of society. I could go on about the budget proposals masquerading as the “New Deal”, or “Fair Deal”, but I’ll simply say they are a “Raw Deal” for Americans who aren’t in the top 5% of wage earners.

The outward stroke of meditation would be people rising up against these moral injustices, with the best interests of their fellow man at heart.

Infinite organizing power…..

Dr. Chopra has always said that the monies needed for an endeavor will come from wherever it is at that time. Which is more in line with Reich’s article above.

The word ‘currency’ come from the french meaning “to flow.” We may be a rich country, but the flow has been shut down. It is stagnant. Which is what the article is explaining.

The writing is exactly where it needs to be. 🙂

Deepak has always promoted that money should flow from where it comes from and it will turn back to its source, always.

Abundance he calls this.

This to me always means that the rich get richer because they are in the position to let money flow and so it will always come back to them.

The United States of America are still rich in every way you can imagine.

Only thing is they are no longer the ONLY prominent player in the field.

When everyone in your country realizes that, maybe some more useful cooperation between the parties is possible.

The Republican Shakedown

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

You can’t fight something with nothing. But as long as Democrats refuse to talk about the almost unprecedented buildup of income, wealth, and power at the top – and the refusal of the super-rich to pay their fair share of the nation’s bills – Republicans will convince people it’s all about government and unions.

Republicans claim to have a mandate from voters for the showdowns and shutdowns they’re launching. Governors say they’re not against unions but voters have told them to cut costs, and unions are in the way. House Republicans say they’re not seeking a government shutdown but standing on principle. “Republicans’ goal is to cut spending and reduce the size of government,” says House leader John Boehner, “not to shut it down.” But if a shutdown is necessary to achieve the goal, so be it.

The Republican message is bloated government is responsible for the lousy economy that most people continue to experience. Cut the bloat and jobs and wages will return.

Nothing could be further from the truth, but for some reason Obama and the Democrats aren’t responding with the truth. Their response is: We agree but you’re going too far. Government employees should give up some more wages and benefits but don’t take away their bargaining rights. Private-sector unionized workers should make more concessions but don’t bust the unions. Non-defense discretionary spending should be cut but don’t cut so much.

In the face of showdowns and shutdowns, the “you’re right but you’re going too far” response doesn’t hack it. If Republicans are correct on principle, they’re more likely to be seen as taking a strong principled stand than as going “too far.” If they’re basically correct that the problem is too much government spending why not go as far as possible to cut the bloat?

The truth that Obama and Democrats must tell is government spending has absolutely nothing to do with high unemployment, declining wages, falling home prices, and all the other horribles that continue to haunt most Americans.

Indeed, too little spending will prolong the horribles for years more because there’s not enough demand in the economy without it.

The truth is that while the proximate cause of America’s economic plunge was Wall Street’s excesses leading up to the crash of 2008, its underlying cause — and the reason the economy continues to be lousy for most Americans — is so much income and wealth have been going to the very top that the vast majority no longer has the purchasing power to lift the economy out of its doldrums. American’s aren’t buying cars (they bought 17 million new cars in 2005, just 12 million last year). They’re not buying homes (7.5 million in 2005, 4.6 million last year). They’re not going to the malls (high-end retailers are booming but Wal-Mart’s sales are down).

Only the richest 5 percent of Americans are back in the stores because their stock portfolios have soared. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has doubled from its crisis low. Wall Street pay is up to record levels. Total compensation and benefits at the 25 major Wall St firms had been $130 billion in 2007, before the crash; now it’s close to $140 billion.

But a strong recovery can’t be built on the purchases of the richest 5 percent.

The truth is if the super-rich paid their fair share of taxes, government wouldn’t be broke. If Governor Scott Walker hadn’t handed out tax breaks to corporations and the well-off, Wisconsin wouldn’t be in a budget crisis. If Washington hadn’t extended the Bush tax cuts for the rich, eviscerated the estate tax, and created loopholes for private-equity and hedge-fund managers, the federal budget wouldn’t look nearly as bad.

And if America had higher marginal tax rates and more tax brackets at the top – for those raking in $1 million, $5 million, $15 million a year – the budget would look even better. We wouldn’t be firing teachers or slashing Medicaid or hurting the most vulnerable members of our society. We wouldn’t be in a tizzy over Social Security. We’d slow the rise in healthcare costs but we wouldn’t cut Medicare. We’d cut defense spending and lop off subsidies to giant agribusinesses but we wouldn’t view the government as our national nemesis.

The final truth is as income and wealth have risen to the top, so has political power. The reason all of this is proving so difficult to get across is the super-rich, such as the Koch brothers, have been using their billions to corrupt politics, hoodwink the public, and enlarge and entrench their outsized fortunes. They’re bankrolling Republicans who are mounting showdowns and threatening shutdowns, and who want the public to believe government spending is the problem.

They are behind the Republican shakedown.

These are the truths that Democrats must start telling, and soon. Otherwise the Republican shakedown may well succeed.

http://robertreich.org/

http://theinkblot.com/

I did and I have nothing to fear.

People get the president and the government they deserve.