Bill Moyers has done some great essays on money in politics corruption in his time, but this might be his finest work to date.
About Mansur Gidfar
Outraged Bill Moyers Exposes The System For What It Is
Bill Moyers has done some great essays on money in politics corruption in his time, but this might be his finest work to date.
Dear Mr. Moyer,
I agree with you whole-heartedly, but before I bring this discussion to my bridge club (made up of many conservatives who believe every word heard on Fox news) I need more than our passion. Would you please post a list of facts/ names etc – maybe just a Ven diagram – that shows the corruption on both sides of the aisle. Thank you.
http://maplight.org/
They’ve got lots of charts and graphs for you to borrow. Peruse through publicly available donation data, and correlate it to voting. Pick a bill your friends wouldn’t like, and note for them that it passed because of the crapton of money supporting it; list out the names of the top GOP *and* Democrats who took money. Print out a list of them to hand out; note that there’s lots of red and lots of blue on that list. (I suggest in your case picking bills with a bit more Red than Blue; someone with mostly liberal friends would do the opposite.) Now do that several times so they see a pattern. Now point out that’s just the money we know about; a huge amount we can’t even know about in the current environment.
When you’ve gotten them shaken from their “Redness is next to Godliness” happy place, give them a copy of this: http://republic.lessig.org/
Every US citizen *needs* to read it to understand how our country works today.
Please don’t fall into that same tired old trap-Dem. vs. Rep. There is NO between those two puppet parties anymore, in terms of lesser degrees of corruptness. That is exactly where they want us to divide and waste our energy. It is time to unite as the 99%…”united we stand” and all that jazz.
I don’t disagree. But Beth was asking for advise on how to convince her Fox News GOP friends. Highlighting Republican instances therefore helps. If she were asking about mostly Democrat friends I’d say the same thing the other way.
The problem is the system. The system needs to be fixed, before it can be purged.
Did you ask other kids to do your homework in school as well? It’s up to you to make the effort to educate yourself. Take a course in logic so you can spot the flaws in people’s arguments. Start reading. Subscribe to some online journals.
He’s not going to do that….and you know it.
Beth,
If you want these people to stay your friends, don’t try to change their minds. No fact will change the mind of a fox news cultist. No information, no internet link.
Death changes more minds than reason ever will. (was that Franklin?, lets say Ben said that)
Maybe Beth Ramos you should be playing less bridge and pay more attention to what is really happening in and to this country. Ignorance is not an excuse anymore. All you need to do is to look at the real news on the internet and you will get more information than you can absorb. Asking to be spoon fed information on all the atrocities our government is doing is ridiculous. You might just start deprograming yourself first by coming to terms with and realizing that in truth we do not have a two party system, it’s an illusion to keep us (the people) divided. Ah, that’s a concept you’re not familiar with right? As for your “conservative” friends, maybe you need a new group of friends who are neither right or left, conservative or liberal but, are people who think.
Most conservatives I know are quite aware that both parties are the same, corrupt. They have fought to keep us all divided so we won’t unite against the real enemy, corruption. Until some of the commenters realize this and stop with the “tea bagger” stuff they’ve been fed, we’ll remain divided. Let’s start working on what unites us, not what divides us.
What you seem to not realize is that the tea party was started by and has been funded by the corrupt billionaires. If people don’t stand with billionaires, then they should also not stand with the “tea party.” In addition, the two parties are not alike. The democrats have a majority of legislators who write and support bills designed to help lower and middle income people. On the other hand, tea party legislators stand with billionaires, chronically and in a knee jerk fashion, support the energy companies, the war profiteers, pharmaceuticals, the health care and insurance corporations. The Koch brothers and a few other billionaires are writing legislation which their puppets fight for in congress and in the governorships of our states. This really needs to be appreciated as far as the damage that it has already caused to this nation, economically, morally and in the general destruction of the democratic process of this country.
Are you serious in what you are saying here, or just promoting this line of thinking? The majority of tea parties are little local groups run by conservative citizens who never heard of the Koch Bros. till the Left started screaming about them. They sure are not getting money or talking points from them. And to say that democrats are for the little people and not with big business? You have got to be kidding me. Ever heard of….Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, George Soros, Rockefellers, the majority of foundations, 90% of Hollywood, on and on and on and on.
Until you are willing to get real and admit that corruption (and big money) is heavy in both parties, there will never be a real solution or real discussion. And that’s just how they want it.
Those little people who are involved in the “Tea Party” would be without a voice if it were not for the billionaires who fund the tea party agenda and in fact, the real agenda that they are promoting has only to do with their ambition for wealth. They only use your little people’s ignorance, to get what they want. I don’t agree with allowing people to get so wealthy that they can control the political agenda. To compare Soros, Rockefellers and Gates to the Koch brothers and right wing billionaires, is like comparing Al Capone to Mother Teresa. Soros, Gates and Rockefellers contribute to democracy and it’s intended practice, that is to allow people the freedom to vote and they promote economic progress for everyone, whereas the policies that the Koch brothers and other right wing billionaires do everything possible to prevent a democratic process, like limiting the vote, sending jobs out of the country and keeping wages low. If tea party people are not aware of these differences, then there ignorance is going to cause them to vote against their own interest. Better spend your time informing these ignorance tea party victims of how they are hurting themselves instead of trying to convince me, a person who is informed, of how alike Soros and the Koch brothers are.
“Soros, Gates and Rockefellers contribute to democracy and it’s intended practice” Oh, yeah….true saints they are. Not a selfish bone in their bodies.
You are either a “plant” or one of the most naive people I’ve ever come across. I can only hope most people have more of an open mind and a willingness to see reality than you do. However, it is amusing for me to picture Soros as Mother Teresa, so I thank you for that.
You needn’t thank me. Better you realize how deluded you are and apparently happy with that.
Just one of many examples. I guess the Bank of England was deluded, too:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Wednesday
The flaw in your thinking is that you are trying to use a specific case to make a general point. You fail in thinking like that. Let me give you an analogy. There are people who set fires and people who put them out. On occasion, a person designated to put out a fire, gets into setting them. That doesn’t make all of the firemen fire setters. Soros is not spending money to deny science. He is not spending money to put people out of work and to lower wages. The Koch brothers, on the other hand, are. Like I said earlier, which you likely already forgot, I don’t approve of allowing people to become extremely wealthy, when the fact is, that their wealth is only possible because of the system of governing that permits people to have access to resources. Without that system, no one could succeed. When we allow people to get so wealthy, they can then begin to control the system and some wealthy people have done that to our disadvantage. Those people need to be called out. We need to address that problem. We don’t need to indict both parties, especially when one of them is trying to put out fires. George Soros’s actions have nothing to do with what most democrats are trying to do to restore a system that works for average Americans.
I’m sorry, but I totally disagree. Until you are realistic enough to admit that Democrats are every bit as corrupt as Republicans (which is very easily proven), we’ll never be able to beat the corruption. You seem to favor socialism, yet fail to see how easily it would be corrupted, just as crony capitalism is. At least capitalism is a free system (when it’s not corrupt). Corruption is the enemy of us all, and if you refuse to recognize it except where you want to, it will never be dealt with.
I don’t admit to things that are not true. You have to seriously ignore a massive amount of facts to come to what you have concluded. So, I guess you will go on to act against your own interest.
Marxists set fires. Occasionally to building. Occasionally to people.
“You are either a “plant” or one of the most naive people I’ve ever come across.”
Oh the irony of that statement.
So, Paul, you don’t see anything odd about claiming that the Right is all corrupt and the Left is all good and true? How could that be more unrealistic? Even the Left leaning media have reported some pretty blatant lies and manipulations from Democrats in the last few years, yet I am told here that no corruption exists within the Democratic Party? They are all good and well meaning? And I am a fool for believing otherwise?
Undoubtedly there is corruption in both parties, but the GOP and the “Tea Party” are definitely funded, and directed (indirectly, if you want to think so) by the oligarchs who wish to rule and get even richer on the backs of the former middle class of all America. We all need to READ and educate ourselves and continue to call out where the corruption occurs. Apparently even the Supreme Court of the land is okay with the rich buying our “democracy”.
And if you don’t realize, by paying attention, instead of just making generalized statements, that many democrats are doing very good things, introducing bills which if passed, will help people and the ones who are blocking these bills are the republicans. That is obvious if you are actually watching. What party is trying to block people from voting? Who is running ads to promote climate science denial? If you don’t honestly answer these questions, then you are missing the point.
Sadly the American Media and American journalists have completely abandoned their responsibility to inform the public. Where are the exposes ? The investigations ? The truth ? The Facts !!
Television provides hours of political discussions every week – yet no one talks about the elephant in the room, that all of the politicians have been bought and paid for. No one will stand up and tell it like it is.
Because all the media has been bought and paid for, as well. The private trillionaire owners and corporations behind the federal reserve control the politicians AND the media. The elephant in the room that you speak of IS the FEDERAL RESERVE.
I keep thinking…Surely We the American people will wake up and start holding our elected representatives responsible for their actions.
Unless they are caught out doing something so completely illegal it can’t be ignored, they are never taken to task for representing Big Corporations and following the instructions received from Paid Lobbyist.
If just a small portion of the subsidies and unpaid taxes on money earned by Big Business and Oil Companies had been decently invested in Alternative Energy systems, we would not be in the Economic Hole that we are now. drowning in.
Have never been able to Place in my mind that “Our” government would give tax write offs and tax breaks to companies who close their factories and service offices in the US and move them to China and other nations.
If Companies want to do business in other countries, go ahead, but I don’t need to pay your way..
Is there still such a thing as Malfeasance in office ?
I mean..even though they seem to have been converted into “People”, Companies and Corporations are not “People” and just because ONE person owns a company or corporation and has an opinion on something, they are still ONE PERSON WITH ONE VOTE so this “Thing” of allowing companies and corporations to
FUND Political campaigns and run advertisement during campaigns is wrong.
Back to the Malfeasance in office…if Congress people continually vote to steal from the people they are supposed to be representing in favor of above said companies and corporations…..exempting them from the same taxes, taxation laws.that they impose on individuals and families…..where is our legal system …sitting on its haunches, not taking them to task for
Discrimination in applying tax laws….
A Family is exists in an architecture similar to a company or even a corporation,
yet a family can’t write off purchase of a home
can’t write off transportation to work every day to produce income
entertain a friend for dinner out and write it off to good will
child care necessary so you can work? bet big business has a way to “write” it off
New car….depreciate it right off, trade it in and start over..if you are a Business
Electricity to cook, heat and cool the house? well I’m sure companies and corporations have this in the “business expense tax write off column
You get the Idea. .
Hmm, maybe I have something here.
Discrimination…Congress has set up an illegal biased taxation system that Discriminates against Individuals and favors Companies and Corporations.
Where are you American Civil Liberties Union?
It’s simple. Shutdown the Federal Reserve. Our government can print its own money interest free and doesn’t need to borrow it from a private bank such as the Federal Reserve. Take their power away as they control the government. Our Federal income tax goes to pay the interest on the national debt. This also needs to end.
Congress is the problem, not the nation’s bank. Congress has all the authority it needs to control the FED. It is congress that protects the lobbyists, Wall St, Multi-national corporations and all those tax loopholes. It is Congress that is a wholly owned subsidiary of these multi-national corporations. Wake up and stop being ignorant.The people who control congress also control our media and they’re laughing all the way to the bank you useful idiots who keep pointing in the wrong direction.You’re doing exactly what the criminals want.
The “nation’s bank” IS the corporations. THEY own the Federal Reserve. Congress is a puppet. The Federal Reserve is privately owned by trillionaires and corporations. Take the money making power away from them and you take away their power and stronghold over the government. The US government can create its own currency without the use of the privately owned Federal Reserve.
You need Congress to do these things. But shutting down the FED would still not address massive tax breaks for hedge fund managers and corporate America. You really don’t get it, do you?
Never mind, I already know the answer.
Just asking: you DO realize that the Federal Reserve is not a government agency, right?
It is NOT a wholly private organization. It is a public private government sponsored entity,
(that wouldn’t exist without Congress)
Congress has the authority to shutdown the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is as much a government agency as Federal Express. It is owned by private central bankers and huge corporations. They don’t shut it down because they are paid huge sums of money by the bankers behind the Federal Reserve which is why these huge corporations are granted these huge tax breaks and bailouts from congress. We as people need to pool together and demand the shutdown of the Federal Reserve. We do not need them since the US government has the authority to print it’s own money (gold/silver backed or fiat) without the ties to privately owned central banks and corporations. We will never be out of debt as long as the Federal Reserve exists. It’s mathematically impossible. It’s just that simple.
I’m sorry. You are just not correct about this.
That tells us absolutely nothing. Explain. How is this not correct. I think it explains it quite accurately and clearly.
Honestly, I’ve never read such uneducated comments as yours 😉
The fact remains it is still counterfeiting money. We have a lot of things we see going on that are counter to the fit of just weights and measures and FIAT currency is one of them. Same sex marriage is another.
Yes the Fed like its owner the United States, is a CORPORATION. That’s why the President chooses its (The FED) Director. Else the FED would simply choose its own.
The U.S. does not own the FED. Do you know the severely grim structure they occupy is a private building that pays real-estate tax? The FED does choose it’s directors, who are asked a few soft questions
at a Congressional love-in charade. Read about the top-secret conspiracy pulled off by bankers between
1908-13, convening at Jekyll Island to plot the swindle, sponsored by Nelson Aldrich, later a Rockefeller, who
engineered a vote two days before Christmas 1913, 3 senators voted for it. None against. Why? They were
at home with their families.
Shutting down the federal reserve would DIRECTLY address massive tax breaks to hedge fund managers and corporate America. Hedge fund managers and corporate America are the people behind the federal reserve and the ones who have the stronghold over congress. Shutting down the federal reserve will break the grasp they have on congress and then congress will no longer be under their power. Congress can begin again to do what the people of America want and not what the hedge fund managers and corporate America want. The tax breaks will stop! It is directly correlated.
If they shut down the Fed (which would stop QE), the markets would fall within days if not sooner, as QE is the only thing that’s keeping the market propped up. It’s hitting new highs every day because the whole $85 bln per month is devaluing the dollar, meaning more dollars actually being “earned” via the market.
With 45 million Americians currently on food stamps, what do you think happens to them when the money runs out? Imagine Black Friday, but for food, not stupid materialistic BS.
wow, really! they teach you that bullshit @ a university?! use your pc and get educated libtard 😉
conservatards aren’t the solution to libtards. the false left-right paradigm is the problem.
You sound like an uneducated troll, you judge? and berate people to try to argue a point.? you call yourself a conservative, assume you are christian, you sure don’t act it. It’s Christmas time. Why won’t you stop being so damn negative. He’s right about the Fed. The Fed is a huge part of the problem. The other part is Congress is bought, and so is the judicial.
Remove the privately owned non government federal reserve & there will be no need for QE’s. They want you to think everything will collapse, that’s how they fooled the public in 1913 when the federal reserve came into being. They are the ones who strategically orchestrated all the collapses since 1913. It will become more stable, not collapse.
Your comments are balanced, sane, logical, and correct. Your moniker shows you haven’t been brainwashed by the
thugs who engineered 9/11. 12 years after, they haven’t been brought to account. Keep plugging.
I’m curious, because I agree with what you say in your post about “the people who control congress also control our media”. I’m saying “the people” that you refer to are the private central bankers and huge corporations. They are the ones who pull the strings, control congress and media. Aren’t we saying the same things? These are the people who are printing more and more money out of thin air causing our dollar to lose more and more value. You said that “useless idiots are pointing in the wrong direction”. So what is the RIGHT direction if not the Federal Reserve?
You focus entirely on the Fed when really what we need is to do is build several hundred guillotines and process a couple of million robber barons, and some Tea Party types as well.
Richard, I realize that you are trying to lighten the mood with humor, so please do not take this the wrong way. You appear to be one that is aware; and I’m sure that you even have good intentions, but what you have posted here is of no value, nor is it in any way helpful to the cause. Maybe start thinking in terms of what you can contribute as part of the solution. Peace.
liberal tolerance? ok chairman. If someone is guilty of treason, execution is a just punishment. In America we have due process.
The SYSTEM is the problem.
Our western minds using reductionist thinking attempt to break the system down into the components and then blame the components without recognizing they all fit together into a whole. None of these parts exists in isolation.
It’s the whole system and each part is interrelated with every other part: Money, business, education, laws, elections, media, government, ecology, militarization, violence, domestic abuse, gangs, mass killings, etc.
The greatest influence on a system is the paradigm that drives it. Let’s face it, the current paradigm is driven by a belief in never ending growth and the pursuit of money.
Correct! So nip it in the bud! The “bud” being the federal reserve.
SMH. Missing the entire point of what he/she said. There is no “bud” to nip it in, dude. You need to expand your analysis of things. It’s not so cut and dry and you make it out to be.
Jaime.
You complicate it more than it needs to be. It needs to be cut and dry and you have to aim for the core foundation of the problem, that being the federal reserve. It is the root of everything that is being talked about, so remove it. Simple, cut and dry. The US government can issue its own currency with no interest.
You are incorrect the FED controls the money. Dec. 23 1913. Go watch “American Freedom to Fascism” Article 1 section 8 clause 5 and 6. Please educate yourself. Read G. Edward Griffin ” TheCreature from Jekyll Island”.
Congress abdicated its duty 100 years ago. Also ” The Money Masters”
“our” government is controlled by the same people that own the federal reserve so that’s not gonna happen …… not unless enough of the american people wake up and up rise ….. and even then …. it might not happen.
You are correct,the FED isn’t the problem and THAT’s why the Congress should GET RID of it, if it has the power you say it does. Only problem with that is,, the fear of finding a LOT of DEAD Congressman
If you believe Congress controls the FED you are absolutely deluded. Congress has no control over the FED, a consortium of private banks who create fiat money and credit at their whim . Then they charge interest to taxpayers on the fake money they print, All of this without audits, without transparency, without accountability. They have you by the short hairs, Mr. xboxershorts.
If congress has the power to order an audit of the FED, which they did, and have done. Then, yes, Congress has the power to rein in the FED. After all, the FED was created through an act of Congress.
Note that I never said that Congress controls the FED, so that assertion isn’t accurate. I did state that Congress has the authority. Which I firmly believe they do.
The problem, as I see it, is that Congress is beholden to big money so their willingness to rein in the FED, is not going to be there because Congress is in constant fundraising mode.
What on earth have you got against the Federal Reserve? It’s irrelevant to what Moyers is discussing.
Hello Ann.
It has Everything to do with what Moyers is so eloquently talking about. The corporations and banks he is talking about are the ones who are behind the Federal Reserve (which is NOT a government agency. The word “Federal” is misleading). When the Federal Reserve came into existence in 1913, it was these private bankers who were behind it. They would print the money (not backed by anything) and the US government would borrow it from them and WE pay the exuberant interest on it with our Federal Income Tax. The more money they print out of thin air, the more inflation increases and the more our national debt increases. They create the money, control congress and the media. This makes no sense because the US government has the authority to print it’s own currency, interest free! Shutdown the “Federal” Reserve and you take the power away from these banks and corporations Moyers is talking about and solve the whole problem. The US can print its own currency without the “Federal” Reserve. Watch documentaries about the Federal Reserve’s inception in 1913. It is the downfall of the United States.
The Federal Reserve is STILL owned by the 12 private member banks. The President gets to appoint the chair. But ownership is a different issue. And thus those who profit from our money supply are private corporations. This is not a wild conspiracy theory, it is how things were designed and set up top keep politics out of the money supply.
Hmmm, one would think that if the issue of the Federal Reserve has “everything” to do with what Mr. Moyers is talking about, then he would have at least mentioned it.
Not necessarily. Since the trillionaires and corporations behind the Federal Reserve also control the media and news, I doubt that Bill Moyers would have a job if he blatantly blurted out that the Federal Reserve is who he is talking about. Add it up. Everything he is talking about points directly to the Federal Reserve. If we can all get on the same page about that and agree that they are the core foundation of the problem, then we can work towards this one goal. Otherwise, we are spread too thin and will not be affective in anything.
LOL
Ann…..time to wake up……time for some coffee……
Ann, I hate to break it to you but your Federal Reserve is in on it at the highest level. Always follow the money trail. The Federal reserve is the cancer of America. This video tells of some $15 trillion (yes, with a “t”) of US dollars that the Fed. covertly transferred in 3 increments (also as reported in a French newspaper). Moreover, this has been confirmed by other retired US politicians than now fear for their lives, including retired senator Sheldon R. Songstad. I will post his YouTube interview next, where he tells about the same “money laundering scheme” by this most corrupt US govt. institution. I am sad to say that this is very real and so big most folks cannot handle the thought of it and others simply cannot begin to even wrap their minds around it:(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL5hqvTWkYg&feature=player_embedded#at=318
…correction: “congress backed private institution” rather than “US govt. institution” like I mistakenly stated above
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dK7-aVHnyc
Printing….ahhh, that is the problem. Paper currency is a curse.
and now so are bitcoins…look how the price for them also has sky rocketed..
That again is the problem Debra. What do people buy Bitcoins with? Either an electronic transaction or government sanctioned counterfeit “Fed Nots”, worth about .03 on the “dollar.”.
Huh, the Federal Reserve bank is the government entity that prints money but it isn’t actually printed, its just created electronically. But there is a cost to “printing our own money” and that is inflation. The more money chasing the same goods and services increases the price of those goods and services.
No, the cost for “printing our own money” in not inflation. Inflation is when the privately owned federal reserve puts more money into circulation that was printed out of thin air making the dollar lose value. Shutting down the federal reserve and printing our own currency backed by something and not created out of thin air on the computer screen will stabilize the dollar and eliminate the need to pay exuberant interest to the federal reserve.
Does anyone have a viable way to shut down the Federal Reserve? That is not a rhetorical question. Short of a major civil uprising/revolution, do you all really feel this can or will happen? Isn’t that what Ron Paul was calling for, about the time of the last presidential election, whereby he received little or no relative backing, as he led that charge? So then, other than the total global collapse of the Petro-Dollar (may be here soon, depending on who follows Iraq’s move of sheer testicular verilitude), which some say would immediately effect a 25% standard of living cut for all US citizens…how does ones go about shutting down the Federal Reserve exactly? Show me how to help shut them down at this point in our history and I’m all in.
Great Question. I, too, would like to know that. I would think, as a start, right off the bat, there would be a great need to get the majority of the general public behind the shutting down of the Federal Reserve. To do this, I think the general public needs to be made aware of and understand 4 key elements that I’m sure they do not know. I know these were the 4 things that made me aware of this and got me behind this movement.
They are:
1 – The Federal Reserve is a privately owned corporation and is not a government agency. “Federal” is misleading them into thinking it is the government.
2 – The government can issue its own currency without interest and does not need the Federal Reserve to do this.
3 – Federal Income Tax goes to pay the interest of the money borrowed from the Federal Reserve and does not go towards the services the government provides.
4 – The history of its inception in 1913 created by private central banks and billionaires and the unscrupulous tactics to get it signed in.
If the general public were at least made aware of these 4 things, it would get them to back up, get behind and support the movement to shut down the Federal Reserve. Now, back to your question: How does one go about to actually physically shut them down.
Anyone?
Well, as a start, I can cut and paste what you’ve written here on Facebook while it is still possible to do so. If just 10% of all Facebook users in our country did so, this being posted on those 18 million (+-) Facebook “walls” would certainly increase the level or awareness in our country.
Yes, by all means do so. Add anything you think would make it better or more clear and direct. I like your quip “Federal Reserve : The Cancer of America”. That is a powerful statement.
Also, something that was very affective in opening my eyes was the comparison “Federal Reserve : Federal Express”, neither is a government agency.
Jackson, Lincoln, and Kennedy defied private central banks, threatening to resort to their constitutionally guaranteed right
to print debt-free currency. Jackson was shot at without success. Lincoln and Kennedy were killed. By bankers?
I’m not certain, but these swindlers did benefit from Abe’s and JFK’s elimination. Americans, and most Europeans have been defrauded for centuries without raising protest because the manipulators of our economies are fiendishly clever. Part of the scheme is to institute systemic inflation so that everyone makes three times what his grandfather did, and sells his house for 3 or 4 times what he paid for it. The dumb sap thinks he’s brilliant to have engineered this coup when the fact is he’s on a treadmill, running in place forever. He’s deluded to believe he’s richer, and his offspring will jump into the same rat race until one day the debt swindle
will implode. Did I mention the hundreds of millions who have perished, victims of international banking cartels who get wealthier by
supporting the carnage of war by financing both sides for stupendous profits. These wars did not have to happen. Diplomacy, negotiation, and common sense could have stopped them. And so it goes.
21st Century Operating Systems
To my mind, our society’s cultural models have not evolved in a particularly intelligent manner. We still employ idiotic cultural practices that humankind mindlessly adopted some 4000 years ago. Much to my chagrin, we seem utterly incapable of diagnosing and upgrading those anachronistic and dysfunctional cultural practices to arrive at 21st Century operating systems for human society.
Our profoundly dysfunctional cultural models and practices have generated so much stress that DSM-5 is a catalog (shipping weight 3.4 lbs) of the myriad non-criminal maladaptive ways that humans maladjust, while the criminal code catalogs all the remaining intolerable maladaptive responses. And then, where governments cannot agree, we have stress-inducing political conflicts and bloody war.
We have 250 generations of Homo Schleppians who have been maladapting over the past 5000 years to an increasingly dysfunctional, erratic, and chaotic cultural model.
Isn’t it about time we woke up and upgraded Western Civilization to a 21st Century high-functioning model?
You should be someone else reading what you wrote.
I think you’d like the book “Ishmael” by Daniel Quinn. Check it out.
Thanks. I’m a big fan of Daniel Quinn, having read most of his books when they originally came out.
“Homo Schleppians”! Awesome characterization of economic slavery.
“Isn’t it about time we woke up and upgraded Western Civilization to a 21st Century high-functioning model?”
Yes, please!
The Federal Reserve is NOT a private bank–shut up and do a little research. Also, The Fed is not the problem, pay attention to congress
The US can print its own currency! Why borrow it from a corporation based in Delaware backed by central bank, trillionaires and corporations? THEY control congress. Do YOUR homework in regards to the Origin of the Federal Reserve. They control congress. They control the media. They create assassinations, orchestrate false flags like 9/11 and fake mass shootings like Sandy Hook. They have too much control and they need to be dismantled. It’s simple.
it IS private, you ignorant jackass.
why do you think we can never seem to audit it?
stop trying to spread your stupidity…
great argument, fathead
not meant to be an “argument”, moron.
it is well-known that the FED is privately held.
…refer to my response to Lorene Lavora
the fed. reserve is private,and has been from the start in 1913.
From http://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/about_14986.htm:
“The Federal Reserve System fulfills its public mission as an independent entity within government. It is not “owned” by anyone and is not a private, profit-making institution.
As the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve derives its authority from the Congress of the United States. It is considered an independent central bank because its monetary policy decisions do not have to be approved by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branches of government, it does not receive funding appropriated by the Congress, and the terms of the members of the Board of Governors span multiple presidential and congressional terms.
However, the Federal Reserve is subject to oversight by the Congress, which often reviews the Federal Reserve’s activities and can alter its responsibilities by statute. Therefore, the Federal Reserve can be more accurately described as “independent within the government” rather than “independent of government.”
The 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks, which were established by the Congress as the operating arms of the nation’s central banking system, are organized similarly to private corporations–possibly leading to some confusion about “ownership.” For example, the Reserve Banks issue shares of stock to member banks. However, owning Reserve Bank stock is quite different from owning stock in a private company. The Reserve Banks are not operated for profit, and ownership of a certain amount of stock is, by law, a condition of membership in the System. The stock may not be sold, traded, or pledged as security for a loan; dividends are, by law, 6 percent per year.”
Perhaps word “ownership” is beside the point, which is that the fed operates in the interest of the investor class, ignoring its mandate to achieve maximum employment, production, and purchasing power/
from their own website, so it must be true!!
jeezuz tap-dancing buddha you are dumb.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/20/news/economy/federal_reserve_profit/
“Each year after paying its own bills, the central bank hands its remaining earnings to the Treasury.”
…hmmm “paying its own bills”…
Below is the list of the owners of the 12 Central Banks:
– Rothschild Bank of London
– Rothschild Bank of Berlin
– Lazard Brothers of Paris
– Israel Moses Seif Banks of Italy
– Warburg Bank of Amsterdam
– Warburg Bank of Hamburg
– Lehman Brothers of New York
– Kuhn Loeb Bank of New York
– Goldman, Sachs of New York
– Chase Manhattan Bank of New York
In all, there are about 300 VERY POWERFUL, partly foreign individuals that owns the FED.
Although the FED is required to give back most of its PROFITS back to the Treasury Dept., there is NO ORGANIZATION that has the power to AUDIT the FED (not even the Congress or the IRS). This creates a HUGE opportunity for creative accounting to hide the profit that ROBS the US Tax Payers Hundreds of Billions of Dollars annually.
Every year, a few Congressmen introduce a legislation to AUDIT the FED; and every year, the legislation is defeated. The FED has the most powerful, invisible lobbying power there is.
The owners of the FED own the controlling interests in ALL major media in the US. Rockefeller, through Chase Manhattan bank, controls CBS and ABC and 28 other broadcasting firms. Each of the other owners of the FED also have controlling interest in the US media. This explain why the media have been silent about the FED scam. The FED fraud is the biggest and longest cover-up in the US today.
“. . . .you are dumb.”
Hey Old man — I stop reading the minute I see a personal attack.
your loss, Mr. Politically Correct.
btw, being politically correct isnt going to wake anyone up.
how has that worked out so far?
oh yeah, that’s a big factor in how things got this far gone…
just sayin’ – if you want folks to keep reading and hear your point, eliminate the personal attacks.
Then again, maybe you don’t have a point. Maybe you’re just venting.
u tube,republican theocracy,and pussywhiped satan,then jesus camp.
To xboxershorts:
“Congress is the problem, not the nation’s bank”- It’s not the nation’s bank, it’s private. Its board members have never been made public. And yes, in a sense congress is the problem because they don’t stand up to the fed. However, the 16th amendment that authorized the fed was passed under circumstances to begin with that were shady at best (it was Christmas Eve and most congressman were gone). People stopped paying attention to government like they should (as is always the case in history), which gave the fed the ability to be hidden in plain sight. The bank was and is owned by powerful banking cartels (who were fabulously wealthy to begin with), and who then turned on the printing presses and basically had an endless money supply to buy off the media, set the curriculum for government run schools (indoctrination centers), and thus control the information we all got, and thus control Congress, and thus control everything. Congressmen on average are bought and paid for puppets who are put in that position because they’re corrupt & compromised and will play ball. They are beholden to the ones who use central banking as an inroads to power. This is nothing new. There were central banks throughout the 1800’s that kept getting voted in and out of operation. One of Andrew Jackson’s last words were: “I killed the bank.” Watch Aaron Russo’s documentary: America: Freedom to Fascism on youtube.
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/59674
sorry for spamming but i dont know where to submit the story… i think itll rock everyone socks offf..
updated dec 5th!!!
FInally the opportunity for change as more proof
rises for obamas birth certificate being a forgery.
over 20 points discused over the forgery in a 3
hour interview. its spectacular!!!!!
Two affidavits were filed — theres laws that
if you know of treasonous acts you must disclose or go to jail, the said
documents were filed and may require a grand jury to convene to be able to
clear the man in question so he will not have to goto jail. its an amazing
loophole!
check it out. seems like an amazing
story!!!
Bonus is someone(hawaii health) named in the
documents died on the 12th.. plane crash only person to succumb to injuries…
very coincidental!!!
As soon as I checked this link, it was clear this is just another shill article written by a conservative from the Hate Obama camp, i.e., about that bi-racial lying Anti-Christ devil born in Kenya who has somehow single-handedly absconded with our country… this of course ignores the corporate takeover that has occurred over the past 50 years, under both Democratic and Republican regimes. The only socks this Canada Free article rocks are those of the mindless watchers of Faux News and Rachel Maddow (yes, libs and conservatives), along with glaze-eyed consumers of trash television.
While comments on this thread blame corporations, the Federal Reserve, Congress, Democrats, Republicans, Obama, Bush, or whomever, the other half of the equation is US… not as in United States, but us, the people. Those of us who fail to read, research, do our part as civic-minded citizens as the Founders envisioned. We are led by consumerism and petty dramas, even right here on Moyers’ forum, and have lost sight of the real issues. If WE want OUR country back, we have to find a way to stop being manipulated and polarized by the power brokers, we have to GROW UP, start voting with a sense of the big picture. A limit on Congressional terms, for one thing. I’m a believer in one single term…. there is no chance to build up a “treasure chest” for reelection, and the playing field is leveled, so there is no chance for Congressional seniority, power struggles for committee assignments, etc, etc. In other words, you go to Washington, do your public service duty and GO HOME. Of course, this is a fantasy that will never come to pass in our system. Legislative corruption has been around since 2000 BC, at least.
It is incorrect to include the federal reserve in your list of wrongful blame. If you want a building to fall then you must strike its core foundation and the building will crumble. The “core” in this case IS the privately owned non government agency FEDERAL RESERVE! They control the congress, media, presidents. Remove thus CORE entity and you deflate their power and restore the power back to congress, the president, the media and most important… US (not as in United States, but US, the people).
It’s going to get worse.
..eliminate the fed, the irs, and restore the Constitution along with real money.
Thank you bill. Please continue with your good and brave approach to journalism.
The world is not suppose to be a great place to live. It’s not heaven. You are doing enough if you conduct yourself honorably and attempt to relieve the suffering that is around you and try to discern truth as much as you can. You don’t need to be outraged by the inequities of the world.
I depend upon Bill Moyers to help to continue to keep my eyes open to the realities of the corporate and political shenanigans of my beloved USA.
Its the plutocratic anarchy that controls and operates the biggest conspiracy the human race has ever been a party to… So clearly its just “the Politicians Show” and its pure faux… And as Mark Twain once said “If our vote meant anything they wouldn’t let us do it”.
Awesome post Leslie Green!
Bill asked for suggestion and this is mine. This manual offers suggestions of what we CAN do-as in action, and not just lip service. It’s a free manual to download and pull together. Thanks! http://stormcloudsgathering.com/get-involved
Thanks for the link Forest. It’s a clear direction to take. A great plan of action. I suggest that the single centralized common goal needs to be shutting down the federal reserve. Everything else detracts from the core of the problem.
I bought all three books today that he suggested on the Storm Clouds Gather web site, as a manual to revolution. Can’t wait to read them! Now is the time to unify not argue about whose right or wrong. Doing so is counter-productive.
Relative to the shift taking place and the upcoming revolution: can we find common ground in these ideas?
1. No more wars of aggression.
2. No more militarized police force or the surveillance state that comes with it.
3. No more corrupt political/financial system
4. No attacking another person or group based on differences.
5. Achieve your goals using non-violent tactics.
It doesn’t do any good to argue about who is right or wrong or bash each other. Relative to the shift taking place and the upcoming revolution: can we find common ground in these ideas?
1. No more wars of aggression.
2. No more militarized police force or the surveillance state that comes with it.
3. No more corrupt political/financial system
4. No attacking another person or group based on differences.
5. Achieve your goals using non-violent tactics.
My computer wont put the take action page on top of the video. Hope I got into the “Take Action” database!
We are “so close to losing our democracy”? I love Bill Moyers but to say that makes it seem like we still have one. Plutocracy. period. And the event that earmarked the further dive to oblivion he would remember well: the murder of JFK by our own…In all due respect, turn up the level even further dear Bill and really tell it like it is. We need you now more than ever. Thanks for all you do.
Technically, by definition, we don’t and never did live in a democracy. Our system is democratic republic. United Kingdom has a democracy.
Wrong. We are not a democratic republic. We are a Republic, period. Saying we are a Democratic Republic is also like saying you are a fat skinny person. One form promotes liberty and individual freedom (Republic), and the other leads to tyranny and mob rule (Democracy).
Can you give one example in history of a democracy leading to tyranny and mob rule?
Here is a link that might help to explain. http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/archive/oldnews5/democracy.htm
Also, the founders had many quotes about the dangers of a democracy and why they formed a Republic. A constitutional republic.
A more modern example of democracy would be 4 home owners by each other, One of them finds an abundant source of water on his property. The other three vote to take his water. All four got to vote but the man with water on his land is out of luck. Hay it was a democratic decision, right? Now in a republic. The owner who found water on his property is protected by the constitution.
ANother form of democracy that would prove my point would be if a class decided to vote on taking some of the points from the straight A students and giving it to the lower performing students. Hey, everyone gets a vote and it was democratic, right? But what about the rights of those who worked hard and earned the A’s?
Good examples. We need to get back to that original concept. As it stands right now, it’s heading to a more fascist form of government. We can get it back on track, though, if we pool together.
I’ve been thinking about your example, with the students. If they put it to a vote, giving points from the A students to the ones who failed – would that really pass? The B students don’t have anything to gain – they’re not the ones getting the points, and they’re very close to being the A students next time around. At least some of the C students hope they can work harder and become A students in the future. And some of the C-F students recognize the inherent unfairness. Not everyone is motivated solely out of naked self-interest.
And to give an example that’s better representative of our current economic system: what if one student gets 120%, one gets 80%, three more get 67%, and everyone else in the class fails? Is adjusting the grading curve not reasonable? I had college professors who looked at the grades, decided the distribution was unfair, and redid the curve. Not to punish the kids who worked hard and finished at the top (who were still, after all, at the top), but to stop the kids who worked hard and finished in the middle from being unduly punished.
@3:16 he states “fight the modest reforms of Dodd-Frank” what is he kidding???? Not a word about buying votes with Hand-Out Slavery placed on the backs of Middle Class taxpayers, DOJ and Administration deliberately breaking Constitutional Law…and more. How about drug testing and sobriety testing for every elected official – prior to running for office and then monthly thereafter.
Rome didn’t fall in a day…..
The problem is “We the People,” we the ignorant, apathetic, irresponsible, violent, intolerant, hypocritical, compromised and corrupted people. Just as no car can perform as well as it’s designed if it doesn’t have a driver who can get the best out of it, so too our brilliantly designed system cannot perform p to its design specs if no one knows how or cares to use it. We need to get started on a solution by getting our collective heads out of our backsides and our backsides off the damn couch and into the streets. We need to demand campaign reform (including especially campaign finance reform) so that not one red cent of private money is ever involved in any campaign from dogcatcher in Crawford, TX, to POTUS. Then we need to create a critical mass of Elizabeth Warrens and Bernies Sanders to straighten out the mess.
You irresponsible, “blame somebody, anybody but me” people who think the problem is the system (Federal Reserve, Congress, or some vague “system”) aren’t looking for a solution. You’re part of the problem!
http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2013-12-06/dont-call-me-sir/
I see Bill’s point.. but its interesting how a canadian company gets the no-bid contract to build the ACA website, and an exec had ties to the FLOTUS. All of it is corrupt. Both sides.
Dear Mr. Moyers
In almost all you say here I agree, except the the statement “making change from within impossible” Change always starts from within. Within neighborhoods and small towns and city suburbs, that’s precisely where change begins. When consumers demand a products like organic fruits and vegetables it may take the corporations a while but the follow the market. When the public demands same sex marriages governments follow. Granted it seems like governtments and corporations drag their feet, down to their thighs but eventual they do follow. Remember what Margaret Mead said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”
I am working on a plan that will allow veterans to build eco-communities and in my research encountered Gremeen Bank among thousands of other organizations that are changing the way business is done.
I dont know how long it will take for Washington to remove their heads from their,,,the sand but eventually they will.
Ah, Conspiracy enthusiasts! What would we do without them? The internet and Facebook would never be the same. The “Fed” is the master villain on this platform, so what happened? I thought it was the Illuminati, or the Free Masons, or the Knights of Columbus and where do the Rothschilds and the Tri-Lateral Commission figure in? Perhaps it is really Adolf Hitler, still alive and controlling the world from his lair at the South Pole. A more recent suspect has been the Skull & Crossbones “secret society”, but some claim they only serve as the henchmen working for that Evil Genius, Goldfinger. YES, that’s the ticket! He has skillfully stolen all the gold from Fort Knox and now controls the nation through his stooges at The Fed.
911EvidencControlledDemolition [sic] You, my friend are an ignoramus and can’t even spell, or type, ‘evidence’.
I dropped the “e” to make it fit in the 30 character username limit. My spelling’s fine.
Now is there something constructive to say or is it just name calling or spelling corrections from you?
Offer another solution we can all get behind if you disagree with shutting down the federal reserve.
So, you seriously think that sneaking enough explosives into two giant buildings without any of the 10,000 people who worked there noticed, is a more likely explanation than the buildings falling because A) they were hit by jetliners, B) the jetliners exploded inside the buildings, and C) when they designed the towers, they took out important structural supports to make room for more office space, so they were pretty fragile compared to, say the steel-and-stone Empire State Building. I’m just checking to see if this is an actual thing you believe, and your username isn’t satire or something.
No, it is not satire.
And Yes, I believe the 3 WTC buildings (WTC 1, 2 AND 3) were brought down with explosives in a controlled demolition manner using the remotely controlled military planes as a camouflage for the onset of the demolitions.
And Yes, I believe the explosives were brought into the buildings over a period of months with almost no one noticing. “Elevator Renovations” were going on since the beginning of the year.
Oh yes, and then of course there is the law of physics.
Really? What law of physics says a thousand-degree jet fuel explosion won’t melt the superstructure of a poorly-designed building?
Also, remote-controlled military planes? Seriously? Even if there was a government conspiracy to destroy the WTC from within and use it as a justification to invade Afghanistan, then half-ass the invasion, then shift focus to Iraq, then half-ass that, why on earth would the evil masterminds behind this — already the most convoluted plan in the history of the world — invent remote control 747s, just so they could fly them into buildings that were already rigged to explode? Why not just detonate the charges inside the building and say Al Qaeda put a bomb there?
The problem with your idiot conspiracy theory is that no one would intentionally set out to do things the way you say they happened. If there were a false flag operation to destroy the WTC and blame Al Qaeda, they wouldn’t have slammed planes into the buildings and blown them up. They would have done one or the other.
Put another way, what’s the simpler explanation? That the comically incompetent Bush administration put together an overly-complicated nearly-impossible-to-pull-off plot that would put a Bond villain to shame, and somehow managed to keep the thousands of people who would have had to have been involved utterly silent for over a decade? Or is it maybe possible that you’re not a structural engineer and you don’t actually know what happens when a plane full of jet fuel slams into a building with insufficient structural support, because that’s not a thing that happens very often?
The reason I get so worked up about this is that idiocy like controlled demolition, or missiles hitting the Pentagon — these kinds of stupid conspiracy theories discredit anyone who has legitimate questions about 9/11. If you ask obvious questions like, why was Bush so hellbent on ignoring the warnings? Why wasn’t there air cover for D.C., even though 45 minutes had passed between the WTC being hit and the Pentagon? Why was the Commander-in-Chief almost the last person in America to find out what was going on? Why was Rumsfeld unreachable while the attacks were happening? Etc., etc. There are plenty of valid questions about what went on on 9/11, and the official story obviously has some big holes in it. But now if you ask those kinds of questions, no matter how reasonable, you get lumped in with the conspiracy nuts, with your ridiculous theories that depend on massive, unworkable schemes that no sane person would put into motion because there would be a hundred easier ways to galvanize the country to war.
Seriously, let’s say your evil masterminds are getting together and discussing their plans:
Shadowy operative: Hey, what if we put a bomb in the basement of the WTC and blamed it on terrorists?
Cheney: Yeah, we could do that. But what if we rigged the whole building with explosives, secretly, using dozens of laborers we’d have to silence afterwards?
Shadowy operative: So, we destroy it with those bombs?
Cheney: Yes and no. First, we invent and build remote-controlled 747s. Silence the hundreds of aerospace engineers who built the planes so no one else in America even knows that technology exists. We fake passenger manifests, secretly murder all of the people who would have been on the flights. Fake security footage showing known Al Qaeda members passing through our airports. Then we crash the planes into the buildings we were already planning on blowing up. And then, only then, do we set off the bombs, so it looks like the planes did it! It’s genius!
Shadowy operative: Um, wouldn’t just putting a bomb in the basement be easier?
Cheney: Maybe. But my way it better. Just trust me.
I’m sorry, but I would never ask these nonsense questions that you suggest. The buildings are exploding, short and simple. Watch the news footage. WTC 7 glides down in 7 seconds with perfection. Law of physics: explosives could only cause such a perfect fall.
WTC 1 & 2 are exploding beginning from the point of impact. I can see with my own eyes. They are exploding. Short and simple. The only “stupid conspiracy theory” is the “9/11 Commission Report”. It’s unacceptable and I am rejecting it.
You obviously have not seriously investigated this. It is backed up with multitudes of evidence.
They’re not exploding, they’re collapsing. Also, you don’t understand what the phrase “law of physics” means.
I am quite clear on what “law of physics” means. Newton’s 3 laws of motion all apply here and can’t be ignored. And as usual, when someone does not have a viable statement, they nitpick on spelling, grammar and syntax to discredit.
You must also follow the money in situations like this which further demonstrates the power and control of the people behind the federal reserve. It is these people that commissioned this event. You are aware that the NEW lease owner Larry Silverstein ironically took out an insurance policy just 2 months before in case the buildings were destroyed he could rebuild and that he was rewarded double the amount because there were 2 “terrorist attacks” (alleged). He made billions on this event and has indeed rebuilt. Which even further points to the powers behind the insurance company awarding this amount under a fraudulent event.
I’m, sorry, but there is just too much information from Archetects, engineers, pilots, witnesses that is available on YouTube that intelligently presents the case of controlled demolition. Take the time to watch them.
All I know is that if I were on a jury in a court of law and I was presented all the information and evidence available for both sides of either the “9/11 Commissions Report” or the “Controlled Demolition” scenario, I would categorically choose “Controlled Demolition” as the guilty party. Based on all the evidence, that is the only intelligent choice.
Now, take the time to do your homework and intelligently watch the videos of the insurmountable evidences backing this scenario up. If you don’t, well then you simply don’t care and will allow these people to take over what is left of our country.
So, me correct in assuming that you honestly believe smuggling thousands of pounds of explosives into a high-rise office building, without any of the thousands of occupants of the building noticing, timed to go off precisely when the buildings were hit by planes – you think that’s a real thing that happened? And this plan, involving unthinkable secrecy and precision, was carried off by the same government bumblers that gave us the Plame affair and the “Mission Accomplshed” banner. That’s a real thing that you actually believe? I’m not misunderstanding anything?
Yes, that is correct. You are not misunderstanding anything. Although I don’t quite believe I’m explaining this to someone who speaks in character as the Cookie Monster.
Moyers is a communist traitor that should be executed!
SEE and BELIEVE
Post your address you piece of shit faggot communist coward. My bodyguards will give you what you’ve got coming.
Those people aren’t bodyguards, they are what’s left of your inbred family.
God wants the United States to become a White Fundamentalist Christian Ultra-Conservative dictatorship! Heil Jesusland and our future Fuhrer RIck Santorum!
just ignore the fox troll behind the avatar curtain
You should be shot too you commie faggot cocksuker.
I’m going to get you a dictionary for Christmas, Mr. Hannity, so you can learn some new words.
I mean, you ARE trying to communicate, right?
My bodyguards would love to slit your throat.
Why, Mr. Hannity, don’t you believe in free speech?
You’re a communist homosexual and most likely an atheist too. Another Final Solution will get rid of worthless human garbage like you forever.
Should I take offense at your offense of me? Nah…
Coward. Even a fake Hannity cannot do the deed himself.
God will strike you down on the ground that you stand.
God told me He hates you, I speak directly for Him.
Mr. Hannity, if you are hearing voices, that’s not a good thing. Not good at all. In fact, that would be the opposite of good. For your information, Obamacare covers mental health services, so maybe next year will be better for you. (But I kinda doubt it.)
And from what religious people tell me, your god hates no one. I mean, that would make him a bully, wouldn’t it? Kinda like you? Wait… do you think you ARE a god? (Yikes!)
If there was a god, she would put you in a corner, slap a dunce cap on your pointy little head, and tell you to remain silent.
You are going to hell. And sooner than you might think.
God was invented by the wealthy to keep the poor from killing the wealthy.
It’s not about political preference . The elite political interests for future wealth obtained for oneself, Negates passing laws that protect the citizens on all levels financially. How can Australia and other commonwealth countries provide the best healthcare for free, and spend millions on caring for their own on every level ,and have a low National debt. They crush corruption at it’s roots, and are God fearing, thus affluent.
Me was with you up until the last half-sentence. What does god-fearing have to do with anything? US is one of the most religious nations in the world. Largely athiest Scandinavia provides better health care and other services and has less debt. It’s about corruption, as you say, and about making the whole population a priority, not just the billionaires.
True religion takes care of their own people. The corruption lies in the greed factor. The laws that protect criminal actions to weak others, as long as they have a high paid attorney. The laws to help all classes of society are not passed, because of the elite’s political interests of self gain. There is no consciousness to those suffering in America today,
911 is right. It all hinges on the control and manufacture of money thru loans and fractal banking. Get back to printing our own money and loaning only what a bank actually has to loan. If you disagree.. watch “the money masters” on you tube. Get educated. Make lobbying illegal. Make housing or hiring an illegal a Class A felony with mandatory prison sentences. Take IRS workers and put them to work finding cheaters in the welfare system with surprise home visits and drug testing. Building floating bases and get our troops off foreign soil in ALL countries. Revise the tax code to do away with all loopholes. In fact, pass the Fair Tax (a national sales tax) and get the underground economy paying their fair share. Lower the corporate tax rate (or do something) to bring manufacturing back to our land. Audit the government with a troop of outside CPA’s and make the cuts they suggest in spending. Pass whatever regulations (keep it simple) it takes to babysit Wall Street and banks so that they dont just make crap up to get richer while we take the risks. And lose the “too big to fail” mentality. All this creates jobs, stability and confidence in our government.
NO MORE REBEL AGAINST CORRUPTION LIES THEIVES OR BE A WORKING SLAVE FOR OTHERS AS USUAL
So Blessed! As the death of one ‘thing’ bring to life the birth of another LIFE….Paradise Utopia is hilariously FUN! How could I be homeless for over two years living in my car in -17 degree weather in Mainstreet USA town in middle America and life is better that EVER!!! Paradise Utopia is based on integral heart based community based intuitive geniusness ….much much more fun and hilarious than the old system….can’t wait to see what the NEW system is like when it can start to walk and talk…..
Not just intelligent – this man is brave and heroic.
If we did not consider “pork” a meal, but pigs as sentient beings, we’d not be victims of our own predatory behaviors. Predatory eating makes predatory behaviors. Pigs are NOT pork. Change that attitude and we found the answer. A system that turns living beings into body parts, production units, turns humans into production units, valued for our labor, utility, nothing more, like the farmed animals! MAKE THE CONNECTION.
Moyers is the most important voice in the nation.
colbert 2016
Regarding our Politicians – let us join together to make it a privilege and honor to serve this country – not a means of gathering power, wealth and avoiding the need to be law abiding. Serving as a government appointee of Congress should be a proud service to America – not a career which places you in the top 1%. Establish term limits and lower salaries, rescind lifetime health insurance and pension benefits. Make it a genuine and authentic four-eight year sacrifice, born of a dedication to better our country – not a business. Politicians hold the power to impact not just the business world but every element of our lives – education, our environment, the quality of our lives, the care of our children and the elderly. The private sector – as good as many people are, cannot remain fair and equitable when it comes to the misuse of power, greed and freedom within a structure that is not more carefully, prudently and fairly organized. With freedom comes responsibility – to each other and the world. Voting matters and is a sacred right. Service and pride in our greatness as a country means we must all have an equal dedication to our sustainable greatness.
You remind me of Andy Rooney. God bless you both!
Maybe we will tear it apart with our bare hands. Hats off to you, Bill!
Bill says we’re so close to losing our democracy to the mercenary class. Let’s try to quantify just how close that is.
On election day November 2008, only slightly more than 62% of those eligible to vote came out to vote. In other words, nearly 40% of those eligible to vote were so disaffected from the bipartisan contest that they didn’t bother showing up for the November election.
That means that the very important decision of choosing the president of the United States for 4 years (and just after concluding 8 disastrous years with, poll-wise, the least popular president in modern times) was decided by LESS THAN 1/3 of those eligible to vote in that election!
In the 2010 midterms, only about 41.5% of those eligible to vote bothered to vote — nearly 60% of eligible voters did not bother to come out for what was widely expected to be a very crucial mid-term election.
In 2012, only an estimated 57.5% (that is, less than in 2008) voted. This means that 93 million eligible voters did not vote in 2012, and, again, the choice of president was decided by less than 1/3 of those eligible to vote!
These electoral numbers are tell-tale evidence that, already, the majority of the people (those eligible to vote) are not voting FOR our highest elected officials. In short, such high office-holders are just squeaking into office by a voting minority.
Combine these facts with what Moyers is analytically presenting us and we already have a nonfunctioning democracy.
So, when we ask ourselves “what’s going on and what can we do about it?” We might consider joining the more than ONE MILLION ONE HUNDRED who have already viewed the 18-minute comprehensive (TED Talk) primer below on (1) how our government really works, (2) what it really needs TO WORK, and (3) what work we really need to do to really make it work.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lawrence_lessig_we_the_people_and_the_republic_we_must_reclaim
WAKEY WAKEY……!!!!!!!!
Bill’s first mistake was believing that humanity in general and Americans in particular are capable of “democracy”. How would a nation — not really a country, so much as 300 million lost and intentionally-disinformed subjugants all gathered together on the same colonized continent and chasing the same mythological, phony paper like it’s the only reason to live — propagandized so monumentally to believe in money-as-religion and in the fantasy of endless and spectacular growth rendered from a finite, dwindling resource base arrive at such a thing as “democracy”? Humans and Americans could care less about “democracy,” except as a tool for ideological self-aggrandizement of themselves as the Holy Guardians of Freedom on Earth when in fact their behavior indicates that they really subscribe to the dominant axiom of “I’ve got mine and F you”. If they did value representative democracy (beyond their shiftlessly apathetic, vulgar desire to see it turned into a cross between professional wrestling and a late-night huckster’s infomercial), they’d have made meaningful mention — and no, babbling on the Internet to no one in particular like I am doing right now does NOT qualify as “meaningful mention” — of the last vestiges of it being auctioned off to the highest bidders these last 30 years or so.
All you need to know about how the power structure — from the corporations that own and operate it to the “legislators” they puppetize to do their bidding like a Congress full of zombified little Charlie McCarthy dummies — was written down on paper by Lewis Powell in his fetching little Memorandum of 1971 as a clarion call to intentionally destroy the gains of the Sixties social revolution and cement their control over things so that such a thing would NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN, ever. The subsequent 40 years have but filled in the blanks of a dystopic, conscienceless spiral into corporate-controlled resources, elections and life itself at the behest of the Captains of Industry and their acolytes in the Ministry of Propaganda — oops I mean the mass media — that has succeeded beyond even the wildest imaginations of the Powells, the Leo Strausses and the Edward Bernays-style elites who fancy “civilization” as a vehicle for the mass enslavement of the human race to the Pure Profit Motive that sociopaths such as they always adore so very intensely.
Unless Bill is going to hit the airwaves with a meaningful critique of this evil, ridiculous and delusional socioeconomic system, he will be tilting at the windmills of the symptoms, as the disease rages unchecked to happily and voraciously devour our planet and our species.