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Off the grid
Chaotic Good
Joined: 05 Jul 2006
Posts: 3414
Location: At the local taco truck waiting for Jo.
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 Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:15 am Post subject: serve the rich and powerful at the expense of us normal folk |
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I didn't write this, but it hit the nail on the head for me so good I had to post it here.
The first quote is an answer to a thread titled, "Am I a sucker to still believe in America?"
Below are a few of the responses.
| Quote: | | Quote: | | And what it'll get us is a huge and powerful federal government that is there to serve the rich and powerful at the expense of us normal people. |
Are you sure you got the right tense on that statement?
Can you cheer me up and give me some recent examples where us normal people have won out over the rich and powerful with the help of the government?
While I didn't agree with any of his politics, I saw Spitzer as the lone government official left in US who was actually fighting for "us normal people." We all know how that turned out.
Now, I can't get past ZERO when I tally up government officials who are for the people.
Are we really the land of the free anymore? When you look around at what's happened over the last decade can you say that we have maintained our level of freedom?
Is the government (at all levels) more or less powerful now than it was 10 years ago?
How has the distribution of wealth changed? If it has changed how does eliminating the inheritance taxes fit into the plan?
When agents of the government break the law, are they held accountable? (domestic wire taps, AG scandal, perjury, political interference with every regulatory agency in government, etc.)
I have no doubt that there has always been corruption and inequality here, but it seems like we've turned a corner recently and we aren't coming back. Service economies aren't generally fertile ground for democracy. Where they exist, the few get serviced by the many (ala Spitzer and his girls...).
Look at the balance of power between the citizen ("consumer" here in bushistan) and corporations. Got an issue with a corporation - take it to arbitration, consumers aren't worthy of a day in court. Look at our banking system - their "profit centers" are people right at the edge of bankruptcy and the various "fees" they generate. Of course that's not true any more - now they can feast on people even after bankruptcy. All it took was some well placed "campaign contributions" (know as bribes in most countries) and they got that law changed. Are corporations getting bigger? What does that mean to competition? What does less competition mean for the former-citizens?
Perhaps most telling is: who is considered a patriot: a person who questions the erosion of liberty, or one who has a yellow ribbon on their bumper and flag on their lapel?
Any one of the issues I mentioned, taken by it self, would be correctable. When you put them all together, I don't think it's fixable. Quite frankly, the whole point is to keep us from being able to fix it. |
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manybikes
Brick Rider
Joined: 22 Apr 2007
Posts: 35
Location: Calgary
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| Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:46 am Post subject: corrupt |
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The ultimate corruption of America is the Federal Reserve.
Read about it.
We are all enslaved by worthless paper.
The Fed is not a government agency, it is a private corporation.
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Off the grid
Chaotic Good
Joined: 05 Jul 2006
Posts: 3414
Location: At the local taco truck waiting for Jo.
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| Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:57 am Post subject: |
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Yup read that a while ago.
The Fed=banking industry.
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rover759
Big Brick Rider
Joined: 30 Jul 2007
Posts: 68
Location: Houghton Regis,UK
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| Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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J. Clarkson in one of his TV shows said "once I left america and rejoined the free world...." 
I would think we are more free in the UK despite the governments actions than most americans and that is largely down to the house of lords-an unelected body!!!
I may have the numbers wrong but the order of scale is right.
In this labour govt period it has been defeated twice by the house of commons and 400 times by the house of lords,which are by definition nominated and there till they die.They work for expenses only and as they are unelected they have nothing to prove in short termism and by and large boot out the nonsense the govt pumps out when they had a huge majority-and people wonder why the govt want to "reform" the lords - I say if it ain't broke don't fix it!!
Certainly though in europe it seems the freest are the french- if their govt wants to impose something they don't like they start burning sheep..... |
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rydor
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Off the grid
Chaotic Good
Joined: 05 Jul 2006
Posts: 3414
Location: At the local taco truck waiting for Jo.
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| Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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Yup that was me Sean, pretty powerful stuff.
Not a fan of the Christianity stuff because I am a foxhole Christian but the rest is plausible, if not probable.
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Flying Duck
PsyKotic Waterfowl
Joined: 27 Jan 2005
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| Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:23 pm Post subject: |
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OTG: Must suck to be you. GWB has destroyed your country, The Man is keeping you down, the oil companies are stealing from you and you don't get to live in a Euro-socialist paradise. 
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Off the grid
Chaotic Good
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Location: At the local taco truck waiting for Jo.
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| Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:41 pm Post subject: |
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Just wait and see Drake.
You heard it here first.
Somehow, "I told you so" just doesn't quite say it.
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Flying Duck
PsyKotic Waterfowl
Joined: 27 Jan 2005
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| Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Off the grid wrote: | Just wait and see Drake.
You heard it here first.
Somehow, "I told you so" just doesn't quite say it. |
Your avatar suits you. 
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Off the grid
Chaotic Good
Joined: 05 Jul 2006
Posts: 3414
Location: At the local taco truck waiting for Jo.
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| Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:47 pm Post subject: |
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You seriously can't be that naive', can you?
Don't answer that.
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rydor
Flying Brick Rider
Joined: 16 Nov 2006
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Location: Southern Illinois, U.S.A.
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:47 am Post subject: |
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"And they're marching... to Bastille Day..."
- Rush |
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bmwtf
Mad Brick Rider
Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Posts: 89
Location: So IL
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| Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 12:02 am Post subject: |
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| Every politcans goal is to get re-elected. They address their power base and work to increase it. I would rather elect someone who is intrested in wealthy people, that is, making more wealthy to elect them than a politician who sees the poor as their power base, wanting to increase their numbers. I have a better chance of getting money from a privite citizen (work, service, product) than I do from the government. Can you say Stockholm Syndrome? The less the government does for (to) me as an individual, the better. Leave me enough money for food, clothing, shelter and my choice of transportation. |
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Roy S.
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| Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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THANK YOU for sharing... I could not agree more!!!
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manybikes
Brick Rider
Joined: 22 Apr 2007
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Location: Calgary
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| Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 9:25 pm Post subject: oppressed |
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I may be out of line here because I am Canadian.
I spend a lot of time in the U.S. and I think it is a great country. The people are first class and have always treated me extremely well. You have every reason to be proud of your country.
Here goes. The only guy that I saw running for the shot at the top, who truly would give America back to the people was Ron Paul. He may sound wacko to many, but it seems he truly believed in getting back to following the constitution as it was meant to be.
I am now ready for abuse!
Cheers
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manybikes
Brick Rider
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abreeze
Flying Brick Rider
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| Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 11:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | I am now ready for abuse! |
I agree with you......RP is awesome. |
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Jim
Site Admin
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| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 12:11 am Post subject: Re: oppressed |
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| manybikes wrote: | ...snip...
Here goes. The only guy that I saw running for the shot at the top, who truly would give America back to the people was Ron Paul.
Cheers |
No one is going to give America back to the people. Unless the people figure out how to get rid of the lobbyists who represent the corporations and the wealthy, the US will always belong to the corporations and the wealthy. Get rid of the lobbyists, prevent the elected "representatives" from being on the take and make them listen to the will of the people - then you'll see some meaningful change.
Publicly funded elections would make an enormous difference, too. Seems like the one with the most money always wins - or, as happened about eight years ago, gets "installed" or "selected" by the Supreme Court.
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planthead
Mad Brick Rider
Joined: 28 Jun 2006
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Location: Bemidji MN, USA
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| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 11:24 pm Post subject: I want to agree with you... |
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Lobbiest are a bit of a catch 22 in some cases; making laws is incredibly complex now and the people making them have to know more than is realistically possible, and sometimes lobbiest are the only knowledgible individuals who can advise (most likely with a slant in the favor of their particular interest) our electived representatives on particular issues. Not wanting to defend the system 100%, how one of our reps chooses to repay that lobbiest for the advise is another matter.
Listing to the will of the "American People" is a bit of a loaded proposition too. We are a fickle bunch, not always attentive and often swayed by the popular media. I have been told the house of reps was probably meant to be very reactive to the ever changing needs and wants of the people with its short election cycle, and the senate was meant to be insulated from popular oppinion and more deliberative with its longer election cycle.
All that said I think the system may be breaking down on some levels because of the speed at which information and oppinions are formed based on that information (we always seem to be in an election now), but the American govt and constitution is extremely flexible and we are probably at the peak of an ever swinging pendulum.
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